Contents
Employee Project Clock is a single or multi-user employee project time entry tool. It is an ideal solution for those companies wishing to move beyond their existing outmoded manual paper punch card system.
Installing Employee Project Clock
Getting Started
Using Employee Project Clock
Preventing Data Corruption
Frequently Asked Questions
Purchase Information
License
Feedback
Other CyberMatrix Software
Find up to date information on all CyberMatrix software at:
http://www.cybermatrix.com
About Employee Project Clock
Employee Project Clock is a single or multi-user employee project time tracking tool. It is an ideal solution for those companies wishing to move beyond their existing outmoded manual paper punch card system.
Please note that Employee Project Clock is not free software. It is trial software. You may evaluate it at no charge, but to continue using the program you must purchase a license to use it from CyberMatrix.
Employee Project Clock is copyright (C) 2000-2006, by CyberMatrix Corporation Inc. All rights reserved. Anything not explicitly allowed below is prohibited.
This software is provided "as is". In no event shall CyberMatrix Corporation be liable for any consequential, special, incidental or indirect damages of any kind arising out of the delivery, performance or use of this software. This software has been written with great care but CyberMatrix does not warrant that the software is entirely error free.
You may not attempt to reverse compile, modify, translate or disassemble the software in whole or in part.
You may freely distribute the trial version of Employee Project Clock, provided that all the files are included and are unmodified and that no files have been added to the package. Please distribute it by copying the original zip file. You may not ask any money for the distribution.
If you want to put this application on a CD-ROM or other software compilation, please contact CyberMatrix before doing so. This is to ensure that old or incomplete files are not included in the compilation.
You may evaluate the trial version of Employee Project Clock without any charge for a period of 30 days. After that time, the program must be registered with CyberMatrix or you must completely remove the program from your computer. Each person who will use the program must have a separate license. A site license allows every user in your company to use the software. After 30 days from the time of installation the software will cease functioning but can still be registered.
Installing Employee Project Clock
There are three ways Employee Project Clock can be installed:
On a single user's machine.
On a shared network location where the program and data is accessed by all users.
On every user's machine with only the data stored on the network.
Note: if installing this software for use by multiple people, all people must have read/write access to the Data folder on the shared drive.
Installing Employee Project Clock on a single machine
Use the setup program to make the initial install on a local drive for a single-user. When prompted for an installation type choose the first option, Standard. The data will be stored in the user Application Data\CyberMatrix\EmployeeProjectClock folder. E.g. C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\CyberMatrix\EmployeeProjectClock. If you want to use a data folder in another location, you should choose the Data Only option when at the installation type selection screen. After installing the data, run the setup again and choose the Client Only option when at the installation type selection screen. Otherwise, you will have to move or copy the data to the desired location and then change the Data Path setting in the configuration screen.
Installing Employee Project Clock on one or more machines with network-shared data
There are two ways Employee Project Clock can be installed in order to share data with multiple people: fully-shared and shared-data-only. In a fully-shared setup the program and all data are installed on a shared network location. Users will use icons to access the software. To tell the program where the shared data is located you will need to either:
1) Enter the data path when you see the file missing message after trying to run the software on each client or
2) Copy over a EPClock.ini file containing the DataPath setting to each client's C:\Documents and Settings\[UserName]\Application Data\CyberMatrix\ folder.
3) Install the shared data folder in a folder called "Data" off the shared program folder. That is, if you installed Employee Project Clock into a folder called I:\Shared\EPC, just install the data to I:\Shared\EPC\Data.
In a shared-data-only setup, just the data resides on a shared network location. The software and other support files reside on the user's own computer. Installing Employee Project Clock in this way will generally be faster since the program executable will not always be pulled down through the network. However, installation and applying updates will involve significantly more work.
To install only the data on the network and install Employee Project Clock on one or more machines do the following:
Run the setup program on a single machine.
Choose the Data Only option when at the installation type selection screen.
Install Employee Project Clock on all the machines that need to use the software. If you are sharing the entire application on the network just install to this machine.
Choose the Client Only option when at the installation type selection screen.
At the Enter Network Data Location prompt screen, enter the network data folder where you installed the data previously.
Installing Employee Project Clock in this way will generally be faster since the program executable will not always be pulled down through the network. However, installation and applying updates will involve significantly more work.
Setting up the User's Workstations
In a fully shared multi-user setup, the Employee Project Clock program files and data will reside in a common directory on the network. You will need to manually setup icons for your users.
Getting Started
When billing time with Employee Project Clock the most important field is the Employee field. The employee is whom you are billing time to. As well as the Employee, you can also optionally add a Shift, a Client, a Project or a Task.
The first step in using Employee Project Clock is to enter your employees and projects (if any) into the program. To do this, select View | Data Manager from the main menu. The Data Manager screen should pop up. In the radio group to the left, select Employees. This will cause the Employees table data to be displayed in the grid to the right. Enter your employee information in this grid. Repeat this step for your shifts, clients, projects and tasks, if any. See the Data Manager link for more information. Employee Project Clock contains sample data, so you'll probably want to delete it first. See the section on deleting records to learn how to do this.
Note that you cannot simply enter a new employee name in the Employee pull-down list on the main screen. All employees must first be entered in the Employee table before they can have time billed to them.
Changing Employees
To bill time to an employee first select an employee name from the pull-down list near the top of the main screen. To the right of the Employee box, you should see a small grey box with a downward pointing arrow. Clicking on this arrow brings up the Employee List. Click on any name to select it.
You may cycle through the employee list by using the Up and Down Arrow keys. First, click on the Employee box or tab into it to give it the focus. Then press the Up Arrow key to view employees in the upward direction or press the Down Arrow key to view employees in the downward direction.
If security has been enabled and the Force Login option has been set, you need to login first before you can bill time. After you login your name will appear in the Employee pull-down list. In this case, you will not be able to select another name until you logout.
Starting Billing
To start billing click on the In button. You may also manually type in a time in the edit box in front of the In button. Be sure to use the proper time format.
Stopping Billing
To stop billing to the current employee, click on the Out button or enter a time in the Out text box. The time spent will be added to the total amount of time currently billed to the employee, seen in the Time Spent box. The total time spent today can be seen in the Day Total box.
Comments
At any time after punching in and before punching out you may type in a comment about what the billed time involved. To edit the comment after billing has stopped you will have to edit the Employee Project Clock history.
History
The Employee Project Clock history is a record of times billed to all employees. To see the history choose View | Data Manager from the main menu. In the Data Manager screen, select the Time History radio button to the left. Changes may be made here that will be reflected on the timesheet reports. See the Data Manager link for more information.
Time Format
See also: Understanding Time Formats.
You do not always have to enter the exact format: [HH:MM:SS AM/PM].
