Commodore Plus 4 - Page 153

Section 4. The File Manager 141
The file manager is organized into files, records, and fields. Each record in a file
contains a number of individual fields, such as name, state, or phone number.
You design the file yourself by setting the number, name, and length of fields. You
enter information into each field for each record. Then you store the records in
the file.
After file manager records are stored, you can display them again, sort them by
any field, search the records for a specific piece of information, create subfiles,
and send field information to the word processor for incorporation into a printed
document. The format instructions used for sending field information to the
word processor are explained in Section 2 of this chapter.
Pile Manager Commands
CA WP, FM, SS
Displays a listing of all the files on the current disk. The file CAtalog includes
the following information:
File names
File lengths (stated in blocks)
Blocks remaining on the disk
Spreadsheet files have a .c suffix appended to each file name. Word processor
files have no suffix. File manager disks (each file should have its own) show only
their name and blocks free. The total blocks free on the disk shows you how many
of the blank disk total of 664 blocks remain available.
The catalog information is displayed on a separate screen. The work area is not
affected; you can display a disk catalog at any time. When you finish looking at
the catalog and press RETURN, the intact work area is returned to the screen.
Example: ca Lists a catalog of files on the current disk.
DS FM
Lets you sort a file by any of up to three fields. The sort creates a temporary
subfile of records reorganized by the sort criteria. You can use the subfile in
searches, in record reviews, or for printing multiple copies of a word processor
document. The DS (Disk Sort) command does not affect record numbers or
contents, but just the order in which records are organized.
When you want to sort by two or three fields, type the field numbers in the
order of sorting priority. To sort first by state and then by name, type the state
field number and then the name field number. Separate multiple field numbers
with semicolons (e.g., ds7;9;3;).