Prophet-C Interface Program
Version 1.2

Overview

The PROPHETC program is a DOS program. It is used to convert telephone expense transactions from a Prophet-C data file to be compatible with the Tabs3 Merge Data Capture Transactions program (Tabs3 Version 3.4 or later).

The data file must be in a comma delimited ASCII file and must reside in the Tabs3 program directory. The PROPHETC program must also reside in the Tabs3 program directory.

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 Tabs3 by selecting the following menu options Maintenance|Integration|Create Validation Files. When creating validation files, select a Validation File Type of Data Capture Device.

This particular data capture device uses the information from the Tcode file. When running the Create Validation Files program the Tcode check box must be selected. The Client, Timekeeper, and Category check boxes can be cleared. This will result in a TBCUSTOM.DTA, T3LOG.DTA, T3TCODE.DTA, and a T3TCDES.DTA file being created, which are the only files required by this interface program. The Create Validation Files program will need to be run for this data capture device each time you add or change Tcode information in Tabs3.

Installation

The Prophetc interface program (Prophetc.EXE) must be transferred to the directory on your hard disk where the Tabs3 program files reside. This is done by using the INSTALL program on the Prophetc interface program disk.

To install the Prophetc interface program on your hard disk:

  1. Insert the Prophetc 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 Tabs3 program files reside. On larger network hard drives, this search feature can take quite a bit of time. If you know where the Tabs3 program files reside, you can bypass this search feature by entering the path following the install command. For example, if the Tabs3 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 Tabs3 software on your hard disk so that the interface program can be transferred to the same directory as Tabs3. After the installation process, the message "Installation Complete" will be displayed.

Executing the PROPHETC Interface Program

Use the following procedure for conversion:

  1. If necessary, copy the data file containing the logged Prophet-C telephone transaction data from its source location to the Tabs3 program directory.
  2. From a DOS prompt, start the interface program by entering:

    3.         PROPHETC

    Note: You can specify the input file name when running the PROPHETC program. For example, if the input file name is PHONE.DAT, you could enter "PROPHETC PHONE.DAT" (without the quotes). If you don't specify the input file name, the PROPHETC program will prompt you for the file name later.

  3. The first time you run the PROPHETC program, you will be asked to enter the Tabs3 transaction code number that you use for telephone expenses.

    4. Note: The transaction code number will be stored in a parameter file named PROPHETC.PRM. Each time the PROPHETC program is executed, it will read the PROPHETC.PRM file and use the same transaction code number.

  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 Prophet-C telephone data. If the file is found to contain data, the program will display the message "Telephone records read..." 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 Tabs3 data files. You must then start Tabs3 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 Tabs3 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 telephone transaction code by deleting the file PROPHETC.PRM which is created in your Tabs3 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.

Note: If there are any records in the Prophet-C data file with errors (either too few fields or too many fields per record), those records will be noted in the PROPHETC.ERR file. The program will warn you if it finds any errors after it finishes execution.