Atrex 13 Change List

The following is a list of changes that have been made to the Atrex 13 package, for your convenience it has been broken down into functional areas.

General
Sales
Inventory
Purchase Orders
Customers
Vendors
Accounts
User
Service Orders
Reports
Options
Printing/Report Designer
Functionality Changes

General

• Atrex 13 uses the ElevateDB database engine as its primary data storage mechanism. ElevateDB provides improved database integrity and functionality compared to the DBISAM engine used in v11 and v12, and is significantly faster and more robust compared to the dBase engine used Atrex 10 and earlier.
• Availability of a .Net data provider for access to the Atrex data directly from .Net applications without the use of the ODBC driver.
• Temporary tables are now stored in a separate directory from the database to prevent clutter of the data folder as well as reduce the size of backups if made from outside of the Atrex package.
• Added a persistent deferred update table to allow deferred updates to inventory quantities from transactions across database sessions if the target items are unavailable for update.
• Added large file support for client/server configurations. This option allows for the use of individual files within the database greater than 4GB in size.
• Added ability to independently schedule automatic backups and optimization for each database in a multi-database client/server configuration.
• Added option to allow for auto-login when switching between databases. If the user ID and password are identical in both databases, you can switch between the two without having to log into the destination database. This option can be enabled on a database by database basis.
• Reprints of invoices, orders, quotes, service orders, service order quotes, and statements to email will populate the email address if all selected transactions are for the same customer.
• Open transactions (sales orders, service orders), recurring invoices, and quote transfer functions will automatically update the tax values when editing or processing these transactions to pick up changes to the tax category values. Closed transactions (invoices, completed SOs, completed Orders, etc) will not be effected.
• Basic Unicode support is now enabled throughout the package and the collation/language settings can be selected per database by the end user.
• Added support for the Topaz 1x5 LCD USB signature capture device (T-L460-HSB or T-LBK460-HSB) to provide for signature capture on credit card transactions.  Signatures can also be captured at delivery point to the customer for invoices and service orders.
• Added option to prevent saving a credit card payment without an authorization value present.
• Support for ICVerify and PCCharge have been deprecated and support the legacy versions of the packages only. Support for ICVerify is through 4.02 and older, and support for PC Charge is through version 5.7 and older. It is recommended that users of ICVerify and PCCharge migrate to one of the directly integrated card processing solutions.
  

Company Information/Settings

• Added option to set the number of days to default transaction searches. Minimum allowed value of 1 day and a maximum of 180 days.
• Added option to skip stock code entry window during transactions and go directly to the stock code selection window. The stock code entry window will still show for stock code maintenance functions.
• Added option to indicate that decimal fields should display the thousands separator when editing large values.
• Added Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) field to company options email tab. By default, all emails sent from Atrex will have a BCC set to whatever is in this field for both SMTP and MAPI send methods.

PCI Compliance

• Atrex will no longer store CVV2 numbers within the database. Values can be entered during transactions and from the customer window to allow for verification, but the values entered will not be saved within the database
• A verification function has also been added to the credit card authorization function, when used with the Versatalis or Mercury Payment Solutions credit card processing options, to do a small amount authorization and immediate void to allow for verification of the CVV2 and AVS information prior to accepting a sale or order.
• Any credit card number passing the credit card number verification method is encrypted prior to being saved to the database to reading of the credit card numbers. Once encrypted, it can be used by Atrex for processing future transactions but the full card number will NEVER be visible from within the program.

Performance

• Improved the performance of the serialized processing window when working with large serial number lists. This includes both the initial display and the cleanup of the selection information after the window is closed.
• Moved a number of data update functions to the server engine for improved performance when updating and editing transactions. This reduces the amount of I/O between Atrex and the database. Performance changes will be most evident with client/server connections, especially when using Atrex across a wide area connection.
• Lookup lists (stock code categories, manufacturers, etc.) are loaded and cached on startup when running in a client/server configuration with maximum compression. While this adds to the startup time, it eliminates the lookup list loading each time the stock code and customer information windows are created and displayed, reducing the amount of I/O between Atrex and the database. Performance changes will be most evident when using Atrex across a wide area connection.
• PO receiving functions have been modified to only process line items that have actually been received. This dramatically improves the receiving performance when receiving just a few items from a large purchase order.
• Retrieval of line items for transaction editing now retrieves both the line item and stock code information as one process. This eliminates four round trips to the server and back for each line item.

