
Contents:
     In keeping with the philosophy of the program, I'll keep
     this brief.

1) What is it?

2) Why would you want this?

3) Quick set up, details.

4) Tips.

5) Quick user guide

6) Contacting the author.





1) What is it?
   ROLO is a small free form simple database program. It stores your
   data in a plain ASCII file. It is quick, fast, free form and uses
   your favorite editor that you are already used to. It is meant to be
   very simple. This program is the main reason that I turn on my HP200
   palmtop, I use it several times a day. I thought that other people
   might like it, so I'm releasing it for public use on HP palmtops.
   ROLO is NOT system manager compliant, it is meant to be run from the
   DOS prompt. It does not use much memory, so it may run in the system
   manager.

2) Why might I want to do this?
   The main reason that I wrote ROLO was so that my data would be
   transportable between different platforms. I was sick of entering
   massive amounts of data (mostly notes and addresses) into the
   various PDAs that I have owned, and then being faced with moving
   the proprietary data format to a new device. I decided that a flat
   ASCII file would have several advantages..

   * It is transportable. I've moved my database from a ZEOS
     pocket PC, to a Tandy ZOOMER, to an Apple Newton, to an HP200 to a
     WinCE palmtop. I also use my database on my desktop and laptop.

   * You can use a program such as ROLO to access it, or your
     favorite editor. You are not limited to the address/database
     built in to your PDA.

   * It is free form. You can just type in your notes, addresses,
     comments without worrying about fields and limits. I put everything
     in mine, from names and addresses, to notes, to pinouts of
     chips; anything I want to remember.

   The disadvantage is that you loose any fancy database functions
   that your machine might sport, such as calculations and fixed
   fields. If you need this, you can't use ROLO

   The ROLO program is very simple, it just looks things up
   quickly. It can also edit your database, but I often just
   use my editor to add new items. Keep it simple.

   You can also just forget ROLO, and use your editor.
   It is not quite as nice because of the added keystrokes, but
   it still works and is simple.

3) To get started, you need to edit the ROLOSET.DAT file to tell the
   program where to find your data, what your editor is called, and the
   "delimiter" to use between records. If you already have an ASCII
   file, you will have to edit it to add the record delimiter between
   records.

   Comments in the sample ROLOSET.DAT show you what each line means.

   Name of your database:
       Just give the name of your ASCII data file. You can
   include a path name if you like, otherwise ROLO expects the
   data to be in the same directory.

   Name of your editor:
       ROLO will call your editor to add and edit records.
   I use Q-EDIT (registered).  You can use any editor that
   you like, as long as you save an ASCII file. Your database
   has to fit in the editor.  When you make a change
   you will be placed in your editor, editing the database.
   You need to save the file when you are done.
       Editors will only work if you can pass the name of
   the file to edit on the command line.

   Delimiter:
        ROLO separates records with a delimiter. You type the delimiter
   in yourself when entering a new item. Pick an ASCII string that is
   not likely to occur in your data. I use "=====" (5 equals signs).
   This delimiter will come in handy if you ever need to transport your
   data to another machine, because you can search and replace it with
   something else. I used this technique to load my database into the
   notepad on an Apple Newton 120.

   When you are done, your "Database" will look like this...

   Item 1 blah blah
   =====
   Item 2 blah blah
   blah blah
   =====
   Item 3 blah blah yada yada
   yada yada
   yada yada
   yada!
   =====
   Item 4 blah
   =====


4) Tips:
   * For quick access, make a single letter batch file that
     moves you into the correct directory and starts up ROLO

   * The program makes a temporary file called ROLO.TMP for
     some editing operations. It could be almost
     as large as your entire database, so you need room.

   * There is no limit, other than the size of the file you
     can edit, on the size of the database. Mine has about
     400 records.

   * You can have multiple databases by having different
     directories.

   * Searches are not case sensitive, and you can search for
     part of a word.




5) Using the program. The program uses a command line prompt. Type
"HELP" for some quick help. You enter commands with a single letter. For
example, entering "F this" will start showing your records with "this"
in them. The search is not case sensitive. You may type just the first
letter of the command or as much of the command as you like, so, for example,
"f this" "fi this" "find this" are all the same.


Supported commands:
There aren't many commands, this is supposed to be simple!

"F"ind  Finds records. The most useful thing is that you may type more
than one word to find, for example "F this that" will find records that
have both "this" and "that". Use as many words as you like, it is an
"And" type search. Records are shown one at a time. If they are too big
for the screen, you will be prompted to press Enter. Long lines will be
wrapped. After finding a record, if you want to keep searching for the
same text, use "N"ext.

"N"ext  Used after a "F"ind command, "N"ext will show you the next "hit".


"E"dit. Used after a "F"ind command. If you have set your editor up
properly, this will place you in your editor editing the last record
found. When you are done, save the file from your editor as ASCII text.


"A"dd  text.  When you type the line "a this is some text", it will add a record
to your database with "this is some text" in it. You could also start your
editor and add the text yourself, of course. If you use the "A"dd command it will
add the delimiter for you.


"H"elp. A quick help screen.

"E"xit, "Q", "X" and just pressing ENTER alone will exit the program

There is no delete command for safety, use your editor to delete records.


6) You can contact me at bbiggers@charter.net -Bryan







