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Monday, December 28, 2009

Version 1.2.1 Released!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • New Feature: Check for Mock S-28 Form updates. If there is a change to the S-28 form, I can make it available for all to download now.  It can also be used to reset your S-28 form if you made changes to it that didn't work out.
  • Added: Warn on deletion of a literature item (S-14 item) if you have orders and/or inventory items that are using that S-14 number. Deleting one that is being used can cause issues in the future when I improve the structure of the data.
  • Removed: "Old Request Month" warning. Deemed too confusing & not designed well enough to accomplish what it was intended to do. May re-visit this on a later date...
  • Changed: No longer use "N/A" to mark orders when changing a literature item to inactive. The S-14 number is left alone, and the order is simply highlighted. I found another way to highlight without changing the S-14 number, and this is much preferable.
  • Changed: Design of Unordered Items & Pending Items detailed report. It is now in a portrait design.
  • Fixed: When managing orders, they will automatically sort by Request Month first if this setting is turned on. Originally, they ALWAYS sorted by the date stamp first.
  • Fixed: Changing a literature item number (S-14) did NOT update the orders & inventory numbers.
  • Fixed: Changing congregation name did not change the stock handling congregation name.
  • Fixed: Deleting items under "Orders by Publisher" that were Received & with Inventory Management Automation turned on did NOT subtract them from inventory.
  • Fixed: "Search for Publisher's Orders" now only shows your congregation (previously, Stock orders would show up, no matter what congregation submitted them). Unless you're using the Stock Handling feature, then you'll still see all Stock (if you're the Stock handler).
  • Fixed: If you tried to remove the check mark from a Delivered item that was also an inactive S-14 item, you could do it successfully.  But then you couldn't put it back.  Now it doesn't let you remove it in the first place (because it is inactive...can't be processed).
  • BUG FIX: Access 2007 (Run-time only) did not always successfully transfer the S-28 tables over an upgrade.  Thus causing run-time errors when doing anything with the S-28 forms & report.  This has been fixed.
  • Updates & improvements to Help information everywhere.
  • Message boxes everywhere have been standardized and improved.
  • Visual changes here and there, most noticeably on the Settings screen.

In addition to all these changes/fixes, LRO has also been upgraded to be capable of handling multiple languages.  This doesn't mean anything yet...you can't change the language of LRO yet.  But it is equipped to handle this now.

I am still working with a couple brothers to complete the Spanish translation of LRO.  We are nearly there, and hopefully will have it by the end of Sunday, if not sooner.  When we are finished,  and I release it, you will see a mini update (1.2.1a) which will contain the Spanish language pack, along with a "Full" Spanish version in the Other Languages link.  The "Full" version will also have the S-14 and S-28 items in Spanish.  I can only include one language of the S-14 and S-28 items, but the text throughout LRO can be dynamically changed between languages and will be included in all language versions.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Progress Report

Howdy all!

I'm still working on the next version.  It is coming along nicely, and the ability to translate will be much easier than I originally thought, thanks to some code I found in TLA (The Literature Assistant, an alternative to LRO).  It is taking quite a bit of time, approximately an hour per screen on average.  As you know, LRO has quite a few screens!  I'm not even half-way done, but that's due to working on the other fixes and experimenting with an idea I might implement much later.

For those who volunteered, expect some stuff to translate a bit early from me.  What I've completed so far will not change, so why not start early?  ;-)


Sunday, December 6, 2009

Version 1.2.0 Released!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • New Feature: TLA import. For those who use The Literature Assistant, you can now import your data from TLA to LRO. Found on the "Other Tools" screen.
  • New Feature: Which congregation handles stock orders? Found on the "Settings" screen. Select a congregation (if you have more than one) to assign stock orders to this congregation. Any congregation can submit one, but it will ONLY show up on the REPORTS for the congregation that is suppose to handle them.  If this is too confusing, just leave it blank, you don't have to use it.
  • New Feature: You can process a month (in Inventory Management) ahead of time. In other words, you don't have to wait until the next month before you can process it. This only allows 1 month in the future.
  • Added: "Make Folder" on the browse dialog box for the "Other Tools" backup locations.
  • Added: "Show Details" on Status type report. This shows the same information as the reports found on the "Order Form" screen and the "View All Orders" screen (depending on your selection for the filter).
  • Added: Can now filter Publisher report by the status of orders.
  • Changed: Publisher report shows the actual status.
  • Changed: Months are shown in the user's native language (based on the computer's settings).
  • Changed: LRO now prompts to overwrite Manual backups.
  • BUG FIX: Inventory Management did not operate correctly at all when the computer's date was not set to a "mm/dd/yyyy" format.
  • BUG FIX: Restoring a backup failed if Microsoft Access was in another language.
  • BUG FIX: Downloading Literature updates failed...I'm not entirely sure why. I believe it had to do with the computer being in another language.
  • Many minor improvements and a few visual changes.

To my foreign language users: I'm sorry for any issues you may have experience with LRO.  I'm more than willing to work with you to make sure everything is working fine.  The 3 bugs I mentioned in my last post have been successfully squashed!  If any of you discover any more issues, please let me know as soon as possible.  Thanks!

NOTE: If you had issues with Inventory Management, you MAY have to clear out all the inventory data before you can use it correctly.

I had a few more ideas come to mind, but these are going to be put aside until later.  It is time to finalize LRO and make it ready for translation.  After 1.2.1 is released, I will contact those of you who volunteered for translating.  After the translation is done, I will be taking a long break.  But don't worry, LRO has more coming its way, it just will be a while.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Problems - For other languages

I have just discovered 3 issues with LRO on a Spanish brother's computer:

1. Inventory Management is very weird.  It does not work right due to the way the dates are arranged in Spanish.  Instead of mm/dd/yyyy, it is dd/mm/yyyy.  This is breaking inventory management, and should have the same effect for anyone whose dates are not set like that...which I think is everyone except the USA.

2. Other Tools...when Restoring, it appears to be broke.  If your computer is any language besides English, PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO RESTORE FROM BACKUP. The backups are being created successfully, but they are not able to be Restored successfully.

3. Download Literature Updates is failing.

I will look into all of these issues and get a resolution ASAP.  It look like version 1.2.0 will NOT be the final version.  These need to be fixed and re-tested before LRO can be finalized.

Sorry for any inconveniences!

Friday, November 27, 2009

New Poll - I need your input!

Howdy everyone!

I've started a new poll in my support forum.  I'm working on that new feature...the "Which congregation handles stock orders" feature, and I need some advice on how it should behave.  I believe the first two choices will be right, but I want to make sure that is not confusing.

