SCDB For Windows Version 4

Transcription

1 SCDB For Windows Version 4 Software Users Manual

2 Copyright Notices The marks SCOTT and SCOTT's are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and are trademarks of Amos Philatelics, Inc. d/b/a Scott Publishing Co. No use may be made of these marks or of material in this publication, which is reprinted, from a copyrighted publication of Amos Philatelics, Inc., without the express written permission of Amos Philatelics, Inc., d/b/a Scott Publishing Co., Sidney, OH. Copy Protection The Stamp Collector's Data Base program disks are not copy-protected. You may make backup copies for your own use, but this doesn't mean you can make unlimited copies. The Stamp Collector's Data Base is protected by the copyright laws that pertain to computer software. The Stamp Collector's Data Base is protected by all United States Copyright Laws. Copyright by Roger S. Edelman & SCDB Software, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, transmitted or translated into any other language by any means including but not limited to electronic, manual, or mechanical, without the express written permission of SCDB Software, Inc., 2800 Glades Circle, Suite 160, Weston, FL USA (301) It is illegal to give a copy of the program or your spare disks to another person, company, trust or entity for their use. Limitation of Liability In no event will the author be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of the use of this software or documentation. In particular, the author is not responsible for any costs, including but not limited to those incurred as a result of lost profits or revenue, loss of use of the computer program, loss of data, the cost of substitute programs, claims by third parties or for similar costs. The Stamp Collector's Data Base was created to serve as a tool to assist stamp collectors in managing information concerning their collections using the information in the Scott Catalogue. This program should not be used as a substitute for the Scott Catalogue; instead, it should be used in conjunction with the Scott Catalogue as a tool to manage your collections. It is therefore recommended that you obtain the Scott Catalogue to reference information found in this program.

3 Uses and Limitations YOU MAY: A. Use this program on a maximum of 2 different CPUs, home and office, as long as there is no possibility that the programs can be run on two different CPUs at the same time. B. Copy this program for purposes of backup or installation in accordance with the above. YOU MAY NOT: A. Copy or transmit the data file(s) to any other person or group. B. Copy or transmit the program to any other person or group. C. Modify the structure of the data base for purposes of resale or trade to a third party. D. Post the information found within this software program on the Internet. E. Post the stamp images found within this software program on the Internet.

4 Introduction Thank you for purchasing this copy of SCDB for Windows. I know you will be pleased with it. I would like to give you a little bit of history about the program you just received. In late 1982 to early 1983, I started working on a small inventory program to keep track of my stamp collection. As a college student, I had access to my university's computer system. The original program was written in COBOL on a large IBM mainframe computer. The program did little more than count how many stamps I had and listed the ones I did not have. Shortly after IBM announced the first IBM-PC, I purchased one and purchased dbase II. I moved the data from the mainframe to the PC and started to write an inventory program using the data I already entered (most of the Scott U.S. catalogue by then). The program was to be for my use. After dbase III was introduced, I converted all the data to the new dbase III format and made more enhancements to the program. In 1984, I started marketing the program through Linn's Stamp News. Since there was no computer software section in the classified section, I called the Linn's advertising department and suggested that a new section be created and they agreed. Ads for The Stamp Collector's Data Base were the first in the new section. The program had some stringent system requirements. Since there were no dbase III compilers available, I had to provide the source code (the programs in "English" form) and whoever purchased a copy had to have dbase III to run the program. Base model computers at that time were $4,000 and dbase III was $600! In late 1985, the first compilers for dbase III started to arrive on the market, and I purchased Clipper from Nantucket (which was purchased by Computer Associates and long since been put out to pasture). Clipper allowed me to take my source code and compile it into a "stand alone" program that did not require the use of dbase III. Not only did compiling remove the need for dbase III, the program speed increased by about 10 times. In 1994, the plans were laid for the Windows version of The Stamp Collector s Data Base. Several different computer languages were evaluated and I made the decision in 1995 to use Microsoft s Visual Basic Professional program. The program was a 16-bit application capable of running on Windows 95 and XP. Since Windows Vista supported 16-bit programs, SCDB for Windows ran fine on all 32-bit versions of Windows. Around , Microsoft released 64-bit versions of Windows (Vista was first). SCDB for Windows Versions 2 & 3 were written for 16-bit versions of Windows and would not work on 64-bit versions of Windows. It was time for a re-write of SCDB

