Auto Shop Writer Bulletins

Version 12.43.10 will be released to our servers at Noon ( PDT )  on Wednesday, July 24.  Your systems should all have downloaded the version to your server within 3 hours of that time.

This update contains resolutions for any / all issues or refinements that have been requested in previous weeks.  Some of these may not have been an issue for most users because they are for features not universally utilized ( though beneficial ).

 

There is one important feature that we have added.  Due to increased problems with those who won’t “work for a living”, and elect to become thieves instead, banks are seeking ways to protect your assets more carefully.  One issue has to do with checks you write.  They sometimes can be stolen and altered.  To protect you, many banks now use a program called Positive Pay.  With this, you submit info on the checks you write through software they provide to you.  Of course manually entering that data is an extra chore, but we’ve automated that.  Their software will “import” data from a “CSV” file.  Auto Shop Writer can now create that file for you, eliminating the duplication of data entry.

Setup:

In Accounting, under Banking, select the Tools button.  From that list, select Format.  This is where you enter the format for the check you print.  Leave that data alone and select OK to save it.  Next you will be asked if you want to use Positive Pay.  Answer Yes, and your setup is complete.

How To Use It

When you write checks from now on, it will create a record in a special file.  This is transparent.  The data is only the date, check number, payee, and amount.  That’s what the bank wants to see.  

At some point during the day, go to that same Tools menu, and at the bottom you will see Positive Pay.  Click  on it.  It will take all of the checks you have written and put them in the CSV file your bank wants.  It will save that file in the MLS12c\checks subfolder on YOUR computer.  That makes it easy to find.  It then clears all of the checks included in that file so they won’t be duplicated to your bank.

Finally, go to the banks software, and use their procedure for importing and sending the file.  Be sure to select the right file ( it will be “CK” plus numbers for the date and time ).  Once sent, you can delete them to keep the folder clean.

That’s all there is to it.  Your bank will show you how to use their software.  Just remember, for most people, those CSV files are in the folder. C:\MLS12c\checks on YOUR computer.

You should be receiving the latest update, Version 12.42.31, when you see this bulletin.  ( On the main screen, under the Help down arrow, select About and check it ).  This version should resolve ALL spacing issues you may experience with labor, recommendation, and disclaimer text when printing invoices and/or tech worksheets.  The developer for this capability had to comb through thousands of lines of code, but was able to find a change that appears to have resolved the problems.  We tested this on multiple shop databases we have been provided in-house and find no remaining issues.   In addition, that print routine has about 2,000 lines of code that were examined step by step with some other fine tuning.

IF YOU ENCOUNTER ANY PROBLEMS, PLEASE TEXT OR EMAIL IMMEDIATELY.  

There are other smaller additions and adjustments that are provided in this update.  We held off on them simply because we did not want to complicate the print issue with new updates.. Now for some other things.

YOU HAVEN”T BACKED UP IN ?? NUMBER OF DAYS

This is a critical issue.  Our auto updater works every 3 hours, and after midnight, it does a backup.  This message means that none of your automatic features are being handled.  You should never ignore this message.  It means the auto updater is NOT running, keyfiles are not being updated, Carfax could be shut down, no current backups, and so much more.   The most common cause for this is when people install a non-microsoft virus protection ( ie. McAfee, Norton, Avast, etc ) and allow it to take control of the computer.  These rogue programs ( totally unecessary in our experience ) may well shut down the auto updater.  Do people ignore it ?  We’ve seen them go over 2 months of bypassing the warning every day, and suddenly there is a major problem ( like malware, power failure, etc ), no current backups, and the amount of work they need to do to re-enter data, etc. is sad.  

Incomplete backups

Windows will NOT allow open files to be backed up.  When you have ASW open, you will then have open files, and they will be skipped in the backup.  Often it’s the most important workorder files that are skipped because someone did NOT exit ASW at the end of the day.  We’ve said this for over 30 years, shop owners drill it into their workers, and still someone just goes home leaving Auto Shop Writer open on their computer.  It’s important to get tough on this.  You do not need to shut down the computer, but just exit out of the program at the end of the day.  We have saved a lot of shops from enduring grief when something attacks their data overnight.  If you have the cloud backup turned on, or a good external backup drive attached, we can use those to restore data and have you running again in minutes.  We’ve even had people suffer ransomware attacks, and saved them thousands of dollars by having that good backup.  Instead of paying a crook, their IT person wipes the drive clean, we do a quick reinstall of ASW, restore the backup data, and within an hour or two, they are fully operational, and haven’t wasted a penny.

Would you like to dictate your detail to the computer rather than typing it ?

Over the years we’ve looked at various dictation tools, but their abilities are often just not good enough to use reliably, or the pricing is excessive.  Now, Microsoft just turned on a new feature in Windows 11 that we’ve tested with excellent results ( and so far, total accuracy ).  On your computer ( if you have the very latest Win 11 updates installed ), press the key ( lower left side of your keyboard ) that has the Windows symbol on it, plus the letter H.  A little popup will appear that has a microphone icon in the center.  When the cursor is in a text field ( like labor descriptions ), and you wish to dictate the text, click on the microphone.  Say your information, wait a couple of seconds, and Windows should type it in for you.  Click on the microphone to turn it off when your are not inputing data.  You can use this anywhere.  If there is already text, and you wish to add more, or insert some, just click on the spot where you want to start, and when the cursor appears, use the microphone to add your comment.

And, thinking about Microsoft updates

Microsoft tends to do updates on Tuesdays, and usually they are not documented.  We have received calls in the next day or two thinking maybe we put out an update that caused a problem.  NOPE.  We are very disappointed in the lack of quality control in many of those updates, and in the slow response time for them to fix what they have broken.   When we publish a significant update there will always be a bulletin.  If we didn’t update ASW, and suddenly you have printer problems, or network issues, or even strange screen displays …. if it started on a Tuesday, you may have to be looking at an update Microsoft might have issued.  

And that’s it for today.  Please keep in touch.  We’ve been listening to, and working for, shops since 1982.  Your input is the guidance we use for every step of our operations.  It determines what goes into the software, and how it is used.  Thanks for being part of the team.