1. What is Phoenix, and how does
it store data?
Phoenix is a 32bit stand-alone
Windows® application written in VB6. Stand-alone means that
this application is written to be used by a single user, and
does not support multi-user access. Its data is stored in an
Access97 database. Since Phoenix is a single-user application,
access/run-time errors can (and will) occur if two or more users
try to add or edit records from two separate workstations. If
one user is only running reports, multi-user access should not
create a problem.
CAUTION: Two users should never attempt to poll transactions at the same time
(from same or different sites). This will cause data corruption errors.
2. Can the database be stored on a company
server?
Yes. The database can be
stored on a server (or remote PC) as long as the Phoenix PC
has shared access to the network drive/folder.
3. My company does not use Access97 anymore.
Will this create problems?
No. Phoenix installs files
that allow it to access its database on the PC. These files
should have no effect on any other database tools installed
on that PC (or any others).
NOTE: There is no need to modify/convert the database to a newer version Access
database. Doing so will stop Phoenix from accessing its tables.
4. What about user access rights – are
there any issues?
There is an issue with
running reports. Currently, Phoenix creates temporary files
in the Windows System32 folder. This can create problems if
the user does not have create/delete access rights to that
folder. A solution to this problem is available. Contact OPW
Fuel Management Systems Technical Service at 708-485-4200 for
assistance.
5. Can I install Phoenix on a server, and
allow everyone access to it?
No. Phoenix is a stand-alone
user application. It must be installed on the PC that will
be running it. The database may be installed to a server during
Phoenix installation.
6. Can I access the Phoenix database directly,
for queries or creating my own reports?
Yes. The Phoenix database
is not locked. Anyone using Microsoft Access, or any other
utility that can open an Access97 MDB file, can access the
database. However, OPW Fuel Management Systems reserves the
right to deny support if you modify the database in a way that
prohibits Phoenix from reading the data as designed. If a user
wishes to work with the Phoenix data directly (to create their
own queries or reports), it is recommended that they access
the data via a linked connection. This will ensure that the
Phoenix database is not altered.
7. Can OPW fuel Management Systems help migrate
my old data to the Phoenix database?
OPW Fuel Management Systems
can assist you in converting to Phoenix for a nominal charge
(depending on time and data quantities). The original data
must be stored in a usable electronic format; ie Standard CSV
or SDF text file, dBase (*.dbf), Microsoft Access (*.mdb),
or Microsoft Excel (*.xls). We do not provide a manual entry
service for creating your database.
8. Does Phoenix provide off-line card management?
No
9. Does Phoenix produce
reports?
The standard versions do not. You need
the Plus versions to generate reports.
10. Can I customize
the reports in Phoenix Plus?
Not at this time. There are plans to
include this feature in a future version or release.
11. Must I perform
Period End Processing for my totals to come out correctly?
No. Phoenix Plus was designed to eliminate
this management overhead. It calculates monthly totals from the entire
transaction record each time the report is run.
12. How will I be notified
of updates?
Petro Vend will notify all registered
users via email or fax when updates become available. Updates can be downloaded
from our website.
13. What export file
formats are available?
Phoenix can export data in the following
formats: CSV, SDF, Excel 5.0, Excel/97, DBase III, DBase IV, DBase V, HTML,
and plain text.
14. Is Phoenix for
Windows Year 2000 compliant?
Yes.
15. What are the minimum
PC requirements?
A 100Mhz Pentium processor, 16MB of
Ram (32MB or more is strongly suggested), 6x CD-ROM, at least 60MB
of available hard disc space, and an SVGA display. Windows 95, 98
and NT are the only operating systems currently supported.
16. Can I store
my data on our server?
Yes. You can have your database
located on a different PC or on a shared network drive. You need
to set up the correct path in Phoenix.
17. Can Phoenix
automatically backup my data?
Yes. Phoenix will allow the
user to select a backup path and frequency period for automatic
backup to disc. This backup path can be on your local machine or
any network drive. As with any critical data, it is the local administrator's
responsibility to also insure that this data is then backed up
to tape, CDROM, ZIP drive, etc.
18. My printer
is printing very slowly. Is there anything I can do to speed
it up?
Go to the web page of the printer
manufacturer and download the latest driver.
19. Will the
export file be compatible with my existing software implementation?
Yes. Phoenix will continue
to support the old CSV format; the field order will remain the
same for each transaction record. With the other export formats
(e.g. Excel) slight differences will exist.
20. On my reports,
why is the Total Dollar Amount for a card grouping sometimes
off by a penny when I manually add the total shown for each
record in the group?
Because the Price-Per-Unit
and Quantity is defined using three decimal places and the total
is displayed using two decimal places. The Total Amount is automatically
rounded for each line. The accumulated total shown for each card
grouping is the sum of each record at three decimal places then
rounded to two decimal places for printing.
21. Can drivers
fuel while Phoenix performs a System Backup or Restore operation?
No. During these operations,
the Fuel Site Controller locks the system and prevents all fueling
from taking place.
22. When I
try to perform a Site Restore operation, an invalid password
error occurs. Why?
A Site Restore operation is
usually only performed after the card system has lost all of its
configuration data, so the system reverts back to its default passwords.
You must change your passwords in Phoenix to match those defaults
or change the passwords in the Fuel Site Controller to match those
in Phoenix for a successful logon to occur.
23. When I
try to perform a card update to a site I receive a "File
not found, CUxxx" error. Why?
Either the site has already
been updated and the file no longer exists, or the file was never
created because Phoenix did not detect any cards flagged to be
added, updated or deleted when the Update Cards option was selected.
24. How can I poll all my sites at
the same time?
Phoenix does not perform simultaneous
polling. However, you can define a single occurence event in
the AutoPoll Scheduler to poll all your sites sequentially.
Then, whenever you need to poll all your sites, simply check
the Enable box for this event and it will automatically poll
all your sites for you.
25. Why don't my Activity Reports
always balance with the Invoice Reports?
If a card has been deleted
from Phoenix, fuel transactions for the card must still be
used to generate an Invoice Report. However, the Activity Report
only tracks cards that are currently still in Phoenix. The
best practice is to remove cards after you've completed billing.
In this way these report discrepancies won't occur.
26. IMPORTANT INFORMATION regarding
USPS support for the new VMAS export available in Phoenix 2.0
Please download this PDF for
detailed information
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the floowing borchures in PDF format: