TBDEVICE Interface Program
XO Call Data Format

Overview

The TABS III Data Collection Device Conversion program (XO Format) is used to convert telephone expense transactions from XO’s Call Data to be compatible with the Merge TABS III Remote Data program. The TBDEVICE program must reside in the same directory as the TABS III programs in order to work properly.

Installation

To install the TBDEVICE interface program on your hard disk:

  1. Insert the TBDEVICE interface program disk into your floppy disk drive.
  2. Click the Start button, and then click Run...
  3. Type A:SETUP or B:SETUP (depending on the floppy drive used), and then click OK.
  4. Follow the on-screen instructions to run the SETUP program.

    5. Note: The TBDEVICE interface program (TBDEVICE.EXE) must be installed in the same directory where the TABS III program resides.

Configuring the Data Collection Device Type

Before you can convert any data from a data collection device, TBDEVICE must be configured to handle the necessary format. The purpose of the configuration is to specify a default tcode and rate, as well as to specify what will be included in the descriptions.
  1. From the Software Technology folder, double-click the TBDEVICE icon to start the TBDEVICE program.
  2. Enter your User ID and Password in the STI Logon dialog box and click OK.
  3. From the File menu, select the Configure option.
  4. The "Data Collection Device Configuration" window will be displayed. Click the drop-down arrow next to the Device field and select XO.
  5. In the File field, type the name of the file containing the data from the collection device (i.e., XO.TXT).
  6. Select the Default check box if you want to make the XO device the default in the TABS III Data Collection Conversion program.
  7. Click the drop-down arrow next to the Tcode field to select the transaction code number that you use for phone calls.
  8. In the Rate field, specify the rate you want to use to calculate the amount for zero amount transactions.
  9. Click the More Config button.
  10. In the Descriptions section, select the Include Call Number check box to include the call number in the TABS III description. Select the Include City & State check box to include the city and state in the TABS III description. Select the Upper Case Text if you want to use upper case letters in the TABS III description.
  11. Click OK.
  12. Click the Save button.
  13. Close the "Data Collection Device Configuration" window.

Converting the XO Data

Use the following procedure for the conversion:

  1. Copy the file containing the data from the collection device (i.e., XO.TXT) to the TABS III directory.
  2. From the Software Technology folder, double-click the TBDEVICE icon to start the TBDEVICE program.
  3. Enter your User ID and Password in the STI Logon dialog box and click OK.
  4. From the File menu, select the Convert option.
  5. The "Data Collection Device Conversion" window will be displayed. If the XO device is not displayed in the Device field, click the drop-down arrow next to the Device field to select the XO format.
  6. Verify that the file name to be converted (XO. TXT) is displayed in the File field.
  7. Click the Convert button. The program will look for the file name specified in the "TABS III Data Collection Device 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 TABS III 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 be a zero byte file.

    Note: If you are using a full user system, the data file containing the logged phone calls 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.

  8. When the process is complete, the data files will have been created allowing you to merge the information into TABS III using the Merge TABS III Remote Data program. To merge the files, start TABS III. From the Integration Task Folder, select Merge TABS III Remote Data. This program will merge the remote data files created by the TBDEVICE program (RMT*.*) with your main TABS III data files. The TABS III online Help includes complete details regarding the Merge TABS III Remote Data program.

Note: You can change the phone call transaction code, default rate and the detail description options used by the XO format by selecting File | Configure.

Startup Options

Command line options can be used when starting TBDEVICE to bypass the User ID prompt and automatically execute the Convert and Validation programs 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   F:\STI\TBDEVICE.EXE ALICE

Convert   F:\STI\TBDEVICE.EXE /CONVERT XO

Validation   F:\STI\TBDEVICE.EXE /VALIDATION XO

Note: The normal "sign in" routine is used when TBDEViCE is started with the "/CONVERT" or "/VALIDATION" options. 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 or Validation program will proceed.

The TBDEVICE online Help includes complete details regarding Startup Options.

2002/09