We decided to make some significant internal changes to Auto Shop Writer 10 with workorder processing.  We’ve been testing it in a live shop environment and it seems to be doing fine.  However, we would like a few more sites.

Here is how it works.  We’ll install a copy of the client on one or more of your computers with a new shortcut.  Your existing copy will remain in place in case you find an issue.

You simply work with the test copy and IMMEDIATELY email us with any problem that might arise.  It is best if you have email working inside ASW so you can simply click Help – Email Tech Support, put in a brief statement of what led to the problem ( what you were doing ), and our system will automatically attach the error log.

There is absolutely NO RELEARNING.  The user interface remains the same.  All of the work is internal, and only on Workorder processing.

It will take less than 5 minutes for us to add the test version and shortcut.  When bugs are fixed, we’ll go online with you to put a fresh copy on your machine.

Of course, you may never encounter a bug.  We only do this because there are so many various ways people use ASW 10 that we can’t test every possible approach … but if you encounter an issue, we can resolve it.

Want to help ?  Simply email timstone@masterlinksoftware.com with a best phone number and time, and we’ll do the install at your earliest convenience.

Thanks.

We recently released ASW 10.73.20 as an update.  You will see a number of new features and buttons, especially including CARFAX..  Essentially we have implemented the latest features, including the auto enrollment for myCARFAX a powerful, and informative, service for you and your clients.  A single button will allow your clients to start receiving service notices ( with your shop info ), recall notices, service bulletins, access their history online, and more … and its FREE to you, and to your customers.  More information will be forthcoming on this and other features.

When you enter a Workorder, you will see a new button.  It’s a Shield, on the General tab, that says “Analysis”.  Check it out.  It’s a solid summary of critical information all in one place.  If you have been using it, you will see that the information was expanded.  There is more info about the client and vehicle, and along with PM notices, Inspection Checklist notices, Recommendations notes, we’ve added the CARFAX service history for the vehicle.  Do check it out.

With all of this completed, we will now be placing updates on HOLD until perhaps mid-september.  The reason is that recent changes to Windows, and other needs, have made it wise to tune and perhaps modify areas of our workorder code.  There are over 10,000 lines of code.  We have found some quirks on some systems ( but certainly not all ), and have seen some things moving slower than we’d like.  So these are being addressed by improvements in the code.  We will also be doing extensive testing. 

During this period, feel free to email or call for support issues.  If you had noticed anything unusual, even if it only happened a couple of times, please email support@masterlinksoftware.com with your observations.  This is the perfect time for us to know about them since we are immersed in that code. 

Thanks for being a part of the team at MasterLink.