General and Networking

My program appears to be set to United States format dates and address labels are mostly on one line, yet I have checked my Regional Options in Windows and it shows I am set to United Kingdom. What is wrong?

You appear to be running Windows XP or Windows 2000 and you need to re-visit your Regional Options in the Windows Control Panel. In the Regional Options dialog, if you are using XP then click on the Advanced Tab and make sure the setting there also says United Kingdom. If you are using Windows 2000, click on the General Tab and then click on the Set Default... button. In the Select System Locale dialog choose English (United Kingdom) from the drop-down list. In either case you can click on Yes to skip copying of files, if asked. Re-boot your PC and everything will be fine.

The search seem to return results that do not fit the date criteria I entered.

See the answer above about US format.

Important information for users with Windows 2000 or later operating systems who want to work disconnected from the network

In order for the synchronisation ability to work correctly, users of Windows 2000 or later operating systems must not use the Windows Make available offline feature for the main backend data file PCOrganize.dat (Professional) or COData.dat (PBE) Use of the Windows Make available offline feature may cause data inaccuracy or even loss of data.

I now have extra users who log on to my PC and I want them to be able to use the program. How do I set it up?

The good news is your licence covers multiple users on the same PC. Copy the Contacts Organizer shortcut from your Desktop or Programs menu to theirs. If you are running Windows NT, 2000 or XP ensure that all users have full read-write rights to the Contacts Organizer folder and individual files. 

I have purchased additional licences of the program for other users to work with my data on the office network. What do I need to do to make the data available for others to share and work with the same data on the network?

First of all, install Contacts Organizer on all the PCs that will need to use it. During the installation you will be asked to choose the components to install. Only select the program, do not select the Data File option. Make sure also that you have purchased enough serial numbers for each PC that needs to use the program.

The data is kept in the file COData.dat which under Windows XP or earlier is currently kept in the \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Contacts Organizer PBE folder, and under Vista is found in the Public\Documents\Contacts Organizer PBE folder. You need to move this file (using Windows Explorer) to a folder on the network that is shared and all users have full read and write network access.

Once you have moved the data file, start up Contacts Organizer on the original PC that used it before you moved the data file. It will report that it is disconnected from the network. Acknowledge this message and Contacts Organizer will continue in disconnected mode. Once you are looking at the main screen in Contacts Organizer, click on File on the menu bar and select the Connect to Data File option. In the subsequent dialog, choose the first option (Connecting to a completely different data file). Use the dialog to navigate to the new shared network folder. Once you are in the new folder you should see the COData.dat file listed. Select the file then click on the Open button. You will be told to start Contacts Organizer again, and when you do, you will be using the shared data.

On all the other PCs with newly installed copies of Contacts Organizer, when you first start up the program it will report not being able to find the back-end data file. Acknowlege the message and then use the subsequent dialog to navigate to the shared folder and select the COData.dat file again. With these copies of Contacts Organizer you will not have to re-start to use the program, but you will need to enter a serial number and activate the software to use beyond the trial period. Make sure you have enough serial numbers for every user. The PC holding the back-end data file does not need a serial number unless it is also being used to run the program by a user.

I have been using a single licensed version of the program and now wish to transfer the program to a new computer. What do I need to do to transfer the data?

The data is kept in the file COData.dat which under Windows XP or earlier is currently kept in the \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Contacts Organizer PBE folder, and under Vista is found in the Public\Documents\Contacts Organizer PBE folder. This file may be quite large and you need to move this file (using Windows Explorer and removable media with enough spare capacity to hold the file) to the new computer after you have installed Contacts Organizer on the new computer (do not install the Data File). Transfer the data file to the same folder on the new computer. Also ensure you apply the latest of any available updates to the new installation.

You will have to re-activate the program with us if you wish to proceed beyond the first 90 days on the new PC. Use the transferred serial number from the old PC.

I have a laptop PC that I use away from the office. Can I use the program while away?

The new Contacts Organizer PBE lets you work away from the network on an occasional basis. It does not work for full-time remote access, and is not suitable for large numbers of people working disconnected at the same time. You can still add and edit information which is automatically synchronised when you re-connect to the network again at a later date; although, we do not advise you to perform an excessive number of record changes or additions while disconnected from the main network. The Contacts Organizer PBE license is valid for 2 PCs within the same company and location. You may still need to purchase additional copies to cover the number of PCs you intend to use the program on.

I have entered a date which now has changed to 30 December 1899.

Contacts Organizer accepts dates typed in standard Windows formats such as 1/1/05 or 1 January 05. If you type the date in a non-standard format you will either receive an error message or due to the way Windows works it might return 30 December 1899. For example if you enter 1.1.05 your date will be changed to 30 December 1899. You need to use a standard format and the full stop (period) does not work.

I have just disconnected from the network and Contacts Organizer now displays a 'Disk or network error' message.

In order to run Contacts Organizer disconnected from the network, you need to close down properly while still on the network so that offline files are updated. What you have done is disconnect from the network, or your disk holding the back-end data, without closing down. You need to re-establish your network, or hard-disk, connection.

I want to work with a new set of data so that I don't get mixed up with existing records. How do I do that?

1. Create a new folder - in a shared folder if this is for use by other networked users.
2. In Contacts Organizer, click on File on the menu bar and select Connect to Data File option.
3. In the subsequent dialog, choose the first option (connecting to a completely different data file).
4. Use the dialog to navigate to the new folder you created in step 1 above. (Don't worry that you cannot see a COData.dat file - just click on the Open button once you are in the new folder.)
5. A new message will report the COData.dat file missing and will give you the option to create a new empty file. Choose Yes.
6. When you re-start the program you will be using the new empty file. Use File on the menu bar and select Connect to Data File option to switch back to the old COData.dat file however, you must ensure that whenever you switch you select the relevant COData.dat file in the open dialog to make sure that a blank one is not setup again.
 

I want to work with an alternate set of data records, sent as a copy by someone else. How do I do that?

1. Save the COData.dat file in a suitable folder.
2. In Contacts Organizer, click on File on the menu bar and select Connect to Data File option.
3. In the subsequent dialog, choose the first option (connecting to a completely different data file).
4. Use the dialog to navigate to the folder you saved to in step 1 above. When you see the COData.dat file, select it and click on the Open button.
5. You will be prompted to re-start the Contacts Organizer PBE program again.
6. When you re-start the program you will be using the new file. Use File on the menu bar and select Connect to Data File option to switch back to the old COData.dat file however, you must ensure that whenever you switch you select the relevant COData.dat file in the open dialog to make sure that a blank one is not setup again.
7. Bear in mind that if someone has sent this to you as a copy, if you make any changes and then send the COData.dat file back to them they will lose any changes they made to the file that they have made since they last sent you the copy.