Here are examples of time entries and their resulting displayed values:
Enter Displays
1 01:00:00 AM
1 p 01:00:00 PM
2:3 p 02:03:00 PM
Be careful. If your In Time is PM and you leave out the AM/PM format you elapsed time will be very wrong:
In Displays
1 p 01:00:00 PM
Out Displays
1:30 01:30:00 AM
Spent Displays
11:30:00
Using Employee Project Clock
Getting to know the main screen
Adding Time Charges Later
Adding Blocks of Time Quickly
Understanding Time Formats
Day Punch
Break for Lunch
Holiday Punch
Configuring Employee Project Clock
Working with Project Clock Data with the Data Manager
Project Management
Printing Reports
Custom Reporting
Using the Security Features
Getting to know the main screen
On starting Employee Project Clock, you will see the main form.
The main form is for employees to enter their start and end times. The main form consists of two parts: a menu and a set of visual controls.
Menu
Below you will find an explanation of all the menu items.
File
Login
Allows you to login to the system. See also: security.
Logout
Allows you to logout.
The Login and Logout menu items are only seen when security has been enabled.
Change Password
Brings up the change password dialog that allows you to change your login password.
Exit
Closes the program.
Clock
Punch In
Punches you into the current project with the current time. This has the same effect as clicking the In button.
Punch Out
Punches you out of the current project with the current time. This has the same effect as clicking the Out button.
Add Hours
Brings up the Add Hours screen that allows you to quickly enter blocks of time. See also: Adding Blocks of Time.
Who's in
Brings up the Clocked In Employees screen which show a list of all the employees currently logging time to the system.
Pause
Punches you out of the current project allowing you to resume charging later. After punching out this menu item changes to Resume. When you are ready to begin charging time again choose the Resume menu item. See also: Pausing Billing.
Break for Lunch
Allows you to punch out for your lunch break in one step. See also: Break for Lunch.
Day Punch
The Day Punch feature allows you to punch in an entire working day in one step. See also: Day Punch.
Holiday Punch
The Holiday Punch feature allows you to punch in an entire holiday in one step. See also: Holiday Punch.
Sickday Punch
The Sickday Punch feature allows you to punch in an entire sick day in one step. See also: Sickday Punch.
View
Reports
Brings up the Time Reporting screen where several different reports may be viewed. See also: Printing Reports.
Data Manager
Brings up the Data Manager screen. The Data Manager is used to administer the data used in Project Clock. See also: Viewing and Editing Table Data.
Options
Brings up the Options screen where the different configuration options may be set. See also: Configuration.
Visual Controls
Below you will find an explanation of all the visual controls on the main screen.
Charge Date
This is the date in which time is being charged to. Usually this will be today's date but it can be changed to add time data for previous days.
Shift
The shift for which to show employees.
Employee
The employee to whom work is being charged.
Review time card
Clicking this button will bring up the Review Time Card screen for the current Employee and date.
Client
Client to whom the work will be charged.
New client button
On clicking this button, the New Client Screen will appear.
Project box
Which project time is being charged to.
Manage project button
Clicking this button will bring up the Manage Projects screen to allow the entering of a new projects and editing of existing projects.
Task
This is an additional code for the current project.
Expense Item
Expense item used during this time period.
Expense item count
The number of expense items used in this time period.
Start Time
Use to manually enter charge account billing start time. The time format is: [HH:MM:SS AM/PM].
In Time Stamp
Click to record current time as the current employee's start time.
Comments
The Comments field is for entering optional notes describing the work performed during the billed time period. If you wish to add a comment you must enter the comment after punching in and before punching out. To edit the list of comments seen when opening the Comments pull-down list, open the Comments.Txt file with any text editor such as Notepad.
Out Time Stamp
Click to record current time as the current employee's end time.
End Time
Use to manually enter charge account billing end time. The time format is: [HH:MM:SS AM/PM].
Time Spent
This field indicates the total time so far that has been logged for the current employee.
Day Total
Indicates total time billed to the employee for current day.
Manage projects screen
On clicking the new project button beside the project pull-down list on the main screen the following screen will pop up:
This screen will allow you to view information on each project. You can also use this form to add or edit project information. To view information on a project, select the project from the project pull-down list. To edit information on the currently listed project press the Edit button. The fields will now allow changes to them and the Save button will become enabled. After making your changes press the Save button. To add a new project, press the New button. A project ID will be automatically created in the form YYYYMM---- where YYYY corresponds to the current year, MM corresponds to the current month and ---- is a four-digit counter. All the other fields will become blank allowing you to enter new information. When you are finished entering information press the Save button to add the new project. To delete the current project press the Delete button.
Fields Explained
The ProjectID field must be a unique ID for the project. The Description field is a descriptive name for the project. The Rate field indicates the rate at which this project is charged. The ClientID field indicates which client, if any, the project belongs to. The active field indicates whether the project can have time billed to it. If the active field is not set, this project will not show up in any of the project pull-down lists.
New Client Screen
On clicking the new client button beside the Client field on the main screen, the following screen will appear:
This screen allows the adding of new clients. After filling in the fields for the new client, press the save button. A client ID will be automatically created in the form ---- where ---- is a four-digit counter.
Adding Time Charges Later
Sometimes employees may forget to punch in or out.
Adding Time to the Current Day
To add time for the current day you can manually enter the start and end times in the main screen. See the Getting Started link for more information.
Adding Time for Previous Days
To make time charge additions for previous days you can change the date in the date pull-down control. When the date is changed the caption will change to indicate the program is now in edit mode. Any manually entered time records will be billed to the date indicated.
Manually Editing Data
You may also manually edit time data in the Table Views screen. Adding new time history records in this screen is not recommended as the timestamp fields must be entered exactly correct or you will not be able to save the record. See the Data Manager link for more information.
Adding Blocks of Time
You can quickly enter blocks of time by using the Hours Entry form. You can access the Hours Entry form by choosing Clock | Add Hours from the main menu. The following screen will then pop up:
This screen is very similar to the main screen except that instead of In and Out fields and buttons there is an Hours field. To add a block of time first set the desired charge account, Task and client. Add a comment if any and in the Hours field type in the amount of hours you need to add. To save this block of time press the Save button or press the Cancel button to close the Hours Entry screen.
Review Time Card Screen
On clicking the Review Time Card button beside the Employee pull-down list on the main screen, the following screen will pop-up:
This screen lists all the time changes made by the current employee on the current day. The elapsed time hour and minute fields can be modified and changes are saved by pressing the Save button.
Understanding Time Formats
On the Employee Project Clock main screen the time spent and day total fields displays the total time in Hours:Minutes:Seconds format. However, in the time sheet reports the total time is shown as a decimal number. That is, if your total for a charge account on Tuesday is 3:26:09, on the report this will show up as 3.44. This is calculated as follows: 3 hours + 26/60 minutes + 09/3600 seconds.
Pausing Billing
If you are working on a project but must leave for a few hours, you will find the Pause billing feature to be convenient. This feature punches you out of the current project, but when you punch back in, any comments you had entered will not be cleared. To pause billing select Clock | Pause from the main menu or press the [Ctrl] + [P] key combination.
Note that the pause feature works only for the current person. When switching to another person the pause feature will be canceled.
Day Punch
The Day Punch feature allows a person to punch in an entire working day in one step. Simply choose the date you want to bill to and then choose Clock | Day Punch from the main menu. You must setup your working day in the Options screen for this feature to work properly.
