Appendix D: Softfile Messages

After you press SPACE BAR or RETURN, you can continue working.

However, some messages describe fatal errors, which means Softfile cannot continue after them. The fatal errors are listed separately in Appendix E, along with recovery suggestions.

The Softfile messages are listed in alphabetical order. N represents a number, F represents a file name, and W represents a word.

Added to selected records

The normal response to the + command.

The normal response to Unmark, All records, Yes.

You pressed M to mark the current record, but this record has already been marked. No harm done.

You did Set, Protect to protect the current record, but this record is already protected. No harm done.

You pressed + to add the current record to the selected list, but this record has already been selected. No harm done.

You pressed BACKSPACE (or did Get, Back), but Softfile does not remember which record (if any) you viewed prior to the current record. Only a few records are remembered.

Softfile cannot find the main file of the specified database. The default name is "soft.dat". The file name always ends in ".dat". Perhaps you have not created a Softfile database with the Softfile Utilities program.

The Output command cannot open the file or device for output. Perhaps the device does not exist, or you do not have permission to write to the named file.

The Output command failed, probably because of a mistake in the output options record. If you did not define an output options record, this message means the default device used by Softfile does not exist on your system. You should create an output options record and specify the device to receive the output.

The printer output options record specifies output to a pipe, not "direct" output, but Softfile cannot open the pipe. You cannot use pipe output under MS-DOS and Windows.

The List, Sort command uses the operating system "sort" command to put the records in order. Softfile could not send information to "sort", either because the command is not available or the system is too busy.

The file specified in the Import command couldn't be read. Either it doesn't exist, or you don't have permission to read it.

The list specified in the List command couldn't be read. Either it doesn't exist, or you don't have permission to read it.

The list specified in the List, Write command couldn't be written to the disk. Possibly the list already exists and you don't have permission to delete the old version, or the disk may be full.

The list specified in the List, Delete command could not be deleted. Either it doesn't exist, or you don't have permission to delete it.

You did Get, Output options, Disk but a disk output options record was never defined with Set, Global, Output options, Disk.

The normal response to the Cut, All command. A copy of this record can now be pasted on another record with the Paste command.

Softfile did not understand your word expression. Most often occurs if you do Find, Words, RETURN instead of entering a word expression.

Your word expression is too complicated. Use fewer parentheses.

Another user was accessing the database when you ran Softfile. Try again.

Someone else may be using this database. If not, the database was not properly closed when last used (perhaps due to a system crash). Use the Reset command in the Softfile Utilities program to fix this.

The program you tried to run requires exclusive access to the database, but another program is already using the database. For example, you cannot run the Index utility command if another user is running Softfile on the same database.

The database is being used by a program which requires exclusive access to the files. You cannot use Softfile at this time. Some of the programs in the Softfile Utilities program are of this type. For example, you cannot run Softfile until the Index utility command is finished.

The database name is too long. This can occur if the name specifies several directory levels. The normal way to run Softfile changes to the user's Softfile directory, so the database name contains no directories at all.

You gave the command Set, Form, List when there was no record on the screen. This command is normally used to define the form list which appears after New, List or Attach, List.

The normal response to Set, Form, List. The N links defined for this screen should point to the forms. If N is 0 then Softfile found no links on this screen and you will not be able to get forms on the screen when you use the New and Attach commands.

You did Get, Form list but you have not specified which record is the form list. Get the form list on the screen and do Set, Form, List.

Softfile did not understand the date you entered. When asked to enter a date, enter the month, a slash, the day, another slash, the year, and press RETURN.

Softfile did not understand the month you entered. Enter the month, a slash, the year, and press RETURN.

Softfile tried to display record 0, but this is impossible. Most often occurs if you press 0 to display the initial screen when none is defined. Get a record on the screen and use Set, Global, Initial screen, Yes to make it the initial screen.

The normal response to Delete, Link, N, which deletes link N.

The normal response to Set, Link, N, which creates link N.

The normal response to List, Delete, F, which deletes the list named F.

The normal response to Unmark, This record.

You did Unmark, All records but you did not press Y for "Yes" as confirmation.

A word expression is missing a right parenthesis. Each left parenthesis must have a matching right parenthesis.

You gave the command Set, Link or Set, Next before setting a target record for the link with Set, Target.

The normal response to the Find command. The selected list now contains N records.

The normal response to the List, Read or List, Write command.

Softfile has found records with reminder dates on or before today's date. Use View, Selected to see the records.

