Networking Pawnbroker Pawn Shop Software

Networking Pawnbroker Pawn Shop Software
Available in PPSS Diamond Only

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Networking computers and maintaining the network are hardware and Windows-related issues Please consult with your computer technician to setup and troubleshoot a network.

Important! Power to network cards must be uninterrupted. For Windows XP/2000, for each PC on the network, go to Control Panel, System, Hardware, Device Manager, Network Adapters. Right-click on the adapter and select Properties, Power Management. Uncheck the box 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.' (For other versions of Windows, go to Device Manager.)

It is necessary to install PPSS on every computer in the network for optimum efficiency. Doing so avoids passing the PPSS.exe repeatedly through the network, and allows the network to only service requests for data from the database.

All stations will use the same set of database files. Each copy of PPSS will need to know where to find the central database. The central database can be any of the PPSS installations or it can be in a separate folder wherever desired. If the network administrator elects to use a client/server network configuration rather than peer to peer, the database will be by itself on the server and all copies of PPSS will connect to it there.

The PPSS Networking Configuration Tab (File > Program Setup > Networking) provides three options for database location:

The PPSS installer contains a file named data.zip. This is a blank set of database files provided for this use. An installer is not necessary for them. Just unzip the database files where they are needed.

In the past, Windows networks have been notoriously troublesome. Windows XP has resolved this to a great extent, providing a network setup utility (netsetup.exe included in the PPSS installer) that can be used on earlier versions of Windows to resolve the old problems. Netsetup.exe is not used during PPSS installation but can be accessed in the PPSS folder.

Netsetup.exe is a networking wizard with a series of well-explained screens asking for a few options. All computers on the network must have the same work group. Otherwise the remaining default settings may be accepted.

First, make sure that all of the network computers have a network interface card (nic) installed and that they are working properly.

For 95/98/me go to control panel, system. Open the device manager. Open network adapters. Listed below network adapters should be the adapter for the nic. It should not have a question mark or a red x on it. Highlight the adapter and select the properties button. At the bottom of the page that appears is a box labeled device status that must contain the words, "This device is working properly". If it says something else, the problem must be repaired.

For XP & 2000, go to the Network Connections part of the control panel. There will be an icon for the network card. Most likely it will be labeled Local Area Connection. Right click it and choose properties. On the general tab of the window that opens will be the name of the network card in a box at the top. Below that select the Configure button. In the middle of the next window, on the general tab is a box labeled device status. At the top of this box, it must say "This device is working properly". There will be other information as well.

It is important that Windows thinks the device is working properly, but that does not necessarily mean that it is. NICs will have one or two lights on them facing out on the back side of the computer. These lights must be on when the computer is turned on. If not, the nic is defective. The final test is to wire the computers together with category 5 (CAT 5) cable and turn them on. Before installing PPSS, it is important to be able to access the network from each computer that will participate. The netsetup utility will activate one directory on each computer for network access. The directory name will be 'shareddocs'. You should be able to access these directories remotely and copy files from and write files to them. If everything is OK, install PPSS.

To network properly, the copy of the database that the PPSS installations on remote computers will access must be activated for network access. Open "My Computer" and navigate to C:\Program Files\PPSS and right select that folder. Choose properties from the menu. Select the Sharing tab at the top of the properties window. Put a check where it says "Share this folder on the network". Give the folder a name to use on the network. The name does not matter. Depending on the Windows version, put check the box where it says, 'full access or allow network users to change my files'. This is necessary because PPSS does change its database files in normal use.

There are many ways to configure networks. You may use peer-to-peer as described below or consult with a technician (if necessary) to do a client/server setup. Peer-to-peer works well and is easy to setup. Peer-to-peer networks are suitable for networks that have a maximum of 8 computers (which is the limit of most routers). In any case, larger networks may need the more complex client/server setup and a technician to maintain it.

Computers connected to the Internet identify themselves by a number called an IP address. Computers connected to a local network do the same thing. If you connect a local network through a router, the router can be configured to assign IP addresses (through a protocol called DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). If done this way, much of the headache of getting networks to work right is automatically resolved. Typically users will be asked whether they want to enable DHCP when installing nic drivers. Answer Yes. If the choice is not offered there, DHCP can be enabled in the TCP/IP configuration in the network part of the control panel.

