Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
• What is A-Bash Book?
• Graphical User Interface
  • Person List Panel
• How to Use the User Guide
• Quickstart Guide
• Understanding Command Syntax
  • Examples of Command
  • Command Flags
  • Uppercase Words
  • Optional Parameters
  • Parameters That Can Repeat
  • Mutually Exclusive Parameters
  • Additional Information
• Features
  • Adding a Person: add
  • Editing Persons: edit
  • Deleting Persons: delete
  • Listing All Persons: list
  • Locating Persons: find
    • Searching All Searchable Fields
    • Searching by Specific Fields
  • Filter Field Visibility: filter
  • Selecting Persons: select
  • Email Persons: email
  • Tagging Persons: tag
    • Add Tags to Persons: tag add
    • Delete Tags From Persons: tag delete
  • Aliasing Commands : alias
    • Add an Alias: alias add
    • Delete an Alias: alias delete
    • List All Aliases: alias list
  • Autocomplete
    • Commands
    • Flags
    • Index
  • Viewing Help : help
  • Clearing All Entries : clear
  • Exiting A-Bash Book : exit
  • Saving the Data
  • Editing the Data File
• FAQ
  • What Is the Home Folder?
  • How Do I Transfer My Data to Another Computer?
• Command Summary
• Field Summary
• Glossary

What is A-Bash Book?

A-Bash Book (ABB) is a powerful Employee and Business Contact Management System.

A contact management system serves as a centralised platform for organizations to store contacts important to the company.

A-Bash Book comes with features that facilitate quick access and bulk operations to super charge your organization’s work flow.

A-Bash Book also uses a Command Line Interface (CLI) and is fully operable by keyboard. Not only is the interface optimized for fast typists, but intuitive and welcoming for new users.

As employees come and go, their business contacts can be lost with them. Besides serving as a centralised platform, A-Bash Book was built to solve this problem by ensuring all the necessary contacts still remain in the system.

Graphical User Interface

A-Bash Book’s graphical user interface can be categorized into 4 components.

• Command Box
• Result Display
• Command List Panel
• Person List Panel

You may begin by typing in your command in the Command Box and hitting Enter to execute the command. A status message of the command will be displayed in the Result Display.

On the left side, you may reference the available commands in the Command List Panel.

Lastly, all persons will be displayed on the right side in the Person List Panel.

Person List Panel

Each person in the Person List Panel can have data.

This data is stored in their respective fields and can be identified by referring to the image above.

For more information on fields, you may refer to the Field Summary.

How to Use the User Guide

You can use the Table of Contents to quickly navigate around the User Guide.

Before you continue reading the rest of the User Guide, take note of the following typographic conventions which are used to place emphasis on certain texts:

Style	Description
Code	Command text.
Keyboard	Keyboard shortcut.
Bolded Text	Important words to take note of.
Note	Useful information.
Tip	Helpful information that can enhance your experience.
Warning	Potentially dangerous action that might cause data loss.

Quickstart Guide

1. Ensure that you have Java 11 or above is installed in your computer.

2. Download the latest abashbook.jar from here.

3. Copy the abashbook.jar to your preferred target folder to use as the home folder to contain the A-Bash Book data. See FAQ: What is the Home Folder? to understand more.

4. Double-click the abashbook.jar to start the app. The program window should appear in a few seconds. Note that the app contains some sample data, as seen in the picture below.
   

5. Type the command in the command box and press Enter to execute it. e.g. typing help and pressing Enter will open the help window.
   Some example commands to try:

   • help: Opens the Command Summary in the app.

   • list: Lists all persons.

   • add -n John Doe -p 98765432 -e johnd@example.com -c Google -j HR Manager -a John street: Adds a person named John Doe to the system.

   • delete 3: Deletes the 3rd person shown in the current list.

   • clear: Deletes all persons.

   • exit: Exits the app.

6. Refer to the Features below for details of each command.

Understanding Command Syntax

A-Bash Book utilises the Command Line Interface (CLI) which is a text-based interface for users to enter commands. In order to interpret commands correctly, these commands have to be structured properly. This is known as the syntax where a specific arrangement of words and parameters form a command that A-Bash Book can understand.

Examples of Command

Here are some examples of how a command is documented in A-Bash Book:

• select { clear | shown | show | INDEX... }
• edit { shown | selected | INDEX... } [-n NAME] [-r REMARK] [-t TAG]...
• tag delete { shown | selected | INDEX... } -t TAG [-t TAG]...

Command Flags

Command flags are specific options that can be specified to add more information in a command.

e.g. add -n John Doe -p 94326543 -e john@doe.com -a 45 Address #06-90

Command: add

Command flags: -n , -p, -e, -a

Command flags might also take an argument, for example, -n John Doe or -n -a -c.

