CHECK LEDGER MAINTENANCE SYSTEM

& RE-CONFIGURABLE CHECK PRINTING

ENGINE USER'S OPERATIONAL GUIDE
© 1989–2008 BY ATASPEC SOFTWARE

The CKREG Program’s Official User’s Reference Guide and Help

Document

Author: Pierre R. Desloover

Revision: August 26, 2008

CKREG.EXE 9.20 Copyright 1989-2008 Ataspec Software. All Rights

Reserved.
 T H I S I S A S H A R E W A R E P R O D U C T

P L E A S E R E G I S T E R T O G E T A L I C E N S E D

C O P Y

2
THE ENHANCED EDITION: CKREG.EXE VERSION 9.20 - EVALUATION COPY

A registered copy of CKREG.EXE Version 9.20 from the program author

entitles you to: 1) a single-user licensed copy of CKREG.EXE and its
companion utility programs, and 2) a program copy registration number to
allow you to get free 90-day limited product support via Email for any
problems encountered using the product. A formatted and printed
CKREG.EXE User's Operational Guide is available from the author for an
additional $5. Please contact the program author directly via America
Online services Email name (PierreDesl@aol.com) for trouble-shooting and
answers to questions about this product.

PROGRAM AUTHOR'S PERSONAL WILL-SAVE-YOU-TIME GUARANTEE:

I have used CKREG.EXE for my own checking and savings account

maintenance for over six years and will vouch for this software's
stability and usefulness as a personal accounting productivity tool.
This tool saves me a considerable amount of time and effort required to
maintain and balance my personal checking account. My monthly account
reconciliation task now only requires an average of 20 minutes of my time
(for an average of 30-50 check transactions per cycle). Since I began
using CKREG.EXE as my primary and sole checking account maintenance
system, it is normal status quo for me to balance my account to the penny
on the first reconciliation attempt. My weekly ongoing batch postings of
account transaction records are speeded along by using CKREG.EXE's Payee
Name Recall and Record Auto-Post Scheduling features. These features
free me from having to re-enter the same old payee name information
again, or even having to remind myself when a pre-authorized automated
deposit or charge has occurred to my account. Also, CKREG.EXE is
intelligent enough to automatically fill in the next available check
number and current date for a new payment. To create a new account
transaction payment record, it's as simple as selecting which Payee name
I want to use again, and then changing the pre-filled payment amount to
reflect the current amount due.

CKREG.EXE saves me considerable time and effort, and I guarantee that it

will save you time and effort too!

CKREG.EXE PROGRAM AUTHOR: PIERRE R. DESLOOVER

CONTACT VIA EMAIL AMERICA ONLINE EMAIL NAME: PIERREDESL@AOL.COM

HOW TO ORDER A REGISTERED COPY OF CKREG:

PLEASE FILL OUT THE PRODUCT ORDERING FORM (NAMED: ORDER.TXT)

ELECTRONICALLY AND SEND IT BACK TO ME VIA EMAIL. I'LL THEN PROVIDE YOU
WITH A REGULAR U.S.MAILING ADDRESS TO SEND THE REGISTRATION PAYMENT TO.
ONCE THAT IS RECEIVED, I'LL PROCESS YOUR ORDER ASAP VIA U.S. MAIL BY
DEFAULT. YOU WILL THEN RECEIVE ONE WRITE-PROTECTED AND LABELED CKREG
PRODUCT DISK.

CKREG PRODUCT REGISTRATION FEE IS ONLY : $25.00 (U.S. FUNDS)

3
THE PRODUCT PRINTED/FORMATTED MANUAL IS: $ 5.00 ( " " ) EXTRA

A STATE SALES TAX IS APPLICABLE FOR RESIDENTS OF WA, USA.

NOTE: CKREG IS SHIPPED ON 3.5" DISKETTE MEDIA. SPECIFY OTHER IF NEEDED.

ALSO PLEASE INDICATE IF YOU'D LIKE THE PRINTED/FORMATTED CKREG.EXE
MANUAL.

THANK-YOU FOR REGISTERING AND SUPPORTING THE CKREG AUTHOR'S WORK!

4
Important Disclaimers, Warranty and Operational Liability Information:

CKREG.EXE is an enhanced electronic equivalent of the traditional

paper and ink check register (ledger) accounting method. CKREG.EXE
does not currently provide a means to establish a modem link with an
electronic check paying service.

The program author assumes NO liability for any loss of user data,
damage to, or other unfortunate consequences arising from the use of
CKREG.EXE and its companion utility programs. CKREG.EXE is supplied
as is without any other guarantees or warranties, except where explicitly
noted in this manual. The author retains sole and exclusive ownership of
and reserves all electronic and non-electronic reproduction rights for
the CKREG.EXE program, companion utilities, and User manual document.
CKREG.EXE cannot be sold, distributed, promoted or offered for sale to
the public by any other entity other than the program author, unless a
specific and legally binding agreement has been previously arranged with
program author. No copies may be made without expressed and direct
program author consent, except for the purposes of supplying program
user with ONE non-transferable copy for individual Back-up purposes
only. A single individual copy of CKREG.EXE cannot be used for a
multiple Networked site installation, i.e., multiple copies of CKREG.EXE
must be purchased or licensed from author for this purpose. By
purchasing a copy of the CKREG.EXE Retail version, purchaser agrees to
the above conditions and further agrees to destroy all original and
personal back-up copies of CKREG.EXE, companion utility programs, and
manual, in the event that a refund of the original purchase price is made
to purchaser.

---
Trademarked names or copyrighted products or services cited in this
manual: Windows(tm) is property of Microsoft Corporation. America
Online(r) is property of America Online, Inc. DOS refers to either MS-DOS
(Microsoft Corp.), or PC-DOS (IBM Corp.). HP(tm) is property of Hewlett-
Packard Co. Epson(tm) is property of Epson America, Incorporated.
Quicken(tm) is property of Intuit, Inc.

5
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION 1: System Requirements/Mouse/What's New?/Installing CKREG ... 6

SECTION 2: Running and Interfacing with CKREG.EXE ................... 11

SECTION 3: CKREG.EXE Menu Selections/Program Functions .............. 16

SECTION 4: Check Printing and Form Configuration .................... 39

SECTION 5: Importing/Exporting CKREG accounts via RWQIF ............. 48

SECTION 6: Known Problems/Limitations/Work-Arounds .................. 52

SECTION 7: Summary of CKREG.EXE Features/Specifications ............. 53

APPENDIX A: Sample Set of User Definable Categories ................. 57

APPENDIX B: Using the Category Summation Utility .................... 60

APPENDIX C: Using the Export Records Utility ........................ 61

APPENDIX D: Using the Change Account Name Utility ................... 62

APPENDIX E: Using the Set VGA 50-Line Text Mode Utility ............. 63

APPENDIX F: CPCONFIG.EXE Form Settings Reference .................... 64

6
SECTION 1: System Requirements/Mouse/What's New?/Installing CKREG

Welcome to CKREG.EXE, your electronic Personal Checking Account

Register (Ledger) assistant! The advantages of using CKREG.EXE over the
traditional paper and ink method are indeed numerous. Free yourself from
making time consuming addition and subtraction errors commonly made in
the traditional method when striking a new running balance figure, as
CKREG.EXE automatically maintains this balance for you unerringly. Take
advantage of the program's ability to quickly and accurately re-enter
previously used payment or deposit entries for you with one simple and
intuitive keystroke combination. Sit back and let CKREG.EXE enter auto-
scheduled payments or deposits for you on the dates that you choose.
Utilize CKREG.EXE's Auto-Balance feature to speed up the Account
Reconciliation process. Save additional time and avoid repetitive manual
labor by letting CKREG.EXE fill in and print your checks for you so that
all you need do is sign each check! Once you begin to use CKREG.EXE and
experience its powerful time saving features and unfailing computational
accuracy, I'm almost sure that you'll never return to the old paper and
ink method again!

System Requirements and Compatibility Information

DOS 3.1 or higher operating system. Any AT(tm) compatible (286/386

/486) machine with a minimal amount (256KB) of conventional memory
available and an AT style enhanced 101-keyboard. A hard disk is not
mandatory, but is highly recommended for fastest disk I/O operations. A
color or monochrome display system to support the ROM-BIOS 80x25 standard
text mode, or optionally, a VGA display system to use the higher
resolution text modes (80x43 and 80x50 lines) possible. An optional
HP(tm) compatible Inkjet/Laser or Epson(tm) compatible Dot-Matrix printer
for screen dumps and to print your checks. An optional Mouse input
device compatible with the Microsoft Mouse(tm) industry standard.
CKREG.EXE is compatible with the Microsoft Windows(tm) 3.x, and runs in
the DOS prompt box, standard or enhanced modes.

Mouse Device Support

Mouse requires an installed Microsoft Mouse(tm) compatible DOS device

driver.

WHAT'S NEW IN CKREG.EXE VERSION 9.20?

* Fixed: Rare bug: blank numeric field invalid after edit focus record
change.
* Fixed: Harmless bug: display garbage at end register after <ALT><F1>
Found Text.
* Fixed: Removed the can only clear Numeric fields with Zero entry
constraint.
* Fixed: Added Date field in existing records may not be set to Blank
constraint.
* Fixed: Reserved color attributes for Record Edit Close and Min/Max
Controls.

7
* Fixed: <ALT><F1> Found Text pop-up window repositioned if found text
hidden.

* Added: Vertical Scrollbar Controls to Record Edit & Category Edit

windows allowing coarse or fine record scrolling via click or elevator
drag.

* Added: "Categories Defined: NNN" stat to subtitle line in Categories

window.

* Added: Main Menu option text "CATEGOR" changed to: "CATEGORY".

* Added: Mouse support is now enabled (ON) by default for new accounts.

* Added: Evaluation expiration period increased from 2 months to 3

months.

* Added: CKREG.TXT document update and corrections.

WHAT WAS NEW IN CKREG.EXE VERSION 9.10?

* Bug fix to enable Mouse activation for a New account creation session.
* Bug fix for rare program crash after <SHFT><PRTSC> and then using the
Record mode <ALT><A-Z>|<0-9> reusable record entry method.
* Record mode Help system navigation control menu's text and mouse
hotspots changed to "Previous" control on left, followed by "Next"
control on right.
* Record mode <SHFT><DEL> (delete field) now behaves like <F10> (delete
record) by posting a warning first before allowing the deletion when the
user Editing option "Edit Existing Record Warning" is enabled.

WHAT WAS NEW IN CKREG.EXE VERSION 9.0A?

* The new Category sort order introduced in Version 9.00 necessitated

fixing CKREG utilities: CATS.EXE, EXPORT.EXE, and RWQIF.EXE.
* User Video Options now saves possible changes to user custom attribute
map before allowing a switch to the default attribute map.
* Record mode Restore Record operation (via CTRL-F1) sets the Edited flag
so account updated if this is only change making for edit session.

WHAT WAS NEW IN CKREG.EXE VERSION 9.00?

* The VGA display adapter higher resolution text modes (80x43 and 80x50
lines) are now supported and allow the check register template window
to display up to 12 or 14 account record transactions at one time as
opposed to the older limit of only 6. CKREG print screen functions
utilize these higher resolution VGA text modes where applicable.
CKREG also saves and restores the current established DOS prompt
screen resolution mode when run.

* CKREG utilities: CPCONFIG and RWQIF can be run in the higher VGA
text resolutions provided that the DOS prompt screen is already in one
of these modes. The SET50L.EXE utility has been added to enable you

8
to set the DOS prompt screen into VGA 50-line text display mode
without having to install ANSI.SYS in your Config.sys file and using the
DOS Mode command: MODE 80, 50. Both CPCONFIG and RWQIF save
and restore the current established DOS prompt screen resolution
mode when run.

* User account Editing preference options: Register Statistics display

on/off, Edit Existing Record Warning, Delete Existing Record Warning,
Deduction Not Cleared (after 2 months) Notice, Verify Account File
Writes, Write-Protect Account Files, Mouse Cursor State on/off, Edit
Cursor Style, and Auto-Save Account Update Edits with a selectable
time interval have been added and are accessible and selectable via the
new Edit options menu selection of the program's SETUP menu. These
new configurable settings are remembered by CKREG for any one
account.

* User Video preference options: Check Register and main screen

component Default or Custom Color (or Monochromatic) palette sets,
VGA screen text lines resolution, VGA minimize/maximize used screen
area, and two Digital clock formats have been added and are accessible
and selectable via the new Video options menu selection of the
program's SETUP menu. These new configurable settings are
remembered by CKREG for any one account.

* Optional Mouse "single-click" Left or Right button user input to

navigate the program's menu system, close Drop-down function
windows, select Drop-down function user options and preferences,
close Pop-up message boxes or answer Yes or No, invoke and operate
Record Edit mode Key Help system, minimize/maximize or page
up/down Record mode screen, close Record mode, and set Record
mode register template record editing focus, capability has been added.

* The Right mouse button also executes an equivalent keystroke combo

function for the Category (<F2>), Check Number (<CTRL><ENTER>),
Date (<CTRL><ENTER>), Payee Name (<F5>), and Check-off
(<CTRL><ENTER>) record fields.

* Numerous user-interface improvements have been added globally to the

Editing capabilities of CKREG.EXE in the areas of Record and account
information editing, and user option preference selection, in order to
provide better flexibility and more consistent behavior. For instance,
the <INSERT> key will now allow text insertions for all input fields
where applicable within the Drop-down function windows. Record Edit mode
record Payee Name and Transaction Description fields no longer "auto-
wrap" when text is inserted when INSERT text mode is on or text is
deleted.

* New Record Edit mode edit and navigational function key assignment
changes include: <HOME> and <END> now go to start or end of an edit
field respectively, use the <CTRL><HOME> and <CTRL><END>
keystroke combinations instead to go to the start or end screen of
records for the current register. <PAGE><UP> or <PAGE><DOWN> will
switch to the previous or next sequential register of your account.

9
<CTRL><P> (print register screen) key assignment has been changed to
<CTRL><T>, and <CTRL><R> (print register screens) functionality has been
extended to allow the selection of a range of records to print instead of
the entire register. <F1> will display the previously viewed Edit mode
key Help topic. <CTRL><UP> or <CTRL><DOWN> arrows have been added to
allow minimizing or maximizing screen window size usage for VGA
equipped systems. Lastly, Record Edit mode Auto-Fee feature screen
indicator has been changed from letters "FE" to "AF".

* New Drop-down function window edit and navigational function key

assignment changes mirror same new or added key assignments and
behavior as Record Edit mode wherever possible, for instance:
<ESCAPE> key will restore previous contents of an edited field,
<INSERT> key will allow text insertions for all input fields, and
<PAGE><UP> or <PAGE><DOWN> will show previous or next set of
records where applicable.

* CKREG's account record Category editing now permits insertions and

deletions of Category definition records and the list is maintained in
alphanumeric ascending sorted order. Added to CKREG's current
ability to automatically update all record references for one changed
category label definition record, is the automatic application of global
"cascading" category label reference deletions for all account records.

