DB Consultants User Hints

AS/PC ® for Windows is backwards compatible with AS/PC for DOS. Your DOS data files can be used by AS/PC ® for Windows, but the DOS version cannot use the data files from AS/PC ® for Windows. The various reports are the same in both the Windows and DOS versions, except that many new reports have been added to AS/PC ® for Windows. AS/PC ® for Windows provides facilities for editing all of the files that are available via the Files menu in the DOS system, and you can run nearly all of the reports (daysheets, etc.) that are in the DOS version. There are many new features that are not available in the DOS version, including a powerful generic DBF data file browser.

Hardware Requirements

A Pentium 550 or faster with a minimum of 200 megabytes of disk space and 64 megabytes of RAM is the minimum realistic configuration. The larger your data files, the more hard drive space you will require. Although, the system may run on any system capable of running Windows 95, it runs best on 550 MHz or faster Pentium systems with 48 to 64 megabytes of RAM installed. A video accelerator card and fast hard drive will improve performance significantly. Additional RAM will generally provide a major performance boost. File servers will run best if equipped with 128mb (Win95/98) to 256mb (NT4) to 512mb (Win2K, XP PRo) a fast SCSI hard drive. Anything you purchase today will probaby exceed these basic requirements. This information is important for users who wish to run AS/PC(R) on their existing platforms and need to know if they should upgrade hardware. Realistically, a Pentium 550mhz is quite old at this point and for productivity reasons alone you would do better to upgrade the system. The ideal workstation is a Pentium 3GHZ machine with 1GB RAM, 60GB 10,000rpm hard drive, network adapter, Windows XP Pro and a CD burner. These systems are readily available at www.ibm.com or www.dell.com.

Laser Printers required! The days of the old dot matrix printers are long gone. If you are considering a change to AS/PC(R) you will need a laser printer. Recommended models are listed on the hardware requirements page or you can click here.

DBC recommends IBM brand computers with IBM on-site service agreements. Dell is also a good choice with the manufacturers on-site service contract. Many of DBC's dealers provide hardware as well as DBC's software. Our company policy requires that DBC dealers offer only computer hardware manufactured by IBM or Dell.

Operating System Requirements

Windows 95, Win 98, NT 4.0, Win2K, XP Pro are all acceptable operating systems when paired with the correct hardware. Each operating system has it's own hardware requirements that may supercede DBC's requirements. For example, a Pentium 550 with 64mb of ram may run Windows 95, but it may not be the best choice for XP Pro. If you own an older system it is highly recommended that you consult a competent hardware dealer to ensure that your systems are up to the task of running a new operating system or AS/PC(R).

Installing AS/PC ® for Windows ©

AS/PC ® for Windows must be installed in specific directories on any hard drive on your system. The programs and related files are stored in the directory \ASPC. The data files are stored in the directory \ASPC\DATA. The AS/PC programs may be installed on a different drive from the data files; and this is the preferred method for installing AS/PC ® for Windows on a network.

Please see the README file that ships with every copy of AS/PC ® for Windows for the latest information.

Creating Icons for the AS/PC ® for Windows Utility and Other Special Programs

The AS/PC ® for Windows installation also installs several other powerful DBC programs, but it does not create icons for these in your AS/PC ® for Windows program group or on your desktop. You can create icons for each of these easily on your own. The programs include:

AS/PC ® UTIL.EXE AS/PC ® for Windows Utilities Program (also available as part of the free trial)

DBNSF.EXE NSF Format Electronic Claims Submission System (not available with trial)

DBW837.EXE ASCII X12 837 Format Electronic Claims Submission System (not available with trial)

To install a desktop icon on for each of these:

1. Right click the Windows desktop and selection New| Shortcut

2. In the Command line box, enter the drive, path and name of the program shown above

example: "C:\ASPC\AS/PC ® UTIL.EXE"

3. Repeat the above 2 steps for each of the programs you wish to install.

If you are using shared files on a network, after creating the desktop icons in the previous step, you also have to indicate where your data files are located. To do this:

1. Right click on the new program icon

2. Click Properties and then Shortcut

3. In the box marked StartIn, enter the data directory on your server here using the drive letter by which you normally connect to that drive on the server.

Example: You have installed AS/PC ® for Windows on your local work station's "D" drive and on your server's "C" drive. You wish to use the data files on the server's C drive; and you have connected to this drive as your drive "K". To set up AS/PC ® UTIL:

Target: D:\ASPC\AS/PC ® UTIL.EXE

StartIn: K:\ASPC\DATA

Running AS/PC ® for Windows

1. Click the START button, then Programs, then the AS/PC ® for Windows program group, and finally click on the AS/PC ® for Windows program you wish to run. If you have created desktop icons for your AS/PC ® for Windows programs, simply double click the appropriate program's icon on the desktop.

2. At the PassWord dialog, enter a unique 3 letter (or digit) terminal ID and your password. The password is preset to "DFB", but you will be able to change this to whatever you wish from the Utilities|Options|Passwords selection inside of AS/PC ® for Windows.

From Windows For Workgroups

If you have installed icons for the AS/PC ® for Windows programs, simply double click the icon for the program you wish to run. Otherwise, from the WFW Program Manager, select File| Run and enter "C:\ASPC\ASPC.EXE" as the Command Line. The Working Directory box should be set to your data directory, or "C:\ASPC\DATA". Replace the "C" drive designator in the Command Line box with the drive letter on which you have installed AS/PC ® for Windows. If you are using a network, you should replace "C" in the Working Directory box with the network drive designation (e.g., "K:\ASPC\DATA").

Installation Notes & Problems

If you are having a problem running AS/PC ® for Windows after installing it, perhaps the following will help isolate the cause of the problems:

1. In your \ASPC directory, there are INI files called ASPC.INI, AS/PC ® UTIL.INI, etc. There must be one of these INI files for each DBC program installed in your AS/PC ® for Windows directory. Do not erase these files as they contain critical information that is required for your fonts, etc.

2. If you get an error message on startup that indicates a bad date, the most probable reason is that the YEAR of your system date is incorrect and is less than 1998. The other reason could be that your trial version has timed out and it is time to purchase the production version of our software.

3. Error messages that indicate that the system cannot find the data files it needs to run AS/PC ® for Windows usually indicate that the START IN directory has been set incorrectly -- see above. These error message could also mean that the \ASPC\DATA directory does not contain valid copies of the indicated DBF files. Finally, it could indicate that SHARE (or VSHARE) is not working correctly on your system; and our program is not being allowed to open these files.

4. To check that you have set up the Windows for Workgroups Command Line and Working Directories correctly in Windows for Workgroups, click on the AS/PC ® for Windows icon; select File/ Properties; and ensure that the contents of the above two items match the examples given under the WFW installation instructions above.

You can check these settings by right clicking the DBC program icon, selecting Properties|Shortcut, and then viewing the Command Line and Start In boxes and comparing them with the examples shown under the installation instructions above.

Menu Shortcuts In AS/PC ® for Windows:

I have added a number of Windows menu "Shortcut Keys" to the main AS/PC menu and to the menu on the individual edit screens. Shortcut keys are key combinations that can be used to execute a menu selection directly from the keyboard. Note that these are not the same as the menu hotkeys which are indicated via an underscore on the displayed menu and which are activated by pressing the ALT key plus the appropriate hot key. Shortcut keys can be a function key or any legal 2-key combination that has not been reserved by Windows.

How shortcut keys work: If there is a defined shortcut for a given menu item, it will display to the right of the menu selection. For example, on the main menu Files dropdown menu, you will note that the E xit selection has "Ctrl+F4" displayed to its right. This means that you can press the Ctrl + F4 function key combination to exit AS/PC ® for Windows at any time. Similarly, the Patients menu dropdown shows that you can directly access "Add/Edit patients" by pressing "Ctrl+A" and "Browse Patients" by pressing "Ctrl+B". In order for shortcut keys to be active, none of the main menu selections may be highlighted. If they are highlighted, you must press <ESCAPE> to deselect them.

Other examples of Shortcut Keys now in use in AS/PC ® for Windows include function key "F2" which will popup a browse window in the edit screens for the various files. Note that this is the same as clicking on the BROWSE smart icon.

Basically, shortcut keys enable users to quickly access frequently used menu selections without having to use a mouse.

Keyboard Behavior

AS/PC defaults to standard Windows behavior for the <enter> key; and we strongly recommend that users accept this default. However, the Utilities|Options|Keyboard selection of the AS/PC main menu provides the ability to change from the standard Windows behavior for the <enter> key to the old behavior that is available in DOS applications. Any changes you make are permanently stored in the AS/PC user options data file, DBWINOPT.DBF; and you are free to change them at any time.

High Speed Data Entry for DOS Converts

One of the design basics that has driven DBC's implementation of AS/PC ® for Windows is the ability to enter data efficiently via the keyboard, and not force the user into a scenario of switching back and forth between the keyboard and the mouse. There are some things you just cannot do with a mouse. Entering character data, such as a patient name, for example, requires using the keyboard.

This section addresses the issue of data entry in a Windows's environment for the benefit of users who are new converts from DOS. We will attempt to provide a basic set of guidelines that we believe will make your use of our products more fruitful because they will allow you to experience the ease with which data can be entered into the system. In fact, if you take the time to try out these concepts, you will find that you can enter charges and other data into AS/PC ® for Windows just as efficiently (perhaps more so) than with the DOS version.

If, for example, you attempt to enter charges data totally with a mouse, you will probably find that you are taking much longer to input a charge than you would have taken with the DOS version. There is no reason for this, as the Windows version allows the same keyboard only access to charges entry that the DOS system provides. Trying to enter charges and other character data by using both the mouse and the keyboard typically leads to slow entry and frustration.

