Product Name: Personal RecordKeeper
Platform: Windows
Current Revision 5.0.2
Revision Date: 2/20/03
Availability: In print; technical support available for registered users
System Requirements:
- Windows 95, 98, 2000 or Me
- 486 or higher processor
- 8 MB of RAM
- 8 MB free hard disk space to run, 14 to install
- CD-ROM drive
Specifications:
- Database file size: Variable, ranging from 64K (empty) up to available disk space. Normal use will result in a database file of about 100 to 600K.
- Categories: 27 (fixed)
- Subcategories: 229 (fixed)
- Total number of data-entry screens: 397 (fixed)
- Entries per Subcategory: limited only by disk space.
- Characters per field: 1,000
- Characters per Notes screen: 32,000
- User defined lists (Location/Insurance): 50 items per list. Each item can be up to 255 characters (however, only the first 30 or so will appear on the screen)
- Password: 24 characters
- User Name: 27 characters
Frequently Asked Questions
Am I eligible for technical support for Personal RecordKeeper 5 for Windows?
What should I do if I have a problem with my Nolo software program?
How do I keep my software program current and up to date?
How can I tell which version I have?
Do I need to update my version of Personal RecordKeeper 5?
Why should I register my software?
Will this program work on Microsoft Vista?
Why doesn't anything happen when I put the Personal RecordKeeper CD into my CD-ROM drive?
Can I run Personal RecordKeeper 5 under Windows NT 4?
What are these .FCS files and why are they on my computer?
Are my entries being automatically saved?
How do I resolve conflicts in the Names List?
I get a "corrupt database" message. What did I do?
Why does my database print slowly?
How do I convert my existing Personal RecordKeeper 3 for DOS database to use with RecordKeeper 5?
How do I uninstall Personal RecordKeeper 5?
Am I eligible for technical support for Personal RecordKeeper 5 for Windows?
Yes, registered users for this product are eligible. For details see the section on "Policy for Current Versions" in Nolo's Technical Support Policy.
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What should I do if I have a problem with my Nolo software program?
Here are three steps you should take if you have a problem with the software:
Step 1. Review the documentation that came with the program
If you have a problem, first consult the following resources:
- Users' Manual
- Program Help from the "Help" menu
- "Read Me First" file from the "Start" menu
Step 2. Read the software FAQs
Read the rest of these frequently asked questions to see whether your problem is addressed.
Step 3. Contact Nolo's Technical Support Staff
If your problem persists, you should contact our Technical Support staff directly. The quickest way to contact us is by email at support@nolo.com.
If you contact Technical Support, please provide as much information as you can about your problem, including
- the name of the program
- the program version (to access this information, select "About" from the "Help" menu)
- any error messages
- details about what you were doing when the error occurred.
The following information about your computer may also be helpful:
- operating system (for example, Windows 98)
- processor type (for example, Pentium III, 500 MHz)
- RAM (for example, 128 MB)
- video card information
- printer model
You may also phone us at 510-549-4660 (9 - 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, Monday - Friday). However, we urge you to email us first whenever possible.
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How do I keep my software program current and up to date?
To ensure that you're running the most current and legally up to date version, we recommend that you regularly visit our web site to learn about:
We also recommend you sign up for our email newsletter, "NoloBriefs," so you can receive notification of software patches, updates and new releases. To sign up, click here.
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How can I tell which version I have?
Select "About..." from the "Help" menu to see the version number. If you can't get the application running, use My Computer to go to the Personal RecordKeeper 5 folder and locate the file named NPRK32.EXE. Right click on the file and select Properties from the menu. When the file's Properties window appears, click on the "Version" tab; the version will be listed there.
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Do I need to update my version of Personal RecordKeeper 5?
All registered owners of Personal RecordKeeper 5.0 should update their software to version 5.0.1. This update changes the following:
- You can now use RecordKeeper's Save As command to save your database files to locations outside the default application folder (including saving to external media).
