    This text can be found in help2.txt file. You may read it using any word
processor. This will enable you to run Pitih program and at the same time
read this help file while navigating the program.


INTRODUCTION
============
    PITIH is a double entry accounting program. Basic accounting knowledge
is required to operate the program. Normally on a manual system (and some 
computerised system!), for every transaction, you will make two entries. 
One on debit and the other is on credit side. Problems arise when entries 
are made not balanced. For example, only on side of the account is entered 
or both sides on debit or the two entries are made with different figure. 

    Using PITIH, you only made one entry for "Amount". Then you are forced 
to choose a Debit account and a Credit account. This way you have a 
perfectly balanced transaction entry with minimal keystroke. Report on Trial 
Balance is still provided so that you can check correct entry is made on 
Debit or Credit side.

Important
---------
    In the event of "Abnormal Termination", for example, the program was 
shut off due to power failure, accidental switching off the computer etc,
unbalanced entry may occur (future version will implement Transactions 
Rollback).  
    
    The condition for unbalanced entry to occur is only when you are at 
the Transaction screen and a transaction is about to be added. If there is 
an abnormal termination between the time you save the entry (by pressing 
ENTER or left click "Save") and data saved to file, unbalanced entry may 
occur. While the time "window" is less than a second and therefore is a 
rare event, it is advisable that you check the last entry the next time 
you use the program.
  
    There will be no problem if abnormal termination occurs at other time.
Please note that to protect the database integrity, the next time you use 
the program, it will reindex the database when it detects abnormal 
termination. On a large database it may need sometime to finish.



============================================================================
Notes on Shareware version
--------------------------
    ALL reports are only generated on screen. Option to save or print report
is only available in Registered version.

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

Shortcut from Desktop (Windows XP)
----------------------------------
    If you are using Windows XP, it is very convenient to launch your Pitih 
program from the Desktop. You can easily create a shortcut by following the
steps below.

    1.  Right click on Pitih and point cursor to "Send to".
    2.  Left click on "Desktop (create shortcut)".

    You should now be able to see the shortcut icon on the Desktop. Just
double click the icon from the Desktop to launch the program. 
    
    You may rename the shortcut or change its icon to be more appropriate.
Follow the following procedure to change the icon.

    1. From the Desktop right click on "Shortcut to Pitih" and left click 
       "Properties"
    2. Left click on "Program" 
    3. Left click "Change Icon...".

    You should be able to see a list of icons to choose from. Choose a
more appropriate icon. I suggest that you choose the icon showing green 
money. Finally left click "OK" to confirm your choice.


Quick view on using this program.
==================================
    The first thing you must do is to define your opening balance date in 
SETUP. You don't have to define any financial periods. Then proceed to 
define your accounts code and key in your current business transactions 
immediately. You can do your opening balance later when you are ready.
To enter your closing stock, just enter the stock check date and the 
total stock value. To close a financial period, key in the closing date 
and choose between monthly or yearly close. You can undo the close anytime, 
enter new transaction, delete or modify a transaction and close again at a 
different date for as many years as you like and undo every close if 
desired! This feature make this program extremely useful for budgetting and
"what if" senario. Its simplicity is also highly desirable if you do 
accounts for others. Of course you can always use it to run a small 
business.

    If you run this program on simulated DOS under Windows 3.x/95/98/ME/XP,
you can switch between Full text Screen and a Window by pressing ALT-ENTER.



                            NAVIGATION
============================================================================
    The following is the standard key used through out the program.

ESC=Previous screen
F3=Add F4=Edit F5=Delete 
F7=Print or Report
F9=Save or in some cases Print.

    When browsing data or text:
Arrow keys = Navigation
CTRL-PgUp = Go to the top of text or data.
CTRL-PgDn = Go to the bottom of text or data.

       Most operations can be done using the keyboard. The exception is to 
choose the sort order of a field where you must use the mouse to left click 
on the field name (column header) to select which field to sort (see below).