* All Drop-down windows which allow user input or selections now

remember the previous edit or selection session's position for that
window. In addition, CKREG remembers previous edit or data input
sessions for the scope of the current program invocation and seeds
subsequent function invocations with last used user entries. For
example, Edit Record mode function Search Text window remembers
and seeds the input field with the last search string used, and the
Balance Worksheet #2 Drop-down window seeds the Date and
statement ending Balance amount input fields with any previously
entered values.

* An improved and textually expanded Record Edit Mode on-line Key Help
system has been added with hot-key direct topic jumps and an
automatic single key (<F1>) bookmarking feature.

* An improved, updated and expanded User's Operational Guide which

includes a new section on the CKREG companion utility: RWQIF.EXE.

* CKREG.EXE can now be executed from any subdirectory on your drive

if you put its installation directory path on your DOS Path (i.e., add
the CKREG master directory path to the DOS PATH statement in your
Autoexec.bat file). CKREG finds the installation directory by default,
sets it as your current working directory, and uses your account files
that are located there. When you exit CKREG, your former working
directory and logged drive are restored automatically.

* The CLEARPW.EXE utility has been removed to provide greater

assurance of your account's security when it is password protected.
Previous CKREG version 8.60 utility CLEARPW.EXE cannot clear a
version 9.00 password protected account, and only registered users can

10
have a lost or forgotten password cleared by sending the account's .INF
file directly to program author.

* CKREG evaluation shareware version now expires after a free 60-day

trial period or it has been used 60 times, whichever occurs first. The
registered version registration fee is $5 less than the previous version
and a formatted and printed manual is now available optionally for an
extra $5. The registered version does not expire, nor does it display
the evaluation registration reminder via the ABOUT box drop-down window
every time you exit the program.

Installing/Upgrading CKREG.EXE

If upgrading from a previous version of CKREG.EXE, then COPY (or

un-archive) the NEW version's files over the existing ones in the current
CKREG installed directory on your drive. The conversion to the new
version is automatic, all that is necessary is to load your account(s)
under CKREG. The new version upgrade is transparent and will not change
or reformat your account's established data in any way with the sole
exception that existing Category definition records (if any) will be
sorted into alphanumeric ascending order based on the Category labels if
you are upgrading from CKREG.EXE version 8.60 to version 9.00.

If installing CKREG.EXE for the first time, simply COPY (or un-
archive) the program CKREG.EXE and its companion utilities to a new
subdirectory of your choice (example: \CKREG) on your fixed disk or
diskette drive. You can create this new directory by executing the DOS
prompt command: MD C:\CKREG <ENTER>. Change to this directory by
typing: CD C:\CKREG <ENTER>, and then COPY the program files there.
Optionally, can also put the program installation directory on your DOS
Path statement in your Autoexec.bat so that you can run CKREG from
anywhere on your drive.

Next, run CKREG.EXE by typing: CKREG <ENTER> at the DOS

command prompt, specify an Account Name and a beginning Account
Balance for your new account, and then setup your user preferences via
the program's Main Menu SETUP selection options. Save your new
account by entering RECORD Edit Mode (from the MAIN program menu)
and then press: <F3>, or exit the program and select the SAVE option of
the program's EXIT menu. Once you have established this new account,
you can run CKREG with your Account Name as part of the program
invocation, example: CKREG MYACCNT <ENTER>.

Note that CKREG.EXE does not support a leading Path name for the
eight character maximum optional command line Account Name argument,
so your account(s) and CKREG.EXE and its utility programs must be kept
together in one subdirectory. Differently named multiple CKREG.EXE
accounts can co-exist within the same master \CKREG working directory,
however, CKREG.EXE does not support file-sharing (or record locking) for
any one commonly named account for networked multiple users.

11
SECTION 2: Running and Interfacing with CKREG.EXE

CKREG.EXE operates basically just like the checking account check

book register (ledger) traditional system you're probably well used to.
You'll note that when you start CKREG.EXE, your account will be opened to
the last page of your electronic register ready to accept new credit or
debit transaction records, i.e., the page you would normally open to for
the traditional paper register method.

To create a new electronic checking account, simply run

CKREG.EXE at the DOS command line prompt and supply a new account
name and beginning account balance when prompted to do so by the
program. Once you have established an account, you can supply the
account's name as part of the command line argument when invoking
CKREG.EXE from the DOS command line. If you wish, create a DOS batch
file to facilitate starting CKREG.EXE with your account name, example:
ckreg my_accnt <enter>.

To begin entering and recording account transaction record entries,

choose the RECORD selection from the program's Main Menu. Record
mode is the live record editing mode where all record updating is done,
i.e., edit, add, or delete account credit and/or debit transaction
records. Select a transaction record entry by moving to it with the
arrow keys and fill in each of its fields as required. Use <TAB> or
<ENTER> keys to advance to the record's next available field or to the
next record when you are done entering data in one field.

Please note that RECORD mode has hot-key direct HELP Topic
jumps listed at the bottom of the screen. Use the <CTRL> Key plus the
first letter of the Help Topic to display that Help Topic, or optionally
Left or Right Mouse click on the topic hot-key description text. The
last Help Topic viewed is remembered by CKREG and can be re-invoked via
the <F1> function key during editing by the automatic bookmarking
feature. The Record mode Help system has its own operational hot keys
that enable you to select the next available or previous help topic
window, or to close the Help Topic and system via the <ESC> key, or
optionally a Mouse click.

To change your paper-based checkbook system into CKREG.EXE's

electronic one, simply begin by entering all your new checkbook
transaction records into your CKREG.EXE account register, and then add
or insert transactions as necessary later when you receive your monthly
Bank checking account statement, or alternately, you can seed your
CKREG.EXE account register initially by entering all transactions
recorded on your last monthly Bank checking account statement remembering
to check-off all corresponding cleared items in your CKREG.EXE register
as well.

Once you have created a new account, you can personalize it by

defining your personal account information and record transaction
categories via the Account and Category Main menu selections items
respectively. Editing and Video user preferences can be accessed and
selected via the program's SETUP menu Edit and Video options.

12
CKREG.EXE supports user-definable Password protection for your
account, and you can also configure CKREG.EXE for the type of printer
outputting to (if you wish to print Checks or print screen dumps of your
account records or the final work sheet of the reconciliation process).
Printer Set-up and Account Password protection are accessed from the
SETUP menu of CKREG.EXE's Main Menu, and discussed in further detail
in Section 3 of this manual.

More User Interface Details

The CKREG.EXE main screen is an electronic reproduction of one

page (screen) of a checking account paper register book (ledger). You'll
notice the familiar column headings at the top of the screen as:
Transaction Category, Check Number, Date of transaction, Description of
transaction, Payment amount, Check-off, Fee amount, Deposit amount,
and a non-editable running Balance column which CKREG.EXE maintains
automatically and unerringly. CKREG.EXE evens displays the current Date
and Time in 24-hour or AM/PM time format at the top right corner of the
screen while you work.

Navigating CKREG.EXE's Menu system and making your Menu item

selections is done by using the Arrow keys to move to the menu selection
you want and then by pressing the <ENTER> key to activate that function,
or Left or Right Mouse click on the selection's menu text. Alternately
you can save a step and press the first letter key of a menu's selection
text to directly invoke that selection. CKREG's MAIN menu has only two
auxiliary menus named SETUP and EXIT. When selected, most of the
program's menu functions display a Drop-down or Pop-up window which is
superimposed temporarily over the main CKREG.EXE register view screen.
To return from any selected function window to the Main or Setup Menu,
use the <ESC> key, or Left or Right Mouse click the <ESC> key text.

Summary of the CKREG program Menu System and Menu Selections:

MAIN Menu: RECORD BALANCE ACCOUNT CATEGOR SETUP EXIT

SETUP Menu: PRINTER VIDEO EDIT USERPASS ABOUT MAIN

EXIT Menu: SAVE ABANDON CANCEL

(Note: the first letters in the menu item names above are hot-keys
that select an active menu's program functions directly when typed.)

Updating Your Account Files

When you are done editing record entries in your electronic check
register, and wish to make your updates permanent to your account, use
<F3> to SAVE them before exiting Record Mode or the program, or if you
have setup the Auto-Save account edits update feature via the Setup menu,
the account updates will happen concurrently as you work.

However, even in the event that you forget to save your new edits

13
explicitly, the EXIT to DOS selection of the Main Menu will detect this
un-saved condition and will prompt you to Save or Abandon any updates you
have made to your account before exiting the program. Choose Save to
make your account updates permanent, or Abandon to loose any changes
you have made during this record editing session, or since last account
file update was performed.

Electronic Register Maintenance Strategy

Maintaining an electronic checking account register requires

deciding on a method of collecting record data for entry into the
electronic system later that works best for you. If you carry your
checking register around with you and routinely make entries as you make
expenditures or deposits, then you have already captured the data needed
for your electronic register and will need to enter the same information
again when you bring your electronic register up-to-date on your PC at
home or the office. But note that you could save yourself a step here,
and just enter the data once! Either make the entries directly into your
electronic register on the spot if you carry around a PC notebook or
laptop (optionally transferring your updated account files to your
desktop PC at home or office later), or save the sales receipt or other
transaction in your wallet or purse as record of the transaction, and
then enter these transactions in batch mode later directly into your
electronic register on your PC at home or office.

As a side note, I find that the receipt method works best for me
since I don't yet own or carry around a PC notebook. I typically open
and update my electronic register account once a week in batch mode
directly from saved expenditure or deposit receipts. At that time I may
also create new account transactions and print laser style checks to pay
bills, or print a series of personalized un-issued checks to carry in my
wallet ready to be used for shopping. Then at the end of each month, I
spend an additional 20 minutes on the average to reconcile my electronic
account after receiving my monthly bank account statement.

Please do back-up your electronic account's data and information

files to secondary media on a regular basis in the event that your
primary storage device fails, or your account files get mistakenly
deleted or corrupted. This way you will be assured that you can always
restore the status of your account and it's valuable data to last point
in time that you performed a back-up. Note that CKREG.EXE program files
compress very well with popular file compression utilities and many years
of average checking account activity will fit easily on a single
diskette! When specifying the names of CKREG.EXE program data and
information files to back-up or compress to a single compressed file
image, specify the base account name as the primary part of the DOS
filename and the wild card asterisk character ("*") for the filename
extension, i.e., the DOS filename my_accnt.* will suffice to locate all
of the account's data and information files.

CKREG.EXE always encrypts and stores your record and personal

data permanently in reserved files which are named after the account name
which was used to create your account. Each of these reserved data files
represents the paper and ink equivalent of one checkbook register. A

14
CKREG.EXE account that has over 500 record transactions will consist of
multiple electronic register files. These files use your account name as
the primary part of the filename and a sequential number (000-999) as the
filename extension part, example: my_accnt.000. As your electronic
account grows and you fill up your first register (each register can hold
500 record entries), a new register (ledger) file with the next available
filename extension number will be created for your account. To store
information that is unique to your account, CKREG creates another account
file with the reserved DOS filename extension of ".INF".

Optionally, CKREG also creates two other special account files for
your account. The first is for account Payee Name Addresses that can be
created for deduction type records while in RECORD Edit mode via the
<ALT><F11> keys. A plain non-encrypted (to allow the editing of this
file outside of CKREG as well) ASCII text file with reserved DOS filename
extension ".ADR" is created for your account if it doesn't exist yet.
The second one is created and given the reserved DOS filename extension
of ".PAL" when and if you create your own custom screen color palette set
to use with CKREG via the VIDEO options selection of the SETUP Menu.

Important: Don't delete, or rename the working copies of these

special data files using DOS commands as any such changes will render
your account data inaccessible! Use the provided CHNGNAME.EXE utility
instead to rename your account and account data files (see Appendix D).

To create a new electronic register once you have filled up your

first one (you will be notified of this event via a pop-up message box),
position the RECORD mode edit cursor on the last record of the register
(record #500) and use the keystroke combination <CTRL><2> to add a new
register. Your ending account balance will be carried over as the
starting balance for the newly created register and a new empty register
template will be displayed on screen ready for your next credit or debit
transaction record entries.

Another important capability to note regarding CKREG.EXE's

multiple electronic registers and the editing of account records, is that
you can switch to a previous register and effect numeric, record status,
or textual changes, and those changes if applicable, will be carried
forward (or replicated) to the highest numbered register of your account.
Editing a previous register of your account is as simple as switching to
it so that it is the current viewable and editable register, and then
making your change(s).

One reason why you might want to edit a full register is when you
need to access it to Check-off cleared record transactions as a normal
part of the account reconciliation process. Another reason might be to
correct a record's numerical value that was not entered correctly when
first entered into that register. Alternately, you can also always make
a running balance tally correction or adjustment to your account as
needed by inserting or adding a new record with a corrective amount to
your most current account register. Lastly, should you decide to delete
a record from a full register and then add one back in later, you will
need to position the record editing cursor before the last defined record

15
of that register and then use the Insert Record function <F9> to insert
the new record.

Finally, it is well to note that CKREG.EXE gives you the additional

ability to record non-bank Cash or Credit Card type transactions so that
you can categorize and later track or view summary information about your
account that includes all your expenditures or income transactions.
These special Cash or Credit Card type records are not subject to the
account reconciliation process since they are not recorded or reported by
your bank as part of your bank account transaction activity, nor do they
effect the running balance tally column that is maintained by CKREG.EXE.

If you wish to track these special type of transactions in your

checking account register, you will need to save the record (receipt) of
any such Cash expenditures as they are incurred so that you can enter
them into your account at a later time. Likewise, to enter any Credit
Card expenditures into your account, you will need to refer to your
monthly Credit Card transaction summary Statement when you reconcile your
account, or alternately enter them directly into your account in batch
mode from saved Credit Card receipts as you go, if you prefer.

Related to, but not the same as the Credit Card purchase method, is
the newer Debit Card purchase method. This new method is actually a
"real-time" electronic link to your bank and checking account. Since
these type of purchase transactions are recorded by your bank as
deductions to your checking account (they are summarized on your monthly
bank account statement later), you should also record them as deductions
in your checking account as you would do for checks, ATMs, or bank
service-fees.

16
SECTION 3: CKREG.EXE Menu Selections/*Program Functions

MAIN MENU SELECTIONS:

RECORD: Enter, edit account debit or credit transaction records

Record mode is the live record editing mode where all transaction
record updating is done, i.e., edit, add, or delete debit or credit
account transaction records. Select a transaction record entry by moving
to it with an Arrow key or simply Left or Right Mouse click on the
editable field and then fill in each of the record's fields as required.
Move through pages (screens) of your electronic register by using the
<PGUP> or <PGDN> keys, or equivalently Left or Right Mouse click the
check register Vertical Scroll-bar control (located on the right hand
side of the template) above or below the scrollbar's elevator symbol
which marks your current relative position in the current register. You
may also drag the elevator symbol by clicking on it and then holding the
Mouse button down as you move in either the up or down directions.
Dragging the elevator symbol in this manner permits you to fine scroll
through register records. You can also scroll line-by-line using the
Arrow keys, or equivalently by clicking the scroll bar's arrow symbols
located at the top or bottom of the scroll bar. The scroll bar supports
auto-repeat mode, i.e., hold it down for more than 1 second and the
action will repeat itself just like the keyboard does when you hold down
a key.

