Re: [Emerald] Emerald 4 - functionality issues and general questions

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Dale E. Reed Jr. (daler@iea-software.com)
Tue, 19 Mar 2002 11:30:35 -0800



Message-ID: <00d201c1cf7c$8b305760$d100000a@ash>
From: "Dale E. Reed Jr." <daler@iea-software.com>
Subject: Re: [Emerald] Emerald 4 - functionality issues and general questions
Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2002 11:30:35 -0800

> 1. What is the trigger script being used with 4.1.7 ? An earlier version
of 4.1.6 contains a table insert command (create table #splist) which
produces an SQL error when the script is called by the emerald web
installation. The conversion cannot pass this point. This command does not
appear to be present in the 4.1.7 installation script nor in 4.0.6. Please
let me know where I can find the current trigger script for MS SQL.

The trigger was re-worked to avoid a problem with SQL 7 and sybase in 4.1.7.
The current trigger is in the 4.1.7 distribution.

> 2. The readme documentation suggests running up_25_40.sql and up_40_41.sql
scripts against a converted emerald4 database. Is this recommended even
after Emerald Web has reported a successful migration ?

No. Those are ran automatically for you. You should not run any scripts
that
are with Emerald against your DB unless specfically directed to by our
support
group.

> 3. There is also a up_check25.sql script in the SQL folder - should this
be run after the installation?

No. It just checks and reports certain known issues with 2.5 database.
You can ignore the script.

> 4. What is the correct name for a database user during the creation of the
Emerald 4 database ? The default name is "emerweb" but this user does not
exist in the emerald database. Should this be the "sa" user and password for
the original database ?

During the installation, you will connect to your server using sa to create
the
new Emerlad 4 database. There is an Emerald Group created that has
sufficient
permissions to use Emerlad, RadiusNT, etc. If you are security concerned,
you can have the services login as a user in that group. By default a user
name emerweb is created as well, which you could configure the services
to connect as.

> 5. How many users ? The default variable in the emerald web configuration
is "8". Is this the total number of users (customer and operator) allowed to
access the emerald4 database ?

There are no user limitations. What you are seeing is the default number
of web connections the web server allocates. Its a shared pool, and not a
one-to-one allocation. 8 connections could easily handle several dozen web
users w/out a problem.

> Database Elements
> ----
> 1. SQL7 requires an Ansi null off/on selection when the database is being
imported from SQL6.5 to SQL7. This selection affects the triggers and stored
procedures. The default option is OFF. What should this selection read ?

It should not affect Emerald either way. Just use the default.

> 2. Should Emerald4 have truncate log on checkpoint and select into bulk
copy selected in the SQL manager ? These options are set on for the emerald
database in SQL6.5 but do not copy when the database is imported.

Emerald 4 will create a new database during your conversion from Emerald 2.5
and set the approriate database option. Bulk insert is always enabled. You
can set Truncate log if you want to (it can help keep the log size down).

> Front-end Appearance
> ---
> 1. How do I alter the title page, text and footer on the main logon screen
? This screen will be accessed by customers and operators.

You can change the logo by changing the emerald.gif in the Images directory.
For you customers, you can create a login page and post the results to the
Emerald web server if you want a different login screen. Modification of
the
included forms are not supported.

> Web Configuration elements
> ---
> 1. What is the correct syntax for the global report directory ? The help
guide suggests a UNC but this folder should be accessed as a URL.

You should leave it blank and Emerald will use the default installation
directory
path. You only need to change it if you move your reports directory outside
of the Emerald installation (not recommended).

> 2. What is the default accounting directory and which files will appear in
this directory by default ? I have a folder called "acct" in program
files\emerald\ .

This is for RadiusNT/X running in text mode. Its not applicable
for ODBC mode (Emerald).

> Emerald Application
> ---
> 1. Why does preview next under invoices NOT reveal changes in the service
rate such as a static charge or an adjustment to the current invoice ? Also,
if a service is deleted or changed, the preview screen contains the old
service information.

Invoices only take unapplied adjustments and new recurrinng
charges. If the adjustment was made previously (on a different
invoice), it will be shown on the statement, not the invoice. Remember,
invoices in Emerald 2.5 are more like the statements in Emerald 4.0.
Emerald 4 invoices do NOT have previous balances or show payments
(the statements do).

The preview is real time. It should not be showing old service information
unless your changes did not save.

> 2. POS - point of sales invoices cannot be processed successfully. When a
payment is processed against a POS invoice, the MBR balance considers this a
credit and does now apply the payment to the invoice. Similarly, when a POS
invoice is voided, the MBR balance is credited by the value of the POS
transaction which then favors the customer with a credit. In emerald 2.5,
POS-type invoices are handled separately from the account balance - which is
affected by renewal notices; and payments against a POS invoice do not
affect the MBR balance. I have tried running statement reports to see
whether the balance gets altered but this condition remains unchanged.

Point of sale invoices in Emerald 4.0 do go against the account, unlike
Emerald 2.5. When you create the POS invoice, there will be a
pending charge on the account. When you pay it, there will be a
pending debit on the account. When the statement is created, they will
balance each other out.

> 3. Payment types. Bank transfer is not available as a payment type
although it is a listed element in the Emerald Admin. If "other" is changed
to bank transfer and "bank transfer" is changed to other, then this option
becomes visible to the application. I have also tried changing the
preference to no effect.

Manual Bank Transfers are not supported (unlike Manual CC Payments which
are) so that type is not listed. A future version will most likely allow a
manual
Bank Transfer payment (new form). Changing the name of the entry does not
change the underlying type the system associates with that payment type and
could cause problems (correctly identifying payment types in reports).

> 4. Also, why does payment default to "check" instead of "cash" even though
check has a lower preference.

The sort order is for the MBR add/edit list. The payment window always
defaults to check.

> 5. Autopay. Why does an account with a credit not autopay when the next
renewal notice is issued ? The MBR balance reflects the adjusted total BUT
the invoice is marked as UNPAID. I have tried running a batch statement,
issuing the invoice from batch with the same effect. This behaviour prevents
Emerald4 from issuing the next renewal notice.

Invoices do not have a previous balance, so they can not tell the state
of the customer. The statement will autopay the account if the results are
a credit or zero balance You must batch create statements after invoices.
You will most likely only send statements to your customers with Emerald
4 and not send them the invoices.

> 6. How do I reprint a receipt if this tab was left unchecked when the
payment was processed ? In 2.5, I use a receipt report to find the last
issued receipt.

You'd have to do the same with V4. You can add custom reports in the admin
and run them from the Custom reports section.

Dale E. Reed Jr. Emerald and RadiusNT/X
__________________________________________
IEA Software, Inc. www.iea-software.com

.



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