InsuraBook User Guide

Every sales day starts the same: a long list of leads, a tighter list of callbacks, and too much information - spreadsheets, sticky notes, scattered files. In the middle of a call with an important client, one cannot afford to hunt for the right number, the last note, or the correct spelling of a client’s name. Miss a detail and just like that, a warm lead goes cold!

InsuraBook exists to stop that from happening. Designed for busy telemarketing agents who sell insurance - InsuraBook is tailor-made to handle large lists of clients and new leads. This means that you can focus on your sales calls as the information you need is always where you expect it to be.

InsuraBook keeps essential client names, phone numbers and other miscellaneous information organised. It's optimised for use via a Command Line Interface (CLI) - making it easy to find, add, and update records efficiently using simple commands. InsuraBook transforms messy binders filled with client details into a steady, repeatable workflow optimised for high-volume calling - so busy agents can spend their energy making deals, and not chasing information.

InsuraBook is a one-stop solution for telemarketers and their daily contact management needs.

How to Use This Guide

New to InsuraBook?

  • Start with the Quick start section to install and run the application.
  • Refer to the Command summary for a quick overview of all commands.

Experienced user looking for specific information?

  • Use the Features section to find detailed explanations of specific commands.
  • Check out Parameters for information on the available contact parameters.

Need help with something specific?

  • Browse the FAQ section for answers to common questions.
  • Check the Known issues section if you're experiencing problems.

Tip: Use Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac) to search for specific keywords/commands in this guide.

Quick start

  1. Ensure you have Java 17 installed in your computer.

    To check if Java 17 is installed: Open a command terminal/command prompt and type the following:

    java -version

    If Java 17 is installed, you should see output similar to:

    java version "17.0.x"

    If Java is not installed, or the Java version is below Java 17, proceed to install Java 17.

    Installation links:

    • Mac users: Follow the precise installation guide here.
    • Windows/Linux users: Download Java 17 from Oracle or OpenJDK.

  2. Download the latest .jar file from here.

  3. Copy the file to the folder you want to use as the home folder for your InsuraBook.

  4. To run the application:
    Open a command terminal/command prompt.
    Navigate to the folder containing the .jar file:

    cd path/to/your/folder

    Run the application:

    java -jar InsuraBook.jar

    A GUI similar to the one displayed below should appear within a few seconds. Note how the app contains some sample data.

    Ui

    Insurabook User Interface labelled

  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 you can try:

    • list : Lists all contacts.

    • add n/John Doe p/98765432 e/johnd@example.com a/John street, block 123, #01-01 : Adds a contact named John Doe, with phone number 98765432, email johnd@example.com, and address John street, block 123, #01-01.

    • priority 1 HIGH : Sets the priority of the first contact to HIGH.

    • delete 3 : Deletes the third contact shown in the current list.

    • clear : Deletes all contacts.

    • exit : Exits the app.

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

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Parameters

The following are the parameters we will be using in InsuraBook.

Reading Parameter Formats

Before diving into each parameter, here's how to read the command formats:

Format Meaning Example
PARAMETER Required, must provide n/NAME must be included.
[PARAMETER] Optional, can skip [e/EMAIL] can be omitted.
[PARAMETER]... Can repeat multiple times [t/TAG]... → t/friend t/vip.
PARAMETER/ (empty) Clears the field i/ removes income bracket.

Common Parameters

The following are compulsory parameters to the add and edit command.

Parameter Description Constraints
INDEX Position of the client in InsuraBook Must be a non-negative integer within the displayed contact list.
n/NAME Client's name Must consist of alphabets or the following characters: -/ '/ // @.
p/PHONE_NUMBER Client's phone number Must be a number between 4-17 digits.

Optional Parameters: PERSON_PARAMS

The following are optional parameters to the add and edit command. We denote them as [PERSON_PARAMS].

