5.  STARTING SHIMS

You should be familiar with the basics of Paradox before using SHIMS.  Make sure you are in
the SHIMS directory.

    To run SHIMS,

         from the DOS prompt, type: PARADOX SHIMS.

         from inside PARADOX, select: Scripts Play Shims.

In either case, SHIMS first looks for SHIMS.LIB.  If it is found, then SHIMS plays
SHIMSINI.SC, which initializes all global variables.  Next, it sets the error procedure and the
query order.  Then it calls the main procedure in SHIMS.LIB.  You should see the SHIMS
splash screen and then the main screen.  The main screen is shown in the following figure.



                                  Main SHIMS 4.11 Screen

The top line of the main screen contains the pulldown menu commands.  This menu collects
the commands in SHIMS into groups. Each group and command is described later.

The large box in the middle of the main screen lists every location in the SHIMS database. 
Clicking on any line in the box will highlight that line and make the location the current
location.  The cursor keys will also highlight the current location.  You should first select the
desired location before clicking on most SHIMS commands, because most commands operate
on the currently selected station. 

The bottom line is the speed bar. The speed bar commands are shortcuts to common key
presses in Paradox.  When viewing the main screen, the following options are available via the
speed bar: 

    Lid    -  A quick way to zoom to (search for) a location ID.  This works for all editing and viewing
              screens.  The cursor can be on any field.  This is the same as pressing F5.

    Zoom   -  Zoom is the Paradox command for search.  Clicking here searches for a target value in the
              current field.  This works on the non-memo fields in the master form which are labeled with
              white letters.  The search begins from the first record. This is the same as pressing Ctrl-Z.

    Again  -  Continue the search in the same field for the next target value.  The search begins from the
              current record position.  This is the same as pressing Alt-Z.

    PgUp   -  Scroll the current screen up one page.  If you are in a master section of a multiple page form,
              this will move you back one page. If you are in a table, this will move you back several LIDs. 
              If you are in a section that scrolls, this will move you up several records for the current LID. 
              This is the same as pressing PgUp. 
    
    PgDn   -  Scroll the current screen down one page. If you are in a master section, this will move you
              ahead one page.  If in a table, this will move ahead several LIDs.  If you are in a section that
              scrolls, this will move you down several records for the current LID.  This is the same as
              pressing PgDn.

    First  -  Move to the first record.  If in a master section or in a table, this will move you to the first
              LID in the table.  If in a scrolling section, this will move you to the first record for the 
              current LID.  This is the same as pressing Home.

    Last   -  Move to the last record.  If in a master section or in a table, this will move you to the last 
              LID in the table.  If in a scrolling section, this will move you to the last record for the 
              current LID. This is the same as pressing End.


The menu bar provides access to the various forms, displays, and utilities provided by SHIMS. 
Clicking on a menu bar option results in a menu of options displayed under the selected
option.  The user then selects the particular item in the menu.  The available menu bar options
and a quick summary of each are listed below.  The Section of this document which discusses
the option is shown in parentheses.

    =           the triple bar symbol provides version information about SHIMS
    Summary   - provides quick summary display of current forecast point  (Section 6)
    Forms     - provides access to the different forms that display the individual data fields in SHIMS for the
                particular station  (Section 7)
    Tables    - provides direct access to SHIMS database through the standard Paradox viewing and editing
                methods  (Section 8)
    Reports   - provides various options for displaying and generating pre-formatted reports of SHIMS data 
                (Section 9)
    Utilities - provides access to various utilities for such functions as performing backups, compressing
                data, etc.  (Section 10)
    Exit      - allows user to exit SHIMS and exit to DOS (Section 11)

Much of the time you are in SHIMS will be spent in the forms which provide an interface to
the database fields.  Paradox does not allow more than one form on the screen at one time. 
SHIMS screen forms have several sections embedded on a multiple page form.  Sections are
enclosed by a single line with a label in the upper left.  Many of the sections have multiple
records for one location and can be scrolled.  This is indicated by double right angle brackets
(>>) after the section label.  Each page of a multipage form has a master section.  The
master section will have white letters for field labels.  All other sections will have light blue
letters for field labels. 

Each of the forms are described in detail in the following sections, along with the Summary
Display.  For the forms and the Summary Display, an example display is included.  A brief
description is given for each of these fields in Section 7, while a detailed description of each
data field's format and content is given in Appendix A.  The fields described in Appendix A
are grouped by which form within which they are displayed.