County Business Patterns on CD-ROM 
                      (Doc Per C 3.204/4: ) 
 
The CD-ROM County Business Patterns is a statistical CD-ROM containing information about businesses 
with one or more paid employees in sectors such as construction, manufacturing, retail trade, and real 
estate.  It does NOT list companies by name, nor does it include agricultural or governmental workers.  
Each annual CD, which began with 1986/1987, allows a selection between two years. Print editions are 
located in the Government Documents Collection under Doc Per C 3.204/3-no:.  There is a delay in years 
covered in both CD and print versions. 
 
Searching the CD: 
1. Have the librarian load the correct CD into the computer workstation. 
2. Select a year by using the arrow keys and <ENTER> 
3. Select a state (or U.S. totals) by using the arrow keys and <ENTER> 
4. Select a county (or state totals) by using the arrow keys and <ENTER>.  Use the <Page Down> and 
<Page Up> keys to scroll through the list. 
5. Select a business SIC code by using the arrow keys and <ENTER>. Use the <Page Down> and <Page 
Up> keys to scroll through the list. (SIC or Standard Industrial Classification Manual can be located at the 
Reference Desk - Doc Per PrEx 2.6/2:In 27/987) 
 
Display: 
1. The data display screen is generally divided into two sections. Use the arrow keys to highlight a line in  
the top section.  The bottom section will reflect the statistics associated with the top selection. 
2. Use the <Tab> key to display "number of  establishments" data. 
3. Use the arrow keys and the <Page Down> and <Page Up> keys to scroll through the data. 
 
 
 
To backtrack one screen or exit, press the <Esc> key until you  arrive at the desired screen. 
 
 
County Business Patterns on CD-ROM 
Printing/Downloading 
 
Print: 
The Print selection is to have what is displayed copied either to paper or to a disk as it currently appears 
on the screen. 
1. Type P. Verify that there is paper in the printer. Use the down arrow key to highlight the word Printer. 
<ENTER>.  Press <Esc> when printing is complete. 
2. Type P. Insert a formatted 3.5" disk into drive A:. The word File is highlighted. <ENTER>.  Then you 
MUST enter the file specification drive and a file name.  (Ex.  A:/business) 
3. To start copying to the disk, press <ENTER> 
 
Downloading: 
The Copy selection is to download files to a disk for manipulation in another software program. 
1. Type C. Place a formatted 3.5" disk into drive A:. After typing C, use the down arrow key to highlight 
the format you want: 
	ASCII (Flat/SDF) 
	ASCII (Delimited) 
	dBase 
2. Press <ENTER>.  Then you MUST enter the file specification drive and a file name. 	(Ex. A:/Constru) 
3. To start downloading press <ENTER> 
 
Once printing or downloading is completed, backtrack or exit by pressing the Escape key <Esc>. 
 
Contributed by Peggy Walker, Florida Atlantic University