Note on sorting
---------------
    In browse screen, if you see a field with <  > or <<  >> around it, you 
will be able to select the sort order of the database for display and 
search. For example in the Transactions browse screen, if you want to sort
<DocRef> in alphabetical order, click on <DocRef>. The field will now appear
<<DocRec>> indicating that DocRef is now sorted in alphabetical order.if 
you look at the top left hand corner, you will see "Search (DocRef):". 
To search for any DocRef, just press the first few letter of the Document 
Reference and the database display will immediately show the nearest hit. 
Please note that sorting and searching is also available in PopUps.



                            DATA ENTRY
============================================================================

Date
----
    The date format of this program is the British style dd/mm/yyyy. You may
enter the full date as required or use one of the following short cuts to 
reduce data entry key strokes and save time.

Short cuts:
    Key in a zero in the day column:  [0 /  /    ] 
    Press ENTER/DOWN ARROW and the current system date will automatically
keyed in for you. If there are any data in the month or year column,it 
will be overwritten.
    Key in any day and leave the rest empty:  [12/  /    ] 
    Press ENTER/DOWN ARROW and the current month and year will be 
automatically keyed in for you.
    Key in any day and month leave the year empty:  [12/05/    ] 
    Press ENTER and the current year will automatically keyed in for you.
    
    Examples below assumed the system date is 15th May, 2002.

Short cut       Result
------------    ----------
[12/04/    ]    12/04/2002
[  /02/3   ]      /02/2003  --> Error message "Invalid date"
[12/  /1   ]    12/05/2001
[3 /8 /10  ]    03/08/2010
[18/07/99  ]    18/07/1999  --> NOTE

Note: If you key in the last 2 digits of a year from 90 to 99, the program 
will automatically key in the previous century ( 19xx ).

    To minimise data entry date error, you can lock a date so that no date
earlier than the date you set will be accepted.
To lock a date:
    From MAIN MENU, go to UTILITY, choose SETUP. A data entry screen 
appears. Press the DOWN ARROW KEY until you reach "Lock date". Key in the 
required date.


Opening Balance date:
---------------------
    From the MAIN MENU, go to UTILITY, choose SETUP. A data entry screen 
appears. Press the DOWN ARROW KEY until you reach "Opening balance date". 
Key in the required date.

    Note: You cannot edit the Opening Balance date if there is already a
month/year end close. To proceed, undo all close, then change the date.
Make sure the new date is earlier than the first transaction. Otherwise
you will see an error message.

    There are also other optional informations that you may want to enter 
in the data entry screen.

   
Chart of accounts
-----------------
    From the MAIN MENU, go to FILE, choose ACCOUNTS. A list of previous or 
predefined codes appears. 

Add:
    Press F3 or left click "ADD" 
    Accts category: Press ENTER to see a list of available category. Pick
    one and press ENTER.
    Code: Key in a unique alphanumeric code of up to 10 characters.
    Name: Give an appropriate name for your account code.
Edit:
    From the list of defined accounts code, highlight the code that you want 
    to edit by using arrow keys or left click on the code and press F4 or 
    left click "Edit". A data entry screen to edit the code appears. If the 
    code is already in use in a transaction, you can only edit the account 
    name.

    To delete any account that is not in used in a transaction or opening 
balance, press F5 or left click "Delete". 

    To print your entries press F7 or left click "Reports". On the data
entry screen, choose the range of accounts code or leave them 
empty to print everything. To save the report for editing later, enter "Y"
in SAVE REPORT. Press F9 or left click "Print" to print. A popup appears 
giving you a choice of printing to "Screen" or "Printer". Choose either or
press ESC to abort print. While printing, you may also abort print by 
pressing ESC key.

    If an accounts code is used in any transactions, press ENTER or left 
click TRANSACTIONS to see all transactions for any higlighted accounts. 
Please note that opening balance does not appear on this screen. To print, 
press F7 or left click Report. Fill in the date range or leave empty to 
print everything. Key in "Y" if you want to save the report and press F9 or
left click PRINT to begin printing.


