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Top Macintosh FAQs |
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Applies to: [x] C&P Classic [x] C&P Pro [x] Job Tracker [x] C&P SQL [x] My C&P! See also: Apple Computer OS X Tech Note OS X FAQs |
Q. Does Clients & Profits run on Mac OS X? Yes. Clients & Profits runs well with Mac OS 10.2 and higher, but not earlier versions of OS X (10.1, etc.). It also works perfectly with with earlier versions of the Mac OS. Note that Clients & Profits runs in the Classic environment of OS X. Get more information about OS X compatibility here.  Q. Will Clients & Profits run on an iMac or eMac? Yes. The iMac or eMac are both ideal computers for Clients & Profits since they are fast -- and even include built-in high-speed Ethernet. Since Clients & Profits isn't installed from floppy disks, the lack of a floppy disk drive isn't a problem. Q. What version of the Mac OS is best for running Clients & Profits? Clients & Profits runs fine under either OS 9 or OS X (using the Classic environment). It works in previous versions of the Mac OS, but don't use any version before Mac OS 7.5.5 on ANY computer that's running Clients & Profits -- these old versions can corrupt your C&P database under certain circumstances. Q. Do all Clients & Profits users have to have the same version of the Mac OS? No. It's probably easier to manage a network of Macs if they're all configured identically, so it's recommended. Q. Does Clients & Profits work with AppleShare IP 6? Yes. The faster performance and better reliability of AppleShare IP 6 dramatically improved the speed of Clients & Profits, especially when saving. And if you run AppleShare IP 6 on a PowerMac G3/G4-based file server, everything you do with Clients & Profits will seem substantially faster. There are no known incompatibilities or limitations between Clients & Profits and AppleShare IP 6. Q. Can we share Clients & Profits using personal file sharing, or do we need a big server? Yes, but only if a few people will be sharing Clients & Profits. The personal file sharing built into Mac OS 9 can only handle 10 users a time, while AppleShare can support hundreds. Plus, a dedicated, stand-alone file server running AppleShare is much more stable, dependable -- and runs much faster -- than a Mac that's both a server AND a workstation. The problem with combining a workstation with a server is that any crash, freeze, or delay caused by a user's work (e.g., Excel freezes while printing a spreadsheet) disrupts everyone who's connected to it and sharing Clients & Profits. Every time the server crashes there's a risk of data corruption, which is time-consuming to fix. A dedicated server that's devoted to sharing Clients & Profits is far less likely to crash. Using the built-in file sharing is only practical for shops with five or fewer people sharing Clients & Profits. Q. What's the best Mac to get for a typical Clients & Profits user? The eMac is an ideal Clients & Profits workstation for the typical production manager, account executive, traffic coordinator, or accounting person. It's fast, space-efficient, inexpensive, and offers the option to boot in OS 9. It comes complete configured for Clients & Profits, so there are no extras to buy. Of course, you can run Clients & Profits on any G3 or G4-based Mac (including PowerBooks/iBooks). Q. How can Clients & Profits be shared by our Windows users? It's easy. All you need is an Ethernet network to which all of your Macs and PCs are connected -- and a file server such as AppleShare IP or Windows 2000. First, you'll create a shared folder (i.e., sub-directory) on the file server that can be accessed by both Mac users and Windows users for the C&P database. (It should be called something like ACCT_DATA or C&P_DATA, but be sure to keep the name short so that older versions of Windows can read it correctly.) Then give your C&P users access to this directory. You'll need to name your Clients & Profits database so that it ends in .DF1 (this is important, since that's how C&P recognizes it from any computer). Once the database is moved into the shared folder, the users should be able to mount the file server and open the database.
Q. Can we open Clients & Profits using aliases? Yes, but be sure to make an alias of the Clients & Profits application -- not the C&P Player or the database. Why? If you double-click on an alias of the C&P Player, it'll start up but prompt you to select the Clients & Profit application (which is an extra step). If you double-click on an alias of the C&P database, you may open an old version of the Clients & Profits application (which can happen if previous versions were never removed when updates were installed). When the C&P application is opened, the C&P Player and database are opened automatically, which makes it the preferred way to launch Clients & Profits. Q. Does Clients & Profits work with RAM Doubler and Speed Doubler? Yes. Both of these popular Connectix utilities are compatible Clients & Profits. Power Mac G3's don't benefit from Speed Doubler as much as old Power Macs, especially the very early models. RAM Doubler allows more programs to run at the same time, but you still need at least 32mb of RAM to run Clients & Profits and other applications simultaneously. Q. Can Clients & Profits be automated with AppleScript? Not really. Most operations in Clients & Profits, such as printing reports, require some sort of data to be entered (like a range of dates), which makes it difficult to automate. Graphics programs and word processors lend themselves more to scripting and macros because they have many more routine processes. Q. Can Clients & Profits be accessed remotely? REMOTE ACCESS message board Yes, you can create a virtual network over the internet (or directly between locations), and install Clients & Profits at the remote location. However, it may work too slowly to be comfortably usable. Clients & Profits involves a lot of sending and receiving of data, such as client info, jobs, tasks, time sheets, purchase orders, etc. because processing occurs at the client. You will find Clients & Profits works slowly even if the database location and remote location have a high-speed line (i.e., DSL, Cable, T1). Two other remote options are available that will increase the remote user's speed when using Clients & Profits. The first is to use an application to remotely control a workstation at the database location, such as Timbuktu (see next question on this FAQ). The second is to use our web based client, My! C&P. This has a limitation in that not all C&P functions are supported. Q. Can Clients & Profits be operated remotely using Timbuktu? Yes. Timbuktu (www.netopia.com/software/) lets a user remotely control a Mac or PC in the office. The computer in the office would be connected to the file server and run Clients & Profits; the remote user simply controls it using a copy of Timbuktu from their laptop or home computer. The only thing sent to the remote location are screen images (no data is sent to the remote location since Clients & Profits is opened on the LAN where the database is located). There are two limitations. First, only one person can control a computer at a time. Second, there isn't a standard way of printing at the remote location. Keep in mind that often your Clients & Profits users utilize the Print to Screen option and don't have the need to print to a printer. However, if they need a hard copy of a report, you can print to PDF and e-mail this file back to the remote location, or for the more technically inclined, you can set up a printer with an IP address at the remote location and print over TCP/IP back to this printer. We at Clients & Profits, don't support setting up these printing scenarios. Q. Does Clients & Profits make its own backups? BACKING UP message board No, you'll need a reliable backup system -- something like Retrospect and a tape backup, DAT, or Jaz drive -- to store daily copies of your Clients & Profits database. A set of daily tapes should be rotated so that there are several redundant copies, just in case a tape fails. You can never be too careful or paranoid about your backups. Q. Why does the mouse pointer sometimes become a cursor? The padlock cursor means two things: (1) the record you're trying to update is already being edited by another user, so the record is locked, or (2) the server and/or network is so busy that communication has been delayed. The padlock cursor looks like this:  Whenever a record (such as a job, an invoice, a PO, etc.) is being added, edited, or saved the “pointer” (i.e. cursor) will become a padlock when the same record is used by some other user -- who started edited it before you. This is a natural, normal feature of multi-user databases to ensure that two people don’t update the same record at the same time. The padlock cursor disappears automatically as soon as the person who’s editing the record saves their changes, usually within seconds. But there’s no way to know how long the user will keep it locked while making their changes -- and there's no way to know who's editing the record you want. You can cancel the padlock by press command-period (or a Mac) or control-break (on a PC) then canceling whatever you were editing. After a minute, try editing the record again; if the record isn't locked, you'll be able to save your changes without getting locked out. If you get a padlock cursor and don't want to wait DO NOT FORCE THE PROGRAM TO QUIT, TURN OFF, OR RESTART YOUR COMPUTER -- this can damage the database. Q. Can Clients & Profits be used with DAVE? DAVE message board No. There is an incompatibility between Thursby System's DAVE and Clients & Profits that causes the system to freeze when something is being saved. There is no known workaround. For more information about a compatible version of DAVE, please contact Thursby Systems at (817) 478-5070.
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