







ProTrack
Tracking & Reporting

www.pathcom.com/~csd/protrack
















CS/Dynamics
Toronto, Canad


Table of Contents


ProTrack	1
Tracking & Reporting	1
Table of Contents	2
Features	3
A. Installation & Functionality Notes	4
1.  Requirements	4
2.  Contents of PROTRK13.ZIP	4
3.  Quick Install	4
4.  Standard Conventions	5
5.  Client/Server - Structure of the ProTrack Application	5
6. LAN Installation	5
6. Your Own Reporting	6
7.  Documentation	6
8. Display Considerations	7
9. Language Support	7
10. Security	7
11. E-Mail	8
12. Other Uses	8
13. Acknowledgements	8



Features


? Multi-User Client/Server application  
? Supports Multiple Business Units or Data Views
? User Level Security
? Flexible Report Generator
? Statistical Reports
? Knowledge Base
? Create lookup entries on the Fly
? Intuitive & Easy to Learn 
? Pager Reporting
? Vendor Support
? Asset/Inventory Tracking
? Circuit tracking for remote reference points
? Export data to Excel on the Fly
? Audit Trailing


A. Installation & Functionality Notes

1.  Requirements
? MS-Access97
? Pentium
? 17" Screen for best results
? Supports 12" Screens (640x620)
? Will operate locally or, through a LAN

2.  Contents of PROTRK13.ZIP
After unzipping you should have the following 9 files:

? PROTRACK.MDE     		(The Application)
? PROTRACK_BE.MDB  	(Sample Database)
? README.DOC       		(This File - Word format)
? PRORDER.WRI      		(Order form which we hope you'll use)
? README.TXT       		(This File - Text format)
? PT.ICO	    		(ProTrack Icon)
? PT_BE.ICO        		(ProTrack Backend Database icon)
? FILE_ID.DIZ      		(Brief Description for BBS's)


3.  Quick Install

? After unzipping the download onto either a C: drive or a LAN make sure that 
"PROTRACK.MDE" (CLIENT) and "PROTRACK_BE.MDB" (BACK-END DATA) are in 
that directory.
? Double-click the file named "PROTRACK.MDE" and follow the prompts:

1. After the splash screen has been displayed you will be asked for a userid and password.   You can use any of 
the following userids: Admin Sysop Mgr User or Guest
2. No password is needed initially for any of these userids
3. Only users with a security level of 0 (Admin) can create userids so its best to start off with the Admin userid to 
get things setup for other users.
4. You can change passwords and even view other user's passwords if you are logged in as an administrator 
(security level 0) via Utilities/Change Password
5. The application will probably try to auto-link to the backend data files on first entry if the pointers are not 
corrupt.   If the .MDE application can not find the backend then you will have to point the MDE to the location 
you put the backend remembering that you will be looking for a file called "PROTACK_BE.MDB"
6. User "admin" is initially defaulted to point to the demo database (DE) view. To flip around in the views 
distributed with this version press the "views" button on the main menu and choose a view.
7. To create a new view, go to the main menu and choose "FILES", "SETUP".    Create a Division or SBU 
(Strategic Business Unit) in this screen.   (This is also the screen you enter you registration number)
8. Return to the menu and select the "Views" button and select the newly created view.  The only data in the new 
view will be the lookup files and all 'global' (or common) reference points.
9. The system is loaded with security features to limit viewing and access to all views - refer "Security" section in 
this document for more info.   

4.  Standard Conventions
 
? Problems/Leads/Calls/Incidents/Briefs/Change Requests are commonly referred to as 
"CALLS"
? All "CALLS" have a "ROOT CAUSE" - Try and limit the number of Root Causes you have to 
around 7 as this makes statistical reporting less onerous 
? Within a "ROOT CAUSE" you define "CATEGORIES"(also called "Dimensions")  Again try and 
limit the number of Categories you have to around 7 as this makes next level statistical 
reporting less onerous.  
? "ROOT CAUSES" and "CATEGORIES" are the foundation for meaningful  statistics and the 
resulting "KNOWLEDGE BASE" 
? In the context of this application "RESOURCE" means a person or thing used in the 
resolution/closing process of a Call
? Pop-up control tips are used extensively - be patient, MS-Access is sometimes a little slow in 
displaying them
? Your data is ALWAYS referred to as the "BACKEND"
? An SBU can only be Alphabetic in the range AA through ZZ
? If you double-click on a drop down box you'll get a pop-up which will allow you to enter 
items for the drop-down box without having  to cancel what you are doing
? In memo fields if you double-click the current date & time will get  inserted
? All reports are generated through a dynamic SQL generator. If you ignore the options and 
click "Skip" or "Go" the report will be  generated based on the reports defaults
? If your database is active (used a lot) be sure to go into the "Utilities" screen  and compact 
the database to remove deleted records - this takes about a minute


5.  Client/Server - Structure of the ProTrack Application
 
? This application is a true client/server application and because of this, ProTrack is delivered in 
two databases. 
? The first database, known as the FRONTEND (or client), runs on a user's C: Drive.  This 
speeds up the application considerably as all menus, screen formats and reports reside on a 
local drive.  Network traffic is also noticeably reduced.  You could say that ProTrack in 
network "friendly"!  
? The Frontend database is a compiled MS-Access database and has a file extension of ".MDE".   
When you have Access97 installed locally this file will then be treated the same as any ".EXE" 
file - all you need  to do is double-click the filename via the File Explorer
? The second database contains the data.  It is referred to as the BACKEND and should sit on a 
LAN drive that all users have access to.  (Problems are drastically reduced if you ensure all 
ProTrack users  have a common drive letter mapped to the BACKEND!)


