Roll, Copy and Delete Utilities 


1.6 ROLL, COPY AND DELETE UTILITIES 
 
1.6.1 How to Use the Roll, Copy and Delete Utilities 
 
     The purpose of the roll utility is to allow the user to change, to some
degree, the order in which rows and/or columns appear in a form.  The copy
utility offers the user the capability of setting up duplicate Forms under
different Form names without having to repeat Form definition.  Using Copy is
also a way of expanding the limits set on the numbers of rows and columns of a
Form which are set at Form definition time.  The delete utility will delete a
Form from the 'directory' file and erase the control and data files associated
with that Form. 
 
*<Note> To avoid confusion review Standard Keyboard Procedures (1.1.3). 
 
   To envoke the ROLL, COPY or DELETE procedures, select the proper menu
option number. 
 
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             F R E E F O R M   The Electronic Worksheet  [F.4] 
             ========================================== 
                                           June 24, 1981


             0. 
             1. 
             2. 
             3. 
             4. 
             5. 
             6.  Roll a FORM          <=====  ROLL procedure 
             7.  Copy a FORM          <=====  COPY procedure 
             8.  Delete a FORM        <=====  DELETE procedure 
             9. 
    
    
             Enter desired option # _      Press ESC to leave 

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    When the program has loaded, the screen will clear and a new title will be 
displayed. 
 
*<Note> If FREEFORM does not find a 'directory' file on its first try (FREEFORM
searches on the prefix disk unless another drive was previously specified), it 
displays an error message stating there is no directory.  If this happens, 
FREEFORM will ask if you wish to try another disk.  If so, press <return> 
otherwise type <N>.  If <return> is pressed the program will prompt for the 
disk drive number to search for a directory file.  After receiving a valid disk
drive number, the program will instruct the user to insert a disk into that 
drive and press <return>. 
 
1.6.2 Roll 
 
*<Note> This option best applies to Forms used in trending information. 
 
     As stated at the beginning of this module, the roll allows the user 
change, to some degree, the order in which rows and columns appear in a Form.
An easy way of seeing this is by example.  If a Form has the following column
headings 
 
JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN  JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC 
 
    By using the roll option one may change this to 
 
APR  MAY  JUN  JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC  JAN  FEB  MAR 
 
by 'rolling' 3 columns to the left.  Of course, whenever a heading is moved,
the data associated with that heading is moved as well. 
 
*<Note> Calculation strings are adjusted when they are moved. 
 
    The program will respond to the user's request for a roll with the prompt: 
 
*** Form name (8 alpha max.) __________    Press ESC to leave 
 
If the requested Form is not found on the current diskette, a standard error 
message will be displayed.  The user may try a different Form name, use the '?'
option, or elect to return to the main menu.  If the Form is found, the process
continues. 
 
*** Roll rows or columns? (R/C)  C 
 
To roll rows, type <R>.  If column rolls are desired, press <return> only. 
 
    This prompt appears if the roll column option has been selected. 
 
*** Roll columns left or right? (L/R)  L 
 
The columns will move in the specified direction.  The program will then ask
how many columns are to be rolled. 
 
   For example, if prior to the roll the headings are: 
 
JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN  JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC 
 
and the response to the above prompts is as follows: 
 
*** Roll rows or columns? (R/C)  C 
 
*** Roll columns left or right? (L/R)  L 
 
*** Roll 03 columns left....(enter number) 
 
    The result will be: 
 
APR  MAY  JUN  JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC  JAN  FEB  MAR 
 
     Row rolls are like column rolls, except that the user is asked to specify 
how many rows are to be rolled and whether they are to be rolled up or down. 
 
     When the roll has been completed, control will be returned to the FREEFORM 
main menu. 
 
1.6.3 Copy 
 
     The Copy command is very powerful, and if the instructions provided by
FREEFORM are followed, it is very simple to use.  Forms, pages of Forms,
portions of Forms, and portions of pages of Forms, may be copied to Forms that
already exist or used to create new Forms.  Form controls do not have to match
to do these copies and Forms may be copied onto different disks. 
 
     After the Copy command is given, the prompt: 
 
*** Copy from one disk to another ? (Y/N) N 
 
will be displayed.  Type <Y> if information is going to be transferred from one
disk to another, otherwise press <return>.  If <Y> was pressed, then the 
program will prompt to find out which drive the source and destination disks 
will be placed in. 
 
*<Note> The user should not do any disk swapping until instructed by FREEFORM
to do so.  When swapping is done, it should be done very carefully so as not to
confuse the source with the destination disks. 
 
The program will prompt: 
 
*** Copy a Form or just Pages ? (F/P) F 
 
If only the pages from an existing Form are to be copied to another existing
Form on the same or different disk type <P>, otherwise press <return> to create
a new Form from an old one. 
 
Then FREEFORM prompts: 
 
*** Copy a Complete page or Portions of a page ? (C/P) C 
 
A subset of one Form may be used to create a new Form or a subset of each page 
of an existing form may be copied into an existing Form.  To copy portions of 
pages type <P>, otherwise press <return> and whole page(s) will be copied. 
 
     If information is being copied from one disk to another, the program will
at this time instruct the user to insert the destination disk into the drive
that was specified previously. 
 
   FREEFORM now prompts: 
 
*** Destination Form name 
*** Form name (8 alpha max.) __________    Press ESC to leave 
 
This Form is referred to as the Destination Form.  The name of an existing Form
must be given if only a single page is being copied.  Note that a question mark
may be typed and FREEFORM will supply a name of an existing Form on the 
destination disk.  If a new Form is being created, the question mark option 
does not work because FREEFORM expects to be given the name of a Form that does
not exist.  If the Destination Form name already exists on the current 
diskette, an error message will appear. 
 
     If information is being copied from one disk to another, the program will 
at this time instruct the user to insert the source disk into the drive that 
was specified previously. 
 
     Then FREEFORM prompts: 
 
*** Source Form name 
*** Form name (8 alpha max.) __________    Press ESC to leave 
 
Respond with a valid, existing Form name (the question mark option may be used
to find the proper Form name).  This Form is referred to as the Source Form. 
If the requested Form is not found on the current diskette, a standard error
message will be displayed.  The user may try a different Form name or elect to
return to the main menu.  If the Form is found, the process continues with the
prompt: 
 
*** Searching for Source FORM files, one moment please... 
 
      If the contents of one Form are being copied to another Form (the Just 
Pages option) then Freeform will prompt for starting locations to put the 
copied pages, rows, and columns.  For example to copy pages one through four of
the source Form into pages two through five of the destination Form the answer
to the place to start putting the pages would be two.  Later specify that pages
one through four are to be copied. 
 
     The sequences of pages, rows, and columns of the source form to copy will 
be gathered as is done with the List command (1.3.9) during Data Entry. 
 
*** Enter sequences of Pages (XX-XX,YY-YY) to copy below (there are XX) 
*** _____________________________________ 
 
*** Enter sequences of Rows (XX-XX,YY-YY) to copy below (there are XX) 
***_____________________________________ 
 
*** Enter sequences of Columns (XX-XX,YY-YY) to copy below (there are XX) 
***_____________________________________ 
 
For example to copy pages one through four, rows one through ten, row thirteen,
and row 25, and columns seven through one enter 
 
1-4 
 
in response to the Pages prompt, and 
 
1-10, 13, 25 
 
in response to the Rows prompt, and 
 
7-1 
 
in response to the Columns prompt. 
 
      If a new Form is being created, the program will now copy the Control
files. 
 
      The Page(s) are copied now by the program, but before doing so, the user
is prompted: 
 
*** Copy or Empty data fields? (C/E)  _ 
 
     The C response will cause the data in the old Form to be duplicated in the
new Form.  The E response will initialize all the data in the new Form to null. 
 
     When the Copy has been completed, the user is instructed to return all 
disks to their original drives, i.e., all disks should be back where they where
before the Copy command was entered.  Then, the program returns to the FREEFORM
main menu. 

 
1.6.4 Delete 
 
     When the Delete command is entered, the user is prompted for a Form name.
When an existing Form has been specified the prompt 
 
*** Delete <requested form>? (Y/N)  N 
 
will be displayed on the console screen.  If the Form is not to be deleted,
simply press <return>.  However, if the Form is to be deleted, respond with a
<Y>.  At this point, the program will display an update message, the file will 
be removed from the directory, and the associated control and data files will 
be erased. 
 
*<Note> Once a form has been deleted, it can not be restored. 
 


