FUEL CONSUMPTION MONITOR V1.7 (S3A Only) ---------------------------------------- Following the success of my Home Accounts program S3ABANK, a number of people have suggested that I issue some of the optional modules as standalone programs. This is the second of these modules (the others are the Investment Tracker, S3AINVx.ZIP, the Financial Planner, S3APLANx.ZIP, the Expense Account Manager, S3AEXPx.ZIP, and the Home Inventory program, S3AHOMEx.ZIP. (where 'x' is the version number) This program allows you to keep track of the fuel consumption of up to 10 vehicles. To Install the program, simply put S3AFUEL7.APP into any \APP\ directory and install as usual, using . If you want to use the optional On-Line Help file, which I highly recommend, then put the S3AFUELH.OVL file into an \APP\S3AFUEL\ sub-directory. If you want to use the optional Print option put the file S3AFUELP.OVL into the \APP\S3AFUEL\ directory and the file S3APRINT.DYL into an \OPD\ directory. Note that this latter file is common to all my programs, so if you have more than one of them you only need one copy of this file. Now highlight the 'S3AFuel' under the Icon and press to create a vehicle. Go into the program, filling in the configuration details. The file name might be the type, and the number the registration plate details, but this is up to you. Note that the number can be changed later. The 'nag' screens can be removed by registering the program, which will also allow you the full 10 vehicles and more than 10 entries. The unregistered version allows you just 1 vehicle, and 10 entries, to see the capabilities of the program. If you have the 'Update Lists' in the 'Set Preferences' option of the System screen set to 'System Button', nip out to the system screen and force an update at this time to show the vehicle name. Working through the MENU commands will show you the capabilities of the program. The Vehicle menu allows you to add, subtract and renumber vehicles, and switch the screen display between vehicles (provided you have registered). The Edit menu allows you to Enter, Update and Delete entries, (the , & keys have the same effect) and an 'Edit Memo' feature, similar to that used in the Agenda, so that you can also keep track of servicing details, insurance numbers etc. Under the Special Menu the Set Preferences menu allows you to configure the printer (this is the same option as available from the main System screen), specify the date format, how many decimal places you want each column to display, whether you wish to display litres or gallons, and miles or kilometers, what you want as the fuel consumption units, switch between font types and specify if you want to stay in this menu while setting up the program. Also under the Special menu there is an option to set a reminder for Oil Changes/Servicing or anything else that is date/mileage based, the registration option, an option to change font sizes, and the exit option. The Diamond menu accesses the History display and the Graphical display and, finally, there is a 'Help' screen which simply repeats some of the information in this file. To demonstrate the program, assume you have just filled the fuel tank (to make the fuel consumption logical, you should always start from the same baseline, and a full tank is probably the best). Enter the details using or . Input the cost (amount paid), and then the value field depending on your selection of method, i.e. number of gallons (litres) or the price/gallon (litre). For the first entry, the distance figure must be the reading off the odometer, subsequent entries can either be the total mileage, taken directly from the odometer, or the elapsed mileage, depending on the selection. Select the type of driving conditions you experienced in the Type field. The Remarks field is a free field which you can use for anything. The first entry will display, although obviously no fuel consumption will be shown. When the second entry is inputted, the fuel consumption will be calculated. At this stage, the 'Spot' and 'Average' figures will be exactly the same, as there is only one entry to work on. Later entries will allow the running 'Average' to be calculated from up to the last 12 entries. You can now Update or an entry, or delete a line or . Add another line with some different values and you should see that the Spot and Average values are now calculated. Although the entries will nearly always be entered in chronological order, if you do forget, then you can still input an entry later, and it will be automatically sorted into date order. Now select or press the Diamond key to see the History display. This will show the same values. For reasons of update speed, the main program holds only the details of the last 13 entries, (only 9 of which can be viewed in the larger font), but the history file can go on for ever. Again, use the MENU key to see the facilities available in each screen. You will see that you can manipulate the history file itself in various ways, print the history out, and switch between vehicles (the right/left arrow keys also do this). As usual, CTRL-MENU will switch the Status screen on and off. There is also a 'Stats' screen to show you the overall figures. Finally, the History details can be exported in a delimited format which can be imported in the built-in Sheet application. To use this option, press , and just specify the location of the output file (it defaults to \WRD\S3AFUEL.TXT). Now load that file into the Word application, highlight it all and then use the Bring function from within a spreadsheet to import the information. Use to see the same details expressed in a graphical format. The average fuel consumption, and the average price of a gallon/litre are also shown in this screen and you can configure the scales of the graph. Once you register the program and enter the code, you can Add vehicles and if required, subsequently delete them , or switch between them using the L/R arrows or and have more than 10 entries for each vehicle. If you find the program useful and wish to register it, please see the file REGISTER.TXT for up-to-date instructions on how to register. Apart from giving you a 'warm' feeling, allowing you 10 vehicles, and getting rid of the 'nag' screens, registering will give you access to full support and, if you have an E-Mail address, notification of regular, free, updates. If anyone has any useful suggestions for improvements, I will always try and include them in the next version. If you want to contact me, use the addresses in REGISTER.TXT, or I am available on CompuServe 100023,543 or E-Mail on alanrichey@compuserve.com. Al Richey