Please vote and/or share your thoughts on the matter in that topic (linked below):

http://literatureroomorganizer.freeforums.org/post77.html

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Version 1.1.9 Released!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • New Feature: Inventory Management can navigate to previous months.
  • Added: New Report...by Status.
  • Added: Filter on Publisher Search screen.
  • Added: Date range label on Mock S28 report.
  • Added: Year can be selected for Mock S28 report.
  • Added: On Mock S28 report, the month that falls under the selected date range is highlighted in blue.
  • Added: Year on single Inventory Month report's header.
  • Added: Blank choices to Report filters. In case you didn't know, you could select nothing for a filter and it shows you all instead of filtering.
  • Improved: All reports were improved to have as much useful information as possible, and sorted in a logical manner. The Packing List form (S-74a) inspired most of these changes.
  • Improved: Reports by Request Month accurately show only the choices available, based on other choices. For example, if 2009 is selected, it will only show Request Months that were made in 2009.
  • Improved: "Download New Items" changed to "Download Literature Updates". It is now possible for me to push out spelling corrections and item symbols as I discover them.
  • Improved: When marking an order as "Ordered", if you have Request Month turned on, it checks to see if the order is the correct Request Month, and prompts you if it isn't the most recent. The thought behind this is you mark an Order as "Ordered" on the month it is requested, so it should match the most recent ones.
  • Fixed: Datatype mismatch error on Request Month report when switching years.
  • Fixed: Brand new publisher can be moved to another congregation successfully.
  • Removed: Inventory Management setting...it is now always on. Inventory Management is now mature enough to be reliably used by everyone.

Please use the improved "Download Literature Updates" on the Literature Items List screen to update your literature list.  Everyone should see 4 symbols added & 4 spelling corrections, unless you discovered and fixed these on your own...

The "Items to Order from All Congregations" on the Login screen will be REMOVED on the next update.  Due to the changes in how each congregation will handle orders, this feature will be worthless.  If anyone still uses it (maybe your method of ordering hasn't changed), you can use the new Report by Status to collect the same information.  Simply blank out the Congregation before running the report, and ensure "Unordered" is selected (it is by default) and you will achieve the same report.

NOTE: THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO SUBMIT FEATURE REQUESTS!

If anyone has any ideas for improvement, or found a bug...PLEASE let me know now.  Either email me or, preferably, use the Support forum and let me know what's on your mind.  After 1.2.0 is released, the only updates will be bug fixes, if any are discovered.  It will be a long time before new features are implemented.  After LRO reaches 1.2.0, focus will be set on translation, and afterwards, I get a nice long break. ;-)

Still on the to-do list:

  • Inventory Management threshold (alert you when running low on stock items)
  • TLA Import ability
  • Which congregation handles stock orders?
  • General consistency and cosmetic improvements.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

New Link: Other Languages

Howdy all!

There is a new link in the navigation menu to the right, entitled "Other Languages".  Thanks to the efforts of 3 different brothers and a sister, we now have a Spanish edition of LRO's user guide! Soon, LRO itself will be translated into Spanish.  While I think a team of 4 people is plenty enough for the job, if anyone else would like to volunteer their help, please do not hesitate to contact me.

If anyone would like to see LRO translated into another language besides Spanish, and you have the time and resources (a brother or sister who can translate) to do so, then please let me know.  I would be more than happy to coordinate a translation effort.  All I need are volunteer translators.  :-)

Thanks!


Sunday, November 15, 2009

Version 1.1.8 released!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • Added: "Show Completed Orders" on the Publisher Search screen.
  • Fixed: "Download New Items" link on "Literature Items List" screen.
  • Improved: Request Month report. Now prints in Portrait mode, with more info per page.
  • Improved: Deliverable Items report. Now has grouping by Publisher, and sorts by publisher first.
  • Improved: Minor costmetic enhancements on nearly all reports.
  • Improved: All order management screens, including Inventory Management, now maximize to take advantage of the available space.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Got an idea? Let's hear it!

Howdy all!

As the last week of November (and LRO 1.2.0) approaches, the current features will be finalized, and a few more modifications and enhancements.  I will be taking that last week of November off of my secular work, and will use that time to go through all the code and optimize it and improve consistency all around.  Afterwards, LRO will be ready for translation to other languages.  At this time, only Spanish has been requested and has enough volunteers to accomplish.

What that means is once LRO reaches 1.2.0, there will be NO MORE big changes or features, unless it is absolutely necessary because of a change in the way the literature room works.  At least, not for a good while.  Of course LRO will more than likely undergo more changes down the road, but it might be FAR down the road.

So let's hear it!  Got an idea?  Wanna see something added?  Speak now, or you might have to wait a while...  ;-)

Please sign up in the Support Forum to post your ideas.  Or, if you prefer, e-mail me instead.

Thanks!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Version 1.1.7 Released!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • New Feature: Ability to choose how long to keep orders & inventory data.
  • New Feature: Request Month Setting. Set what month it is and it will automatically be selected for you when placing an order. Very useful when used directly at a hall & especially with multiple congregations.
  • Added: "Non-linked Items" button on S-28 builder screen. This shows you the S-14 items that are NOT linked to any S-28 field. Inactive items are not displayed on this list.
  • Improved: Historical reports are now standardized. I make a change on one, all others are affected. This prevents duplication of work (on my part) when fixing/adding something.
  • Improved: Request Month report more closely reflects the S-74 form. This will make separating orders by congregation very easy!
  • Improved: Request Month is now the first tab on the "Reports" screen, if Request Month is turned on of course.
  • Fixed: Request Month report now includes the year. NOTE: LRO tries to help: if you are in December, but put a request month for January, it assumes it is in the following year (which should be the case all the time). Vise versa is true too...you are in Jan, but mark as Dec, LRO assumes the request was for the previous year.
  • Fixed: Request Month could be removed from an order. Now it cannot.
  • Fixed: Request Month can now be used as a filter (on all the management screens that have a filter).
  • Fixed: S-28 Builder...when deleting a field, linked items were NOT deleted. They were left alone, causing issues.
  • Fixed: Progress bar when closing LRO with Automatic Backups on...the progressbar jumped backwards when it made the Automatic backup.
  • Fixed: On Access 2007 machines, the ability to change sorting on the Inventory Management screen was broke.

I plan on taking the last week of November off of work.  During that time, I plan to finalize LRO (do some code cleanup & optimization) and therefore get it ready to be translated.  Spanish will be the first, since there is significant interest in it.  Will give more details on this later...

If it wasn't 12:39 in the morning, I'd say more.  But I think it's time to say "Good night!"

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Progress Report

Howdy all!