Uppercase Words

Words in UPPER_CASE are the parameters that you can specify.

e.g. in add -n NAME, NAME is a parameter which can be used as add -n John Doe.

Optional Parameters

Square brackets [ ] are used around an optional parameter.

If there are multiple optional parameters, each optional parameter is enclosed in its own set of square brackets.

e.g. -n NAME [-t TAG] can be used as -n John Doe -t friend or as -n John Doe but not -t friend.

Parameters That Can Repeat

Ellipsis (...) indicates the option to use a parameter multiple times, including zero times.

e.g. [-t TAG]... can be used as "" (i.e. 0 times), -t friend (i.e. 1 time), -t friend -t family (i.e. 2 times) etc.

e.g. -t TAG [-t TAG]... specifies that there must be at least one tag and can be used as -t family and -t family -t cousin -t child.

Mutually Exclusive Parameters

Braces ({ }) are used around arguments where you must choose only one of the items inside the braces.

Vertical bars (|) are used to separate the items. There can be more than two mutually exclusive parameters.

e.g. select { clear | shown | show | INDEX...} can be used as:

• select clear
• select shown
• select show
• select 1
• select 1 2 3

Invalid examples are:

• select clear show
• select clear 1 2 3

Additional Information

• If a parameter is expected only once in the command, but is specified multiple times, only the last occurrence of the parameter will be taken.
  e.g. -p 12341234 -p 56785678, only -p 56785678 will be taken.

• Extraneous parameters for commands that do not take in parameters (such as help, list, exit and clear) will be ignored.
  e.g. if the command specifies help 123, it will be interpreted as help.

• shown is a special index that refers to all persons that are visible in the filtered person list. e.g. find surname shows 10 persons. Executing select shown will select all 10 of the persons.

• selected is a special index that refers to all persons that are selected using the Select Command.

Features

Adding a Person: add

Adds a person to the system.

Format: add -n NAME -p PHONE_NUMBER -e EMAIL -c COMPANY -j JOB_TITLE -a ADDRESS [-r REMARK] [-t TAG]...

• A person can have no remark.
• A person can have zero or more tags.

Examples:

Editing Persons: edit

Edits the specified persons in the system.

Format: edit { shown | selected | INDEX... } [-n NAME] [-p PHONE] [-c COMPANY] [-j JOB_TITLE] [-e EMAIL] [-a ADDRESS] [-r REMARK] [-t TAG]...

• Edits the person at the specified INDEX, INDEX..., shown or selected persons. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed person list. The index must be a positive integer, i.e 1, 2, 3, …
• At least one of the optional fields must be provided.
• Existing values will be updated to the input values.
• When editing remark, the existing remark of the person will be removed, i.e. adding of remark is not cumulative.
• When editing tags, the existing tags of the person will be removed, i.e. adding of tags is not cumulative.
• To remove the person’s remark, type -r without specifying any remark after it.
• To remove all the person’s tags, type -t without specifying any tags after it.
• To edit all the shown persons, type edit shown.
• To edit all the selected persons, type edit selected followed by the parameters.

Examples:

Deleting Persons: delete

Deletes the specified persons in the system.

Format: delete { shown | selected | INDEX... }

• Deletes the person at the specified INDEX, INDEX..., shown or selected persons.
• The command operates on the shown list that may be modified by an earlier command.
• The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed person list.
• The index must be a positive integer, i.e. 1, 2, 3, …
• To delete all the shown persons, type delete shown.
• To delete all the selected persons, type delete selected.

Examples:

Listing All Persons: list

Lists all persons in the system.

Format: list

Locating Persons: find

Finds persons whose fields contain any of the given keywords.

Format: find { KEYWORD... | -n NAME... | -e EMAIL... | -t TAG... | -r REMARK... }

• Currently searchable fields: Name, Email, Tag, Remark.
• The search is case-insensitive. e.g. hans will match Hans.
• The order of the keywords does not matter. e.g. Hans Bo will match Bo Hans.
• Words are partially matched. e.g. sam will match Samantha.
• Similar words are matched. e.g. Shawn with match Shaun.
• Partially similar words will also be matched as a result of the above. e.g. Ben will match Elizabeth as bet in Elizabeth is 1 character away from Ben.
• Persons matching at least one keyword will be returned. e.g. Hans Bo will return Hans Gruber and Bo Yang.

Searching All Searchable Fields

The find command will execute for all searchable person fields if no command flags are specified.

Format: find KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]

Examples:

Searching by Specific Fields

The find command will execute for specific person fields if you specify the respective flags.

Format: find {-n NAME... | -e EMAIL... | -t TAG... | -r REMARK... }

• Currently searchable fields: Name, Email, Tag, Remark.
• You can only search 1 field at a time. e.g. find -n Alice -t HR is an invalid command.

