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Workgroup Messaging?
Displaying my ignorance asks: "We have a small workgroup running on Windows XP Professional; we do not have a domain server. We use Peachtree accounting software which is supposedly multi-user. Unfortunately, multi-user
does not translate into allowing two people to be
in the same module (i.e., accounts receivable) at
the same time. Because the users are in different
buildings they often crash Peachtree because
they don't know that someone else is already in
that module. These crashes result in the loss of
data since the last backup. I am therefore trying to locate software, compatible with Windows XP, which would allow a user to create pop-up messages for display on the
remote screens. It needs to be a pop-up, not just
a flag in the system tray; ideally it would be a
flashing neon sign which fills most of the screen
[grin]. Because we do not have SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) Messenger appears not to be a solution. Any suggestions?"
You could easily run a jabber client, there are free (as in beer) versions and the main server is running inside your network, so no unfortunate export of precious information.
Create a virtual machine for each module, e.g.
(1) AR.mygroup.mydomain.com
(2) AP.mygroup.mydomain.com
(3) GL.mygroup.mydomain.com
Install the appropriate modules and instruct users to click on the icon that will launch to that virtual machine. Watch for a few seconds, and if somebody's entering a transaction, try back later.
This should work, but it is relatively speaking a cheapskate solution.
You probably could do something with Windows Terminal Services and license management that would work more slickly, but I haven't worked much with it so I can't tell you how well they'd work. Probably better than the above solution.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Q: What's going to happen if the other guy isn't logged on when the "net send" message is sent?
A: He'll never see the message and not know the database is in use.
-- Don't Tase me, bro!
messenger service/net send?
This may leave you open to spammage on this service (but chances are this is already enabled on all of your win2k/xp workstations anyway).
It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
I mean it. It's free, it's interoperable and it even allows you to access your buddies on different IM networks (like aim, msn, icq etc).
Go to Jabber Software Foundation and look for server that will work on your system. There are free servers for POSIX systems and I'm sure that there are at least several servers for Windows. As for clients, there are dozens clients for every major OS, and most of them have the feature to automatically popup messages on the screen. I'd suggest Psi and Miranda.
Robert
Bastard Operator From 193.219.28.162
step 1: hire a real network admin
step 2: have them assess your network and software
step 3: let them get the software you need and configure it correctly.
note, none of these steps is "come up with stupid kludges that don't scale, work or really solve the problem."
btw, this question is one proof for the rathe simple equation "muppet != technical person."
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If it can't even do multiuser correctly.. get rid of it. Quickbooks Pro does multiuser perfectly without a central server.
-- Home on the strange
savethedollhouse.com
I agree, you should look into better accounting software. Having said that, my office also uses peachtree, but the problem has been resolved with USB flash drives. If you don't have the flash drive, you can't get into the module you need, and you can't crash Peachtree. Granted, the people in my workplace who would need a common module often have offices next to each other, so passing the drive around isn't a problem, but if they are far apart, you may need another solution.
Another solution to your problem would be to separate the modules to different shared volumes, and only allow one user to access each share at a time. Simple and effective, but you have to disconnect them if they leave with the share open.
--That's the point of being root, you can do anything you want, even if it's stupid.
Your problem is that Peachtree does not work with multiple users using a module at the same time. As many of us know here, it doesnt matter what you ask / tell / demand users to do, they will screw things up.
Can you not host the module(s) in question on different network shares and set the shares to only permit one concurrent user? Coupled with an auto-disconnection timeout that would ensure that only one user could use the module at the same time.
Alternatively perhaps use the Terminal Services functions of one of the XP machines for that module and make people use the terminal server - as XP only supports one TS user, it would ensure that only one user was in the module at any one time.
I did this once for a company. It's funny that the manual at the time didn't mention data loss. It was fun finding that out the hard way :) If I remember right I setup Realpopup on their machines for this very purpose. Cheap and it worked.