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HI-TECH TALK Newsletter: October 2000 Newsletter Index
HI-TECH announces Fall Seminar Schedule HI-TECH has announced that it will be holding a series of one-day Education Seminars in October. The seminars, for customers of HI-TECH, will focus on the setup and daily use of RentPlus. Additional topics, including RentPlus for Multiple-Site Operations and conversion from Mini-StoragePlus to RentPlus, will also be offered. Special Data Conversion Offer HI-TECH also announced that it will be offering a special to current Mini-StoragePlus users that makes it easier than ever to upgrade to RentPlus. Purchase RentPlus by the day of the seminar and get free attendance for up to two attendees, PLUS free attendance to a special session where we will convert your data from Mini-StoragePlus to RentPlus for you. These special sessions will be held the day after the seminars in Seattle (10/19) and Los Angeles (10/22) and the day before the seminar in Arlington (10/25). Call for complete details. A registration form is included in this newsletter, or call 800-551-8324. Top RentPlus v1.5 Ships to Customers The new RentPlus version 1.5 CD-ROM was mailed out to all customers in September. If you haven't received your CD, please contact customer service right away to arrange shipment. If you have received the CD but not yet installed the new version, you should do that right away also. The CD will upgrade all earlier versions of RentPlus. Version 1.5 contains almost 1,500 modifications from version 1.4, and version 1.4 contained almost 2,500 modifications from version 1.3. Modifications in both updates include bug fixes, new forms and reports, and enhancements to existing forms and reports. Some key enhancements include:
For the next version of RentPlus, expected in early 2001, we have a number of exciting new features planned, including a list of over 200 customer suggestions. More details will be included in the next newsletter. Do you have any ideas or suggestions? If so, please share them with us by sending an e-mail message to us at info@hitechsoftware.com. Top RentPlus Multi-User Version Now Shipping The multi-user version allows you to have multiple computers on a network all sharing the same information. This allows you to have multiple people working in RentPlus simultaneously, for example, someone moving someone into a unit, another taking payments, another running reports, another printing checks, etc. You can also have multiple people taking payments or moving people into units at the same time. Of course, it will not allow you to move two people into the same unit. Using a separate computer as a server is always faster, but if there will only be two or three users, you probably do not need a separate server. For a typical 3-user system, a simple Win95 peer-to-peer network will do, with the RentPlus program and the data on one of the computers (the "server") and the program only on the other two computers ("clients"). This setup would require a RentPlus license, a Server license ($499), and two Client licenses ($499 each). Larger networks should use a server-based network, such as Windows NT, with the data residing on that server. It is not recommended for networks with more than 15-20 users. Top Put your RentPlus Map on display You can put your RentPlus Map of the units on a client system with a monitor that is visible to clients. This allows you to use the Map to show customers the location of a unit, or the best way to get there.
Epson TM-U200 Your RentPlus software supports the use of any 40-column receipt printer for printing receipts and credit card vouchers. We recommend the TM-U200 point of sale printer from Epson. To order, call 800-551-8324. Our price: just $299 (shipping not included). Top RentPlus allows you to capture images and attach them to customer records. Pictures can include a picture of the customer, of a drivers license, or of a vehicle placed in storage. Another great use is to record the pictures taken at the time you cut a lock and open a unit. You may attach any number of images to a particular customer record. Images are usually captured using one of three devices: a digital camera, a digital video camera or a scanner. A digital camera takes still pictures just like a regular camera, but does not use any film. After you have taken the pictures, a cable is used to connect the camera to the computer, and the images are copied from the camera to the computer’s disk drive. A video digital camera is permanently attached to the computer via a cable. To capture an image, you run software on the computer (comes with the camera), point the camera at the customer or whatever you wish to capture, and click a ‘capture’ button to save the image to the computer’s disk drive. A scanner looks and works like a copier: place the image to be copied on the glass, then run the scanning software (comes with the scanner) to copy the image to the computer’s disk drive. The limitation of this method is that you can only capture flat images, so while this would work great for scanning a driver’s license, it would not allow you to take a picture of the customer. However, what you can do is use the scanner in conjunction with an instant (Polaroid) camera. Take the