All the information here is covered in more detail in the Installation Manual
and other Tech Bulletins. This is just a quick list of tips for people familiar
with PGdebt
Three
vital points
No version
of PGdebt is ever installed on a server. This is because the program makes
and destroys a number
of temporary files for every client and these can get mixed up causing data
corruption when different users open
different client files. We will not support PGdebt if this rule is ignored.
Never delete any existing files when re-installing PGdebt, the installation
routine will replace any important files,
whilst preserving all settings, data etc. If you delete the program before
re-installing, you will have to restore
data and settings from backups…or start again.
The latest version is PGdebt 8X (The X signifies that internet is required
for licensing) Older versions are no
longer available. The program is backward compatible…ie newer versions
read all older versions files, but not
the other way round. If a newer version client file is opened on an older
version PC, the file will at least lose
some data and at the worst be completely unreadable.
New
Installations
Log on as Windows Administrator for the installation
The latest version of PGdebt (PGdebt8X) must be downloaded from www.pgcomputing.co.uk
and can be
installed from the downloaded .exe file which is a complete installation routine.
This system will apply to all
future versions of PGdebt, no more CDs will be provided. PG8X requires internet
access every few days for
license checks. It cannot be installed on PCs which don’t have internet.
Laptops need internet every few days
as well.
On first run, the program needs to be configured. Internet is required. There
are two options, Trial and
Standalone. If you select Trial the program will assign a license key and it will
run for a month. If you select
Standalone, you will have to provide the license key which the user has purchased.
Even for a network
installation, choose Standalone.
PGdebt8 (not PGdebt8X), PGdebt7,6,5 are all available on CD or floppies for old
versions. None of these is
available any more. Instructions are on the media. No internet is required for
these older versions.
The program will go into folder C:\PGDEBT8. This is not ideal but it retains compatibility
with older versions
and causes little trouble. If you change the default installation folder, then
upgrades will not find the original
installation. Please stick to the default location. Users must have full read\write
access to the folder
C:\PGDEBT8 and subfolders.
Re-installation
Log on as Windows Administrator for the installation
PGdebt 8X must be downloaded, as above. For 8,7,6,5 use the CD or media. Preferably
do not use any CDs
which contain PGdebt8X (a few are around). It is better to download the latest
version and use that.
The downloaded version can be used any time to update an existing PG8X, but you
should not update older
versions unless the user has purchased a license key.
On first run, the program needs to be configured. Internet is required. There
are two options, Trial and
Standalone. You should always select standalone, even for a network installation,
choose Standalone, you will
have to provide the license key which the user has purchased. Keys are listed
on the license document. If no
key is available, please contact me.
The program will go into the existing PGdebt folder. This may be C:\PGDEBT8 or
7 or 6 or 5, depending on
what version the user first had when first installing PGdebt on that PC, perhaps
years ago. Do not change this.
Users must have full access to the folder C:\PGDEBT8 or whatever it is called
on the individual PC.
Passwords
Re-installing resets all PGdebt passwords, remember to re-enter these. Always
set a PG “supervisor”
password, this prevents unauthorised changes to many parts of the program.
Networks
PGdebt is installed locally on the workstations, never put it on the server. PG8X
and PG9 will not run on a
server, they will lock out after a few uses. PG5-8 will not run properly, Place
the data and other important files
on the server. Make a folder on the server with 4 or 5 subfolders. Do not call
it PGDEBT…chose another name
( PG will do) to avoid confusing terminology later.
C:\PG\DATA
C:\PG\STANLETS
C:\PG\DRAFT
C:\PG\COMMON
The folder C:\PG on the server needs to be mapped from the workstations with a
logical drive letter. It needs to
be shared so that users can have full access to the files in the folder and subfolders.
The workstations need to be configured to look to the server for their data. This
is done from
Options/supervisor/files-paths. So the folders might be set to say…
Q:\DATA
Q:STANLETS
Q:\DRAFT
Q:\COMMON
It is very important that all workstations use the same physical folders. They
can be located anywhere and
called anything, but they must all be shared and available for read/write access
by any PGdebt USER.
Upgrades
The latest version is available on the PG Computing web site and any licensed
owner of PGdebt 8X who has
bought a license key can upgrade at any time by downloading the program and installing
it. Users who do not
have 8X will need to buy license keys first…if they do install as a trial
without a key, the program will stop
running in a month.
License keys
PGdebt 8X and all future versions use the CopyMinder license control system. This
requires a license key. The
program checks regularly to see if a key has been used on more than one PC and
if this happens it will monitor
the situation for a while then cut off one of the PCs if dual use continues. So
if a key is used at home then the
office PC will get cut off. To avoid license hassle only use each key once.
Moving PGdebt to another PC
This is permitted. Install the program on the new PC and use the license key from
the old PC. This will be
allowed but if the old PC is used again, one of them will be cut off. To avoid
problems, remove PGdebt from the
original PC as soon as it is installed on the new one. The manual contains info
on which files to move across to
move data and other settings. Don’t use the PG in-program backup/restore…move
the files listed in the manual
Printers
Some versions of PGdebt may crash on start-up if there is no default printer set
up for the USER profile. Always
install a default printer…do this on laptops too. The printer is not required…just
the driver.
Problems
PGdebt may tell you what is wrong. Any message about “access denied”
or “cannot find file PGCOMMON.INI”
probably means the drive mapping is not correct or the USER does not have read
write access to the PGdebt
folder and server folders.
The most common problem with CABx is that the USERs do not have read/write access
to the server folders.
To test this, close PGdebt then get the user to sit at the workstation and try
to make a copy of a file in the
COMMON folder on the server using Windows. If they cant do this its an access
problem.
A known bug relates to the word processor. A few users will find that characters
and words are superimposed
on their letters after printing. (I cannot track this down, but it is rare). To
fix it place a tick in the checkbox “ Use
WP simple mode” which is located at Options/supervisor/security.
Merging two case loads on separate PCs
This is possible but will corrupt the statistics. Contact us for advice. The merge
will probably have to be done
at the end of the stats year and after that date stats from earlier will not be
available (or at least not correct !)
Changing a standalone PC to a network
Covered in the manual. Basically the data and four subfolders mentioned earlier
will need to be moved to the
server, then the PC configured to point at the server for data.
Backups
There is an in-house backup within PGdebt for individual PCs (ie where there is
no network). The four
subfolders need backing up. With a network, only the PG folder and subfolders
on the server need backing up.
Installation Manual
For PGdebt 8X this is located at Start/All programs/PGdebt8/manual
Full information on network installations is found here.
Tech bulletins
Bulletins covering many aspects of PGdebt are on the web site