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Foy's EPICS Events |
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Extrusion
Production Information and Control Systems |
In this issue
Any Epics 6 Workstations Lurking Around?
Emailing to Multiple Recipients from EPICS
Plan Now for 2003 EPICS User Conference
Crystal Reports Version 9 Now Supported
Other Enhancements in Update 2000.13
In the August newsletter, we told you that we would be dropping support of Windows 95 on January 1, 2003. We said “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.“
Sure enough, we have already run into a problem with old
Windows 95 systems. At least one feature
in the EPICS 2000.13 update will not work properly on Windows 95. The update includes the new Crystal Reports 9
runtime engine, and
Microsoft has already dropped support for Windows 95, and has announced that they will drop support for Windows 98 and Windows NT later next year. And they have announced that the next version of Microsoft Office will only run on XP or 2000 SP3.
Upgrading your operating system can be a real hassle, but it can avoid many future headaches. If at all possible, you should upgrade soon to Windows XP, or at least to Windows 2000.
Occasionally we find that a company still has a workstation or two running EPICS 6, the version from two years ago. For the first year or so after EPICS 2000 was released, the two versions would co-exist without a problem. But that is no longer true. We have added several new database tables and many new fields since the days of EPICS 6, and EPICS 6 does not update any of them.
You should update any EPICS 6 workstations ASAP. If you need help in doing this, please give us a call.
More and more companies have started to utilize the two EPICS email-related features – the e-Response feature and the ability to email documents to customers. Several of you have wondered how to send these emails to multiple recipients. For example, you may want to email manifests to the customer’s receiving office, their purchasing agent, and your salesman. But you can’t get all of those addresses in the email address section of the EPICS customer record, since only 40 characters are allowed.
The quick and easy solution is to use a distribution list. In Outlook, create a new distribution list containing each of the desired recipients. Then on the email address box on the EPICS Customer screen, enter the name of the distribution list instead of the email address.
Two more extrusion plants have joined the family of EPICS
users. MI Metals in
Arch Aluminum is a new user of the EPICS Basic Edition. Arch is in
We hope you will be able to meet folks from these two plants at the next User Conference.
The EPICS User Conference is only fifteen short weeks away. If you have not yet started making plans to attend, now is the time to begin.
Last year’s conference in
This year’s conference will cover such topics
as the new order entry screen; a workshop on the upcoming Paint Module; a planning
session on the proposed Test Certs module; an appraisal of the new Crystal
Reports Version 9; and a review of how to customize EPICS to maximize your
effectiveness.
The conference on April 23-25 falls during the 10-day Fiesta celebration in
We will be sending out the conference
registration forms within the next two weeks.
But you can register now at www.foyinc.com/conference,
and you should definitely start now to make your travel arrangements. The conference will start with a registration
reception on Wednesday evening, April 23, and will wrap up at
The highlight of the EPICS 2000.13 update that will be released next week is a new order entry screen. This screen is grid-oriented, like a spreadsheet. This means you can enter numerous sales order items on the same screen (see below.)
This screen is highly configurable. You can move the columns that you need to any of the tabs, and EPICS will remember your unique configuration. You can also change the order of the columns, to match your needs.
Our goal was to create an order entry screen that is so efficient that you can enter routine orders from your regular customers while talking to them on the telephone. And you can do that on this new screen – just fill in the heading, and then move down the screen entering Part Number and Quantity for each item. If you have the Part table filled out, and if you have the EPICS Pricing Module, then all of the other fields will be filled in automatically.
The
new order entry screen is optional at this point – the old order entry screen
is still available. But we plan to
replace the old screen later, after everyone has had a chance to move to the
new one.
The EPICS 2000.13 update includes the runtime engine for
Crystal Reports Version 9. This means
that you can now upgrade to
As you would expect,
- New report explorer windows. Allows the designer to easily find any element within a report, such as a subreport or formula.
- Enhanced formula editor. They call it the "Formula Workshop". It includes a new explorer window to, again, easily find report elements that you may want to use within a formula. It also allows you to create, save and reuse custom functions.
- Repository for often reused objects. You can save graphics, text objects, and SQL expressions and quickly drop them into any report.
- Unrestricted SQL editing. You can now directly edit the entire SQL query without restriction. This can allow greater flexibility in how you access and manipulate data. There are, of course, drawbacks. Such as no longer being able to access fields from the explorer windows.
- Side-by-side
installation with previous versions. You can run
Be sure to attend the
The EPICS 2000.13 update is scheduled for release on
- EPICS currently blocks printing a packing ticket if it would result in exceeding top shipping tolerance. There is now a configuration entry to allow this by entering a password.
- When doing a screen print, you can now specify a printer.
- If posting production to a die with a status code of 10 or greater, the warning message has been replaced with a Yes/No message that requires a response.
- You can only change the Type Code on a Sales Order to a Type Code that has the same Type Class. For example, you cannot change a normal order to a reserve order.
- In limited cases, notes for one Part were being displayed for a related part. For example, notes for Part ABC-12 were showing for Part ABC. This has been fixed.
- When scanning for Workorders to print, the Schedule Sequence Number now shows.
- The maximum length of Configuration entries (INI entries) has been increased from 200 to 512 characters.
- On the Post Other Production screen, the Complete flag was not always being set properly after making a change.
- When anodizing customer owned metal, the AltPerim is now used to calculate area.
The following changes were made in the 12.1, 12.2, and 12.3 updates:
- A Total Price button has been added to the SOItem screen.
- Remaining Pieces on cutback jobs for very short lengths was not always being calculated properly.
- The curser is now positioned on SONum when opening the new SOItem screen.
- You can now configure the tolerance to allow in Departments flagged as Must Post.
- The Pack Date on the Print Tickets screen is now checked for reasonableness.
- The Total Price display is now summarized using entered units.
- On the Press Schedule screen, placing the curser over the Add button will display the number of items and weight that have been thus far selected.
- You can now edit prices on the SOItem screen even if no price lines exist.
epics customers
EPICS
is now being used at over sixty extrusion plants
in seven countries
by over 1300 licensed users.