User's Guide to Business Manager
Overview
The main purpose of the Business Manager program is to allow you to control and Monitor your phone applications. There are a number of 'elements' (parts) that make up the Business Manager program, and each performs a special task. This chapter discusses the purpose of each element in the Business Manager program, so you can gain an understanding of each part's purpose.
In this chapter, you will learn about:
Terms
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Mailbox |
A tree object that appears in the Voice Mail application and the Parent Teacher Hotline application. This object is capable of storing recorded messages left by callers for the owner of the Mailbox. |
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On-Line Help |
This means you can get help with the program as you are using it. Help gives you useful pointers, and can provide you with the information to help you perform a task (or get you out of a sticky situation). |
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Phone Applications |
These are applications that you use in conjunction with your phone and a voice/telephone card inside your computer. Callers call in to use some phone applications' services, while you use other phone applications to dial out to listeners. |
Business Manager is the program you use to control, manage, and maintain your phone applications. Each of the program parts allow you to perform the tasks necessary to keep things running smoothly.
Think of Business Manager as the key to all of the other phone applications. Whether you want to schedule an application to run at a certain time, change the structure of an application, create a new phone application, or test an application, Business Manager is the place to be. Business Manager turns confusion into convenience by giving you command of editors, monitors, test programs, schedulers, and even a phone line finder -- all in one program. Mastering Business Manager means mastering a program that contains all of the tools you need to use your phone applications effectively. Business Manager eliminates all of that hopping around from program to program.
You use Business Manager to schedule phone applications to run, and also to run the chosen applications. Other elements of Business Manager allow you to monitor running applications, add, build, or delete applications, and to access an application for editing.
These 'elements' are the parts of Business Manager that allow you to perform the functions necessary to schedule, add, delete, create, modify, and monitor your phone applications.
Telephone Line Manager
This portion of Business Manager deals with the management of the telephone lines connected to your computer. You use the Telephone Line Manager to add, change, delete, and configure the phone lines connected to your computer. Business Manager uses the Telephone Line Manager to keep track of the phone lines.
Application Configuration
You use this part of Business Manager to configure your phone applications. This means you may add, delete, or edit a phone application using the Application Configuration. The Application Configuration box includes a complete listing of the phone applications you have.
Application Scheduler
This is the part of Business Manager that allows you to schedule applications to run at certain times on the available phone line (or lines). The schedule includes time cells for each hour of each day of the week, and a listing of the phone applications available for scheduling. If you have more than one phone line connected to your computer, then you will also have more than one schedule (i.e., each line has its own schedule).
Combination Application
This application appears in the list in the Application Configuration. It allows you to run more than one phone application on a single phone line. This means that if you're using the Combination Application to run a number of programs, the caller may choose which application they wish to access when they call.
Monitor
This is the part of Business Manager that processes the schedule created in the Application Scheduler, then runs the application or applications. Monitor associates an application with an available phone line, acting as a 'traffic cop' for applications on the phone lines.
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Although Monitor is part of the Business Manager program, Windows assigns it an icon as if it were a separate program. This is so you can use Business Manager and Monitor at the same time, or separately. |
Monitor starts once you enter Windows. This means that callers will be able to call into your system once you turn it on. For instructions on stopping Monitor, refer to Chapter 7: "Using the Monitor Program".
Monitor also allows you to see which applications are currently running on which lines. You may also use Monitor to manually affect the phone lines and the running applications, irrespective of the schedule.
Boxwatch
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This part of the Business Manager program is for your own personal monitoring of incoming messages. The Boxwatch program allows you to monitor certain Mailboxes or message-storing objects in an application or applications, and notifies you when a caller leaves a message in one of these objects. This program is for use only with the phone applications in which the caller may leave a message. |
Although Boxwatch is part of the Business Manager program, Windows assigns it an icon as if it were a separate program. This allows you the choice of using Boxwatch, or not using Boxwatch.
Telephone Activity Reports
These are reports that tell you what takes place in the system. You decide what information you want in the report using the Report Generator, then you print the information using your printer. These reports provide useful information on just about every aspect of the running of your phone applications.
Management Option Settings
These are settings for the general management of your phone applications, and also some special controls for phone characteristics. You do not normally have to use any of these controls, but they're good to know about in the event that you have non-standard phone characteristics. We'll talk more about these later.
In Windows 95
Click on Start at the left end of the task bar. A menu appears.
Move your cursor up to Programs on the menu. Programs highlights and another menu appears.
Move your cursor to CBSI Business Applications on the second menu. CBSI Business Applications highlights, and a third menu appears.
Move your cursor to Business Manager on the third menu and click once. Business Manager opens and the title screen appears as shown in the next figure.
In Windows 3.1
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Double click on the appropriate icon in the CBSI Business Applications program group. Business Manager opens and the title screen appears as shown in the next figure. |
With Business Manager open, you can open any of the control menus or dialog boxes by clicking on the appropriate menu heading in the menu bar.
When you finish using the Business Manager program, you should exit from the program. Due to the dynamic structure of Windows, you find that there are often many ways to perform the same function.
Windows 95
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Warning: Avoid turning your computer off when the program is displayed. Turning your computer off when any program is displayed or when Windows is running can result in lost information. |
If you're using Windows 9.5, your program and Windows provide together five different ways to stop (exit) your Business Manager program. Regardless of the method you use to exit, if you've made any changes to the currently displayed Client Form, a message box appears with three buttons along the bottom (labeled Yes, No, and Cancel). Clicking the Yes button saves the changes to the currently displayed Client Form then ends your Business Manager program session (the window closes). |
Clicking the No button ends your Business Manager session without saving your changes. Clicking the Cancel button takes you back to the program without doing anything.
The X Button
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Windows 95 adds the X button on the title bar to all Windows programs. The X button is one way to leave the program. Clicking on this button will close down the program. |
The Exit Button
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The Exit button is the most obvious way to exit the program. This saves you from having to open the File menu to leave the program. This is, by far, the easiest method of ending your Business Manager program. |
The File Menu
This menu, pictured, provides you with options that allow you to manipulate the Client Forms in your Client List. From this menu, you can add, delete, or open Client Forms or exit the program. Click on the File menu heading at the left side of the menu bar on the program window. A menu heading is the word you find in the white bar along the top of your program window. Using the a+F key combination also causes the menu to open.
The File Menu
Exit. The Exit option closes the Business Manager program window when you click on the option, move the highlight to the option and press e, or press Xwhen this menu is displayed.
The Keyboard
You can also press a + o to exit the program.
The Window Control Bar
You may click on the control bar (the small program icon) at the upper left corner of the program window to display the control menu, pictured. Then choose Close. You may also just double click on the control bar to close the window.
Windows 3.1
If you're using Windows 3.1, to exit out of the program, you may also use the Exit button, the Exit option in the File menu, the a + o key combination or the Window Control Bar. These methods are described in the previous section of this chapter.
The main difference between Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 in exiting the program is that Windows 3.1 doesn't feature an X button on the title bar. Also in Windows 95 the Control Bar is replaced with a small icon, but it works the same way.
If you encounter a problem at any time during the normal operation of your Business Manager program, all you need to do is ask for Help. The program includes an On-Line Help function to answer questions that you might have concerning Business Manager (On-Line means that it is accessible from anywhere in the program, unless you're already inside the Help Function itself). The Help function contains the same basic information that you can find in this manual.
Starting Help
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The Help Window displays the On-Line-Help screens. The available Help options are:
Exiting Help
To exit Help, all you have to do is close the Help Window. There are three ways you can do this:
2. Select the Close option from the Window Control menu.
3. Select the Exit option of the File menu in the Help Window.