Move directly to the beginning of the currently displayed register

by using the <CTRL><HOME> key, and to the end of the currently displayed
register by using the <CTRL><END> key. Advance or backup to the next or
previous register of your account by using the <CTRL><PGUP> or
<CTRL><PGDN> keystroke combinations, or by using the <UP> or <DN> arrow
keys. Use <TAB> or <ENTER> keys to advance to the record's next data-
entry field or to the next record when you are done entering data in one
field and wish to commit your changes.

When you are ready to end the Record mode editing session or wish
to access the Program's Menu system, use the <ESC> key, or Left or Right
Mouse click the check register close control symbol (the three horizontal
lines character) that is located at the upper right hand corner of the
template. If your system is equipped with a VGA adapter and you have
selected one of the supported higher text resolution display (43 or 50-
line) modes, you can also Minimize (i.e., display the default 25-line
mode) or Maximize the check register display usage area by single Mouse
clicking the minimize/maximize control symbol (the double arrow
character) that is also located at the upper right hand corner of the
template.

The following section is a detailed summary of the special

function, editing and navigational function keys available while in
CKREG.EXE Record Edit Mode (Record Edit mode on-line Key Help system also
contains a condensed version of this information):

Help Keys System control window Keys:

17
<F1> Display next Help Key topic.

<SHFT><F1> Display previous Help Key topic.

<ESCAPE> Close Help Keys Topic display window.

Edit Help Keys Topic:

<F1> Recall last viewed Edit Key Help Topic (Bookmark).

<CTRL><H> Help Topic direct jump Keys (this Topic window).

<CTRL><F> Find Text in Payee Name or Description Fields Key Topic.

<CTRL><N> Navigate Program Keys Topic.

<CTRL><E> Editing Keys Topic.

<CTRL><M> Marking records Keys Topic.

<CTRL><P> Printing screen or register records Keys Topic.

<CTRL><C> Check Printing control window Keys Topic.

<CTRL><S> Symbols for records Keys Topic.

Find Text Key Topic:

<ALT><F1> Find text in a record's Description fields starting from

current Record mode cursor position to end of current
check register. A Find Next window allows you to
continue to search for other occurrences of this text.

Record/Register/Account Navigation Keys Topic:

<UP> arrow Scroll backward through register records one line at a time.

<DOWN> arrow Scroll forward through register records one line at a time.

<PGUP> Scroll backward through register records one screen at a

time.

<PGDN> Scroll forward through register records one screen at a time.

<CTRL><HOME> Display first screen of records for current register.

<CTRL><END> Display last screen of records for current register.

<CTRL><PGUP> Switch to/display the previous register of your account

if one exists.

<CTRL><PGDN> Switch to/display the next register of your account if

one exists.

18
<CTRL><UP> Minimize register window view size (VGA only).

<CTRL><DOWN> Maximize register window view size (VGA only).

Mouse Buttons:

LEFT or RIGHT Operate program's menu system, close Drop-down

function windows, select Drop-down function user
options and preferences, close Pop-up message boxes
or answer Yes or No, invoke and operate Record Edit
mode Key Help system, minimize/maximize or page
up/down Record mode screen, close Record mode, and
set Record mode register template record editing focus.

RIGHT Only Execute an equivalent keystroke combination function

for the Category (<F2>), Check Number
(<CTRL><ENTER>), Date (<CTRL><ENTER>), Payee
Name (<F5>), and Check-off (<CTRL><ENTER>) Record
Mode data entry fields.

Editing Records Key Topic:

<ESC> Undo field edit (restore it to its previous value), or End

current edit session if field commit not pending and
return to CKREG.EXE Main menu.

<CTRL><F1> Undo an entire record edit (restore it to its previous

values) if any. Also allows you to recover an
accidentally deleted record if used immediately before
changing the editing focus to another record.

<F2> Select/enter previously defined Category label when

Record mode cursor is in the Category field for any one
record. Enter a blank character(s) to clear this field.

<SHFT><A-Z> Enter a previously defined Category label automatically

by holding the SHIFT key down and typing the first letter
key when the Record mode cursor is on the first
character position of the Category field.

<ALT><F2> Toggle Record mode register Statistics display. The

statistics identify the current editable check register
number of your account, show the Date of the first and
last record entries recorded in this register, keep track
of which record the Record mode edit cursor is
currently on, and report the total number of records that
exist for this register of your account.

<F3> Save all edit updates (changes) to Account data files.

<INS> Toggle insert text mode. Allows you to insert text in

front of text already in a field without loosing what is
already there. Any field editing overflow is lost

19
 however. The "INS" indicator appears at the top of the
screen when this mode is active.

<BACKSPC> Erase text to the left of the cursor in any field.

<DEL> Erase text to the right of the cursor in any field.

<SHFT><DEL> Erase entire field.

<HOME> Position editing cursor at start of any one field.

<END> Position editing cursor at end of any one field.

<ENTER> Commit edited field entry and advance to record's next

data-entry field or next record. Displays the preview
check pop-up window automatically when leaving last
field of current record.

<TAB> Commit edited field entry and advance to record's next

data-entry field or next record. Does not display the
preview check pop-up window when leaving last field of
current record.

<SHFT><TAB> Commit edited field entry and backup to record's

previous data-entry field or previous record.

<CTRL><ENTER> Enter account's next higher check number when in

Check number field, or enter current date when in Date
field, or enter the reserved Check-off symbol (ASCII 251)
when in the Check-off field.

<CTRL><F2> Enter the next sequential check number based on the

previous record's check number when in the Check
number field, or enter the same date as used by the
previous record when in the Date field.

<CTRL><2> Create/add a new register template to your Account

when the current one is full.

<F8> Auto-Fee feature toggle for check or transaction Fee

amounts. The "AF" indicator appears at the top of the
screen when this feature is active. Use <ENTER> key
when in the Fee field of a new record to auto-enter the
fee amount set in Account Personal Information window.

<F9> Insert a blank record template between two records.

<F10> Delete a transaction record.

<ALT><F9> Toggle Record mode editing lock. Hides records and

locks keyboard. Prompts for a password before re-
enabling record editing if your account is password
protected. This key combination is the only active
function possible when editing is locked.

20
<ALT><F11> View/Add/Edit Payee Name Address for record at
current edit position. To be used in conjunction with
printing your checks. CKREG.EXE looks for an ASCII
text file named after your account's base-name with an
".ADR" filename extension, and if not found within the
\CKREG directory, creates this account file for you
automatically. Can be edited from within CKREG.EXE or
with any text file editor as well. If you already have a
ASCII text file with Payee names and associated
addresses, you can copy it to the \CKREG directory and
rename it with your account's base-name plus the
".ADR" filename extension and CKREG.EXE will use it
instead of creating a new address file. The size limit for
any one CKREG .ADR file is 16KB.

21
Marking Records and Usage Key Topic:

<F4> Mark/Un-mark a record entry as a re-usable entry. The

record will be marked with the reserved asterisk symbol
("*") and the first character of the Payee Name field will
be given a different display attribute than the rest of this
field to indicate that it can be used by the <ALT><A-Z,0-
9> record entry method.

<F5> Rotate forward through marked/re-usable record entries.

<F6> Rotate backward through marked/re-usable record entries.

<ALT><A-Z,0-9> Select/enter a previously marked/re-usable record entry

based on first letter or number of its description field,
i.e., the first character of the record's payee field.

<ALT><F4> View/Set/Clear Auto-post Scheduling interval for record.

The record will be marked with the reserved
exclamation symbol ("!"). Use this keystroke
combination to view a record's current scheduled
interval without changing it, to set a new interval (by
typing <ALT><F4> repeatedly), or to disable and clear
scheduling for this record. To clear Scheduling for a
record, select the reserved blank interval value found at
the end of the interval selection list of settings.

<ALT><F5> Mark/Un-mark an account record as a Cash or Credit

Card (non-bank) type transaction. The check number
field of the record will be marked with the reserved
string constant "CA/CR" to indicate a cash or credit
type transaction since these type of transactions do not
have an associated check number. These special type
of account transactions are treated just like any other
record entry in your account, i.e., they can be marked
and re-used, categorized, etc., except that they don't
effect your account's running balance tally column, and
they are ignored when you reconcile your account with
the bank. The primary purpose of these Cash or Credit
Card type transactions is to allow you to categorize and
later track or view summary information about your
account that includes all your expenditures or income.

22
Printing Records and Checks Key Topic:

<F7> Preview/Print Check for record at current edit position.

Can be configured via the CPCONFIG.EXE companion
utility. Also can be customized by supplying your
personal and bank information via CKREG.EXE Main
menu item selection ACCOUNT, and/or by modifying
the second description field of any one account
transaction record with reserved tokens Tilde ("~") or
Caret ("^").

<CTRL><T> Print currently displayed screen. A filter for unprintable

graphics characters, i.e., substitutes characters from
the lower 127 ASCII range for those characters above
this range, is applied for Dot-Matrix type printers.

<CTRL><R> Print all or specified range (N1 thru N2) of records for
current check register. Filter for unprintable graphics
characters applied for Dot-Matrix type printers. Prints
additional info identifying account and register screen
number. Press <ESC> to interrupt printing.

<SHFT><PRTSC> Filtered Print Screen for any one CKREG.EXE screen.

Check Printing Control Function Window Key Topic:

(See Section 4 on Check Printing in this manual.)

Reserved Check-off Field Symbols Topic:

Asterisk ("*") Record is marked as a re-usable record entry.

Exclamation("!") Record is marked as an Auto-Post Scheduled entry.

Check-off ("X") Record is marked as Cleared by Bank. This field also

accepts any non-blank character symbol as well.

Reserved Description Field Symbols Topic:

Caret ("^") All text following this symbol is appended to the

Preview/Print Check function window Payee Name
line on the displayed and printed check.

Tilde ("~") All text following this symbol is used as the

Preview/Print Check function window Memo Line on the
displayed and printed check.

23
CKREG.EXE RECORD Mode Data-Entry Fields:

The CKREG.EXE main screen is an electronic reproduction of one

page (screen) of a checking account register (ledger). You'll notice the
familiar column headings at the top of the screen as: Transaction
Category, Check Number, Date of transaction, Description of transaction,
Payment amount, Check-off, Fee amount, Deposit amount, and a non-
editable running Balance column which CKREG.EXE maintains automatically.
When you press <TAB> or <ENTER> to move to the next record data-entry
field, or Left or Right Mouse click to change the editing focus to a new
field, CKREG.EXE attempts to validate the new data, and will highlight a
field and refuse to exit it if you have supplied an invalid data type for
that field. If you make this kind of mistake, then either: correct it by
supplying the required data type for that field, and press <TAB> or
<ENTER> again to re-validate your new data, or press <ESC> to restore the
erred field to its former state. Likewise, to clear a field once you
have started editing it, use <SHFT><DEL>, enter blank(s), or Back spaces
to clear alphanumeric or numeric edit fields. The next time you cause
CKREG.EXE to scroll and refresh it's screen display, any total zero value
in either of the Payment, Fee or Deposit numeric fields will be re-
displayed as a blank field.

The CATEGORY field can be any previously user defined category

label. It can contain any alphanumeric combination of 1 to 5 characters
in length, upper or lower case, and can be blank as well. Type or select
a category abbreviation label via <F2>, or Right Mouse click, from your
previously defined list of account transaction ID categories. When the
Record mode cursor is on the first letter of the category row and column,
pressing <SHIFT> plus the first letter of a defined category will enter
it for you automatically. Once entered in this fashion, use the <F2> key
or Right Mouse click to rotate through your list of categories until you
find the category you want. You'll notice that as you rotate through
your available categories, the category description text you provided
when defining a category is displayed temporarily at the top of the
screen under the Description column header. This field will accept a
blank(s) to indicate that this record does not have an associated
category defined for it, i.e., you must enter a blank if you wish to
clear the Category field for any one record.

The CHECK NUMBER field must contain numeric characters only and
be in the range of 1 to 99,999, and will accept blank as well for non-
check entries, i.e., deposit or other electronic transaction. Type or
select the check number via <CTRL><ENTER> or Right Mouse click for next
available highest check number in your account, or <CTRL><F2> for the
next available check number based on the previous record entry's check
number. Also note that CKREG.EXE does not enforce the numerical order
of check numbers since it is possible to enter duplicate numbers (or even
omit numbers) without adversely affecting the reconciliation process.
One exception to the numeric data type requirement for this field is that
it can alternately contain the string constant "CA/CR" to indicate that
the record is a special non-bank Cash or Credit Card type of transaction.

The DATE field must contain numeric characters, but will accept any
non-numeric character for the separator part of the date. The DATE field

24
can be left blank when a record is first created, but cannot be edited to
be blank once the new record is committed, i.e., the DATE field for
existing records cannot be set to all blank since there are several CKREG
operations that depend on a record's DATE field value. The numbers
entered into this field can be made with or without leading zeroes, i.e.,
1/1/94 is the same as 01/01/94, however the year part can only be two
characters. CKREG uses the system's current CMOS century value (either 19
or 20) to set the record's century information, i.e., a '00' year entry
is considered to be 1900 based if that is the current system century
value, otherwise, '00' means 2000+. To enter a DATE, either Type or
select the date via <CTRL><ENTER> or Right Mouse click for the current
date, or <CTRL><F2> for the same date as used for the previous record
entry. Also note that CKREG.EXE does not enforce the sequential order of
dates being entered, i.e., you can mix the order of dates as you make
record entries. Lastly, a point worth noting is that all DATE related
operations in CKREG.EXE will continue to operate correctly at the
upcoming turn-of-the-century, i.e., year greater or equal to the year
2000.

The PAYEE/DESCRIPTION field(s) can be any Alphanumeric

combination of characters. The first field is reserved for a deduction
type transaction record Payee Name or Alphanumeric Identifier, or other
text as is suitable for a deduction or deposit type transaction record,
examples: "Withdraw cash" or "Deposit paycheck". The second field
directly below it on the screen for that one record is reserved for the
transaction description including any special symbols that can modify
lines on your printed checks. The editing keys that are available in
these two fields are: <INS> to insert text and move text to the right
(textual overflow is lost at end of each field), <DEL> or <BACKSPC> to
delete characters, <SHFT><DEL> to delete an entire field, and <HOME> and
<END> to move to the beginning or end of a field.

CKREG.EXE uses the first letter or number of the Payee Name field
to locate marked records for re-use in a new or old record template when
you use the special <ALT><A-Z,0-9> method or Right Mouse click
(equivalent to <F5>) to re-enter a previously used and marked record.
Also, when a record is marked as a re-usable entry with the reserved
asterisk symbol ("*"), the first letter or number of the Payee Name
description field is displayed with a different screen color than is used
for the rest of the Payee name field (by default) to help you remember or
quickly identify this special first letter or number.

There are two additional special features which apply only to the
second field or transaction description. The first is the ability to
allow special notations like a merchant account number, or other memo
information, to appear on the record's check in check preview/print mode.
Simply precede any such text with the reserved tilde symbol ("~") and all
text following this character will appear in the Memo field on your check
in preview/print mode.

