Top Windows FAQs

Applies to:

[x] C&P Classic
[x] C&P Pro
[x] Job Tracker
[x] Enterprise
[x] My C&P!

See also:
C&P System Manager News

Q. Why do some reports have solid blacks bars, especially where sub-totals or headings should be?

Many Clients & Profits reports are now designed with color to be very readable. Some reports are formatted to mimic old green-bar computer paper, which makes them easier to analyze. These reports require a printer that can print in color, or at least in shades of gray. Some laser printers (especially ones that don't contain Postscript) can't print the colors sent to it from Clients & Profits X, displaying solid black instead of green or gray. Depending on your printer, there needs to be a user-defined option to print gray-scale -- which should be enabled. It's caused by some incompatibility between the printer driver, Windows, and the printer itself. (It's only a problem on Windows, because the shades of grey print fine for Mac users.) There isn't a single cause of the problem, so there's not a single solution, either. In general, newer printers are more compatible with grey-scale printing than older ones (i.e., anything made before 1995). Also, Postscript-based laser printers are better with C&P X than non-Postscript printers (that's because the reports in C&P are Postscript-based, but are interpreted down for non-PS printers).

The padlock cursor means two things: (1) the record you're trying to update is already being edited by another user, so the record is locked, or (2) the server and/or network is so busy that communication has been delayed.

The padlock cursor looks like this:

Whenever a record (such as a job, an invoice, a PO, etc.) is being added, edited, or saved, the ?pointer? (i.e. cursor) will become a padlock when the same record is used by some other user -- who started editing it before you. This is a natural, normal feature of multi-user databases to ensure that two people don’t update the same record at the same time. The padlock cursor disappears automatically as soon as the person who’s editing the record saves their changes, usually within seconds. But there’s no way to know how long the user will keep it locked while making their changes -- and there's no way to know who's editing the record you want. You can cancel the padlock by pressing command-period (on a Mac) or control-break (on a PC) then canceling whatever you were editing. After a minute, try editing the record again; if the record isn't locked, you'll be able to save your changes without getting locked out. If you get a padlock cursor and don't want to wait DO NOT TURN OFF OR RESTART YOUR COMPUTER -- this can damage the database.

Q. In the Checkbook window, the check number and the word "Check" appear as gibberish. Why?

The "Display Properties" in Windows is set to display "Large Fonts", which interferes with the special cross-platform fonts. These fonts, which were installed automatically by Clients & Profits, ensure compatibility between Mac and Windows users and need certain settings in Windows to display correctly. To change your display settings, choose Start > Settings > Control Panels then double-click on the Display control panel. Click on the Settings tab, then choose Small Fonts from the Font size pop-up menu. Click OK to save these changes. When you open the Checkbook window in Clients & Profits X, the check number will appear properly.

Q. Why can't I enter my initials in the Introduce Yourself window? The initials field is too small.

Make sure the special cross-platform Clients & Profits fonts are installed. These fonts are designed especially for compatibility between Macintosh and Windows users (they are equivalent to the standard Mac fonts Geneva, Monaco, and Chicago). These fonts are smaller than regular Windows screen fonts, so they allow windows in Clients & Profits to show more detail. If these fonts weren't installed with the C&P Player, they can be found in the C&P directory in a folder called FONTS. Use the Fonts control panel (choose Start > Settings > Control Panels > Fonts) to copy them into your Windows system directory. If these fonts aren't installed, your Clients & Profits X windows won't have lines under fields and some fields will be too short for data entry.

OR -

Check to see if your Windows system is set to display "small fonts." Since the cross-platform fonts in Clients & Profits X are smaller than the typical Windows font, the C&P windows won't work correctly without choosing the "small fonts" setting. If set to "large fonts," some field labels are truncated (but it's only a cosmetic problem). To check this setting, choose Start > Settings > Control Panels then open the Display control panel. Click on the Settings tab then choose "Small Fonts" from the Font Size drop-down menu.

Q. When I print a report to the screen for a preview, then print it to the printer, the bottom of the report is being cut off -- why?

When a report is printed to the screen first, be sure to select the correct page orientation -- portrait (i.e., vertical) or landscape (i.e., horizontal). If not, the edge of the report may be lost if the screen report is sent to the printer.

