Request Manager User's Guide

Table of Contents 5

ReQuest Manager 2.7

User’s Guide

www.requestmanager.org

Lutheran Resource Center

Clear Lake, IA

NO WARRANTY. Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of the Lutheran Resource Center. The technical documentation is being delivered to you AS-IS, and The Lutheran Resource Center makes no warranty as to its accuracy or use. Any use of the technical documentation or the information contained therein is at risk of the user. Documentation may include technical or other inaccuracies or typographical errors.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview of ReQuest Manager 6

Technical Support 6

Before You Start 7

Minimum computer requirements 7

ReQuest Manager 2.5 7

ReQuest Consultant 2.0 7

Plan your configuration 7

Note on file permissions 8

Notes on configurations 8

Screen Resolution 8

Installation 9

Software Installation 9

User Permissions 9

Configuring your installation 10

Registration Key 10

Welcome to ReQuest Manager! 10

Converting your data from another program 12

Converting a Demo Installation to Retail 12

Customizing ReQuest Manager 12

Addresses 12

Data Lists 13

Resource Subjects 13

Resource Headings 14

Resource Media Types 15

Synods and Conferences 16

Account Numbers 16

Contact and Shipping Methods 16

ResCode Format 16

Memberships 18

Using ReQuest Manager 18

General 18

Searching 19

Results Lists 20

Details Screens 20

Editing Records 21

Refreshing Records 21

Resources 22

Reports 23

Entering New Resources 23

Editing Resources 25

ResCodes 26

Resource Headings and Subjects 26

Resource Fields 26

Needs Return 27

Parent Resources and Series 27

Resource Fees 28

Number of Copies 29

Spelling 30

Clients 31

Entering New Clients 31

Client Details 32

Memberships 32

About Client IDs 32

Other Details 33

Contacts 33

Invoices, Transactions, and Payments 34

Invoices 34

Shipping the Invoice 37

Invoice IDs 37

Transaction Statuses 38

Send From / Return To 38

Resource Series 39

Resource Check-in 40

Financial Manager 41

Prepare Accounting Information 41

Assign Account Numbers by Media Type 42

Entering Client Payments 42

Mailing Lists 44

Reports 44

Exporting Resources 44

Report Export 44

Export to Mail Merge 45

Export to HTML 46

Step-by-step Process for a Full Catalog in Word Format 46

Template File Format 47

Data Fields 47

Conditional Tags 49

Data Loops 49

Header Tags 49

White-space 50

Conclusion 50

Maintenance of Data File 50

Backup 50

What to backup 50

Restoration of data 50

Save Files 51

Compacting 51

Archiving Data 52

ReQuest Consultant 53

Distributing the RQC Program to Clients 53

Sending Program on a CD 53

Publishing to a Website 54

Windows 95 or 98 Potential Errors 54

Updating RQC Data 54

Update the RQC Data File 55

Sending Data on a CD 55

Publishing Your Data File to the Web 55

RQMWeb Module 55

Before You Proceed: RQMWeb Online Hosting Service 56

Installation Overview 56

Deciding Which Module to Use 57

RQMWeb CGI 57

Requirements 57

Before you begin 58

Configuring RQMWeb and Publishing the Website 58

Preferences 59

Publishing Website 59

Setting permissions on rqm.cgi 60

Installing and Updating Data 60

Linking to the Catalog and Trying Your Website Out 61

Customizing Your Website 61

RQMWeb ASP 62

Requirements 62

Before you begin 63

Editing Email.asp 63

Configuring RQMWeb and Publishing the Website 63

Preferences 64

Publishing Website 65

Installing and Updating Data 65

Linking to the Catalog and Trying Your Website Out 66

Customizing Your Website 66

RQMWeb Module 67

Overview of ReQuest Manager

ReQuest Manager is a complete catalog system for resource centers who lend materials to churches, individuals, and organizations. There are several components to the entire ReQuest Manager package:

· ReQuest Manager (RQM) – This refers to the entire software package, but specifically to the main program. See “Before You Start” and “Installing RQM” below for more information. After installation, you can start ReQuest Manager by going to the Start Menu / Programs / ReQuest Manager 2 and choosing “ReQuest Manager 2”

Note that you must install RQM and enter your resource data into the catalog before trying to use the other parts of RQM below.