When you do List, Sort or List, Export, a field definition record must be on the screen, to tell the command which fields to sort or export.

There is no record on the screen, and the command you just tried refers to what is on the screen. For example, you can't do Mark if there is no record on the screen to mark.

The normal response to Set, Global, Output options, Disk when no record is on the screen.

The field definition record on the screen does not specify any fields to sort (List, Sort) or export (List, Export).

The normal response to Set, Form, Number, 0. The current record is assigned a form number of 0, as if it had been created by New, RETURN or Attach, RETURN.

The normal response to Set, Global, Initial screen, Yes when no record is on the screen. The 0 command will not work after this because no initial screen is defined.

You did View, Marked records, Delete, Marked records, or Output, Marked records, but there are no marked records.

You pressed RETURN (or did the equivalent command Get, Next) but there is no "next" record. If the top line is blank, there is no record attached after this record. If the top line displays the number of records selected or marked, then you are at the end of the list of selected or marked records. (If you wanted to see the next attached record, first do View, Attached and then press RETURN.)

You pressed . (or did the equivalent command Get, Previous) but there is no "previous" record. If the top line is blank, there is no record attached before this record. If the top line displays the number of records selected or marked, then you are at the beginning of the list of selected or marked records. (If you wanted to see the previous attached record, first do View, Attached and then press ..)

The normal response to Set, Global, Output options, Printer when no record is on the screen.

You did View, Selected records, Delete, Selected records, or Output, Selected records, but there are no selected records.

The normal response to Set, Reminder date, RETURN.

You can only mark ten records. You tried to mark the eleventh.

The database is full. The record on the screen is not saved. Run the Compress command in the Softfile Utilities program, and do not specify a maximum record number. Softfile can store up to 999,999 records in one database.

Softfile expected a command (such as F for Find), but the key you pressed is not a valid Softfile command.

You pressed a number key (except 0), which is the command to follow a link from the current record to a different record. However, the current record has no link with this number. Use Set, Link to see which links have been set for this record.

You did Delete, ... and specified which records to delete, but when Softfile asked for confirmation, you did not press Y for Yes.

You pressed - to remove the current record from the list of selected records, but it isn't in the list of selected records.

You did Unmark, This record, but the current record is not marked.

You did Set, Unprotect, but the current record is not protected.

You pressed P, the Paste command, but you never used the Cut command to tell Softfile what to paste.

This message follows another message, to keep the message on the screen before you continue with Softfile. Although the message says to press SPACE BAR, you can also press RETURN if you wish.

You did Get, Output options, Printer but a printer output options record was never defined with Set, Global, Output options, Printer.

The normal response to Set, Target.

Softfile tried to read a record which is not in the database. May occur if you delete a record which is the target of a link, or if a deleted record appears in a list. When Softfile reads a list, it does not check each record number to see if the record was deleted after the list was saved. May also occur if you do Get, Record number, N when there is no record number N.

Softfile tried to read a record number which is higher than any used in this file. May occur if you do Get, Record number, N where N is higher than any record in the database. May also occur if you do a List, Read command and read a list which applies to a different data file. You cannot use List, Write and List, Read to move records from one database to another; use Output and Import instead.

The normal responses to Set, Protect, Yes and Set, Unprotect, Yes.

Reports how many records were deleted by Delete, Selected records or Delete, Marked records.

The normal response to Set, Reminder date, MM/DD/YY.

The normal response after the - command.

The normal response to Mark.

You entered a command which would change this record, but the record is protected. You cannot change a protected record.

The normal response to Set, Global, Initial screen, Yes. Whenever you give the command 0, this screen will appear.

The normal responses to Set, Global, Output options, Disk and Set, Global, Output options, Printer.

A list of selected records contains more record numbers than Softfile can handle. Possibly the list is corrupted, or it may not really be a list of selected records written by Softfile.

A word search found too many records. Some will be ignored. Try searching for less common words first.

Softfile cannot handle any more selected records.

Your word expression is too complicated. Softfile will find some records, but they do not fully meet the criteria you entered. Break the expression into parts and do more than one search.

This word has more references than Softfile can handle. Use the Words command in the Softfile Utilities program to create a list of words by frequency of use. Words which occur very frequently can be placed in the "ignore" list so Softfile won't index them.

Softfile does not index this word. (The word appears in the "ignore" list.) The search proceeds as if the word had been found.

This word does not appear in any record in the database. You can use the commands Words, Beginning with or Words, Similar to to see if similar words are in the database.