Prime Technologies, Inc.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q.        I get an error message, “Error 114”, when attempting to preview or print a report.

A.         The report directory is not set correctly. To set it correctly, go to the Reports menu then select “Set Report Directory”.  Please Note: When you initially install ProCalV5 the standard Report files will automatically be located in the sub-directory labeled “Reports57A” (Access program), “Reports57O” (Oracle program) or “Reports57S” (SQL Server).  You should not change this default location unless you must to have your Reports reside in another directory on your computer or on your network.

Q.        I get an error message, “Error 519” when attempting to preview or print a report.

A.         One of the Report parameters entered on the Report’s record is incorrect. Open the Report’s record in the REPORT MAINTENANCE screen and make sure that all the Report parameter Variable Names and Variable Types match those in the design of the Report.

Q.        I get an error message “Error 534” when attempting to preview or print a report.

A.         This happens because the Report is already open on the User’s screen or another User is using that Report on another workstation or server traffic.  The Report cannot be opened more than once simultaneously.  If working with Reports locally, on their own workstation, then reboot the machine.  If working with Reports on a server, restart ProCalV5 and try again.

Q.        When do you use Maintenance Results?

A.         The MAINTENANCE RESULTS screen is only used to document completed non-calibration work when the WORK ORDER screen is not being used.

Q.        When I’m in the CALIBRATION screen and go to the Test Instruments tab, why are there no Test Instruments listed in the “Available Test Instruments” section?

A.        Return to the TEST INSTRUMENT RECORD screen, be sure that at the bottom of the screen on the General Info tab that the correct Test Instruments are moved from Not Calibrated by this Test Instrument box to the Can be Calibrated by this Test Instrument box.   If nothing is selected then there will not be any Test Instruments available for selection on the CALIBRATION screen. Also check your settings on the Company screen for “Only Show Active Test Instruments” & “On Use Of An Unapproved Test Instrument.” If the “Only Show Active Test Instruments” checkbox is checked, then check your Statuses on the Test Instruments to verify that they have an “Active” status.

Q.        Why does my item(s) not show up on scheduling reports like the “Events Due Report” and “Calibration Worksheets”?

A.         In order for records with Statuses (Loops, Instruments, Systems, Test Instruments, Equipment, Maintenance Requests, PMs and Work Orders) to appear on scheduling Reports like the “Events Due Report” and “Calibration Worksheets” you must first assign them a Status that is considered Active.  To do this, go to the Lists menu at the top of the Home Screen and choose “Statuses”.  For each Active status (i.e., “In Service”), mark the box labeled Indicates an Active Status and save the record.

Q.        Why is there no Alert Priority items listed in the REMINDERS screen?

A.         In order to use ProCalV5’s Alert System you must fill in the Alert Priority field on the COMPANY RECORD screen and enter Maintenance Types into the database by selecting the “Maintenance Type” option from the Lists menu.  In addition, you must also complete the Failed Cal Alert Maint Type/Failure Alert Maintenance Type and Found Out of Cal Alert Maint Type fields found on item master records (Instruments, Loops, Systems, Test Instruments) and  PM records.  Finally, for Calibration records that should generate Alerts upon a Failure or Found Out of Calibration result, the Calibration Type selected must have the Generate Failure Alerts for this Type and/or Generate Found Out of Cal Alerts for this Type box (es) marked.

Q.        How come my Document ID’s are not showing up on the “Document ID” drop-down lists?

A.         The SOP Type assigned to those Documents do not have the Make Available as an SOP box marked.

Q.        One of my Calibration Frequencies is misspelled, how do I change that?

A.         The first step is to go to the Lists menu and select “Calibration Frequency”.  Then in the CALIBRATION FREQUENCY screen, add the new Calibration frequency with the correct spelling, and save the record.  The next step is to go to all the records that are using the Frequency with the wrong spelling and change them to the Frequency with the correct spelling.  Once the Frequency with the incorrect spelling is no longer being used, you may go back to the CALIBRATION FREQUENCY screen, open the record for the misspelled Frequency, then select FILE “Delete Record”.  If the misspelled Frequency is still in use, you will get a warning to inform you of this. 

            The easiest way to view all Frequencies across all record types is to use the ProCal Explorer. Open ProCal Explorer, and display by Frequencies. As you work through the list remember that ProCal Explorer does not refresh automatically. Also, Calibration Frequencies are a Global List item so you will have to check all Companies in the system for usage.

Q.        Why am I not able to change a Company’s Label(s)?  (The “User Defined Labels” option on the Home Screen’s toolbar is grayed out.)

