Stock control - does it work?

It's that time of year again, and my "favourite" job - stock taking! But it does mean that I've got a chance to check the stock figures produced by the program (WPP3 or WPP4) against the true moulding stock.
Now you've only got to think a moment to realise that trying to keep track of moulding stock with a computer program is fraught to say the least.
On the face of it all the program has to do is work out how much moulding it's going to use for a particular job (plus, perhaps, a percentage waste), and take that off the existing stock figure - simples?!
Well, no, actually.
First of all the database of mouldings has to be updated each time more stock comes in.
Then how do you account for warped or damaged moulding? You could unwrap each length and carefully inspect it, but, unless you wrap it up again, you're asking for the unwrapped moulding to be scraped, scratched or worse.
Lastly, the moulding could be from different batches which are not compatible. Try telling the program that!
Of course it would be possible to write the program to take account of all the problems, but I think that it would make things so complex that no one would bother trying to keep the stock figure correct.
So, the Wessex Programs tries to keep the stock control simple, keeping it is easy to understand. But this does mean that common-sense also has to be used to keep the figures adjusted and up to date. With a little application you'll find that the moulding stock part of the program is more of a help than a hindrance. I'll give two instances

1. When you give a price the program looks at the moulding stock figure. If that figure is less than the low stock threshold (I have mine set at 3 Mt - roughly 1 length) then a warning is flashed up, so you know to check the actual stock before committing to a completion date.
2. If you are ordering from a particular supplier you can look at the "Low Stock" list in the mouldings database. This shown by supplier so you can see other mouldings to order, perhaps making up a carriage paid order rather than a piecemeal series of orders.

And did the annual stock-take come up with figures close to what the program thought should be there?
Well, surprisingly close, and what was even better - after the upto date figures had been entered the total value of the stock was there already worked out saving hours with a pen and calculator.

Will it run on a Mac?

I guess the most common question we get asked about the Wessex Pricing Programs is "Will it run on a Mac?"
The short answer is "No.".
The long answer is "Very probably.".

The problem is that the Mac operating system and the Windows operating system are very different from each other. They won't recognise each other's files or know how to execute them. Things have got a little easier now that Apple has moved to an Intel processor, but there is still a big gulf between the systems (and, for that matter, Linux, a third system, but see the footnote at the end for that.)

Now, before we go any further, I will nail my colours to the mast and say that I've never used a Mac, so all that follows is from a Windows perspective and I apologise now if I've got anything wrong.

It seems that there are three main ways of getting a Windows program to run on a Mac.
The first is "dual boot". This means that both Windows and the Mac operating systems are on the computer, and you have to choose one or the other when the computer starts. (I believe there is a utility on the Mac called "Boot Camp" that assists with this.) There are two obvious problems with this - a) you can't easily switch between systems, b) you have to buy both systems.

The second way is "Virtualisation". This means you can have Windows running within the Mac system and can switch quite easily between the two. However, you still need to have a full copy of Windows, and the "VM" (virtual machine) software is not the easiest thing in the world to use.

Now we come to the third way - software that will translate the Windows code into something the Mac will understand.
This is where a program like "Crossover Mac" comes in (http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/ ) Although I haven't used it myself, I have looked at the details and it seems to tick the right boxes. There's a free trial to check that it will actually work and it's reasonably priced if you do decide to buy.

At the beginning of this post I mentioned another operating system - Linux. This comes in lots of varieties, the most popular at the moment being "Ubuntu". The reason I mention it is that it's very secure (based on the Unix mainframe system) and it's free (together with most of its software). As long as you are just using standard office type tasks the system is easy to use. There are the same problems getting Windows programs to run as with a Mac, and the same solutions exist. There is a program called "Crossover Linux" and also a free solution "Wine" - I must get tinkering!

Networking

I thought that it would be useful to write a post detailing the steps to prepare Wessex Premier & Professional to work over a network.

I've suggested in the Help files that networking is still very much a "Dark Art" and even with the coming of Windows 7 I haven't changed that view. There are just too many obscure acronyms and settings for most normal people. So, you might find it advantageous for your sanity to have a network expert to actually get the computers "talking" to each other.

