POLLCAT Phone Transaction Interface Program
Version 1.1

Overview

The POLLCAT program is a DOS program. It is used to convert telephone expense transactions from a Pollcat SMDR unit to be compatible with the TABS III Merge Data Capture Transactions program (TABS III Version 3.4 or later).

The POLLCAT program must reside in the same directory as the TABS III programs in order to work properly.

Note: The Create Validation Files program must be run before you can successfully use this data capture device interface program. The Create Validation Files program is found in TABS III by selecting the following menu options Maintenance|Integration|Create Validation Files. When creating validation files, select a Validation File Type of Data Capture Device.

Installation

The Pollcat interface program (Pollcat.EXE) must be transferred to the directory on your hard disk where the TABS III program files reside. This is done by using the INSTALL program on the Pollcat interface program disk.

To install the Pollcat interface program on your hard disk:

  1. Insert the Pollcat interface program disk into your floppy disk drive.
  2. From a DOS prompt, make the floppy disk drive the default drive by entering the drive letter followed by a "colon". For example, if your floppy disk drive is drive A, then enter:

    3.         A:

  3. From the floppy disk drive prompt, enter the command:

    4.         INSTALL

    Note: The INSTALL program has a built-in search feature that will find where your TABS III program files reside. On larger network hard drives, this search feature can take quite a bit of time. If you know where the TABS III program files reside, you can bypass this search feature by entering the path following the install command. For example, if the TABS III program files reside on drive F: in a directory named "STI", you would enter: INSTALL F:\STI

  4. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the software onto your hard disk. The Install program will locate your TABS III software on your hard disk so that the interface program can be transferred to the same directory as TABS III. After the installation process, the message "Installation Complete" will be displayed.

Executing the POLLCAT Interface Program

Use the following procedure for conversion:

  1. Copy the data file containing the logged Pollcat transaction data from its source location to the TABS III program directory.
  2. From a DOS prompt, start the interface program by entering:

    3.         POLLCAT

  3. The first time you run the POLLCAT program, you will be asked to enter the TABS III transaction code number that you use for telephone expenses. After specifying the transaction code, the POLLCAT program will ask for you to enter your telephone area code. Next, you will be prompted to enter the hourly rate for local and long distance telephone calls. Lastly, the POLLCAT program will ask for the file name that contains the logged Pollcat transaction data.

    4. Note: All the options entered above are stored in a parameter file named POLLCAT.PRM. Each time the POLLCAT program is executed, it will read the POLLCAT.PRM file and use those options automatically.

  4. Next, you will be asked "Is it OK to continue? (Y/N)". If you enter "N" the program will be aborted. If you enter "Y" the program will look for the data file containing the Pollcat device's data. If the file is found to contain data, the program will display the message "Converting Transactions" followed by a count of each transaction read from the file. The files T3EXPKEY.REM, T3EDESC1.REM and T3EXP.REM will be created which can be merged with the main TABS III data files. You must then start TABS III and run the Merge Data Capture Transactions program.

Note: If you are not using a demo version of the program, the data file containing the logged phone calls will automatically be deleted from the TABS III directory when the conversion is complete to avoid double posting the data.

Note: Once the conversion is complete, the data file should be deleted from its original source location to prevent reconverting the same data in the future. If any new phone transactions have been logged in this file since the conversion has been run, they will be lost upon deletion.

Note: You may change the any of the telephone options in the future by deleting the file POLLCAT.PRM which is created in your TABS III directory during Step 3 above. This will enable you to go through the setup procedure described above in Step 3 as a first time user of the program.