Parameter Description Constraints
e/EMAIL Email address Must be a valid email format (e.g., user@example.com).
a/ADDRESS Physical address Any text string that is a valid address.
o/OCCUPATION Client's occupation Any alphabetical character.
age/AGE Client's age Must be a positive integer between 10-120 inclusive.
lc/LAST_CONTACTED Last contact date Must not be a future date. Format: YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., 2023-10-15).
pr/PRIORITY Contact priority level Must be one of: NONE, LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH (case-insensitive).
i/INCOME_BRACKET Income bracket classification Must be one of: LOW, MIDDLE, HIGH (case-insensitive).
t/TAG Tags for categorisation Alphanumeric and spaces allowed. Maximum 30 characters. Can be used multiple times (e.g., t/friend t/colleague).

Notes about PERSON_PARAMS:

  • These parameters can be used in any combination with the add and edit commands.
  • Parameters can be specified in any order.
  • For the edit command, at least one parameter must be provided.
  • When editing tags with the edit command, existing tags will be replaced (not added to).
  • To remove any field, use the prefix without specifying a value after it (e.g. t/ to remove all tags, e/ to remove email, a/ to remove address, etc.).

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Features

Notes about the command format:

  • Words in UPPER_CASE are the parameters to be supplied by the user.
    e.g. in add n/NAME, NAME is a parameter which can be used as add n/John Doe.

  • Items in square brackets are optional.
    e.g n/NAME [t/TAG] can be used as n/John Doe t/friend or as n/John Doe.

  • Items with …​ after them can be used multiple times including zero times.
    e.g. [t/TAG]…​ can be used 0 times, t/friend, t/friend t/family etc.

  • Parameters can be in any order.
    e.g. if the command specifies n/NAME p/PHONE_NUMBER, p/PHONE_NUMBER n/NAME is also acceptable.

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

  • If you are using a PDF version of this document, be careful when copying and pasting commands that span multiple lines as space characters surrounding line-breaks may be omitted when copied over to the application.

Getting Started

Viewing help: help

Shows a message explaining how to access the help page.

Format: help

Ui

Managing Client Information

Adding a client: add

Adds a client to InsuraBook.

Format: add n/NAME p/PHONE_NUMBER [PERSON_PARAMS]

Ui

Adding a client on InsuraBook

  • For details on available PERSON_PARAMS, click here.

Examples:

  • add n/John Doe p/98765432 e/johnd@example.com a/John street, block 123, #01-01 age/28
    • Adds a client named John Doe with the phone number 98765432, email johnd@example.com, address John street, block 123, #01-01, age 28.
  • add n/Betsy Crowe p/82345678 t/interested a/The Gardens at Bishan o/Engineer i/high pr/HIGH
    • Adds a client named Betsy Crowe with phone number 82345678, tagged as interested, address The Gardens at Bishan, occupation Engineer, income bracket high, and priority level HIGH.

Note: n/NAME and p/PHONE_NUMBER are required for add. All other prefixes under PERSON_PARAMS are optional.

  • If an optional prefix is omitted, that field is left unset.
  • If an optional prefix is present but has no value (for example e/ or a/) when adding a client, the application ignores the prefix.

Warning: Adding another client with the same PHONE_NUMBER as an existing client will be counted as a duplicate and is not allowed.

Editing a client: edit

Edits an existing contact in InsuraBook.

Format: edit INDEX [n/NAME] [p/PHONE] [PERSON_PARAMS]

Ui

Editing details of the first client on InsuraBook

  • For details on available PERSON_PARAMS, click here.
  • Edits the client at the specified INDEX.
  • At least one of the optional fields must be provided.

Examples:

  • edit 1 p/91234567 e/johndoe@example.com
    • Edits the phone number and email address of the first contact to be 91234567 and johndoe@example.com respectively.
  • edit 2 n/Betsy Crower t/ pr/HIGH
    • Edits the name of the second contact to be Betsy Crower, clears all existing tags and changes the priority to HIGH.

Warning: When editing tags, the existing tags of the contact will be removed i.e adding of tags is not cumulative.

