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Foy's EPICS Events |
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Extrusion
Production Information and Control Systems |
In this issue
And So Long Crystal Reports Version 7
Newest update features SOItem enhancements
Adding prices to existing orders
Other new features in EPICS 2000.12 update
July marked the start of Foy’s 25th year in the
extrusion software business. On 
product was PS2 (Production Status and Planning System,) a program for the
newly introduced TRS80 Model I microcomputer.
The program calculated the optimum billet length for an order-item,
and then allowed posting of press production data and generation of a detailed
shift report.
The first installation was in late July 1978 for Texas Extrusion, followed by Russell-Anaconda, Wells Aluminum, Indalex, and Magnode.
Foy Enterprises soon became Foy Inc, and PS2 became EPICS. There are now thousands of people in the aluminum extrusion industry that depend on EPICS each day for the information they need to do their jobs and to serve their customers.
The 2003 EPICS User Conference will be a great 25th birthday party for Foy Inc (but you don’t have to bring presents.) (unless you want to.)
The conference will be held April 23-25 in
The conference will be held at the brand-new Hotel
Valencia. This small “boutique” luxury
hotel is scheduled to open in November, so they should have any wrinkles ironed
out by conference time. We are excited
about the Hotel Valencia. It has a great
downtown location overlooking the famous San Antonio Riverwalk, and is a few
short blocks from the
The timing for the conference could not be better.
April 23-25 falls in the middle of Fiesta,
With the EPICS User Conference being during Fiesta, and with
a new hotel located in the center of the activities, rooms are going to go
fast. We have rooms blocked starting on
Wednesday, with a number extending through Sunday – but when those are gone,
I’m sure there will be no more available.
YOU SHOULD MAKE PLANS NOW FOR
NEXT APRIL IN
The newest EPICS customer is Star Extruded Shapes, in
Canfield,
As we continue to add new features and utilize new
programming tools, it is becoming more and more difficult to guarantee that
EPICS will run on the old Windows 95 platform.
That is not a problem for most of you – you are running the newer
Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP. But if you still have any Windows 95
workstations, be aware that Foy Inc will soon drop formal support of Windows 95. As of
According to the manufacturer, Crystal Reports version 7
will reach the end of its “Support Lifecycle” on
For more information from Crystal Decisions regarding their product support lifecycles, please see the following link: http://support.crystaldecisions.com/crystalcare/lifecycle.asp#Crystal%20Reports%20and%20Crystal%20Analysis%20support%20lifecycle
The EPICS 2000.12 update features seven items from the 2002
Wishlist, including several enhancements to the SOItem screen. The update is scheduled for release on
The highlight of this update is the #2 item on this year’s Wishlist. You asked for the ability to move directly to another item from the SOItem Department screen. But we went you one better. We redesigned the SOItem screen, moving the Departments, Prices, Changes, Planning Info, User Fields, Production Detail, and History buttons to tabs across the top. Now they are all controlled by the same Control Panel, which means that you can scroll through all items on the order, viewing departments, prices, changes, and history for each item with out having to call up each item individually. As you click on the tabs, the basic info about the item is still displayed, but the selected info is shown on the bottom ¾ of the screen.
Notice that one of the new tabs on the SOItem screen is Changes. This satisfies the #9 item on the Wishlist – the ability to view SOItem Changes from the SOItem screen.
If you use the Customer Service Inquiry screen, you know that when you click on an SOItem, the resulting display is a limited screen that is a holdover from very early editions of EPICS. You would probably rather see the new SOItem screen. If so, just change the setting under Configure/UserInterface/EnhanceCSInquiry to ‘YES’.
The #3 item on the Wishlist was the ability to flag a customer as inactive. An “Inactive” checkbox has therefore been added to the Customer screen. If this box is checked, that customer will no longer appear on the list of customers when you right-click or type Ctrl-L on a customer box. And even if you force that customer number onto the order entry screen, EPICS will refuse to post the order.
You may want to revise some of your reports to exclude inactive customers.
The #8 item on the Wishlist was to be prompted to change the shipping tolerances when changing the order quantity. This has been done in this update for the SOItem screen. It will be done in the next EPICS update for the order entry screen.
The #15 item on the Wishlist was the ability to add a price line to many items at once. This update gives you that ability. As long as the price line is a variable price, you can add the same price line to all items on the order. So adding a $.03/lb freight charge to all 30 items on a large order can now be done in one quick step. Just go to the Prices tab on the new SOItem screen, go into Change mode, and right-click on the price grid. EPICS will then walk you through adding the new line, and will ask if you want to apply that line to all items on the sales order.
The EPICS 2000.12 update is scheduled for release on
- If you start the Automatic Invoicing feature while the Credit Memo mode is selected, EPICS will now ask if that is what you mean to do. (This was item #31 on the Wishlist.)
- If you are using the new Anodizing Module, you can now use either the FinPerim or the FullPerim to calculate area. A new configuration entry has been added to the Config screen to control this behavior.
- You are now warned if you attempt to enter an order by the piece with excessive shipping tolerances (such as a sample order for 1 pc +/-10 pcs).
- Printing a large number of identical tickets using BarTender now works properly.
- The Customer Service Inquiry screen is now resizable (#21 on the Wishlist)
- If you use BarTender, you can now have different formats for regular bundles and sub-bundles.
Be sure to read the
“What’s New” section of the EPICS Help file for detailed descriptions and
instructions on all of the EPICS 2000.12 new features!
EPICS Training
As you know, EPICS contains hundreds of features to assist you in you job. And more are added in every update. It can be difficult for a new employee to learn all of these features, and it can be difficult for even a long-time employee to remember them all.
Foy Inc has regular training classes scheduled for new users, experienced users, system administrators, and Crystal Report designers. Check out our web site for the schedule, or call Scott for more info. The schedule for the next three months is as follows:
Basic EPICS User Training October 14-17 and December 9-12
*EPICS Administrator Training September 16-17
*
*These two classes are offered in the same week making it easier for you to attend both. The classes compliment each other, each enhanced by skills learned in the other.
MS SQL Server Training
If your company uses the Microsoft SQLServer database for EPICS, you will be interested in this training opportunity for database administration. New Horizons, the largest independent IT training company in the world, is offering a discount for EPICS administrators. They have training classrooms in dozens of cities, and offer a one-week SQL Server Administration class that is very worthwhile. John and Scott have both attended this class, and will be happy to discuss their experiences with you. Please call if you are interested.
epics customers
EPICS
is now being used at sixty extrusion plants
in seven countries,
by over 1250 licensed users.