Reproduced here is the section of the JaSPER help file describing its menus and commands, illustrated with screenshots of an example account :

Create new…

This dialog asks for the name of the account you want to create. The default directory is the one specified in the Preferences. The .JSP extension is added automatically. The current account is saved if necessary, unloaded, and the new empty account is loaded.

Open existing…

This dialog allows you to specify an existing account to be loaded. The default directory is the one specified in the Preferences (only files with the JaSPER UID and the .JSP extension should be displayed, but this does not always work). The current account is saved if necessary, unloaded, and the selected account is loaded.

Export…

This dialog allows you to export records to a file in the QIF format that can then be imported into Quicken or MS.Money. A default name is provided, in the default directory specified in the Preferences. There are two ways to select the records to be exported :

• check "all not already exported" (usual method). In this case, the date fields are ignored.
• leave the box unchecked and specify two dates between which to export.

Note : amounts exported to QIF files have dots as the decimal separator, even if the EPOC local setting is the comma.

Save

The current account file is automatically saved when exiting the program, creating a new account or loading another one. However, if you keep JaSPER active all the time, it is a good idea to manually save the account to disk after you add records, using this command. If the relevant option in the Preferences is set, the previous version of the account file will be kept as a backup (with a .BAK extension appended). The command is only executed if the account actually has been modified since the last save. This is shown on-screen by the symbol in the box to the right of the program name :

- the account was not modified since last save
- the account was modified and may be saved

Close

This is the normal "exit" command, equivalent to 'Control-E' (English S5 convention), 'Control-Q' (French S5 convention) and 'Q' (JaSPER shortcut). The current account is saved if needed upon exit.

Exit, no save

If you have messed up your current account, you can exit JaSPER without saving it, keeping the previous version. The 'Escape' key also does this ; you will need to confirm this command.

Add ATM/Cash, Check, VISA…

These are the core functions of JaSPER. They are usually not accessed through the menu, as they have one-key shortcuts ('A', 'C', 'V'). Each displays an entry dialog with an amount field and a filled-in date field.

The ATM/Cash dialog has no other fields, and automatically adds a configurable keyword as the 'To:' field (usually this will be the same keyword that the PC software uses to recognize such entries).

The VISA dialog also has 'Credit/Debit', 'To:' and 'Note:' (comment) fields. This type of entry actually means "anything but cash and checks", including credits (income) and all type of "plastic" or "virtual" transactions (money orders, transfers, etc.).

The Check dialog adds to these the 'Check number' field. This field is filled-in with the next logical number based on previous input.

Transactions are displayed in chronological order ; if several records are entered on the same day, they are displayed by order of entry.

Change…

The three types of dialogs above are only to speed up data entry ; JaSPER itself does not distinguish between transaction types and treats all records equally. Thus, there is only one dialog to modify existing entries ; it shows all possible fields, like the 'Check' entry dialog. It is possible to add a note to a record originally entered as 'Cash', a check number to one entered as 'VISA', turn a debit into a credit, and so on. If the transaction date is changed the record position in the list will change accordingly. This command is shown in the menu by design principle, but it is much simpler to use the 'Enter' key on the record you want to change.

Note : if executed on a 'Template' record, this command does not edit the template, but creates a new transaction based on that template.

Duplicate…

This dialog (also available by just pressing 'D') quickly creates a new transaction similar to the current one ; all fields in the new entry default to the values in the existing entry, except the date that is set to the current day. If the entry being duplicated has a check number, it is set to the next unused number for the new one.

Note : if executed on a 'Template' record, this command does not duplicate the template, but creates a new transaction based on that template, like this :

Make Template

This command (also available by just pressing 'T') creates a template record based on the current one. It has identical fields, except for the prefix "-t-----" replacing the date, and "Check" replacing the check number if the model had one.Templates are listed by order of creation at the top of the list, before the 'real' transactions, and appear in italics. They are never exported nor purged, but can however be deleted.Once created, a template can be used to generate any number of similar transactions, even after the original one is long gone, by pressing 'Enter' or 'D' on that template. The resulting 'Add from template' dialog is identical to the 'Duplicate' dialog for regular entries.