Note that a network switch is not the same as a router. A router is needed to facilitate networking.It keeps track of who is who on the network and sends traffic to the correct location.

Routers are often used to let multiple (up to 8) computers share one cable or DSL Internet connection. Routers can, at the same time, connect computers in a Local Area Network (LAN). Get the Internet connection going and shared by all computers, then do the Local Area Network.

Many new routers use a way of configuring them through the browser. The router will come with documentation explaining how. Cisco routers come with extensive documentation. Linksys is a better trouble-free brand. Linksys' setup through the browser is very comprehensible.

The Linksys setup will have DHCP in two places - one for the connection that it makes to the Internet and the other for connection to client computers on the local network. The latter needs to be enabled. In the Linksys configuration, it is only necessary to enable DHCP and specify a starting IP address. Other configuration items on the DHCP page can be left as they are.

Use category 5 (CAT-5) network cable to link the computers. One end of the cable plugs into the nic card in the back of the computer. The other end plugs into the back of the router. Plug the router into its own power source.

Put the database in a shared directory visible from all work stations on the server.

The PPSS networking configuration provides access to the sales location manager and allows the user to specify at which sales location this computer is located.

The location manager is laid out in a table. There is room to specify the location name and address, etc. Each location can have a number of stations. Station 1 can be baby clothes, station 2 can be hardware, etc within a location. Enter a sales location then list the stations under that. Enter the address only for the first line of the set. After the first sales location and stations, enter another sales location and the stations under that. But the order really does not matter as long as the location name and station are accurate.

The locations are numbered so a sales location and station would appear as main-1, or downtown-3, etc. in parts of the program where locations are displayed or chosen. The Inventory Work Area shows the location of an item on the general tab at the bottom of the screen. Batch and item inventory input and edits all allow specification of a sales location. These will default to the location specified in the program networking setup as the location of this computer. The inventory tab on the reports screen has a sales location filter for creating inventory reports for specific locations.

It is important to realize that if two clerks at two work stations batch edit the entire inventory making different changes, the database will use the last value it receives for each record. It has no way of knowing that a previous value was actually the one it should have kept if that were the case. So efficient use of PPSS networking capability will require global updates be done on only one computer at a time. Clerks should wait until those changes are finished saving before beginning another batch-edit-all inventory session.

Actually, it would be good management practice if each clerk were given a set of data to work with and only access that data. This can be done in the case of inventory, by giving each clerk a certain number of consignors. In the consignor work area, it is possible to open a batch edit screen for inventory from only one consignor. Clerks working in this way accessing only data within their responsibility will not be in the situation of overwriting other's work.

When loading new screens and creating reports, it is important to remember that if clerks are in the process of entering new data, reports or screens will show only that data the clerk's computer has finished entering in the database. For instance, if a clerk had been batch editing all inventory and saved work, it might be some minutes before PPSS on that computer has finished processing entries. A manager at another location requesting reports in the middle of that updating process will get only those entries processed so far by the clerk's computer.

However, these requests and updates can be made simultaneously without sharing violations from all the computers on the network.

The employee permissions are divided into 3 general areas: point of sale, back office and management. Each has a check box labeled 'Require These Permissions'. If the box is not checked, permission is not required to access that area. If none of these boxes are checked, employee log in is not required even if employees are entered with user name and password.

When the program starts with no permissions required, it grants full permissions to all areas.

If permissions are required for one or more areas, employees not in the employee database with user name and password will not be able to log in even if permission for some areas is not required.

One employee is required to have access to the employee work area. PPSS will enforce this if the user tries to save the permissions screen without choosing at least one user with this access even if the 'Require These Permissions' box is not checked for the management area.

The permissions screen is accessible in the employee work area in the employee tool bar. User name and password can be added to an employee record by editing it. Also the new employee screen has a place for user name and password.

There is a button in the main program tool bar that will allow change of current employee user. The current employee user's name is shown in the colored gradient label for each work area. If current user is changed while the program is running, the new user starts immediately with whatever permissions he or she should have.

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