I got to help out our Literature Coordinator yesterday with separating the two congregation's orders.  I didn't realize how much of a headache it was, even LRO didn't help much.  If we had been using the Request Month feature, it would have helped a little, but it needs work.  The Report for the Request Month has all the orders separate: with each publisher's name.  It would be more useful to combine the similar orders, like the "Items to Order for all Congregations" report.

So I have some work to do on the Request Month feature, and want to have this on the next release.  Changes that I have in mind are:

  • Request month is on by default.  Really, I think all congregations would want to use this feature.
  • Request month should be a system-wide setting, not per-cong.
  • The current Request month should be able to be set under Settings.  That way if LRO is used directly at a Hall (like in our case), it will not be a burden to the users to remember what Request Month we are on.  They will not have to select it.
  • Request month report needs to combine similar orders, per congregation.
  • Request month needs to "recognize" the year.  Currently it does not.

I want to work on these features before releasing the next version.  I feel this is important to take care of sooner than later. I hope to have it by next weekend, pending no issues or personal requests for computer repairs.  It seems when computers break, they all break at the same time.  On the bright side, I get a little more spending money.  ;-)

Stay tuned!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

1.1.7 Delayed

Howdy all!

The hard drive of my computer crashed a couple days ago!  So for the past few days, I've been struggling to repair the drive, save my data, and get myself back into a working condition.  Unfortunately, this means a delay for the next release.  Don't worry, I was able to backup everything important! :-)

In the meantime, I thought y'all might be interested in this.  The following image represents the visitors of this website and where they are located.  Pretty cool eh?



I don't think the map is including every single visit from the beginning, since my stat counter only records the last 500 visits.  So no doubt in reality it should look a bit more crowded than this shows.

Thanks to all who have helped spread the word about LRO! :-D


Saturday, October 17, 2009

Version 1.1.6 Released!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • New Feature: Mark all. On each of the 3 status screens, there is a new button that says "Mark All as (Ordered, Received, or Delivered, on their respective screens)" This will mark all the orders that are currently visible (the new filter on each screen can be used to specify a group of orders to mark)
  • Added: Filtering ability on all of the Order management screens.
  • Added: More "behind the scenes" backups! Made a horrible mistake? Deleted something you shouldn't have? 30 "extra" backups of LRO are automatically kept, each being created when you start LRO.
  • Changed: Duplicate order check now says EXACTLY when the last duplicate order was, and the amount that was ordered.
  • Changed: Other Tools backup, both Manual and Automatic, now rename the backup file (if one exists) before making the backup. This ensures 100% accuracy...if it says the backup was sucessful, you can bet it is!
  • Fixed: Error message when starting to fill out an order, and then you exit LRO using the X in the upper-right corner.
  • Fixed: Blank Annual Items form now includes an "Index" column for Watchtower Publications Index orders.
  • Fixed: Request month is always retained on the next order, so you don't have to select it again.
  • Fixed: Mock S-28 form font. Now looks good on XP!
  • Minor code & cosmetic improvements.

If you haven't read the last blog about preparing for this upgrade, I suggest you do so.  I doubt any of you will be affected, but I just want to cover all my bases.

I have a few more improvements in mind for the S-28 builder screens, and perhaps improve the download of new items ability, but after that I'm pretty much out of ideas.  Any of you can think of something you'd like to see done?  If so, please head over to the Support Forum and suggest it. :-D

Preparing for LRO 1.1.6

Howdy All!

When I released 1.1.5 with the new mock S-28 form, I didn't add anything to backup any changes to the design of the mock S-28 form.  So if anyone has made changes to it, which I doubt, you will need to take special measures to preserve your changes over to the new 1.1.6 version soon to be released.

If this does apply to any of you, or if anyone has any questions about this, please use the Support Forum for your question(s) or to request assistance with preserving your changes to the mock S-28 form.

Version 1.1.6 will make the proper backups of any changes to the S-28 form design.  It also has quite a few nice new features.

Stay tuned!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Mistakes and corrections

Howdy all!

During my work on the mock S-28 form, I noticed some mistakes on the Literature List.  Please review the list below and make the changes on your copy of LRO.  NOTE: New users (who started with version 1.1.5) will not have to worry about this.

  • 6005ASL marked as brochure (change to Annual Items)
  • 6006ASL marked as brochure (change to Annual Items)
  • 6226 misspelled (correct the spelling of "Knowledge")

I also realized the mock S-28 font on XP computers is messed up for the headers.  Will have that fixed in the next release.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Version 1.1.5 released!

After nearly a month of work, I am happy to announce the release of version 1.1.5, with the ability to take Inventory items and put them into a mock S-28 form!!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • New Feature: Mock S-28 form
  • New Screen: S-28 Builder
  • Fixed: Error on "All Orders" report when request month is turned on.
  • Fixed: Item name choices remain after order is placed on Order Form (and rapid ordering is turned off).
  • Fixed: Error# on most reports when no data is available. Replaced it with an understandable message.
  • Fixed: "Items to order from all congregations" report footer length.

Now that my biggest hurdle is out of the way, it's time to work on some more goodies.  One feature I plan to add will be a TLA import.  Brothers who used the TLA program (The Literature Assistant) from Literaturesoft.org will be able to import their data into LRO...resulting in a smooth transition from TLA to LRO.

I hope to have the next update in 2 weeks, if all goes well.

Stay tuned!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Progress report

Howdy all!

I'm still working on the next update. The biggest change is the addition of the mock S-28 form. This addition has taken MUCH longer than I expected, but in the end, it should be well worth it. You will be able to track your inventory items on LRO...and then print out a completely filled out S-28 form. Wouldn't that be sweet? :-)

Here's how it's looking so far. I've added a new button on the Inventory Management screen:



That new button takes you to the S-28 builder, where I have already built the S-28 for you. However you can use this screen to adjust the S-28 form when an update is needed (and I haven't gotten to it yet) or if your country's S-28 looks different. It's fully customizable!



Because the S-28 form has some "oddball" numbers, ones that combine S-14 items, each S-28 field will need S-14 items linked to it. So then you click on the Link Items button and link the S-14 items to the S-28 field. As many as you need!





Then, finally, the S-28 form will be designed and ready to go. Here's what I have so far (and there's MUCH work to be done on the report!!).



Yes, I still have MUCH work to do on the report. I'm confident I can get it looking 90% like the S-28 form. And then of course cleanup the new screens, steamline the process, error checking, and all that good stuff.

It will definately be nice when it is done! Stay tuned!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Still working...

Howdy all!

I know it's been a while since the last LRO update.  The reason why is because I've been researching cars, test driving, and finally yesterday made a purchase!  So for the past couple weeks, my mind has been preoccupied with cars, cars, and more cars.  I couldn't focus on programming, among other things, and so I couldn't work on an update.

