Goodbye

Hey all!

Been another year and a half since my last update.  Believe it or not, I do think about my project from time to time.  But rather than joy, I feel anxiety from it, because I have a list of to-dos that I just don't have the time to tackle.

New features and changes are hard to even think about implementing, because I don't even know if my translators are still around.  Unfortunately, that much time has passed.  And with regards to a 64-bit version...I don't have the time to run extensive tests to ensure I don't break anything.  So...as they say, if it isn't broke, don't fix it!

To be honest, in the "new" congregation I'm in, I didn't even bother trying to get them to use my program.  Literature is so much simpler these days, I saw no need to.  And I know right now there is an active alternative to LRO.  Perhaps not as detailed and sophisticated, but good enough:

https://nwscheduler.com/how-to/congregation/literature/

You can continue to use LRO if you know what you're doing.  But there will not be any more updates or support fixes.  If it isn't working for you...try out NWS for literature.  As far as exporting your data to NWS...you would have to ask them if they'd work on an import feature.  LRO can already export order data into Excel.  They would just have to build something to read it and import it into NWS.  Unfortunately, I don't think I built anything to export inventory data...

So....that's it!  I may even shut down this site after a few months.  It is my hope that everyone who used LRO enjoyed it and it saved you much time and headache.  But now, I am wrapping up this loose end so it is one less "to-do" that will never get done.  Time to simplify...

Goodbye & take care!  👋😎

S28 update & latest literature

Howdy all!

Wow what a crazy past 2 1/2 years!  We're still alive and kicking over here.

Again, apologies for not proving an update in all this time.  But with things shut down, it seemed like the literature room was stagnant & not very important.  Well now that things are kicking up again, I might just have enough motivation to turn my attention back to LRO and see what improvements I can make.

I have used today to get the mock S-28 form updated to the latest.  And also added the Enjoy Life book & brochure items.

I may actually have some free time to work on 2.0.3 of LRO.  I don't want to get anyone's hopes up....but I really do need to upgrade LRO to work in 64-bit access.  😅  And a couple other to-dos....

Stay tuned (and patient)!

Version 2.0.2 Released!!!!!!!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

• Removed: Items from Annual Items blank report that are no longer available for order (such as Yearbook and Calendar).
• Added: All latest literature items (for English).
• Changed: UPDATES ARE NOW FIXED!!!!  Updates now come from Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox.  My previous 3 update storage sites went down.
• Changed: LRO now asks to change the Request Month for you, instead of just saying that it is off.
• Bug Fix: Error when choosing NOT to restore your previous version of LRO after an upgrade.

Howdy all!

It has been 4 YEARS since the last LRO update!  4....years.  My apologies to everyone who still uses LRO.  With the changes to the organization (going more digital), my update system being broken (and not being easy to fix), and my new responsibilities of being an Elder (appointed 4 years ago), I just allowed LRO to go out-of-date.  Not to mention the "bumpy" year last year...

Well...things have finally settled down!  And with renewed motivation from a generous donation & encouragement, I'm back!!  I plan on getting a lot of little things updated, and I have a few ideas for enhancements.

So, considering that I'm back, feel free to send any ideas for changes (or bugs to fix) and I'll be glad to consider them for future updates.


One final note: You must have the .Net Framework 4.0 or greater installed in order for the new Update system to work!

I hope all are well.  :-)

S28 Files for update

Howdy all!

I apologize for being almost a month late for an update.  Suffice it to say, the days leading up to my wife's surgery and the surgery itself took more out of me than I expected.  There even was a minor complication that caused us to stay 4 more days in Houston than we intended, but I am happy to say that everything is going well so far.

My wife's surgery was a success, and she was quickly feeling better than before surgery.  She still has to take things easy for another 3 weeks...which of course means I've got more on my plate than usual as I have to help her around the house.  But we are very happy with the results we're seeing already, despite the 20% chance her condition could return.  So, we still appreciate prayers that she continues to recover and things go in our favor.

She has a separate, unfortunately unrelated, condition that we are still working on by changing her diet and severely restricting it.  We were hoping these 2 conditions were connected, so they'd both be fixed at the same time.  But it looks like we still have a little work to do.  Once again, still happy with the results we're already experiencing.  :-)


Now for LRO...

As far as updating LRO goes, regarding getting updates automatically, that isn't going to happen anytime soon.  I could NOT fix my old computer, and so I had to buy a new one.  I am considering subscribing to Microsoft Office so I can work on LRO again, but at this time, I don't have time anyways to work on it.  Not to mention, I really don't want to spend even more money at this time...

