Installshield X and MSI Advance Certification Process

One of DMAC's top 2005 annual goals is to obtain Microsoft's "Designed for Windows XP" logo for a DMAC product. The path is long and complex. In 2004 DMAC first became an "ActionPack" partner. Then DMAC became a "Registered Member" of the Microsoft Partner Program.

The next step is to become a "Microsoft Certified Partner." Independent software vendors have a different path to certification from other "Microsoft Certified Partners." DMAC is now working on the requirement to "have at least one packaged software solution that has been tested by Microsoft or its authorized testing vendor."

Here the requirement to become a "Microsoft Certified Partner" is easier than meeting the requirement for the "Designed for Windows XP" logo. As seems to be the usual case DMAC is tackling the harder route which will bring more benefits to DMAC's clients.

The installation process on a workstation or server on Microsoft networks must meet certain requirements. The hardest task would be to use the Microsoft Windows Installer Service software program directly. At this point DMAC decided to use the InstallShield X interface to the Microsoft Windows Installer Service software. InstallShield X takes the desired .msi file and wraps it so that the user can execute a setup.exe program as has always been the case.

On www.dmac-unibase.com the download of the limited to ten records demonstration product UB_Eval.exe is now a validated use of Microsoft Windows Installer Service. Progress...

Think it was easy to get this far? Think again. All of Unibase by DMAC and Unibase Imaging had to be checked that it could handle filenames (folders) with a space in the name. You see, the default directory (folder) in the world of Microsoft is "Program Files" and that has a space in the file (folder) name. So now the evaluation version of Unibase by DMAC and Unibase Imaging Release 8.1 has the ability to handle spaces in folder names. And DMAC thinks the installation passes the Microsoft validation tests for installation! Yea!

Operator Database Locked for Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance

Unibase by DMAC is used in many secure environments. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 , Public Law 104-191) compliance features were added to Unibase by DMAC over the last ten years. Many clients now meet HIPAA requirements using Unibase by DMAC.

So we were surprised when a good client requested that they have an additional means other than password and file attribute to lock the addition, deletion etc. of the operators to the operator data base. This time they said compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley law was the driving force.

So now DMAC has the ability to lock the operator data base beyond using file attributes and passwords. Of course it is so secret that you must ask Tina Kay how it works. You know how these secrets are.

Computer Synthesis's Point of Entry OCR System Feeds Unibase

DMAC now has an interface to Computer Synthesis's Point of Entry OCR System in beta testing. This interface allows current users of the Point of Entry system to easily move the system output OCR data into the Unibase by DMAC / Unibase Imaging environment. The interface DMAC provides is very similiar to Point of Entry interface with other vendors so past Point of Entry users can easily migrate to the Unibase environment.

DMAC always attempts to interface with computer related products which promise to save a client money. All it usually takes is a client spending money with DMAC and a vendor who wants the interface.

DMAC OCR Onthefly Arrives with Interpreting Check Boxes Feature

DMAC and several key clients have been working on an approach to incorporating OCR/ICR functions into the Unibase Imaging image entry environment which will not require ANY extra steps of the key entry operator/process. Finally the first context (check box edits) is entering the beta process in January.

The process has passed the development stage. The check boxes are read very accurately from the normal snippet used to key the check box as the check box appears in the flow of keyer's work. The result is sufficiently rapid so the keyer does not slow down. Naturally the check box reading can be incorporated with any other feature of Unibase Imaging.

The next step in the "roll out" of the new DMAC OCR Onthefly product is the reading of bar codes using a bar code context indicator. Bar codes will be tested when the beta process finishes for check box edits. If you have an OCR context which will benefit from the OCR Onthefly approach, let DMAC know. Stay tuned to see what is the next context developed.

Batch End File Edit Gains Use of When (Not)... Verbs

The When (Not) verb group can now be executed in a File Edit executed at the end of a batch as a batch edit. This means the file edit can test for such conditions as "when verify", "when entry", etc.

DMAC added this interpretation of what a file edit should do when a client asked for it during the conversion process from an old "key-to-disk" system. When a DMAC client converts from an old system using DMAC's "near perfect" conversion programs sometimes it is easier to change the Unibase environment than to change the programs being converted.

These old systems are dying at an increasing rate; and there are few parts available for them. DMAC helps the client move to an open platform with the latest operating systems and servers.

Verify / Update Modes Now Support Field Edit Calls on Skip Fields

As DMAC clients push to maximize accuracy, the use of the field edit is becoming more popular. Now Unibase by DMAC calls the field edit event for a field even if the field is skipped in verify or update mode. This extra opportunity to edit occurs because a DMAC client wanted it. An environment variable (UBSVCE) enables this new feature.