The charges entry screen (adding new charges) is perhaps the best place for everyone to try out these concepts, as this is a very data entry intensive section of the system; and it is the place where most people will spend most of their time during the working day. Put your mouse away (hide it!), and sit down and enter charges for 10 or 15 minutes. By the time you have finished, you should be as efficient (or more so) than you were in the DOS system. We will start out at the main menu. Press ALT+BC to bring up the menu selection for Bill| Charges. Now for the rules/guidelines to faster Windows data entry with AS/PC ® for Windows.

1 - Learn the hot key shortcuts for the various menu selections.

For example, you are now looking at the last charge entered into the system. When you want to enter ADD mode to add a new charge, simply press CTRL+A. There is no need to press ALT+EA, although this is certainly an alternative. Pressing CTRL+A is certainly much faster than reaching over for the mouse and clicking Edit| Add, and then trying to find your way back to the QUERTY part of the keyboard for data entry. We have attempted to provide keyboard shortcuts for all frequently used selections on the menu. However, you can always access any menu item by pressing ALT and then the letters for the selection you want.

Now lets enter a charge -- exactly like we would have under DOS! Either press F2 for a popup of the CPT codes or type in part of a code and then press ENTER -- just like DOS! Use the Down or UP arrows to quickly scan to the CPT code you want, and press ENTER - just like DOS! The charge is entered.

Compare this with the alternative of using the mouse, and you will find that you are much faster when using the keyboard method! If you know the exact CPT code, you can simply enter it (again, like DOS); and you will avoid the popup completely. It does not get much quicker than that. More importantly, the Windows issue of the TAB versus the ENTER key never even enters the picture here!

2 - Vary your input device according to the task at hand.

We have designed our software in "sections". Sections that require intensive keyboard data entry provide easy access for such entry. Sections that are not data entry intensive, but simply require the user to select among various choices, are designed to work faster with a mouse. Charges entry is keyboard intensive. This is where it makes sense to limit your use of the mouse.

All of the report printing operations are not data entry intensive, and they involve the user making a number of easy selections via check boxes, drop down combo boxes or spin boxes - all of which lend themselves to efficient mouse use. When you are not doing concentrated data entry, sit back, relax; and use the mouse to run the entire reporting process.

3 - Function determines the proper input device. ADD data = Use the keyboard.

View data = use the mouse!

Your efficiency in some areas of the system will be better with a mouse sometimes and with the keyboard at other times. Know when and where to use each data entry device. There is seldom a need to use both at the same time; and which you use depends upon your purpose in that area of the system! The data entry screens are an excellent example ( Files| Open, and then select any of the files). All of these forms are multi-purpose forms. On one hand, they can be used to add new records to the system (a very data entry intensive operation suited entirely to the keyboard). On the other hand, they can be used to view records, scan the file studying information, or for minor editing, setting queries, etc. In the latter case, these same screens lend themselves beautifully to the use of a mouse. Its the same form, but the input device selected is clearly defined by why you are there using that form.

4 - Learn the basic Windows keystrokes. ENTER = Commit. Tab = Navigate from field to field.

The tab key and the enter key will be the most misused keys under Windows. Although we allow users to turn off the normal (CUAENTER) Windows behavior of the enter key, resist the temptation to do so. You will be much more productive if you bite the bullet and learn to use the tab to move from field to field, and to use the enter key to commit a value or form and to bring up the next form. Learn how to quickly drop down the values in a list box or combo box (by pressing the DnArrow key) as soon as your cursor enters one of these data entry controls. Highlight the selection you want with your cursor control keys; and then press the RtArrow key to bring it up into the data entry box (i.e., to select it).

As you tab from entryfield to entryfield in Windows, the standard behavior dictates that all of the data in each field is selected when your cursor first enters the field. Selected means that the entire contents of the field will be highlighted. It also means that any data key you press will wipe out the entire existing contents of the field as its first action. If this is not your intent, simply use any cursor (arrow) control key as your first keystroke, and the highlight will go away. you are now free to modify the field, not simply replace it.

These few simple rules and a little practice (very little, actually) will make you an efficient operator of any of our software systems. Learn the techniques above, and you will see just how easily and quickly you can get the task done with DBC's software products.

Monthend Closing

AS/PC ® for Windows © contains a tool to allow our tech support and our users to reconstruct problems with aborted monthend closings. When a user closes the month in AS/PC ® for Windows, an ASCII text file named "MONTHEND" is created. There are basically 9 critical internal processing steps in the monthend closing process where changes are made to the user's transaction files. The MONTHEND text file will contain a line describing each of the completed 9 steps. Therefore, looking at MONTHEND will allow tech support, or a user, to precisely pinpoint where a monthend process failed and then reconstruct the user's files accordingly.

AS/PC ® for Windows maintains the MONTHEND files for the last 4 monthend closings. These files are named MONTHEND (the most recent closing), MONTHEND.001, MONTHEND.002 and MONTHEND.003. Each time a month is closed, MONTHEND.002 is renamed to MONTHEND.003, MONTHEND.001 is renamed to MONTHEND.002, and MONTHEND is renamed to MONTHEND.001. Therefore, tech support will always be able to look at the last 4 month closings to determine possible user abuse, etc.

Refreshing Data Displays on Forms

In DBC's Windows systems, you can have a number of edit forms open at a time. For example, while editing charges, you may elect to have the patient form open in order to update values in it. Whether the two forms are open on one computer, or on several different computers makes no difference. The result is the same. As soon as any user, including yourself in another edit window, changes a file and commits those changes, that record has been updated.

The problem is that the update will not appear immediately on all open forms on all systems on the network. The process by which the data displayed on a form is updated to reflect the most recent changes by all other users on the system is call REFRESH. Any time one's form is REFRESHed, the screen will flicker and repaint. At that point, all data updates from all other users will be displayed on your form. In our system, REFRESH takes place in several different ways (number 3 below is by far the most desirable):

Automatically - Every 60 seconds or so, the system will refresh all forms on your monitor. I can control this delay; and 60 seconds is generally considered reasonable, although I can set it as low as every 5 seconds or less. The more frequently we refresh, the more we impact overall performance. More importantly, the repaints that occur with each refresh become very annoying.
Within our program, we force a refresh of a particular form when we deem that it is necessary. We do this when you NAVIGATE - i.e., change the record pointer, and when it is necessary to update screen displays of data that your actions have changed.
The user can force a refresh on DBC's edit forms, assuming that we have given him the tools to do so. And guess what? We have in many cases. Editing charges is a prime example. Either of the tabs at the bottom of the form will force a REFRESH whenever they are clicked. Lets assume that you also have both the patient and charges forms open on the same patient (go ahead, play along on your system so that you can see what I mean). Switch over to the patient form and change the patient's financial class. Now, switch back to the charges edit form. The new financial class for this patient has not been updated on this form. Simply click on the CHARGES tab at the bottom of the form, and your screen will refresh and be updated for the new patient financial class that you entered on the other form. This action will also include any changes made to that patient's record anywhere on the network!

Views in AS/PC ® for Windows

When using QUERIES in our system, there are a few differences under the Windows version that can be confusing unless you understand the background logic. Here is AN important bit of information on setting up queries:

When in File| Open| Queries, you can create queries using any view available in the system. However, VUE and QBE views will not generally be available except for the generic report, letter, and label sub-systems. Users should always create queries for specific reports only when the query form is accessed via the menu selections to print those reports. In this way you are assured that your filter will be set using the proper view that is required for that report; and you will also know that your query will be available any time you go to print that report in the future. Queries that you intend to use for the generic reports, letters, and labels should be set up via File| Open| Queries; and here you can use any view without restriction. The rest of this document explains why this is so.

If you look at the Queries file via File| Open| Queries, you will note that there is a combobox on the screen called VIEW. If you press the F2 key to browse the Query file, you will see that the box on the form called view contains the contents of the field called DBF in the query file. The field name is DBF because that is what it is called in the DOS version where DBF files were the only things that were able to be stored in a query. There is no other reason!

Under Windows, however, we have much more power. I did not change the name of the field in the Query file from DBF to VIEW because of maintaining compatibility with the DOS version data files. However, on screen, we always refer to this field as VIEW rather than DBF. Now that everyone understands this, lets talk a little about what can be in this field. In DOS, there is only one thing that can go into this field -- the name of a DBF file. In Windows, however, this field can contain one of 3 different items:

First, it can contain the name of a DBF file just like the DOS version; and this feature allows us to run queries from the DOS version without any changes.
The second possibility in Windows is an internal View. These are views that have an extension of VUE; and these are not available to end users. They are created dynamically on the fly within the system so that we can provide a snapshot of any open file scenario at any point in the system at any time; and then I can save this information as a VUE file in the Query file for later retrieval. These are listed so that we can remotely set up special custom views for a user via the telephone. These will generally only be used by DBC.
The final possibility is a static view or QBE (Query By Example) file. The actual QBE files are not visible anywhere on the user's hard disk, but they are contained within the AS/PC ® for Windows EXE file. The difference between these and VUE files is that these are created in advance here at corporate and then included in the system. They are not dynamic like VUE files. As users come up with various scenarios that we feel are useful to all users, I can simply add a new QBE file to the system. This file will then be available to all users. We will have to document what files and relations each view contains for our users. These are similar to the views used in DBVista.

With one important exception, you really do not have to understand why all of this exists or what the differences are between the 3 possibilities. The exception is that you do need to understand that a VIEW refers to a set of files being open and available at the same time. A view may contain multiple DBF files, filters, relations set between the various files, and many other controls that I can preprogram into the VIEW. This applies to both QBE and VUE files. A DBF file listed in the query view field means that ONLY that DBF file is available at that time. Whenever we want to use more than one DBF file in a query, we must use a view.