5 for Windows. The Stamp Collector s Database for Windows There were a few third party (non-microsoft) tools used for Versions 2 & 3 that were no longer available in later versions of 32-bit versions Visual Basic. In 2009, I chose to completely rewrite SCDB for Windows using Visual Studio 2008 & Rather than use xbase of the back-end database, it was decided to use Microsoft Access for the back-end. While the third party tools used in SCDB for Windows Versions 2 & 3 were cutting edge for their day, it was decided to use ONLY Microsoft developed tools to create SCDB for Windows Version 4. What you have today is a result of these efforts and the support of the computing stamp collectors. Thanks to all! Roger S. Edelman President, SCDB Software, Inc. Technical Support Technical Support is available to all registered owners of The Stamp Collector's Data Base free of charge. You may call or write to: SCDB Software 2800 Glades Circle Suite 160 Weston, FL Electronic Address: [email protected] Web Address: If you choose to write, please include your phone number and a complete description of your problem. We will respond to you as soon as possible.

6 Terms Used In This Manual We understand that you may not be a computer professional so to make understanding this manual a bit easier, here is a list of some terms used in it. Data Base Record Field Key Field Hard Disk RAM CPU This is a file that contains all the stamp information recorded for a specific country or topic. The data base is composed of many specific stamps; each stamp is contained in one record. In this manual, the term "stamp" and "record" are used interchangeably. Each record contains one or more fields (in this program, there are over 70). A field is one piece of information such as the issue date or description. In every data base, there is at least one field that is the KEY. The key must be unique. There should never be duplicate records with the same KEY. This device is usually installed within a computer system and is capable of storing millions of characters of data. Most hard disks sold today have capacities in excess of 1,000 Gigabytes (GB). Random Access Memory. This is memory that the computer uses to store programs & data when running. In modern Windows based sys tems, the more RAM you have, the more programs you can run at one time. More RAM also speeds your system up. With more RAM, the computer does less swapping of memory to disk. Central Processing Unit. This is a single chip that provides the actual brains of the computer. Examples are the Intel 8086, 8088, 80286, 80386, 80486, Pentium, and Pentium Pro. Others include chips from AMD and Cyrix.

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8 Table of Contents Minimum Hardware Requirements... 2 Installing SCDB for Windows Version Starting SCDB for Windows... 5 SCDB for Windows Main Menu... 6 Add/Make Changes to Stamps... 8 Utility Menu...15 Importing SCDB for Windows 3 Database Files...16 Print Reports...18 Calculate and Display System Summary...19 SCDB Website...22 Frequently Asked Questions

9 Minimum Hardware Requirements: System and Software Requirements 600MB of free hard disk space for SCDB for Windows Program Code including the United States Data Base plus United States images 1GB of RAM DVD Drive Any of the following Operating Systems: Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 Optional Hardware A printer and the proper software drivers from the printer s manufacturer A scanner and the proper software drivers from the printer s manufacturer if you are considering scanning your own stamps. USB Flash Drive to store backups 2

10 Installing SCDB for Windows Version 4 SCDB for Windows will be installed into a folder on your computer called SCDBv4. Most likely, this will be created on drive C of you computer. Inside the SCDBv4 folder, the installation program will create two other subfolder, Data and Images. The system database will be stored in the Data folder and all of the images used by the system will be stored in the Images folder. The folder structure is as follows: C:\SCDBv4 \Data \Images \USA To start the installation, insert the SCDB for Windows DVD into your computer s DVD drive. In most cases, your computer is configured to start the installation menu contained on the DVD. If for some reason, the menu does not appear, you will need to use your computers file manager (Explorer (not Internet Explorer) and you will locate the file AUTORUN.EXE. When the menu appears, there will be several choices and the Setup Menu will appear as follows on the next page: 3

