STEP #1: The first step in unlocking all of this potential is to press <MENU> File New <ENTER> from PHONE. You'll see a blank Phone Book screen. We have set up a new, empty Phone Book file that we'll use as a freeform database. (If you have already been using another Phone Book, you may be prompted to save changes to that phone book before the 95LX will let you open a new one.)
STEP #2: Press the <MENU> File Save and give your new phone book a name. For our example here we'll type in CUBS.PBK.
You're now ready to start using the Phone Book as a free-form database. For this example we're going to create a Phone Book database to keep track of the Chicago Cubs schedule of home and away baseball games. (The complete Cubs home and away schedule is found in CUBS.PBK *, a Phone Book database developed by Tom Anderson of HP. The file is available on CompuServe's HPSYS forum.)
Data is entered the same way as in a normal Phone Book, but is no longer names and phone numbers. From the new Phone Book you just created press F8 to Insert data. You are presented with the three standard Phone Book categories: Name, Number, and Address. We can't actually change the names of these categories in PHONE, but we're going to use them differently. Here's how:
Phone Book Cubs Database
Name Date/Time
Number Location/Team
Address Misc Info
When you see "Name" think "Date/time," "Number" think "Location/Team," and "Address" think "Misc Info." Date/Time is the scheduled date and starting time of the game. Location/Team indicates whether the game is Home or Away and the name of the opposing team. Misc Info can be used to store miscellaneous information about the game (phone number for tickets, address of the stadium, the starting pitcher, final score, etc.) The Date/Time and the Location/Team areas can each store up to 30 characters. The Misc Info area can hold up to 320 characters --40 on each of the eight lines.
Below are some sample entries for this database:
Date/Time 05/31 1:20
Location/Team H Dodgers
Misc Info
Date/Time 06/01 7:05
Location/Team H Padres
Misc Info
Date/Time 06/02 1:20
Location/Team H Padres
Misc Info
Date/Time 06/03 1:20
Location/Team H Padres
Misc Info
Date/Time 06/04
Location/Team Off Day
Misc Info
You can keep a permanent record of almost any scheduled event, and use PHONE's features to organize the information.
You can, of course, use a Phone Book database for more than just baseball schedules. It is especially handy for any kind of checklist.
You can keep a travel checklist with you and look back over it at any time to make sure you didn't overlook something. You can even include a completion date next to checklist items so you know exactly when you finished the item. And once you've set up one travel checklist, you have a template for the next time you travel. Just copy the format and make the necessary modifications -- your set up for the next trip! You always have your checklist with you to modify and improve as you discover other items need to be included.
A key point to keep in mind is that the Index view of Phone Book displays the first two data categories of the Phone Book database. In the above example those are the Date/Time and Location/Team categories.
Once you highlight an item and press <ENTER>, you then see the Card view, which gives you a complete look at all three categories of information. It is from Card view that you make changes to the entry. The top of page 38 shows an index view of the June/July Cubs schedule.