6. LAN Installation

? With the Frontend installed on the users PC, the user "Links to the  Backend" in order to 
transact.  This is a Workgroup product; you can install as many users as   you want!o For 
standalone use, the application will run fine with both databases  in one directory, either 
locally or on the LAN.   When you first   receive this application and unzip its contents, both 
the backend and  frontend will be in the same directory.   To prepare it for LAN access  
follow these procedures:

1. Create a LAN Directory (lets say G:\PROTRK) and copy the contents that were unzipped into it.  (9 files)
2. Double-click the MDE file on G: drive. The application will auto-link to the back-end (now on G:) and 
establish a connection to G:\PROTRK\PROTRACK_BE.MDB
3. Using Notepad, create a .BAT file with the following commands:
   	MD C:\PROTRACK
	   	CD G:\PROTRK  	(if this is what you called the directory on the LAN)
  	   	COPY *.MDE C:\PROTRACK
4. Save the .BAT file as, lets say, G:\PROTRK\PTINST.BAT 
5. Go to a users machine (or your own) and run the PTINST.BAT through Windows File Explorer to copy the 
MDE to the local machine. (All users who'll get access to this application will have to follow this 
procedure!) 
6. After the copy completes successfully, you can create a short-cut to C:\PROTRACK\PROTRACK.MDE and 
place it on your desktop or, just double-click C:\PROTRACK\PROTRACK.MDE to startup.   
7. MAKE SURE THE LOCAL MACHINE HAS DRIVE G: MAPPED to G:\PROTRACK or you may need to locate the 
Backend manually.

If you have problems with the mappings please ask your network staff to assist. 


6. Your Own Reporting
 
? ProTrack has a number of fixed reports and SQL input capability for these reports however, 
reasons may develop for you to create your own reports.   Adding anything to an MDE is not 
possible so here is one solution to help overcome this: 

1. Create an Access97 Database from scratch anywhere on your systems where access to the Backend can be 
achieved
2. Link all the tables found in the BACKEND to this new database using the LINK MANAGER in Access97
3. Create and generate your own reports using the Wizards in Access 
4. Try to avoid adding reports and forms to the BACKEND - This database should be restricted to data only.  (See 
UPSIZING section below)

 
7.  Documentation
 
? Besides this, there really isnt any, WYSIWYG 
? On the bottom left hand side of the window you will see the "STATUS BAR"  This is used to 
display help messages when relevant 
? The system uses pop-up context sensitive help in most places throughout  the application. 



   
 
8. Display Considerations

? For best results with certain displays configure your date format in YY/MM/DD, DD/MM/YY 
or MM/DD/YY format ; avoid the 'LONG' date  format.  
? Some notebook LAN users can still only display 640x620 resolution. A  special version of the 
ProTrack was released for these  users and is available from the Tracking Menu

 
9. Language Support

? This beta version only supports English.  Work has commenced on a VB5/MDI version that 
will support multiple languages. 

 
10. Security
 
? ProTrack has user-level security enabled.   This means a LOGIN screen is displayed each time 
a user logs' on
? Depending on your needs you can:
1. Only use the default userids supplied (Admin, Sysops, Mgr, User, Guest) and leave all passwords 
blank or,
2. Create new userid's, assign passwords to them and work within the pre-designed access authority 
levels (try logging on as 'Guest' to see what this means)
? There are 10 levels of security.   A Userid is assigned a security level where zero (0) is the 
highest and nine (9) the lowest.    'Guest' has a default setting of 9 and 'Admin' a default 
setting of 0
? Users with a setting of 0 have certain privileges for example:  they can change passwords of 
other users, access the Database Utilities form and they also have access to certain built-in 
Access97 functionality that users with a lower authority will not have.
? If you want to use User-Level security then you will need to observe what functionality is 
available for the various levels and fine-tune the settings to best suit your environment
? When events are captured into the database the userid is used to reflect who created the 
record.  This is known as the "Originator".
? When records are deleted the Userid who performed the delete is logged into the Audit Trail 
log.  
? Generally the following elements of functionality is always based on the user's security level: 
1. Access to Reports (all)
2. Access to Forms 
3. Access to Add 
4. Access to Delete 
5. Access to Views 
6. Access to Application Setup
7. Access to Database Utilities
8. Access to Export routines
9. Access to Password Maintenance
10. Access to UserId setup
11. Access to certain Access97 toolbar choices
? Note:  Registered versions of ProTrack enable additional Access97 toolbar choices

11. E-Mail
 
? You can E-Mail Current Events from either of the "Work with Events"  forms.
? A report gets generated and is attached to your E-mail.   
? Select the  "Rich Text Format" for the attachment as the report then retains its formatting.
? This application works particularly well with OUTLOOK Express as the  default E-Mail 
program.    


 
12. Other Uses
 
? Born and bred as a Help Desk workgroup product
? Can be used to track:
? Sales leads
? Change Requests
? Requests for Information
? Requests for Proposals
? Production Incidents 
? There is a leaning in the application towards a task ending at an operational function.   In 
most cases where this product is used to track changes to software, this is where the 
implementation of the changes occur.    The Event summary report can be used as a Change 
Request form for Operations


13. Acknowledgements

Thanks for having a look at ProTrack and we hope you find it useful.   Your comments 
are always appreciated.

If you like ProTrack and require additional functionality, contact us - we can help!

CS/Dynamics
www.pathcom.com/~csd/protrack
     ProTrack
Copyright 1998, 1999 CS/Dynamics		Page 2 of 9