The second is the ability to extend the Payee name field beyond the
normal 26 character limit imposed by this field in order for it to appear
on your checks in this longer form. To use this feature, wrap the long
Payee name to the second description field and prefix this portion with

25
the reserved caret symbol ("^") and all text following this character
will appear in the Payee field on your check in preview/print mode in
addition to the Payee field text. Note that you can use both of these
reserved description field tokens at the same time in the description
field in either order, although using the caret ("^") symbol first is
more readable since it is after all just an extension of the Payee field
name directly above it on the screen. It is also well to note that that
any text in the description field which precedes the appearance of either
or both of these special symbols will not appear on your check, i.e., you
can exclude part of the text in this field from appearing on the check
Memo line.

The PAYMENT field must be a valid combination of numeric

characters and value separation characters such as "," or ".", i.e.,
1000.00 and 1,000 are equivalent valid entries. Notice that you can enter
both the dollar and cents part of the payment amount in the dollar field
and the cents part will be automatically filled into the cents portion of
this field when you use <TAB> or <ENTER> to move to the record's next
field. The maximum value the Payment field will accept is limited to
32,767.99. If you have an amount which exceeds this, then make the entry
split across two separate record entries and note this fact in the
description fields.

The SPECIAL SYMBOL field separating the Payment and the Fee
fields is three-fold. The reserved Check-off character ("X") is used to
indicate that a payment or fee amount has been cleared by your Bank as
part of the reconciliation process. Position the Record mode cursor on
this field for the operand record and press <CTRL><ENTER> or Right
Mouse click to enter the Check-off symbol. You'll notice that the cursor
will advance to the check-off field of the next record in order to help
speed the reconciliation process. Next, the reserved asterisk character
("*") is used to signify a "marked" or un-marked record available for re-
entry into a new record template using the <ALT>+<A-Z,0-9> (the first
letter or number key of the record's Description field) method. To mark
or un-mark a record use the <F4> key when you are positioned in any field
of that record.

When making new transaction record entries, you can rotate through
your marked records using the alphanumeric <ALT>+<A-Z,0-9> method, or
the <F5> (or Right Mouse click) or <F6> methods to serially rotate
through re-usable marked records. Re-using marked records is a
convenient feature of CKREG.EXE, i.e., you won't have to type in the same
Payee Name or description ever again, and you'll notice that CKREG.EXE
pre-fills the new record with the next higher check number (if
applicable), the current date, and a category label if the re-used record
was categorized. Typically all you need to do is edit the payment or
deposit amount if it differs from your last payment or deposit used for
this marked record entry. Once you use a marked record entry, the old
marked record is unmarked and the current new record is marked
automatically by CKREG. The scope of available marked records for re-
entry as a new record transaction is limited to the last two registers of
any account.

26
Lastly, this field also can be marked with the reserved exclamation
symbol ("!") which indicates that the record's Auto-Scheduling interval
is set and will occur automatically when it's defined interval has
expired. To set a scheduling interval for a record transaction of less
than one month's duration (example: every two weeks), first select the
single MONTH interval for each record transaction copy using the
<ALT><F4> keystroke combination, and then ensure that the actual DATE
fields of these scheduled records reflect the interval you desire. The
automated scheduled entry MONTH interval can be set from One to Twelve
months (once yearly). To disable and clear automated record entry
Scheduling for a record, select the reserved blank interval value found
at the end of the interval selection list of settings. A final caveat
related to this topic to be mentioned here is that Scheduled record auto-
posts to your account may not occur as you would expect them to if your
computer system's CMOS or DOS System Date/Time values are no longer set
properly, i.e., not in-sync with everyone else.

The FEE field is used to optionally record the cost of the

transaction, i.e., the per-transaction/check fee your bank charges you to
perform an electronic transaction or process a check. The fee amount
must be a valid combination of numeric characters. Alternately you may
prefer not to make a fee entry here and instead make a separate entry
later when you reconcile your account based on the total bank service
charge indicated on your monthly bank statement. Just don't forget to
Check-off this record transaction when you enter it if you record your
bank per-transaction fee in this deferred manner. Function key <F8>
toggles the Auto-Fee data-entry feature "ON" or "OFF". When Auto-Fee is
enabled, it will automatically enter the per-transaction fee into this
field of a new check as you advance the edit cursor past this field using
the <ENTER> key. The amount entered here is based on the previously
defined amount in your account personal information sheet optionally
defined when you created your account, or at anytime thereafter.

As a side note, I no longer have a need to use the Auto-Fee feature

for my account maintenance because my bank changed the rules for
applicable fees, i.e., I only get charged per check and transaction fees
if my account balance is below the established minimum. I now leave the
Fee fields blank for all deduction type transactions during the course of
the account data-entry cycle and later make a separate total monthly fee
entry instead when I receive my bank statement, am ready to reconcile my
account, and have been charged the additional fees.

The DEPOSIT field, like the Payment field, must be a valid

combination of numeric characters and value separation characters such
as "," or ".", i.e., 1000.00 and 1,000 are equivalent valid entries.
Notice that you can enter both the dollar and cents part of the payment
amount in the dollar field and the cents part will be automatically
filled into the cents portion of this field when you use <TAB> or <ENTER>
to move to the record's next field. The maximum value the Deposit field
will accept is limited to 32,767.99. If you have an amount which exceeds
this, then make the entry split across two separate record entries and
note this fact in the description fields.

27
The BALANCE field represents your account's cumulative net worth
and is a non-editable field, i.e., CKREG.EXE maintains this field for you
as you commit record transaction entries and move to the next available
blank record transaction template. Note that the Balance amount can be
indicated as positive with the color Green (default for color monitors),
or it can be the color Red (default for color monitors) and preceded with
a minus sign ("-") sign to show a negative balance amount.

BALANCE: Automated checking account reconciliation

The Balance function feature is your key to a rapid and accurate

checking account reconciliation. The Balance function is invoked
normally once you have received your monthly bank account statement, have
compared and checked-off all the canceled checks and/or transactions
returned and/or shown on the statement with the entries in your
electronic account, and have added any new payments, transactions, or
deposits that have occurred after the ending date of the bank statement
and not yet entered into your electronic register.

Balance Worksheet #1:

To reconcile your checking account successfully, you must first

manually complete these preliminary steps within RECORD Edit mode as
necessary, and then type <Y> (or Mouse click the "Y" letter) in the
Balance function worksheet #1 window to indicate that you are ready to
proceed to the final reconciliation worksheet. Once you have completed
these preliminary steps, CKREG only requires that you enter the Ending
Date and your Current Account Balance as is recorded on your monthly bank
summary statement in order to automatically perform the rest of the
calculations to complete the account reconciliation attempt.

Note: it is recommended that the Edit preference option Edit

Existing Record Warning be turned "OFF"(if applicable) temporarily before
starting to check-off cleared transactions noted on your Bank Statement
in RECORD Edit mode so that you will not receive a warning for each
attempted record update you will be making.

Balance Worksheet #2:

Enter the bank statement's Ending Date and Current Account

Balance into the two input fields provided for these values in the
Balance worksheet #2 window, and CKREG will perform the necessary
computations to arrive at a final difference value which will be
indicated in the boxed area at the bottom of the window. If this value
is ZERO, then there is no difference between your electronic account and
the bank's statement balance, and you have successfully reconciled your
account! CKREG will display a brief timed pop-up message window to
notify you of this successful reconciliation event as well. However, if
this final difference value is not Zero, then it indicates the amount of
difference between your account and the bank's records, and you will have
to find the source of this outstanding difference in your account records
and correct it before a successful reconciliation is possible.

28
 Note that CKREG remembers your initial entries made in the Balance
worksheet #2 window input fields and re-seeds these values for you if you
leave the Balance worksheet #2 window temporarily to update or correct a
transaction record within RECORD Edit mode and then return to this
worksheet to attempt another reconciliation.

Possible Reconciliation Errors in your Account:

The source of the reconciliation error can caused by any one of a

number of possibilities, but since CKREG.EXE performs all additions and
subtractions of record transaction amounts automatically and unerringly,
simple addition or subtraction errors can be eliminated as the possible
cause of the error. This leaves the following errant possibilities: (1)
you recorded an entry amount wrong, i.e., the returned check or
transaction amount on your bank statement does not agree with what you
had originally recorded, (2) you forgot to enter a payment or deposit, or
other transaction in your account, (3) you made the same unique
transaction entry more than once in your register, (4) you forgot to
enter and/or check-off the bank's per-transaction and/or service fees if
applicable, (5) you forgot to check-off a transaction in your account
that has been cleared by the bank and appears on your bank statement, (6)
a deduction transaction has not yet been processed by the bank since the
previous account reconciliation cycle and is effecting your final account
net worth or running balance (Set the Edit preferences Deduction Not
Cleared Notice to "ON" if you wish to be automatically notified of
deductions that are not checked-off after a period of two months when you
are attempting to balance your account), (7) you recorded a check amount
as a deposit amount, or a deposit amount as a check amount, or (8) the
bank may have made a genuine error, in which case it is recommended that
you reconcile the difference with your bank ASAP and create an entry in
your check register to offset the difference.

Once you have found and corrected the account item causing the
outstanding reconciliation difference in RECORD Edit mode, save your new
record changes via <F3>, exit Record Edit Mode to the program's Main
menu and select the Balance function again to re-attempt reconciling your
account. When you have reconciled your account, you can take a snapshot
of this window's information for hard-copy record purposes by performing
a screen dump to your printer via the <SHFT><PRTSC> key combination.

29
ACCOUNT: Display, edit account personal and bank information

The Account selection of the Main Menu drops down a window that
displays information about your account and allows you to enter personal
account information. Your account's name, number of registers, and dates
of account creation and last transaction editing activity are displayed
at the top of this window. You can supply the rest of the optional
fields by selecting a field with the cursor and typing in your
information. Use the arrow keys to move the window's edit cursor to an
information line, enter your text, and then press <ENTER>.

If you wish to have your personal and bank information appear on

displayed checks in CKREG.EXE's check preview/print mode so that you
can also print some of this information on your checks, then define this
information in this window. You can use the <INS> key to toggle text
insertion mode and then the <SPACE> or <DEL> keys to center your name
and address information (or your bank's) while in this window so that
this information will also appear centered on your printed checks.

To set-up the program's Auto-Fee feature to be used while in Record

mode, enter a Cents amount in this window for both the Per Check Fee and
ATM Auto Fee fields, for example: .20 and .25. Note that the Per Check
Fee amount is the amount your bank charges per check, and the ATM Auto
Fee is the amount your bank charges for other electronic transactions
like Automated Teller Machine fees, etc.

CATEGORY: Display, edit account categories

The Category selection of the Main Menu drops down a window that
displays and allows you to define and edit transaction Categories and
descriptions for your account. Use this window to create or edit a
Category name/label (5 characters maximum) and to provide a description
that is linked to the Category's name/label which will be useful for
identifying a Category name/label from within the program's Record mode
as you enter new transactions in your account. Use the arrow keys to
move the window's edit cursor to a previously defined Category or an
empty line to create a new one, enter your text, and then press <ENTER>.
You can insert or delete Category records by using the <F9> or <F10> keys
respectively. Scroll through defined Category records one at a time with
the <UP> or <DOWN> arrow keys, or page up or down through them with
the <PGUP> or <PGDN> keys. The window's vertical scrollbar control also
allows you to page up or down through records with a Left or Right Mouse
click above or below the scrollbar's elevator symbol. The scrollbar's
elevator symbol can also be dragged (click and hold while moving mouse)
up or down to fine scroll through the defined Category records one-by-
one.

CKREG automatically maintains your defined Category records in

ascending alphanumeric sorted order on the Label field.

Once you have defined a list of Category Labels and have optionally
entered descriptions for them, you can categorize any account

30
transaction record of your account when you are in RECORD Edit mode by
either using the <F2> key, typing it into the field in upper or lower
case, or with a right Mouse click, when the edit cursor is positioned in
the category field. CKREG will enter one of the Category Labels that you
have defined in the Category definition window. Also, when you enter a
new record into your account using the <ALT><A-Z,0-9>, <F5> or <F6>
methods, the new record will be automatically categorized for you.

Later should you decide to change the label definition for a

defined category, just make the desired change from the Category
definition window and CKREG will globally apply this change to all
records in your account which use this one category label, i.e., it is
important to note that you do not have to change every record in your
account manually. Likewise, should you decide to delete a category
definition label entirely from your account, just delete the category
label by using the <F10> key when positioned in the label field of any
one category definition of the category definition window and CKREG will
globally remove all references to this label from your account records
when you exit the category definition window. Once you have deleted a
category definition label in this manner, any records which used it will
no longer have a category defined for it (the record's category field
will be blank) and you will need to re-categorize the record from Record
Edit mode should you wish it to be categorized.

Appendix A lists an example set of defined categories that you

can adapt and base your category definition creation strategy on if you
wish, or you can open the supplied "Sample" CKREG account for
additional examples. Only 127 total user definable categories are
possible. Note that the first defined Category Label in the Category
definition window is blank (all spaces) and reserved by CKREG, i.e., it
must be there so that you can change a record transaction's assigned
category label while in Record Edit mode to none or blank (CKREG will set
it back to blank later if you attempt to change it in the Category
definition window).

The end result of creating your personal set of account categories

and entering them when you create new transaction records will be well
worth it. All of your account transactions will be categorized for
identification and tracking purposes, and should you wish later, the
ability to quickly produce an up-to-date Category Summation Report
featuring an
organized breakdown of your account expenditure and income categories
with their monthly averages and year-to-date totals for your account.
You'll be able to quickly answer questions about your account expenses
such as: how much did I spend on just Auto related expenditures last
year? Refer to Appendix B of this manual for information on how to run
this companion Category Summation utility program.

EXIT: Exit program

Selecting the Exit selection of the Main Menu closes your currently
open account, updates program data and information files, and exits
CKREG.EXE to the DOS operating system command prompt. You cannot

31
Exit from the program when you are viewing any account register other
than the most current one, i.e., if your account consists of two or more
registers, you can only Exit when the second or highest numbered one is
visible on the screen. The Exit function will also detect if you have
made edit changes to your account but have not saved them yet explicitly
via <F3> while in Record mode or implicitly by switching current register
view context. You will be prompted to Save or Abandon your current
record editing session changes. If you Abandon changes, your account's
data and information files will be left unchanged by your most recent
edit session.

SETUP MENU SELECTIONS:

PRINTER: Set Printer Options

The PRINTER selection of the SETUP Menu allows you to select the
type of printer and the LPT: Port for use with CKREG.EXE. Select PRINTER
from the program's SETUP sub-menu and a window will drop down to
allow you to specify either a Laser or Dot-Matrix type printer, and
whether to use Parallel Port LPT1: or LPT2: on your PC. A Laser type
printer is the default selection for all newly created CKREG.EXE
accounts. Once you make these selections, CKREG remembers your settings
for the next time you open your account.