- Date in footers of printed reports now have the correct date format for the year 2000 and on.
Users of version 5.0.1 do not need to update to version 5.0.2.
To update to 5.0.1, go to the RecordKeeper patch page. If you purchased RecordKeeper by downloading a "try-and-buy" version and then purchasing an "unlock" code, click here to download the try-and-buy patch.
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Why should I register my software?
Registering your software entitles you to receive technical support. You can register by completing and mailing the registration form that came with the program. If you purchased your product directly from Nolo, you are already registered.
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Will this program work on Microsoft Vista?
This program predates the release Microsoft’s Windows Vista and may not work correctly under Vista. In particular, we have identified the following issue:
Program Help: If you try to access the program’s Help system, an error will appear.
A free, Vista-compatible version of WinHelp (winhlp32.exe) is available from Microsoft at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=82148.
After you download and install this plug-in, you should be able to access Program Help without problem.
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Why doesn't anything happen when I put the Personal RecordKeeper CD into my CD-ROM drive?
If you don't see the "Welcome to Personal RecordKeeper" screen when you insert the Personal RecordKeeper CD-ROM, double click on My Computer with the CD in the drive, then double click on your CD-ROM drive icon and double click on the file WELCOME.HLP.
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Can I run Personal RecordKeeper 5 under Windows NT 4?
Personal RecordKeeper 5 usually works fine on Windows NT 4. Due to the complexity of supporting products under Windows NT 4, however, we do not offer support for Windows NT 4 users. We do support users running Personal RecordKeeper 5 on Windows Me, 2000, 98 and 95.
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What are these .FCS files and why are they on my computer?
Files that have a .FCS extension are temporary files that are created by Personal RecordKeeper as you work on your database. These files are necessary for the proper functioning of Personal RecordKeeper and should not be deleted. They are generally created in the same location to which you saved your Personal RecordKeeper database (.PR5) file.
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Are my entries being automatically saved?
Yes. Entries are automatically saved each time you go to a different Entry, Subcategory or Category.
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How do I resolve conflicts in the Names List?
A new Names List feature has been added to Personal RecordKeeper 5 to help you organize information about all persons, organizations and business entities named in your database. When you convert an existing database created with an older version of RecordKeeper, the program "reads" each record, looking for conflicting Names List information. If a conflict is found (for example, if you have two different phone numbers for the same person), you'll see the Names List Conflict dialog box.
To resolve a conflict using the Names List Conflict dialog box:
- Read the first line to see what the conflict is--for example, different addresses, different phone numbers, etc.
- Compare all the data in existing address information with that in the conflicting address information.
- Select which address you want to include in your database.
- If you want to include only the data in existing address information, click "Keep existing address" or press Alt+K.
- If you want to include only the data in the conflicting address, click "Replace existing address with this one" or press Alt+R.
- If both the existing address and the new address contain data you want to keep (for example, Record 1 has John Smith's home phone number and record 2 has his work number), click "Append new address to existing" or press Alt+A.
Be aware that if you choose to append the new address, the newly created record contains all the data in both records. For example:
- If the two records have different phone numbers, both will be included in the new combined record.
- If two records have the same phone number, this number will show up twice in the new combined record. When the conversion is completed, you will be able to clean up the data and get rid of any unwanted duplication.
Whatever selection you make will appear as Record 1 in this dialog box when any additional conflicts for this name are shown.
- Select whether you want to continue viewing other conflicting records for the same name.
- If the record you selected has the correct, complete information, there's no need to view other conflicting records.
- Click "OK."
When you've completed this process, and especially if you've combined data from conflicting records, we recommend that you immediately open the Names List to review your data and clean up any duplicate data, if necessary. For details on how to do this, see "Modifying Names and Adding Information" in Chapter 5 of the manual and in the Help.
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I get a "corrupt database" message. What did I do?
If you have Personal RecordKeeper already running and then open the program again (so that two copies of Personal RecordKeeper are running at the same time), it may display an erroneous "corrupt database" message. If you see this message, quit all instances of the program, then restart it. The same database should then work fine.
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Why does my database print slowly?
If you enter a lot of data in the free-form Notes field, there may be a delay while the computer attempts to calculate a page break. Depending on the speed of your computer, the delay can be several minutes long. Though it may appear that the computer is frozen, be patient and give the computer time to make this calculation.
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How do I convert my existing Personal RecordKeeper 3 for DOS database to use with RecordKeeper 5?
Before trying to convert database files created with version 3 of Nolo's Personal RecordKeeper for DOS, you need to "prepare" the file by quitting RecordKeeper 5 (if it's open) and completing the following steps.
- Start RecordKeeper version 3 for DOS. As the program starts, note the version number displayed on the initial screen and jot it down. You may need this information later. If your version 3 file does not open automatically, open it by choosing "Load" from the "File" menu. When the open dialog appears, type in the full path of the file where your records database is stored in the Personal RecordKeeper folder.
- Write down the full path name of your existing file. You can find the full path name of your file displayed on the Main Menu, just below the subcategory. For example, the full path name of your file might be
C:\NPR\JOANNE.
- Run the automatic corruption fixer in version 3 for DOS. While at the Main Menu, and with your file open, hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys while pressing the hyphen key. (The hyphen key is next to the number "0" at the top of your keyboard.) This will cause RecordKeeper DOS to scan your database and fix any corruption it finds. If corruption is detected, note the sections that are mentioned. The data in these sections may be incomplete or deleted.
- Choose "Save a Copy" from the "File" menu to save a copy of your database with a different name. Saving your file may take a while. This command saves the database in a form that is more efficient for conversion. This is the file you will convert for use in version 5, so take note of its full path and the name you give it.
- Choose the "Save a Copy" command again, this time saving your file to a floppy diskette or to a different directory on your hard drive.This file is for safekeeping, just in case you experience any conversion difficulties.
- Quit RecordKeeper version 3.0 and start Windows.
After the file has been prepared:
- Choose one of the following methods:
- If you are running version 5 for the first time, click the Open or Convert button at the Welcome screen (described earlier), or
- If Personal RecordKeeper is already running and another database is open, choose Convert from the File menu, or if Personal RecordKeeper is already running and another database is open, choose Open from the File menu.
- This step varies depending on which option you used in Step 1:
- If you clicked "Open or Convert" on the Welcome screen or selected Open from the File menu, a standard Open dialog appears. Locate and select the database file you want to convert, then click OK.
- If you selected Convert from the File menu, a Convert Database dialog appears. Locate and select the database file you want to convert, then click OK.
Locating database files from older versions of Personal RecordKeeper Version 4 for Windows: By default this program is installed in the \NPR4 directory. Version 4 database files have the extension PRK.
- Next, the Incorrect Version dialog box appears asking if you want to convert the file from older the version. Click Convert.
- You'll then see the Create a Personal RecordKeeper Database dialog. To accept the default name and convert the file, click Save.
Note: Unfortunately, when you update your version 3 database, the contents of the "Notes" fields are left behind.
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How do I uninstall Personal RecordKeeper 5?
Go to Start/Programs/Personal RecordKeeper 5 and click on "Uninstall Personal RecordKeeper 5."
Personal RecordKeeper 5's uninstaller does not uninstall either your database (.PR5) file or its backup (.BAK) file. You will need to delete these files manually if you wish to eliminate them from your computer (see instructions below). Be aware, however, that doing so will remove all the personal data you entered into Personal RecordKeeper.
If you wish to delete your data files, they will probably reside in one of the following locations:
If you are disposing of your computer and want to make sure that you locate and delete (or move) any data files, go to Start/Search/For Files or Folders. Type "*.pr5" in the "Search for files" field to locate any Personal RecordKeeper databases. Then search for "*.bak" to ensure that you locate any backup files.
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