Now that that's behind me, I can continue my work on LRO, and will hopefully have an update by next weekend.

Stay tuned!

PS - Why not take a few minutes to sign up in the Support Forum and leave some feedback on LRO.  Got a suggestion?  Found a bug?  Or simply like the program?  I'd love to hear from ya!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Support forum back! No ads either!

Howdy all!

Due to the large increase of new LRO users, I decided to bite the bullet and pay $5/month for a nice forum with no ads.  It is my hope that it will prove useful in teaching new users how to use LRO and also discuss new ideas or ways of doing things.

However...I will not pay for a "dead" forum.  So let's see some activity!!!  Sign up today and leave some feedback, ask questions, or make suggestions.  Please...I'd love to hear from LRO's users! :-)

Thanks!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Screenshots now available

Howdy all!

Screenshots of the LRO program are now available for those who are interested in seeing it before downloading it.  You can find it on the menu to the right under "Other Resources".

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Quick-Start user guide finished!

Howdy all!

Sorry for the delay in getting the Quick-Start user guide finished.  Had to iron out a few details.  Note that the Navigation Menu on the right has been divided into two sections: Downloads and Other Resources.  I felt it was necessary to split up the Navigation Menu like that.  As LRO & its resources grow, this organization will become more useful. :-)

To download the User Guide, click on the link entitled "LRO Quick-Start Guide"

Even if you've explored LRO already, you might still benefit from the instructions in here.  Especially if you have problems with Access giving you security warnings, there are detailed instructions on how to fix Access's security settings to work with LRO.  A more detailed user guide will come later.

Next up...screenshots!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Version 1.1.4 Released!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • New Feature: The ability to move a publisher and all their CURRENT orders to another congregation.
  • Added: Delete button on Publisher Search screen.
  • Added: A Reset button on the Order Form screen.
  • Added: The ability to view completed orders via the "View All Orders" screen.
  • Renamed: "View All Active Orders" to "View All Orders" due to the change above.
  • Renamed: "Order Form" to "Order Form & Mgmt".  Makes more sense, because you manage your orders on that screen as well.
  • Fixed: Tab order settings on the Settings screen.
  • Fixed: Updated Help on Settings & Publisher search screen.
  • Fixed: When placing an order, the value in the Quantity field is checked when clicking the "Place Order" button instead of immediately when leaving the field. This caused some confusion.
  • Fixed: All reports with congregation names use concatenation instead of 2 separate labels, this will eliminate any "floating" effect with the congregation names on reports.
  • Changed: History report titles...made them slightly smaller to fit longer named congregations.
  • Changed: Speed of "Order Placed Successfully" notification. Stays solid .5 seconds longer, but fades away 2x faster.

Our Circuit Assembly was this weekend, and since we drove back and forth (a 1.75 hour trip one direction), I brought my Asus EEE netbook with me and worked on LRO in the car.  And so, I was able to get this release ready.

I'm still working on the User Guide.  It's about 50% done.  Perhaps I will have it by tomorrow evening.  No promises though.  And I also plan to add screenshots of LRO here for those who want to see it before even downloading it.

Last but not least...Inventory Management is going to get a face-lift.  I have an excellent idea for how to re-design it that will make converting it to a mock S-28 form much easier.  I'm fairly confident I can preserve any existing Inventory data with this face-lift, but no promises in this regard.  I will warn all of you if I am unable to do this.  If I can successfully accomplish this face-lift, I will make the Inventory Management display at all time (no more on/off setting) because it will then be everything it needs to be to accomplish its purpose.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Version 1.1.3 Released!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • New Feature: Duplicate order check. This will check the previous orders (up to 12 months ago, based on your settings) and will warn on duplicate orders. Current LRO users will need to turn this on under Settings.
  • New Feature: Notes on orders. You can add a note on an order if needed.
  • Added: You can now edit orders on the Publisher Search screen (the one you see when looking up a specific publisher's orders)
  • Added: Any order highlighted in yellow now appears in yellow on reports as well.
  • Fixed: Pre-order allowed exiting when incomplete. It will now warn if you forgot to complete an entry and try to exit.
  • Fixed: Literature List allowed exiting when incomplete. It will now warn if you forgot to complete an entry and try to exit.
  • Fixed: Automatic backup to a removable drive that had no media entered did NOT give an error. Now it does.
  • Fixed: Backup settings did not carry over after an upgrade or restoration. Now they do.
  • Fixed: Changing a publisher's name will now update all of their orders to reflect their new name.
  • Fixed: Clearer error message if you remove the Date Placed data when editing an order.
  • Fixed: Quantity allowed less than 0 values on the Unordered Items screen when editing.

Alrighty all...this is the last major update.  I'm officially out of ideas for improvement, and so all further releases will be bug fixes or minor adjustments.  I still want to recreate the S-14 & S-28 form, but I don't think that will happen until 2010.  It is going to take a LOT of work, and I don't want to put forth the effort only to have it used for a few months.

So...relax a bit...I know I will.  It may be a while for the next LRO release (this time I'm serious! lol) unless bugs are discovered, or someone sends me another cool idea.   Now that LRO's changes (cosmetically & functionally) have reached their peak, it's time to write a user guide.  I'll bet several of you will appreciate this...and will learn things you didn't know LRO could do...or better ways of using it.

Till next time. ;-)

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Support Site down

Howdy all!

I don't know what happened to my support site...but it disappeared!  No sign of it at all...and what's worse...there is absolutely NO WAY I can get in touch with any of the support personnel at the phpbb3now.com site.  So...no more support forum.

Considering I only have a small audience at the moment, I'm not gonna sweat over finding a new one.  Mr. El Cheapo here doesn't want to pay for a nice ad-free one...at least not until I get a larger audience.

So...I've included my contact information in the menu to the right (literatureroomorganizer@gmail.com).  And if you would like to have a discussion about a release or any of my blogs here...feel free to leave a comment!  You do NOT have to sign up to leave a comment...it can be totally anonymous or you can enter your name (or whatever).  I think this will be sufficient until I get more LRO users.