While you are still on the Query file, click on the edit icon and look at the contents of the VIEW combobox. You will see PATIENT; PATIENT.VUE, and PATIENT.DBF. In other words you will see things repeated, but with different extensions. No extension means that this is a QBE static view that I created back at corporate. VUE means that the view was created at runtime on the user's system; and DBF means just that -- this view is for a single DBF file only.

Although we allow the user to create complex scenarios using Views as well as single DBF files, views are only usable in certain areas of the system. Generic functions like the Reports menu, Letters, Labels, Crystal Reports, etc. can use any view shown in the system. Normal menu selections that involve preset views (day sheets, statements, etc.) that are required specifically for that report or function cannot use QBE files and must use a DBF file when creating or executing a query. In some reports, where several files are open and related, and where we want to make this unique set of conditions available to the user when he/she sets up a query, we create a VUE file on the fly and force the query selection to only entries that have been created using this view. That is why you cannot change views when selecting a filter to print Super Statements or daysheets.

All of this is easier to see when you play with the system; and you really do not have to worry too much about it, as the system handles all of the details. However, someone is certain to ask why there are views that have no extension, while some have DBF, and others have VUE. In fact, someone already did! You can now tell them the answer in detail!

When you create a label or report form with Crystal, one of the things that you must specify is the DBF or VIEW that you want Crystal to use when it runs that report. You will not see that view or DBF referenced anywhere but internally within the Crystal report or label definition file.

In our own generic reports - i.e., Letters, Lister, etc., you can select any VIEW when you go to run these functions. Here, the user is well aware of the view he/she has selected. For these functions, the system does not care what files the user desires to have open, related, etc., so we can allow any of the views to be used.

In our specific reports -- super statements, daysheets, etc., the system is constrained to only being able to use certain files and relations; and these are determined by the environment required by that report. For these, the user cannot be allowed to select any old view - here, we therefore limit the choices available to the user.

The AS/PC ® for Windows Windows Query System

The task of brining the DBC Queries.DBF file over to the Windows version is now completed. You may add/edit/view filters via Files|Open|Queries; and you will get the above screen. Pressing the tool icon next to the Filter field takes you into the Expression Builder where you can create a custom filter expression. The Test button allows you to test if a given filter matches the View (i.e., data file) that you have entered. Your filters from the DOS version will all come over to the Windows version without problem.

You will not be allowed to enter a filter expression until you have entered a View. Also, although users are allowed to manually edit the filter expressions instead of using the Expression Builder, if they do so, it will be their responsibility to verify that the filter matches the View by using the test button. Generally, it is a good idea to use the Expression Builder to create or edit filters. If you press the filter tool icon on a record that already has a filter expression entered in it, that expression will be loaded into the Expression Builder for you as a starting point.

The view you wish to use with each filter expression can be selected from the combo box by pressing the down arrow and then clicking on the file that you wish to use. New to Windows, this combobox will also contain some *.QBO files. These files are xBASE VIEWS which set up an environment consisting of multiple open related files and their associated indexes. DBC will provide a number of these to cover most reporting needs. For now, PATALL.QBO is included and opens the patient file and relates it to carriers, providers, referring providers, USR, MY, ICDA Codes, and facilities - thus giving anyone who needs to create a report using fields from all of these files a preset database environment with which to work. As we near the shipping date for AS/PC ® for Windows, we will have added a number of these canned views to the system providing a poweful and flexible query system!

Patient Referral Tracking

Tracking is done a bit differently in Windows; and it is cleaner and easier to use.

On tab page 2 of the patient form, I have added a field and a tool button for the referrer of the current patient. We use the same field in the patient file, REFACCT, to store the referrer's account number.

Users can click the tool any time they are in Edit mode, and change the referrer's account number. The tool essentially opens the patient file a second time and allows the user to scroll it to find the referring patient.

We have also created a new report form (PATREFBY.RPT), and its associated QBE query file (PATPREF.QBE). Although this report can either be run from the Report|Crystal menu or via Patients|Referrals, we can set everything up for the user if you run it from the Patient menu.

AS/PC ® for Windows Form Letters

Although AS/PC ® for Windows will not have the same word processor as the DOS version, it will have a limited ASCII text processor included so that users can create note files and form letter merge files in much the same manner as in the DOS version of AS/PC ®. I have changed the design of the letters and notes system in the Windows version completely.

In AS/PC ® for Windows, we will use a LETTERS.DBF data file that contains all form letters. This data file will be added to your system when you download the next AS/PC ® for Windows upgrade from the BBS. The data file allows the user to create/add/edit as many form letters as desired; and all of the letters will reside in the single LETTERS.DBF file, thus minimizing the use of hard disk space.

Another major difference in the Windows version is that all printer and output format related data is saved with each form letter in the LETTERS.DBF file. If you look at the next page, you will see a copy of the data edit/entry screen for adding/editing letters and notes. This form, like any other file in AS/PC ® for Windows, can be loaded via Files|Open|Letters.

The items listed are as follows:

Desc = User assigned description for this letter

Orientation = Portrait or Landscape

View = Select from a list of all DBF data files in the system or from a list of DBC predesigned views. PATALL, for example, opens up the patient file and all of its normal related files (MY, USR, DOCTOR, RDOCTOR, FACIL, CHIRDIAG, INSUR). The view that you select will be used at print time in order to allow merging proper values for all user defined merge fields.

Printer = The printer to use for this letter/note (click the tool icon to change).

Pitch = character pitch to use for this letter (DEFAULT/PICA/ELITE/CONDENSED)

The next rectangle contains all of the page dimensions that you wish to use whenever merging this letter or note. Finally, there is an edit window where the user will create/edit the actual note or letter. Note that you can search the letters on file just as you would search through fields in any of the other files. The field name to use in the DBLocate dialog for the letter itself is "LETTER".

You can, for example, search and locate all letters that contain the wildcard character string "BLUE*OF PA". Also, please note that you have many of the same options (smart icons) with the LETTERS file as when editing or viewing most of the other system data files. You can set a query in order to limit the selected letter files to those containing some predetermined text string.

Items that still need to be added to this early release of the letters DBF file logic include a right click popup menu when editing that will allow setting word-wrap, auto entry of merge fields, special formatting, insert data from file (as in KeyNotes!), search and replace, spelling checker, etc. The print engine itself will be much like the one in the DOS version, except that the letters.dbf file permits much more flexibility and power!

Using the DBC Merge Letters/Reports System

The DBC merge report and letter generator allows users to create free form report and letter masters that contain references to data file field names and functions. At print time, these data file field names and functions are translated into values to match the actual data in your files. The function is accessed via Files|Open|Letters. There is no limit to the number of letters that may be saved in the Letters file. With each letter, you can indicate the Orientation (portrait or landscape), View (file or files to use), Printer, Pitch (pica, elite, or condensed), Word wrap setting, left page offset, left margin, right ,margin, page length, line spacing, and alignment (Left, Center, Right).

The large editor box at the lower section of the screen is where you type your letter or report. In order to the pop up function keys available while editing a letter, you must set focus to the editor by either clicking on the Edit Icon or pressing Edit|Edit Letters on the menu. If you simply click on the editor or TAB to it, you may still edit its contents, but your pop ups will not be available.

While editing reports and letters, the follow Function key/Pop ups are available:

F2 - pops up a sorted list of table field names that you can use for merging. The master file field names appear by themselves, and all other related file field names are shown with their alias's (e.g., INSUR->INSNAM).

SHIFT-F2 - Pops up a list of merge functions that you may use in your reports and letters. The functions are written into your document for you complete with prototype placemarkers which indicate where you need to enter your own parameters.

F3 - Enters the name you have given to this letter plus the date and time.

Once you have created a letter or report, you can print it for one record for a batch of records with a query. You may also print the original unmerged master of your letter for editing purposes. In order for alignment to work, you must keep WRAP checked. Normally, you will want alignment set to LEFT, pitch set to DEFAULT or PICA, orientation set to Portrait, and wrap set ON.

Special Functions and Variables for Merging

PATBAL("CASH"|"INS"|"") is used to return the patients total cash, insurance or total balance.

FirstData(expX1, expX2, expX3, expX4) is used to return the contents of the first non-empty variable in a list of up to 4 variables or field names.

The master clinic name and other data are available via special merge variable names: g_CoName; g_CoAddr; g_CoAddr2; g_CoCity; g_CoPhone; g_CoFax

An example of using a combination of the above function FirstData() and the master clinic special variable names in a merge field when you do not know in advance which clinic the patient is registered to is:

&FirstData(CLINIC->NAME, g_CoName)&

&FirstData(CLINIC->ADDR, g_CoAddr)&

&FirstData(CLINIC->CITY, g_CoCity)&

The above merge fields can be placed in a letter or merge report so long as the view used with that letter or report includes the patient file and doctor file, and has the doctor file related to the clinic file and the patient file related to the doctor file. The canned DBC view PATALL has such an arrangement already set up for users. Note that it is important to put the CLINIC data file variable first in the parameter list for FirstData() because the master clinic variables will always have values in them. In the above example, if the patient's doctor is connected to one of the clinics other than the master clinic, then that clinic's data will print. Otherwise, the master clinic data will print.

The LETTERS.DBF file on the BBS contains some good examples of using the above as well as the new PatBal() function.

Many of the normal Windows shortcut key combinations work while you are in the editor control in the Letters form. The following are just a few key combinations that you can use while editing or creating a letter or report:

Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C = Cut, copy selected text to the Clipboard

Ctrl+V = Insert text from the Clipboard

Ctrl+PgDn, Ctrl+PgUp = Go to end, beginning of the file

PgDn, PgUp = Go to end, beginning of the Windows

Home, End = Go to the beginning, end of the current line

In addition, although we do not have the Global replace option completed yet, you can use the DBC Locate dialog to find occurrences of any character string in any letter. You should not attempt to use the Locate dialog until you have removed the cursor from the editor object, however.

