Start-up: Premvet 5

This will start the Premvet 5 system, and the screen will display the Vet System logo and prompt you for:

Enter the user name you were allocated by your system manager and, if applicable, your password (this is never echoed on the screen - all you will see is one asterisk per letter). The system will then display the main menu.

If this is the first time you have started the system you can use the user ID of 'START'. Once you are in, it is recommended that this user ID should be changed.

Introduction

Before we describe the operation of the individual sections of the system, we suggest that you read the following general remarks which apply to the system as a whole.

The Keyboard

• The numeric key pad to the right of the keyboard has two functions depending on the 'Num Lock' key. If the 'Num Lock' key is lit then the keys work as the numbers 0-9, otherwise the arrow keys are operative.

• The function keys, either to the left or above the main section, are labelled F1-F12 and access various utilities which are explained later.

• Arrow keys are the keys with up, down left and right arrows on them. These are used to select menu options and scroll down lists.

• There is also a bank of keys labelled: Insert, Home, Delete, End, Page-Up and Page-Down. These keys are used to navigate around certain sections of the software and will be explained later.

• Control key - This is on the left of the keyboard and is marked <Ctrl>. This is used along with another key, in much the same way as the <Shift> key will give you capital letters. So, for example, if you are asked to press Control-Z, this means hold down the <Ctrl> key and while it is pressed down, press the other key required, in this case a 'Z'. Often the convention used for indicating that the <Ctrl> key is to be pressed at the same time is a carat (^), so in this case ^Z would mean Control-Z.

• Escape key - The escape key usually located on the top left of the keyboard is used in many places to 'escape' from the program you are in. It is referred to in the manual as <ESC>.

• Tab key - The <tab> key, located on the left of the keyboard, has two main uses in Premvet 5; if used when editing a field it will delete the existing text; if used at a prompt line it will accept all the default for the remaining options untill you reach the main menu.

• Enter Key - The ENTER (or RETURN) key is located on the right of the main keyboard usually with a left arrow on it. This key is similar to the carriage return key on a typewriter and is used to terminate a line. In this manual we will refer to it with the notation <CR> or <RETURN>.

Menu Selection (Introduction)

All the options within Premvet 5 are accessed by means of menus. Menus appear either horizontally along the bottom of the screen or vertically in the middle of the screen.

To select the required option you can:

• Use the arrow keys until the option you want is highlighted then press the ENTER (or RETURN) key and this option will be run.

  As an alternative to moving with the arrow keys, you may use:

• Enter the initial letter of an option to move to the next option which begins with that letter.

If there are more than 12 options on a menu the first ten options will appear plus an option saying 'More options'. When this option is selected the other choices will appear instead. If there are less than six options, they will be double spaced.

Prompts, Answering Questions

When you are entering data e.g. a client's name, animal name, transaction details etc. into the system, the prompt will appear either on the bottom line of the screen followed by a number of full stops, or next to the item you are changing (this applies mainly to stock and automatic pricing).

The prompt at the bottom of the screen takes the form:

Animal name ............

You will notice in this example there are twelve full stops. This means you have a maximum of 12 characters available. Once you have entered the required details, you should press the ENTER (or RETURN) key to signify that you have finished entering the details.
On some prompts, e.g. Yes/No where the answer is only a single character, you will never need to press the ENTER key. Similarly, if you use all the dots given, you won't need to press ENTER after filling in the last dot.

In some circumstances the system will offer you an answer. This is called the default. The default is signified by being enclosed in square brackets e.g.

Species [Canine] ..........

All you would need to do to accept the default (in this case Canine) would be to press the ENTER key.

The other form of entering information is where, rather than the prompt line appearing at the bottom of the screen, it appears beside the item you are entering (or changing) and appears in a different colour. At this point you can use:

• The arrow keys for moving back and forward along the line.
• The insert key for inserting characters before the cursor
• The delete key to delete the character at the cursor

Entering Dates: General

t	Today's date
+d	Today's date plus 'd' number of days
-d	Today's date minus 'd' number of days
d	Where 'd' is a number between 1 and 31. The 'd'th day of the current month and year.
d.m	As above except the 'd'th day of the 'm'th month of the current year.

Configuration

There are various parts of the system that will have to be set according to individual practice needs. This manual is based on a set of typical but varying configurations, therefore if some of the examples do not agree with the way your system is set up, do not worry. All the configuration options are explained in the Parameters section.

Software and user access levels

This manual is based on the full version of the software and assumes that the reader has full access to the system. As you read this document and compare it with your system, you may find options missing or options that you cannot access. This is because your system manager may have restricted your access to certain areas of the system. It may be because they refer to options not supported in the level of the software that you have purchased, or because they refer to optional packages, such as e.g. Herd Fertility, which can be purchased to run along with the rest of the Premvet 5 system.

The System Manager

The system manager is the member of staff within the practice who is responsible for the computer system. He/she will be the person you contact initially with queries as they will have been given some additional training on the more obscure aspects of the system. It will normally be the system manager that phones the support line.

The Operating System

The operating system controls how the computer talks to the hardware, i.e. printers, terminals etc. Premvet 5 is available in two versions to run under different operating systems: DOS for single user systems and Unix for multiple users. This manual covers both versions and where there are differences these will be noted.