· ReQuest Consultant (RQC) – This is a smaller catalog program that you can freely distribute to your clients along with your catalog data so that your clients can view your catalog on their own computers. See the section “ReQuest Consultant” below for further information.

· RQMWeb – This refers to either of two modules you can use to publish your catalog to a searchable web catalog. This web catalog will co-exist with your existing website, and your users can go there to search your catalog. There are two versions available and included with RQM – see the section “RQMWeb Module” below for further information.

· Barcoding – This is an optional component of RQM that allows you to print your own barcode labels for resources and use a barcode scanner (wand) to quickly check out or in resources. This can be a great time and keystroke saver, and reduces error.

Please contact the Lutheran Resource Center for more information about purchasing this module and the supported equipment.

Technical Support

Online and technical support is available to resource centers with a current support contact. Information regarding support contracts can be found with your ReQuest Manager welcome package or by contacting the Lutheran Resource Center directly. Product updates or technical support is also available on a per-issue basis.

Updates to this document, product updates to ReQuest Manager, and additional modules or support files can be found at http://www.requestmanager.org/support.htm.

Phone or email support is available through the Lutheran Resource Center. Please be prepared to provide current ReQuest Manager version (found on the Main Menu of RQM). RQM System Information can be found under the Help menu / About RQM. Clicking on the “Email Support Info” button will copy information to your clipboard that will be helpful in troubleshooting problems you may encounter. You can then paste this information into an email to an RQM support representative.

Important note about maintenance: Please read carefully the section below entitled “Maintenance of Data File” for important steps you need to take to ensure your ReQuest Manager system continues to function properly. If you need to contact technical support, the support representative may ask you to attempt to compact your database. This will in many cases fix a program error.

Before You Start

Minimum computer requirements

ReQuest Manager 2.5

· Windows 98/ME or NT 4.0/2000/XP or greater (recommended 2000 or XP for server)
It is recommended that you download and install the latest service packs for your operating system from Microsoft (www.microsoft.com) before installing ReQuest Manager.

Please note that Windows 95 is no longer supported, beginning with version 2.0.

· File-sharing network (workgroup setting only); each client must have read/write permission on the server machine

· Pentium class machine, recommended 600 Mhz or above for server

· 32 MB or more of memory, 64 MB recommended

· Approximately 150 MB of available drive space on each client machine, plus approximately 40 MB of available drive space on server (varies according to amount of data being stored)

· Required desktop resolution of 800x600 (SVGA with small fonts) or higher: recommended 17” CRT or 15” LCD or larger monitor.

ReQuest Consultant 2.0

ReQuest Consultant is a re-distributable program that allows your clients to search your catalog of resources. The client resource catalog is freely distributable to your clients if you own a licensed copy of ReQuest Manager. You can send out updates of your resource catalog on CD (using your CD-R drive and burning software) or post them to your website for easy download.

ReQuest Consultant 2.0 requires on each client computer:

· Windows 98 or greater (limited support for Windows 95)

· Minimum 32 MB of RAM

· Approximately 30 MB of free hard drive space

Please note that Windows 3.1 is no longer supported, beginning with version 2.0.

See the section “ReQuest Consultant” below for further information.

Plan your configuration

Before you begin the installation, plan how you are going to configure the computer(s) to run the system. Several possibilities are listed below:

· Standalone Mode: ReQuest Manager is installed on a single computer and the data is also stored on that computer.

· Peer Server Mode: ReQuest Manager is installed on multiple computers (clients) and the data is stored on one of those computers, designated as the data server.

· File Server Mode: ReQuest Manager is installed on one or more computers (clients), while the data is stored on a separate computer on the network (server).

Whatever the configuration you choose, be sure to make a plan to backup your data regularly to avoid data loss. The primary data file, without which your RQM catalog cannot be reconstructed in the event of data loss, is rqm2data.mdb. (See “Backup” under the section “Maintenance” below for essential information about safeguarding your data.

Note on file permissions

In order to run ReQuest Manager successfully, the Windows user account must have read/write permissions on the entire C:\Program Files\ReQuest Manager 2 folder, as well as the entire server folder (if run in File Server Mode). By default, Windows will NOT grant a limited user (i.e. not administrator) full permissions on the Program Files folder; these must be granted using an administrator account.