User Defined Fields and Sizes

• Custom, user defined fields, can be added to the stock code, customer, and vendor tables. The custom fields will be available for editing on the "Custom" tab of the appropriate editing window.
• The custom fields will be available for addition to the appropriate selection windows as well as for inclusion on custom reports.
• End users now have the ability to change the length of some fields within the package. These include the length of the stock codes, categories, and serial numbers. If the field type is used across multiple tables, the length change is enforced across all effected tables.

Standard Field Size Changes

• Size of location names has been increased from 15 to 40.
• Size of customer online ID and Password fields have been increased from 15 to 30.
• Size of vendor account number has been increased from 15 to 30.

Scheduler Component

• Added general scheduling capabilities for users with the option to schedule a reminder for each event.
• Added scheduling capabilities for Service Orders.
• Added scheduling capabilities for Customer contacts.
• Added scheduling capabilities for vendor contacts.
• Added popup reminder system for scheduler events when the Atrex security functions are enabled. This will allow popup reminders for each user ID to be displayed on the system that they are working on.
  

Sales

Transaction Selection Window

• Added ability to customize size of the transaction selection window and add several additional common fields.
• Added icon to indicate that a transaction was voided.
  

Invoices

• Added transaction date to invoice creation/editing window header.

Orders

• New Order Creation function will now loop if the transaction loop option is set in the company information settings.
• Added transaction date to order creation/editing window header.

Quotes

• New Quote Creation function will now loop if the transaction loop option is set in the company information settings.
• Added transaction date to quote creation/editing window header.

Inventory

Stock Code Selection Window

• Added ability to save and load previously saved filters from a global table. Filters can be named by the user to be indicative of the result set expected from the filter.
• View other locations on-hand function (accessible via right click from this window) now shows the available quantity in addition to the on-hand quantity for each accessible location.
• Added the ability to select and use an related codes from the related code detail lookup.
• Added a button indicator on the window to indicate that related items are present or not for the selected item.
• Added ability to edit stock code from the selection window via right click during transaction selections.

Stock Code Sales History Window

• Sales order and quote history is now available for display in addition to invoice and SO history.
• Added ability to clone a transaction via right click popup menu.
  

Stock Code Receiving History Window

• Added the vendor invoice number to the list of displayed fields.
• Added the ability to reprint both receiving list and source PO from the history window via right click.
  

Stock Code Information Window

• This window is now a Active window and will allow multiple instances of this window to be active at the same time when initiated from the main application window.  To prevent records from being locked indefinitely, unposted edits will auto-cancel after 10 minutes.  Please note that instances of this window created from inside of a transaction will lock the main application window as the flow of the application requires that the editing be completed before continuing.
• Added dimensional fields to the stock code record (Length, Width, and Height).
• Currently selected Stock Code is now included in the window title to allow for easier identification if multiple instances of the window are open.
• Added ability to save and load previously saved filters from a global table.
• Replaced the Rich Text editor used in older versions with a true HTML editor for the online description field. This will allow for more accurate display of text online without the need to translate between Rich Text and HTML.

Serialized Editing Window

• Added a column to display assignment details for pre-assigned serial numbers.

Serialized Selection Window

• Added ability to right click on a pre-assigned serial number and display detailed information on where the serial number is assigned.

Inventory Worksheet Update

• Load from file function will now allow for use of Alternate codes and consolidation of quantities if both are used.

Containers

• Added ability to do global replacement of items across all container definitions.
  

Inventory Transfer Functions

• Transfer receiving function now allows for entry of cost (assuming user has access).
• Transfer receiving function will now process price updates if the items are auto-priced.
• The process transfer function will now test the accessibility of the remote server if the transfer destination is a client/server connection before processing the transfer. If the remote server is not available, the user will be given the option to continue without direct transfer or exit the function.
  

Purchase Orders

Batch PO Creation

• The Batch PO Creation has been reworked to provide a significant performance increase in reorder list creation.
• Added ability to filter PO item history to the vendor of the current PO or the currently selected vendor on the item for batch POs.
• Added ability to change date range from within stock code PO receiving history window. (right click from stock code selection window)
• Added the suggested quantity field to list of available columns for the batch po function.
• Added the Vendor Code field to list of available columns for the batch PO, Creation, and PO Receiving functions.
• Added the Last Received field to list of available columns for the batch PO and PO Creation functions.
• Added additional right click options for line items to view sales, allocation, on-order, and rma detail history information.
• Load from File function will now handle importing of items costs via the third column of the import file.
  

Purchase Order Selection Window

• Added icon to indicate that a transaction was voided.

Purchase Receiving Selection Window

• Added vendor invoice column to the list of visible columns.

Customers

Customer Information Window

• This window is now a Active window and will allow multiple instances of this window to be active at the same time when initiated from the main application window.   Please note that instances of this window created from inside of a transaction will lock the main application window as the flow of the application requires that the editing be completed before continuing.
• Added check box option to indicate that the selected customer should have account statements emailed instead of printed.
• Added a Web Address field.
• Currently selected customer name and number is now included in the window title to allow easy selection if multiple instances of this windows open.
• Added customer list on left hand side of the window to aid in navigation between customers.
• Added a documents tab to allow for storage of documents associated with the customer records. Buttons are present to allow for loading, saving, deleting, viewing, and printing of the associated documents.  The viewing and printing functions require the appropriate applications to be installed on the individual workstations in order for these functions to operate.
• Added a contacts tab to allow for storing information about additional contacts for this customer.

Customer Salesperson Maintenance Window

• This new function available from the main application window allows for centralized maintenance of salesperson entries on customer records.

Customer Selection Window

• Added ability to save and load previously saved filters from a global table.
• Added ability to view associated customer documents via right click popup menu.

Customer Sales History Detail Window

• Added ability to expand line item detail to show container contents.
• Expanding detail will automatically scroll the detail to the top of the window to eliminate the need to use the scroll bars to see the detail information.
  

Customer Service History Detail Window

• Added right click option to clone the currently selected transaction.
• Added ability to expand line item detail to show container contents.
• Expanding detail will automatically scroll the detail to the top of the window to eliminate the need to use the scroll bars to see the detail information.
  

Vendor

Vendor Information Window

• This window is now a Active window and will allow multiple instances of this window to be active at the same time when initiated from the main application window.   Please note that instances of this window created from inside of a transaction will lock the main application window as the flow of the application requires that the editing be completed before continuing.
• Currently selected vendor name and number is now included in the window title to allow easy selection if multiple instances of this windows are open.
• Added Vendor list on left hand side of the window to aid in navigation between vendors.
• Added Inactive option to vendor information and ability to filter out inactive vendors from the selection window.

Accounts

Receivables

• Added capabilities to handle customer emailed statements option when processing statements.
• Added terms and reference to the AR Payment Processing window.
• Added separate security option to restrict access to posting of payments.
• Added code to prevent the entry of negative payment or discount amounts during account payment application.
• Added code to prevent the entry of negative credit or writeoff amounts during account adjustment application.
• Added Customer PO to the columns on the payment application window to allow for easier matching of payments to transactions.
• Added function to search the AR history for credit cards by amount and last 4 digits of card to make chargeback or payment research easier.
• Added Customer PO to the columns on the adjustment application window to allow for easier matching of payments to transactions.
• Added code to prevent editing of a transaction and leaving the balance less than than the payment amounts previously applied to the transaction to prevent overposting errors.
  

User

• Added User Groups to allow setting of access rights at a group level.
• Added option to disable user access without deleting the user.
• Deleting a user ID will now clear the customer table references.
• Access to the cash drawer reports is now tied directly to the ability to print Receivables reports. The ability to open and close drawer sessions has not changed.
  

Service

• Quantities can now be manually edited for serialized items when creating or editing open service orders. This will allow for adding quantities to a SO prior to actually adding the serial numbers to allow for allocated quantities to be updated for more accurate reordering.
• Added ability to clone service orders and service quotes.
  

