It's Showtime Creating effective system presentations
From "VS Workshop",  Access to Wang, December 1989
[ Prior Article ]     [ Return to the Catalog of articles ]     [ Next Article ]

System demonstrations, testing, user training - almost no one likes to present (or sit through) these presentations. Many times entire systems are described in words only, losing the visual flavor of the new system. Sometimes screen or report mock-ups are printed and distributed to participants, diverting attention from the main presentation. Occasionally the actual system is used for demonstration, but much valuable time can be wasted trying to simulate exact conditions or move between faraway modules. Wouldn't it be nice to show only the screens and data that you want to demonstrate your point?

Here are a few ideas to make your system presentations sing "On with the Show" - rather than "Send in the Clowns".

System demonstrations

One of the most powerful method of demonstrating systems is with simulations presented on a workstation. Such simulations might take the form of "slide" shows, where images just appear on the screen, or can be more complex, involving timed actions and special graphics. The prototyping method of designing systems is rapidly overcoming many other development methods, and computer-based training (CBT) systems have also replaced many types of instruction. There are a number of commercial products that support these functions should your needs be more sophisticated.

If your needs and budget are limited, you might be interested in a show I put together recently using the SHOWSCRN Useraid and a number of screen print files. Anyone with a little knowledge of the EZFORMAT utility, a few tools, and a small amount of time could do the same.

Example: A quick slide show

The task was to present a condensed summary of a technical problem and its solution to an audience of programmers. I wanted to guide them through the internal structure of a file, as seen within the DISPLAY utility, and highlight specific areas wherever I desired. I also had to work fast, since the meeting was less than an hour away when I began my presentation materials.

My initial plan was to take a number of screen "pictures" (using PF14 from the Command Processor) and merge them into a single Word Processing document with the SCRNS2WP Useraid; the document would then be edited and printed, with copies made for all participants. Then I remembered the SHOWSCRN utility, which displays a library of EZFORMAT screen files one screen at a time, and decided that the large-screen workstation in the conference room would be a faster and more effective presentation medium.

To create the show, I stepped through the DISPLAY process in the order I wanted the presentation to follow, taking screen dumps as I went. These screen dumps were reviewed using the DISPMANY Useraid and unnecessary files scratched.

Next I scripted the presentation, determining the exact order of presentation of the images. I tied these images to their respective file name and listed them. In some cases, I wished to reuse a print file a second time; some files also changed position from their order of creation.

When the script was complete I determined a file naming convention that would allow identification of the file within a particular section and order it within that section. This step was necessary in case there was need to return to a specific frame - such as when answering a question from the audience.

At this point, I had a number of screen print files and an idea of the order they should be presented in. SHOWSCRN requires valid EZFORMAT files to display (1920-bytes per record; the size of a 24 row by 80 column screen display), so the print files had to be converted. PRT2SAVE is a Useraid designed to perform this function and I used it to make the conversions, specifying the new name from the script as the file name and a unique library name.

I now had a library of rough screen images in the order I wished to see them. The conversion from print format was not entirely clean, however, and I used Wang's EZFORMAT utility to clean up some of the images. The most typical problem was improper handling of underlines; screen files use a Field Attribute Character (FAC) to create underlines, while print files double-strike the line, and PRT2SAVE is not smart enough to make this translation. In a few cases I decided that the print file did not show what I needed, and created an entirely new file from scratch with EZFORMAT.

With the screen files completed, the only remaining task was to present the show with the SHOWSCRN utility. SHOWSCRN prompts interactively (no GETPARM) for the library and volume name, then displays a menu of processing options (see Figure 1). The RETURN key toggles display between a screen image (beginning with the first) and the options menu. Specific images can be found using the search option (PF12) and entering the file name; this function was needed once during my presentation to illustrate the answer to a question.

The show offered a quick look at over 25 images in less than five minutes and made the concepts easier to see. Total production time: 45 minutes.

Variations

Those with more interest and experience can find a number of interesting variations using SHOWSCRN. For example, Field Attribute Characters can be inserted into the screen definition file with PATCH or EZPATCH, causing the field to respond as if run within a program. This technique also allows blinking or blanked fields, underlines, or any combination of these effects.

Abandoning SHOWSCRN entirely, interesting screen sequences can be created using Procedure or any programming language. Procedure screens are relatively easy to create and can update only specific areas of the screen through the ERASE = NO option of the PROMPT verb. The PAUSE Subroutine can be used in programs or procedures to control the timing of screen frames by stopping for predetermined times at each frame.

The COBOL source for SHOWSCRN - created by Calvin Jayne - is available from ISWU as a part of their "deluxe" tape package. The source file might be of interest to those wishing to modify the utility for more exotic purposes.

On with the show!

Mailbag

Ronald Wacker of FBS Information Services in St. Paul, MN writes to point up a few suggestions for the RTWC74 utility (see "To Any Length", October 1989; page 45). He suggests that the initialization of the CHARACTER-FOUND-FIELD should be the first operation in paragraph MOVE-LINE in the event that it might contain a "Y" the first time through the program.

Ronald also pointed out that the pairs of 2-byte binary items (e.g. READFDR-FUNCTION, RETURN-CODE-X) could be replaced with a single item (PIC S9(9) USAGE BINARY) - provided you're using COBOL 5.10 or greater. I've used this last technique myself in areas where a returned value might be larger than a 2-byte item can contain, such as computation of the number of days from January 1, 1900 required by Lotus for dates (see the last section of "Time Trials", June issue, page 17). Good spotting, Ronald!

Programs mentioned in this column:

• DISPMANY, EZPATCH, PRT2SAVE, SCRNS2WP, and SHOWSCRN are Useraids, distributed (at this writing) by the International Society of Wang Users. ISWU, Wang Laboratories, One Industrial Ave., Lowell, MA 01851; (Carrie Frontiero) 508/967-4322.

• EZFORMAT and PATCH are Wang utilities, distributed with recent operating systems. PAUSE is a Wang subroutine, distributed with operating system beginning with release 7.13.

Figure 1: SHOWSCRN Options Menu

WANG VS SHOW SCREEN UTILITY - VERSION 1.04.00 Press one of the following PFKEYs to accomplish the intended action when displaying either this screen or the EZFORMAT SAVE screens. The current screen in number 1 of 1 : File SCREEN1A in library DSBSHOW on volume VOL111 PFKEY Action -------------------------------------------------------------------- ENTER To display the PFKEY options / return to screen display PF2 To display the first file in the library PF3 To display the last file in the library PF4 To display the previous file in the library PF5 To display the next file in the library PF6 To display a list of all files in the library PF8 To delete the current screen file: SCREEN1A PF12 To find screen file: ******** PF13 To run EZFORMAT for the current file PF15 To print the displayed file PF16 To return to save library section --------------------------------------------------------------------