The following is a list of common problems and solutions that users may have. However, there are many questions that may not be answered here. If you can't find what you are looking for, you can email us your question.
Answers to:
List of Questions:
From the Start Menu, choose "Run"
Insert the installation disk in drive A:
On the line that says "Open", type "A:INSTALL" and press [Enter]. This will run the File Express installation program.
You will be asked where to install File Express, which printer definition files (PDF's) to install, your customer number, name, etc. Just follow the instructions given on the screen and fill in the appropriate information.
When the installation program is completed (the title bar in the window will say "Install - Finished"), click on the X button in the upper right hand corner of the window to close it.
Now File Express is installed on your computer.
There are several ways to start DOS programs from Windows 95. The instructions listed below will tell you how to create a shortcut to File Express. Once you have created a shortcut, you can start File Express just like a Windows program by clicking on it's icon.
First, make sure you have enough conventional memory available for File Express to run. You can check this by choosing "Run" from the Start menu. On the line that says "Open" type "MEM" then press [Enter]. This will run a program that tells you how much memory is on your computer and how it is configured. There will be one line that says "Largest executable program size" followed by a number. This value needs to be at least 524,288 bytes (512k). If you do not have enough conventional memory, you will not be able to run File Express. You can refer to the Windows 95 help to see how to make more conventional memory available.
To create a shortcut on the desktop (you can move it to another location later) click with the right mouse button on an empty place on the desktop. This will pop up a menu. Choose "New" then choose "Shortcut". This will open the "Create Shortcut" dialog box.
Click on the "Browse" button to open the "Browse" window. From the Browse window locate the File Express directory (a folder) and double click on it to show the files in the directory. The default directory name is FE6. Once the File Express folder is open and the files are displayed, double click on the FE.EXE file. (Do not choose the FE.PIF file. This is for Windows 3.1) This is the program that will be run from the shortcut.
You should now be back at the "Create Shortcut" dialog box. The command line should say "C:\FE6\FE.EXE" (It may say something else if you installed File Express in a different directory.) Click on the "Next" button.
You will now be asked to "select a name for the shortcut" You can call it "File Express 6.0" or whatever you want. Just enter a name then click the "finish" button. You have now created a shortcut to File Express.
Next, you need to change a couple of the properties of the shortcut to ensure that File Express will run properly. To change the properties of this shortcut, click on it with your right mouse button. From the menu that is displayed choose "Properties"
Once the properties window is displayed, click on the memory tab. In the conventional memory box change the value in "Total" from AUTO to "512" Do not change the other values.
You may want to change the icon. To do this, click on the program tab then click on the "Change icon" button. You can choose from many icons that are provided with Windows 95 or you can use the FE icon that is located in the File Express directory. To use the icon located in the File Express directory change the file name to "C:\fe6\fe.ico" (If you installed File Express in a different directory then make sure the you put the proper path in the file name.) Once you have selected an icon click on the "OK" button.
Now that the properties are set correctly, click on the "OK" button. You can now start File Express by double clicking on the File Express icon.
This is probably due to the spooling that Windows 95 does. However, you can turn off print spooling for DOS programs and File Express will print just like it does from DOS.
From the Start Menu, choose Settings > Printers to open the printers folder.
Right click on your printer and choose properties from the menu that pops up.
Click on the "Details" tab in the Printer Properties window.
Next, click on the "Port Settings" button.
In the "Configure LPT Port" window, one of the options shown says "Spool MS-DOS print jobs". De-select this option. (There should not be a check mark next to this option.)
Click on OK in the "Configure LPT Port" window.
Then, click OK in the Printer Properties window.
Now when you print from a DOS program to this printer, the DOS program will print directly to the printer and Windows 95 will not spool the print job.
If you get a message saying that the database is locked by another user and you are sure that nobody else is accessing the database, press [ctrl-z] and it will be unlocked. If you are using the netowrk version, go to the maintenance menu and perform the 'Clear network record locks' function.
File Express, version 6.0 (both single user version and network version) is a year 2000 compliant program.
To handle dates after December 31, 1999 you must begin using 4-digit date fields. If you are currently using 2-digit date fields, you will have to make the following change:
1. Go to the Setup menu off of the Maintenance menu in a database.
2. Press Alt-O to open the Options menu.
3. Press D to select the Date Format option.
4. Press either 2 for MM-DD-YYYY format or 4 for DD-MM-YYYY format.
5. Press F10 to save the change.
The next step is to increase the length of any date input fields on your input forms so they will handle the 4-digit years. To do this:
1. Choose the Paint a View option from the Maintenance menu.
2. Press 2 on the View Menu to select the Choose an Existing View option.
3. Using the Up and Down cursor keys, highlight an input screen that you are using and then press Enter. The input screen will appear.
4. Move the cursor to a date field.
5. With the cursor anywhere in the date field, press Alt-S.
6. Press the Right cursor key twice to increase the length of the date field from 8 characters to 10 characters. (You might have to make room for this field length increase by moving other fields to the right first.)
7. Press Enter.
8. If there are additional date fields on the screen, repeat steps 4 through 7 to increase the length of each one.
9. When you have changed all the date field lengths, press F10, Y, Enter, Enter, Y, to save the changes.
10. If you have other input screens with dates, change each on by using steps 3 through 9.
Once you have changed your date format to a four digit year, you will be able to enter data with year 2000 dates and the program will sort correctly on the dates as well as search correctly.You will also need to lengthen the date fields on all of your reports and labels. Follow steps 4 through 8 for lengthening the dates on your reports and labels.
When Using a Four-Digit Date:
The year 2000 is considered a leap year.
All AGE calculations are correct using any year before or after the year 2000.
When doing searches with the new date format, you must enter all four digits of the year. For example:F1 = "06-02-1999" or F1 = "12-31-2006"
DOS programs, like File Express, cannot print through a USB port. Please connect your printer using the parallel port.
This is due to a minor Y2K problem in File Express. It can be fixed with a simple macro.
Open the input screen where you popup the calendar.
Press Alt+M to start recording a macro.
Arrow down to the first blank function key line and press "R". Make note of the function key (F3 or whatever).
Press Alt+0 (number zero) and the popup calendar opens to the wrong year.
Press and hold down the End key on the keyboard. The calendar will begin advancing through the years. Be careful not to overshoot the current year.
Stop at the current year and press Alt+M to quit the macro. Select "Y" to save the macro.
From now on, when opening the popup calendar, press the function key.
Back to top
This is due to a minor Y2K problem in File Express. It can be fixed with a simple modification to the calculated field where DAYNAME is used. Simply add "(TODAY)" without the quotes to the DAYNAME function. The result will appear like DAYNAME(TODAY).
Back to top
The age function will work properly if after the date field reference in the formula you insert ",today". For example, our Birthday List sample database has an error in the formula in the Birthday report. The formula should be "int(age(birthday,today) / 365.25) + 1" (without the quotation marks).
This generally occurs when File Express was not terminated properly. This can be due to the user turning off their computer while in File Express, a power outage, their computer hangs, etc. To correct the problem:
Clone your database. This will make a copy of your database. Make sure you include allof the fields and records in the new database. Also, you should use the record numberindex when cloning.
Open up the new database and go to the 'Select Index' screen. Tag all of the indexes and have them rebuilt.
Now, try adding a couple of records and make sure you can find them. After verifying that this new database is working properly, you can delete the original and rename the working copy back to the original name.
Here are the steps to create a mailing label that prints names, addresses, and the postnet bar code.
Open your database and go to the Maintenance Menu.
Go to the Setup. Set the Bar Code Print Driver Number to appropriate one for your printer.
Now, go to the Label writer and design a new label.
Set up the size of the label and place the fields on the label where you want them printed.
Now, place a calculated field on the label where you want the bar code to print. Make the calc field a text type field with the following formula: BARCODE(10,F?,BLANK,1,1) F? refers to the field that contains the zip code. This zip code field must contain only numbers and be a valid zipcode (i.e. 98019 or 98019-1800 or 980191800 are all valid. 123 is not valid.)
After you have finished seting up the label format, return to the Label Sub Menu. Then, go to the Update Printer Options screen. Make sure the Bar Code Printer Driver Number and the PDF are set appropriately. With the correct Bar Code Printer Driver selected, the labels should print correctly with the postnet bar code.
Printing through a USB port
DOS programs, like ExpressCheck, cannot print through a USB port. Please connect your printer using a parallel port.
If you have any problems where transactions are missing or showing up multiple times, you should rebuild the account. To do this, go to the 'Add/Edit/Find Transactions' screen and press [F8] Setup. Now, choose 'Account rebuild'. This will resort all of the transactions and recalculate the balances.
ExpressCheck, version 5.1 is a minor update to version 5.0 so that the program will continue working correctly when the year 2000 arrives. All dates with year digits of 00 through 09 are considered to be in the next century… i.e. 2000 through 2009.
How to Upgrade to 5.1
Install version 5.1 of ExpressCheck by placing the diskette in the A: drive and then from a DOS prompt type:
A:INSTALL <enter>
Follow the prompts to install the program. (If you have version 5.0, you can install 5.1 over it.)
How to Convert Existing Account Groups
Open each Account Group that you want to use in version 5.1
Press R to open the Register
Go to the top of the Register and change the date of any Opening Balance entries to 01-01-10. (This is now considered the earliest date in version 5.1 and will sort to the beginning.) (To edit the date, highlight the line, press <enter> twice and then change the date.)
Press F8 to open the Setup Menu and then choose Account Rebuild. This will rebuild the indexes.
That is all there is to it. You are now ready to continue using ExpressCheck for the next ten years.
Back to top
Home | Company Info | Product Info | Legacy 6.0 | Orders | Support | Download