So...here's what I did for our own congregation.  I was able to adjust our S-28 form to meet the current updated form.  Now...I didn't have time to be meticulous and update it to my satisfaction (in other words...perfect), but it was updated close enough.  The only possible (and I stress possible) issue with the update would be with "other year" Bound volumes, Yearbooks, stuff like that, being counted in the wrong place.  Every other book, brochure, tract, should be fine.


Here's how you can get the update

Download the 3 files from the following link (after going to the link, RIGHT-click and click "Download" for each file):

https://app.box.com/s/535h1quupggkyzfnf9h2xxl84cgvjx0j

Please DO NOT change anything in the files.  If you change anything in the files, I cannot guarantee the update will work right.  Please download all 3 files to the location where LRO is installed on your computer.

NOTE: The actual LRO file is not on your desktop, that's just a shortcut.  You can right-click on the shortcut, and then click on "Properties"

Now click on "Open File Location" (or whatever your flavor of Windows says).

Drop all 3 of the files you downloaded into the LRO folder.  Just like this:

Once the files are there, you can open LRO and navigate to the Inventory Management screen.  From there, click on "Build Mock S-28 Form".

And then at the bottom, click on "Download S-28 Updates".

After answering the prompts, your S-28 form should now be updated.


If there are any issues or questions, please let me know.

To all my Dear users...

I know things have been pretty quiet around here, and updates are almost non-existent.  And now, there's a new S-28 form available (on JW.org).  And rightly so, people are wondering...will LRO get the update?

The short answer?  Probably...but it may will involve a little work on your part.

So now you might be wondering what's been going on with me?  Why would there be trouble with the update?  Well, here's the long answer:

Unfortunately...all updates for LRO are currently broken.  Since I offer LRO to everyone for FREE, I choose to use only FREE methods of hosting my update files.  This severely limits my options.  As you might suspect, the FREE methods don't tend to stick around...so I chose 3 different sites to use for LRO's updates.  ALL 3 ARE BROKEN!

So...that means I need to publish a new version of LRO, which I haven't done in over 2 years, and the computer that I used to build it on is broken.  So that will make me take a bit more time than I would normally have needed.  Now...I have to:

1. Get another computer set up with my programming environment
2. Get VirtualBox set up with multiple versions of Windows/Office for testing purposes.
3. Get alternate update sites set up.
4. Remember how to compile everything for deploying.

As if that were not enough, my wife will be having a major surgery in 2 weeks!  We will be spending a week in Texas as "vacation", but we may end up just staying at the hotel the whole time...depends on how much pain she's in.  If that happens, I may use that time to try to fix up LRO's update system.  But I cannot promise anything about that...I probably won't have the best mindset to be doing coding...

Now with that being said, my wife's health has been a roller coaster ride for the past 5 years. But for the past year or so, it's been more on the downside than up.  Which means in addition to my full-time job and being an Elder, I also have to do more housework, since my wife is in pain half of the time and unable to do things around the house.  So I hope that explains why my circumstances for the past year have made it very difficult to even look at my own program.  :-(

Thankfully, I have 2 fail-safes in place in the event that I would be unable to update my LRO program:

1. If I don't have enough time to fix LRO up the right way, I can at least provide an Excel spreadsheet that everyone else can import into LRO.  This will take some work and understanding on your part.  But it will be MUCH quicker than trying to fix LRO's update system.
2. I provided a way for LRO's users to update the S-28 manually.  Hopefully it won't come to this, but you can certainly update the S-28 form in LRO yourself.  Message me if you need help with finding this tool.

I certainly do not want to leave anyone hanging, but my current circumstances do not allow me to do much other than what I need to do on a daily basis.  I will provide some kind of direction for everyone by April 18th.  The 19th is my wife's surgery.  Please keep us (Jeremy & Skye Zoulin) in your prayers.  It will be much appreciated!


Warm Christian greetings,
Jeremy

2018 Annual Items now available

Howdy all!

The annual items for all languages are now available for download.

NOTE: The update notification in LRO is broken. You can still get the Literature update by going to the Literature Items List screen (found on the Main Menu) and manually clicking “Download Literature Updates”.

I have assumed that the JW Calendar is no longer available for all languages, since that is true for English.  If I am incorrect for one of the 6 languages in LRO, let me know.

Thanks!

New S-28 form is available!

Howdy all!

I've updated the S-28 form for LRO for English users.  Please download it so you are up to date.  LRO should automatically prompt you the next time (or two) when you open LRO.

I hope all are doing well.  :-)