customer’s picture, then scan it in. This has the added advantage of giving you the original photograph as well. Which method is best? It's hard to say since all have their pros and cons. I would have to lean toward the digital camera as I think it offers the most flexibility. While more expensive than the other options, you will not have any on-going expenses for film, as you would with using camera/scanner combination. Images can be saved in a number of formats. RentPlus can display images only if the Windows software installed on the computer has a 'viewer' for that type of image. The most common image formats are bitmaps (BMP) and jpegs (JPG). Once you have captured the image on your computer's disk drive, you can attach the image to the customer's record. In RentPlus, select the customer and select Properties from the Favorites menu. Go to the Images tab and click Add New Image. Browse to the location where the image was stored, select the image, and click Open. The image will be copied to the Multimedia folder in the RentPlus Data folder, and displayed on the screen. Top Can't this thing run any faster? One thing you can always count on: however fast a computer is, it never seems 'fast enough'! Or, as the saying goes, "What Intel giveth, Microsoft taketh away." Not to pick on Windows, but as quickly as computers are improved, the demands of the software we use expand. We are constantly asking more and more of our computers, making them more complex, especially in the way the different functions are interconnected. Three main things affect the speed of database software: the amount of data, the amount of memory (RAM), and the microprocessor. While the database will grow continuously, you can minimize the affect this has by optimizing the database on a regular basis (see below). The amount of memory is usually the most important factor, however. RentPlus (and most Windows programs today), require at least 64 megabytes (MB) of data to run properly. For best results, we recommend 128MB. If you are also running Windows-based access control software (such as the PTI Falcon 2000 software or the Digitech 700 software), you may very well need even more - up to 256MB. After memory, the processor has the next largest affect on speed. Today, processors with speeds over 1000 megahertz are available. Systems with speeds greater than 700 megahertz are now very affordable. As a general rule of thumb, if it takes more than ten seconds to call up the average customer record to the screen, you may want to look at speeding up your system. Take these steps to speed things up. After each step, you can check to see if the system is fast enough, if so, you do not need to continue the steps. Reduce the number of programs running. Close all unnecessary programs such as e-mail, chat, and music (use them only when needed, instead of keeping them open all of the time).
Optimizing RentPlus Database files contain tables that represent your data: customers, units, contracts, etc. But database files also contain space that is used for working space while the database file is in use (all this happens automatically inside the database engine itself). When you complete a form or a report and that working space is no longer needed, these temporary objects are deleted. However, the SPACE that the objects took up is not deleted - it remains an empty space in the database - available for use again in the future. Theoretically. In practice, the database often creates new space, even when old space is available (it's faster, usually), so the database grows. Optimizing a database file eliminates all temporary objects and the space they took up.Optimizing usually only takes a couple of minutes, at most. To keep the database finely tuned, optimize the program and the data every day, or at least once a week. To optimize, start RentPlus, highlight the data file, and click Optimize. When it is completed, start RentPlus, highlight the program file, and click Optimize. Top Mini-StoragePlus TechTip: Bank Deposit Reports When you run the Bank Deposit program in Mini-StoragePlus, the system does all the calculations and posts the bank deposit, and then will automatically print up to nine different reports. To select which of the reports you want to run automatically, start the Bank Deposit, and enter Proceed with Bank Deposit. The bank deposit totals will be displayed. Press F3 to display a list of reports. Use the SpaceBar to mark the reports you wish to run automatically, and then press F9 to save those changes (press Esc to cancel). Press Esc to cancel the rest of the bank deposit. The next time you complete the Bank Deposit, only the selected reports will be printed. Top
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Use
a good monitor - you want your Map to look sharp. The monitor can be placed
on top of a counter or built into a panel or a counter top (they make
monitor extension cords). Place the computer, keyboard and mouse where only
employees have access. Since the Map does not automatically update itself,
you will need to click the Units icon from time to time to update the
display, so the mouse at least must be easily accessible. You may also want
to use the mouse to scroll or zoom the display while you are showing units
to the customer.