11 Installation Menu Selections: Prerequisites - SCDB for Windows requires the use of the Microsoft Access 2007 Runtime Engine. This MUST be installed first. Full SCDB for Windows Version 4 w/ USA Database. If you have NEVER had a copy of SCDB for Windows, you will want to choose the 2nd item on this menu. This will install the software PLUS the current USA database. Full SCDB for Windows Version 4 - Take-It-All. If you purchased the Take- It-All version of SCDB for Windows, then you will choose the 3rd item on this menu. This will install the software PLUS the current Take-It-All database. SCDB for Windows Version 4 UPGRADE. If you have had a previous version of SCDB for Windows AND you will be importing your data from SCDB for Windows Version 3, then you will want to choose the 4th item on this menu. Install Images. This selection will allow you to install images for each country. 4

12 Starting SCDB for Windows After SCDB for Windows is installed on your computer, you will notice that an icon for the program was placed on your desktop. To start SCDB for Windows, simply double-click on the SCDB for Windows icon. Tech Tip: SCDB for Windows Version 4 uses the Microsoft Access 2007 Runtime engine to perform some of it s background tasks. During the installation process, registry entries are created in the following location. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Access\Security\Trusted Locations\Location3 5

13 SCDB for Windows Main Menu The Main Menu is your starting point for using SCDB for Windows and is pictured below. If you installed the UPGRADE version of SCDB for Windows, ALL of the items on this menu EXCEPT Go To Utility Menu will be grayed out. UPGRADE users will need to proceed to the Utility Menu to import their existing data files. 6

14 On the Main Menu, you will find buttons to perform the following actions: Add & Make Changes to Stamps - this is where you will enter your inventory and collection information. Go To Utility Menu - The Utility menu contains program specific tools such as importing data, deleting countries and rebuilding system indexes. Print Reports Calculate & Display System Summary - This will provide a summary total of your collection. SCDB Website - This will launch a new Internet Explorer window and take you directly to our website. Exit SCDB for Windows Database Statistics Information Box. On the Main Menu in the lower right section of the screen, you will see a box labeled Database Statistics. This will give you a quick glance at the number of different countries listed in the system and a total count of records in the database. Remember - records is not the same as the quantity of stamps in your collection. It is a count of the number of individual catalog numbers. You can press the button labeled See a list of countries in the system. This will display a new window with a complete list of the different countries in your database system. In the lower left, you will see a button labeled System Information. When you press this button, a new window will be displayed with information that may be important for our support department. In the System Information screen, you will see a button labeled See Program Revision History. As we make changes to the software in the future, all changes that are made will be documented here. 7

15 Add/Make Changes to Stamps The Add/Make Changes or EDIT Window is divided into several sections. Stamp Identification Section Stamp Image Inventory Section Tool Bar Quick Scroll Bar The remainder of this section will detail each item on this screen. 8

16 Stamp Identification Section - this portion of the screen provides specific information for the stamp displayed on the screen. Country if Issue Catalog Number s for: Scott Number Minkus Number Krause Number SCDB for Windows will supply catalog number for the Scott Number only. The additional fields are provided for you, should you have a requirement to track alternate catalog numbering systems. All Catalog numbers are made up of three specific parts, a prefix, a number and a suffix. The following table and examples will help describe the specific parts of the catalog number. Field Name Data Type Length Comment Prefix Character 6 This is the prefix for the catalog number. This field is NOT required. It is used when the catalog number begins with a letter such as C for Air Mail stamps. Number Numeric 20 This is the numeric portion of the catalog number. It is a REQUIRED field. For example, if the catalog number was 4000, then 4000 would be entered in this field. Suffix Character 15 This is the suffix for the catalog number. This field is NOT required, You use this field when the catalog number has any non-numeric letters following the numeric portion of the stamp. For example, catalog number 4000a would have an a in this field. 9

17 Here are some common examples of how the three parts of the catalog number are used. Catalog Number Prefix Number Suffix C50 C 50 B10a B 10 a J100 J S30a 2S 30 a You will only be required to use all of these parts separately when adding records/stamps. All other prompts for a Scott Number may be answered with a complete number such as 1897A or C3a. Stamp Color Denom - This is the color and denomination of the stamp such as 10 Dark Blue. Stamp Description - This is the subject or what is on the stamp. Issue Date in mm/dd/yyyy format. You may press the arrow at the right hand side of the field to display a calendar where you can choose the date. You may find it faster to simply enter in the date. Issue Location - this is where the stamp was issued like Chicago, IL. Production Format. Common entries are: Block/Strip Booklet Booklet Single Booklet Pane Booklet - Adhesive Coil Coil - Adhesive Comm Sheet Def Sheet Envelope 10

18 Full Sheet Mini Sheet Pair Post Card Se-tenant Self Adhesive Souvenir Sheet Souvenir Page Printing Firm Perforation Size EKU - Earliest Known Use. NOTE - this field contains a date ONLY. If the contents of this field are empty, then the current date will be displayed. Storage Location - Where do you have this stamp stored. Is Micro Printing Present? This is a checkbox and is checked if the answer the stamp has micro printing. At the bottom of the Stamp Identification Section, there is a smaller box labeled Read Only Index Information. The Index is the key to locating stamps quickly by catalog number. This section of the screen cannot be changed and it will display the current index number for the stamp displayed. Stamp Image - If there is an image for the current stamp, it will be displayed automatically. In some instances, the Zoom Stamp button will be available. When you press this button, a larger image of the stamp will be displayed in a new window. In some cases the zoomed image will be no larger than the original image. In general, stamps scanned with a higher resolution (150 pixels or higher) will be displayed as larger zoomed images. Inventory Section - It is in this section that you will keep track of your collection/ inventory. You will notice that there are 7 different tabs at the top of this section, one tab for each of the different categories of stamps that SCDB for Windows tracks. These tabs are: Mint Singles Used Singles Blocks of 4 Plate Blocks 11

19 Line Pairs & PNCs (PNCs are Plate Number Coils) FDCs Mint Sheets In each of the above categories EXCEPT for FDCs (First Day Covers) and Mint Sheets, you will find detail fields for stamps in three conditions: XF Fine Good For each condition, you will be able to enter the quantity of stamps you have and the price paid. If the catalog number is one of the items that we provide a value, you will see the SCDB Value listed. Extended Value will be calculated if the quantity entered is greater than zero and the value is greater than zero. Extended Cost will be calculated if the quantity entered is greater than zero and the cost is greater than zero. If non-zero numbers are entered for the quantity, value and cost fields, the price % change will be displayed. When you press on any one of the tabs, the fields in the bottom portion of the screen will record your entries for the tab pressed. If you have any quantities in any of the categories, you will find a asterisk (*) next to the category name. This will let you know with a quick glance if there are any stamps in your collection on tabs you cannot see. Each detail line has a field for Availability. Availability is used to let you know three things about each category for a particular issue. It is IMPERATIVE that this field is kept up to date, since the data is used for the report generation section of this program. There are three different states this field can have: [N]o is used if the stamp is available in that category/format, but you do not currently have it in your collection. 12

20 [Y]es is used if the stamp in a certain category is in your collection. [X] is used for a category where it is impossible to have that type of stamp. For instance, Scott # USA2108 is not a coil stamp; therefore it would be impossible to have this stamp in line/joint pair format. An X would be used in this instance. Tool Bar - Control buttons occupy the bottom left portion of the screen. Depending on the operation in progress, some of the buttons will be turned off or for some buttons, they may toggle from one setting to another. For example, if you press the Unprotect ID button, the label will change to Protect ID The different control buttons include (from left to right): Button - Move to start Icon - Vertical line & left facing triangle Function - Pressing this button will display the first stamp in the database. Button - Reverse Icon - Left facing triangle Function - Pressing this button will move backwards to the previous stamp. Button - Current record box Icon - N/A Function - This box contains the current record number. The record is not the same as the catalog number. It is simply the physical location within the database. If you would like to move to a particular record, simply replace the number displayed with the record number you would like to move to. Press the TAB key when done. Button - Record count Icon - N/A Function - The displays the count of the total records in the database. Button - Forward Icon - Right facing triangle Function - Pressing this button will move forward to the next stamp. Button - Move to end Icon - Vertical line & right facing triangle Function - Pressing this button will display the last stamp in the database. Button - Add a new stamp Icon - Yellow plus sign Function - When you want to add a new stamp to the database, you will press this button. Please remember - the ONLY time you want to add a new stamp to the database will be if: The stamp you want to add does not already exist in the database. An example would be for a new issue. 13