Break for Lunch
The Break for Lunch feature allows you to punch out for your lunch break in one step. Simply choose Clock | Break for Lunch from the main menu. You will be automatically punched out at your usual lunch start time and punched in at your usual lunch end time. You must setup your working day in the Options screen for this feature to work properly.
Holiday Punch
The Holiday Punch feature allows you to punch in an entire holiday in one step. Simply choose the date you want to bill to and then choose Clock | Holiday Punch from the main menu. You must enter your holiday hours value in the Options screen for this feature to work properly. Holiday time records have a 1 in the BillingType field of the Time History.
Sickday Punch
The Sickday Punch feature allows you to punch in an entire sick day in one step. Simply choose the date of the sick day and then choose Clock | Sickday Punch from the main menu. You must enter your day hours value in the Options screen for this feature to work properly. Sick day time records have a 2 in the BillingType field of the Time History.
Configuration
On choosing View | Options from the Employee Project Clock main menu you will see the configuration screen. The options are split up into nine different sections: the General Tab, the Billing Tab, the Working Day Tab, the Backup Tab, the Security Tab, the Data Tab, the Report Tab and the Terms Tab. Choose a section by clicking on the labeled tab corresponding to that section.
To close this screen saving any changes made press the OK button. To close this screen without saving any changes made press the Cancel button.
General Options
The General Options section is for setting program and report options.
This is what the General Options section looks like.
Pressing the OK button will save the changes made and exit the program.
Press Cancel to exit without saving changes.
Program Options
Launch On Boot Option
If the Launch On Boot option is checked, Employee Project Clock will start automatically when Windows loads up.
Show Splash Screen
If the Show Splash Screen option is checked, on program start up, the Employee Project Clock start screen will show as the program loads.
Always On Top Option
If the Always On Top option is checked, the main screen of Employee Project Clock will always be on top of whatever other applications are currently running.
Enable Auto Fill
If the Enable Auto Fill option is checked, all pull-down lists will automatically show the term in the list matching what you have typed.
Allow manual time edits
If checked employees will be able to type in their time as well as use the In/Out buttons.
Time server
The IP address or machine name of the time server to use to get the current time. Leave blank to use the system time of each workstation.
Allow time overlaps
If checked employees will be able to punch in twice to the same time period for a day.
Make scanner friendly
If checked the software will work better with bar code scanners. The employee pull-down will have a blank entry and the buttons beside the pull-downs will no longer be tab stops.
IDs in pull-downs
If the IDs in Pull-downs option is checked, all pull-down lists will show the ID field first instead of the description.
Show Tips on Start Up
If this option is checked helpful tips will be seen when the software first runs.
Left pull-down column width
Determines how wide in pixels the left-most column of the multi-column pull-down lists will be.
Visible Pull-Down Lists
The Viewable Pull-down List section is used to configure which pull down lists are seen on the main screen, the Add Hours screen and the Reporting Screen. To hide a pull-down list, simply uncheck the box next to the pull-down list's name.
Billing Options
The Billing Options section is for setting time billing related options.
This is what the Billing Options section looks like.
Allow multiple punch ins
If this option is unchecked, time cannot be punched in more than once.
Allow changes after punch in
If this option is unchecked, projects and tasks cannot be changed after punching in.
Punch out on new project
If this option is checked, the current person's time will be punched out automatically after choosing a new project.
Auto Punch out for day
If this option is checked, every 5 minutes the system will check to see if anyone forgot to punch out. If so the current person's time will be punched out automatically. Note that this option will only work if you have setup your shift times or working day times properly.
Auto Punch out for lunch
If this option is checked, every 5 minutes the system will check to see if anyone forgot to punch out for lunch. If so, the current person's time will be automatically punched out for lunch. Note that this option will only work if you have setup your shift times or working day times properly.
Punch in with last out time
If this option is checked, when a person punches in the last out time will be used instead of the current time. If the elapsed time between the last punched out time and the current time is over eight hours the current time will be used.
Force Client
If this option is checked, you must enter a client name before you can punch in.
Force Project
If this option is checked, you must enter a Project before you can punch in.
Force Task
If this option is checked, you must enter a Task before you can punch in.
Force time card review
If checked employees will have to review and submit their last week's time card before they can punch in to a day in the new week.
Clear fields on new Employee
If this option is checked, all fields on the main screen will be cleared when a new employee is chosen.
Conform to day start within
If this option is checked, employee's that punch in before the number of minutes entered in the box to the right, will be punched in at whatever is entered as the Day Start time. See also: Working Day Options
Minimum Billing Increment
The value in this box indicates the minimum amount of time that should be charged.
Working Day Options
The Working Day section is for setting up your working day times for the Break for Lunch, Day Punch and Holiday punch features. The week start is also set here. The week start is used for reporting.
This is what the Working Day Options section looks like.
Working Day
These times relate to your ordinary working day. They are used for the day punch and break for lunch features. Note that if you are using shifts, working day times will be taken from the Shifts table instead.
Holiday Hours
This is the number of hours you bill for statutory holidays. This is used for the holiday punch feature.
Week Start
Indicates which day on which a week starts. Used for the reports to default to first day of the week.
Backup Options
The Backup Tab allows enabling of automatic data backups.
This is what the Backup Options section looks like.
To enable automatic backups make sure the Auto Backup checkbox is checked. Enter the automatic backup interval in the text box. For example, if you enter a 60 in the edit box the data will be automatically backed up every hour (60 minutes).
To limit how long backup archives remain in the backup folder, enter the number of days to keep them in the Keep Backups edit box. For example, if the number is 7, any backup files older than a week (7 days) will be deleted when the program starts.
Auto Backup
If checked enable automatic data backups. Backup data is stored in a Zip file archive having a name consisting of the date and time o the backup.
Backup Every X Minutes
This number indicates how often an automatic backup is to be performed. For example to backup every 2 hours enter 120 (2 x 60).
Keep Backups for X Days
This number indicates how long backup archives remain in the backup folder. E.g. if the number is 7, any backup files older than a week (7 days) will be deleted when the program starts.
Security Options
The Security Tab allows enabling of security and setting other security options.
This is what the Security Options section looks like.
Enable Security
If this option is checked the security system is enabled for the application. Note that when security is enabled for the first time the Administrator uses the default password of "magic". You should change this password if you want to prevent every user from being able to view and edit other user's data. Write down your new password and store it in a secure location such as a safe.
When security is enabled a login dialog will popup on program start. The Administrator can login as well as any users who have been setup in the Security table. To setup the users in the Security table and to change the current passwords use the Detail tab of the Data Manager. See also: Using the Security Features.
Set Data Read Only
If this option is checked, users will have to login as administrator in order to edit table data.
Force login
If set employees must login before punching in or punching out.
Users can view options
If checked, users will be able to access the Options screen when security has been enabled.
Users can view Data Manager
If checked, users will be able to access the Data Manager when security has been enabled.
Users can view Add Hours screen
If checked, users will be able to access the Add Hours screen.
Punch in on login
If checked, users will be automatically punched in or out right after they login.