Opening balance
---------------
    From the MAIN MENU, go to FILE, choose OPENING BALANCE. A list of 
previous entries appear (if any). 
    To add a new entry, press F3 or left click "ADD". To edit a previous 
entry, highlight the chosen entry and press F4 or left click "Edit". If the
accounts code is not yet defined, you may add the account code from within 
the Popup menu.
    
    Code: Key in the accounts code or press F2/Down arrow/Enter for a list 
of available accounts code. Choose the desired code and press ENTER.
Opening (YTD): Key in positive value for Debit entry or negative value 
for credit entry.
    
    To delete any entry, press F5 or left click "Delete".

    It is not necessary that the opening balance is balanced. If there
are many entries, you can exit the screen or quit the program and continue
where you left off later. You may enter normal business transactions if you
desire. But you cannot do a month/year end closing if the initial balance 
is not balanced.

  To print your entries, press F7 or left click "Reports". On the data entry
screen, enter "Y" to save the report for editing later. Press F9 or left 
click "Print" to print. Choose "Screen" or "Printer" or press ESC to abort
print. While printing, you may also abort print by pressing ESC key.


Transactions
------------
    From the MAIN MENU, go to FILE, choose TRANSACTIONS. A list of previous 
transactions appear (if any). Press F3 or left click "ADD" to add, F4 or 
left click "Edit" to edit. A data entry screen appears. Key in the required 
data. For Debit/Credit entry, you may enter the accounts code directly or 
choose a list of available accounts code from a popUp by pressing F2 or 
leave it empty and press ENTER/DOWN ARROW. Choose the required accounts code 
and press ENTER. If the accounts code is not yet defined, you may add the 
account code from within the Popup menu.
 
    To delete any transaction, press F5 or left click "Delete".

      Once there there is any transaction, you can print the Transactions or
a Trial Balance. To print, press F7 or left click "Reports". Choose either 
TRANSACTIONS or TRIAL BALANCE from the popup menu.

Transactions report:
    You can sort the report either by TransID, DATE or docRef. To change the
sorting, go back by pressing Esc/left Click "ESC" to browse screen and left 
click the required column to sort and return to report screen. Key in the 
DATE, transID or docRef range or leave them empty to print everything. 
Press F9 or left click "Print" to print. A popup appears giving you a choice 
of printing to "Screen" or "Printer". Choose either or press ESC to abort 
print. While printing, you may also abort print by pressing ESC key.

Trial balance:
    Key in the date for the  trial balance and choose either  Month-To-Date
or Year-To-Date by entering "M" or "Y" respectively. To save the report
for editing later, enter "Y" in SAVE REPORT. Press F9 or left click "Print" 
to print. A popup appears giving you a choice of printing to "Screen" or 
"Printer". Choose either or press ESC to abort print. While printing, 
you may also abort print by pressing ESC key.


Stock value
-----------
    From the MAIN MENU, go to FILE, choose STOCK VALUE. A list of previous 
entries appear (if any). Press F3 or left click "Add" to add, F4 or left 
click "Edit" to edit. A data entry screen appears. Key in the required data. 
    
    To delete any entry, press F5 or left click "Delete".

    To print your entries, press F7 or left click "Reports". On the data 
entry screen, key in your date range of leave them empty to print 
everything. Enter "Y" to save the report for editing later. Press F9 or left 
click "Print" to print. Choose "Screen" or "Printer" or press ESC to abort
print. While printing, you may also abort print by pressing ESC key.



                            MONTH/YEAR END CLOSING
============================================================================
    From the MAIN MENU, go to FILE, choose MONTH/YEAR CLOSING. 
A list of previous close appear (if any). Press F3 or left click "Close" to 
close a period. A data entry screen appears. Key in the closing date. 
For Month-To-Date or Year-To_Date close, key in "M" or "Y" respectively.