Increment Field Check Box Feature Now Rolls Over to Zero

Suppose you set up an automatic increment check box for a two position field. What happens when you reach 99? No one ever asked DMAC previously; but now it rolls over to zero.

Boundary conditions are always the most difficult to define. Some data capture applications take advantage of a predicable expectation. This rolling over to zero ( like an automobile odometer) seems natural. Are there any complaints or other expectations?

Unibase by DMAC Operator Statistics Reporting Updated

Recently several client requests were combined to provide a new view of Operator Statistics. This view shows all the current statistics based on Net keystrokes.

Net key strokes are defined to be alpha, numeric, and punctuation characters only. Why the change?

Historically, TAWPI (The Association for Work Process Improvement) defines operator productivity as operator efficiency times strokes per hour. Operator efficiency for a full time keyer is defined as hours spent keying divided by time sheet hours. Strokes per hour is defined as key impressions per keying hour.

Ok, so why the new concern about net compared to gross keystrokes? Well, no matter how necessary a backspace key stroke; it is not going to make money for an organization. And repeating the forward arrow to the next field is not going to make money.

So now the historical view is augmented in Unibase by DMAC with statistics based upon net keystrokes.

The additional formula becomes operator efficiency times net strokes per hours.

Another slight difference today is that people are not comparing numbers with various other organizations as they did in the past. Twenty years ago the US government produced averages for all to review. If my memory serves me, operator productivity hovered at 6000 strokes per hour for years on keypunch machines and early key disk machines. Now with table look up, images, etc. people only compare the same job with statistics over time and people. The absolute value of the number means little. And the billing for keystrokes is a whole other issue.

Thus we have a new view of statistics for Unibase by DMAC clients.

UBREPEAT Gives Intelligent Guessing Of Next Job or Batch Name Desired

UBREPEAT set in the environment tells the data entry or image entry process to automatically use the last job or batch name as appropriate from a given operator for the given operator.

For example, the operator starts the standard job TEST, keys batch TEST01, terminates it, and again chooses item "A- Start a Standard Job." Unibase will populate the "Job Name:" field with TEST, which was the last job keyed by this operator. If the operator is still keying batches for the standard job TEST, the operator only needs to press the field release key to continue.

If the operator is starting a different job, the operator goes to the beginning of the job name field and enters the new job name. This is expected to save keystrokes by some.

For all other modes (resume, verify, examine, correct, and update) Unibase will populate the "Enter File Name: " field with the batch protection from the most recently used batch. This also is expected to save keystrokes by some.

Since job and batch names can be up to 31 characters, this savings can add up over the ten or so batches a keyer enters during the day. And it is a real help to supervisors working with a particular job and its batches.

SHOWBCE Forces 32Bit Drun To Wait for Operator Action

The environment variable SHOWBCE forces the 32Bit Drun to wait for operator action at the very end. Why? Because with the regular SHOWBC environment variable the 32Bit version of drun (the file and output edit execution program) goes past the final counts which appear on the screen. In the 16 bit version the Command Window contains the count results.

So in 16 bit if you run two edits together, they both run without operator interaction. Only the results of the last edit remain in the Command Window. Without SHOWBCE they also run without operator interaction in 32 bit. With SHOWBCE each one stops at the end and displays the final counts. The operator determines when to proceed.

Yes, you could have displayed the final screen with a "pause" verb. But this would have required an addition to every file or output edit where you wanted a pause. User development pain occurs. So by setting the SHOWBCE environment variable in the job environment, jobs can stop or not stop as needed. No user development pain.

Legacy File.xxx Feature Extends Unibase Batch Output Capabilities

Generate a separate file with an automatic name change for each set of batches output? Sure. As Unibase by DMAC continues to become the environment of choice for those moving from old legacy software, this File.xxx feature helps make conversion to Unibase easy for some.

Most Unibase users know, the Unibase environment is device independent. This means you define a hypothetical device with the particular characteristics you wish and then associate it with a hardware device. When you define or modify the hypothetical device after you enter the "Device Name" you enter the "Path Name."

For this example set a "Path Name" to c:\unibase\tmp\show.xxx. When this hypothetical device is used, the path of the first file to be output is c:\unibase\tmp\show.000 in the c:\unibase\tmp folder. If the file with the extension .000 exists the new file to be output is called c:\unibase\tmp\show.001. Each time a new file is created it has the extension number one more than the last contiguous extension number.

First Price Increase in Fifteen Years Comes Now

Ben Franklin said "The only certainties in life are death and taxes." Perhaps he should have included price increases. DMAC has not changed its prices for 15 years but with significant inflation coming back we must do so now. The time has come for an approximately eight percent increase to allow our vendors and employees to maintain their status quo.

To see the new prices go to www.dmac-unibase.com and click the "product prices" tab.