Data Options
The Data Tab allows setting the network and local locations of Employee Project Clock data files.
This is what the Data Options section looks like.
The main purpose of this screen is to move the database location. As an example, you might want to run Employee Project Clock on several workstations but access the data on the server.
The local data location box indicates the path of the data on the machine. Click the ellipsis icon to the right of the box to change the directory.
To cause the local database location to default to the data subdirectory of the folder Employee Project Clock was installed to, make sure the Default Data Location check box is checked.
Local Data Location
This is the directory location of the data.
CSV Field Separator
This field contains the character used to separate data fields for the CSV import/export feature.
Report Options
This is what the Report Options section looks like.
Round report totals
Use to round report totals either up or down.
Round Time By
This number indicates by how much time totals on the timesheet reports should be rounded. For example, a round time of 0.25 rounds all totals to the nearest quarter hour. A round time of 0.001 will not affect the totals at all.
Report Location
This is the path to the reports folder. To change to a new folder, click the ellipsis icon to the right and select a new path. Ordinarily the Report Location field will be blank. When the Report Location field is blank, the report location will default to the Reports folder off the program folder (usually C:\Program Files\Employee Project Clock\Reports\). In a multi-user setting, you may want everyone to use the reports stored in a shared network folder. In this case, you would set the Report Location field to this shared path.
Project Term Options
Use the Project Term options to change certain key terms used throughout the program.
This is what the Term Options section looks like.
Employee Project Clock uses the following Project terms: Shift, Employee, Client, Project and Task. These terms are used throughout the program. If you would rather use different terms than these, you can use this form to change the names to anything you desire.
In this case Employee was changed to Staff, Project was changed to Account and Task was changed to Job Code.
To revert back to the original terms click the Restore Defaults button.
Data Features
Employee Project Clock uses a database to store its data. The database consists of several tables. These tables can be edited and administered by using the Data Manager. See the links below for further information.
Getting to Know the Data Manager
Viewing and Editing Table Data
Employee Project Clock Table Details
Viewing SQL Queries
Executing SQL Queries
Deleting records
Inserting Records
Loading Employee Project Clock Data into Excel
Exporting Project Clock Data into QuickBooks
Re-indexing Tables
Archiving Old Data
Backing Up Data
Restoring Data
Inactivating Accounts
Preventing data corruption
Data Manager
The Data Manager screen allows viewing and editing of all Employee Project Clock data. To bring up this screen select View | Data Manager from the main menu. The following screen should pop up:
The Data Manager consists of three parts. The menu, the data navigation toolbar and the data view. The menu contains several data related functions. The data navigation toolbar is used to navigate through the different tables. The data view shows the data of a single table.
Menu
The menu consists of four sections File, Search, Records and Help. See below for descriptions of the different functions found within these sections.
File
Export to CSV - Exports the current table to text (CSV) format. See also: Importing and Exporting Data in CSV Format.
Import CSV File - Imports a text file in comma separated variable (CSV) format into the current table. See also: Importing and Exporting Data in CSV Format.
Export to QBXML - Exports data to newer versions of QuickBooks. See also: Exporting Project Clock Data into QuickBooks.
Export to IIS - Exports data to IIS format which older versions of QuickBooks can import. See also: Exporting Project Clock Data into QuickBooks.
Export Project to MS Project - Exports the current project data into MS Project. See also: Exporting Current Project to MS Project
New SQL File - Opens the Notepad text editor to allow you to create a new SQL file. See also: Viewing SQL Queries.
Edit SQL File - Opens the Notepad text editor to allow you to edit an existing SQL file.
Open SQL File - Allows you to choose an existing SQL file and shows the results of that query in the detail tab data grid.
Execute SQL File - Allows you to choose an existing SQL file and execute that query. Only Administrators can execute queries.
Re-index Table - Re-index the currently selected table. See also: Re-indexing Tables.
Close - Closes the Data Manager screen.
Search Section
The Search section allows you to find records when in the detail tab view. To search for a record you must first click in or tab over to the field in which you want to search. Then choose Find from the Search menu. In the dialog that pops up, enter the text you want to search for then press the Find Next button. To find the next occurrence of that text press the Find Next button again.
Records Section
The Records section contains the following functions:
Copy - Copies the selected record into the Windows clipboard for pasting later.
Paste - Pastes the record contained in the Windows clipboard into a new record.
Cut - Copies the selected record into the Windows clipboard for pasting later and then deletes the record.
Delete Selected Records - Delete all the selected records. See also: Deleting records.
Delete All Records - Deletes all the records in the current table.
Archive History Data - Brings up a dialog to allow you to select from and to dates. On pressing OK, all time data between those dates will be moved to the Time History Archive table.
Archive Selected Records - Move all selected records to the Time History Archive table.
Backup Data - Makes a time-stamped backup file of all tables. See also: Backing up Data.
Restore Data - Replaces your existing data with the tables from a previous data backup. See also: Restoring data.
The Data navigator Bar
The bar at the top is the data navigator. The data navigator is for navigating the records of the current table. The first button |< will move to the first record of the current table. The second button < will move to the previous record. The third button > will move to the next record. The fourth button >| will move to the last record. The + button will add a new record. The - button will delete the current record. The button with the check mark will save changes made to the current record. The x button will cancel any changes made to an unsaved record. The last button refreshes the current table to show the latest changes made to it.
The Data Tabs
The data tabs show all the tables used in Employee Project Clock and allow you to view and edit the data in them. See the Viewing and Editing Table Data section for more details.
Viewing and Editing Table Data
There are two ways to enter table data: form view and detail view.
Entering data in form view
To enter data by form view choose the tab corresponding to the table for which you wish to enter data. A form will appear showing all the fields in that table. The screen should look like this:
To add a new record press the + button on the data navigator bar. A blank record field will appear. Enter data in the fields and press the check mark on the data navigator bar. This saves the record changes.
Entering data in detail view
To view a table's data in detail view first choose the Detail tab. The screen should look like this:
To view the data for a table choose the table's radio button in the left box. The table's data should then appear in the grid to the right. The data may now be edited directly in the grid. After editing a record, the changes will be saved after you move off the edited record.
Currently, data from SQL queries may not be edited in this way.
You can cancel any changes you made to a record by either clicking the Cancel button (the big X) on the Database Navigator at the top of the screen or by simply hitting the ESC key.
Table Details
Employee Project Clock has 12 tables: Clients, Employees, Estimates, Expenses, Items, Tasks, Projects, Shifts, Time History, Time History Archive, Security and Users.
Clients
This table list all the client data. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
ClientID - Text - 15 - unique
Name - Text - 50
Contact - Text - 50
Address1 - Text - 20
Address2 - Text - 20
City - Text - 15
State - Text - 15
Country - Text - 15
Postal - Text - 15
E-mail - Text - 50
Web - Text - 50
Phone - Text - 20
Fax - Text - 20
Rate - Currency
Active - Boolean
The ClientID field links to the Client field in the Projects table.