When I talk about networking these programs I'm assuming, say, a computer in the shop and another in the workshop, certainly not more than five computers anyway.
>As far the Wessex Professional & Wessex Premier are concerned the concept is as follows – There is a “Master” computer (usually the one which will issue the prices & print off the invoices), this will hold the database file to be used over the network. The Master computer is networked to one or more “Slave” computers, they also have a copy of the program installed. But instead of using their own database the “Use network database” box is ticked, the path to the master computer's database is recorded and that file used instead




All this is achieved by-

1. Install the program on each computer (you will need an enabling code from Wessex for each one.
2. On the master computer navigate to "All Programs" - "Accessories" - "Windows Explorer". Then, on the left hand pane (in Windows Explorer) go to "My Computer" - "C:" - "Program Files" - "Wessex Pictures". Right-click on this folder, then select "Sharing & Security". Tick "Share this folder on the network", also select the permissions you want (ie. whether the slave computers(s) can modify the files). Click "Apply".
3. On each of the slave computers tick the "Use networked database" box (in "Setup" - "Options"). Then click the "... locate network database." label. With the dialog box - on the left hand pane select "My Network Places" and the shared folders will appear. Double-click the Wessex Pictures folder, keep double-clicking until a screen with 6 folders (4 in Wessex Premier) and a file titled "V3" appear. Highlight "V3", then click "Open". The dialog closes and the path to the database is shown (it will be something like "\\main\wessex pictures\Wessex Professional\V3.mdb")
4. Click "Save" on the Options form and close it. The slave computer will now use the master computer's database.

Phew! That's it (The above is using Windows XP, the steps are similar in other versions of Windows).

NB. The labels and values in all the computers should be the same. This is easily achieved by going to "Values" and clicking "Backup" on the master computer, and copying the file (User.xml) to a memory stick. Then, on the slave computer(s) going to "Values" and clicking "Restore" and copying that file onto them.

"I didn't know you could do that."

Some tips & tricks that make Wessex Premier easier to use.

1. Use the "Tab" key to move from box to box on the main form - its been designed to move in a logical order and is quicker than using the mouse.
2. After clicking "Total Price" hold the cursor over the Moulding ID box and it will give you the Supplier & the Supplier Number - the new WPP4 will also show the quantity needed and how much is in stock too.
   
3. Moulding not in the database? - Type "GUEST" into the Moulding ID box, then when you click "Total Price" you will be asked for the width (in Mm) & price (per Mt.) and the program will work out the price.
4. Want to give the customer a special price? In the new WPP4 you can double-click the total price box and then enter the agreed price (it will be shown in green as a prompt, and blue if the minimum charge has been applied).
5. Using the "Enter" (Return) key is the same as clicking "Total Price", but quicker.
6. Press the "Esc" key to clear the form, again quicker than using the mouse.
7. "Alt" + "R" is the same as pressing the "Reset" button in Wessex Premier & the Full version of WPP4.

All that goes to make the Wessex Pricing Programs the easiest & quickest to use of any frame pricing program.

New Program

I'm pleased to reveal that after 2 years development Wessex Premier Professional will be released at the Spring Fair in February 2010 at the NEC.
It's a major redesign of Wessex Premier, as well as being two programs in one. You can start off with the Basic version which issues prices and just uses the Mouldings part of the database. Then, when ready, you can upgrade to the Full version which keeps track of Work Tickets, Invoices and so on. All the records, labels and values from the Basic version are carried across thus making upgrading as painless as possible.


Above is a screenshot of the main form of the Basic version.
The main form of the Full version will be familiar to all who know the original Wessex Premier. Its layout has proved to be easy to use and understand as well as being versatile.

The Full version has many new features, which I won't detail here except to say that none of the features have been included for their own sake - they all help to make the program quicker, more productive and easier to use.

For those of you interested in the technical details - The program has been written in VB 2008, and uses the .Net Framework 2.0. This enables the program to be restarted programmatically, and I don't need to use a third party control for the menustrip customization.
Perhaps the bit I'm most pleased with is something you hardly notice - the buttons, I haven't counted but there must be about 50 of them in the program. Previously the graded shading on them was achieved calling a sub-routine every time the control was "painted" (ie. many time a second). Now I've written a custom control which does this and more (the lettering moves to indicate the button has been clicked and a dotted line appears when the button "has focus"). By including this new control the final compiled program was some 25% smaller, all contributing to the efficiency of the new program.


We've been using this new version of Wessex Premier in our shop since the summer and have been really pleased, I certainly wouldn't go back to the previous version.
So I look forward to talking about it to people at the Spring Fair.

A Database tweak

Fiddly things databases - just when you think you have everything just so, something else comes along to upset the balance.

