November 2003 Edition
Feature Spotlight: Job Manager 3.5 Preview – Partial Billing
Q&A with Technical Support: Get More Rights
Smart Tip of the Month: Timing is Everything
Third Party Software: Run As Professional
Support Bookshelf: Windows 2000 Server
Feature Spotlight
Job Manager 3.5 Preview – Partial Billing
The much anticipated release of Job Manager 3.5 will be upon us in the coming weeks. An integral feature in the new version of Job Manager 3.5 is partial billing. Partial Billing allows the user to bill a portion of the job to the customer at any point in the production cycle. Suppose you bill a customer every month for a job that spans several months. By choosing the new Partial Invoicing Policy when creating an invoice, the job can be invoiced up to its current state of completion. Other features include: billing multiple customers or locations per job, creating invoice adjustment and correction invoices, issuing prepayment invoices and much more!
Customers wishing to get a preview look at a beta version of Job Manager 3.5 should contact
support@meta-comm.com
Q&A with Technical Support
Can I set up my Windows 2000/XP users to be simple domain users and still use Job Manager?
Job Manager requires administrative rights to a computer when the application is launched. However, a script can be used to launch the application which will run Job Manager with an Administrative user account. Knowledge Base Article 16145 provides an example script which can be modified with your own administrative account and password. When the user wishes to launch Job Manager, they simply launch the script in place of Job Manager.
To review Knowledge Base Article 16145, visit:
http://www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16145
Smart Tip of the Month
Timing is Everything
When a MetaScript executes in Virtual Ticket 5.5 is just as important as what the script does. Event listeners have existed in the Virtual Ticket system since the implementation of Virtual Ticket 4.0. These listeners consist of objectLoaded, elementChanged, editingStarted, and propertiesChanged. Using these listeners can improve the performance of your Virtual Ticket form.
Suppose you need to generate a list of contacts for a customer to be used in several fields on a job ticket in Virtual Ticket. You have prepared a SQL Query which will return this list of contacts. You could place the script into your Virtual Ticket field but a more efficient method exists, the Global MetaScript window using an event listener.
Before, located in the MetaScript expression window of each field the script is used in:
RunSQLQuery(“select contact_name from your_table”);
After, contained in the Global MetaScript window:
Form.addEventListener(“objectLoaded”, GetList);
function
GetList(aEvent)
{
return RunSQLQuery(“select contact_name from your_table”);
}
While there is some additional scripting needed when using the Global MetaScript area as opposed to the field level, the objectLoaded event listener tells the script to execute only on objectLoaded (form loading), saving numerous other executions of the script. Scripts placed in a field run each time the user tabs in and out of the scripted field.
Third Party Software
Run As Professional
Knowledge Base Article 16145 describes a third party product called RunAs Professional which has the ability to launch applications using a specified user. This is helpful in situations where the application requires more rights than the user has to launch the application. RunAs Professional produces a simple window to enter information such as the Domain, username, and password which should be used to launch the desired application. Once this information is saved a small executable is created which can be used to launch the application. RunAs Professional is sold on a license basis.
For more information visit: http://www.mast-computer.com
Support Bookshelf
Windows 2000 Server
Windows 2000 Server Study Guide. Lisa Donald. James Chellis. While most people do not strive to be Microsoft certified, the books which help prepare MCSE and MCDBAs are very helpful when learning how to setup a portion of Windows 2000. The guide gives step-by-step instructions for performing tasks such as creating users, setting up domains, building group policies, plus there are quizzes to ensure you have correctly mastered the steps. If you do decide to study for the big test, electronic flashcards available on a CD can be transferred to your PDA or other PCs.
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