VBS QUICK SHEET

Advanced Publication Time:

Having the Announcement loaded into the VBS system early (24hrs or more) will allow you to make corrections before it is revealed to the public. Even if your ad must be published immediately it is best to give a future begin date so that you can save the ad, preview, and then change date back to today’s date for immediate publishing. Assigning a begin date of “today” will make publications available immediately upon saving.

Posting early will also allow time for any unforeseen issues such as:

  • Server issues
  • VBS issues
  • Formatting errors
  • Time changes
  • Document corrections

Posting Checklist:

  • Document is complete, in .PDF format and in the correct page order.
  • Document copy is saved to your Desktop for quick/easy uploading.
  • Have a complete list of Class/Group codes for the commodities/services of the Announcement.
  • Have Announcement beginning date and ending time.
  • Addendums include all changes to the Announcement document.
  • Proofread your Announcement details on the VBS online form for mistakes – there is no built in spell-checker.

ATTACHMENTS:

File Name:

All files uploaded to the VBS system must NOT have unusual characters in the title or document path name.Only dashes – and spaces are allowed, and less than 18 characters long to avoid uploading issues. Upload desktop copy only, NEVER upload from network drive, floppy or CD.

File Type (.PDF only):

Documents you wish to publish on the VBS system must be converted/scannedbeforehandto a .PDF format. Components from different processing software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) can be spliced together to form one continuous document once they are converted to .PDF.

File Size (2Mb or less):

Your desktop support person can show you how to find a PDF document file size. Create PDF documents directly from electronic originals (not a scanner) WHENEVER possible to minimize file size. It may be occasionally possible to upload documents larger than 2Mb in size, but these can also cause problems for vendors attempting to download them. Keep PDF documents small, splitting them if necessary to keep each piece below 2Mb.

PUBLISHED BIDS AND DOCUMENTATION ARE CONSIDERED PUBLIC RECORD AND CANNOT BE ALTERED ONCE THEY HAVE “GONE LIVE”. ALL CHANGES WILL APPEAR AS A “VERSION” AND WILL NOT OVER-WRITE THE ORIGINAL POSTING.

For the complete VBS Guide visit .

Tips for loading PDF documents to the Vendor Bid System:

  1. Keep the name of the PDF file short. Avoid special characters such as apostrophe, question marks, etc. when numbering advertisements and when naming files. The Vendor Bid System does not record the original name of the file anyway, so it doesn't matter once the document has been successfully uploaded.
  2. Always upload from a C: drive location, such as your Desktop. Uploading from another drive or a network share greatly increases the likelihood of encountering an error.
  3. Clear your Internet Cache every few weeks or after experiencing a spate of VBS errors. Your desktop support person can show you how to do this yourself using Internet Explorer Options.
  4. Postdate advertisements which are supposed to begin today. You can make all of the corrections and upload all of the files you need, regardless of how many VBS errors pop up. Once the advertisement is PERFECT (except for the dates!), edit it to set the real dates and save it one last time. In the working world, final approval often doesn’t arrive until the very last minute. If you are creating a new advertisement or versioning an existing advertisement, start out with a future "Begin Date". You can change it back to the real value after the PDF files are all in place.
  5. If you need corrections made to an advertisement, or if you need a PDF file uploaded for you due to VBS errors, you must email the Services Desk. Address your message to and cc: , attach any PDF files you need uploaded, give the exact Advertisement Number you wish changed in quotes, and describe what you want done. You have to be specific, so if you need me to Version an advertisement then tell me so, and if you need me to upload a PDF file then give me the text to type into the Description field and the "File Type" to choose from the drop-down list.
  6. Create your PDF document as efficiently as possible. Scanners take a picture of a page. The resulting PDF file is huge because it contains a graphical representation of the original document. Always use Adobe Acrobat or a competing software product to produce your PDF file from Word, Excel or other electronic original file. You may ask your desktop support person to check your Acrobat configuration to be sure it is producing the smallest files possible. As an additional benefit, documents produced from electronic originals are more legible than ones converted to graphics. If you MUST upload a scanned document (such as a bid tally sheet), then make sure that your scanner is configured to produce as small a file size as possible. Your desktop support person can assist with this as well. The smaller the file, the less likely that you will encounter an error during upload AND, the less likely that vendors will encounter an error during download. PDF files under 2 Mb usually have no problem, and hundreds of pages of information can fit in this amount of space. Your desktop support person can show you how to check the size of a PDF document prior to upload.