Service Order Selection Window

• Added icon to indicate that a transaction was voided.
• This window is now customizable to increase the size and add additional fields to the grid. The new fields available are Alternate Serial Number, Manufacturer, Model, Purchase Date, Serial Number, and Service Rep.

Open Service Order Selection Window

• This window is now customizable to increase the size and add additional fields to the grid. The new fields available are Alternate Serial Number, Manufacturer, Model, Purchase Date, Serial Number, and Service Rep.

Reports

SQL Interface

• Replaced PowerQuery with bi-directional visual SQL builder.
• Added cursor position information to assist in tracking down SQL errors.
• Redesigned results print to include full query in print header, print date/time and page number in footer.
• Results print function no longer limited to 99 pages.
  

Options

Import

• Added ability to import stock code images.
• Added ability to import related codes.
• Added ability to import vendor codes.
• Added ability to import information into the stock code eCommerce HTML description and keywords fields.

Print Engine

• Added the option to embed fonts when exporting to PDF for increased compatibility or to skip the font embedding to reduce the PDF size.

Report Designer

• Added Design Guides to quickly align and size objects.
• Added "Edit in Place" support for Labels and Memos.
• Added Persistent Undo/Redo between Design/Preview for better iterative design.
• Added AutoSearch 'Or' logical operator support.
• Added Support for embedded PNG images.
• Added SQL Having clause support.
• Added ability to use AutoSearch prompts on manually edited SQL.
• Added ability to use data view linking on manually edited SQL.

Functionality Changes

This section lists changes to the program that either remove or substantially change previously existing behavior within the Atrex package.

• Atrex 13 is fully UAC aware under both Windows Vista and Windows 7.  If older versions of Atrex were pointed to "protected" areas of the drive that were virtualized, Atrex 13 will read the actual selected data folder rather than the virtualized folder. This will make it appear that the data is not present in Atrex 13, but in actuality it is simply pointing to a different physical directory than the older versions of Atrex were pointing to. This issue will only effect users who have created additional data folders directly under the Atrex folder installed under \Program Files instead rather than placing them under the Shared folder.
• The existing credit card number fields in Atrex have been changed from being human readable fields to only containing the masked credit card numbers. Programs that access the Atrex database tables directly to create transactions must now populate the Encrypted credit card number fields, which are named ECCNum. The masked readable credit card field will be automatically populated by a database trigger.
• Stored credit card numbers will no longer be stored with the entered separator character or spaces.
• The Goldmine linking functionality is being deprecated. The existing code will continue to be present in Atrex 13, but is no longer being maintained or updated and will be removed for Atrex 14.
• Atrex 13 does not provide for mixed access methods. All connections to any given database must all be direct or client/server. Mixed access attempts will prevent the other access method from connecting to the database.
• Concurrent access to multiple peer-to-peer databases must now be done through named locations. Attempting to access multiple databases through direct connections without configuring a named location will result in database locking errors and the inability to change paths.
• Concurrent access to peer-to-peer databases must all use the same path. Using a UCN path from workstations and a local drive letter path from the server will result in database connection errors.
• Database encryption is now only available in client/server configurations and all databases on the server are encrypted with the same encryption password.
• Scroll bars for most direct table selections, such as the stock code, customer, and vendor selection windows are now 3 position scroll bars. Because of the behavior of the database engine, the scroll bars only definitively know that the user is at the beginning, at the end, or "somewhere" in the middle. This behavior is identical to the version 12 scroll bars when a filter was enabled on a selection window.
• Network setup assistant and the network setup disk functions have been removed.
• Atrex 13 requires a 1024x768 minimum screen resolution.
• Merging of customers and stock codes from mobile locations are now a brute force synchronization. As such, the time required for a sync will be directly influence by the number of customers, number of stock codes, and the connection speeds between the parent and mobile locations.
• As the ElevateDB database does not track last modified date within the tables, the ReportBuilder TableGetLastModified function has been modified to return a null date while still allowing existing reports that use the function to work.
• The container number field of the serial table has been removed along with the associated index. This field was no longer used within Atrex and was removed for performance and space considerations.

If you are upgrading from a version of Atrex earlier than 12, version 13 will also include the changes that went into versions Atrex 8, Atrex 9, Atrex 10, Atrex 11 and Atrex 12.