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geoFile: A Dynamic Partner for GEOS Users
by Bruce Thomas

Database. Just saying the word is enough to incite negative reactions in people around you. Sort of like saying Tax Audit in the spring. While Word Processors and Graphics programs enjoy huge popularity, other productivity programs, like Databases, are shunned by a majority of computer users.

Maybe it is because people think they don't understand Databases. Maybe it is because Databases take some time and effort to setup. Whatever the reason, this article will hopefully take some of the mystery out of using GeoFile and show you how a Database can help organize your life and save you time.

A Little History

I have been using GEOS on my C-64 for 9 years. What got me started with GEOS was the release of GeoPublish and the freedom it allowed in laying out pages of text and graphics. What has kept me using GEOS is the system integration.

I bought all of the packages as they came out but really only used GeoWrite, GeoPublish and GeoPaint regularly. I found the lack of 'if-then' ability in geoCalc a big drawback. GeoFile provided me with an easy method of cataloging my record collection but once that was entered I didn't use it much.

My collection of Fonts and Graphics grew and grew and when I read about GeoPrint (banners, greeting cards, posters), by Roger Lawhorn, I just had to have it. What came with geoPrint was a nifty looking program called geoLabel but the paper feed mechanism on my Star printer was such that I couldn't find labels to print on. GeoLabel sat while I used another program that had very limited Font and Graphic options & forced me to save labels as individual files on disk.

When I got an Epson compatible printer the first thing I did was try geoLabel. Eureka! Great Labels the easy GEOS way. Now I needed a way to store my information. GeoFile came to the rescue.

Some Terms and a Large Example

GeoFile is what I like to call a Dynamic Database - it doesn't restrict you to your initial layout. Part of the previously mentioned fear of Databases comes from the effort required to set up the records and fields initially. No, no. Not vinyl records or grain fields. Records, as in groups of information pertaining to a particular subject. Fields, as in pieces of information in each record.

For a Database to be useful everything must be organized in a logical manner. Each entry in the database is a record. Each piece of each record is a field. Each record in the database has the same number of fields in it - even if some of the fields are blank. To make a database useable it has to be organized in a logical manner and be easily searched for information.

Let's look at a very large Database that every one of us uses every day - the phone book. When they set up the phone book, the phone company has to decide on certain parameters, just as you would setting up your database. How many columns on a page? How many characters allowed for Surnames? How many for First Names. How many in the address field? The phone number is the easy one - 8. Name, Address and Phone Number are each fields in that persons' record in the phone book.

Each record must also be presented in the same order. This is decided by your choice of the 'sort field' and is very important. In the phone book we use the Surname as the sort field. We know our friends by name so that is the logical choice to sort by. In your database you can choose whichever field is appropriate depending on the information you are storing. How useful would your phone book be if the phone number was the sort field? What if each entry in the phone book was in a different order? How would we find anyone?

Searching your database to retrieve information is critical. If you can't find things, the database isn't worth anything. Look at the top of each page in the phone book and you have narrowed your search to what is between the headers. The same applies to Databases (I think I see fewer furrowed brows and less worried looks - databases are easy).

Creating our first Database File

Just like the phone company, we have to make some decisions prior to setting up our Database - or do we? Say we are going to store Names and Addresses of friends and family. With most Databases we must decide how many fields we want. Then we have to decide how many characters in each field (why did I get a computer if I have to count the length of names and addresses?).

These are reasons people don't like Static Databases. Once you set your Fields and Sizes they may as well be set in stone. GeoFile, being a Dynamic Database, is much easier to work with.

Boot GEOS and activate GeoFile. Choose 'Create New Document' and enter 'AddressBook' as a name. Now you will be presented with the Form Page and you can setup your fields the easy GEOS way - point and click. You don't have to decide how many fields or how many characters right now.

For starters we will create fields for LastName, FirstName, Address, City, State/Prov, Country, and Zip/PostalCode. Set the LastName field as your sort field (see Chapter 4 of the manual for creating and naming fields and setting the sort field). You will notice that you can place the fields anywhere on the screen (each record can be as big as an 8.5 by 11 inch page of paper). GeoFile can hold up to 64 fields in each record and up to 3000 records in each file. You could store everything you know about each of your friends and acquaintances here and not run out of room. Fields can also be designated as Text, Number or Comment by Highlighting the field and choosing the 'type' menu in 'Form Design' mode.

Entering your Friends & Family

When your form is laid out the way you want, it is time to enter some info. Choose 'Data Entry' under the 'Options' menu and start typing in some names and addresses (use real friends and this will be a good start), we will need at least 10. For our demonstration make one of the entries this one (your long-lost Uncle):

Johnson
James
115 Nobody Home Lane
Saskatoon
Saskatchewan
Canada
R3G 5Y6

Yes, completely fictitious and no resemblance to any person living or dead is intended. You may find that you have to adjust some of your fields to fit this in. While this can be fatal with a Static Database (especially if you have entered 30 or 40 friends already) it is not a problem with a Dynamic Database. Go back to the form design page and point & click to resize as required.

OK, we have entered at least ten Names and Addresses. What about phone numbers? You know what to do. Forms Design and Point & Click to add a new field. Way easier than starting from scratch again with a Static Database. Enter Uncle James' Phone Number as 436-8913.

If you wish to look through your Address Book you may do so by clicking on either of the two arrows at the top of the page. These will scan forwards or backwards through your file and present your data to you, sorted according to your chosen sort field. Don't like the way it looks? Go back and choose a different sort field or re-arrange the fields on the page.

You can also create up to 15 different layouts by choosing 'change layout' in the 'file' menu (see Pg 4-13 in the manual). These sub-layouts allow you to view selected portions of the main database and allow for many printout variations.

Finding Saska-where?

Exactly. This is where the search capabilities are required. You know your long lost Uncle moved to some place that sounds funny and starts with an 'S' but you can't remember where. Remember our phone book and the headers at the top of each page? GeoFile can narrow your search in this manner also.

Enter a Search form by choosing 'create search form' in the 'Form' menu and enter 'S*' in the 'State/Prov' field. Click on OK at the top of the page. Now click on either of the two Face Icons at the top of the page (these are not identified in any of the pictures in the manual and only function after you create a search form). The left facing one will search back through your data, the right facing one searches ahead, and both will wrap around at the end of the file. If no match is found geoFile informs you with a beep and redraws the entry you were looking at prior to searching.

Once an entry is found that matches your search criteria geoFile stops and shows it to you (just like the phone book). If it is South Dakota instead of Saskatchewan just click on the face again. Continue clicking until you find your long lost Uncle's address.

Maybe you remembered his name was Johnson. It could also be spelled Johnston, Johnstone, Johnsen or Johnsson. Enter Joh* as your search criteria and any matching records will be recalled. Friends whose name starts with 'M' and ends with 'n' can be found by entering 'M*n' on your search form.

Multiple Searches and Conditionals

Now we want to do something else with our search. Back to the search form and enter 4* in the phone number field. Click OK. Click the left arrow to get off Uncle James' entry and then click the Left Face. Depending on who else is in your Database you should end up looking at Uncle James again. This search was for someone in a place starting with 'S' (I didn't say delete that) whose phone number starts with a 4.

So far, our searches have used geoFile Wild Cards. The asterisk '*' means substitute any number of characters here. The question mark '?' means substitute one character here. One other wild card is the exclamation mark '!'. This lets geoFile search for Asterisks (!*), Question Marks (!?) and even Exclamation Marks (!!) if you enter it into a search form. As you noticed, you can search for items in any or all of your fields.

GeoFile also supports conditional searches. If you have entered a field for year of birth you could search for '<1979' to find people who are over 18. Options include greater than '>', less than '<', less than or equal to '<=', greater than or equal to '>=' and not equal '<>'. These can also be combined with And '&' or Or '%'. Say you want to find all bowlers whose best score is greater than 180 and less than 250 - enter '>180&<250' in top score field on your search form. The possibilities are limitless.

The items you search for can be utilized in many ways. You can choose to create Text or geoMerge Scraps of all your forms, or just the ones you searched for. GeoFile also has terrific search & replace and printing options that we don't have space to cover here.

Integrating GeoFile

This is the reason I still use GEOS - the integrated nature of all the applications. GeoLabel gave me the reason to set up an Addressbook File with geoFile. My Address Book contains fields for Christmas Cards, Family Newsletters and Computer Club. When it is time to do a mailing for any of these items I just search the database and create a Merge Scrap of the searched for items. This Merge Scrap can then be easily loaded into geoLabel and I have great looking labels in no time flat. Lots of Font selection, Graphic where I want it, and no need for hundreds of label files with one address in each.

Each user will have a different reason to use geoFile: from cataloging Records (yes, vinyl ones this time), to what crop you planted in that Field by the old barn, to documenting how many Steven King novels you own. Once you start using a database you will wonder how you got along without one.

The next time you pick up your phone book and look up a number, remember that you are using a Database. You are probably pretty good at it too. GeoFile, with its Dynamic Personality and thorough search capabilities, is a great Computerized Database to work with. You also might find it helps you keep all of your records organized in case that Tax Auditor comes around in the spring.