21 You want to add a new stamp as a variety. Button - Delete Icon - Red X. Function - Pressing this button will delete the current stamp/record. Unlike previous versions of SCDB for Windows, when you press this button, the record is immediately removed from the database. There is no recovery from this operation. Button - Save Icon - Diskette Function - When you are adding a new stamp, you will need to press this button to complete the addition of the stamp. In general, you will not need to press this button as you make changes to exsiting records/stamps. Button - Find a Stamp Icon - Button Function - When you need to find a particular stamp by Catalog Number, press this button. If your database contains more than one country, you will need to select the country by placing a check box to the left of the country name. Enter the Catalog Number and press the green Go button. Button - Set A Filter Icon - Button Function - If your database contains more than one country, you can use this button to display ONLY the records/stamps for a single country. Button - Unprotect ID Icon - Button Function - When you start the Edit window, the Identification Section is write protected. You cannot make changes in this section. Should you need to make changes to fields in the Identification Section, you can press this toggle button to change the fields to read/write. When you are done with your changes, it is suggested that you Protect the ID section again to avoid accidental changes to these important fields. Button - Close Icon - Button Function - This button will close the Edit Screen. Quick Scroll Bar - This bar provides a graphical representation of the location in the database. You can grab the vertical bar in the middle and quickly scroll thru the database. You can move forward or backwards thru the database one record at a time by pressing the arrows at either end of the bar. 14

22 The Utility Menu The Utility Menu allows you to perform maintenance type operations on the data base. The Utility Menu is displayed below with a description of each command button. The functions found on the Utility Menu Include: Rebuild the index field - One of the fields in the database is the index key. If for some reason, you are unable to locate a stamp with the Find A Stamp button 15

23 on the Edit Screen, you can correct this problem by rebuilding the index. Create a new database - when you need to add a new country to the database, press this button to add a new country to the system. Delete a database - if you would like to remove a country from the database, press this button. CAUTION - when you delete a country, EVERY record/stamp in the database for the country being deleted will be deleted from the database. There is no way to recover from this action. Import Version 3 SCDB Database - for UPGRADE users, you will want to import your data from SCDB for Windows Version 3. CAUTION - You will ONLY want to import your data once. Do not import Version 3 data multiple times. When you press the Import button, SCDB for Windows Version 4 will open the C:\STAMP folder and display the list of database files there. This location is the DEFAULT location for SCDB for Windows Version 3 database files. If your data is not located in C:\STAMP, you can use the standard Windows navigation buttons to find the location where your data is stored. 16

24 When you press the OPEN button, SCDB for Windows will invoke the Microsoft Access 2007 Runtime engine to import your data into the SCDB for Windows Version 4 database. CAUTION: Depending on the speed of your computer and the number of stamps in the database you are importing, this operation may take several minutes. Please do not interrupt this process. You MUST wait for the system notification telling you that the import has been completed. If for any reason, the Microsoft 2007 Access Runtime Engine does not close the temporary window (this may or may not be created), feel free to close it ONCE the system has notified you that the database import has been completed. 17

25 Print Reports SCDB for Windows has a number of built-in reports. When you press the Print Reports button on the Main Menu, you will see the following screen: The names of these reports are self-explanatory. On the right hand side of the screen, you will be able to choose the stamps to be included - either all of the records in the system or only the ones where you have in your collection. ALL reports will be saved in a folder called C:\SCDBv4\Reports and will be stored in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. The Acrobat Reader should have been installed when you installed SCDB for Windows Version 4. If you want the most current copy, you can download it for free from the Adobe website - As we add additional reports to the software, we will be releasing them free to registered users. 18

26 Calculate and Display System Summary This feature of the software will calculate and display a total summary of your collection. You will find totals for all categories and conditions supported by SCDB for Windows Version 4. When you press the Calculate and Display System Summary button, the initial screen you will see is pictured below: To start the calculation process, press the Run button in the upper left hand side of the screen. The software will cycle thru each record in the database starting at record #1 and ending at the last record. When you start the process by pressing the Run button, the progress of the opera- 19

27 tion can be seen on the progress bar at the bottom of the window. When the process is completed, the window will look similar to the one pictured below: The completed window will show the total number of stamps and the total value for each category/condition. If there are multiple countries in your database system, you can get summary information for a single country by pressing the Itemize button. When you press the Itemize button, the right hand side of the screen will be filled with a list of the different countries in your database. The list will only include countries in your database. The example below includes all of the countries in our Take- 20

28 It-All product. When you click on any one of the country radio buttons, the totals will change to reflect the totals for that country only. To revert back to the full list of countries, simply press the Include All button at the top of the window. If you would like to print the window, press the Print Screen button in the bottom right hand portion of the screen. To close the window, press the Close button in the upper left hand side of the window. 21

29 SCDB Website If your computer is connected to the Internet, you can easily access our website. When you press this button, SCDB for Windows Version 4 will open a new Internet Explorer window and take you directly to our website. Some of the things you can do on our website include: Download free program updates to SCDB for Windows Version 4. Contact our tech support department via . Review our Frequently Asked Questions section. Order annual updates to the database system. 22

30 Frequently Asked Questions How can I add images to my data base? You can add images to your SCDB for Windows program using a scanner and saving your stamps in.jpg format. If your scanner allows you to choose the resolution, use 150 dpi. Supported image types are.gif &.JPG If you scan the images you need to provide the proper names for the images. SCDB for Windows uses a simple directory (folder) structure to store images based on the Scott Number. Your SCDB for Windows program is typically stored on your C: drive in a directory (folder) called SCDBv4. [C:\SCDBv4]. In the SCDBv4 directory (folder), there is a directory for all images and that folder is called \IMAGES. Images for each country are placed in their own folder inside the \IMAGES folder. For example, the USA pictures will be stored in a folder called USA [C:\SCDBv4 \IMAGES\USA] inside the \IMAGES folder. In each country folder, there are a number of other directories for groups of images. You will see (or create) 0000, 1000, 2000, 3000, C, CE, UX, R, RW. The proper directory structure should look like this: \SCDBv4 \Images \USA \0000 \1000 \2000 \3000 \U \C \UX Scott Number goes into C:\SCDBv4\IMAGES\[country]\0000 Scott Number goes into C:\SCDBv4\IMAGES\[country]\1000 Scott Number goes into C:\SCDBv4\IMAGES\[country]\2000 Scott Number goes into C:\SCDBv4\IMAGES\[country]\3000 Scott Numbers starting with C or other prefixes go into their respective directories. 23

31 I have a CD-RW/DVD-RW/USB Flash Drive. How can I use it to backup my SCDB for Windows database? For the purposes of this discussion, all forms of external media such as CD/DVD- RW, flash drive, jump drive, removable drive, USB drive, etc will be treated the same. We will collectively group these together and call them external media. If you would like to manually backup the SCDB for Windows Version 4 database to a CD-RW or DVD-RW, you will need to use the CD\DVD mastering software that was supplied with you CD\DVD drive. For all other forms of external media, you can use the Windows File Manager (Windows Explorer). All of the data for the program is contained in a single file, SCDBData.mdb This file is located in the following folder: C:\SCDBv4\Data You will need to copy the file named C:\SCDBv4\Data\SCDBData.mdb to your external media. When you need to restore, simply copy the file back to the C:\SCDBv4 \Data folder from the external media. IMPORTANT NOTE: When you copy the file BACK from a CD\DVD to C:\SCDBv4 \Data, most likely the file will be marked as READ-ONLY. You WILL need to set them back to READ-WRITE. The scope of our support does not cover the operation of your CD\DVD mastering software. See your CD\DVD-RW software documentation for more imformation on it s proper use. If you need help setting the file attributes for a particular file, look into Windows help under FILE ATTRIBUTES for help on setting files to READ-WRITE. 24