I recently came across one such hiccup (or a least potential hiccup) in the "Mouldings" table of the Wessex Premier database.

The field "Supplier No" is structured not to allow duplicates. Now 99.9% of the time this will make no difference at all, in fact it can be very useful as it means that the mouldings which are duplicated between Wessex & Frinton cannot be duplicated in the program's database records. However, it could be that 2 different suppliers use the same number, or the user may want to show both the Wessex and the Frinton records.

So, how to solve the problem? I tried various programmatic solutions, but none worked consistently. So, given that most users probably wouldn't want to change the database file, what's the answer for those that do?

You'll need to use Microsoft Access (I tried this on Open Office Base, but no joy).

First of all "Export" (copy) the database file (called "V3.mdb") to a suitable location, as it's always best to work on a copy rather than the master file.

Double-clicking the file will open it in Access (assuming that is your default database program). On the left hand side you'll see a list of the tables ("Customers", "WorkTickets" and so on) Double-click the "Mouldings" table to open it. A chart with all the records will be displayed.

In the top left just above the table list is "Views", click this and select "Design View". The main window will now show a list of the fields in the Mouldings table and their properties. (see below)

Select "Supplier No". Below is a list of the properties for that field.

Select "Indexed" and change "Yes, (No Duplicates)" to "Yes, (Duplicates OK)".

"Save" the changes and you're done, all that remains is to "Import" the modified file back into Wessex Premier.

Points to note -

You should regard this "tweak" as one way only, because, once you have added a record with the same supplier number as another record, Access will not allow you to change back.

You change any of the other properties at your peril!

The above screenshot was from Office 2007, be sure, however, to save the database as an Access 2000/2003 file (ie. a .mdb file not a .mdbx file).

The steps in Office 2003 look different, but are basically the same. (If that's not too double-dutch!)

Backup or C***up?

As you continue to use Wessex Premier you accumulate data in the form of database records. Because we're using this program in the real world these records have a real importance to our businesses. In fact we would definitely have problems if the records suddenly disappeared. At the very least we would have to re-input all the moulding records and as for reconstructing the work ticket records - well, it doesn't bear imagining!

When the program was originally released there was the usual menu option to copy the database file to somewhere and a recommendation in the Help section to do this at least once a week. With 20/20 hindsight this was hugely optimistic.

Although computers and more specifically hard drives have become far more reliable over the years - them can still fail suddenly. In fact many take the view that once a hard drive is 4-5 years old you are on borrowed time.

So, what's the answer?
Of course, there are lots of answers (you knew that was coming didn't you?) and the trick is to find one that suits you.

In the (good?) old days of MSDOS you just got a bunch of floppy disks and copied the whole system onto them. With the coming of Windows that became unrealistic and just backing up (or not) your documents became the norm. With the greater reliability it was (is) very easy to let things slide and not take any precautions at all. Of course, as in other areas of life - take no precautions and you'll eventually get caught out!

After a couple of phone calls from framers telling me their computers had died, was there any way to get back their data? And no, they hadn't taken any copies! Well, I started to wonder how to lessen the worry and let the computer do the work.
The answer I came up with was to get the program to copy the database file to a specified location every time it was shut down (in most framing shops this means at the end of each day). Simple, eh? Of course it requires a bit of thought as to where the file is to be copied. The easiest being a USB flash drive permanently plugged in, or else a second hard drive in the computer (a network place should also be possible, though I haven't tried it). What you don't want to do is to copy the file to the same hard drive, because if that fails it takes your backed up file down too.

There are some points to beware of however, one is that USB flash drives can and do fail - so make sure you have a spare. The other is bit more complicated - suppose for some reason the database file you are using with the program becomes corrupted, when you shut the program down the corrupted database will over-write the previously saved good file. Not a good idea, - so if you suspect your database is not right then the correct action is to copy the backed-up file somewhere else before you shut the program down.

So much for protecting the data produced by Wessex Premier, but what about all the other important documents, photos, movies etc. that accumulate on your computer? Well, the obvious thing to do is copy them to an external hard drive (which are pretty cheap nowadays) or use another solution that I've been impressed with - namely backup to an external server. I've used Humyo (www.humyo.com) and the software they provide (so if you add or make changes to your documents these are uploaded to their servers straight away). This way, if the house goes up in flames it won't mean the lose of years of accounts, letters, pictures and so on. Another bonus is that I can access the account from any internet-connected computer - surprisingly useful.