Creating ASCII Text Files

The File|New|Text menu selection allows you to create a new text file. When entering a new filename to create, you can enter a full drive and path. If you do enter a drive letter, you must also enter a "\" even if the file is to be placed in the root directory. Your new file will be predated for you. If you enter the name of a file that already exists, the system will open that file, but will not overwrite it. Examples of valid file names are shown below. You do not have to use an extension, but I recommend that you standardize on TXT, DOC, etc. for your ASCII files:

file name: "A:\Myascii.TXT" &&valid

file name: "A:MYASCII.TXT" &&Invalid - missing \

file name: "MYASCII.TXT &&valid

file name: "\myascii.txt" &&valid

Single Label Printing

The Seiko is a tiny and absolutely noiseless label only printer that puts out labels in high laser quality resolution. It is designed specifically for printing one label at a time. Its labels come in a coil, and it prints them in Landscape mode, complete with graphics and a large assortment of Windows fonts. Label sizes are available for name tags, diskettes, large shipping, and several sizes for normal letters, etc. It attaches to any COM port, so it does not use up your parallel port. It comes with a driver for Windows, can be shared on the network; and the PRO top of the line model sells for between $200 and 300. The non-pro model sells for under $200 but is not as flexible.

Single Seiko format labels are available from the following edit forms - Patients, Clinics, Carriers, Providers, Referring Providers, and Facilities. Our program automatically suppresses the printing of blank lines for fields that are empty; and the output quality with this printer is outstanding. And...almost everyone has an extra COM port with nothing to do!

Printing Seiko single labels in DBC systems

Click on the label icon on any edit form that has one. You will be asked if you wish to print a single Seiko label. Click yes, and the Windows printer selection dialog will pop up. Pick the Seiko, set it to Landscape and to the type of label you are using, select the number of copies of the label you wish to print, and let 'er rip. After you use the Seiko the first time, AS/PC ® for Windows remembers that you prefer it for single labels; and the system saves this fact as well as the Landscape setting between sessions. The next time you go to print a single label anywhere in the system, the Seiko will be picked, ready to fly in landscape mode. One added little goodie - you can create CMD files using the Interpreter feature in AS/PC ® for Windows to print custom diskette labels, name tags, etc., or just about anything you wish!

The support we added for the Seiko should work with other printers of this style without modification. However, we know that it works with the Seiko!

Seiko Label Printer support has been enhanced in order to allow user defined label formats for this unique printer. A new data file, DBSEIKO.DBF contains the label formats. We have created a sample entry for the patient file for birthday labels as an example of how one might create just about any custom label they desire for this printer.

Note that the Seiko cost per label is very high, and some users will find the printer difficult to install and setup. Unless you require the "pretty" labels the printer generates, a Dot Matrix is probably a better choice.

DBC Dialog Boxes

1. DBC "PassWord Entry" Dialog

This is the first dialog that users see when starting our medical or dental systems. There are two data entry fields on the form and two button controls. Enter your terminal ID, a 3 character unique ID that identifies your computer to the system (assigned by your local administrator). The password field requires a 3 character (non-numeric) password. You will not be permitted to enter the system without entering a valid password and terminal ID. Your password determines your security clearance level as you access various functions in the system. Your local administrator determines your security level.

2. The DBC Locate Records Dialog

This modeless dialog box is used to select a record or group of records from the currently open data file based upon just about any conceivable set of criteria entered by the user.Enter the value you wish to locate in the Find What entryfield. Select the field you wish to search for this value in the Located in Field listbox. You can indicate any special search rules by clicking a radio button in the Search Rules rectangle. You can also set a filter ("for" condition) by clicking the "TOOL" button to the right of the For: dataentry field. If a filter is already set for this file, the filter expression will appear in the FOR: entry field. Finally, you can determine where you want the search to begin by selecting one of the radio buttons in the Start Search From rectangle. When you have entered enough data to allow the system to do a search, it will allow you to set focus to the Find button. You must either pick a field and fill in the FIND WHAT value, or you must set a FOR condition. Otherwise, you are simply going through the entire file. Note that you may set both a FOR condition and search for values in a field. If you set either the field or the FIND WHAT value, you must set the other. If you do not, you will get a warning message and all records will be found.

Search Rules - Wild Card Searches: You may use wildcards (* and ?) when filling in the Find What entryfield in exactly the same manner as you would use them in referring to DOS file names.

Searching: This is a modeless dialog. Therefore, it will remain on the screen until the user closes it. You can continue to find the next record which satisfies your conditions by clicking on the Find button.

3. The DBROWSE DBC File Browser

This is DBC's generic modeless file browser. It allows user to view any DBF file in any directory on any drive on the system. It does not allow the user to modify the data in the file.DBROWSE has its own Icon Menu Bar along the top of the screen. Clicking these icons will cause various actions to occur:

Magnifying Glass Icon: Allows the user to toggle between 3 different views of the file's records.

Indx Icon: Allows user to change the index (sort order) in which the file is viewed. Users may also create their own custom indexes via this button.

Flashlight Icon: Displays the Locate Records Dialog.

Tool Icon: Displays the DBC Query system dialog which allows users to set queries (filters) in order to limit the records which are displayed according the the user's own criteria.

Flds Icon: Displays the DBC Select Fields dialog which allows users to pick only those fields that they which to display or browse.

Copy Icon: Displays the DBC Copy To dialog which allows the user to create a new file containing only those records and fields that are currently viewable via the user's current criteria.

VCR Icons: Allow the user to navigate the file by moving the record pointer.

Printer Icon: Prints a copy of the current screen.

Help Icon: Starts the DBC Help System.

4. The DBC COPY TO Dialog

This modal dialog is used to copy selected fields and records from an xBase DBF file to either another DBF file, an SDF ASCII file, an ASCII comma delimited file, or an ASCII delimited file using a user specified delimiter character. The FOR and WHILE entry fields are only visible if a source file has been chosen and if the edit screen from which the dialog is called allows setting a filter. The DBC browse and edit screens assume that the user will set filters, field lists, indexe orders, etc., before popping up the COPYTO dialog; and in these cases, there will be no FOR or WHILE entry fields visible.

Clicking the Tool icon next to the Source entry field will allow the user to choose a DBF file from which the data is to be copied. If the COPYTO dialog has been entered via the DBC Edit or Browse screens, the Source file will already have been chosen for you.

When first entering the dialog, the OK button will disabled until a source file is chosen and the target type and target file have been set. Pressing CANCEL closes the dialog without performing the COPY. Pressing OK performs the COPY using the user specified conditions (index, filter, FOR, WHILE, field list, etc.).

5. The DBC APPEND FROM Dialog

Similar to the DBC COPY TO dialog, this modal dialog allows users to append records from existing DBF and ASCII files to an xBase DBF file. The Target file in this case is an existing DBF file. The user may APPEND selected fields and records from another DBF file, an SDF ASCII file, an ASCII comma delimited file, or an ASCII delimited file using a user specified delimiter character. The FOR entry field is only visible if a source file has been chosen and if the edit screen from which the dialog is called allows setting a filter. The DBC browse and edit screens assume that the user will set filters, field lists, indexe orders, etc., before popping up the COPYTO dialog; and in these cases, there will be no FOR entry field visible.

Clicking the Tool icon next to the Target entry field will allow the user to choose a DBF file to which the data is to be copied. If the APPEND FROM dialog has been entered via the DBC Edit or Browse screens, the Target file will already have been chosen for you.

The OK button will remain unavailable until a target file has been specified.

When first entering the dialog, the OK button will disabled until a target file is chosen and the source type has been set. Pressing CANCEL closes the dialog without performing the APPEND. Pressing OK performs the APPEND using the user specified conditions (index, filter, FOR, field list, etc.). The original contents of the Target DBF file will be untouched, and the new records will be added to the end of the file.

DBC's Popup Browse

The popup browse function when editing files (including patients, letters, carriers, providers, referring providers, facilities, diagnoses, cpt codes, catalogs, USR, and MY) via the Files|Open menu selection includes a search control that allows you to incrementally select the record you wish to browse. There are 3 ways to invoke the browse popup from the edit screens:

Click on the Browse smart icon;
Press the F2 function key; and
Select View|Browse from the menu

Pressing <escape> or clicking on the CANCEL button in the popup browse causes the system to ignore any record selection you have made. You can select a record by clicking it or navigating to it via the cursor keys and then pressing the OK button or (if focus is on the search control field) you can press <enter> while in the search field. Another way to select a specific record is to simply double click on any field in that record (row).

This latest incarnation will now be our generic replacement for the F2 popup windows in the DOS version.

AS/PC ® for Windows Help System

Speedtips are the little help message boxes that come up when you highlight a data entry control on a form. The following is meant to explain where and when Speedtips will work. These are limitations of either Windows or of Borland, and not of DBC:

1 - Speedtips will NOT work for comboboxes, spinboxes, listboxes, text controls, or for any inactive controls. An inactive control is one to which the user cannot give focus. Almost all controls on all forms are inactive unless the form is in edit mode.

2 - Buttons can display speedtips so long as the button is enabled. Many of the tool buttons on our forms remain enabled even though the form is not in edit mode. These, therefore, can display speedtips whether in edit mode or not.

3 - Some forms have data at the top of the form that changes from record to record (e.g., patient to patient), but this data is not available to the user to edit. Examples are the last appointment date and the balance on the patient screen. Generally, if the field on the form contains a calculated value, it cannot display a speedtip. For example, on the patient form the last appointment field can display a speedtip, but the balance fields cannot (because they are all calculated fields).

The help icon smart icon (?) at the top of most edit forms is for generic help only. Context sensitive help can only be displayed if focus is on a data entry field on the form. Clearly, the system would have no way of knowing what field the user wished help on if the user's cursor is not on a field.