Use the <TAB> or Arrow Keys to move to the option you want and
then type the <ENTER> key to set that option. Notice that you can
directly select and set options in this window using a Mouse Left or
Right button click as well. Type <ESC>, or Left or Right Mouse click on
the <ESC> prompt text area, to close this window and return to the SETUP
menu when you are done making your selection(s).

EDIT: Set Edit Options

The EDIT selection of the SETUP Menu allows you to specify Editing
Preferences to be used when editing anywhere within CKREG. Select EDIT
from the program's SETUP sub-menu and a window will drop down to
allow you to change the Edit settings from their initial default
behavior. The user preference Editing options are: Register Statistics
display on/off, Edit Existing Record Warning, Delete Existing Record
Warning, Deduction Not Cleared (after 2 months) Notice, Verify Account
File Writes, Write-Protect Account Files, Mouse Cursor State on/off, Edit
Cursor Style, and Auto-Save Account Update Edits with a selectable time
interval in minutes.

To select "ON" or "OFF" state for any one user preference, <TAB>,
<SHFT><TAB>, or use the Arrow Keys, to move to the desired preference
and state within this window, and then type the <ENTER> key to make your
selection. Alternately, you can directly select and set options in this
window using a Left or Right Mouse button click. Type <ESC>, or Left or
Right Mouse click on the <ESC> prompt text area, to close this window and
return to the SETUP menu when you are done making your selection(s).

Details for each of the Edit preference options follow:

32
Register Statistics Display:

When set "ON", Record Edit mode displays account and current
register statistics at the top of the register template. Can be toggled
On/Off temporarily while in Record Edit mode using <ALT><F2> as well,
although the setting in the Edit preferences window will remain
unaffected, i.e., you must turn this preference On/Off from this window
if you wish CKREG to remember your preference for this option next time
you open your account.

Edit Existing Record Warning:

When set "ON", Record Edit mode displays a pop-up message

window in the center of the screen if you attempt to change an existing
record in anyway. This warning is useful to help prevent accidental and
possibly unnoticed changes to account records that already exist. The
warning message box intervenes when an attempted change is made and
prompts you to answer Yes or No to the change before allowing the change
to occur. Type <Y> or <ENTER> to accept the field change, or type <N> or
<ESC> to cancel the change and restore the original field value.
Alternately, you can Left or Right Mouse click on either the <Y>=YES or
<N>=NO prompt text areas to indicate your response and close the pop-up
window.

Note: it is useful to temporarily set this warning option to "OFF" in

this window just prior to Balancing your account (Main Menu Balance
function) so that you will not be warned about changes (i.e., Check-off
cleared items) you make to existing records as you prepare to reconcile
your account.

Delete Existing Record Warning:

When set "ON", Record Edit mode displays a pop-up message

window in the center of the screen if you attempt to delete an existing
record. This warning is useful to help prevent accidental and possibly
unnoticed account record deletions. The warning message box intervenes
when an attempted deletion is made and prompts you to answer Yes or No
to the deletion before allowing the change to occur. Type <Y> or <ENTER>
to accept the deletion, or type <N> or <ESC> to cancel the deletion and
leave the record intact. Alternately, you can Left or Right Mouse click
on either the <Y>=YES or <N>=NO prompt text areas to indicate your
response and close the pop-up window.

Note: you can still recover an accidentally deleted record in two ways.
Either immediately use the <CTRL><F1> (Undo record edit function) before
changing the editing focus to another record, or exit CKREG selecting the
ABANDON changes option of the EXIT menu and then open your account
again. The downside of the second method (exiting the program) is that
you might loose other changes to your account you have made since you
last saved <F3> changes to your account while in Record Edit mode.

Deduction Not Cleared Notice:

33
 When set "ON", the Main Menu BALANCE function window will
display a pop-up message window in the center of the screen during the
automatic reconciliation process for each deduction type record in your
account that is older than two months and has not been checked-off
(cleared) yet. The message box lists the Register and Record number of
the deduction item that has not been checked-off. These reference
numbers can then be used to find the deduction type record in question
since they are the same as the ones tracked and displayed for records by
the Register and Record Statistics Line located at the top of the RECORD
Edit mode screen.

This feature is useful because it automatically notifies you of a

recorded deduction that has not been (or potentially may never be)
processed by your bank since before the start of the previous account
reconciliation cycle. This may have occurred because the merchant lost
or has not attempted to cash your check yet, and you have not checked-it
off yet because it has not been reported by the bank on either of your
previous or current monthly account summary statements. The problem with
letting this situation go un-remedied is that, although your account is
still reconcilable, it is effecting your final account net worth or
running balance, i.e., you actually have more money in your bank account
than is indicated by CKREG. To correct this situation, first note the
Register and Record number of the deduction item listed in the
notification pop-up message window, inspect that deduction record within
RECORD Edit mode, and then either: Check-it off, delete it, or set the
amount to Zero and Check-it off.

Verify Account File Writes:

When set "ON", CKREG applies the DOS File write Verification
operation when account files are updated as an added safeguard against
the possibility of incorrectly written File updates through DOS. DOS
verifies that the updated file can be read back and contains the new
information as was written. It is the same as turning the DOS Verify
File writes flag "On" via the "Set Verify=On" command at the system
prompt or in your Config.sys file. The cost of turning this feature On
is that all file writes (and hence all CKREG account updating) take a bit
longer than when Verification is Off. In practice, DOS rarely makes a
mistake writing your files even with verification Off, but turning this
feature On is extra insurance against file writing corruption.

Note: If you set this option to "ON", the extra step of DOS File Write
Verification is done only for your CKREG maintenance session, i.e., the
original DOS system prompt Verification setting (on or off) is restored
when you exit CKREG.

Write-Protect Account Files:

When set "ON", CKREG marks all your account files with the DOS
Read-Only file attribute. Using this option prevents accidental erasure
or alteration of your valuable account files at the DOS system prompt.

Note: Turn this option "OFF" before attempting to modify the optional
Payee Name Address account file (.ADR) from DOS or your editor which is

34
capable of modifying plain ASCII text files.
Mouse Cursor State:

When set "ON" and your system has a Mouse device, CKREG will be
able to use the Mouse input device as an alternative method of accepting
most program navigational and user option selection input. The Mouse
cursor within CKREG is shaped like a block. Once the Mouse cursor state
option is set to "OFF", the Mouse is de-activated and you will not be
able to see the mouse cursor anymore. To set the mouse cursor "ON"
initially (it's off by default) or back on again after you have set it
off, you will have to use keyboard input to select the "ON" option
setting.

Edit Cursor Style:

When set to "LINE", the CKREG Edit position cursor turns into a
Line shaped cursor. When you select "BLOCK" (default style), the Edit
position cursor turns into a Block shaped cursor. You'll notice that
when you make either selection for this option, the cursor shape is
immediately updated to reflect the selected style.

Auto-Save Account Edits:

When set "ON", CKREG automatically performs account file updates

if there are any pending account or edit changes that have not yet been
written to disk. It is the same as manually using the <F3> key when in
Record Edit mode, except that it occurs automatically whenever the
option's Minute(s) interval setting has expired wherever you happen to be
within CKREG.

To activate the Auto-Save option, <TAB> or use the Arrow Keys to

move to the "ON" state setting and type <ENTER> to set it. Alternately,
you can directly select and set this option "ON" using a Left or Right
Mouse button click. Once the option is turned "ON", move to or select
the Minutes interval setting of this option, type in a Minutes value from
1 to 60, and then type <ENTER> again. To de-activate the Auto-Save
option, select or Mouse click the "OFF" state setting.

Note: Empirical testing for the optimal setting for the number of
Minutes to elapse before the Auto-Save occurs may be necessary to suit
your own needs.

35
VIDEO: Set Video Options

The VIDEO selection of the SETUP Menu allows you to specify Video
Preferences to be used globally within CKREG. Select VIDEO from the
program's SETUP sub-menu and a window will pop-up to allow you to
change the Video settings from their initial default behavior. The user
preference Video options are: Check Register and main screen component
Default or Custom Color (or Monochromatic) palette sets, VGA screen text
lines resolution, VGA minimize/maximize used screen area, and two Digital
clock formats.

You'll notice that the VIDEO preferences selection window pops-up

instead of dropping down and hiding parts of the main screen components
and first visible transaction record. This is to allow you to
interactively change screen colors while the components you wish to
change are visible on the screen. Also, screen colors are selectable for
the Check Register and main screen components only, i.e., none of the
drop-down function windows or pop-up message box windows are currently
user alterable.

To select "ON" or "OFF" state for any one user preference, <TAB>,
<SHFT><TAB> or use the Arrow Keys, to move to the desired preference
and state within this window, and then type the <ENTER> key to make your
selection. Alternately, you can directly select and set options in this
window using a Left or Right Mouse button click. Type <ESC>, or Left or
Right Mouse click on the <ESC> prompt text area, to close this window and
return to the SETUP menu when you are done making your selection(s).

Details for each of the Video preference options follow:

Color (or Monochrome) Palette Set In Use:

Select the "Default" option setting to accept the initial account

Default and non-alterable color palette set, or select the "Define/Use
Custom Set" option setting if you wish to define and use your own Custom
color palette set. The Custom color palette set is an exact copy of the
program Default color palette set initially, and can be optionally reset
to this default initial state later by using the <X> Key function (Reset
User Colors) in this window. You will be prompted before being allowed
to reset your Custom color palette set to the program's Default palette
set.

Once you begin designing your own color palette set, CKREG will
create an additional special file for your account which will use your
account name for the base part of the filename and ".PAL" for the
extension part. It is important to note that since CKREG always looks
for and uses the ".PAL" file in the current directory (if it exists) when
it starts, this allows you to substitute your initial custom palette set
with another set of your choosing. Simply create one custom palette and
copy it to another directory and rename it with the base name of your
account plus a sequential number for example. Then create another custom
palette based on your custom set, etc. When you want to use another
particular custom palette, copy it to the \CKREG directory and rename the

36
base part of the filename to your account name and the filename extension
to ".PAL". The ".PAL" file is not directly user alterable with a text
editor since all it contains are the binary values that represent your
custom color selections.

There are two dozen total screen components that you can modify to
suit your tastes, and each component has a selectable Foreground color
attribute and a selectable Background color attribute. There are 16
possible colors each for either the Foreground or the Background
selections (Monochrome display equipped users are limited to 4 possible
display attributes each for either the Foreground or the Background
selections). The Foreground setting of an alterable screen component is
the displayed color for any character and the Background setting of that
same alterable screen component is the displayed background color for
that character.

To make Foreground or Background color selections, first move to a

screen component using the <TAB> or <SHFT><TAB> or the Arrow Keys,
or alternately Mouse click on the setting directly, and then type the
<ENTER> key (or Mouse click again) to change the screen component's
Foreground or Background displayed color. Typing <ENTER> 16 times will
rotate once completely through all possible colors. You'll notice that
the "composite" Foreground and Background setting for any one screen
component is displayed instantly as you change it by the special
character that is located between the Foreground and Background settings
in the window, and updated instantly for the actual visible screen
component located elsewhere on the screen that you are changing.

Note: CKREG does not prevent you from selecting the same Foreground
and Background color combination for a screen component, and that doing
so will make that screen component invisible, i.e., if you'd like to make
the displayed on-screen Digital Clock or Date invisible for example,
then you can do so in this manner.

VGA Screen Text Lines:

If your system is equipped with a VGA adapter and display monitor,

then you can select from one of three possible Text display mode
resolutions: 80x25 lines (default and only possibility for non-VGA
users), 80x43 lines (lovingly dubbed "Crayola" mode), or 80x50 lines.
Set your preference by moving to the corresponding check box and then
type <ENTER> or Mouse click there. The resulting video mode switch takes
place immediately. CKREG will remember your resolution preference
selection and invoke it next time you run the program. Worthy of note is
the fact that the original DOS system prompt Text resolution mode is
always restored when you exit the program.

VGA Screen Usage Size:

If your system is equipped with a VGA adapter and display monitor,

then you can select from one of two possible Display Area Usage Size
selections: "Minimum" (default and only possibility for non-VGA users),
and "Maximum". When the screen area in use is Minimized, then only six

37
transaction records are visible at one time in the check register
template. When the screen area in use is Maximized, the number of visible
transaction records visible at one time in the check register template
increases to 12 for the 80x43 lines Text mode resolution, or to 14 for
the 80x50 lines Text mode resolution (over twice as many records visible
at one time compared to previous CKREG version 8.60).

When you select either of these two settings in the VIDEO

preferences window, the screen area usage size is instantly changed.
CKREG remembers your Minimized or Maximized preference selection and
will use it next time the program is run. Also, you can utilize the
<CTRL><UP> or <CTRL><DOWN> Arrow Keys from within Record Edit
mode to Minimize or Maximize the screen window size, or alternately
Mouse click the Minimize/Maximize control symbol (the double arrow
character) that is located at the upper right hand corner of the check
register template.

Clock Format:

Select your preference for the on-screen Digital Clock format to

either Military 24-hour time format, or Standard AM/PM time format. Your
format selection setting is immediately put into effect on the screen,
and CKREG will retain this setting for future account maintenance
sessions.

USERPASS: Set or Clear User Account Password

The USERPASS selection of the SETUP Menu provides a means to

initially set or change the User's Account Password. Select USERPASS
from the program's SETUP sub-menu and a window will drop down to
allow you to change your account password. Enter the old password, then
enter the new desired one, and then the new one again for confirmation.

User-defined Passwords are case-sensitive and limited to 8

characters from the range of ASCII 32 (space) - 126 (~) characters. The
account password can be cleared by specifying a blank character(s) for
the new password: simply type a space character and then the <ENTER> key.
Clearing a password disables CKREG.EXE's password prompting and
verification. The new account default password is set to all Blanks
(account is not password protected).

Please record your new password carefully on paper and store it

hidden somewhere safe for possible future reference. If you loose it you
will need to send your account's .INF file to the program author to have
the Password cleared back to the default unprotected state before you can
open your account or run any of the CKREG utility programs.

Account Security Features:

It is important to note that if and while your CKREG.EXE account is

password protected, any unauthorized clearing of your password can be
detected simply by the fact that you will not be prompted for your
password as would normally occur when opening your account with

38
CKREG.EXE. Furthermore, any unauthorized re-setting of your password
can also be detected simply by the fact that your current known password
will no longer permit access to your account.

Additionally, and worthy of note, is the extra security constraint

that the CKREG.EXE companion utility programs (Category Summation,
Export Records, Change Account Name, Check Print Configuration, or
Import/Export Account Converter) not be allowed to run on your account
data when your account is password protected (secure state), i.e., it is
a requirement that you clear your Account password temporarily using the
CKREG Setup Menu Password function to be able to run any of these
utilities. Hence if unauthorized use of these utilities occurs on your
account, you'll know about it because your account password had to be
cleared to use any of the utilities and you will no longer be prompted
for your account password when you open your CKREG account.

Lastly, CKREG.EXE Record Mode features a means of hiding your

on-screen account records instantly for visual security purposes, a
permanent account file encryption scheme to discourage any attempt to
view your account record files by using a debugger or other such low-
level tool, and a Record Edit keyboard lock that can be employed with
confidence whenever you leave your account and computer unattended for
any period of time. CKREG.EXE also clears all record data from your
system's RAM when it Exits to the operating system prompt as a further
security measure.

ABOUT: Display Program Information

This Setup Menu selection identifies the CKREG.EXE program

version number, displays your unique program copy registration number,
and details how to contact the program author for product support.

MAIN: Return to Main Menu

Setup Menu selection that will return you to program's Main Menu.

39
SECTION 4: Check Printing and Form Configuration

Overview

Printing checks with CKREG.EXE is accomplished by first selecting

the active printer type and parallel port assignment from the SETUP menu,
PRINTER options drop-down window. The default selections are: Laser
type printer and LPT1. Once you have made your selections, CKREG
remembers them as part of your unique account information and you won't
need to change them again unless you decide to change your printer type
or the parallel port assignment at some time in the future.

Next, you may need to configure CKREG for use with your Laser or
Dot-Matrix type check forms via the companion utility CPCONFIG.EXE.
CKREG is already setup to use Quicken(tm) compatible 6.0" Wallet sized
checks with detachable stub for Laser/Inkjet three-per-page check forms.
Reasonable settings for the vertical placement for the spacing between
check lines, and for the horizontal placement of text fields on each
printable check line have already been set. If you are using these type
of popular personal size checks, then there's nothing else to change,
i.e., CKREG.EXE is ready to print your checks.

Notice that you can't change the horizontal or vertical placement

settings of the fields or lines on the displayed check from the CKREG
Preview/Print window. Instead, you must exit CKREG temporarily and use
the CPCONFIG utility to accomplish this. Configuring your check forms
via CPCONFIG is normally done initially (if at all) when you first setup
CKREG for check printing. You may rarely (or never) have a need to run
this utility again thereafter, except perhaps to change CKREG's form
settings for a new type of check form for instance.

To obtain check forms suitable for printing with your printer type
and CKREG, you will need to order check forms from a third-party check
form maker or supplier. Not only are they less expensive when ordered in
sufficient quantity than the pre-cut and bound check booklets obtainable
through your bank, but you can also have them custom printed to some
extent. The MICR information line (and a sequential check number)
appearing at the bottom of the check must be pre-printed there to conform
to the banking industry MICR specification in order to be an acceptable
check (the third-party check form suppliers will take care of this for
you).

However, if you use CKREG's advanced check printing capabilities,

then you can instruct the check supplier to omit your Name and Address
information lines that normally appear in the upper left hand corner of
the check, so that you can print this information yourself using CKREG.
This also applies for the Bank institution Name and Address lines that
normally appear in the upper right hand corner of the check. If the
third-party check supplier refuses to do this or says that they cannot,
then simply find another supplier that will (Designer Checks Inc., toll
free 1-800-239-4770, is my current check form supplier). When you order
these check forms make sure that you specify Quicken(tm) Compatible
checks for whatever type and size check forms you plan on using.

40
Modifying the Check Form Configuration

To print a check to test whether or not CKREG is setup correctly to

use your check forms, first turn your printer on and load your forms
(most Laser type forms are loaded with the preprinted side facing down)
into the printer. Next, select RECORD Edit Mode from the program MAIN
menu, move to any register check transaction record, and simply press the
<F7> key to invoke the combined check Preview display and Print control
pop-up window.

Inspect the horizontal placement of the information from your check

on the displayed check's lines that will be printed (only the text which
is colored differently than the rest of the check's general color scheme
will be actually printed) to make sure that it fits and is all visible
within the constraints of the displayed check line. The vertical
placement of the check lines displayed are only approximations (not to
scale) due to the limitations of a text type display mode, and never
change on the displayed check in this window even if you change the
vertical line settings from CPCONFIG.

If you are satisfied with the horizontal placement of the fields

for each printable check line, press <F7> to actually print the check,
otherwise make note of the desired horizontal field placement changes,
exit CKREG and run the CPCONFIG utility to modify the check's horizontal
field settings to your specifications. To test the vertical line
placements on your check forms, you will need to print a check to make
sure that the text that is printed for each check line is positioned on
or slightly above each pre-printed check form line.

Note that you can test print all your changes on plain paper stock
first to eliminate wasting actual check forms. Place the real check form
behind the printed output test sheet, align both sheets at the top by
tapping them lightly on a hard surface, and then hold both sheets up to a
light bulb or other light source. You should be able to see the pre-
printed form's check lines through the first plain test sheet, and then
be able to easily determine whether or not the printed test sheet's
output text is correctly aligned to match your check forms.

To modify this default configuration for other size or type of

check forms, use the Check Print Configuration utility (CPCONFIG.EXE) to
match the forms and type of checks you plan on using. To do so, first
remove password protection from your account if applicable via SETUP
menu, USER PASSWORD option drop-down window, then Exit CKREG. Run the
CPCONFIG.EXE utility with your account name specified on the DOS
prompt command line, and follow the instructions provided here and on
the CPCONFIG utility's single screen to configure and customize your form
for check printing. Appendix F: CPCONFIG.EXE Form Settings Reference,
details typical values for the vertical line and horizontal field
placement settings for popularly used Form and Check sizes.

Form Length Sizes

CKREG check printing offers versatility by supporting a variety of

form sizes and is able to accommodate even non-standard sizes as well as

41
the more popular standard sizes. For Dot-Matrix type printers, CKREG
supports any form size from 1"- 21" in length (rounded to nearest 0.5"
increment) and will allow up to 6 checks per form to be specified via
CPCONFIG and printed. For Laser type printers, CKREG will program the
printer to use one of four possible form length sizes depending on the
value you specify for the Form Size setting at top of the CPCONFIG
screen. The default Laser form size is the popular U.S. Letter size, but
you can over-ride this by specifying other form size values from the
following table below. Note that CKREG will default to US Letter size if
you do not exactly match any one of the form length size values listed in
this table for CPCONFIG form length setting values.

Laser/Ink Jet Printer Form Type Size Length Values:

To print with form type: Use CPCONFIG form length value:

U.S. EXECUTIVE 10.5"

U.S. LETTER (default) 11.0"

EUROPEAN A4 (11.7") 11.5" or 12.0"

U.S. LEGAL 14.0"

* Any form length value used that is not listed here defaults to US
LETTER.

Vertical Line and Horizontal Field Settings

A ruler with 1/12th" (for vertical line placement) and 1/10th" (for
horizontal text field placement) increments will prove to be invaluable
in assisting you to quickly match and specify the exact measurements on
your check forms. Quicken(tm) compatible check forms for Dot-Matrix
printers have measurement lines and numbers preprinted on the form's
sprocket guide strip that can be used to set the correct vertical spacing
of check lines by specifying one less than the closest line number
printed there.

Vertical Alignment:

Place your ruler vertically with the Zero guide mark aligned
exactly with the top of the Laser check form (or Dot-Matrix Top of Form
perforation line) to obtain the number of 1/12" increments (distance) to
the DATE line of your first check on the form and use this value in the
CPCONFIG setting matrix for either type printer. To set values in the
matrix, use the <UP> or <DOWN> Arrow Keys to decrease or increase the
1/12" increments for each printable check line. The matrix Left column
is for Laser type printer specifications and the matrix Right column is
for Dot-Matrix printer specifications. Next, measure the distance in
1/12" from the DATE line to the next line down on the check form (Payee
Name), etc., until you have filled in the entire CPCONFIG setting matrix.

42
Horizontal Alignment:

Arriving at the correct horizontal settings to set for each printed

line of the check is easier because CKREG always prints 10 Pica sized
characters per inch, meaning that there's room for a maximum of 60
characters on one 6.0" line.

Hold your ruler horizontally now with the Zero guide mark aligned
exactly with the Left side of the check form. Start your measurement
from the start of the first printable character position of the PAYEE
line on the check and count up the number of characters you wish to
indent into this line before printing will begin. To set the beginning
Column number values, use the <LEFT> or <RIGHT> Arrow Keys to decrease or
increase the column number and starting position for each field on a
printable check line. Standard-sized Business check form users need
not worry about the horizontal placement of the check's DATE or AMOUNT
line fields since these will automatically be moved over to the right
margin relative to the same positioning used for the narrower 6.0" size
checks (8.5" wide forms minus the left and right 0.25" print margins
means that there are only 80 Pica size characters maximum possible per
print line).

Other CPCONFIG Form Settings

CPCONFIG.EXE offers a number of other features that allow you to

further customize forms for check printing with CKREG:

Indent Left Print Margin:

The Indent Left Print Margin setting is used to specify an absolute

print line Left hand margin indent "override" relative to the Left side
of a form. This value is the number of character positions to indent and
represents an additional offset prefixed before a line's field printing
begins. All your horizontal line settings will be shifted over to the
right margin by the number of columns you specify for this setting. Use
the <UP> or <DOWN> Arrow Keys to decrease or increase this setting's
value when positioned in this field. You'll notice that when you Preview
a check within CKREG, the check template display marks this absolute Left
margin offset in the lower left hand corner of the check with an upward
pointing triangle symbol.

One special use of this absolute Left Margin Indent setting allows
you to skip printing the leading stub portion of a Wallet sized check
form that has a leading stub thereby saving ink and wear on your printer
if you do not want to print the stub part. To accomplish this, first set
the printer Left Margin Indent value to at least +24 columns via the
CPCONFIG.EXE utility, then select the regular 6.0" non-stub Wallet sized
check View instead of the 6.0" Wallet sized with stub check View using
the <F4> key from the CKREG Preview/Print mode window before you print
your checks.

Vertical FINE Adjustment:

The Vertical FINE Adjustment setting is used when the CPCONFIG

43
1/12" granularity increment is too coarse to match the vertical
positioning of lines on your check forms, i.e. an initial offset from
Top-of-Form may be necessary to enable you to print exactly where you
want to if the vertical spacing on your forms cannot be matched with
1/12" increments. The fine adjustment offers an initial offset
granularity of 1/24" from Top-of-Form to be applied before printing the
rest of your check lines and is normally 0/24" (none and the default
CPCONFIG value for this setting) if you do not use this feature. All
your vertical line settings will be shifted downward by the value you
specify for this setting, but the distance between lines that you
specified in 1/12" increments will remain the same. Use the <UP> or
<DOWN> Arrow Keys to decrease or increase this setting's value when
positioned in this field.

Number of Checks per Form:

This setting is used to specify how many checks there are on your
check forms. Most popularly used Wallet sized multiple part check forms
have three checks per form, whereas 7.0" long by 8.5" wide Business sized
check forms for Dot-Matrix printers, have only two checks per form. To
specify the number of checks per form, use the <UP> or <DOWN> Arrow
keys to decrease or increase this setting's value when positioned in this
setting field.

Next Check's Starting Perforation on Form:

This setting is used in conjunction with the Number of Checks per

Form setting for multiple check forms to specify the distance in 1/12"
increments from a check's last printable line (the MEMO line) to the
form's next check perforation, i.e., the perforation line that marks the
end of one check and the beginning of the next check on the form. To
specify this distance in the matrix, use the <UP> or <DOWN> Arrow keys to
decrease or increase this setting's value when positioned in this setting
field.

Split Date Field:

This setting allows you to accommodate check forms that have two
leading pre-printed Century characters (i.e. "19" or "20") for the Date
field on the form. When this setting is set to "Y" or "ON", CKREG will
print the Date field on your check in a split-up format of "MM/DD YY"
instead of the default normal format of "MM/DD/YY". If you use this
feature to "split" the Date field in this manner, then you may need to
reposition the default CPCONFIG Date field starting position so that
CKREG does not print part of the Date on top of the pre-printed Century
characters on your check form. As you will notice, four character
positions are left intentionally blank between the leading "MM/DD" and
trailing "YY" parts of the date parts for this purpose. To set the Split
Date feature "ON" or "OFF", use the <UP> or <DOWN> Arrow keys, or type
<Y> or <N> to make your selection when positioned in this setting field.
Notice that CKREG's Preview/Print Check mode check template displayed
Date field will reflect your selection for this setting.

44
Prefix Dollar Sign("$"):

This setting allows you to accommodate check forms that do not

have a leading dollar sign character ("$") for the Amount field pre-
printed on the check form (most check forms already include the dollar
sign). When this setting is set to "Y" or "ON", CKREG will pre-fix your
check Amount with a "$" character. To set the Prefix Dollar Sign feature
"ON" or "OFF", use the <UP> or <DOWN> Arrow keys, or type <Y> or <N> to
make your selection when positioned in this setting field. Notice that
CKREG's Preview/Print Check mode check template displayed Amount field
will reflect your selection for this setting.

Leading Stub for 6.0" Check Width Sizes:

This setting can be set to "Y" or "N" ("ON" or "OFF") within

CPCONFIG to specify whether or not your check forms have a leading stub
part. CKREG will pre-select the Stub View for you when you invoke the
Preview/Print mode. However, it is CKREG and the final View that you
select to print with from Preview/Print mode that ultimately directs
CKREG to include or not include a printed Stub part on your check form,
i.e., your final selected displayed View prior to printing over-rides the
setting for this CPCONFIG field. To set the Leading Stub feature "ON" or
"OFF", use the <UP> or <DOWN> Arrow keys, or type <Y> or <N> to make your
selection when positioned in this setting field.

Saving your Form Configuration Specifications

Once you have reviewed or set your measurements in

CPCONFIG.EXE, select the <S> key to Save your new configuration and
make it permanent for your CKREG account, <R> to Reset all values to
their default settings (initial pre-setup CPCONFIG values), or <U> to
Undo changes you made since the last save you may have done during this
editing session of CPCONFIG. Exit the utility using the <X> key. If you
have changed any values and haven't saved them yet, then CPCONFIG will
prompt you to Save them before exiting. Answer <Y> to Save your edit
session changes, <N> to Abandon them, or <ESC> to cancel exiting the
program. Upon returning to the DOS prompt, you will receive a final
confirmation message from CPCONFIG for your editing session.

Printing you Checks

Load your printer with the forms you intend to use and turn the
printer on. Dot-Matrix type printer users need to carefully set Top-of-
Form (turn printer off, align the top of the printing ribbon with the
form perforation and then turn printer back on) for absolute vertical
accuracy. Note that it is possible to obtain an acceptable +/- 1 or +/-
2-pin vertical misalignment tolerance factor only after several re-
iterations of manually moving the printer roller up or down just
slightly, resetting the top-of-form, and then printing another check to
test the results.

45
 Re-run CKREG.EXE for your account, select Main Menu RECORD
Edit Mode, move to the check transaction record you plan on printing, and
type <F7> to invoke the check Preview/Print mode in order to preview your
changes and print your check. Select the View that represents the type
and size of your forms via the <F4> key. Then select other options as
appropriate from the print control window before printing (see section
below on print control functions). You may want to include or reposition
the PAYEE Name address on the displayed check, or Turn Bold printing
"OFF", for example. Finally, type the <F7> key again, or alternately
single Mouse click the [F7=Print CK] option text in the print control
window, to actually print the check(s).

Once the check is printed a timed confirmation pop-up message box

will appear reminding you to sign the issued check, and you will be
returned to the same check transaction record in RECORD Edit mode.
Notice that the form in the printer is not ejected (or not advanced to
next Top-of Form for Dot-Matrix type printers) until you have printed the
total number of checks that are possible for your form, unless you decide
to manually eject it (or advance to next Top-of-Form for Dot-Matrix
printers) with the <F1> key. If you are using the special <F9> prepare
un-issued checks feature, you will not be automatically returned to
RECORD Edit mode after printing your checks. To close the Preview/Print
mode window display and return to RECORD Edit mode, type <ESC> or
<ENTER>, or alternately single Mouse click the [ESC/CR=CLOSE] option text
in the print control window.

CKREG.EXE and CPCONFIG.EXE work together to remember your

form configuration settings and the settings of the most current print
check session as well for the next time you are ready to print a
check(s). Once you have initially configured your forms for printing via
the CPCONFIG.EXE utility, and have printed a check from within CKREG.EXE,
you will never need to re-configure check printing again via CPCONFIG
unless you decide to change your current form settings.

46
CKREG Check Preview/Print Mode Functions

<F1> Advance to Top-of-Form and reset it.

<F2> Skip to next check on multiple check forms. Useful if

you are using Business size checks/forms with a
voucher part and wish to skip over and not print on the
voucher.

<F3> Bold Printing On/Off. Set print quality weight to either

Bold on or off. You can save ink and wear on your
printer by turning bolding off. Note: it's best not to use
Economy mode for Laser/Inkjet type printers equipped
with a control panel Economy mode switch, because
your printed output will be less crisp than if you used
CKREG's normal bold-off printing mode by itself.

<F4> View/Select the type of check you wish to print. Note:

moving the printer Left Margin to at least +24 columns
from within the CPCONFIG.EXE utility, and then
selecting the non-stub Wallet sized View will enable
you to print on Wallet sized check forms without
printing the stub part if you wish, thereby saving ink.

<F5> Include your Address information at top of check when

check is printed. Useful if you explicitly order a range of
check forms without the pre-printed Address
information so that you will not have to re-order checks
if you change your address and thereby save money.
Also allows you specify/control exactly what and how
this information is printed on your checks. The
associated <F3> Bold Heading selection when selected
in conjunction with <F5>, will print the first line of your
address information (typically your name or company
name) in Bold weight for Laser/Inkjet type printers, or
the entire address section in Bold if you are using a Dot-
Matrix type printer.

<F6> Position and include the Payee Name and Address in

the lower section of the check when check is printed.
Useful for windowed envelops.

<F7> Print the check, or checks if <F9> mode active.

47
<F8> Same as <F5> but for the Bank institution name/address
section as the top of your check. You could
conceivably change Bank branches with your Bank
account number and MICR info remaining the same,
thus no real need to re-order checks just to
accommodate a bank address change.

<F9> Automatically prepare un-issued multiple copies of your

checks for hand-written usage if you need to print your
name and address on the checks. Used in conjunction
with <F5> and <F8>, but not <F6> since you would not
normally want to pre-print a payee name's address for
un-issued checks. Selecting <F7> when this mode is
active will prompt for the number of copies to be
printed (make sure you have enough paper first).

<F10> (Not documented on screen). To be used in conjunction

with <F9> prep mode to add printed lines to check
forms without any pre-printed lines.

<ESC> or <CR> Close the Preview/Print mode window. Normally you are
automatically returned to Record Edit Mode after
successfully printing a check.

48
SECTION 5: Importing/Exporting CKREG accounts via RWQIF

Overview

RWQIF.EXE is a flexible utility that can read or write .QIF

(Quicken Interchange Format) files in order to make account or
transaction record conversions possible between CKREG and any other
financial application that can also read or write .QIF files. For
example, use RWQIF to import a Quicken(tm) non-investment type account
into a CKREG general type account or vice-a-versa. CKREG users can use
RWQIF account conversion to export their account to Quicken(tm) in order
to use its graphing or report capabilities, and Quicken(tm) users can
export check transactions they wish to print to CKREG in order to use its
check printing capabilities so that they can print on non-proprietary
check forms at half the cost, or print their Name and Address information
on their checks themselves, etc.

Transaction Types Supported

1. Regular Bank transactions (i.e., credit/debit amounts).

2. Account Categories records (except sub-categories or classes).

3. Memorized transactions (up to 500 per import/export operation).

4. Cash or Credit transactions.

5. PAYEE addresses (up to 3 lines) for both Bank and Memorized trans.

6. (Scheduled trans. are imported/exported without the scheduling info.)

Date Range Feature

In addition to selective transaction type importing/exporting,

RWQIF will also allow you to specify a DATE range (start and end DATES)
so that you can limit which transactions of your account are imported or
exported. RWQIF uses the MM/DD/YY format and interprets YY values LESS
than 80 to be based in the year 2000+. For example, the start date of
01/01/00 would be interpreted by RWQIF as Jan. 1, 2000.

Creating or Importing to a CKREG Account:

You can import transactions into a new (empty) or already

established CKREG account. Importing into an existing CKREG account
will allow you to preserve and use your personal account information,
categories, and associated Payee Name address file that already exist for
that account. The personal account information, category definition
list, and Payee Name Address file are used to supply optional and
customized information on your printed checks. If you wish to import an
account or records into a new CKREG account, first run CKREG supplying a
new account name and starting balance amount, and then exit CKREG and
elect to Save changes from the EXIT menu. Next run RWQIF and specify the
new CKREG account name as the target of the Import operation.

49
 When creating a new CKREG account from an exported .QIF file,
always import the Bank transactions AND Categories first so that
subsequent transactions imported will find the defined categories. Next,
import any Cash/Credit type transactions, and then import the Memorized
type transactions so that RWQIF can apply memorization to both the Bank
transaction and Cash/Credit transaction types when you import Memorized
transactions.

Note that only up to 127 CKREG categories are possible, so reduce

the size of your category list first if necessary (if you have more than
127 categories or are importing into a CKREG account that already has
categories defined) before exporting them to CKREG by deleting those you
don't use or that where defined by default for you by the other financial
application. Additionally, any category label shorter than five
characters will be filled out to five places with the underscore
character so that CKREG (which right justifies category labels in the
category definition window) will still be able to find the category for
use with the Category first letter quick entry method when the record
mode editing cursor is positioned in the record's home position (you can
remove the underscore characters if you like by editing the category
labels).

To import Cash or Credit transactions into a CKREG account, first

export them into separate .QIF files from the other financial
application. These Cash or Credit transactions will NOT be considered
part of the CKREG running balance and therefore not reconcilable unless
you unmark them (remove their CA/CR status in the CKNUM field). CA/CR
type transactions are not merged chronologically with existing Bank
transactions. You may wish to create separate CKREG accounts for these
cash or credit transactions.

Note that Quicken transactions marked as "Print" will be exported

by Quicken without an associated check number ("*****" is substituted by
Quicken instead). If you wish to preserve the record's check number,
then remove the "Print" attribute first before exporting the record.
CKREG will assign check# one (1) to any check record it finds that
contains the Quicken produced "*****" check number field substitution.

RWQIF ignores any "Opening Balance" record found in a .QIF file

since the CKREG account must already exist (even if empty) and a starting
balance has already been established as part of creating a CKREG
account. When importing an entire CKREG account into a new Quicken
account, always specify the earliest CKREG record date and the initial
balance you established for the CKREG account when you created it. If on
the other hand you are just importing a range of CKREG records into
Quicken, then specify the record date that marks the beginning of that
range of records and do not specify a beginning balance.

Exporting a CKREG Account:

Exported Memorized records do not have an associated DATE field

per .QIF specification which means that an import operation DATE range

50
will have no effect, i.e., all memorized transactions exported from the
other
financial application found in the .QIF will be imported. If you wish to
selectively limit which memorized transactions are imported into CKREG,
then apply a DATE range when you export them from the other application
first. Note that a DATE range can be applied by RWQIF when exporting
memorized transactions, however, like above, the resultant .QIF records
won't have a DATE field per .QIF specification.

When exporting a CKREG account, you will note that you cannot
export BANK and Cash/Credit type transactions into the same .QIF file.
This is to prevent you from accidentally importing both of these type
transactions into the same Quicken account because it normally uses
separate accounts for Cash or Credit type transactions. However, you can
still combine all these transactions types if you wish by exporting them
into separate .QIF files and then import them into the same account from
within Quicken.

To export CKREG Categories as either an Income or Expense type to

Quicken, CKREG Income type category labels MUST start with any upper or
lower case combination of the three letters "INC" to be considered an
Income
type of Category, otherwise it is exported as an Expense type of category
to the .QIF file.

RWQIF prevents duplicate Category records and PAYEE addresses

from being imported into or exported from a CKREG ACCOUNT. Duplicate
transactions, however, are not prevented, nor are they chronologically
sorted, i.e., any new transactions are always added following the last
defined record in a CKREG account, and all records are exported in the
order that they physically occur in the CKREG account.

RWQIF combines a CKREG record's AMOUNT and FEE field (if FEE
exists in addition to the AMOUNT field) when exporting records since the
.QIF specification has no provision for per-transaction FEE amounts.

To enable Quicken to "quick fill" PAYEE addresses inside the check

print window so that addresses can be printed on checks printed from
Quicken, they need to be associated with Quicken Memorized records. So
make sure that you mark any transaction with an associated PAYEE
address you wish to export from CKREG as a memorized transaction, and
then export memorized transactions. CKREG does not have this limitation,
i.e., any check transaction (whether memorized or not) that has an
associated PAYEE address will automatically appear in the Preview/Print
Check window ready to be printed. Note that RWQIF will automatically
update (append address records to) a CKREG address (.ADR) file if the
CKREG account already has an address file defined, otherwise it will
create a new address file for that account when it first encounters an
importable PAYEE address in a .QIF file.

Backup your Account Data Files

It is highly recommended that you back-up your account data files

first (CKREG or other financial application) BEFORE attempting to

51
experiment with importing or exporting records with RWQIF so that you
can easily restore the former status and data of an account should the
final end result of an account conversion (or record import/export
operation) not be what you intended.

52
SECTION 6: Known Problems/Limitations/Work-Arounds

Some of CKREG.EXE's limitations have already been noted and

discussed in the preceding sections of this manual. What follows is a
list of known problems and/or program limitations arranged by function, a
brief discussion of the problem scenario, and a suggested work-around
wherever possible. If you discover a new CKREG.EXE problem not
discussed here or elsewhere in this manual, please record the exact
circumstances leading to this problem, and forward this detailed problem
description report to the program author via Email: PierreDesl@aol.com.

RECORD Edit Mode:

1. Problem: <ESC> key didn't make my changes to a record permanent.

Solution: <ESC> is reserved for un-doing a field edit or Exiting

Record mode. You must use <TAB> or <ENTER> to conclude and commit an
edit change in any one particular field within a given record.

2. Problem: <ESC> key does not Exit Record Mode.

Solution: You are not on the highest possible register number for
your account which contains multiple registers. The Record mode Stats
line at the top of the Record mode screen indicates which register of
your account is the currently viewable and editable one. Switch views
to the next sequential numbered register by using the <CTRL><PGDN>
keystroke combination until you have reached the last or highest numbered
one of your account. If you are in doubt as to how many registers your
account contains, select the Account function from the Main menu and look
at the total number of registers for your account recorded there.

3. Problem: You cannot enter another new record in current register.

Solution: The current register is full, i.e., you have reached the
maximum record count capacity (500) for any one register of an account.
Position the edit cursor in any field of the last record of that register
and press the <CTRL><2> keystroke combination to add a new register to
your account and make it the current editable one.

4. Problem: You cannot use <ALT><A-Z,0-9> or <F5> or <F6> to enter a

marked re-usable record for the first record in any one account register.

Solution: This is a known program limitation and applies only to

the first record of a new register. Sorry, enter the first record of any
new register manually.

53
SECTION 7: Summary of CKREG.EXE Features and Specifications

General CKREG.EXE Program Specifications:

Number of CKREG.EXE unique user accounts: Unlimited

Number of check registers (ledgers) per account: 1,000

Number of transactions (records) per account register: 500

Number of user definable transaction Categories: 127

Maximum Check Number per account: 99,999

Maximum value for any one Credit entry transaction: +32,767.99

Minimum value for any one Debit entry transaction: -32,767.99

Minimum System conventional memory required: 256KB

Minimum Disk space required for initial account configuration: 160KB

Approximate file compression ratio for CKREG.EXE data files: 4:1

Expected lifetime of one user account with moderate usage: ~100 yrs

Summary of CKREG.EXE Features/Advantages:

* Auto-Balance feature speeds the otherwise normally time consuming

and error prone monthly checking account reconciliation task.

* Record Auto-Post Scheduling feature allows you to define and schedule

any number of automatically entered transactions for any Date interval
period in daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly increments.

* The Payee Name Recall, or Re-usable transaction records feature, easily

and intuitively permits you to re-use a previously defined account
transaction record template to largely avoid repetitive and error prone
data entry and speed along your daily or weekly posting/editing account
maintenance activity.

* User definable account Password protection, permanent data file

encryption, a record screen blanker, and a keyboard editing lock feature
provide adequate and easily understood and enabled account security
measures for your valuable and private data.

* Each CKREG.EXE account is user customizable to allow the optional

addition of Personal and Bank information, transaction categories,
Payee addresses, and memos for account records. Also either a Laser
HP(tm) compatible or Epson(tm) Dot-Matrix type printer is configurable
for operation using either LPT1 or LPT2 as the parallel device I/O port.

54
* Numerous Edit and Video Options to allow customization of
preferences for Editing or the screen display, including user custom
screen colors (or monochromatic) palette and a programmable Auto-
Save account edits updating feature.

* An integrated Preview/Print check mode to allow you to preview,

customize, and then print your checks. Supports Laser or Dot-Matrix
type printers, multiple check and variable length forms (including
European, and Legal sizes), and three types of checks: 6.0" Wallet, 6.0"
Wallet with Stub, and 8.5" Business sizes.

* Up to 127 User definable account transaction Categories allowing you

to record and track your expense/income transactions, and to optionally
produce a report that summarizes your account activity in terms of
these account categories via CKREG.EXE's companion utility
CATS.EXE.

* CKREG.EXE supports a Print Screen from anywhere in the program via

the standard ROM-BIOS Print Screen Interrupt 5 <SHFT><PRTSCR>
keystroke combination, plus it will filter unprintable ASCII characters
for Dot-Matrix type printers.

* A simple program Menu system and fast and easy one letter hot-key
selection of all program menu items.

* CKREG.EXE main screen primary interface is visible at all times, and

the system CMOS Date and Time is reported on-screen and continuously
updated while your account is open.

* Account and individual register vital statistics are available on-

screen at a glance while you work with your account transactions.

* One-level ability to un-do field record edits or errors, plus the one-
level ability to restore entire edited records to their former values,
even if deleted.

* CKREG.EXE's companion utility EXPORT.EXE supplies the enhanced

capability to export your account's data records to other applications
capable of importing standard TAB delimited ASCII records so that you
can further manipulate your account data, for example: some popular
Database applications allow you to produce various types of graphical
representations or reports of your data.

