Go to the Companion Website for this book to download and install the POM-QM for Windows software. Instructions are provided on how to download, install, and register the software.

After the installation and registration are complete, you will have a program group added to your Program Manager. The group will be called POM-QM for Windows 3. In addition, a shortcut to the program will be placed on the desktop. To use the QM for Windows program, double-click on the shortcut on the desktop or use Start, POM-QM for Windows 3, POM-QM for Windows.

When you use QM for Windows for the first time, you should select Help from the menu bar and then select PDF Manual or Word Manual to obtain complete instructions on using the software. Brief instructions will be provided in this appendix.

The first screen that is displayed in QM for Windows (see Program 1.1 in Chapter 1) contains the assorted components that are available on most screens. The top of that screen is the standard Windows title bar. Below the title bar is a standard Windows menu bar. The details of the eight menu options—File, Edit, View, Module, Format, Tools, Window, and Help—are explained in this appendix. Upon starting QM for Windows, some of the menu options such as Edit and Format may not be available. They will become available when a module is selected or when a problem is entered.

Below the menu are two toolbars: a standard toolbar and a format toolbar. The toolbars contain standard shortcuts for several of the menu commands. If you move the mouse over the button for about two seconds, an explanation of the button will be displayed on the screen.

The next bar contains an instruction. There is always an instruction here trying to help you to figure out what to do or what to enter. Currently, the instruction indicates to select a module or open a file. When data are to be entered into the data table, this instruction will explain what type of data (integer, real, positive, etc.) are to be entered.

In Program 1.1 in Chapter 1, we show the module list after clicking on Module. We selected to show only the QM modules.

To enter a new problem, select Module to see the list of available techniques. Click the module you wish to use based on the type of problem to be solved. Next you either click the icon to enter a new problem or open a previously saved problem, or you select File and then New or Open. In some modules, when New is selected, there will be a menu of submodules. Where this is the case, one of these must be selected before the problem is entered.

The top line of the creation screen contains a text box in which the title of the problem can be entered. For many modules, it is necessary to enter the number of rows in the problem. Rows will have different names depending on the modules. For example, in linear programming, rows are constraints, whereas in forecasting, rows are past periods. The number of rows can be chosen with either the scroll bar or the text box.

POM-QM for Windows has the capability to allow you different options for the default row and column names. Select one of the radio buttons to indicate which style of default naming should be used. In most modules, the row names are not used for computations, but you should be careful because in some modules (most notably, Project Management) the names might relate to precedences.

Many modules require you to enter the number of columns. This is given in the same way as the number of rows. All row and column names can be changed in the data table.

Some modules will have an extra option box, such as for choosing minimize or maximize or selecting whether distances are symmetric. Select one of these options. In most cases, this option can later be changed on the data screen.

When you are satisfied with your choices, click on the OK button or press the Enter key. At this point, a blank data screen will be displayed. Screens will differ from module to module.

After a new data set has been created or an existing data set has been loaded, the data can be edited. Every entry is in a row and column position. You navigate through the spreadsheet using the cursor movement keys. These keys function in a regular way with one exception—the Enter key.

The instruction bar on the screen will contain a brief instruction describing what is to be done. There are essentially three types of cells in the data table. One type is a regular data cell into which you enter either a name or a number. A second type is a cell that cannot be changed. A third type is a cell that contains a drop-down box. For example, the signs in a linear programming constraint are chosen from this type of box. To see all of the options, press the box with the arrow.

There is one more aspect to the data screen that needs to be considered. Some modules need extra data above that in the table. In most of these cases, the data are contained in text/scrollbar combinations that appear on top of the data table.

At this point, you can press the Solve button to begin the solution process. A new screen will be displayed.

An important thing to notice is that there is more solution information available. This can be seen by the icons given at the bottom. Click on these to view the information. Alternatively, notice that the Window option in the main menu is now enabled. It is always enabled at solution time. Even if the icons are covered by a window, the Window option will always allow you to view the other solution windows.

Now that we have examined how to create and solve a problem, we explain all of the Menu options that are available.

File contains the usual options that one finds in Windows:

The commands under Edit have three purposes. The first four commands are used to insert or delete rows or columns. The next command is used to copy an entry from one cell to all cells below it in the column. This is not often useful, but when it is useful, it saves a great deal of work. The last two entries can be used to copy the data table to other Windows programs.

View has several options that enable you to customize the appearance of the screen. The toolbar can be displayed or not. The Instruction bar can be displayed at its default location above the data or below the data, as a floating window, or not at all. The status bar can be displayed or not.

Colors can be set to monochrome (black and white) or from this state to their original colors.

Module is shown in Chapter 1 as Program 1.1. The module selection contains a list of programs available with this book.

Format also has several options for the display. The colors for the entire screen can be set, and the font type and size for the table can be set. Zeros can be set to display as blanks rather than zeros. The problem title that is displayed in the data table and was created at the creation screen can be changed. The table can be squeezed or expanded. That is, the column widths can be decreased or increased. The input can be checked or not.

The Tools menu option is an area available to annotate problems. If you want to write a note to yourself about the problem, select annotation; the note will be saved with the file if you save the file.

A calculator is available for simple calculations, including square root. There is a normal distribution calculator that can be used for finding confidence intervals and the like.

The Window menu option is enabled only at the solution screen. Additional output is available under Window. The type of output depends on the module being used.

The Help menu option provides information about the software in general, as well as about the individual modules. The first time you run POM-QM for Windows, you should select Help and choose Program Update to ensure that your software has the latest updates.

Help also contains a manual with further details about the program, a link to a program update, and a link for email support. If you send email, be sure to include the name of the program (POM-QM for Windows), the version of the program (from Help, About), the module in which the problem is occurring, and a detailed explanation of the problem, and to attach the data file for which the problem occurs.