Error Dialogs

AS/PC has a built-in error reporting system that logs the system status and memory configuration to two text files should an error occur. The files will be named STATUS.TXT and MEM.TXT. The contents of these files will provide the DBC tech support staff with data that will assist them in resolving the cause of the error. These text files will normally be located in the default directory in which you are running the program; but depending upon where the system was operating at the time of the error, they could also be in your AS/PC data directory.

When an unexpected error occurs, you will normally see a dialog box similar to the one shown below. Please carefully copy all of the information listed in this dialog box and forward it to DBC. Press Abort after you have copied the information. It will frequently be useful to also print the text files MEM.TXT and STATUS.TXT and fax them to DBC along with the information contained in the above dialog box.

Sounds

AS/PC for Windows supports standard Windows sound drivers. Sounds can be turned on or off by the user; and the WAV files that are used to generate the sounds played by AS/PC can be individually selected. When you first install AS/PC sounds will be turned on by default. If your system has a compatible sound driver installed and AS/PC can find your sound files (*.WAV), you will hear sounds whenever you start or close AS/PC.

The Utilities|Options|Sounds selection of the main menu of AS/PC provides access to the AS/PC sound options. From here you can globally turn system sounds on or off and select the types of sounds you wish the system to play for each event (DBC Voices; Windows Sound Files; or your own custom sound files).

The sound files used by AS/PC have file extensions of "WAV". If you choose to have the system use DBC voices for your sounds, the WAV files shipped with AS/PC must be located in your \ASPC directory. There are 3 of these files (ASPCSTRT.WAV, ASPCDONE.WAV, and ASPCERR.WAV). These WAV files are played upon entry to the system, exit from the system, or upon detecting a system error.

If you elect to have AS/PC use the standard Windows sound files (CHORD.WAV and CHIMES.WAV), these files must be located in your C:\WINDOWS directory. If they are located elsewhere, then you should select the option to use "Custom" sound files and enter the full drive, path, and filename for the files you wish to use.

If you decide to use custom sound files, they may be located anywhere; and you should enter the full drive, path, and file name when the system asks you for the names of the files.

It is not necessary to have a sound card installed in order to hear sounds in AS/PC. A free driver (SPEAKER.DRV) is available from Microsoft which plays sounds through your internal system speaker. This driver is also available via CompuServe and other BBS's around the country.

Any changes you make to your sound system preferences are permanently stored in the AS/PC user options data file, DBWINOPT.DBF; and you are free to change them at any time.

Installing the Generic ASCII File Text Printer Driver for WFW

If you find that you get an error message when you select the feature to print to the screen or to an ASCII file when previewing reports in AS/PC, the chances are the reason is that you have not installed the Windows Generic/Text Only driver. This driver must be installed for AS/PC and any other Windows applications that provide a print to ASCII file or screen preview feature such as is available in AS/PC. To install the driver:

1. Open the Windows Control Panel and double-click the Printers icon.

2. Click on the ADD button, and select the Generic/Text Only driver.

3. Click on the Install button. You will need the Windows for Workgroups installation diskettes unless you already have installed this driver in your \Windows\System directory.

4. The Generic/Text Only printer should now appear in the Installed Printers section at the top of your screen. Select the line that says "Generic/Text Only on LPT1:", and press the Connect button.

5. Scroll down through the Ports section until you see FILE. Select File, then OK, and then Close.

The Generic ASCII printer driver can now be used in any WIndows application when you want to create a pure ASCII file.

Important Definitions for Windows Users of AS/PC

It is assumed that all users have a basic working knowledge of the Windows interface. This knowledge will be required in order to use any DBC Windows product. Please see your Windows manuals and help screens for further information.

Mouse/Keyboard Actions:

Point: Move the mouse pointer to a specific screen object.

Click: Press and release the left mouse button one time.

Double-Click: Press and release the left mouse button twice in rapid succession.

Drag: Press and hold the left mouse button on an object. While holding the mouse button move the mouse. Finally, release the mouse button at the desired new destination on the screen.

Right-Click: Press and release the right mouse button once.

Left (or Right)-MouseDown: Press and hold down the right or left mouse button.

Left (or Right)-MouseUp: Release mouse button.

Keyboard Hot Keys: Hot keys are indicated on the screen by underlining a letter. They are used in menu selections and for selecting controls (see below). For example, an OK button whose label is OK, can be activated either by clikcing it with the mouse or by pressing <Alt>+O.

General Terminology:

Form: A window area. This can be a dialog box (see below), or a complete screen with its own menu bar. Forms may contain controls (or objects - see below), menu bars, and other forms (windows).

Controls: Also sometimes referred to as objects, these are any items that appear on a form or dialog box. Many controls can be selected via mouse or keyboard command in order to initiate an action. Lust a few of the type of controls possible include:

Buttons - OK, Cancel; Exit; etc.

Menus

List Boxes

ComboBoxes

Dataentry fields

Text Editors

Text fields/labels

Smart Icons

Tabs

Images

Radio Buttons

Check Boxes

Rectangles

Dialog Box: A form that is used to pass a message along to the user or to solicit a user response. Dialog boxes can be modal or non-modal (modeless). Dialog boxes are normally identified by the title in their menu bar.

Modal: A term applied to a property of dialog boxes and forms which indicates how they must be treated by the user. Modal dialogs require a user action/response before the user can move on in the program. Program execution stops until the user responds. Modal dialogs are normally used for interactions where it would make no sense to continue on without a user response. The Windows CHOOSE PRINTER dialog is a good example.

Modeless: A property of dialog boxes and forms. A modeless form is displayed for the user, and program execution continues whether or not the user responsd to the form or dialog.

Choose: Execute a command from a menu bar or a button in a dialog box. "Choose File|Open" means to choose the Open command from the File menu. "Choose Cancel" means to click (or otherwise choose) the Cancel button.

Select: Means to give focus to a control, screen object, or menu selection. This can be done with a mouse or via keyboard hot keys or via the TAB key.

Focus: A property of forms, form objects and controls. The currently ACTIVE control is said to have focus. Usually, the control having focus is obvious because its representation on the screen will change. It is the active control. On most forms, the user can change the active control by using the TAB key, the mouse, or using keyboard shortcut keys. An object/control can only be used if it has focus. Objects and controls are given focus by the user by SELECTing (see below) them. Only one control on a form can have focus at a time. Forms (windows) are given focus by clicking on them. This usually brings them to the top of the forms on the screen.

Speed Bars: Also sometimes called Smart Icons, these are icons that, when clicked, cause an action to occur.

Active Window: Just as a control can be active (i.e., it has focus), forms (windows) can also have focus. Only one window at a time can have focus. This is the Window in which the user can click the mouse, etc.

Navigate: Moving about in a form or window with the mouse or keyboard is called navigating. Unlike DOS, in Windows, the <enter> key is is not usually available for navigation. Instead, Windows uses the TAB key to move from field to field or control to control. TAB moves to the the next field or control in the tabbing order and <Shift>+TAB moves backward to the previous field or control in the tabbing order.

Tabbing Order: How controls and objects are ordered on a form in terms of their order of receiving focus as the user presses the TAB key to navigate the objects on the form.

Control Menu: Almost all forms and many dialog boxes contain a control menu. This is the little square box with a horizontal slot on the leftmost side of the form's title bar. Double clicking on control menu closes the form. Single clicking presents a menu of choices which vary depending upon the form.

IDAPI CONFIGURATION NOTES (IDAPI.CFG SETTINGS)

The AS/PC ® for Windows installation file will normally configure your IDAPI settings correctly by using the Borland Database Engine (BDE) routine that is included in your AS/PC ® for Windows program group; and most users will never have to worry about changing these settings. However, if another IDAPI-based product is already running when you start AS/PC ® for Windows, we are forced to use the IDAPI configuration file that is already active for that program.

To edit the IDAPI configuration file, choose the BDE Configuration Utility icon in the AS/PC ® for Windows program group. When you open the utility, it will display the IDAPI.CFG specified in the IDAPI section of the WIN.INI file. The following are some IDAPI.CFG settings you might need to change:

During installation, if an ODAPI configuration file exists on your machine, its settings will be read into the new IDAPI configuration file. This will set the dBASE file level to 4 (the old DOS level). To use the new AS/PC ® for Windows field types, you will need to set this to 5.
On a single machine, you need to set LOCAL SHARE (System page) to TRUE to use both AS/PC ® for Windows and other non-IDAPI products that access a table at the same time.

Novell users who are experiencing file locking problems may wish to try the following settings for their Novell network:

PacketBurst = OFF

Cache = OFF

Opportunistic Locking = OFF

AS/PC ® for Windows - Technical Notes

Here is an up to date summary of technical details on our products for Windows. This should provide local hardware personnel answers they may need to properly configure a system for using DBC's software.

1. What platform does DBC use for its products? Borland's Visual dBase (VdB) plus Delphi and C++.

2. Why did DBC choose this platform?

It supports (and, in fact defines) the industry standard DBF file format. Borland owns dBase! There can be no question in anyone's mind that the DBF file format is by far the most popular and universal among desktop computer systems.
Its performance is superior to Visual Basic, Visual Foxpro, and other development platforms that support the DBF file format directly. Only C++ and Delphi are faster, but these systems are unwieldy to use for database management systems using the DBF file format.
Microsoft has announced that it is discontinuing Visual Foxpro as we know it; and this leaves Borland as the only surviving complete object oriented development system geared specifically to the DBF file format.
The Borland platform supports all Windows versions.
Development speed with Borland's VdB is the fastest available today. This means that we can respond to HCFA changes, user requests, etc., in an incredibly short time-frame. The other platforms cannot make this claim!
It is totally backwards compatible with our DOS systems -- users can interchange all of their DOS data with the Windows versions of our systems!
Visual dBase provides seamless integration with the Microsoft Windows API (Application Programmer's Interface). This means that many of our functions use the WIN API directly. This guarantees compatibility with new MS Windows platforms as they are released, and it provides the maximum amount of performance and flexibility with our software. Whenever, high speed forms are needed, if they exist in the MS Win API, we simply use those provided by Microsoft in DLL's that are already installed on the user's system. This means fewer files have to be installed by DBC, and it also means that we have an incredible number of functions already available to us without any programming whatsoever!
The user interface tools available from Visual dBase are about the best in the industry, especially where these tools need to interface with DBF file formats. Look at our new query system, and you will see an example of the power provided by our platform to our users!
Visual dBase supports the BOTH of the industry standard database engines on the market today - IDAPI and ODBC. This means that any user having software from other major vendors such as IBM, Microsoft, Lotus, Symantec, etc., have automatic connectivity and compatibility with their DBC data files.
Visual dBase is a rapid development system (RAD); and it is one of the most rapid on the market!
Visual dBase is totally object oriented. No other DBF based development system on the market today can offer this. OOPS is the obvious choice for program design in a GUI world such as Windows. It reduces development time; eliminates many sources of time consuming and costly bugs; and allows us to provide our users with short development cycles and quick turn-around on updates. It also allows us to interface with nearly all major software systems available in the Windows market today!
Reporting is critical to a user; and Borland has chosen to integrate Crystal Reports with Visual dBase. We can therefore make the Crystal runtime available to all of our users at no extra cost. Crystal is the recognized king of the report generators on the market for DBF file formats; and Microsoft has also chosen it for some of their own development platforms. Our users can create and run any Crystal reports no matter what system created the data for these reports!
Our users need to have some level of concern about the future of any development platform chosen by DBC. By choosing Borland's VdB, we have virtually guaranteed the ability to continue our current Windows product line over time. Those competitors who have chosen Microsoft's FoxPro would love to be able to say the same!
All of our systems are Client/Server ready out of the box! In time, especially with the Internet growing so rapidly, this will become a major competitive issue that will concern many of our larger users.
Borland VdB supports the industry standard SQL language; and our users can use SQL to define queries in our products right now! SQL is currently more popular in mainframe connected applications, but as we appeal to larger and larger clinics, we should see a major benefit from the SQL capabilities that are already embedded into all of our systems.

Because VdB is so well integrated with the MS Windows API, our users can begin enjoying such things as OLE, DDE, and ODBC and IDAPI data base connectivity right now! This also means that we have direct access to a massive base of functions and features that are already stored on each Windows user's disk in the form of industry standard DLL files.

Fixed Fonts

A fixed font is a font whose characters all have the same width. Courier, for example, is a fixed font. Fonts that are not fixed are called proportional fonts. With these, each character has its own width definition. W's, for example, are a lot wider than an i. The font in this memo is Arial -- a proportional font.

Generally, most humans like the look of proportional fonts better than they like fixed fonts. The reason fixed fonts are so important is that they allow easy column alignment for spreadsheets and other columnar reports. All of our DOS reports are printed with a fixed Courier, 12 point pitch (12 point is 10 characters per inch).

In our Windows products, we use various fonts, but we still rely heavily on fixed fonts for reports that require things to line up. You can always count on one thing with a fixed font -- at 12 pitch (10 characters per inch), any 10 characters will take up exactly 1" on the printed page. You cannot ever count on that with proportional fonts.

New DBF Files in AS/PC ® for Windows

There are several new DBF files in the Windows versions of our systems that are not in the DOS versions. The purpose of this memo is to provide technical information on the purpose and use of these new files.

DBMRGFCN.DBF

DBC has extended the power of the xBase language by adding our own UDF's (User Defined Functions) to the system. These are internal to our EXE program files and are available to users for merging and in the GetExpr() form that is used to set queries, etc. This file contains the DBC add-on functions. As we find new functions that are useful to our users and dealers, we will register these in DBMRGFCN.DBF.

DBVIEWS.DBF

This file contains one field in each record. The file is used to register all DBC internal views (QBE files) that are available in the system for users. Along with other places in the system, the contents of this file are used to fill the VIEW combobox in the File|Open|Queries form. As we decide to add additional new VIEWS to the system for our users, we will register these in DBVIEWS.

DBREPORT.DBF

This file has two 12 character fields, RPTNAME and VIEW, that are used to store a Crystal report/label format file name and the VIEW that is associated with the report or label file. As users, dealers, or dbc add new Crystal reports and labels to our system, these can be registered in DBREPORT. There is no requirement that all Crystal report and label files be registered in DBREPORT; but doing so allows us to give the user access to the view associated with a specific report at runtime in order that they can create custom queries when running the report or label. Reports and labels not registered in DBREPORT will still run fine; but the user will not be able to change the filter condition that was hard coded into the report at the time the report format file was created.

Using Crystal Reports for Custom Reports

You do not need to own Borland's Visual dBase in order to purchase or use the Crystal Reports reports and labels generator. It does come with VdB, however. Users who have Crystal have the ability to create just about any custom reports or labels they want with the data from AS/PC ® for Windows. If you own Crystal, it is assumed that you will read its manuals in order to learn how to use it. However, the following is a quick tutorial, step by step, for creating a report using DBC's data files. The report that is created can then be run from the AS/PC ® for Windows main menu. Several of the steps listed below, although not necessary, will give user created reports much added flexibility when these reports are run from within AS/PC ® for Windows. There are two special steps that you must take in order to get the maximum flexibility out of your Crystal Report or Label format files when running them from within AS/PC ® for Windows:

Create 2 "special" DBC formula fields on each report or label format that you create.
Adhere to our naming conventions for your label and report files.

1. Crystal does not normally allow the user to set a sort order or change the filter condition on the data files dynamically at runtime. However, I have found a way to allow both of these to be changed when running reports from within AS/PC ® for Windows. All of our own RPT and RPL files use this technique; and that is why you can set an index or filter whenever you preview or print any of our Crystal report or label forms. To take advantage of this, two Crystal formula fields (which are made invisible by the report form creator) are placed on the form. One of these formula fields executes a DBC function to change the sort (index) order of the file; and the other changes the filter condition. Creating these two formula fields and placing them on the report form is simple; and the technique is covered below.

2. The other thing that is special for our reports is our naming convention for report and label files. The names allow our program to know, in advance, what data files Crystal will be using for the reports or labels. The first 3 letters of the file name indicate to AS/PC ® for Windows which of our data files was used by you as the master file for this report or label format file. We use the following 3 letter prefixes for Crystal report and label files:

PAT -- Patient.DBF INS -- Insur.DBF PRV -- Doctor.DBF
RPR -- RDoctor.DBF FAC -- Facil.DBF ICD -- Chirdiag.DBF
CPT -- Prcodes.DBF

Lets create a Crystal report form.

1. Change to your \ASPC\DATA directory ( this is important) and start Crystal Reports, pick the DBF file you wish to use for this report or label, open a New report file, and give it a name following the convention noted above. Your report file must be stored in the same directory in which your data files are stored! When you first start Crystal, there are 3 "bands" shown:

HEADER -- this is where you place a title, page number, date, and other items of this sort.
DETAILS -- this is where your repeating data columns go.
FOOTER -- like the header but at the bottom of the page. Our reports generally delete the footer.

2. Select Database| File Location and set the file location to "Same as report".

3. Select Format | Section| Details and check "Keep sections together" and "Suppress blank lines".

4. Now we stick in the two DBC special formulas using Insert| Formula. The first formula will allow you to change sort/index orders at runtime; and the second will allow you to change filters. The values shown must be entered exactly. Case is important. The names you assigned to the two functions and the values are shown below -- do NOT enter the quotes:

Name Value

"Change Indexes" "CR_Indx(cCRIndx)"

"Change Filter" "CR_Filt(cCRFilt)"

5. Select File| Page Margins and ensure that "Use defaults" is checked.

6. Save your work so far and then proceed to set up your header.

Click on Insert| Text to create a title. Drag it to the location you wish. Right click it to bring up a menu of things that you can change. such as font, size, borders, etc.
Click on Insert| Special Fields| Page Number and Insert| Special Fields| Date to insert the page number and date into your header where you want them. You will also need to Insert| Text and create a text object with the word "Page" in it to place near the page number.

7. You are now ready for the detailed portion of the report. This is where you insert the fields that you want to print. Select Insert|Data Field to bring up a list box of all available fields in your file. Click on the fields, one at a time, and then click on the "Insert" box and move your cursor to the detail band. Click to drop off the field where you want it. You can drag the field around until you are happy with its location. you can also click it and then resize it. You can move groups of fields around together by holding the Shift key while clicking each field you want to keep with the group. As you place each field in the detail band, a text object will be placed above it. Right clicking the text object gives you the ability to change its fonts or text, etc. In general, right click on an object if you wish to change it. Highlight it and press DEL to lose it.

8. You can insert extra lines into any of the bands (header, footer, details) by placing your cursor near the left margin and pressing enter for each line you want to add. Press DEL to get rid of excess lines. If you wish to use DBC or dBase functions in your fields, select Insert| Formula instead of Insert|Data Fields and enter the function and fieldnames as directed.

This is only a very quick tutorial to get you started. Practice makes it all come clear. Crystal is really quite easy to use; and it is fast once you get used to using your mouse to move and drag things around. You will use Edit| Fields frequently in order to change some attribute (fonts, for example) for the entire group.

Have fun!!!

Note: If you use Crystal from within Borland's VdB, you should enter the following two lines of dBase code before loading your report or label form. These define and initialize our two special function values so that you do not get an error when adding your two DBC formulas to your reports:

PUBLIC cCRFilt, cCRIndx
STORE "" TO cCRFilt, cCRIndx

That is all there is to it!

