TBDevice - ASCII Variable

Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice)
ASCII Variable Length Data Format

Overview

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) software (ASCII Variable format) can be used to convert fee and cost transactions from an ASCII file with variable length fields to be compatible with the Merge Tabs3 Remote Data program.

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program must reside in the same directory as the Tabs3 programs in order to work properly. The ASCII data file must reside in the Tabs3 program directory. Details regarding the exact file layout can be found on the following page.

Installation

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program must be installed to the directory on your hard disk where the Tabs3 program resides. The Tabs3 program directory can be found in Tabs3 by selecting Help | About Tabs3.

Insert the enclosed CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.
A CD Browser program will automatically start.

Note: If the CD-ROM Autorun feature is disabled, click the Start button, and then click Run... Click the Browse button and navigate to the CD-ROM drive. Double-click the LAUNCH.EXE file. Click OK.
Follow the on-screen instructions to install the selected systems.

Configuring the Data Collection Device Type

Before you can convert any data from a data collection device, Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) must be configured to handle the necessary format.

From the Software Technology folder, double-click the Data Collection Device Conversion icon to start the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program.

If the Logon dialog box is displayed, enter your User ID and Password and click OK.

From the File menu, select the Configure option.

The Configuration window will be displayed. Click the drop-down arrow next to the Device field and select ASCII Variable.

In the File field, type the name of the file containing the data from the collection device (i.e., TABS3.CV).

Select the Default check box if you want to make the ASCII Variable device the default in the Conversion program.

Click the More Config button.

In the Descriptions section, select the Upper Case Text if you want to use all upper case letters in the Tabs3 description.

Click OK.

Click the Save button.

Close the Configuration window.

Creating Validation Files

Validation files for the client (CLIENT.TXT), timekeeper (EMPL.TXT) and tcode (TCODE.TXT) files can be created. The client file will contain a record for each active client/matter that exists in the Tabs3 Client file. Use the following procedure to create the validation file:

If the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program is already started, skip to step 3. From the Tabs3 & PracticeMaster folder, double-click the Data Collection Device Conversion icon to start the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program.
If the Logon dialog box is displayed, enter your User ID and Password and click OK.
From the File menu, select the Validation option.
The Validation window will be displayed. If the ASCII Variable device is not displayed in the Device field, click the drop-down arrow next to the Device field to select the ASCII Variable format.
Click the Create button.
Once the files are created, click OK.
Click Cancel to close the Validation window.
Transfer the files to the data collection device.

Note: Validation files should be recreated and transferred to the data collection device after changes have been made to the Client, Timekeeper, or Tcode files in Tabs3.

Converting ASCII Variable Length Data

Use the following procedure for the conversion:

Copy the file containing the data from the collection device (i.e., TABS3.CV) to the Tabs3 directory.
If the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program is already started, skip to step 4. From the Tabs3 & PracticeMaster folder, double-click the Data Collection Device Conversion icon to start the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program.
If the Logon dialog box is displayed, enter your User ID and Password and click OK.
From the File menu, select the Convert option.
The Conversion window will be displayed. If the ASCII Variable device is not displayed in the Device field, click the drop-down arrow next to the Device field to select the ASCII Variable format.
Click the Convert button. The program will look for the file name TABS3.CV. If the file is found to contain data, the program will read transactions from the file and increment the Processed count for every transaction that is read. All transactions that are successfully converted will increment the Added count and will be written to the Tabs3 Remote data files (RMT*.*).
Note: A TBDEVICE.LOG file is created and will contain any records that were not converted. If no errors were encountered during the conversion, then the TBDEVICE.LOG file will include a start and finish time.

Note: If you are using a full user system, the ASCII Variable data file will automatically be deleted when the conversion is complete to avoid double posting of the data. However, when using a trial system, the data file is not deleted.
When the process is complete, the data files will have been created allowing you to merge the information into Tabs3 using the Merge Tabs3 Remote Data program. To merge the files, start Tabs3. From the Integration Task Folder, select Merge Tabs3 Remote Data. This program will merge the remote data files created by the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program (RMT*.*) with your main Tabs3 data files. The Tabs3 Help includes complete details regarding the Merge Tabs3 Remote Data program.

Note: You can change the Descriptions options used by the ASCII Variable format by selecting File | Configure.

