After running the installation program, the installation program itself will tell you if the installation was successful. If it was, you can skip down to the section on Operation (below). If there was a problem with installation, the program should display a message indicating what went wrong.

If the installation message indicates "I was unable to find your MS Word startup folder", then you will have to find the Word startup folder yourself. As the message indicates, this is the time to push the Panic button, which will then tell you what you need to do next. The panic button message will tell you: "We need to locate Word's startup directory". Usually, this is a subdirectory (folder) of "Office" so first you need to know where the Office files are located. (The default directory is "c:\program files\microsoft office\office\startup". However, Word 2002 uses the path "c:\program files\microsoft office\office10\startup".) Often this problem occurs because these files are on a drive other than C:, such as drive D:, etc. If this is the case, the likely path is: "d:\program files\microsoft office\office\startup".

If the installation message indicates "The Abacus files have not been successfully copied to their directories.", then you need to make note of which file was not successfully copied (it will display this on the program screen) and notify us. We will help you finish installation from that point.

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The current version of Abacus is 3.0. We periodically add features, make minor changes, or even fix bugs. When we do so, we designate it be afixing a "build" number. You can check your version and build number by double clicking on the copyright message at the bottom of the Abacus main screen. If you have the trial version of the program, just click once, and a new screen will appear with the version and build information.

If you are a current registered user of version 3.0 of Abacus (any build), you are entitled to upgrade to the latest build free of charge. You just need to download and install the latest release from our web site by clicking here.

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You can start The Abacus from the Word toolbar, but first you must manually place an icon (or even just the text) on the toolbar. To do this, first start Word and click on "Tools->Customize", and then on the "Commands" tab. From the "Categories" box on the left, select "Macros" and click on it so that it's highlighted. Now in the "Commands" box on the right, you should see "AbacusCountLines" (it may say "Abacus.Counter.AbacusCountLines"). Click on this text, and while holding the left mouse button down, drag this text onto the Word toolbar. When you have it placed where you want it on the toolbar, release the left mouse button. It will now say "Abacus.Counter.AbacusCountLines", which is a bit unwieldy. To simplify it, right click on this text. A new menu will appear. In this menu, you can change the text or select an icon. Then just close the "Customize" box and you're all set.

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It's possible that your 'normal.dot' file has become corrupt and needs to be deleted. But sometimes this problem can be solved by just resetting your shortcut keys. To do this, first start Word and then click on "Tools->Customize". When the "Customize" screen then appears, click on the "Keyboard" button at the bottom of this screen. On the right side of the "Customize Keyboard" screen you will see a button entitled "Reset All". If you click on this, it will probably reset your Abacus shortcut key. You can then close the "Customize" screen, close and reopen Word, and the Abacus shortcut key should work normally. However if you had any other custom shortcut keys, they will be reset (or deleted) in the process.

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If this happens, it's best to start from scratch. We manually un-install the previous version of Abacus and then re-install the new version. To do this, follow these steps:

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No. We have an easier (and we think better) system. When you pay for Abacus, we email you an unlock code and instructions. You then apply the unlock code to your current trial version of The Abacus, and this will convert it from the trial to the full, registered form of the program. This way you can download new releases ("builds") of version 3.0 of The Abacus free of charge, and make sure you always have the latest features without having to purchase it again.

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Absolutely. On your web browser, just click on "File" and then "Save As". It should take just a matter of seconds to then download this page. We update it periodically, so you may want to check back with us and download it again in the future.

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Once the files are installed, the Abacus counting program can be used. The program is an MS Word Add-In. This means that it must be run from within Word -- you can't run the program on it's own. The correct process is to start Word, open (or prepare) a document, and then run the Abacus line counting program.

The Abacus program is run the same way a Word macro is run. If you are familiar with this process, you will have no problems using the Abacus. If you don't know how to use a Word macro, just read on.

The easiest way to start Abacus is to use its built in shortcut key. To do this, simultaneously hold down the "Ctrl-Shift-A" keys. This will start Abacus. But there are other ways to do this...

Another way to start Abacus, which is actually the most time consuming, is to click on "Tools->Macro->Macros" and then click on the "Macros in" box at the bottom of the screen. Here you will see a number of entries listed, one of which should be "abacus.dot". If you don't see "abacus.dot" listed, then the Abacus is not installed where it belongs (in the "startup" directory) and we need to go back to "Installation" again. However if you do see "abacus.dot" listed, just click on it. Then up above, under "Macro name", you will see "AbacusCountLines". Click on this and then click on the "Run" button. This will start the Abacus program. If it's not clear what to do next, see the following section.

