CardMate
CardMate © ver. 1.0

IMPORTANT! Click Here!

Welcome to CardMate!  This is just a simple application to extract useful information from a cardfile (.CRD format).  The information you extract will be saved in a plain-text ASCII format and can be edited with a wordprocessor.  You can extract the whole card, telephone numbers, email addresses, mailing addresses, or dates.

After the extraction, a wordprocessor of your choice will appear.  You can then edit and print the extracted document.

Getting Started

Extraction Algorithms

Options

Tips and Tricks

Copyright Notice

Included Files

Shortcomings


Getting Started

Follow these steps to extract:

1. Select a wordprocessor from the Options Menu:

Options

.....Select Wordprocessor

For the first time, a good wordprocessor to choose is C:\WINDOWS\NOTEPAD.EXE.  In subsequent sessions, CardMate will remember the chosen wordprocessor.

2. Open a cardfile to analyze by selecting the following from the menu:

File

 .....Open Cardfile for Input

3. Select Extract from the menu

•	All retrieves info from the whole card

•	Telephone extracts telephone numbers

•	Email retrieves email addresses

•	Mailing Address retrieves mailing addresses

•	Dates extracts dates

Click on extraction algorithms to see the selection criteria.

4. Enter the name of the output file where the extraction will be saved

5. If there is a check next to the Display Wordprocessor item in the optionsthen a wordprocessor will appear with the generated text..  From the wordprocessor, you can reformat and then print the text.

Click here to return...


Options

Page Titles  indicates whether the date header will appear at the top of the page.

Page Width  sets the number of characters that can be printed across.  This is only useful for extracting telephone numbers where the width can become fairly large.  See Tips and Tricks more information.

Display Wordprocessor indicates whether or not a wordprocessor will appear after the extraction.

Wordprocessor allows you to change the name of the wordprocessor that appears after the extraction process. You can change it to NOTEPAD.EXE, WRITE.EXE, WINWORD.EXE, WPWIN.EXE etc...

Note that you will probably have to select the range of text and change the front to COURIER so that the spacing will not be messed up.

See Tips and Tricks for more information.


Tips and Tricks

If you have a lot of telephone numbers, you might want to change the size of the fonts.  Do this when your wordprocessor  appears by selecting the whole text and choosing the COURIER font with a size of 8 or less.  You can even put smaller sizes into newspaper columns.

For addresses, try setting up some newspaper columns in your wordprocessor.  This will allow for the whole page to be used.

If you repeat these functions often, you might consider creating a macro in your wordprocessor.


Important Notice

This program is copyrighted and may not be altered in any way.  Feel free to redistribute this program as long as no fee whatsoever is charged.

Note that the extraction algorithms are not perfect, so always double check the results. In any case, the program is distributed "as is" and I will not be responsible for any consequences arising from the use of CARDMATE.

This program is freeware.  If you really like the program and you want to encourage me, just send a small contribution (5-10$) to:

Gregory Guttmann

19 Aberdeen Ave.

Montréal, Québec H3Y 3A5

CANADA

Any suggestions for the next version would be greatly appreciated!

Until December 1994 I can be reached at:

GAGUTT@VAX2.CONCORDIA.CA

Click here to return...


Select
 Selecting Text

 On most wordprocessors, the range of text can be selected by typing CTRL-A or by holding down the mouse button and dragging the mouse down the page.


Extraction Algorithms

All  retrieves info from the whole card

Telephone  retrieves lines containing 7 or more numbers interrupted only by the following characters: ( ) - .

Email  retrieves only lines containing the @ symbol

Mailing Address  retrieves all the lines which are not recognized as either telephone numbers or email addresses.

Date  retrieves the lines that contain a month or a three letter abbreviation of the month followed by a spaces, period, or hyphen.


Shortcomings
Shortcomings...

This progam has two major shortcomings.  First, the extraction routines are limited and data may be incorrectly retrieved.  Second, information on cards that contain graphic images will be ignored.  This is because I have not yet figured out how graphic images are stored in the cardfile.  If you have any knowledge on .CRD file formats, please Email me so I can fix this shortcoming...


Included Files

CARDMATE.TXT - Text file with program details.

CARDMATE.HLP - Help file.

CARDMATE.EXE - Main file.

CARDMATE.INI - Stores user preferences.

This files may be installed if they do not already exist

VBRUN300.DLL - Visual Basic run-time library.

COMMDLG.DLL  - Common Dialog library.

CMDIALOG.VBX - Common Dialog library.