How Pitih evaluates stock value on closing.
-----------------------------------------
    Let say you enter your stock value as below:

Date            Value
----            -------
05/06/2003      1000.00
30/06/2003      2000.00

The following is the Closing date and the stock value:

Closing date    Stock Value
------------    -----------
05/06/2003      1000.00
29/06/2003      1000.00
30/06/2003      2000.00
01/08/2003      2000.00

  
    To undo any close, go to the last close and press F5 or left click 
"Undo".

    Once you made a close, you can print the Balance sheet or Profit and 
loss report. To generate a report, highlight the desired closing date and 
press F7 or left click "Report". A popup appears. Choose either BALANCE 
SHEET or PROFIT AND LOSS. 

    Enter "Y" to save the report for later editing. Press F9/ENTER/left 
click "Print" to print. A popup appears giving you the choice of printing 
to "Screen" or "Printer". Choose either or press ESC to abort print. While 
printing, you may also abort print by pressing ESC key.


                            REPORTS
============================================================================
    From the MAIN MENU, go to FILE, choose REPORTS. A list of saved 
reports appears. Highlight desired report and press ENTER. The chosen report 
will appear in an editor. Press F1 or left click "Help" for more help on the
editor. Press F7 or left click "Print" to print.

    Please note that all reports are not automatically deleted. For example,
if you print a Transaction report, then you made changes to the 
Transactions, and print another report, the old Transaction report is still 
there. To avoid confusion you must delete the old report manually.


NOTE:
    THE BUILT-IN EDITOR CAN ONLY EDIT REPORTS OF UP TO 64K OF CHARACTERS.


Choosing your own word proccessor 
---------------------------------

    Pitih printed reports are very basic. You may want to spice up the 
reports by using different fonts and add the name of the person who 
generates the report.

      You can choose your own editor by pressing F6 or left click "Change 
Editor". You will see a data entry screen to define your editor. Key in the
editor command.

WARNING: 
    Some editor may change the extension of a file upon saving. You will
not be able to call up the report from PITIH again if the original report
file name is changed.
    
    Some editor may also change the file format upon saving. If that is the
case, other editors may not be able to read/edit the report.

Possible choice for Windows 95/98/ME/XP  users:
Command: Edit 
    This will call up the Windows 95/98/ME/XP NOTE text editor. 
                                              ----
Command: Write
    This will call up the Windows 95/98/ME/XP WORDPAD word processor.
                                              ------- 

    Note: Upon saving the report under WORDPAD, the report file will be
converted to WORD 6 file format.

Note: Under Windows 3.x, you can only define DOS based editor.

    The best way to edit your report using external editor is to save the 
original file name differently ("Save As" option). This way the original 
file remain intact and you can give it a meaningful name. Using this option 
will also enable you to edit the report again directly using any compatible
word proccessor/editor without running Pitih program.

 
Printing error
--------------
    Currently the program only print via parallel port (LPT1). If you come 
across an error message that says "Printer status not known", your printer 
is probably connected via USB port. To overcome the problem, print your 
report on screen and choose the "Save report option". Define your own Windows 
word processor in REPORTS. You can now use the Windows word processor to 
print. Please note that option to save or print your report is only 
available in registered version.


                            BACKUP/RESTORE
============================================================================
Backup
------
    From the MAIN MENU, go to UTILITY, choose BACKUP. Insert a formatted 
diskette/CD-RW in available drive. At the data entry screen, key in the 
drive letter where you have inserted the diskette/CD-RW or simply press
ENTER/F9/left click "Begin" to accept the displayed drive letter. A popup 
appears. Choose "Yes" to proceed. When BACKUP is completed, the program 
will return to the MAIN MENU automatically.

Restore
-------
    From the MAIN MENU, go to UTILITY, choose RESTORE. Insert a previously 
backup diskette/CD-RW in available drive. At the data entry screen, key in 
the drive letter where you have inserted the diskette/CD-RW or simply press 
ENTER/F9/left click "Begin" to accept the displayed drive letter. A popup 
appears. Choose "Yes" to proceed. When RESTORE is completed, the program 
will return to the MAIN MENU automatically.


-------------------------------------------------------------
DOS, Windows 3.0/95/98/ME/XP is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation