Even with a file size limit of approximately 45K per file, hundreds of phone numbers can be stored in a single 95LX Phone Book file (the file with the .PBK extension). When you want to find a phone number, you could spend a while cursoring through all the names, or you can speed up your search by using PHONE's Find or the Only functions. Find (F7) and Only (F6) are similar functions. Find locates the first occurrence of any word or character sequence you enter and goes to that entry. Press F7 while in PHONE and type in a word (for example, "computer"). Press <ENTER> and PHONE goes to the top of your phone list and searches for the first occurrence of the word you entered. The word can be in the Name, Number, or Address fields of the Phone Book. Press F7 again and you'll see that Find "remembers" the last word you searched for and automatically re-enters it as the word you'll search for. Also notice that at the bottom of the screen you have two choices: Prev (F5) or Next (F7). If you are in the middle of your Phone Book, you can continue your search forward (Next) or backwards (Prev).
Only finds all of the entries with the word (or character sequence) you type in and lists only those entries. Only temporarily excludes other names and phone numbers, making it easy to look through the list. To choose Only, press F6 and type in the word, phrase, or character sequence you're looking for; for instance, the word "computer." Any entry that had "computer" in it will be listed. Press F6 <ENTER>, to get your complete phone list back.
With the time you save, you may never look up another phone number without using Find & Only.
Another way to find a phone number or address quickly is to go to PHONE and start typing in the name of the person you're looking for. PHONE automatically searches the Name field for the first occurrence of the name, word, or character sequence you entered.
(Please see page 36 in this issue for more information on using PHONE.)