When your report is finished, if you have followed the report file naming conventions mentioned above, your report will appear in the pop up list box in AS/PC ® for Windows when you go to Reports| Crystal| Reports and then click on the Select button.

Updating Data Files On A System Update

When you DL (down load) from the DBC BBS or the Internet and install an update on your system, there is a mechanism that will force all of your data files (whose structures we might have changed) to be updated the next time you run the system. This mechanism looks for files with the same name as a DBF file, but with the extension "DFB". How this works depends upon which file you down loaded -- AS/PC ® for Windows.LZH or WINDATA.LZH. Both of these now contain the latest DFB files that must be updated from the original DOS system file formats. However, in order for the update to be automatically detected the next time you run the system, all of the DFB files must be in your data directory, wherever that might be.

If you only DL AS/PC ® for Windows.LZH, it will be expanded into your program directory (\ASPC). In this case, you must manually copy *.DFB to your DATA directory
(e.g., COPY \ASPC\*.DFB K:\ASPC\DATA) before running the system. If you leave them in your \ASPC directory, the system will not find them and a file structure update will not be triggered.
If you DL WINDATA.LZH and expand it into your DATA directory, your work is done. The DBF files are where the system will find them; and they will be updated the next time you run AS/PC ® for Windows.

Using Modify/Create Data Files in AS/PC ® UTIL

The latest versions of our Windows systems on the BBS now contain some tools that should prove extremely useful to dealers and advanced users alike. The power afforded us in our Windows platform by Borland's VdB system makes these new tools possible.

1. Modify/Create Data Files (AS/PC ® UTIL) - this function has been cleaned up and appears to be working really well now. You can create your own DBF files on the fly; create MY files and USR files to your heart's content; modify the fields in existing DBF files; use an existing DBF file as a template from which to create a new file; and more. You can even create memo (text) fields of unlimited length and OLE object fields that can contain sounds, video clips, images, etc. If you use the new VdB MEMO and OLE field types, however, please note that these files will not be compatible with our DOS systems. However, the other field types will be compatible; and you can use AS/PC ® UTIL to create files for the DOS systems also. Just a few uses of this new function with MY files (these will then all be available via the patient edit screen):

Create as many different note files as you please for patients by adding MEMO fields (using your own naming conventions) to MY!
Store scanned signatures and other images for patients in OLE fields in MY.
Store recorded samples of patients' voices in WAV files in OLE fields in the MY file.
Create a complete document filing/retrieval system by storing MS WORD or AMIPRO letters or even spreadsheets in OLE fields in MY. The parent application will then be loaded automatically whenever the user clicks on one of these fields in the patient edit screen.

This is only a beginning. Your user's ability to expand the basic power of AS/PC ® for Windows is only limited by their imagination!

HINT: When using an existing file as a template for creating a new file, click on the SCROLL button and then click on the delete box to quickly get rid of any fields that you do not want in the new file.

2. DBC's xBase Interpreter - All of our systems have a new feature available via the TOOLS menu selection - Interpreter! This is definitely a power tool; and you must have a basic understanding of the xBase language syntax in order to use it. Basically, this feature allows users to create text files of xBase commands and then execute them via the Interpreter menu selection. The text files must be saved with an extension of CMD. Most of the normal Visual dBase commands are supported. You can even create FOR...NEXT; IF...ELSE...ENDIF; DO WHILE...ENDDO, etc. loop structures in the file by putting them all on one line in the format of a VdB codeblock. A codeblock begins with the 2 characters, {;, and ends with the character, }. Between each command element, you must place a semi-colon. For example, a user created CMD file to count the number of patients whose last names begin with a "B" would look like the following:

USE PATIENT

nCtr = 0

{;DO WHILE .NOT. EOF();IF LEFT(PATLN,1)="B";nCtr=nCtr+1;ENDIF;SKIP;ENDDO}

USE

MSGBOX(STR(nCtr,4)+" patients last names started with 'B'")

Note the codeblock in line 3 which is used to execute a DO WHILE loop that scans the entire patient file. Within the codeblock, I have also placed an IF...ENDIF block that checks each record to see if it begins with a "B". The above is a very simple example of using this very powerful feature. More examples follow on the next page. Many of our users will not be able to use this feature because they have no knowledge of the xBase language. However, we can now add special features and functions to their systems over the telephone by having them create simple CMD files that we dictate or fax to them, and which they can then execute via their AS/PC ® for Windows Windows systems!

A few other examples of using the powerful new Interpreter feature are shown below. In each case, simply insert the command(s) shown into a text file with the extension CMD, and then run it via the Interpreter menu selection from within any of our systems:

1. Use the VdB RUN() function to start any Windows or DOS program. The syntax is:

RUN( .F., "EXE file name and path") &&for DOS programs, the first parameter is a .F.

RUN( .T., "EXE file name and path") &&for Windows programs, the first parameter is a .T.

Examples: Run File Me: RUN(.T., "winfile.exe")

Run AMIPRO: CD E:\AMIPRO

RUN(.T., "AMIPRO.EXE")

Note: You do not always need to include the path for many Windows programs or for programs that are on the current path.

2. Use the xBase RUN command to run any DOS command.

Examples - RUN DIR /W; RUN XCOPY C:\ASPC\DATA\*.DBF C:\TEMP

Run Wordstar and open a letter: RUN C:\WP\WS.EXE MYLTR.DOC

3. Create new backup file, MYOLDPAT.DBF, of patients marked for deletion (before packing the file, of course):

USE PATIENT

COPY TO MYOLDPAT FOR DELETED()

USE

4. Append all currently deleted patients to an ongoing archive file called MYOLDPAT.DBF:

USE MYOLDPAT

APPEND FROM PATIENT FOR DELETED()

USE

5. Create a temporary new patient file containing only those patients who are in the state of "PA" and whose last names start with a letter between B and G:

USE PATIENT

COPY TO WORK FOR STATE="PA" .AND. LEFT(PATLN,1)>="B" .AND. ;

LEFT(PATLN,1)<="G"

USE

6. Without ever leaving DBNSF, move a user's EMC data file to the Procomm upload directory, and then start Procomm for DOS to transmit the data to the clearing house:

RUN COPY C:\ASPC\EC021096.TXT D:\PCPLUS\UPLOAD

CD D:\PCPLUS

RUN PCPLUS.EXE

DBC's Managed Care Reports System

Note: This system is not available with DBC's Free trial.

DBC's Managed Care Reports (DBCARE for DOS and AS/PC ® Care for Windows 95/98/NT4/Win2K/XP Pro) add on software for AS/PC ® is designed to provide clinics with useful and necessary statistics and reports related to servicing patients belonging to HMO's, PPO's, and other fixed (capitated) fee based insurance plans. The system includes the following reports and is available for distribution now:

Fee Comparisons Reports

Insurance Fees Comparison Report - one of the most useful of all managed care reports, this report provides an in depth analysis of normal versus actual fees for each procedure for a user selected billing period. It also lists the actual difference in the two fees as well as the percentage difference. In its detailed version, the report lists each patient by account number, and the report is presented subtotaled by individual insurance plan. The user may set a custom filter to limit the types of charges (procedures), provider(s), carriers, etc., included in the report. The detailed version of the report lists the date of service, the patient account number, the CPT code, the normal fee for this code, the capitated fee (actual fee) for this code under the patient's fee plan, the difference between the two fees, the percentage difference between the two fees, and the carrier involved. The report may be printed for individual carriers and/or providers for larger clinics where individual analysis is of interest. The column formats of the reports are:

Summary: Carrier Name Normal Fee Capitated Fee Difference %Diff

Detailed: Date/Svc Account# Normal Fee Capitated Fee Difference %Diff Carrier ID

Visits/Billings Reports

This useful group of reports provides either detailed or summary listings of the number of visits and capitated charges by patient for a user selected billing period along with clinic averages for each. Each report provides the user with the ability to set a custom filter to limit transactions to suit the clinic's special reporting needs. The reports also list the percentages for each line item.

By Diagnosis - a report of the number of visits and total charges per each primary diagnosis code for a user selected billing period. The report can be printed by individual insurance plan or by individual provider for larger clinics where individual analysis is of concern. The report lists each diagnosis code, a brief description of the diagnosis, the total number of visits (and percent of total visits) during the period for that code, and the total capitated amount billed during the period for that code. In summary format, each diagnosis is listed once with its total number of visits and total charges. The column formats of the reports are:

Summary: ICD9 Code CLM_ICDA ICDA Description # Visits & % $Fee

Detailed: Patient Name/Account# #Visits ICD9 Code CLM_ICDA $Fee

By Procedure (CPT code) - a report of the number of visits (and percentage of total visits) and total charges per each procedure code for a user selected billing period. The report can be printed by individual insurance plan or by individual provider for larger clinics where individual analysis is of concern. The report lists each CPT code, a brief description of the procedure, the total number of visits during the period for that code, and the total capitated amount billed during the period for that code. In summary format, each CPT Code is listed once with its total number of visits and total charges. The column formats of the reports are:

Summary: CPT Code CLM_CPT CPT Description # Visits & % $Fee

Detailed: Patient Name/Account# #Visits CPT Code CLM_CPT $Fee

By Provider - a report of the number of visits and total charges (and percentage of total for each) per each provider for a user selected billing period. The report can be printed by individual insurance plan or by individual provider for larger clinics where individual analysis is of concern. The report lists each providers name, the total number of visits during the period for that provider, and the total capitated amount billed during the period for that provider. In summary format, each provider is listed once with that provider's total number of visits and total charges. The column formats of the reports are:

Summary: Provider Name # Visits & % $Fee & %

Detailed: Patient Name/Account# #Visits Provider Clinic FC $Fee

By Carrier - a report of the number of visits and total charges (and percentage of total for each) per each carrier/plan for a user selected billing period. The report can be printed by individual insurance plan or by individual provider for larger clinics where individual analysis is of concern. The report lists each carrier's name, the total number of visits during the period for that carrier, and the total capitated amount billed during the period for that carrier. In summary format, each carrier/plan is listed once with that carrier's total number of visits and total charges. The column formats of the reports are:

Summary: Carrier Name # Visits & % $Fee & %

Detailed: Patient Name/Account# #Visits Carrier FC $Fee

Patient/Member Reports

By Provider - a listing, by provider and patient within provider, of all member patients for a user selected filter condition. The report may be limited to an individual provider or clinic. A user selected custom filter can limit the patients processed to various other categories. The report lists each patient and their assigned provider, plan, and clinic with a subtotal and percentage of total for each provider. The column format of the report is:

Summary: Provider Name/ID Count & Percent of Patients Assigned

Detailed: Patient Name/Acct# Provider ID Clinic ID Carrier ID FC Phone SocSec#

By Carrier - a listing, by carrier and patient within carrier, of all member patients for a user selected filter condition. The report may be limited to an individual carrier. A user selected custom filter can limit the patients processed to various other categories. The report lists each patient and their assigned plan with a subtotal and percentage of total for each carrier. The column format of the report is:

Summary: Carrier Name/ID Count & Percent of Patients Assigned

Detailed: Patient Name/Account# Carrier ID FC Provider ID Phone SocSec#

Note that DBC's practice management system, AS/PC ®, also provides additional reports on income and charges that can now be tailored to address capitated fees.

QBE (View) Files - Technical Specs Reference Sheet

This document explains the files and relationships that are available in the standard DBC QBE (Query By Example) View files that are available to users when defining queries and running generic reports (Crystal, etc.). When designing your own custom reports using Crystal, you can refer to this document in order to decide which view file to use. You should register your report format file name in DBREPORT.DBF, along with the name of the QBE View you want available when you run that report. Although the following cover almost all scenarios, we may add new Views to the system from time to time. Note that these Views are internal to the system; and no QBE file will be found on your hard disk. Child files in a relationship will always be indexed on their key field - i.e., the field which ties them back into the parent (master) file. Also, note that when a file is opened more than once, it will have an "ALIAS" assigned to all additional open copies. This alias provides a way to refer to specific copies of files that have been opened more than once. The alias' will appear in the GetExpr() query box. All DBC internal Views are registered in DBVIEWS.DBF:

PATPREF. QBE

Parent File: PATIENT

Related Child Files/Key Field: DOCTOR/PATIENT->DOCNO

CLINICS/DOCTOR->CLINIC

PATREF (alias)/PATIENT->REFACCT (Patient file second copy)

Notes: This view is suited for reports that need to reference clinic and provider data for each patient. It is used in the Patient Referrals report (PATREFBY.RPT). The patient file is related to itself via the REFACCT field which holds the account number of the referring patient. The alias of the second copy of the patient file is PATREF.

******

PATALL.QBE (the mother of all views!)

Parent File: PATIENT

Related Child Files/Key Field: DOCTOR/PATIENT->DOCNO

CLINICS/DOCTOR->CLINIC

INSUR/PATIENT->INS1

FACIL/PATIENT->HOSP

RDOCTOR/PATIENT->RDOCNO

CHIRDIAG/PATIENT->DIAG1

USR/PATIENT->USR

MY/PATIENT->ACCTNO

Notes: This view is suited for reports that need to reference just about anything from the patient record.

******

PAT4INS.QBE

Parent File: PATIENT

Related Child Files/Key Field: DOCTOR/PATIENT->DOCNO

CLINICS/DOCTOR->CLINIC

RDOCTOR/PATIENT->RDOCNO

FACIL/PATIENT->HOSP

INSUR/PATIENT->INS1

INSUR2 (alias)/PATIENT->INS2 (second insur file)

INSUR3 (alias)/PATIENT->INS3 (third insur file)

INSUR4 (alias)/PATIENT->INS4 (fourth insur file)

Notes: Use this view when you want to report on all 4 carriers in the patient file.

******

PAT4DIAG.QBE

Parent File: PATIENT

Related Child Files/Key Field: DOCTOR/PATIENT->DOCNO

CLINICS/DOCTOR->CLINIC

RDOCTOR/PATIENT->RDOCNO

INSUR/PATIENT->INS1

CHDIAG/PATIENT->DIAG1

CHDIAG2 (alias)/PATIENT->DIAG2 (second chirdiag file)

CHDIAG3 (alias)/PATIENT->DIAG3 (third chirdiag file)

CHDIAG4 (alias)/PATIENT->DIAG4 (fourth chirdiag file)

CHDIAG8 (alias)/PATIENT->DIAG8 (subluxation (8th) chirdiag file)

Notes: Use this view when you want to report on the 4 primary diagnoses and subluxations in the patient file.

******

PAT8DIAG.QBE

Parent File: PATIENT

Related Child Files/Key Field: INSUR/PATIENT->INS1

CHDIAG/PATIENT->DIAG1

CHDIAG2 (alias)/PATIENT->DIAG2 (second chirdiag file)

CHDIAG3 (alias)/PATIENT->DIAG3 (third chirdiag file)

CHDIAG4 (alias)/PATIENT->DIAG4 (fourth chirdiag file)

CHDIAG5 (alias)/PATIENT->DIAG5 (fifth chirdiag file)

CHDIAG6 (alias)/PATIENT->DIAG6 (symptoms sixth chirdiag file)

CHDIAG7 (alias)/PATIENT->DIAG7 (systemic 7th chirdiag file) CHDIAG8 (alias)/PATIENT->DIAG8 (subluxation (8th) chirdiag file)

Notes: Use this view when you want to report on all 8 diagnoses, symptoms, systemic findings, and subluxations in the patient file.

******

TRACERS.QBE

Parent File: PATIENT

Related Child Files/Key Field: INVGET/PATIENT->ACCTNO

CLAIMS/PATIENT->ACCTNO

Notes: Use this view when you want to report on all charge transactions for patients. This view is also used internally by the system when printing tracers and is available when the use requests a query for printing tracers.

******

CLAIMFRM.QBE

Parent File: INVGET

Related Child Files/Key Field: PATIENT/INVGET->ACCTNO

Notes: Use this view when you want to report on all current month charge transactions for patients. This view is also used internally by the system when printing claim forms and is available when the use requests a query for printing claims.

******

CHARGES.QBE - Not available for users. Will not work except internally in the charges entry screen!

PATNOTES.QBE

Parent File: PATIENT

Related Child Files/Key Field: PATNOTES/PATIENT->DOCNO

DOCTOR/PATIENT->ACCTNO

CLINICS/DOCTOR->CLINIC

RDOCTOR/PATIENT->RDOCNO

INSUR/PATIENT->INS1

FACIL/PATIENT->HOSP

CHIRDIAG/PATIENT->DIAG1

MY/PATIENT->ACCTNO

Notes: Use this query when you wish to work with the patient note file in your reports.

PATGUAR.QBE

Parent File: PATIENT

Related Child Files/Key Field: PATNOTES/PATIENT->DOCNO

DOCTOR/PATIENT->ACCTNO

CLINICS/DOCTOR->CLINIC

INSUR/PATIENT->INS1

MY/PATIENT->ACCTNO

PATG (alias)/PATIENT->GUARLN (Patient file second copy)

Notes: Use this query when you wish to work with patient guarantors.

PATCHG.QBE

Parent File: INVGET

Related Child Files/Key Field: PATIENT/INVGET->ACCTNO

DOCTOR/INVGET->ACCTNO

CLINICS/DOCTOR->CLINIC

RDOCTOR/INVGET->RPHY

INSUR/INVGET->INS1

FACIL/INVGET->HOSP

CHIRDIAG/INVGET->DIAG1

MY/INVGET->ACCTNO

Notes: Use this query when you wish to work with charges transactions.

PATPAY.QBE

Parent File: DEPOSITS

Related Child Files/Key Field: PATIENT/DEPOSITS->ACCTNO

DOCTOR/DEPOSITS->ACCTNO

CLINICS/DOCTOR->CLINIC

RDOCTOR/PATIENT->RPHY

INSUR/DEPOSITS->INS1

FACIL/PATIENT->HOSP

MY/DEPOSITS->ACCTNO

Notes: Use this query when you wish to work with payments transactions.

CLMLBL.QBE

Parent File: INSREG

Related Child Files/Key Field: INSUR/INSREG->INS1

Notes: Use this query when you wish to print claims labels.

DB Consultants, Inc.

DBC Support

User Hints

Welcome to DBC's AS/PC ® for Windows ©

Installing AS/PC ® for Windows ©

Running AS/PC ® for Windows

Installation Notes & Problems

Menu Shortcuts In AS/PC ® for Windows:

Keyboard Behavior

High Speed Data Entry for DOS Converts

Monthend Closing

Refreshing Data Displays on Forms

Views in AS/PC ® for Windows

The AS/PC ® for Windows Windows Query System

Patient Referral Tracking

AS/PC ® for Windows Form Letters

Creating ASCII Text Files

Single Label Printing

DBC Dialog Boxes

AS/PC ® for Windows Help System

Error Dialogs

Sounds

Installing the Generic ASCII File Text Printer Driver for WFW

Important Definitions for Windows Users of AS/PC

IDAPI CONFIGURATION NOTES (IDAPI.CFG SETTINGS)

AS/PC ® for Windows - Technical Notes

Fixed Fonts

New DBF Files in AS/PC ® for Windows

Using Crystal Reports for Custom Reports

Updating Data Files On A System Update

Using Modify/Create Data Files in AS/PC ® UTIL

DBC's Managed Care Reports System

QBE (View) Files - Technical Specs Reference Sheet