Employees
This table lists all employees, the shift they work on and the rate at which they are billed out. This table also contains all the login ID and password data. The table can only be seen by the Administrator. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
UserID - Text - 15 - unique
Name - Text - 25
Shift - Text - 10
Rate - Currency
JobType - Text - 15
Gender - Boolean
Race - Unsigned integer
Password - Text - 10
SecurityLevel - Text - 1
Active - Boolean
The UserID field links to the UserID field in the Time History table. The Shift field link to the Shift field in the Shifts table.
Estimate
This table keeps track of all the different project estimates. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
EstID - AutoInc - unique
ClientID - Text - 15
Project - Text - 15
TaskID -Text - 15
UserID - Text - 30
EstHrs - Float
ActHrs - Float
EstCost - Currency
ActCost - Currency
The ClientID field links to the ClientID field in the Clients table. The Project field links to the Project field in the Projects table. The TaskID field links to the TaskID field in the Tasks table. The UserID field links with the UserID field in the Time History table.
Expenses
The Expenses table keeps track of all the expenses for different projects. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
ExpenseID - AutoInc - unique
Description - Text - 50
ClientID - Text - 15
Project - Text - 15
TaskID -Text - 15
UserID - Text - 30
Amount - Currency
The ClientID field links to the ClientID field in the Clients table. The Project field links to the Project field in the Projects table. The TaskID field links to the TaskID field in the Tasks table. The UserID field links with the UserID field in the Time History table.
Items
The Items table lists all the different types of expense items and their costs. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
ItemID - String - 10 - unique
Description - String - 25
Cost - Currency
Tasks
This table lists all the different Tasks and their description. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
TaskID - Text - 15 - unique
Description - Text - 30
Rate - Currency
ProjectID - Text - 15
Active - Boolean
The TaskID field links to the TaskID field in the History table. The ProjectID field links to the Project field in the Projects table. If projects are linked to a task, when a new project is selected only the tasks that are associated with that project ill show up on the Task pull-down list. If no projects are associated with a task then all tasks will be listed.
Projects
This table lists all projects along with a description, charge out rate and the client to which the project belongs. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
Project - Text - 15 - unique
Description - Text - 30
Rate - Currency
Client - Text - 15
Active - Boolean
The Project field links to the Project field in the Time History table. The Client field links to the ClientID field in the Clients table. If clients are linked to a project, when a new client is selected only the projects that are associated with that client will show up on the Project pull-down list. If no clients are associated with a project then all projects will be listed.
Shifts
This table lists all the available shifts. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
Shift - Text - 10 - unique
Description - Text - 20
StartTime - Time
LunchStart - Time
LunchEnd - Time
EndTime - Time
Time History
This table lists all the time charge records. It is a history of all time billed to your different employees. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
ID - AutoInc - unique
ClientID - Text - 15
Project - Text - 15
TaskID -Text - 15
StartTime - TimeStamp
EndTime - TimeStamp
Comments - Text - 200
UserID - Text - 15
Reviewed - Boolean
Item - Text - 10
NumItems - Unsigned integer
BillingType - Unsigned integer
The ClientID field links to the ClientID field in the Clients table. The Project field links to the Project field in the Projects table. The TaskID field links to the TaskID field in the Tasks table. The UserID field links to the UserID field in the Employees table. The Item field link to the ItemID field of the Items table. The BillingType field indicates which type of hours the employee logged. The value for this field can be:
0 - normal hours
1 - holiday hours
2 - sick day hours
3 - overtime hours
Time History Archive
The Time History archive table lists all the old records no longer seen in the Time History table. When the archive function is executed, the archived records end up here. This table has exactly the same format as the Time History table.
Viewing SQL Queries
It is possible to view the results of simple SQL statements stored in external text files. SQL stands for Structured Query Language. SQL is a way to extract information from databases using English-like commands.
To create a new SQL file either create one using any text editor or choose File | New SQL File from the menu. Save the SQL file to a folder, usually the Employee Project Clock Data folder. Remember to save with the .SQL extension.
To open a previously saved SQL file choose File | Open SQL File from the menu. A file select dialog will pop up allowing you to choose a SQL file. After selecting a file, you should see the results of the query in the data grid.
Here is an example of a simple SQL Select query:
Select UserID, Project, TaskID, (CAST((EndTime-StartTime) MINUTE AS INTEGER)/60) as ElapsedTime
From TimeHist
Where StartTime Between DATE "2007-03-09" And DATE "2007-04-03" And EndTime IS NOT Null And Project = "CYBER"
Order By UserID
This query shows all time charge records, sorted by UserID for the account "CYBER" between March 09 and April 03 where time has been punched out.
Note that when using dates in SQL, you must use the ISO format (i.e. yyyy-mm-dd).
For more information on SQL, consult a good introductory database textbook. There is also some documentation on the supported SQL calls in the database engine manual. To read this manual choose Help | DB Engine Manual from the Data Manager menu.
Executing SQL Queries
It is possible to execute simple SQL statements stored in external text files. SQL stands for Structured Query Language. SQL is a way to manipulate information from databases using English-like commands.
To create a new SQL file, either create one using any text editor or choose File | New SQL File from the menu. Save the SQL file to a folder, usually the Project Clock Data folder. Remember to save with the .SQL extension.
To open a previously saved SQL, file choose File | Open SQL File from the menu. A file select dialog will pop up allowing you to choose a SQL file. After selecting a file, you should see the results of the query in the data grid.
Here is an example of a simple SQL Update query:
UPDATE TimeHist SET Project='Test' WHERE Project='STest'
This query will update all time records where the Project is "STest". For these records, the Project will be renamed to "Test".
For more information on SQL, consult a good introductory database textbook. There is also some documentation on the supported SQL calls in the database engine manual. To read this manual, choose Help | DB Engine Manual from the Data Manager menu.
Deleting records
To delete a record when in form view, navigate to the record and press the - button on the navigator bar.
To delete one or more records in the detail view, select the records to delete. To select multiple records, click on the first record then hold down the [Ctrl] Key and click to select individual records or hold down the [Shift] key to select a range of records. To delete the selected records either press the [Ctrl]+[D] key combination or choose File | Delete Selected Records from the menu. To delete all the records in the current table choose File | Delete All Records from the menu.
Inserting Records
To insert a record when in form view, press the + button on the navigator bar.
To insert a record in the detail view, click on the record above which you wish to insert a record. Then either press the [Ctrl]+[I] key combination or choose File | Insert Record from the menu.
Importing and Exporting Data in CSV Format
Importing Data
Employee Project Clock can import data in the form of comma-separated CSV files. If you have existing data from another application, this data can be imported into Employee Project Clock provided it is saved in the right format. CSV files used for importing must follow the exact same format as the table into which they will be imported. That is, if you look at a table in the detail view of the Data Manager you will notice the order of the fields in the table. This is the same order that your CSV file must be in. Most spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel allow you to easily load in CSV file and move columns around.
See the section Table Details for more details on field types and sizes.
To import a CSV file first select the table you want to import into from the Data Manager. Then choose File | Import From CSV from the Data Manager menu. A wizard will guide you through importing the CSV file.
Note that when running the wizard, your import time format string must be exactly the same as what is in the CSV file. Most people leave in the .zzz in the import format string when their CSV data does not have microseconds. The import is not smart enough to determine what date/time formats you are using. You have to tell it. If the first row of your CSV file contains the field names, the field names in the header must exactly match the field names in the table you are importing into.
Exporting Data
Data can also be exported in CSV file format from Project Clock. This data can be imported into other applications that can handle CSV imports.
To export a CSV file first select the table to export from the Data Manager. Then choose File | Export To CSV from the menu. A file select dialog will allow you to select the CSV file to export.
Loading Data into Excel
To load an Employee Project Clock data file into Excel 97 perform the following steps:
1. From the Employee Project Clock main menu, choose View | Data Manager.
2. When the Data Manager form pops up, select the Detail tab and then select the desired radio button from the radio group that corresponds to the table you wish to export.
3. Select File | Export to CSV from the menu. You will be asked for a filename to export to.
4. Start Excel and choose File Open from the menu.
5. In the Files of Type pull down list choose All Files (*.*).
6. In the Look In pull-down list, find the Employee Project Clock program data directory (usually in C:\Program Files\Employee Project Clock\Data).
7. Select the CSV file you just exported to and then click the Open button.
8. The Text Import Wizard should pop up. Make sure the Delimited button is darkened. Click the Next button.
9. In the next screen, check the comma check box in the Delimiters section. Click the Finish button.
The Employee Project Clock data should now show up in an excel sheet.
Exporting Project Clock Data into QuickBooks
Project Clock data can be exported to Intuit QuickBooks in two ways: using QBXML and IIS files.
Exporting using QBXML
If you have a newer version of QuickBooks (2003 or higher), you should export using QBXML. Before exporting you must setup the QBXML SQL export file and ensure that all account information you will be exporting is already setup in QuickBooks. If you look in the Employee Project Clock data folder, you will see a SQL file called QuickbooksXMLbyProject.sql. The content of that file is shown below.
Select CAST(StartTime AS DATE) AS QBDate, Name AS Customer, Project AS ItemName, Description, (CAST((EndTime-StartTime) MINUTE AS INTEGER)/60) AS Quantity, P.Rate, "Accounts Receivable" AS AR_Account
From TimeHist T, Projects P, Clients C
Where T.Project=P.Project AND T.ClientID=C.ClientID AND StartTime Between "2007-10-01" And "2007-10-31" And EndTime IS NOT Null
You will need to change this file to reflect your data. Do not delete any fields, they are all needed. Also, no field names can be changed but their values can be. For example, suppose you wanted to export data by Task instead of by Project and you wanted to use the client rate. Then your SQL would look like this:
Select CAST(StartTime AS DATE) AS QBDate, Name AS Customer, TaskID AS ItemName, Description, (CAST((EndTime-StartTime) MINUTE AS INTEGER)/60) AS Quantity, C.Rate, "Accounts Receivable" AS AR_Account
From TimeHist T, Tasks J, Clients C
Where T.TaskID=J.TaskID AND T.ClientID=C.ClientID AND StartTime Between "2007-10-01" And "2007-10-31" And EndTime IS NOT Null
The AR_Account field is the QuickBooks accounts receivable field to which the billed time will be exported. In this case, we used the general "Accounts Receivable" account but you can use any other accounts receivable account you have setup in QuickBooks.
The filter (the WHERE clause) can be changed to whatever you like. In this case, we only wanted to export time data from the month of October.
You must ensure that all account information you will be exporting is already setup in QuickBooks. Each customer and item name and description you are exporting must already be setup in QuickBooks.
Exporting to IIS Format
If you have an older version of QuickBooks (2002 or below), you should export to QuickBooks using IIS files. Before exporting you must setup the IIS SQL export file and ensure that all account information you will be exporting is already setup in QuickBooks. If you look in the Project Clock data folder, you will see a SQL file called QuickbooksXMLbyProject.sql. The content of that file is shown below.
Select CAST(StartTime AS DATE) AS QBDate, Description, ((CAST((EndTime-StartTime) MINUTE AS INTEGER)/60) * Rate) as Cost, Invoice
From TimeHist T, Projects P
Where T.Project=P.Project AND StartTime Between "2007-10-01" And "2007-10-31" And EndTime IS NOT Null
You will need to change this file to reflect your data. Do not delete any fields, they are all needed. Also, no field names can be changed but their values can be. For example, suppose you wanted to export data by Task instead of by Project and you wanted to use the client rate. Then your SQL would look like this:
Select CAST(StartTime AS DATE) AS QBDate, Description, ((CAST((EndTime-StartTime) MINUTE AS INTEGER)/60) * Rate) as Cost, Invoice
From TimeHist T, Tasks J
Where T.TaskID=J.TaskID AND StartTime Between "2007-10-01" And "2007-10-31" And EndTime IS NOT Null
The filter (the WHERE clause) can be changed to whatever you like. In this case, we only wanted to export time data from the month of October.
Exporting Current Project to MS Project
To export a project to Microsoft Project you must first select a project by clicking on it in the Detail tab of the Data Manager or navigate to it on the Data Manager's Projects entry form. Then choose File | Export Project to MS Project.
Re-indexing Tables
Over time, one of your tables may require re-indexing. When a table requires re-indexing it is said to be corrupt. See the section Avoiding Corruption to learn more about table corruption. Usually when a table is corrupted, you will see an error message such as:
DBISAM Engine Error #9217 Error reading From Data File C:\Program Files\Employee Project Clock\data\Timehist.dat
Re-indexing the table is simple. Just select the corrupted table in the Detail view and then choose File | Re-index Table from the Data Manager menu. It does no harm to re-index a non-corrupt table.
Elevate DB Manager
If you are unable to open the application to do a re-index, you can get the DB Manager. The DB Manager is a utility from Elevate Software, the makers of the database engine used in Project Clock. Use this program to repair the affected table.
Last Resort
If after trying all these solutions you still have problems, you can zip up the problem data files and e-mail them to CyberMatrix support.
Archiving Old Data
Employee Project Clock contains an archive function that moves old time records from the time history table into an archive table. No other tables are affected by this process.
To archive old time history data, in the Data Manager screen choose Records | Archive History Data. This will bring up the archive dialog:
Choose the start and end date. On pressing the OK button, all time records having a date within the period chosen will be moved to the Archive table.
Press the Cancel button to cancel the archive process.
Archiving selected records
You may also archive all records selected in the Data Manager detail grid by selecting Records | Archive Selected Records from the Data Manager menu.
Backing up Data
In Employee Project Clock, there are two ways to backup your data: manually and automatically. To manually create a backup of your data choose Records | Backup Data from the menu in the Data Manager screen. Running this function will create a zip file in the Data\Backup folder. The zip file will have a name consisting of the current date and time the archive was completed.
Automatically Backing up Data
To have your data automatically backed up after a certain number of minutes (or hours) set the auto backup options in the Options screen.
Restoring data
To restore previously archived data choose Records | Restore Data from the Data Manager menu. A file select dialog will pop up allowing you to choose the archive you would like to restore.
Inactivating Accounts
Eventually you may wish to remove obsolete employees, projects, tasks or clients from the system. You can simply delete the unwanted accounts but you will have problems when running reports on old data. Instead, you can simply assign accounts as inactive. To do this for a project, for example, just use the Data Manager to view the Projects table and uncheck the active field for the projects you wish to inactivate. Inactivated projects will not show up on any of the Project pull-down lists.
Project management
The Project Management features of Employee Project Clock allow you to keep track of your project's estimated and actual costs and completion times.
To access the project management feature choose View | Data Manager from the main menu. This will bring up the Data Manager screen. Choose the Estimates tab. The screen should look like this:
See below for a description of the fields on this screen.
Client
The client to which work is being charged.
Project
The project to which time is being charged.
Task
This is an additional code for the current charge account.
UserID
Network user name of the person to which time is billed.
Estimated hours
The number of hours estimated for completing the project.
Actual hours
The actual number of hours that were billed for the project.
Estimated cost
The estimated cost of the project.
Actual cost
The actual cost of the project.
Estimated start date
The estimated date the project will start.
Actual start date
The actual date the project started.
Estimated finish date
The estimated date the project will finish.
Actual finish date
The actual date the project finished.
Priority
A positive integer representing the priority of the project. A priority of 1 will be the highest priority.
Status
A positive integer representing the project's status.
Reporting
Employee Project Clock has several reporting features. Visit the links below to find out more about them.
Getting to know the Reporting Screen
Reports explained
Exporting reports to different formats
Customizing reports
Getting to Know the Reporting Screen
The Report Selector screen allows the viewing of several different time data reports.
To access the Report Selector select View | Reports from the main menu. The following screen will pop up:
The reporting screen consists of a menu, the report selector and the filters. See below for a description of each section.
Menu
The menu consists of three parts: File, Custom Reports and Help.
File
Print Setup - Brings up a print setup dialog so you can change printer options such as the printer used.
Print - Sends the current report to the printer.
Print Preview - Sends the current report to the screen so you can check it before printing.
Close - Closes the reporting screen and returns to the main screen.
Custom Reports
New Reports - Brings up the custom report designer allowing you to create a new report.
Edit Report - Show the report selector dialog to allow you to choose a report to edit in the custom report designer.
Print Report - Show the report selector dialog to allow you to print a custom report.
Preview Report - Show the report selector dialog to allow you to print preview a custom report.
The Report Selector
The report selector allows you to select a report to view. It consists of a list of all the available reports. When a report is selected, it will have a dot to the left of the report name.
The report list shows all the reports that exist in the Employee Project Clock reports folder. If you do not need all the reports that show up here you can delete the ones you do not need from this folder. In the Reports folder is a folder called Examples. This contains additional reports that you might want to use.
Filters
The report filters allow you to limit the amount of data seen on the reports. See below for a description of the different filters.
Date Filter
Used to limit reports to a user-defined time period. The time period defaults to the current week but can be changed to any time period.
Employee filter
Select an employee to show only time charged to that employee.
Client filter
Select a client to show only time charged to that client.
Project filter
Select a project to show only time charged to that project.
Task filter
Select a Task to show only time charged to that Task.
Reports Explained
The Time Sheet Reports
You may view different reports that show the current hour totals by week for all your listed employees.
Before viewing a report, choose a start date and end date. The start and end date default to the current week. To view a time sheet report for a time period, first choose a report type in the left radio group box. Select the dates from the date picker and then click the Preview button.
Rates
Note that all main reports use the Project rate. If you want reports to show another rate such as the client or task rate you will need to modify the reports to show this rate. There are also several reports in the Examples folder that use other rates.
Modifying reports and building your own
Employee Project Clock comes with a powerful report designer feature. With the report designer you can create your own unique time reports or edit existing ones.
Editing an Existing Report
The easiest way to create a new report is to edit an existing one. Employee Project Clock comes with several pre-built reports. To edit one of these select Custom Reports | Edit from the Report Selector menu. A file select dialog will pop up allowing you to choose a report. After selecting a report, the report designer will appear. In the report designer you can add graphics and text to the report or even move fields around or add new ones. See the report designer help file for more details. To add new fields you will need to modify the SQL variable to include those fields. The SQL variable is explained below.
Adding new fields to reports
To add new fields to a report all you need to do is modify the report SQL to include the two fields and then add the two field boxes to the report.
Modifying the SQL variable:
First start the report designer by selecting Custom Reports | New from the Report Selector menu. Now modify the SQL variable to include the new fields. From the menu choose Report | Variables. Click on the SQL variable. You will see the existing report SQL. Add the new fields to the end of the SELECT clause. Click OK to save the changed variable.
Now add the new fields to the report:
See the Creating Reports section below on how to add the new fields to the report.
Creating Reports
There are several steps to create your own reports.
First create the report:
Start the report designer by selecting Custom Reports | New from the Report Selector menu.
Next assign the datasets
Datasets are assigned in the Data tab to the right. Double click where it says No data available. In the selection dialog check frxDBDataset1. You will see the available data fields appear.
Now create the SQL variable:
From the menu choose Report | Variables.
Click on the New Category button (the button with a glinting yellow folder icon). This will create a new category.
Name the category something like ReportVariables.
Click the New Variable button (the glinting fx button).
Call the new variable SQL.
In the Expression box, enter your SQL query. For example: SELECT * FROM TimeHist.
Click OK to save the new variable.
Note that the existing template.fr3 report has this step completed for you already.
Now add bands to the report:
Click on the Insert Band button (the button with the three squares and plus sign).
A list of band types will appear.
Click on Report Title, Page Header, Master Data (select the frxDataset1 Dataset) and Page Footer bands.
Now add fields to the report:
In the Data tab to the right select the fields of the query you want to see on your report and drag them onto the Master Detail band positioning them where you want them. The Master Detail band is the long rectangle in the middle of the report with the blue heading.
Note that the fields available may not match what you have added to the SQL variable. If that is the case you will have to save the report (if you haven't already), close the report designer and reopen it. This will update the query to use the SQL the report is based on.
Now add field labels to the report:
Click on the Text Object button (the button with the ab on it).
No click on the Page Header band where you want the first field caption to appear.
A dialog will pop up allowing you to type the text for the field label. Type the text and press the green check mark to save.
Repeat this for all other field labels.
Your report should now work. Save the report. Press the Close button to return to the Reporting Screen. Choose Custom Reports | Preview Report from the menu. Select your new report and press OK to see what your report will look like when printed.
Note that choosing File | Preview from the report designer menu may not work depending on what fields you've added to the report. To get the report to preview correctly from the report designer you will need to save the report (if you haven't already), close the report designer and the preview the report from the report selector screen. This will update the query to use the SQL the report is based on.
Other Variables
There is a variable that you can use to make timesheet reports. If you want to create a timesheet report, you must create the Timesheet variable and set it to 'true'. Note that for timesheet reports the SQL must follow a special format. The first field is the key field. This is the field that the timesheet will be sorted and grouped on. The next field in the query must be the Date field, the date the time charges were made. The third field must be the hours field, the amount of time charged. After these three fields you can put any other fields you wish.
Report Functions
There are several report functions that can be used to format data and output special values.
FracRound() - rounds decimal numbers according to the rounding options.
WeekDayName() - outputs the day of the week for a date field.
HoursToTime() - converts an hours value in decimal form to hours and minutes form.
FormatTime() - formats a time field based on your system time format.
FormatDate() - formats a date field based on your system date format.
FormatCurr() - formats decimal numbers based on your system currency format.
FormatDec() - formats decimal numbers based on your system currency format.
DayTotal(Date, Employee, ProjectID, TaskID) - outputs total hours worked by employee on project and task.
Here is an example as to how to use these functions in a report memo field:
[FormatDate(<frxDBDataset1."StartTime">)]
Converting Old .frf Custom Reports to the New .fr3 Format
If you have created custom reports in the old .frf format they will need to be converted to the new .fr3 format. If you still have the old version of the software you can save the frf reports to the fr3 format. To do this open the old report in the Report Designer. Choose File | Save As from the menu. In the Save as type pull-down list choose FastReport3 form (*.fr3). Alternatively you can download the report converter program. You can download the converter from:
http://www.cybermatrix.com/download/fr2x-fr3converter.zip
Unzip the file to a folder somewhere. Run the fr3convert.exe program and click on the Select Report Files tab. Click the Open Folder icon and locate the reports folder containing the .frf files. Click the button with the green arrow to convert the reports.
Each report must be tweaked manually to fully convert it. Here are some guidelines:
set designer to free bands placement - in designer choose View | Options and set the Free bands placement option
open report
assign datasets - choose Report | Data - select frxDBDataset1 and frxDBDataset2 if your report uses a sub report.
set master detail band dataset to frxDBDataset1
all fields must be preceded by the dataset and enclosed in quotes. Eg. [frxDBDataset1."WeekStart"]
fields referenced in expressions must be surrounded by <> not [] i.e. [FormatDec(<frxDBDataset1."Total">)]
set group conditions in this format Eg. frxDBDataset1."WeekStart"
for summing numbers in string fields must use StrToFloat or Int function i.e. [FormatDec(Sum(StrToFloat(<frxDBDataset1."Total">)))]
variables referenced in code must be surrounded by <> not []
any report variables will need to be recreated as they will not convert over
Additional Help
See the UserManual-en.pdf help file for more details on report design (choose Help | Report Designer from the Reporting Screen menu).
Exporting reports to different formats
The reports in Project Clock can be exported to several different formats:
Adobe Acrobat PDF - can be viewed by Adobe Acrobat.
HTML File - can be viewed in web browsers.
Excel Table - can be viewed in Microsoft Excel
Rich Text - can be viewed in most word processors like Word.
ASCII Text - can be viewed in and text editor.
CSV File - can be viewed in spreadsheet programs like Excel.
E-mail - can be sent via email.
To export a report first preview by selecting File | Print Preview from the menu. When the report comes up on the screen click on the export icon next to the floppy disk icon on the toolbar. A Save As dialog will appear. Type in the desired file name and choose the file type you would like the report exported to. Then press the Save button.
Using the Security Features
By default, there is no security in place for Employee Project Clock. This means that in a multi-user environment, any user will be able to view and edit any other user's time data. To prevent this you can implement the security option (see the Options screen). When security is in place, an administrator must login in order to see all users' data as well as access the security options screen.
If you wish all employees to login before using the software, you must set the Force Login option. In this case, all user names and passwords must be entered into the Security table. See the Data Manager section for help in working with tables.
Logging In
To see all users' data, a user must login as Administrator. To login choose File | Login from the main menu. Enter Administrator as the UserID. The default password is "magic". You should change this password if it is important to prevent users from viewing or changing other user's data.
Important: write down and store your changed password in a secure location such as the company safe.
Logging Out
To logout as Administrator choose Admin | Logout from the main menu.
See the Security Options section for more details.
Avoiding Table Re-indexing
Employee Project Clock uses a local database to store its data. Unfortunately, local databases are susceptible to corruption if the computer is shut down abnormally. Corruption means the table requires re-indexing before it can be used again. Corruption occurs while the program is in the middle of writing to the database and the program is prevented from completing the write. For this reason, you should always perform proper shutdowns. You should never shut off the computer or reset it while Windows is still running. Perform a proper shutdown by choosing Shut Down and either Restart or Shutdown from the start menu. If your system starts to act abnormally, try to exit Employee Project Clock first and then perform a proper shutdown.
If your system appears frozen first try hitting the Ctrl + Alt + Delete key combination. This should bring up a task list. You may be able to end the task that is no longer responding. Sometimes the system will crash so hard that you cannot even bring up the task list. If this happens reset the machine and re-index any corrupted Employee Project Clock tables if necessary.
See Also: Re-indexing Tables.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions for users new to computers and the Internet
Questions about CyberMatrix Software
Database/Multi-user questions
Questions about Employee Project Clock
Questions about Project Clock
Q. I can't edit the items of the grid in the data view screen.
A. It sounds like you enabled security. When security is enabled, you must login as Admin before you can edit the Projects and Tasks tables. See the on-line help for more information.
Q. I have setup Employee Project Clock on an NT 4.0 station. When only one person access the program, everything is fine. When other machines use Employee Project Clock, everything slows to a crawl. What's going on?
A. This is an NT4 issue, and most likely related to opportunistic locking settings and the SP level. Due to bugs in early versions of NT4 a lot of servers had opportunistic locks turned off, but since this has been fixed they haven't turned them back on. The other thing that can cause slowdown problems is using NetBeui in conjunction with TCP/IP. It is recommended that you get an NT server administrator to look at the server and make sure that it's configured properly.
Purchasing Employee Project Clock
You may freely evaluate the trial version Employee Project Clock without any cost for a period of 30 days. If you wish to continue using the program after 30 days, you must purchase it from CyberMatrix. If you do not wish to purchase the program after 30 days, you must uninstall it from your computer.
After 30 non-consecutive days from the time of installation, the software will cease functioning.
Non-profit Discount
Not for profit agencies are entitled to a 10% discount when software is purchased directly from CyberMatrix.
There are several ways to purchase Employee Project Clock:
All CyberMatrix software can be purchased directly from CyberMatrix by secure web form, fax, phone, funds transfer, purchase order or by regular postal (snail) mail. Note that all prices are in U.S. dollars.
Fax
For fax orders click here to fill out the order form and fax toll free to 1-866-425-2670.
Internet Secure Server
The full commercial version of this program can be purchased immediately on the Internet by credit card via an Internet secure link. Please go to:
http://www.cybermatrix.com/
Phone
For phone orders using a credit card, you may call CyberMatrix directly at (250)-503-1009.
Toll Free
For phone orders by credit card, call toll free in Canada and the U.S.: 1-888-664-0383.
Funds Transfer
Funds may be transferred directly from your bank account to ours. Contact us for account information. There is an additional $10 charge for orders under $300 when using this option.