Tip: You can remove any optional field by using the prefix without a value (e.g., edit INDEX t/ removes all tags, edit INDEX e/ removes email, edit INDEX a/ removes address).

Deleting a client: delete

Deletes the specified contact from InsuraBook.

Format: delete INDEX

Ui

Deleting the first client from InsuraBook

  • Deletes the contact at the specified INDEX.

Examples:

  • list followed by delete 2
    • Deletes the second contact in InsuraBook, after carrying out the list command.
  • find Betsy followed by delete 1
    • Deletes the first contact in the results of the find command.

Clearing all entries: clear

Clears all entries from InsuraBook.

Format: clear

Ui

Clearing details of all clients from InsuraBook

Warning: The clear command permanently deletes all contacts and cannot be undone. Only use this command if you are sure you want to permanently remove all data. Confirm carefully before proceeding.

Organising and Searching

Listing all clients: list

Shows a list of all contacts sorted by index in the InsuraBook.

Format: list [pr/asc] [pr/desc] [i/asc] [i/desc]

Ui

Listing all clients on InsuraBook

Examples:

  • list
    • Shows all clients sorted by index.
  • list pr/asc
    • Shows all clients sorted by priority in ascending order.
  • list pr/desc
    • Shows all clients sorted by priority in descending order.
  • list i/asc
    • Shows all clients sorted by income bracket in ascending order.
  • list i/desc
    • Shows all clients sorted by income bracket in descending order.

Note: Clients that do not have values for PRIORITY and INCOME_BRACKET will be listed at the bottom when using sorting commands (for example, list pr/asc or list i/desc).

Warning: You can only have up to one of the optional parameters.

Locating clients by fields: find

Finds clients whose fields contain any of the given keywords.

Format: find KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]

Ui

Searching for a client by name

  • 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.
  • Partial words will be matched e.g. find Han will match Hans.
  • Clients matching at least one keyword will be returned (i.e. OR search).
    • e.g. Hans Bo will return Hans Gruber, Bo Yang.
  • Values from fields NAME, PHONE, EMAIL, ADDRESS, OCCUPATION, AGE, LAST_CONTACTED, TAG are searched.

Examples:

  • find John
    • Returns john and John Doe.
  • find 87438807
    • Returns Alex Yeoh as it matches their phone number.
  • find family
    • Returns David Li as it matches their assigned tags.
  • find Alex family
    • Returns Alex Yeoh, David Li.
  • find alex david
    • Returns Alex Yeoh, David Li.
  • find 2023-12-25
    • Returns clients with LAST_CONTACTED = 2023-12-25.

Client Categorisation

Editing a tag: tag

Changes the tags of an existing client in InsuraBook. This is a convenient shortcut for the edit command when you only want to change the tags.

Format: tag INDEX t/TAG_NAME [t/TAG_NAME]...

Ui

Adding a tag to the first client on InsuraBook

  • Changes the tags of the contact at the specified INDEX.
  • tag_name must be alphanumeric and spaces allowed.
    • Maximum 30 characters.
    • Case-insensitive (eg, Interested = interested).
    • Leading/trailing spaces are trimmed.
  • This command is equivalent to edit INDEX t/tag_name.

Examples:

  • tag 1 t/interested
    • Sets the tag of the first contact to interested.
  • tag 2 t/follow up
    • Sets the tag of the second client to follow up.
  • tag 5 t/do not call
    • Sets the tag of the fifth client to do not call.
  • tag 7 t/follow up t/interested
    • Sets the tags of the seventh client to follow up and interested.

Note: The tag command cannot be used to clear existing tags or remove all tags by supplying an empty t/. To remove all tags, use the edit command with an empty tag prefix, e.g. edit INDEX t/.

Tip: Use the tag command for quick tag changes, or the edit command when changing multiple fields at once.

Warning: Similar to the editcommand, when adding tags, the existing tags of the contact will be removed i.e adding of tags is not cumulative.

