TBDevice Danyl-QBACOL

Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice)
Danyl-QBACOL Data Format

Overview

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) software (DANYL-QBACOL format) can be used to convert photocopy expense transactions from the Danyl QBACOL system 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 Danyl-QBACOL data 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. The main purpose of the configuration is to specify a default tcode and rate.

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 Configure option.

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

In the File field, type the name of the file containing the data from the collection device [i.e., TRACRnnn.DAT (nnn=copier number)].

Select the Default check box if you want to make the DAYNL-OBACOL device the default in the Conversion program.

Click the drop-down arrow next to the Tcode field to select the transaction code number that you use for photocopies.

Specify an amount in the Rate field. When transactions are imported the Rate multiplied by the Copy Count will determine the transaction Amount.

If you want the description added to a Tabs3 transaction (i.e., "on copier unit nnn") to use all uppercase letters, click the More Config button and select the Upper Case Text check box.

Click OK.

Click the Save button.

Close the Configuration window.

Converting the Danyl-QBACOL Data

Use the following procedure for conversion:

Copy the file containing the data from the collection device 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 Danyl-QBACOL device is not displayed in the Device field, click the drop-down arrow next to the Device field to select the Danyl-QBACOL format.

Verify that the file name to be converted is displayed in the File field.

Click the Convert button. The program will look for the file name specified in the Configuration window. 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 data file containing the logged photocopies will automatically be deleted when the conversion is complete to avoid double posting of the data. However, when using a demo 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 disbursement transaction code, default rate and the detail description options used by the Danyl-QBACOL format by selecting File | Configure.

File Layout

The following information is imported from the Danyl-QBACOL data file.

TRACRnnn.DAT File Layout
Field #	Field	Format
1	Record Type	Up to 1 character (Type "A", "B", or "T")
2	Copier Number	Up to 3 digits
3	Account Type	Type "A": client/file number, no separator Type "B": date - in MM/DD/YY format Type "T": the text "TOTALS"
4	Copy Count	Up to 9 digits
	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.

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

The Copier Number is used in the "on copier unit nnn" description that is added to the transaction.

The Copy Count field is used to determine the transaction amount by multiplying the Copy Count and the Rate. The Rate field is specified in the Danyl-QBACOL configuration.

Sample Data File

The following is an example of a Danyl-QBACOL data file.

"B",023,"03/16/2008",000000000
"A",023,"0000000011",000004207
"A",023,"0000000638",000000021
"A",023,"0000075132",000000157
"T",023,"**TOTALS**",000004395

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 DANYL - QBACOL

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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