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PETRAX 4.6 is now live.  You can get the latest version from:  http://www.petraxsoftware.com/content/downloads.aspx

You can run previous versions of PETRAX side by side with this new version.  Just make sure you point this new version and a COPY of your current company database. 

Once installed, there will be no need to upgrade your data (there are no data changes) - so it should be a quick process.

It is recommended that you reset your client and orders grid (from the File Menu -> Database Utilities) and that you reset your calendar.

Your license key that you have for 4.5 will work in 4.6 - no need to request a new one.

You can read about the changes here:  http://www.petraxsoftware.com/downloads/README.TXT

Regards,
Grant

[trace file]

There is some useful information you can provide in your description of the problem that always helps get to the bottom of the issue.  Please include as much of this information as possible when contacting support.

• Which Version of PETRAX are you running?  (Click on the "Help" menu and then the "About" option).  Please include the ENTIRE version number, for example, 4.5 build 7
  
• What is the history of the problem?  Did it just start happening?  Does it only happen under certain conditions?  What are those conditions?
  
• Please provide the specifics of the problem - for example "I created a new order for Client X, saved the order, and then went to the calendar, and then noticed the order was not there.  I repeated the steps, and then the order appeared"
  
• What error messages did you see?  Please try be as specific as possible.  If you can, create a screenshot of the exact error.  If you can copy the error text, that will help too.
  

.
  

• Petrax creates a trace file when it encounters errors.   Emailing this file to us would greatly help. The file is located in your user directory..and is different for different versions of Windows.  For example on my Windows 7 system it is located at: C:\Users\<my user name>\AppData\Roaming\Petrax Software\
  
  It may be different on your machine.  Go to your user directory and look for "Petrax Software" folder and then look for a file named: "PetraxTraceLog_<month_year>.log"
  
  
  

NOTE:  From version 4.6 onwards, the trace file location is listed on the "Technical" tab of the "Company Information" section inside PETRAX, and you can open the location by clicking on the button.  Please send us that file to help diagnose the issue.

There are a number of ways to contact PETRAX support.

The best way to contact us is to send an email directly to support@petraxsoftware.com

This creates a help ticket to track your issue, and will notify you of the progress of your issue.  I will also receive an immediate email notifying me that you need help.

You can also call the following number and leave a message: 1-615-461-0092

NOTE:  Due to the number of clients we have, we can only provide support to customers who have current support contracts.  If you are not current please visit the following page in order to get current:  http://www.petraxsoftware.com/content/support.aspx

NOTE:  Please follow the guidlines in this post in order to speed up the process of helping you.


-- Grant

[NOTE:]

How do I run PETRAX on more than one computer?

You may run PETRAX on more than one computer, as long as you follow the published license agreement.  See http://www.petraxsoftware.com/forum/index.php?topic=14.msg14#msg14

To run PETRAX on more than one computer, you first need to install the program on all computers involved.  NOTE:  Make sure you copy the installation file (PETRAX_Setup.exe) to EACH computer and THEN run the setup process.

Alternatively, download it to each computer from directly from the website: http://www.petraxsoftware.com/downloads/PETRAX_Setup.exe

     NOTE:   DO NOT run the setup program  FROM a remote computer - this causes problems with the installation process.

Next, you will need to decide which is the "primary" computer.  This will be the computer that stores the primary company database file.  All other instances will "share" this database file.  This is usually the owners primary desktop computer.

Then, all other computers will need to be set to find and read the shared company database file that is located on the primary computer.

This is a description of the process:

In order to use PETRAX from multiple computers you need to be able to access the company database from each computer.  This means that each computer needs to be able to successfully connect to the computer that stores the company database over your internal network.  

Thus, your first step is to ensure that the network connectivity between both computers exists, and that your computers have permission to share files.

Say I want to run PETRAX on two computers that are named ComputerA and ComputerB.  ComputerA has the PETRAX database stored on its C: drive.  ComputerB needs to be able to connect to ComputerA to read the database file.

To test if ComputerB can connect to ComputerA, do the following:

• Open Windows Explorer on ComputerB.
  
• At the top, in the address bar, type the following:  \\ComputerA\c$  and then press enter.   (that is: slash slash, name of the computer, the letter "C", followed by a dollar symbol.  This should get you to the contents of the C drive.  If your PETRAX database is located on another drive, then replace the letter "C" with the letter of the drive.  Replace "ComputerA" with the name of your computer.)
  

If you can connect without error, then you can proceed to setting up a Share (see below).  If not, then you have a network connectivity issue that you must first resolve.  

If you are prompted for a user name and password, enter the user name and password you use to log in to ComputerA with.  (Note:  Your user name will be in the format "ComputerA\<username>"  (no quotes), along with the correct, case-sensitive password.)

If that is in place, you now need to create a network share from ComputerB to ComputerA.  A network share is a name we give to the connection between the computers, and is in the format of a letter of the alphabet, and is needed for PETRAX to be able to connect.  

Here are some resources for how to create a network share:

For Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308582
or
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/windowsxpnetworking/ht/mapnetworkdrive.htm

For Vista:
http://www.vista4beginners.com/Map-Network-Drive

For Windows7
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Create-a-shortcut-to-map-a-network-drive

Notes:  

• Always choose the "reconnect a logon" option so that the next time you reboot your machine, it will attempt re-connect to your database.  
   
  
• If you have errors in PETRAX that indicate it can't find your data on your "ComputerB", first check that you connect to ComputerA from ComputerB by doing so in Windows Explorer.
    
   
• If PETRAX can't find the database, check that the drive letter has not changed.  If the error says it can't find X:\\NameOFFolders\NameOfFiles...make sure that the "X" drive exists, and that it hasn't changed the share name.
  
  
• Never INSTALL PETRAX from a shared/networked drive.  Always have the installation file ON the computer you are installing to.
  
   
• Never RUN PETRAX from a thumb drive...in other words, do not store the company database on an external or a thumb drive.  The PETRAX database must reside ON a physical computer to avoid problems. 
  
   
• The correct format for the connection to the drive is "X:\FolderName\AnotherFolderName\PetraxCompanyName.ptxdb". (where "X" is the MAPPED DRIVE you made.
  
  This is the incorrect format: "\\servername\sharename\FolderName\AnotherFolderName\PetraxCompanyName.ptxdb" - this is a network URL, and DOES NOT WORK with PETRAX.  If you see this type of format in error messages, or when you tried to connect to the database, then you need to go back, and create a MAPPED DRIVE as described above.
  

My Maintenance and Support has lapsed, do I need to re-purchase PETRAX?

Not necessarily.

In order to provide the best service possible, we have created the following guidlines to help with lapsed support:

• Yearly Support is $129
• Up to 6 months late $200
• Up to 12 months late $260
• Up to 18 months late $325
• Up to 24 months late $400
• After 24 months - purchase price of PETRAX

If your service and maintenance contract has lapsed, please contact Customer Support  BEFORE purchasing support.  We cannot issue refunds for Support purchases made in error.

This policy is effective immediately.

We created a Twitter account to make it easier for you to follow announcements about product upgrades and issues.

Create an account on twitter.com, and then go to:  http://twitter.com/petraxsoftware and "follow" us.  

What happens to orders and the calendar when I delete a Representative?

As of version 4.6, when you delete a representative, their name and details wiill be removed from the Representatives grid, and their name removed from the calendar section that lists all reps on the left.

NOTE:  Any orders they were responsible for will have the assigned rep removed, and will have no rep assigned.  The order will persist.

The tax applied date is supposed to be the last day of the order.

So, if the last day of the order is set to say 6/2/2010, but the last *service* item on that order is set to 6/1/2010, the date on the tax entry will be set to 6/2/2010.

• I intend to change this behavior to be smarter and look at the last service date (won’t be in 4.6).
• If the date is important, the current work around is to ensure that the order is set to end on the date of the last intended service.
• There is no way to modify the applied tax date – it always draws from the last day of the order.  I intend to make this configurable, but have no idea on the implementation yet (whether to be able to manually choose the date, or select “Order Start”/”Order End” etc.)

There is an ongoing work item in place to change the way OrderID's, ClientID's, Rep ID and Vet ID's are displayed and used throughout the application.  

As you know, a user can override the internal numbering system for these entities, allowing them you have their own system to reference each of them.  (Referred to in the program as "User Specified <entity> ID")

 If no user specified ID is used, then the application defaults to the internal ID.

This works fine, however, the application does not always display, or use, the user specified ID consistently - and displays the internal ID.  Example:  When sorting appointments in the calendar, it is sorting by the Visit Type and then by the *Internal* Appointment ID.  

I am working through changing all references to honor the user specified ID, if present, or then use the internal ID.

Reports: Difference between Category Summary and Sales Reports

See this technical post on the topic:  http://www.petraxsoftware.com/forum/index.php?topic=39.msg46#msg46