Marking a contact as Do Not Call: dnc

Marks a contact as Do Not Call (DNC) in InsuraBook.

Format: dnc INDEX

Ui

Marking the second client on InsuraBook as DNC

  • Marks the contact at the specified INDEX as Do Not Call.
  • A special "Do Not Call" tag (displayed in red) will be applied to the contact.
  • The DNC status cannot be removed from a contact.

Examples:

  • dnc 1
    • Marks the first contact on the list as Do Not Call.
  • dnc 3
    • Marks the third contact on the list as Do Not Call.

Warning: The dnc command applies an irreversible Do Not Call status by setting a special DNC tag. Executing dnc INDEX will remove all other tags on the contact. Because DNC contacts cannot be edited, tags cannot be restored.

Tip: If a contact was wrongly assigned as DNC, delete the contact and re-add them to the system.

Editing the priority: priority

Changes the priority of an existing client in InsuraBook. This is a convenient shortcut for the edit command when you only want to change the priority.

Format: priority INDEX PRIORITY

Ui

Setting the priority of the first client on InsuraBook as high

  • Changes the priority of the client at the specified INDEX.
  • PRIORITY must be one of: NONE, LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH (case-insensitive).

Examples:

  • priority 1 HIGH
    • Sets the priority of the first contact to HIGH.
  • priority 3 NONE
    • Sets the priority of the third contact to NONE.
  • priority 2 medium
    • Sets the priority of the second contact to MEDIUM (case-insensitive).

Tip: Use the priority command for quick priority changes, or the edit command when changing multiple fields at once.

System Commands

Exiting the program: exit

Exits the program.

Format: exit

Saving the data

InsuraBook 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

InsuraBook data is saved automatically as a JSON file [JAR file location]/data/insurabook.json. Advanced users are welcome to update data directly by editing that data file.

Caution: If your changes to the data file makes its format invalid, InsuraBook will discard all data and start with an empty data file at the next run. Hence, it is recommended to take a backup of the file before editing it.

Furthermore, certain edits can cause the InsuraBook to behave in unexpected ways (e.g., if a value entered is outside the acceptable range). Therefore, edit the data file only if you are confident that you can update it correctly.

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Command summary

Action Format, Examples
Add add n/NAME p/PHONE_NUMBER [PERSON_PARAMS]

e.g., add n/James Ho p/22224444 e/jamesho@example.com a/123, Clementi Rd, 1234665 pr/HIGH t/friend t/colleague
Clear clear
Delete delete INDEX

e.g., delete 3
DNC dnc INDEX

e.g., dnc 1
Edit edit INDEX [n/NAME] [p/PHONE] [PERSON_PARAMS]

e.g.,edit 2 n/James Lee e/jameslee@example.com pr/MEDIUM
Find find KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS]

e.g., find James Jake
List list [pr/asc] [pr/desc] [i/asc] [i/desc]
Tag tag INDEX t/TAG_NAME [t/TAG_NAME]...

e.g., tag 1 t/interested t/follow up
Priority priority INDEX PRIORITY

e.g., priority 1 HIGH
Help help

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FAQ

Q: How do I transfer my data to another Computer?
A: Install the app in the other computer and overwrite [JAR file location]/data/insurabook.json with the file that contains the data of your previous InsuraBook home folder.

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Known issues

  1. When using multiple screens, if you move the application to a secondary screen, and later switch to using only the primary screen, the GUI will open off-screen. The remedy is to delete the preferences.json file created by the application before running the application again.
  2. If you minimise the Help Window and then run the help command (or use the Help menu, or the keyboard shortcut F1) again, the original Help Window will remain minimised, and no new Help Window will appear. The remedy is to manually restore the minimised Help Window.
  3. If you manually edit the data file (data/insurabook.json) with invalid data (e.g., an occupation containing non-alphabetical characters, an age outside the valid range, or other constraint violations), the application will fail to start. The remedy is to ensure all data is validated before editing the file, or restore a backup of the file. Refer to the Parameters section for the constraints of each field.

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