A.         The Company is using Labels from another Company in the system.  Open the COMPANY RECORD screen and place a check mark in the Use Own Labels box.  This will disable the Use Labels from this Company field.  If you want to use Labels from the other Company, but still want one or more Labels changed for the current Company, then you must change the source Company’s Labels.

Q.        I get a message saying “Maximum users exceeded. Try again later”  

A.         This message indicates that the maximum number of licensed users is currently logged onto the program. You must either wait for another user to log off, freeing up a seat, or contact your system administrator to have them manually log off a user who you know is not actively using the system at this time.

Q.        Do I need to fill in all fields when creating a new record?

A.         You do not need to fill all empty fields when creating a new record.  In most cases only an ID is necessary to save a new record.  For Calibration records, the Item Type, ID, Calibrated fields are required, you must also select “Pass”, “Fail” or “Incomplete” on the Test Results tab. For Document records, a Document ID and Revision Number are necessary for saving a new record.  Rest assured that the system will warn you if you have not completed all the fields required to save a particular record.

Q.        I attempted to set up a chronological numbering system for my Instruments, but the order is still incorrect.  What did I do wrong?

A.         If you have decided to set up a chronological numbering system for the items in your database, do not begin with the number “1”, instead begin with “01” or “001” depending on the number of records that you plan to enter in the system for that record type.  This will insure that your entries will remain in the order that you intend.

Q.        What is the Copy Record button for?

A.         If you are entering many Instruments, Loops or Test Instruments of the same Make, Model Number,  Description, etc., utilize the Copy Record button (available on the toolbar of each of those screens) so that you only have to enter a new ID, Serial Number (if applicable) and Calibration dates.  Please note though that copying an Instrument record does not copy its association with Loop and/or System records.  However, all Planned Maintenance events will be copied to the new record. Note: You have to save the record first, before you will see the PM’s

Q.        Can I copy a PM record to other items?    

A.         If you are entering a scheduled Planned Maintenance event for a specific item, you can copy the PM record to other items of that type by choosing “Assign PM to Other Items” from the PM screen’s File menu.

Q.        Are there any typing short cut features in ProCalV5?

A.         Yes.  All date fields throughout the system have “Hot Keys”.  Type the following letters or  

symbols to insert these dates:

“T” = Today’s date.

“M” = first day of the current month.

(Type “M” again and the date will change to the first date of the previous month)

“H” = Last day of the current month or the last date of the month currently shown in the field.

(Type “H” again and the date will change to the last day of the next month)

“Y” = First day of the current year.

(Type “Y” again and the date will change to the first day of the previous year)

“R” = Last day of the current year or the last date of the year currently shown in the field.

(Type “R” again and the date will change to the last day of the next year)

“+” = Forward the date currently displayed.

“-“= Reverse the date currently displayed.

For date fields using the ‘dd-mmm-yyyy’ format, the “+” and “-“shortcuts are available, in addition to the following:

“Shift” + “Home” = Today’s date.

“Page Up” = First day of the current year.

(Type “Page Up” again and the date will change to the first day of the previous year)

“Page Down” = Last day of the current year.

(Type “Page Down” again and the date will change to the last day of the next year)

“Home” = First day of the current month.

(Type “Home” again and the date will change to the first date of the previous month)

“End” = Last day of the current month.

(Type “End” again and the date will change to the last day of the next month)

Q.        Must I enter both “Found As” and “Left As” Values if the values are the same when entering a calibration record?

A.         Not always.  If the calibration record being entered does not use Separate As Found/As Left Inputs, then once you enter an “Fnd As” value you may tab to the corresponding “Lft As” cell and hit the “=” key.  This will copy the exact “Fnd As” value into the “Lft As” cell.

Q.        After making changes to a record and saving it, I realized that I did not need to make the    

changes.  Why didn’t my Cancel Changes button work?

The Cancel Changes button will work anytime before the changes are saved.  Once a record has been saved though, its previous data cannot be restored.

Q.        What is the “Quick Type” feature?

A.         All fields in the system with an associated drop-down list have a “Quick Type” feature.  This means that you may begin typing the desired entry (as long as it is already on the drop-down list) and ProCalV5 will automatically insert it into the field.

Q.        Can I print lists generated from Advanced Queries? 

A.         Right-clicking on any grid list that you have generated, for example a list resulting from an Advanced Query, will allow you to export it to a variety of different formats like a Microsoft   Excel® or Word® document.  In addition, you will also see an option to print the list directly from ProCalV5.

Q.        I only have one company in the system and would like to use the “Current Company” field for something else.  Is this possible?

A.         ProCalV5 may be used to manage not only different Companies, but different departments, divisions, locations, etc.  In addition, you may customize your specific needs and matches your own terminology through use of the USER LABELS DEFINITION screen invoked from selection of the “User Defined Labels” option on the Home Screen’s Tools menu.