* CKREG.EXE's companion utility RWQIF.EXE supplies the enhanced

capability to export your account's data records and categories to other
financial applications that support the popular .QIF format. RWQIF also
allows you to import accounts from other financial applications that
support the .QIF format.

* CKREG.EXE's companion utility CHNGNAME.EXE allows you to easily

change the name of your account globally.

* The Record mode Find Text feature enables you to quickly search

55
through your account's transaction records Payee Name and/or
Description fields in order to locate one or multiple instances of a user
defined text string if you need help finding one or more particular
transactions not currently on-screen.

* Program operation, reliability, accuracy, and flexibility was

extensively
tested by program author during the six year plus development period
for various account configurations from light-to-heavy usage for on-
going and typical checking account maintenance and reconciliation
activity.

* One program author, with one source for product support in addition to
the detailed User's Operational Guide.

* CKREG.EXE is a non-GUI standard Real mode DOS 80x25 (80x43 or

80x50 with VGA system) Text mode character based application written
in 100% hand-crafted Assembly language which means a small memory
footprint, and a very fast responsive feel for the user-interface and all
internal program operations.

* Lightning fast 16-bit Integer Math for all numerical computations,

i.e., a
numeric co-processor is not needed or supported.

* Can be run on any 286/386/486 AT compatible computer. The user

interface is keyboard and optionally Mouse driven.

* CKREG.EXE's multiple "virtual" register (ledger) operation for any one

account which translates into very fast access to all account registers
and records no matter how large a size an account may grow to.
Because of this multiple register file scheme, a CKREG.EXE account is
more immune against complete account data corruption or loss. Also,
an account's data files are easy to back-up, compress very well, and
require very little secondary storage space, for example, years of
checking account activity data files will fit easily on a single
diskette.

* Windows(tm) 3.X compatible, including the program's non-use of

Windows (tm) reserved system level hot-keys, example: <ALT><TAB>.

* A large block-shaped or single-line blinking Record Mode editing

cursor. Also, the User interface display will continue to be very
readable even on a laptop or smaller type hand-held computer screen,
or with most of the scalable window sizes and font selections available
under a Windows(tm) enhanced mode DOS box session.

* Standardized Drop-down or Pop-up 3-D effect function windows

superimposed over the single CKREG.EXE screen through-out the
entire program interface.

* No additional monthly expenses, or per-transaction fees, for

subscribing to and using one of the popular on-line modem-linked type
Electronic Bank merchant payment systems.

56
* Color or Monochrome monitor operation using any display adapter that
supports the industry standard ROM-BIOS 80x25 Text display mode.
Higher resolution Text display modes are available for VGA systems.

* CKREG.EXE will continue to operate correctly when the next Century

roll-over event occurs, i.e., a transaction record Date field greater or
equal to the year 2000 AD.

* Record mode editing and special function Key Help is always visible on
screen or requires only one keystroke combination to quickly refer to
Key Help while editing your account records. Plus a single key Help
topic bookmarking feature.

* File input/output type error trapping and recovery if possible.

Concise and clear pop-up window type user advisory messages to instruct
you when abnormal operational situations occur that require your
attention or some further action on your part.

* No hidden program features, interfaces, or back-door accessibility to

program or account data, i.e., all CKREG.EXE features and functions are
clearly documented here in this manual.

* A DOS Disk Reset system function call (Interrupt 21H, function AH=0DH)
is performed after all program controlled file writes in order to commit
them to the DOS File system and thereby update your account data files
immediately in case there are any software caching applications active
in your system that can delay these write updates and possibly cause
you data-loss if you power-down your system before the cache is
committed.

57
APPENDIX A: Sample set of User Definable Categories

This sample chart of account expenditure and income categories is

organized alphabetically by Category Name/Label. Note that categories
defined in this sample reflect expenditures or income for a typical
household with children. You may undoubtedly want to define your own
categories and breakdown of sub-categories depending on your exact
needs.

CATEGORY NAME/LABEL DESCRIPTION

AUTO1 gas, oil

AUTO2 maintenance, repair
AUTO3 parts, accessories
AUTO4 tabs, licensing
AUTO5 parking
AUTO6 purchase
AUTO7 insurance
AUTO8 loans
AUTO9 misc
BANK1 service fees
BANK2 checks, supplies
BANK3 misc
COMP1 computer purchase
COMP2 computer maintenance, repair
COMP3 computer parts, supplies
COMP4 software
COMP5 misc
COND1 mortgage, insurance, tax
COND2 homeowners fee
COND3 maintenance, repair
COND4 purchases, appliances
COND5 assessments, refinancing
COND6 misc
COND7 remodel, additions
CLOT1 cloths, regular purchases
CLOT2 cloths, sports purchases
CLOT3 maintenance, cleaners
CLOT4 misc
CRED1 credit card payments
CRED2 misc
DAYC1 daycare
DAYC2 baby-sitter
DAYC3 supplies
DAYC4 misc
EDUC1 tuition, supplies, fees
EDUC2 misc
ENTE1 entertainment, video, movies
ENTE2 entertainment, plays, ballets
ENTE3 sports/sports events
ENTE4 books
ENTE5 toys other than Xmas/birthdays

58
ENTE6 pets, supplies
ENTE7 musical instrum., repair/supply
ENTE8 music recordings
ENTE9 misc
FINE1 tickets, fines
FINE2 misc
FOOD1 grocery
FOOD2 restaurant
FOOD3 coffee
FOOD4 alcohol
FOOD5 misc
GIFT1 Xmas
GIFT2 birthdays
GIFT3 misc
HEAL1 physician
HEAL2 dentist
HEAL3 therapist
HEAL4 vision
HEAL5 veterinarian
HEAL6 pharmacy
HEAL7 misc
HOUS1 mortgage, insurance, tax
HOUS2 maintenance, repair
HOUS3 purchases, appliances
HOUS4 assessments, refinancing
HOUS6 yard maintenance
HOUS7 wood, other fuel
HOUS8 other loans
HOUS9 rugs, artwork
HOU10 misc
HOU11 remodel, additions
INCO1 salary income
INCO2 rent
INCO3 gifts, personal loans
INCO4 stock dividends
INCO5 bonus
INCO6 consulting
INCO7 unemployment
INCO8 health/child care reimbursement
INCO9 income tax refund
INCO0 misc
INSU1 insurance other than autos/house
INSU2 misc
MISC1 cash
MISC2 personal loans
MISC3 donations
MISC4 business costs
MISC5 office supplies
MISC6 postage, other
MISC7 misc
PERS1 haircut/style, other
PERS2 health club
PERS3 toiletries, cosmetics, supplies
PERS4 misc

59
SERV1 services, accountant
SERV2 services, lawyer
SERV3 services, photo
SERV4 services, misc
SUBS1 subscriptions, mags/newspaper
SUBS2 misc
TRAV1 travel, airfare, other
TRAV2 hotels
TRAV3 car rental
TRAV4 misc
UTIL1 house, gas
UTIL2 house, electricity
UTIL3 house, water
UTIL4 house, sewage
UTIL5 house, garbage
UTIL6 house, phone
UTIL7 house, misc
UTIL8 condo, electricity
UTIL9 condo, misc

60
APPENDIX B: Using the Category Summation Utility

Purpose:

Quickly produce an up-to-date Category Summation Report suitable

for printing featuring an organized breakdown of your account categories
with their monthly averages and YTD totals for your account. This
utility is invoked once for each year of your account that you wish to
produce a summation report on. The program output of CATS.EXE can be
redirected to a DOS filename of your choice by employing the reserved DOS
redirection symbol (">") on the program's invocation command line.
Individually produced yearly reports can then be combined and/or
condensed into a single report file by using a document editor capable of
editing and merging the standard ASCII text files that are produced.

Program Invocation:

CATS.EXE Utility program invocation command line usage:

CATS ACCOUNT_NAME YEAR MONTHS <CR>

Where:

ACCOUNT_NAME is the base name of the Account for which

Category Summation is to be performed on. This command line argument
is required and cannot exceed 8 characters.

YEAR is the Year on which the Summation is based. This

command line argument is required and cannot exceed 4 characters.

MONTHS is the Month Count for specified YEAR, i.e., 12 for an

Entire year or less (1-11) to specify the current Month number of the
Current year. This argument is required and cannot exceed 2 characters.

Special Note:

Your Account password must be cleared to run this utility program.

61
APPENDIX C: Using the Export Records Utility

Purpose:

Quickly convert a copy of your Account data records and Account

Category definition records to Exportable TAB-DELIMITED ASCII Text
record files named REGDATA.TXT and CATDATA.TXT respectively. Once
these new text files are created, their data records can be Imported by
other popular applications that support the Importing of TAB-DELIMITED
ASCII TEXT records. Specify the other application's Import selection
options to use the TAB character to delimit RECORD fields and NO
character to delimit TEXT fields. Once you have imported CKREG.EXE's
record transactions and category definition records you can use the other
application's Graphing and Report generation features, if supported, to
further manipulate your account data. The two Exportable Text record
files produced by this utility do not prefix the ASCII text file records
with any sort of column heading information, so if you desire this
information to be used by the other application importing the records,
you will need to add this information yourself with a document editor
capable of reading and changing plain ASCII Text files before you attempt
to Import your account data records.

Program Invocation:

EXPORT.EXE Utility program invocation command line usage:

EXPORT ACCOUNT_NAME <CR>

Where:

ACCOUNT_NAME is the base name of the Account for which

Exportable records are to be made. This command line argument is
required and cannot exceed 8 characters.

Special Note:

Your Account password must be cleared to run this utility program.

62
APPENDIX D: Using the Change Account Name Utility

Purpose:

Provide the means of changing the name of a CKREG.EXE account.

You cannot just use the DOS Rename command to accomplish an Account
name change because the account's name is also embedded in its data
and information files. Note that this utility leaves a copy of the
original account intact in case you need to revert back to it for
whatever reason, and that you can delete this old account copy when you
have verified that the new account copy works correctly under CKREG.EXE.
Also in the event that you specify a NEW account name that already
exists, you will need to do one of the following: 1) specify a different
NEW account name, 2) change the name of the duplicate existing one, 3)
delete the duplicate existing one, or 4) move that account to another
subdirectory.

Program Invocation:

CHNGNAME.EXE Utility program invocation command line usage:

CHNGNAME ACCOUNT_NAME NEW_ACCNT_NAME <CR>

Where:

ACCOUNT_NAME is the base name of the Account to RENAME. This

command line argument is required and cannot exceed 8 characters.

NEW_ACCNT_NAME is the NEW base name for the same Account.

This command line argument is required and cannot exceed 8 characters.

Special Note:

Your Account password must be cleared to run this utility program.

63
APPENDIX E: Using the Set VGA 50-Line Text Mode Utility

Purpose:

(VGA equipped systems only)

The SET50L.EXE utility enables you to set the DOS prompt screen
into VGA 50-line text display mode without having to install ANSI.SYS in
your Config.sys file and using the DOS Mode command: MODE 80, 50. If
you wish to run either of the CKREG utilities: CPCONFIG and RWQIF in one
of the higher VGA text display modes, then the DOS prompt screen must
already be in one of the higher VGA text display modes. To restore the
DOS prompt screen to the standard 80x25-line Text display mode, simply
type: MODE CO80 <ENTER> (color systems) or MODE BW80 <ENTER>
(monochrome systems), or reboot your system. This usage of the DOS
MODE command works even if ANSI.SYS is not installed in your system.

Program Invocation:

SET50L.EXE Utility program invocation command line usage:

SET50L <ENTER>

Note: You can optionally invoke the SET50L utility from your
Autoexec.bat when you boot your system.

64
APPENDIX F: CPCONFIG.EXE Form Settings Reference

Summary:

CPCONFIG.EXE settings for popularly used Form and Check sizes.

FORM TYPE FORM LENGTH CHECK SIZE #CHKS/FORM

==================================================================
Laser, Sheet* 11.0" Wallet, 6.0" w/Stub 3

Laser, Sheet 11.0" Business, 8.5" 3

Dot-Matrix, Continuous 8.5 Wallet, 6.0" w/Stub 3

Dot-Matrix, Continuous 7.0" Business, 8.5" 2

CPCONFIG.EXE Settings Arranged By Form Type and Check Size:

FORM TYPE FORM LENGTH CHECK SIZE #CHKS/FORM

==================================================================

Laser, Sheet* 11.0" Wallet, 6.0" w/Stub 3

CHECK LINE SETTINGS: CHECK FIELD SETTINGS:

Line Vertical Offset Field Horizontal Start Column

TOF Fine +00/24"

DATE +09/12" DATE 48
PAYEE/$ +02/12" PAYEE/$ 06 and 46
SPELL +02/12" SPELL 01
MEMO +14/12" MEMO 01
NEXT PERF +07/12"

OTHER SETTINGS:

Indent Left Print Margin: +00 Columns

Split Date Field: No
Prefix "$" to Amount Field: No
Leading Stub: Yes

(*Default Form type, check size and settings for CPCONFIG.EXE)

65
FORM TYPE FORM LENGTH CHECK SIZE #CHKS/FORM
==================================================================

Laser, Sheet 11.0" Business, 8.5" 3

CHECK LINE SETTINGS: CHECK FIELD SETTINGS:

Line Vertical Offset Field Horizontal Start Column

TOF Fine +00/24"

DATE +12/12" DATE 48
PAYEE/$ +06/12" PAYEE/$ 08 and 46
SPELL +04/12" SPELL 01
MEMO +14/12" MEMO 07
NEXT PERF +06/12"

OTHER SETTINGS:

Indent Left Print Margin: +00 Columns

Split Date Field: No
Prefix "$" to Amount Field: No
Leading Stub: No

FORM TYPE FORM LENGTH CHECK SIZE #CHKS/FORM

==================================================================

Dot-Matrix, Continuous 8.5" Wallet, 6.0" w/Stub 3

CHECK LINE SETTINGS: CHECK FIELD SETTINGS:

Line Vertical Offset Field Horizontal Start Column

TOF Fine +00/24"

DATE +09/12" DATE 48
PAYEE/$ +02/12" PAYEE/$ 06 and 46
SPELL +02/12" SPELL 01
MEMO +14/12" MEMO 04
NEXT PERF +07/12"

OTHER SETTINGS:

Indent Left Print Margin: +00 Columns

Split Date Field: No
Prefix "$" to Amount Field: No
Leading Stub: Yes

66
FORM TYPE FORM LENGTH CHECK SIZE #CHKS/FORM
==================================================================

Dot-Matrix, Continuous 7.0" Business, 8.5" 2

CHECK LINE SETTINGS: CHECK FIELD SETTINGS:

Line Vertical Offset Field Horizontal Start Column

TOF Fine +00/24"

DATE +12/12" DATE 48
PAYEE/$ +06/12" PAYEE/$ 08 and 46
SPELL +04/12" SPELL 01
MEMO +12/12" MEMO 07
NEXT PERF +08/12"

OTHER SETTINGS:

Indent Left Print Margin: +00 Columns

Split Date Field: No
Prefix "$" to Amount Field: No
Leading Stub: No

67
68