A better way to use the Abacus is to start it from a toolbar or as a menu item. To do this, click on "Tools->Customize->Commands", and then under "Categories" click on "Macros". Now to the right, under "Commands" it will say (among other things) "Abacus.Counter.AbacusCountLines". Click on it. At this point, you want to "Drag and Drop". While holding down the left mouse button (still on "Abacus.Counter.AbacusCountLines"), drag the mouse to a toolbar or a menu. Then let go of the left mouse button, and voila! You should now have a shortcut to start the Abacus. Notice that in this same box (toward the bottom), is a button labeled "Keyboard". If you click on this you will be given the option of assigning a shortcut key to the Abacus. This is another convenient way to start the program. The choice is up to you.

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There's nothing like having choices, and now you can choose how you want to count lines. Notice that on the left side of the main screen you have 4 counting options. The first one will count all headers and footers. The second option is pretty straight forward -- it just counts the number of lines in the document. Doesn't matter how many characters are on the line -- to this option, a line is a line. However it will not count blank lines or lines that just have spaces, tabs, or carriage returns. If you select one of these option, just click on the "Count" button and the Abacus will tell you how many lines you have.

Option #3 works a bit differently. Here you must first select (highlight) a portion of text in your document. Having done that, click on the "Count" button to get a line count. If you don't highlight some text first, the Abacus will tell you and therefore be unable to count anything.

The fourth option is totally different from the first 3 because it doesn't really count lines. It counts characters. After it counts the number of characters in the document, it divides by the number of characters in a line and gives you a mathematically calculated line count. If you select this option you can also determine what other options you want to use, ie, what characters to count and what to ignore. To use these options, click on the "Configure" text in the middle of the Abacus main screen and then click on the "Counting options" tab. Here you have more options. First you must determine how many characters constitute a line. The default is 65 but you can change it to anything you want. Notice there are several check boxes. If you uncheck all of them, the Abacus will count the number of visible characters, divide it by the number of characters per line, and give you a line count. If you check "Count blank spaces/tabs/returns", the Abacus will do just that and add that number of characters to the count. If you check the option "Count headers and footers", it will count how many characters are in the headers and footers and add that to the count. If you choose "Bold characters", the Abacus will add a character count for each bold character it finds. This counting rule also applies to underlined and italicized characters. If you check the "Shifted chars" options, the Abacus will examine each character to see if you had to use the shift key to type it. If so, it then adds the number of shifted characters to the count. And you can use any combination of these counting options. So to summarize, if you counted shifted chars and bold chars, and if your document consisted of the word "abacus", it would be counted as 6 characters. However, the word "Abacus" would be 7 characters due to the capitalized "A", and the word "ABACUS" would be 12 characters, as all 6 characters are counted twice (because they are capitalized). If the word "ABACUS" appeared bold, it would now be counted as 18 characters: 6 for the letters, 6 because they are capitalized, and 6 more because they are bold.

But there's more to this story. You will notice on the "Counting options" page an option entitled "Only count when turned on/off". This applies to counting bold, italicized, underlined, and shifted characters, and here's how it works. If you check this box, it will count bold (and italicized and underlined) chars in a group. If you have a group of bold chars, it will add one char count when the bolding starts, and a second char count when the bolding ends. So if the word "abacus" were typed in bold, it would be counted as 6 chars for the 6 visible letters plus 2 chars for bold -- one for turning bold on and one more for turning bold off (assuming the word is preceded and followed by non-bold characters). The rule with shifted characters is the same, but there is one exception: If you have a single shifted char, it will count as only one additional char count. We did this because otherwise, each time you start a sentence you would be getting two additional char counts.

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This message is generated by Word and indicates that something is interferring with the normal operation of Word or of a macro. (The Abacus is like a giant macro, and like macros, works using the Visual Basic for Applications - VBA - programming language.) The explanation for this error message is typically one of these:

1. The most likely explanation is corruption of the "normal.dot" file. This file is used by Word to store certain settings, such as AutoText entries, your Word configuration, etc. It is also used by Word macros, the VBA programming language, and The Abacus. This file occasionally becomes corrupted and when it does so, errors and error code messages result. The best line of defense is to back up your "normal.dot" file from time to time, and then use the backed up copy to replace the corrupt one if corruption of the "normal.dot" file should occur. We have a simple, free backup program that does just this, and can be downloaded from our web site. However if you already have a corrupt "normal.dot" file, or suspect that you may have one, we suggest you delete it (and Word must be closed to do this). When you next start Word, a new "normal.dot" file will be automatically created. Unfortunately, all your custom settings will be lost, and you need to be aware of this before deleting the file. The location of "normal.dot" on your hard drive depends on the version of Word you are using. We suggest you use "Start->Find->Files or Folders" and a file management program like the Windows Explorer applet to locate and/or delete the "normal.dot" file.