Sorry for any inconveniences.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Version 1.1.2 Released!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • New Screen: Other Tools
  • New Feature: Blank Forms...printable forms that are blank and can be used at the hall to take down orders and then later easily transfer into LRO.
  • New Feature: Manual & Automatic Backups. It is recommended (but not proven to be an issue) that you backup the LRO's .MDB file manually instead of using these tools...however these tools are now available for those who don't know how to do that.
  • New Feature: Download New Items, on the Literature Items List screen. This will allow you to download the latest Literature Items to be added to the system.
  • New Feature: Rapid Ordering...after placing an order, the order information is retained for the next order.
  • Changed: When placing an order, Quantity will automatically have "1" filled out for you.
  • Fixed: New Congregations will now get the Inventory Management settings properly.
  • Fixed: Types of Items that have NO ACTIVE items assigned to them will not be available to choose from when placing an order.
  • Fixed: If "Item Number" is shown on the Order Form screen...it could be cleared and the order could be submitted without the number.
  • Several cosmetic changes.

Howdy all!  This time...the cosmetic changes are a little more significant.  I am not the best at choosing colors...or making things pretty.  And so I sought the advice of a co-worker, and the ASP.Net instructor of the training class I went to last week.  They both agreed that I should settle on a color scheme and stick to it, and they liked the one I chose.  I'm sure you all will too, just give it a little time.  It looks much more professional...if I hadn't changed it, eventually LRO's Main Menu would look like a rainbow. ;-) Everything is in the same place though...except for Inventory Management.  I moved it to the other side.

New literature items have been added to LRO!  And a new update feature...the button "Download New Items" on the Literature Items List screen can be used to download new literature items as I make them available.  No need to have a full LRO update to get them (although you can easily add new items yourself if needed).

Last but not least, an issue was fixed with the Inventory Management & IM Automation settings.  If you added a new congregation...it might have missed receiving these settings.  To fix this (and ensure any new congregations you add in the future receive the settings), all current LRO users should turn Inventory Management off and then back on (if you're using it of course). Turning IM on and off does NOT affect your data.  All it does is hide/unhide IM.

More to come in the next release!  But I think I'm gonna take a week off. ;-)

Friday, August 14, 2009

Version 1.1.1 Released!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • New Feature: The ability to EDIT orders that have been placed. You can edit orders ONLY on the Unordered Items screen.  Note the button in the bottom-right corner entitled "Allow Editing".  I designed it like this to prevent accidentally changing an order's information.
  • Fixed: Access 2007 ribbon is shown when viewing a report (for Access 2007 users only, of course).
  • Fixed: Behavior of orders whose literature items were marked "Inactive". If "inactive", an order cannot continue to be processed (ordered, received, or delivered).
  • Fixed: Reports used to ALWAYS take up 2 lines per entry, whether needed or not. Now reports will use 1 line, and only use more IF NEEDED. It can take up more than 2 lines too, if it is needed. This will save space, and allow for orders with large names (be it publisher name, literature name, etc) will always have enough space to show everything.
  • Removed: Original Quantity feature. Deemed not useful.
  • Several cosmetic changes and fixes.
  • Several additional validation rules to ensure data is entered properly (won't affect existing data).

And still on the To-Do list is:

  • Literature Updates (so you can update your available literature items without updating the entire LRO program).  NOTE: You can add/change/delete literature items at any time using the "Literature Modification" screen.
  • Attach Notes to orders.
  • Regular automatic backups
  • Manual backups
  • Printable forms (for those who only use LRO at home, these forms can be used to take down orders at the Hall)
  • Reminders
  • Recreate S-14 & S-28 forms.

I may be renaming some of the things on the Main Menu for the next update.  It won't be a MAJOR facelift, but do pay attention to the Main Menu in the next update and watch for any changes (which I will mention here of course).

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Support Forum is moving & got a poll for everyone!

A reminder to those who heard, and an FYI to those who haven't:

LRO's support forum is MOVING to an ad-free forum.  Although I had a lot of power with the forum at freeforums.org, some of the advertisements were objectionable.  And since I'm unwilling to pay $5 a month, they could not be removed.  The support forum at freeforums.org will be CLOSED this-coming Friday.

The link to the support forum on this blog page has been updated with the new forum, which will be at: http://literatureorganizer.noadforums.net/ I've lost a lot of functionality moving to this one, and it isn't as pretty...but I'm stingy with money and so I'll stick with the free stuff. ;-)

I've started a poll at the new forum regarding a feature in LRO.  I'm updating LRO with the ability to edit an order you submitted (only on the Unordered Items screen) and I'm thinking about removing the Original Order feature.  Check out the poll for details & please vote.

http://literatureorganizer.noadforums.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&p=3#p3

Friday, August 7, 2009

Version 1.1.0 Released!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • New Feature: The ability to have LRO automatically resize to fit your computer's screen resolution!!! Current LRO users must turn this on under Settings for your congregation. New users to LRO will have this on by default.
  • Added: Progress bar when closing LRO (just to show you it's actually doing something, rather than hanging). Also progress bar when importing data after an upgrade.
  • Added: Restrictions that prevent the use of certain symbols when entering Congregation, Publisher, Item Names, & Item Symbols. This restriction will ensure no one enters something that could cause issues with code. Item Name & Item Symbols are more lenient, but none of these can accept the following symbols: ~`#$%^*+={}\|;/<>
  • Added: Custom toolbar when viewing reports.
  • Fixed: Reports now open maximized.
  • Fixed: Better error messages here and there.
  • Fixed: The method the System-understood Stock "person" is created and used. This fixed an issue where only about 120 publishers would be available to choose from on the screens that use the publisher list.
  • Changed: Maximum order quantity is now 99,999.
  • Removed: Feature where Stock items are automatically Received & Delivered. I decided this would be too confusing of a feature.
  • Minor cosmetic changes and fixes.

LRO is designed for a computer resolution of 1024 x 768.  With the new Rezise feature, it will fit no matter what kind of resolution you have!  However, it does not look as good when on a smaller resolution (shrunk down) and may even be hard to read, but everything will fit on the screen.  If you don't like this, it can be turned off via Settings.  For users who have screens larger than 1024 x 768, it should look fantastic!  Widescreen monitors work as well, though if you see anything that seems "offset" a bit, that's a consequence of having widescreen and can't be fixed. Current LRO users must turn this ON under Settings.  New users will have it ON by default.

I've been doing a TON of programming at my place of employment.  I have been working on 7 DIFFERENT programs at the same time. Due to that fact, I'm very worn out right now!!  You can imagine the potential for confusion and such, though I've been very careful with LRO and tested it well.  But I must cut back and take a break for a little while...probably a week.  And if I continue with heavy development at my job, then LRO's updates may get skimpier OR further apart.

