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				  Version 1.10
			       Copyright (c) 1997
				by Simone Govoni

			   E-mail: govoni@cs.unibo.it
	 Author's Home Page: http://www.cs.unibo.it/~govoni/index.html


   1	WHY dBTAB?

   dBTAB is a small utility written to solve a common problem: inclusion of
   DBF files into word processor's documents, like those produced by Word or
   Wordperfect.

   dBTAB reads a DBF file (created with dBASE III+ or Clipper) and writes an
   ASCII file with field contents delimited with TAB characters. This file
   can be easily converted into a table by a feature that many word
   processors have: making a table from a TAB delimited file (WinWord 6.0
   and Wordperfect 5.1 surely have this capability). In this way you don't
   have to take care of alignment problems arising when printing fixed
   format files with proportional fonts.

   2	SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

   dBTAB can be executed on every computer equipped with DOS 3.0 or higher.
   You shouldn't have problems using and old PC powered by an 8088 CPU and
   with 256KB of RAM. If your PC can execute dBASE III+ or Clipper, you can
   surely run dBTAB on it.

   3	USAGE

   dBTAB is very easy to use. The command line is:

       DBTAB [switches] dbffile[.dbf] [txtfile[.txt]]

   where square brackets highlite an optional argument. dbffile is the name
   of the DBF file to read (.dbf is the default extension), while txtfile is
   the name of the file to create (.txt is the default extension). If
   txtfile already exists it WILL BE OVERWRITTEN WITHOUT CONFIRM. If the
   user doesn't specify a name for the txtfile, dBTAB will send the output
   to the standard output. Entering DBTAB /h at the DOS prompt gives you a
   summary of recognized switches.

   Here follows a more detailed explanation:

   /d	Records marked as deleted are excluded from the ASCII report.

   /f	With this switch you can specify which fields should appear in the
	output (default: all). The /f switch must be followed by a comma
	delimited list of field numbers: only these fields will be inserted
	in the ASCII report. The space between /f and the list is not
	mandatory.

	Examples:

	dbtab /f1,3 cars.dbf	  	Only the first and the third field
					will be printed.

	dbtab /f cars.dbf	     	Error: missing field list.

	dbtab cars.dbf			All fields will be printed.

	Wrong field numbers (too high, too low, not numeric) are ignored and
	don't stop the execution. The /s option can be used to get the field
	numbers.

	The /f option can't be used with the /m option. Each one excludes
	the other.

   /l	Display dates using the four digits format for the year indication.
	Without this switch date fields are displayed reserving two digits to
	the year.

   /m	Use a specified mask to format the report rows. A mask is a string
	delimited by quoting characters (") that specify how to compose a
	row. A mask can contain only ASCII characters. A dollar sign,
	followed by a number or an ASCII symbol, specifies a variable.

	Recognized variables are:

	$<number>	contents of the field numbered <number>;

	$$		the '$' character;

	$q		the quoting character (");

	$p		the '%' character;

	$t		the TAB character;

	$+		the value of an auto-incrementing counter is
			inserted in the line. The counter starts
			from 1 and it is incremented after each
			record.

	The mask processor is case sensitive: $q is different from $Q (which
	isn't implemented at the moment).

	Every other character in the mask is copied to the output without
	any processing. The mask is applied to each record of the DBF file.
	The space between /m and the list is not mandatory.

	Examples:

	dbtab /m"Title: $1 Author: $3" books

	dbtab /m"Record contents: $1 $t $2 $t $3 $t $4" cars.dbf

	The /m option can't be used with the /f option. Each one excludes
	the other.

   /s	Display the structure (the field list) of the DBF file.

   dBTAB is case sensitive about the switch list; /F is different from /f.
   Date type fields are printed using the local format as set by the COUNTRY
   entry in the CONFIG.SYS file (default is US format) and using the correct
   separators.

   4	LIMITATIONS

   I've tested dBTAB only with DBF files produced by Clipper 5.2 and dBASE
   III+. It can't process memo fields. The only recognized field types are:
   character, numeric, logical and date.

   dBTAB doesn't know how to handle index files (those with extension NDX
   and NTX).

   5	FEEDBACK & SUPPORT

   If you have suggestions, bugs notifications or any other kind of
   complaint, please drop me an e-mail. If you like the program feel free to
   let me know about by sending me an e-mail. My e-mail address will be
   valid until last months of 1998.

   6	LICENSE

   dBTAB 1.00 is copyrighted freeware:

   - You may use it at home, at the office or in any government institution,
     without any restriction.

   - You may distribute it without any restriction as long as you don't ask
     money for it, with the exception of a small distribution fee.

   - THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY
     INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY
     AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT WILL THE AUTHOR BE
     LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF THE
     AUTHOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

   7	REVISION HISTORY

   1.00 First released version.

   1.10 Added the mask support (/m) and the four-digits year's format (/l).
	Corrected some minor bugs.

   All trademarks are recognised as belonging to their respective owners.
