Getting Started
What you need
The minimal requirements to run the Business Planner are:
- Windows 95 or 98 or NT4 (SP6) or 2000 or ME
- Pentium II 350MHZ (or comparable processor)
- 64MB RAM or higher
- 35MB disk space (100MB in Windows older than 2000/ ME)
- Display with 256 colors (8 bits) or more
The screens were designed for resolution (Screen Area) of 800x600 pixels. The recommended screen resolution is 1024x768 pixels or higher.
Φ Note: If Windows NT4 is the operating system of your computer it should be updated to Service Pack 6. The update file can be obtained from your computer dealer or downloaded from Microsoft's Internet site. Depending on your version of the Business Planner, the CD of the software may include the update file in a folder with the name Tools. You should run the Service Pack 6 update file before installing the Business Planner.
Φ Note: The Business Planner CD may include a Readme.txt file in the root directory. This file, if it exists, includes the latest and most updated information regarding the installation and use of the Business Planner and it is important to read it. If the file exists, the installation program will display the contents of the file to you when it is started.
Installing the Business Planner
- Insert the setup CD into the CD drive.
- The setup program will start automatically in a few seconds. Φ Note: if your computer is configured to disable auto restart of CD’s you will have to start the setup program manually. Click the Start menu, then choose Run, Type the letter of the CD drive followed by: setup (e.g. D:\setup) and then click the <OK> button
- Follow the on-screen instructions of the setup program to complete the installation of the Business Planner on your hard drive.
During the installation you will be asked to choose where you want to install the Business Planner. Press <Enter> if you want to use the default directory, or type in another drive and directory where you want the Business Planner to be installed.
Φ Note: On some versions of Windows the installation program will need to restart the computer in order to install updated system components. After restart, the installation program should resume automatically in a few seconds. However, if you wait more than a minute after the computer has restarted and the computer shows no activity and the installation program does not restart, then you should restart it by running the setup program again.
Starting the Business Planner
The Business Planner setup program creates a group in the Windows' Start menu under Programs (during the installation the group name is displayed and you can change it). The group contains the program’s icon. The setup program will also create an icon on your desktop (unless you un-checked this option during the installation). Clicking either of these icons will start the Business Planner.
Evaluation Version
The software is installed by default, as an evaluation version that is active for a limited number of days and some of the functions are not fully active (e.g. printing). If the user wants to use it he/she should enter a serial number (which is supplied by the vendor) that makes the evaluation version a fully functional version.
The Business Planner's main window
The Business Planner's main window components are:
Menu
The menu lets you operate the different functions of the software. It can be accessed with the mouse, or by pressing F10 or Alt with the underlined letter of the required item. Temporarily irrelevant menu items are grayed out.
Toolbar
The toolbar, located under the menu, gives you quick access to the most frequently used functions. Temporarily irrelevant buttons are grayed out.
Plan Navigator
The Plan Navigator appears as a window on the left of the screen. It can be closed and loaded according to your need. The Plan Navigator assists you in using the main functions of the Business Planner. The Plan Navigator’s functions are arrayed in a hierarchical structure (tree structure or slide bar) and double clicking each item will expand its sub-items or activate its function.
Toolbar Buttons
The buttons on the toolbar are as follows:
 Open - Open another plan file
 Save - Save the current plan file
 Copy - Copy a cell, row or selected group of cells to the clipboard
 Paste - Paste from the clipboard to a cell, row, selected group of cells or a text box.
 Calculator - Display the windows calculator
 Help - Display help for the current window
 Navigator - Display/Hide the Plan Navigator
 Wizard - Display/Hide the Easy Start Wizard
 Exit - Exit the Business Planner
Tips On Using The Business Planner
- In most of the data screens clicking the right mouse button will display a popup menu that you can use to get quicker access to functions that appear on the toolbar.
- The "Compact Database Files" option that appears under the File main menu, within the Accessories sub menu, is useful to keep the system database files and the plan files (that were saved in sub folder Plans where the Business Planner is installed) as small as possible. Run it before making a backup of your plan files or before copying a plan file to another drive or computer. The compact runs automatically once in every one hundred times that you start the Business Planner.
- If you encounter problems in using the Business Planner try the following steps before calling the help desk:
- restart the computer and run the software again
- run the "Compact Database Files" as described above
- try to find out if the problem occurs in other plan files
- When you build a business plan, enter the data in portions and see the analysis screens after each portion. This will enable you to understand more easily the way the data is processed and analyzed and how it influences the analysis results.
- Backup your plan files on a regular basis.
- Before entering changes in an existing plan, it is a recommended practice to use the Save As option, under the File main menu to save the plan to a file with another name as a backup.
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