As always, let me know if you find any bugs or have suggestions for improvement! :-)

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Version 1.0.9 Released!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • New Feature: Request Month (for those who like to manually specify what month an order falls under). Turn it ON under Settings.
  • New Feature: Inventory Management Automation (automatically add orders to inventory when they are Received, and remove them from stock when delivered). Turn it ON under Settings.
  • New Feature: System-understood "Stock" person. Orders by "Stock" person automatically disappear after being Received (No point in delivering an entire stock order of 200 Bible Teach books, right?)
  • Added: New reports under Reporting Tools (1 by publisher, 1 by Request Month...if this feature is turned on).
  • Fixed: Greater compatibility with previous versions of LRO. Should not encounter any issues with upgrading, no matter what version you are on!!
  • Fixed: Calendar on Reporting Tools is hidden after clicking a date.
  • Fixed: A congregation with no publishers could get into the Order Form screen if another congregation had publishers. Now it accurately detects when a congregation has no publishers and prompts to add some before going to the Order Form screen.
  • Other behind-the-scenes fixes & optimizations.

Note on Inventory Management...if you were using it, please turn it OFF and then back ON.  Turning it OFF/ON is handled differently behind the scenes, and this needs to happen (fixes a problem if a new congregation is created).

I also want to stress how this new "Stock" person behaves.  When you Receive an order for them, it is ALSO automatically Delivered for them.  Because it is a Stock order, it is immediately "Delivered" when it is received.  Don't be alarmed when you mark it Received and then don't see it on the Undelivered Items screen...that's suppose to happen.

Next version will improve upon current reports, fix any bugs, improve certain error messages, and add a reminder (or Tip of the Day kinda stuff) system. :-)


Saturday, July 25, 2009

How LRO works - Installation, Upgrades, and backups

Howdy everyone!

This blog will be about LRO and some cool information about how it works.

LRO's requirements & facts about its development

Literature Room Organizer is being built in Access 2000, and from time to time is opened in 2003 for the sake of compressing it a bit more.  It is my hope that LRO will be 100% functional with ALL versions of Access from 2000 onward...and without the need to convert it to later version. If anyone has any problems with compatibility, PLEASE let me know.

LRO has also been tested and works perfectly on:

  • Windows XP
  • Windows Vista (which is what I'm building it on)
  • Windows 7

LRO has been tested and runs perfectly on:

  • 1 GHz Intel Celeron M processor
  • 512 MB of RAM (should never need more than 20MB)
  • 1024 x 768 resolution (minimum requirement)

NEVER run LRO off of a flash drive...unless you don't mind it being slow.  It will work perfectly fine...but might be rather slow at times.  It would be best to run it directly on your computer.

Installation vs Stand-alone

With my LRO program, I decided to put ALL the data into a single Access MDB file.  Some developers might argue that this is unwise and will hinder upgrades, but in the next section you'll see why this works out just fine.  In fact, my "out of the box" thinking is what makes it possible for LRO to be portable...and yet easy to upgrade.

The stand-alone file is just that...a single file with EVERYTHING.  Your data & the program itself are all combined into 1 file.  This makes backing it up very easy...just copy that file onto a flash drive for your backup.  It also makes transferring it from one computer to another very easy...because it's all self contained.

The Installation version is no different...it's still 1 file.  But now it has a more "official" location, in your Application Data folder.  Not exactly the standard location for programs, but it insures that even someone with limited access can install the program. And then this installation version includes a few more files...the license agreement, a script for Access 2007 users to easily configure their Trusted locations, the changelog, and a little more.

Handling Upgrades

As I said, I used some "out of the box" thinking to make LRO easily handle upgrades, even though everything is contained in a single file.  See...when you close LRO, it will take all your data and copy it to a different location on your computer.  It will copy your data into the "%appdata%\LRO" folder.

When you download a new version of LRO...it is completely empty.  It "realizes" that it is empty.  When it "realizes" that...it goes looking for that backup in the "%appdata%\LRO" folder.  If it finds it...it prompts you to restore your data.  Tell it "Yes", and everything is back the way it was before...no work involved (on your part).  It's that simple!  Just download the latest and run it (or install it) and it will go fetch your data.  :-)

Tell it "No"...and it will rename the backup.  That way...if you accidentally told it "No", your data is still there...but it won't prompt you again because the backup has been renamed.  If you need that backup...or any previous backup, you will need to go to your "%appdata%\LRO" folder and rename the backup file to "LRO_backup".

And when you DO restore your data, LRO (since 1.0.7) will rename the backup and preserve it, in case something goes wrong during the restore...your good backup will remain intact.  But LRO will not allow more than 10 of these "extra" backups, and will delete the oldest one when 11 is reached.

I hope this will prove to be useful (and perhaps even comforting) to some of you out there! :-)

PS - Version 1.0.9 is still in progress.  Hope to have it ready in 1 - 2 weeks.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Version 1.0.8 Released!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • Fixed: Blue highlight (for quantity change) appears BEFORE yellow highlight (for inactive item) on all order screens.
  • Fixed: Shrunk Quantity column size on "View All Orders" screen and "Publisher Search" screen.
  • Fixed: Added period to "Original quantity" message when double-clicking a changed quantity.
  • Fixed: Preorder's publisher dropdown is now limited to list.
  • Fixed: Inventory Management's Langauge dropdown is now limited to list.
  • Fixed: Inventory Management's Item Name dropdown is now limited to list, which also fixes an issue when end-user types something that isn't on the list.
  • Fixed: Quantities equal to or less than 0 are no longer allowed.
  • Fixed: Canceling the deletion of an order, item, or inventory item would cause the screen to jump to where the selected item would be on the top of what's currently visible. It no longer jumps.
  • Fixed: Access 2007 issue...when canceling a deletion, it would ask if you wanted to save the form.

As you can see, the focus of this update was fixes.  I did work on the Request # feature, but was not able to finish.  I don't want to rush this feature...it's actually pretty involved.  I want to make sure I do it right, so I decided to release 1.0.8 without it.  Although nothing was added, a lot was fixed.

Provided things go well...the next update will include the new Request # feature, along with some enhancements to Inventory Management.  I want to make sure both get done 100% correctly, so don't be surprised if the release of 1.0.9 is a bit late.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Version 1.0.7 Released!

Changes to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • Fixed: Centered the following forms: Login, Main Menu, Reporting Tools, and Settings. (Fixes Access 2007 Settings screen jumping issue).
  • Fixed: Reporting Tools reports were not adding up orders correctly.
  • Fixed: Reports had margins that gave issues for some printers.
  • Fixed: Reports didn't always show up in landscape orientation (for the ones that were suppose to).
  • Fixed: Minor cosmetic & consistancy issues.
  • Added: Calendar buttons on Reporting Tools.
  • Added: Start Date must be less than End date validation check on Reporting Tools.
  • Added: Reset Filters button on the Reporting Tools screen.
  • Added: INVENTORY MANAGEMENT!! After much work, I'm happy to announce Inventory management is now available.
  • Added: Creation of a backup after an upgrade. In case an upgrade goes screwy, your data is preserved from the last version 100% intact!
  • Added: "Extra" backup cleanup. "Extra" backups are created when all data is erased, migration data after an upgrade is refused, or (now) after performing an upgrade. A maximum of 10 backups are kept.