Cross/uncross

This command is a toggle that will cross-out any regular (non-template) entry (like this), or "uncross" one that is already crossed-out. IMPORTANT WARNING : this is a user-requested addition that has potential side effects with other commands. Entries crossed-out this way appear exactly the same as entries "striked-through" after an Export command, although they have not actually been exported to a QIF file. They will be ignored by subsequent Export commands, and deleted by a Purge command just like exported entries. Conversely, if a crossed-out entry (by whichever means) is turned back to normal by this command, then it will be ignored by Purge commands but exported to QIF by the next Export command.

Delete

This, well, deletes the record (transaction or template). The confirmation dialog can be turned off in the Preferences.

Note : this is normally done through the 'Del' key, but the 'Control-H' combo has the same effect !

Undelete last

This very basic undo command restores the (single) last deleted record (transaction or template), for a given account and JaSPER session. The undeleted record may appear at a slightly different position than the original (i.e. as the last record entered for that given day). It is mostly meant as a workaround for the 'Control-H' problem ; if many entries have been mistakenly deleted, the 'Exit, no save' command may be preferable.

Purge…

This dialog is for "mass-deletion" of any number of exported transactions without having to individually delete each of them. It will not touch non-exported entries, or templates. There are two ways to select the records to be deleted :

• check "all exported entries" (usual method). In this case, the date fields are ignored.
• leave the box unchecked and specify two dates between which to delete.

Columns…

This dialog lets you change the width of the items in an account entry. You can set the length of the 'To:' and 'Note:' strings (1 to 99), the number of digits (6 to 12) and decimals (0 to 6) for amounts as required by local currency, the size of check numbers (1 to 12).

Remember that unlike Data records, in JaSPER display width is equal to storage width - if you set 'To:' to 20 characters, that is all you can store. Dialogs will let you type in the maximum width (99) but the field will be truncated to the current limit.

If the new value for a given field is smaller than the previous value, some existing records may have fields too large to fit. In this case they will be truncated and you risk losing information, so you will be asked to confirm this.

These settings are stored on an account-by-account basis, so you can have different display schemes for different accounts.

The date format and the order of the columns cannot be changed. The total length of a record is at most 255 characters, but without horizontal scrolling long strings will not display entirely. The 'Space' key can be used to display the right part of a truncated entry in a popup.

Font… (obsolete, replaced by Zooming)

This entry and the corresponding dialog have been removed in version 1.1. They have been replaced by standard EPOC zooming functions (either through the silkscreen icons or the usual Ctrl-W/Ctrl-Shift-W keys). These cycle through eigth sizes (8 to 32) and two weights (bold/normal) of the monospaced Courier font, for a total of eleven combinations. The font setting resulting from the zoom level is global and used for all accounts.

Preferences…

This dialog lets you set miscellaneous options : keep backup account files or not, confirm deletions or not, default drive and directory for creating and loading account files. Also, the language- and vendor-dependent keyword for cash entries needs to be set here ; it should be the same as the cash entry keyword used by your PC software for better importation.

These settings are also global and used for all accounts.

About…

…me :-)

Thanks to…

Well-deserved credit and thanks to Al and Damien…

Help

You've been reading it, remember ? :-)

USCITA…

A (very, very) stupid joke. I love stupid jokes, can't resist 'em. Always get me in trouble, too… Oh, well ! :-)

Summary of one-key shortcuts for the most frequently used functions :

A - add ATM/Cash entry

C - add Check entry

V - add VISA (& all others) entry

D - duplicate entry

T - make template from entry

Enter - edit (change) entry

Enter,D - (on template) make entry from template

Space - show end of record in entry

Del - delete entry (also Control-H)

Q - Quit, saving (same as Control-E, Control-Q)

Escape - Exit without saving (abandon changes)