Examples:

Filter Field Visibility: filter

Toggle the visibility of person fields in Person List Panel to allow you to hide fields that you are not interested in.

Format: filter [-n] [-e] [-c] [-j] [-a] [-p] [-t] [-t]

• Flags in the filter command do not need an argument.
• Only flags that are indicated will be visible.
• Refer to the Field Summary for all available person fields.

Examples:

Selecting Persons: select

Allows you to incrementally select multiple person objects to apply actions on.

Format: select { clear | shown | show | INDEX... }

• The selected person(s) will have a highlighted index number to indicate selection status.
• Incremental selection means that selected items are “stacked” together. e.g. Executing select 1. followed by select 2 will result in persons with index number 1 and 2 being selected.
• shown refers to all the persons that are currently displayed in the Person List Panel.

Sub Command Format:

• select show
• select clear
• select shown
• select INDEX...

Examples:

Email Persons: email

Email one or more persons using the operating system’s default email client. Email client must be configured to allow comma separated email values.

Format: email { shown | selected | INDEX... }

Examples:

Tagging Persons: tag

Add and delete specific tags of persons.

• Tags are case-insensitive. e.g. Photoshop tag and photoshop tag are treated as the same tag.
• Same tags cannot be added to a person. e.g. A person cannot have both Photoshop and photoshop tags.

Add Tags to Persons: tag add

Add tags to persons in system.

• A tag add command adding the same photoshop tag to a person with Photoshop tag will be executed successfully.
• When adding a same tag to a person, the command will be executed successfully, but the same tag will not be added to the person.
• The command result will display the total number of persons the command has successfully executed on and not the total number of persons the tags are added to.

Format: tag add { shown | selected | INDEX ... } -t TAG [-t TAG]...

Examples:

Delete Tags From Persons: tag delete

Delete tags from persons in system.

• A tag delete command deleting the Photoshop tag from a person without Photoshop tag will be executed successfully.
• When deleting a tag from a person without the tag, the command will be executed successfully, but no tags will be deleted from the person.
• The command result will display the total number of persons the command have successfully executed on and not the total number of persons the tags are deleted from.

Format: tag delete { shown | selected | INDEX... } -t TAG [-t TAG]...

Examples:

Aliasing Commands : alias

The alias command allows you to create a shortcut command (also known as command alias) to the actual command.

Add an Alias: alias add

Adds an alias to the system.

Format: alias add ALIAS COMMAND

• ALIAS cannot be an existing command. e.g. add and edit are existing commands and will not be accepted.
• COMMAND must be a valid existing command. e.g. add and edit are existing commands and will be accepted.

Examples:

Delete an Alias: alias delete

Deletes an existing alias from the system.

Format: alias delete ALIAS

• ALIAS must be an existing alias in the system.

Examples:

List All Aliases: alias list

Lists all aliases in the system.

• Your list of aliases will be displayed in the Command List Panel.
• On your next keyboard action, the list of your aliases will disappear and show the list of existing commands again.

Format: alias list

Autocomplete

Commands

Commands in the command box can be autocompleted by pressing the Tab key.

Examples:

To execute the command delete,

Typing del followed by Tab will auto complete del to delete.

Flags

Command flags can be autocompleted at the end of your command text by pressing the Tab key.

• If your flag has no content, the next available flag will be replaced and cycled.
• If your flag has content, the next available flag will be appended to your command text.

Examples:

Index

Index can be autocompleted by pressing the Up/Down keys when the supported commands are fully typed out.

• Autocomplete index only works for the edit and delete commands.

Examples:

Viewing Help : help

Displays a pop-up window with a summary of the commands available for use in A-Bash Book.

Format: help

Clearing All Entries : clear

Clears all entries in the system.

Warning
This action is irreversible. Do not run this command with actual data unless you want to delete all entries.

Format: clear

Exiting A-Bash Book : exit

Saves and exits A-Bash Book.

Format: exit

Saving the Data

A-Bash Book data is saved in the hard disk automatically after any command that changes the data. There is no need to save manually.

Editing the Data File

A-Bash Book data is saved as a JSON file [JAR file location]/data/abashbook.json. Advanced users are welcome to update data directly by editing that data file.

Warning
If changes to the data file renders its format invalid, A-Bash Book will discard all data and start with an empty data file at the next run.

FAQ

What Is the Home Folder?

The home folder is the file system folder on your computer where A-Bash Book stores your data.

foldername (Home Folder)
├── abashbook.jar
├── abashbook.log.0
├── config.json
├── data
│   ├── abashbook.json
│   └── alias.json
├── preferences.json

How Do I Transfer My Data to Another Computer?

Install the app in the other computer and overwrite the empty data file it creates with the file that contains the data of your previous A-Bash Book home folder.

Command Summary

Field Summary

Glossary