Inventory management is finally available!  It's a big feature...please explore it (make sure and read the Help included in the "?" button) and let me know if it makes sense or if you find any issues with it. It is fully functional, so whatever data you put in it is solid. NOTE: you have to turn it "on" on the Settings screen.

The reporting for Inventory Management will be enhanced over time.  I will try to make it look much more like the S-28 form, but that will take a lot of work.  Will get to this one day...soon hopefully.  I will also look at making a report to match or come close to the S-14 form.  Same thing...it will take a LOT of work.  But I will look into it eventually.

I know I said there would be some report enhancements on the Order Form screen in this release...it was determined that it was a "training issue", not a problem with the reports.  So they were left alone, and now our LC understands which report to use.

Next update will be small.  I'm thinking of adding some "reminder" features, which of course you'll be able to turn on/off.  And also the ability to attach a request # (or more accurately, request month) to each order, which will add another type of report to the Reporting Tools screen.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Removing advertisements and block junk

Howdy everyone!

As I said, the next LRO update will be a bit delayed because I have a talk to work on for this Tuesday. However, I think it would be a good idea to post an article regarding internet filtering...

My support forum is a FREE forum.  I didn't even realize it displayed advertisements until I saw it on another computer.  That's because I have a filter on my computer.

Bluecoat offers a FREE (for home users) filtering program that works beautifully!  You can configure it to filter all sorts of categories, including Web Advertisements. If you are a parent, you may especially appreciate this tool for your kids' computer.  It even allows TIME restrictions...to help make sure they get to bed when they're suppose to. ;-)

Check out the website here: http://www1.k9webprotection.com

Even if you don't have kids, it can be used to protect you by blocking malicious websites, removing advertisements, or just plain junk sites. It really is a well-designed program, and easy to use. Take some time to read their site, they'll tell you all about it!

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Version 1.0.6 Released!

Updates to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • MAJOR BUG FIX: Settings query was wrong. Caused some rather significant problems if the end-user never visited the "Settings" screen before.
  • Change: Reporting Tools color scheme change.
  • Change: Swaped the position of 'Item Number' and 'Item Name' on the Unordered Items report screen.
  • Change: "Search by Publisher's Orders" now goes to the publisher immediately after clicking on the publisher's name.
  • Change: Added frames around the controls on the Settings screen.
  • Added: Type of Item on Search for Publisher, Pending Items, and Undelivered Items screens as well as the Reports for those screens.
  • Added: After you place an order, a "Successful" message appears and fades away.
  • Fixed: 'Publisher Name' on the Pending Items screen did not highlight yellow if literature item was marked "inactive".
  • Fixed: "Date Placed" on the 'Undelivered Items' screen was NOT left aligned like on all the other screens.
  • Fixed: Access 2007 sorting issue on multiple screens
  • Fixed: Default sort order on several screens was wrong.
  • Fixed: Preorders were lost if the Congregation's name was changed.
  • Fixed: Increased the size of the fields on the Reports, so that information (such as long item names) will not be cut off.
  • Fixed: There was NO sorting for many dropdown (combo) boxes in the system. Sorting has been added.
  • Removed: Background on Order Form screen.

Wow, got quite a bit of updates there!  Doesn't feel like a lot until you write it all down and look at it.  No major structural changes, so there should be no problems with upgrading.  But as always...make a backup!

I noticed I had some errors on some items.  Please review items #1146, 1147, 1149, 1158, and 1160 and remove the "Videocassette" off the end of them.  New users shouldn't have to worry about this from this point on.

Inventory Management has been delayed.  It was not up-to-standard with what would make it quite useful, so it will be worked on some more.  Expect it in about 3 weeks, circumstances permitting.

The next update will probably be delayed a week, since I have a talk to work on for the week for July 6th.  The next update will have some enhancements to the reports found on the Order Form screen.  Look forward to having more power behind these reports!!  :-)

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Version 1.0.5 released!

Updates to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • Added: Publisher name to Pending Items screen & Pending Items report.
  • Added: Item Type to the "Items to Order from All Congregations" report on the login screen.
  • Added: Item Type to the "View All Active Orders" Printable Version screen.
  • Added: Preorder button & setting to turn it on/off.  Setting is off by default.
  • New Feature: Preorder items.  Used to take orders for NEW literature items that have not been added to the system yet. It's just a temporary space to store this info (no reports or other screens will use this info) until the NEW literature items are added.
  • Fixed: Publisher Name on Unordered items did not have sorting ability.
  • Fixed: Publisher Search feature on Order Form screen now removes publisher name if you just completed their orders.
  • Fixed: Minor cosmetic fixes on Order Form screen.
  • Fixed: Message when trying to click an item as "Delivered" when you didn't check "Received" first on the Publisher's Search screen.
  • Fixed: The status bar message for all Date fields.
  • Removed: quick-access buttons on Order Form screen. To make them work 100% right would have not been worth the effort.
  • Removed: "Mark Items as Ordered" feature. Too confusing of a feature. Should just print out the Unordered Items report (if this program is being used at the Hall) in order to know what to mark off when returning to the Hall.

Make it a habit, especially from this point on, to backup your current version before installing the latest version.  This update, as well as the next few update, will be more than "minor" changes.  So PLEASE always make a backup before downloading the latest.

Inventory management is next on the list...  :-)

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Version 1.0.4 released!

Updates to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • Added: Ability to change settings.
  • Setting: Ability to show Item Number on Order Form screen.
  • Setting: Ability to change default language of new orders.
  • Setting: Ability to enable/disable reminder message that displays on 15th - 20th of a month.
  • Fixed: Literature Modification screen does not return to the Order Form screen if accessed from the Order Form screen and the end-user opens the Type of Item modification screen.
  • Fixed: Minor costmetic fixes.

Once again, due to some structural changes to the tables, I must strongly recommend backing up your current version before downloading this one.  I didn't encounter any problems during my testing...but it is always better to err on the side of caution.  Please make a backup before proceeding.

I've added the ability to configure settings in LRO!  Right now, there's not much to configure...I'm open to suggestions for this area.  The settings are on a per-congregation basis.  So one congregation could have the default language of new orders as English, whereas the other congregation could have Spanish as the default.  Pretty sweet eh?

PS - I noticed an issue with 2007...the new Settings screen jumps to the left on the second time you open it, and it seems to stay there.  I have no idea why...will look into this later.  Right now, it doesn't affect the functionality, so I'm not really worried about it. Just an FYI.

And just a reminder...I'm open to suggestions for color scheme/background changes to the Main screen, the Reporting Tools screen, and the new Settings screen.  If anyone knows of any Access 2000 background or autoformat templates, please send them my way. Being colorfully creative and appealing is not my strong point. ;-)


Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Version 1.0.3 released!

After much work, I'm happy to announce that Version 1.0.3 is ready to be released!

Updates to Literature Room Organizer include:

  • Added: New delete button on the Pending Items screen.
  • Added: Now have the ability to add/change/delete types of items.
  • Added: Ability to filter the Literature Modification list.
  • Changed: Quantities can now be changed on the Unordered Items & Pending Items screens.
  • Changed: Altered quantities are now highlighted in blue.
  • Changed: Double-click quantity (when highlighted in blue) to reveal previous quantity amount.
  • Fixed: Unnecessary message when canceling the deletion of anything was removed.
  • Fixed: lblActive on Literature Modification screen did not remove underline when another header was clicked.
  • Fixed: Search for Item did not display items that had no symbols entered.
  • Fixed: On the View All Active Orders screen, if the last thing you did was check something off, it would not show up in the report.
  • Fixed: End-User modifications to Item List are now preserved over updates.

Due to some structural changes to the tables, I must strongly recommend backing up your current version before downloading this one.  I've done thorough testing and don't see any potential problems, but I'd feel better if you did a backup before upgrading (make a copy, or rename the original instead of overwriting it).  Even though the possibility of losing data is something like .01%, you should ALWAYS make a backup before upgrading. ;-)

I think I'll be resting from programming until next week.  I hit a few bumps with these changes and I'm wore out.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

District Convention

I will be out of town tomorrow through Sunday for our District Convention.  I most likely will not log into this site or my support forum during this time.  I don't trust hotel networks...

I will get to work on my program a bit while away.  Hope to have the next release ready by Monday!

Monday, June 1, 2009

Version 1.0.2 released! - Access 2007 users READ THIS!

Updates to Literature Room Organizer software include:

  • Cleaned up code, which allows greater compatibility in Access 2007.
  • Access 2007 issue fixed: Search for item doesn't allow another search from the search screen.
  • Access 2007 issue fixed: Reporting tools has a pop-up for the tblOrders date.
  • Access 2007 issue fixed: No yellow highlights for unavailable item orders.
  • Access 2007 issue fixed: Ribbon menu gets in the way!!

The Literature Room Organizer program is now ready for Access 2007 users!  However...there is still an issue with the Trusted Location settings.  Access 2007 users are STRONGLY encouraged to download the "installer" version of LRO, which includes a use the script that comes with the installer, which will automatically add the Trusted location for you.

The following directions are for Access 2007 users ONLY:

Running the Auto-Script

After installing, you will need to go into your Start menu, find "Literature Room Organizer", and run the file "Add LRO to Access 2007 Trusted List".  ONLY RUN THE FILE ONCE.  Even after upgrades, you will NOT need to run it again.  After running it, open LRO and see if you get a security warning or not. If anyone has trouble with this, please let me know.

Doing it the hard way (manually)

If you want to run the stand-alone version, Read the directions below on how to add a location to the Trusted list:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/access/HA100319991033.aspx

You will need to add the location of where LRO is installed to the trusted list.  As well as the "%appdata%\LRO" location, which is where LRO's backups are stored.  Click on Start, and then click on Run. Copy and paste the text quotes: "%appdata%" into the box and press enter.  A folder will open.  Click on the address bar at the top and you will see the full path to your computer's AppData location.  You will need to add this to the trusted folder list.

If anyone has trouble with this or needs help, please post in the support forums.  Windows 7 testing will begin soon...

Thanks!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

5/30/2009 Updates

Updates to Literature Room Organizer software include:

  • "About" screen added, with the license agreement.
  • Literature items that are marked as "inactive" will now modify orders of this literature item so that they are highlighted in yellow, signifying the order could not be completed because the literature item is not available.
  • If there is only 1 congregation in the system, it will now automatically select that congregation when you start the program.
  • Fixed tab order and tool tips on Main Menu screen.
  • Fixed tab order on Order Form screen.
  • Added congregation name to the "View All Orders" report.
  • Installer version created...for those who want to install rather than have a stand-alone mdb file.

It is official...version 1.0.0 has been released!!  The program is now considered ready for live useage and distribution.  However, Access 2007 users may experience difficulties.  I will be doing some testing with Access 2007, as well as Windows 7, and should have some news for everyone soon.

On the to-do list (so far) for version 1.1.0:

  • Ability to add new types of items
  • Inventory Management

And further down the road:

  • Settings screen (to tweak certain settings, remove some autonomacy, or add/remove features)
  • Automatic updates for literature items

Friday, May 29, 2009

5/29/2009 Updates

Updates to the Literature Room Organizer software include:

  • Main Menu reorganized...more professional looking, and gives more room for added features.
  • Reporting Tools added to the Main Menu...allows access to historical information regarding previous orders.
  • A printable report version of Unordered Items, Pending Items, and Undelivered Items has been added.  Note the small button next to each of those buttons on the Order Form screen.
  • Completed orders are deleted after 13 months of their original order date (used to be 6 months)

If anyone has a good suggestion for a better color scheme for the Main Menu or the new Reporting Tools area, I'm listening.  I'm not entirely happy with the colors, but it'll work for now.  I may change it if I get a good suggestion. ;-)

The Reporting Tools area has plenty of room for growth...but I need feedback!  As far as I'm concerned, it's complete.  If anyone wants any additional reports or features for the report, post a comment and let me know.

Last but not least, I'll be working on a good support forum soon.  The one I have now at GetSatisfaction is just temporary until I have time to setup a more familiar kind of forum.

Monday, May 25, 2009

5/25/2009 Updates

Updates to the Literature Room Organizer software include:

  • When adding Literature item, Active is now checked by default.
  • Added "Jump to New" to Literature Modification and Publisher Modification screen.
  • Resized most windows to maximize viewing area.
  • Unordered Items now show who ordered it (Publisher Name)
  • You can now delete unordered items (delete button added)
  • "Items to order from all congregations" report now keeps languages together.
  • 'Search for Item' on the Order Form screen has been enhanced to include Item Number, Item Type, and Symbol in the search.
  • 'Search for Item' sorting issue fixed.
  • Items in the Item List have been updated with new items, unavailable items have been made inactive, and consistancy in some areas has been improved.
  • Help info added everywhere!!!!

Much more features on the way!!!