Introduction
Total Office Manager ® is designed for both single-users on a standalone workstation, as well as multiple-users across a well-maintained network. This topic focuses on network installations of Total Office Manager.
Our technical support department will NOT respond to any questions related to networking. This is the job of your network administrator.
The reason we do not support networks or address networking questions is due to the fact that they are the most varied and the most complex of all questions. Networks are considered a hardware issue and not a software issue. We are happy to address your questions regarding our software program but we regret that we cannot help you with your hardware, including networks.
Networks can be very troublesome and expensive to maintain. If you are not knowledgeable about networking, you should seek the advice of a qualified technician to help you install and administer Total Office Manager on a network.
Here are some examples of questions our technicians will NOT answer:
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I cannot locate my Total Office Manager™ database on our network. Can you help me find it?
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Total Office Manager indicates that my computer is no longer connected to the network. How do I restore this connection? (see Related Topics, below).
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Another person setup our network and we are trying to find out where they put the software. Can you help us get it going?
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We got a new computer and want to hook it up to our network and to Total Office Manager™, how do we do that?
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We have a dedicated network server. How do we install the program or the database?
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I am installing Total Office Manager™ for the first time. I wish to install the database on our server, so it is backed up every night automatically. Where and how do I install it?
Installing Total Office Manager on a Network
Total Office Manager can be installed on a network, generally without any technical problems. You can share printers, data files and any information within the program with anyone who is logged onto the network. For example: You can print reports from your computer to a printer that is connected elsewhere on your network. You can view the contents of a database that is installed on another computer.
The Installation
Run the installation setup file (setup.exe) as you would normally do on a stand-alone machine. Make certain that you install all of the files on the same computer that you are using to complete the installation process.
You may move the database to another computer or hard drive as needed. We highly recommend that you install Total Office Manager™ on each and every computer that will be using Total Office Manager™. If you do not, error messages and data access problems will result. Remember that each computer can share one database, installed on a central computer. However, each computer should have a full installation of Total Office Manager™.
Do NOT attempt to move Total Office Manager™ from one computer to another computer simply by moving the Total Office Manager folder. This will NOT work.
Opening the Company File on a Network
Use Total Office Manager™ as you would on a single computer. Total Office Manager™ always opens the last database that was used each time the program is started.
Maintaining Multiple Companies
You may maintain multiple Company Files (databases) if you wish. You cannot merge or share information between these databases. If you are maintaining multiple Company Files, make certain that you open the correct Company File before working on it. It is very easy to get confused and enter data into the wrong Company File.
Network Installation Tips
- Typically you will need Total Office Manager™ installed on each computer. The database file (Company File) will be installed on your network server or main computer. It is very important that network users are accessing a common database (everyone uses the same database file). Otherwise, you will not have access to a single database that contains the accumulated efforts of all users. They will be able to print reports, make changes, add repairs, etc., without limitation.
- If you decide to put the Total Office Manager database on a computer for all users to have access to, be sure this computer is not used for network printing and other heavy processing tasks. This will cause Total Office Manager to run very slowly. It is best to use a computer that is not used for any other purpose except to hold files that network users will access. This computer should have a good hard drive with a fast access time.
- For safety and security reasons, you should limit the access that certain users have to Total Office Manager™ . You do not want unauthorized people to have he ability to accidentally delete or modify data.
- Total Office Manager does not read and write to the Registry during start, operation, or shutdown. The operating system may cause this read\write condition, but Total Office Manager generally makes no programmatic read\write operations or calls to the registry. Total Office Manager does make read\write calls to various “ini” files during operation and installation. Please make certain that you set security permissions properly.