Input Field Positions

File Layout
Field	Field #	Format
Client ID	1	Up to 12 characters
Timekeeper	2	Up to 3 characters (can be either timekeeper number or timekeeper initials)
Tcode	3	Up to 3 digits preceded by a "$" for costs (trans code cannot be greater than 999 in value)
Phase/Task Code	4	Must be in the format XXNNN, where XX is any single or double uppercase letter combination (excluding A and E) and NNN is 3 digits
Activity Code	5	Must be in the format XNNN, where X is either the letter A (Activity code for fees) or E (Expense code for costs), and NNN is 3 digits
Date	6	Must be in the mm/dd/yy or the mm/dd/yyyy format.
Hours (for fees) Units (for costs)	7	Decimal format up to 9999.99 maximum (i.e., 1.25 is 1 hr. 15 min.)
Rate	8	Dollar format up to 9999.99
Amount	9	Billable dollar amount up to 9999999.99
Description	10	Up to a maximum of 5000 characters
	CrLf	carriage return/line feed

Notes

Each field is delimited by a comma. The quotation marks at the beginning and end of each field are optional with the exception of the Description field. The Description field should begin and end with quotes (i.e., "text") so that commas in the Description field are not mistaken for a field delimiter. Also, embedded quotes in the Description text should be single quotes so they are not mistaken for boundary quotes (i.e., "this is a sample of 'quoted' text, with a comma within the text").

The Client ID can be up to 12 characters in length. It must precisely match Client IDs that are entered into Tabs3.

If the Tabs3 client is not a Task Based Billing Client, the transaction code is converted and the Phase/Task Code and Activity Code fields are ignored. If the Tabs3 client is a Task Based Billing Client, the transaction code field is ignored (except for the "$" necessary to denote cost transactions) and the Phase/Task Code and Activity Code fields are converted instead.

If the Rate field is zero, then Tabs3 will supply the default rate assigned in the Tabs3 client record when the transaction is merged into Tabs3.

If both Rate and Amount fields are zero, then Tabs3 will supply a default Rate and calculate the Amount automatically when the transaction is merged into Tabs3.

When the data is merged into Tabs3, the Client ID, Timekeeper, and Transaction Code fields are verified as being valid. If the Tabs3 client is a Task Based Billing Client, the Phase/Task Code and Activity Code fields are also verified as being valid. Transactions with invalid fields are rejected and a list of rejected transactions can be printed along with an error code indicating why it was rejected.

The description for each transaction merged into Tabs3 will come from the Collection device data file, field number 10. Each transaction that does not have a description in field 10 will use the default description from the designated Tcode or Activity/Expense Code.

Sample Data File

The following is an example of a variable length ASCII data file. Please note that lines with longer descriptions were wrapped to the next line and indented in this example so the text can be seen on the printed copy. Actual transactions in a real data file will appear as one continuous line.

101.00,RJB,,L110,A101,02/19/09,1.50,60.00,90.00, "Office conference with Karen Barrett and all 
        of the apartment managers concerning the unpaid rents at the new apartments."
200.01,1,$23,,,02/15/09,0.00,0.00,15.00, "court filing fee."
101.00,MLJ,$,L110,E101,02/15/09,0.00,0.00,1.25, "photocopies."
101.00,MLJ,,L120,A106,02/19/09,1.22,0.00,73.20, "Telephone conference with Ms. Barrett."
200.01,2,$21,,,02/19/09,0.00,0.00,2.50, "Photocopy originals."
200.02,2,$23,,,02/19/09,0.00,0.00,25.00, "Pay County Court filing fee in advance on behalf 
        of Client."

Startup Options

Command line options can be used when starting Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) to bypass the User ID prompt and automatically execute the Convert program thereby eliminating user interaction. These startup options can be quite useful when implemented as part of a batch file.

The following are examples of the available startup options:

Bypass the User ID prompt C:\Program Files\Tabs3\TBDEVICE.EXE ALICE

Convert C:\Program Files\Tabs3\TBDEVICE.EXE /CONVERT ASCII VARIABLE

Note: The normal "sign in" routine is used when Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) is started with the "/CONVERT" option. If you have not specified a User ID on the command line, you will be required to enter the User ID. If password security has been defined, you will also be required to enter the password before the Convert program will proceed.

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) Help includes complete details regarding Startup Options.

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