Q. When I click on a line item in any window it disappears -- why?

This is a function of how your PC's colors are set up, which is customizable in Windows. (In fact, different PCs might have different settings, so some will have this problem while others won't.) The solution to the disappearing line item is to pick a different color in Windows' display properties: (1) choose Start > Settings > Control Panels > Display > Appearance; (2) click on the Item field, choose Selected Items from the pop-up menu; (3) in the Font field, choose a different color than white; (4) then click Apply then OK.

Q. Does Clients & Profits X work differently on Windows XP vs. Windows Vista?

No. The installation, functionality, and system requirements are identical. The same C&P X Player, Clients & Profits application, and database run the same on both versions of Windows.

Q. How much RAM does Clients & Profits need on a Windows-based PC?

A typical Windows XP PC needs at least 256mb of RAM. Adding additional RAM greatly improves the speed of a PC because less "virtual memory" is used. Also, additional RAM lets more programs run simultaneously, which saves time opening and closing applications. The actual RAM you need is based on how many programs you use at the same time and their own memory requirements. If you find your system running suddenly slower, adding more RAM (especially since it's cheap these days) might be the answer.

Q. What's the best way to start Clients & Profits X? Can I make a shortcut to it?

Clients & Profits X starts up like any other Macintosh or Windows application: simply double-click on the program, open the database, then introduce yourself. To save time later, make a shortcut of the Clients & Profits X application then double-click on the shortcut to launch the program. When you are asked to introduce yourself, the last database that you logged into will appear in the database drop down selection.

Q. Why do some reports show a long line of zeros?

This is unique to the Windows version of Clients & Profits. The problem occurs on a report when an empty field is divided by zero - for example, on a Job Summary where a job has no costs but has billings. The report calculates the gross margin percentage, which is invalid because the job has no costs. Dividing billings into no costs causes an overflow, which appears on the printed report as a line of zeros. There is no work around, except printing the report on a Macintosh. The problem doesn't happen if all fields have some kind of value other than zero.

Q. What does the "too many workstations in use" error message mean?

It means that too many other people are currently using C&P X, and there's no more room for you in the database. Clients & Profits is licensed for a certain number of concurrent (i.e., simultaneous) users. For example, a 10-user version would let any ten people open the C&P database anywhere in the shop. Once the 11th user tries to start Clients & Profits, they'll get the "too many workstations in use" error message. When a user quits C&P, a new user can take their place, up to the number of users licensed to use it. In this case, more licenses might be needed.

Q. Why do the fonts look awful on some reports, such as the Weekly Traffic report and the Detailed Job Summary?

Some reports use a compressed, or narrow, font. A narrow font lets more information appear on the printed page, saving paper and making the report more readable. The Macintosh versions of Clients & Profits use N Helvetica Narrow, which is the equivalent of Arial Narrow in Windows. If your PC doesn't have Arial Narrow installed in the font's folder, then reports print in the standard printer font -- and the fields overlap on reports. If you have changed the original fonts that work with Clients & Profits, problems occur on the detail (viewing or entering of characters) of different reports. You can fix this by installing the Arial Narrow font. If it isn't already in your fonts folder, you'll need to copy it from a PC that has it. Your fonts folder is located in the Control Panels folder. Or, you can choose any compressed font available in your PC font folder.

To change Clients & Profits' settings to recognize this font on your reports, choose Setup > Customize Reports, then click the Modify Reports link. Select the Report Font Table. On line 6, replace Arial Narrow with the name of the compressed font, then click OK. If you choose a font other than Arial Narrow, be sure to test, print several copies of the affected reports (such as the Detailed Job Summary) to make sure the font fits the text.

If you don't have any narrow fonts at all (which would be unlikely, especially with newer PC's), then you'll need to buy some kind of narrow font to make the reports print properly. Changing the report font table affects only the computer on which you made the changes. You will need to perform the same steps on any other computer you wish to use this font when printing these reports. Read more about customizing report fonts in the C&P X User Guide.

Q. Does Clients & Profits support long file names for the database?

Yes, as long as it ends with the .DF1 suffix. A name like AGENCY2006.DF1 is recommended; each year you should rename next year's copy of the database, indicating the database's fiscal year (e.g., AGENCY2007.DF1). Stay away from special characters, especially cross-platform.

Q. What is Omnis?

Omnis Studio is the relational database program in which Clients & Profits X was developed. It is the engine that runs Clients & Profits X, much like Excel is the engine that runs your spreadsheets. Most of the references to Omnis have been changed to Clients & Profits X, but you'll still see the word "Omnis" pop-up from time to time. So whenever you see the word "Omnis" think "Clients & Profits X".