2. A second possible source of a runtime error would be if you have MS Works installed on your computer. This program is like a little brother to Office. It has a word processor, spreadsheet program, and more. But sometimes it interferes with normal Word (and Word macro) operations. If you already have Office on your computer, it is unlikely you also need Works. We therefore recommend you consider deleting MS Works if you are having trouble with Word or its macros (or Abacus).

3. A specific run-time error -- error message 5 -- sometimes occurs in combinations of Word and Windows that don't like the way VBA processes "wildcard" filenames. We have seen this in some installations of WindowsME and in the Word97/Windows2000 combination. We have changed the appropriate programming code in Abacus and believe we have this problem under control. If you are encountering this error code, you will need to download and install the latest build of Abacus (v 3.0) from the Abacus web site. To check your build number, double click on the Abacus main screen where you see the copyright message. If no new screen opens, you have an older build and should upgrade.

4. If you upgraded from version 2.1 to version 3.0 of the Abacus, and are getting a runtime error message when you first try to run the program, your computer may be trying to use both the old and new Abacus at the same time. The solution is to manually delete the Abacus files, thus assuring that we have rid the computer of all old ones, and then re-install version 3.0 of the Abacus. To do this, reboot Windows and make sure you DO NOT restart Word. Then locate and delete these 3 files: "abacus.dot", "abacus.dll", and "abacus.ini". Next install the Abacus from its installation program, "abacus30.exe". Now start Word and start Abacus. You will need to insert your unlock code for version 3.0 again, but then everything should be working fine. One other note: this problem can also occur if you have more than one version of Word on your computer. Abacus may be installed in the wrong Word version's folder. So if you have more than one version of Word, make sure that the file "abacus.dot" is in the "startup" folder of the version of Word that you want to use.

5. Finally, if the above steps don't eliminate your error messages, you should consider re-installing Word. Sometimes files become corrupt, are overwritten by other programs, or are accidentally deleted. A clean re-installation can usually solve these problems. And if you bought your computer with Word pre-installed, I strongly suggest you obtain the CD (if you don't already have it) from which it was installed. We have seen numerous problems on computers with Word pre-installed, probably because of the reasons above.

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MS Word uses this file to store some of your user configuration data, like AutoText settings. It is also used by macros, including The Abacus. Therefore if normal.dot becomes damaged (or "corrupt"), some macros, including The Abacus, may not work properly. If the file does become corrupt, the easiest solution is to just close Word and then delete it (normal.dot, not Word). The next time you start Word it will create a new and un-corrupt normal.dot file.

Because of the problem of corruption of this file, we have developed a simple and easy to use software program to back up and restore normal.dot (and the 'custom.dic' file). You are welcome to download and use this file, wdBackup, free of charge. We also include "wdBackup" with the current installation of Abacus, version 3.0.

You can also read more about the normal.dot file in the June 2001 newsletter.

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You bet! Click on the button named "Run batch mode", and a new screen will appear. At the top the default directory ("c:\") is listed. You can change it to any directory you want. Later, when you exit this screen, if you click on "Save Settings" (on the main program screen), Abacus will remember this directory and use it next time you go to the batch screen.

But back to the directory (folder) listed at the top of the batch screen. Underneath it, you will see all DOC files located in that directory. To select a document for line counting, either double click on it, click once one it and then click on the "Add" button, or click on the "Add All" button to select all documents in this directory. When selected, the document name will appear in the lower box. Then when you have selected all the documents you want to count, click on "Begin Count". Abacus will count the lines in these documents using whatever counting parameters you previously specified in the line counting options of the main screen. The line counts will then be written to the log file that you have selected as the current active log.

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Yes. When counting gross lines, it will count any table's row as a line if the first cell in that row has visible text in it. If that first cell is empty, then the Abacus will think it's just a carriage return and will ignore it. When counting as characters per line, it counts all characters.

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Abacus can also count lines of text (if you count gross lines) or characters (if you count characters and convert them to line counts) in textboxes, footnotes, and endnotes. If you count characters, Abacus will count the characters in these three special Word objects the same way it counts them for you in the body of the document but with one exception. Although Abacus can count your visible characters, spaces, and shifted characters, it will not count those characters that are bold, italicized, or underlined.

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Word is telling you that you may be trying to start a file that could contain a virus or otherwise damage your computer. This is normal Word behavior for any "add-in" file (such as Abacus), and does not mean that anything is wrong. However, you have two different ways of dealing with it:

1. You can change Word's security level, and allow it to accept all add-in programs that use macros. This will solve your problem with Abacus, but it also leaves your computer susceptible to Word viruses. Some users may be at little risk, but only you can decide what's right for you. You can read more about the macro security options in the Word online help files. But if you wish to change your macro security level, here's all you need to do: Start Word and click on "Tools->Macro->Security". On the "Security Level" page, click on "Low" then on "OK", and then restart Word.

2. You can keep your macro security level rating at "High" if you substitute our digitally signed version of the Abacus for the version you currently have on your computer. To read more about this, and to download the file needed to make this change, go to the Abacus download page and read the section entitled "Download a digitally signed Abacus". You can employ this option only if you already have the Abacus version 3.0 installed on your computer.

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In the unregistered trial version of the program, the log file will just record your line count after you click on the "Save Data" button, or after clicking on the "Begin Count" button when working in batch mode. But in the full version of the Abacus, you can do more. With the full version you can save line counts without those annoying "nag" messages. But more importantly, the Abacus will save your line count, add up the total of all your line counts, and calculate the charge for all line counts in the log file. You can also customize the log file with features such as your own header, graphics, etc.

Now...there are two more things you need to know about the log file. To use it to calculate your charges, you first have to tell Abacus how much you charge per line. To do this you need the full, registered version of the product. Click on the word "Configure" on the main screen and a new screen will appear. Select the "Log file options" page. At the top, enter your charge in cents per line. Enter just the number -- no words or dollar/cents signs. Then click on "Use". But while this screen is open, you also have a second configuration option. In the larger box, you can enter a message that will appear at the bottom of your log file after you calculate the charges and are ready to print it. This message could be your name and address, a "Thank you for you business" type message, your tax ID number, or anything else you would like to add for your clients.

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Absolutely. On the main screen you will see a button with the label "Change log file". Click here and a file dialog box will open. You can select a log file that you previously created, or type in the name of a new one that you would like to create. Then click on "OK". If you want to continue to use this log file as your default log (ie, the one that is automatically opened every time you start Abacus), click on "Save Settings".

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Yes. If you click on the text that says "Current user" (on the Abacus main screen), a file open dialog box will appear. Enter the name for the new user configuration and click on "OK". The current configuration settings will then be saved to this new configuration file you just created. Every time you start Abacus it will automatically use the default user configuration, named "abacus.ini", but you can change it to one that you created at any time by clicking on "Current user" and selecting a different user configuration file name.

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Yes. To enable this feature, click on the Configure label of the main Abacus screen, and then select the "Batch options" page. Here you have the option of subtotaling each batch run. If you select this option, each time you count a series of documents in batch mode, you will be asked if you want to write the subtotal to the log file. If you answer "Yes" to this question, the batch's line count subtotal and it's charge will be written to the active log file. Abacus will still calculate the log file's total line counts and write the sum at the end of the log file along with the total charge.

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Some installations of MS Word 2000 have trouble finding, and therefore writing to, the log file. This usually produces such errors as not writing the line count to the log file, or recording a charge of $0.00 for you total line counts. It can also happen if you have not entered your cents-per-line charge (see above, "How do I use the log file"). Please let us know if you have problems that you can't resolve.

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When you close the log file, you may be asked "Do you want to save the changes you made to abacus.log?". If you do, click on "Yes"; click on "No" to close the file without saving your changes, and click on "Cancel" to keep the log file open without saving the changes. If you elect to save the changes ("Yes") you will then get a 2nd question box. This one will ask you if you "want to save abacus.log in this format" (referring to an Encoded text file). If you click on "Yes", which is what we recommend, the log file will then be saved using the formatting that we want (plain ASCII text). If you click on "No", Word will then expect you to make your own arrangements for formatting and saving the file. This latter option may be appropriate if you plan on saving no more line counts to the file, and you just want to spice it up a little with a letterhead, image, or some other features that require you to save the file as a Word document or in some other special format.

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Yes. Abacus will make an invoice from any of your log files, as long as the log file was created using version 3.0 of Abacus that is build 020223 or later. (If you have an older version or build of Abacus, you can download a newer one that has this invoice feature by clicking here.) Abacus will make an invoice by examining a log file, and then displaying the information in a manner that is much more polished and presentable, and can be easily used for invoicing. To use this feature first open a log file in Word. Then start the Abacus macro, "AbacusMakeInvoice". In a few seconds you will have an invoice as a Word document which you can further edit if you wish. If you configured Abacus to write a message in the log file, that message will also be used in the invoice. To view a sample invoice, click here.

There are several ways to start the AbacusMakeInvoice macro:
1. Start Word and then press the invoice shortcut key combination, "Ctrl-Shift-I".
2. Start Word and then press Word's macro shortcut key combination, Alt-F8. This will open the Macros box. In it you should see several Abacus macros. When you find "AbacusMakeInvoice", just click on it and then click on the "Run" button.
3. You can also create a button on a Word toolbar to start this macro. For further information on how to do this, please consult your Word documentation.

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We will if you just email it to us. You may also want to consult the "Readme" file that came with the Abacus. It has a great deal of information about installation, operation, and troubleshooting.