Q.        When I set Default Values in the SYSTEM OPTIONS AND DEFAULTS screen, do they have to apply to every account I enter into the database?

A.        Once you have set the default values for your system as a whole, they do not have to apply to every account, item or PM record that you have in your database.  Characteristics like Resolution, use of Control Limits and Control Limit percentage may be customized per individual Company, item or PM record.  For example, if most of your master Instruments have a resolution of “.01”, you would want to set your System or Company default resolution to “.01”.  However, this resolution value may be changed per individual Instrument record for those items where “.01” is not correct.

Q.        If Default Values are reset in the SYSTEM OPTIONS AND DEFAULTS screen, will they automatically be changed on all account (company) records?

A.         Resetting any or all default values in the SYSTEM OPTIONS AND DEFAULTS screen will only effect new Accounts (Companies) that are created after those changes have been made.  For those Accounts that were existent in the database prior to the system default modification(s) you will have to access and change their records individually.

Q.        Why am I not able to make changes to the test point grid in the CALIBRATION screen?

A.         If you would like to make changes to the test point grid in the CALIBRATION screen, you can do this by clicking the Modify Specs button.  This will open up the grid and allow you to modify any of the cells present. All numeric cells can be modified by typing over the existing value; all Signal Type, Stated Accuracy or Resolution cells can only be modified by activating the cell’s drop-down list.  In addition, clicking the Recalculate button will Recalculate the High/Low Spec and /or Control Limits if those are affected by your changes. To make the grid inaccessible again, click the Protect Specs button and continue to enter the rest of your data.  However, performing these actions will not update the item’s master record.  Permanent changes must actually be made in the item’s master screen.  Please keep in mind though that several settings such as Prevent Accuracy Modifications During Calibration in the COMPANY RECORD screen, selection of a “Linear” or “Square Root” Correlation to Output for an item and/or selection of the Auto Recalculate Limits box for an item may affect your ability to modify various information in the Calibration Specifications grid.  

Q.        If I modify an existing master record, will my changes affect calibration records previously entered for that item?

A.         Making modifications to an existing master Instrument, Loop, System, Test Instrument or PM record will not affect the Calibration records previously entered for that item.  Since master records are in essence, templates to be used in the addition of Calibration records, any modifications made to one of these will only be seen when the user enters a new Calibration record for that item.

Q.        Why am I not able to use an advanced query to run some of the standard reports in the system?

A.         Due to the characteristics of their design or their intended use, some standard Reports cannot be run with the use of an Advanced Query.  Below is a list of all standard Reports in ProCalV5 that cannot be used with an Advanced Query:

What options do I have when exporting data from reports?

All Reports generated may be exported in a variety of formats to a number of different destinations including e-mail.  To do this, preview a Report on your screen, then click the Export button on the top of the Report Preview screen to make your selections.

Why am I not able to assign some System records to other System records?

Although ProCalV5 gives you the ability to assign other System records as components of a System, circular references are not permitted.  For example, if SYSTEM2 was a component of SYSTEM1, and SYSTEM3 was a component of SYSTEM2, SYSTEM1 could not be a component of SYSTEM3.

Q.        Will entries I make to screens on the Lists menu for a particular account [Company] (i.e. Statuses, Calibration Frequencies, Departments, etc.) be available in all of the other accounts in the system?

A.         The only Lists menu items that are global are “Calibration Frequency”, “Vendors” and “Modification Reason”.  This means that once these records are added to the database, they will automatically appear on those fields’ drop-down lists for every other account in the system.  All other Lists menu items must be added individually for each account, even if they are the same.

Q.        How do I set up calibration frequencies correctly?

A.        The “Calibration Frequency” list option allows you to define and set up specific Frequencies that can be applied to all items that get Calibrated and all Planned Maintenance (PM) records.  Calibration Frequencies help the program calculate due dates for the items Calibrations and PMs.  Common ones would be “Yearly”, “Semi-annually”, “Quarterly”, etc.   Selecting the Keep On End of Month box for a Frequency will instruct the system, when calculating a due date based upon the frequency, to always use the last day of the month that the item will be due. In addition, the Allow system to Roll Dates Forward if Actual Event Date is within [#] Days of Scheduled Event Date field allows you to declare exactly how soon before the due date, that work or  Calibration can be successfully completed and still have the next due date automatically roll forward or the Maintenance Request closed.  Any numeric value may be entered into this field, and the number used can be different for every Calibration Frequency entered into the database.   Please note that if the work or Calibration is unsuccessful or Fails, that no dates will be rolled forward, however Maintenance Requests will be closed regardless of the work result.