If these correct permissions are not in place, ReQuest Manager may start up but will not function correctly. Please verify with your network manager that they are in place. The location of the server folder can be viewed by going to Help / About ReQuest Manager.

Notes on configurations

Check the hardware and software requirements for each machine in the Technical Specifications section above before you begin.

If you have a dedicated file server available, the File Server Mode is the best option. This will usually facilitate data backup as well. If you must choose one of the clients as the data server, please be advised that performance may suffer because the data server will be used for other tasks besides its server function. If an application on the server crashes and the computer must be rebooted, the database file may be left in an unstable state and may be corrupted.

If using the file server mode, please be sure that the server supports long file names (LFN) for best compatibility.

If using Peer Server mode, and you have a combination of Windows 98/ME machines and Windows NT/2000/XP, be sure to choose one of the NT, 2000, or XP machines as the peer server. There are known networking issues with NT/2000/XP machines connecting to 98/ME machines that can cause system instability and performance issues.

If you have to make a trade-off between a faster processor or more memory, the most performance gain can be seen with the addition of more memory (RAM, not hard drive space).

No other software is required to run the database; all required software is supplied and installed with the database application.

Screen Resolution

Screen resolution is measured by the number of dots across on the screen by the number of dots on the screen vertically. Practically speaking, this is the amount of information you can see on the screen at any one time. The screen layouts in ReQuest Manager were designed for a minimum resolution of 800x600.

To check or change your screen resolution, follow these instructions:

1. Click on the Start menu

2. Select Settings.

3. Select Control Panel

4. Double click on the icon that says “Display”

5. Click on the Settings tab.

6. Use this dialog box to try other settings.

Note: when you change the settings on this screen, it is best not to choose “Large fonts”. While this may make it easier to read certain things on the computer, selecting “Large fonts” may affect the display of parts of the resource database, as well as many other common applications. A common symptom of this is that the display of words may be chopped off if they need to fit in a certain area, and the larger fonts make them overrun the area.

If you find it too difficult to use your computer for other tasks, then it is best to go back to your original settings or buy a larger monitor (17 inches or larger CRT, 15 inches or larger LCD)!

Installation

To install ReQuest Manager, be sure that you have reviewed the section Before you start above. Follow the steps below to install the software on each computer:

Software Installation

NOTE: The default installation folder is C:\Program Files\ReQuest Manager. It is best to accept this default choice because the default folder for any program updates you may receive will be this. If you decide to install to a folder other than the default, please remember also to install the patches to this new folder!

Install ReQuest Manager as follows:

· Start Windows and insert ReQuest Manager 2.5 Program CD into the CD-ROM drive

· Click Start on the Taskbar and select Run.

· From the Run dialog box, select (or type) D:\SETUP, substituting the drive letter for your CD-ROM drive in place of D: and click OK.

· Follow on-screen instructions. You should choose the default values for each question unless you have a specific reason for changing.

· A reboot of your system may be required at the end of installation.

· You will see a message when installation completes successfully.

User Permissions

Please note that on Windows NT, 2000 or XP machines, the current user must have permission to run and install software in order for the installation to complete successfully.

In addition, any user wishing to run ReQuest Manager must have read/write permissions on C:\Program Files\ReQuest Manager 2, even if the RQM server folder is located elsewhere on the network. The Access database engine must have write permissions on the files in the local folder (especially rqmForms.mde) in order to record and maintain database locks.

If the current user does not have read/write permissions on the local ReQuest Manager 2 folder, the user will be unable to make changes to the database, even if the actual data file is located elsewhere on the network.

Configuring your installation

Registration Key

The first time you run ReQuest Manager on each machine, it will ask you for your registration name and software key:

You should have received a software key with your ReQuest Manager package. Enter the registration key and your registration name in the blanks provided. You will only be asked to enter this once on each computer.

If you received a demo version of ReQuest Manager, then the key you were supplied will contain an expiration date encoded within it. ReQuest Manager will not function after this date. You will be asked to supply a new registration key (you will receive an unrestricted key upon purchase of RQM or you may request another demo key) in order to continue to use the program.

Welcome to ReQuest Manager!

After entering your registration key, you should see a screen welcoming you to ReQuest Manager: