The first step to Updating BusinessMaster is to contact us for your download link to the current Update Installer file. When you email us for the link, please tell us which version of BusinessMaster you will be updating from, and the version(s) of Microsoft Access you run on your computer(s). This information ensures that we send you the right links, and helps us to give you any specific assistance outside the scope of this document, if it is necessary. Click here if you need instructions on how to determine which version of Microsoft Access you run on your computer(s).
-You are only eligible for BusinessMaster updates if you have paid our Yearly Upgrade Fee(s).
-Updating from Version 5.37 or lower of BusinessMaster will require our direct assistance.
[The current version of BusinessMaster is version 5.81b, compile on 11/16/2004]
Preparation
Once you have received your download link, plan on setting aside 15-20 minutes for the update, and another 15 minutes or so for copying the Update to the rest of the computers on your network. In preparation for updating BusinessMaster, you need to determine which Workstation on your network you will conduct the update from. The main factor here is whether or not your Server also functions as a Workstation:
Your Server is Also a Workstation for BusinessMaster
If the Server computer that your BusinessMaster Data Files are hosted on also functions as a Workstation that you use to run BusinessMaster, then you may want to do the update from the Server computer. In that case you will have to make an extra Workstation copy for the other Workstations, but the BackEnd update will also go faster because it won't involved data being transfered across the network.
Your Server is Just a File Server for BusinessMaster
If you do not use the Server computer to run BusinessMaster, and it only functions as a File Server for BusinessMaster, then you will want to conduct the Update from a Workstation. The BackEnd Update across the network will be a little slower from a Workstation, but you will only have to make one copy of the update for the other Workstations. If you will be updating from a Workstation, then if possible, it would be best to update from the Workstation where you retrieve your emails. This way you can download the update file from the email link we send you, and conduct the Workstation from the same computer.
Either way, whether updating from the Server, or from a Workstation, you want to conduct the update from a computer that already has a functional installation of BusinessMaster on it. In the instructions below, the examples are from an update being conducted from a Workstation, with the necessary instructions included along the way for the update conducted from the Server option.
Step By Step
Once you have determined where you are going to conduct the update from, proceed with the steps below to update your version of BusinessMaster to the latest available version:
Step #1. Download the Update Installer File
If you have not already contacted us to request a download link, do so now. In your email to us, please tell us which version of BusinessMaster you will be updating from, and the version(s) of Microsoft Access you run on your computer(s). This ensures that we send you the right links, and helps us to give you any specific assistance outside the scope of this document, if it is necessary. Click here if you need instructions on how to determine which version of Microsoft Access you run on your computer(s). Note: Updating from Version 4.99 or lower of BusinessMaster will require our direct assistance.
If possible, conduct the Update from the computer that you receive your emails on. Go to that computer and from the reply email that you receive from us, click the download link we provide to download the appropriate version of the BusinessMaster Update that corresponds to the version of Microsoft Access that is installed on that Workstation.
If you use an Internet Explorer based Internet Browser as your default Internet browser, then when you click the download link, it will bring up a File Download dialog box. Click the Save button:
Use the "Save As" browser that pops up to browse your local computers file directory, and save the Update File to your local "C:\mastersolutions" directory:
We recommend proceeding to the next step of getting everyone out of BusinessMaster while the Update File is being downloaded, and when the download completes, leaving the "Download Complete" dialog box minimized in the System TaskBar until you are ready to Run the Update File in Step #4. To minimize it click the minimize button as pictured below:
Step #2. Get Everyone Out of BusinessMaster <Top>
This is an important step. In order to backup the database, link quickly across the Network and safely update the BackEnd Database, you need to ensure that no one has BusinessMaster open for the duration of the program update. This includes closing any open instances of the Time Collection program, (that just runs the Time Collection Manager), and the Accouting Export (aka QuickBooks Link).
Step #3. Backup the BackEnd Database File <Top>
When everyone is out of the program, open BusinessMaster from the Workstation you are updating from and run the Backup Utility. This is a critical step whenever updating BusinessMaster, and we recommend running this Backup utility every day as a standard preventative practice to ensure the safety of your data.
Here are the steps to using the Backup Utility:
You may want to verify that everyone is out of the program, unless you are sure that everyone is out from having completed Step #2. The utility won't run if the program is open anywhere else on your network and you will get an error message about it.
Click the "Compact/Repair/Backup Data" link from the Utilities Menu:
From the Compact Tables screen, check off the Compact checkboxe for the record that has the TableName of "MainData". It's connection string will include "BusinessMasterData.mdb". In older versions, you will check off the Rows that have both "BMS-MainData_be.mdb" and "BMS-LaborData_be.mdb", or "Data1.mdb" and "Data2.mdb" in the ConnectionStrings, depending on how your Data Files are named/configured. The path should be the network path to where the Data File(s) are hosted on your network.
Click the Close button at the bottom right of the Compact Tables screen. This will run the compact/repair/backup procedure and when it's complete you will see the main BusinessMaster Switchboard again. This process should take less than a minute. When you see the Switchboard, click the Quit button to Close out of BusinessMaster.
The backup process creates backups of your Data File in the same directory that the Data File is hosted in on your network. It will have a date stamp at the end of the file name; ""BusinessmMasterData.mdb01142004" or "Data1.mdb01142004" for example. As a last step of the Backup Process, you should double-click the "My Computer" shortcut from the desktop, (or open Windows Explorer), and browse to the folder on your network where your Data Files are hosted, and verify that the Backup Files are there.
Step #4. Run the Update File <Top>
Make sure to close BusinessMaster after running the Backup Utility. Before you run the Update Installer, as a precaution you also need to make sure you have a backup copy of your existing BusinessMaster FrontEnd files. If you have know you have a copy on your server, then proceed. If you don't have a copy, then go to the "c:\mastersolutions" directory on the computer you are running the update from, and copy "businessmaster.mde" and "tempdata.mdb" (or BMS-Temptables.mdb" in older versions), and paste the copies into a backup folder to be retrieved in the event that the update does not complete successfully. If you want, you can just copy the files, and paste them right back into the c:\mastersolutions folder and the copies will be automatically renamed. Another way to back them up would be to just rename them to something different; "businessmasterold.mde" for example.
Now it's time to run the Update Installer file that you downloaded in Step #1.
If you left the Download Complete dialog box minimized in the system taskbar, then bring that window back up and click the Open button:
If you closed the Download Complete dialog box, then Double-click the "My Computer" shortcut from the desktop, (or open Windows Explorer), and browse to the directory you downloaded the Update Installer File to and Double-click that file to run it. Our instructions suggest the "c:\mastersolutions" directory, and the filename is going to be something like "2003v5.78.exe" or "2000-update-...exe", "2002-update-....exe", or "2003-update-....exe", depending on which Microsoft Access-dependent version you downloaded. Here is an example using Windows Explorer:
Running the Update Installer automatically installs the updated version to c:\mastersolutions on your computer, overwriting any existing files of the same name. The two main files it installs are "BusinessMaster.mde" and "TempData.mdb" . The other files are table linking files that are also necessary. Again, if files by these names are in this directory, they will be automatically overwritten. The installer also automatically opens BusinessMaster, which leads you to the next step.
Step #5. Relink to and Update the BackEnd Databases <Top>
When BusinessMaster opens up for the first time after running the update installer, it will either open to the main switchoard, or it will open to the EZ Attachment Manager. If it opens to the main Switchboard, then you need to open the Utilities Menu and select the "Relink Files" option:
If it opens to the EZ Attachment Manager, then you want to select the "Tables" Company from the Select Company drop down menu, which is highlighted yellow:
Now click the "Select" button to browse for the mapped network drive and point the tables to the correct Data File on the Server:
Pressing the Select button brings up the Browse for Folder window. Find and select the folder that contains the BusinessMaster Group Data Files (according to our above instructions they are in Z:\mastersolutions) and click the OK button:
This will take you back to the EZ Attachment Manager and a dialog box will ask you if you want to connect to the BackEnd data files. Look at the Group paths and check to see that the groups look like the image below:
Once you have verified that the Path/Filenames are correct, click the "Yes" button:
The next pop up screen should say "Attachments made successfully", to verify a successful connection. The number after "Attachments made successfully" indicates the amount of time in seconds it took to make the connections. Click the OK button:
If a BackEnd update Is necessary, you will see the following message box asking if you want to check the Data Files for updates. Click the Yes button:
As the message says, as long as you are sure nobody is in BusinessMaster, click the OK button when it asks you to make sure everyone is out of the Program:
This will now go through the Data Files and update them as necessary. When it's done, the BackEnd Update process is complete and you should then see the Main Switchboard popup, indicating that you have updated successfully:
Step #6. Copy the Updated Version to the Rest of Your Network <Top>
Close your updated version of BusinessMaster now then browse to the c:\mastersolutions folder on the same Workstation that you just did the update on. Read through the sections below to determine what you need to do to update the rest of the computers on your network:
Updated From Workstation
If you did the updating from a Workstation, then from the c:\mastersolutions directory on that computer, copy "BusinessMaster.mde" and "TempData.mdb" , "TableList-Local.txt", "tablelink.txt", and "TableFieldList-Local.txt", and paste them to a shared folder on your Server that all the Workstations on your network have access to. You should paste them to a folder inside the server folder that indicates that this is the template workstation copy. You could name it "update" for instance. Now read below for the next instructions that depend on which version of Microsoft Access that the next Workstation you are updating has installed on it.
Updated From Server
If you ran the initial update from the Server, then from the c:\mastersolutions directory on the Server (unless you have manually installed it elsewhere), copy "BusinessMaster.mde" and "TempData.mdb" , "TableList-Local.txt", "tablelink.txt", and "TableFieldList-Local.txt", from this folder, and paste them to a different shared folder on your Server that all the Workstations on your network have access to.
Go to the first Workstation you are going to update, and copy the Update over to that Workstation. With everyone out of the program, go through Steps #4 and #5 again. Once that Workstation has been updated, then from the c:\mastersolutions directory on that Workstation you just updated, copy "BusinessMaster.mde" and "TempData.mdb" , "TableList-Local.txt", "tablelink.txt", and "TableFieldList-Local.txt", and paste them back to the original shared folder on your Server that all the computers on your network have access to, overwriting the previous copy. This copy is now the template copy to be transfered to the other Workstations, as long as they all have the same version of Microsoft Access. If there are different versions of Microsoft Access involved, follow the instructions below.
Same Version of Access
If a Workstation you are updating runs the same version of Microsoft Access as the first Workstation you updated, then from the Workstation you are updating, double-click the "My Computer" shortcut from the desktop, or open Windows Explorer, and access the mapped drive that is linked to the shared "mastersolutions" server folder.
Find and copy BusinessMaster.mde" and "TempData.mdb" , "TableList-Local.txt", "tablelink.txt", and "TableFieldList-Local.txt", in the update folder on the server. This is the copy of that FrontEnd files that you copied over from the Workstation you first updated from. Paste them to the c:\mastersolutions folder on the Workstation you are updating, overwriting the local existing files of the same name. (You also could just copy the whole folder). As long as the Mapped Drive Letter and Path is the same as it is on the Workstation you did the original updating from, then the updated BusinessMaster should open and connect automatically and the updating for that Workstation is complete.
If you are updating the Server computer that also functions as a Workstation running BusinessMaster, then copy another copy of the update to a different folder on the Server, and follow the instructions to relink it to the Data Files without updating them.
Different Version of Access
If a Workstation you are updating runs a different version of Microsoft Access than what is on the Workstation you first updated from, then when you get to that Workstation to update it, you want to download the appropriate version for the specific computer you are updating (Step #1). You do not need to do the backup again. So when you have downloaded the update file at the Workstation you are updating, do Step #2 (get everyone out of the program) then skip to Step #4 (to run the update file) and proceed from there. After it connects across the network, you should see the Main Switchboard and your updating of that Workstation is complete. You may want a template copy of this installation of the program on the server as well, if other Workstations on your network run this different version of Microsoft Access.
If you are updating the Server computer that also functions as a Workstation running BusinessMaster, and it runs a diffferent version of Microsoft Access from the other Workstations, then follow the instructions to dowload the appropriate version, install it and relink to the locally hosted Data Files without updating them.
Finishing Up
Once the BackEnd Update and Relinking in Step #5 from the initial updating has been completed, Workstations on your network can begin using BusinessMaster again, as long as no additional relinking needs to be done. We recommend completing the process of updating all the computers that use BusinessMaster as soon as possible, but when necessary, it is not a problem to use the old version of BusinessMaster during the interim. (The only case that will make it not possible is if you renamed the Data Files from the old convention to the new convention, as discussed here). The real key to remember is that whenever relinking needs to be done from any Workstation being updated, then you need to get everyone out of the program again. You actually could choose to relink without getting everyone out first, but because the Data Files are already open, it could take as long as 10 minutes or even more to relink.
