I like to think of Timeslips licenses like books in a library.  The first time you open Timeslips on your computer is like checking the book out of the library.  Even if you close the book/program you still have it in your possession and no one else can read the book while you have it out, so that license is considered “In Use.”  You can open and close the book/program as many times as you like but that license is yours until you return it to the library – or clear it using the Station Administrator.

The Station Administrator is a separate application that allows you to view how the licenses are being distributed.  You can access Station Administrator from within Timeslips via the Special menu, or from outside of Timeslips via the Timeslips program group on your Windows start menu.

When you open Station Administrator the first screen you see will show you the location of the Timeslips database and any users that are currently logged into that database.  These are the people that are currently reading their books.

Click the Options menu and choose Licenses In Use to see how the licenses are being distributed – who has the books out from the library, whether they are currently reading them or not.  You will see the name of the computer that each license is being used on as well as the Windows User ID.  This is a good reason to give your computers descriptive names and make sure each of your users have a unique Windows login.  If two people share the same computer, but use two different Windows logins, they will use two Timeslips licenses.

There is also a column for Session Type, which identifies whether the user is working via a remote Terminal Services connection.  Unlike local licenses, Terminal Services session licenses are released when the user exits Timeslips.

If no one is currently logged into Timeslips (no one is listed on the first Station Administrator screen), you can clear any or all of the licenses in use, making them available on a first come, first served basis.

In the lower right corner of the Licenses In Use screen you can also see how many licenses you have purchased, how many are in use and how many are available.

You may also notice two radio buttons at the top of this screen labeled Full Licenses and API Licenses.  API licenses are licenses used by other programs that connect to Timeslips, such as Time Matters, Outlook, Amicus, PC Law, Peachtree and Quickbooks.  Timeslips provides 100 API licenses.

All of this licensing information is stored in a file on the server called Timeslip.cfg.  Some people make the mistake of using the CD to install Timeslips on each computer and this puts a separate Timeslips.cfg file on each computer.  Two computers cannot access the same Timeslips database if they are using different Timeslip.cfg files.  The second person that tries to log in will get an error message.

If you do install from the CD, you can tell Timeslips to use the configuration file on the server by using the Station Administrator.  In Station Administrator, click the Options menu and choose Change Install Path.  This will then allow you to browse to the Timeslip.cfg file located on the server.  You should then delete the Timeslip.cfg file on your C drive.

When you use the Setup.exe file in the LoclInst folder on the server to install Timeslips on workstations, each computer automatically uses the Timeslip.cfg file on the server.

Still have questions about Timeslips licensing?  Need to order additional licenses?  Contact one of the experts at TriStar Data Systems.

Timeslips 2011 will be released early this summer.  You can save up to $320 if you pre-order before May 28^th.

These tips are fairly technical in nature, however, so before performing them you may want to consult your firm’s IT person, or contact one of the experts at TriStar. 

Does your computer have sufficient RAM?  Timeslips lists a minimum requirement of 512 MB, but recommends 1 GB.  We routinely recommend at least 2 GB if you plan to run any other programs at the same time as Timeslips.   To check your RAM right click the My Computer icon on your desktop, or click the Start button and choose Properties. 

Are the BDE settings correct?  Behind the scenes Timeslips uses the Borland Database Engine (BDE) and its settings can significantly impact how Timeslips functions.  Go to Start – Control Panel – BDE Administrator – Configuration – System – INIT to check and/or edit these settings.

You may also want to check these settings in your computer’s registry:
Click Start and choose Run.  Then type Regedit.
Once you’re in the Registry Editor expand to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE – SOFTWARE – Borland – Database Engine – Settings – System – INIT

The settings should be as follows:

LOCAL SHARE = TRUE
MAXBUFSIZE = 8192
MAXFILEHANDLES = 256
MEMSIZE = 179
MINBUFSIZE = 1024
SHAREDMEMLOCATION: 0x6BDE
SHAREDMEMSIZE = 4096

 Timeslips versions 2009 and above will tell you if these settings are incorrect,t and fix them for you the first time you open the program. 

 You should periodically delete temporary files created by Timeslips.  By default they will go to either C:\Program Files\Timeslips\Temp or C:\Windows\System32\Temp.   You can specify the temp file path in Timeslips preferences.  Setup – Preferences – Other.  The temp files that Timeslips creates are folders labeled FulSes and APISes, as well as files like NAVXXXXX.TMP.

 You can also get an error if Timeslips “times out” while trying to communicate with the server.  One way to speed up the communication between your workstation and the server is to enable Opportunistic Locking in the registry.  Timeslips automatically disables opportunistic locking when it is installed so you need to manually change this setting.

Click Start and choose Run.  Then type Regedit.   

One you’re in the Registry Editor click Edit and choose Find

In the Find what box, type OplocksDisabled and click Find Next. 

When the first key is found, double click it and change the Value Data to 0.

Press F3 to search for the next instance and repeat the process.  There should be three registry keys. 

Restart the computer for the change to take effect.

 Sometimes your Timeslips preferences file can become corrupted, especially if you have used the same preferences file over several versions.  By default the preferences file is located in C:\Program Files\Timeslips on each workstation.  You can delete the preferences file (PREFS.PRF) and then Timeslips will automatically re-create a fresh, new one the next time it is opened.  You will then have to go to Setup and choose Preferences to get your settings back the way you like them.  You may want to make some notes about how your preferences are set before you delete the file. 

 Try to limit the number of other programs and processes that are running when using Timeslips.  You may want to open the Task Manager to the Performance tab to view how your CPU usage is affected by Timeslips processes.  If it is up near 100% then you probably need some more RAM. 

 If none of this makes any difference then it may be an issue with the data.   Try running Data Verification (File – Data Verification) to look for errors — or contact a Timeslips expert. 

Timeslips 2010 is now shipping.  Order from TriStar to take advantage of significant discounts.

We’ll start with the first thing you see when opening the program for the first time – the Navigator.  The current Timeslips version defaults to an “Enhanced” Navigator, which includes several reports and lists surrounding the navigation buttons.  There are four “Enhanced” Navigator templates that you can choose from: Timekeeper, Office Manager, Business Owner, and Tutorial.  You should choose the template that best suits your role, so that your buttons and reports will correspond to the functions that you typically perform.  You can customize each of the panes to a considerable extent, but we’ll save that discussion for another day.  To choose an alternate template, click the “Change Template” button in the lower left corner of the screen.  

If you have upgraded from an earlier version of Timeslips, you may want to see the “Classic” Navigator that you’re used to.  When you click the “Change Template” button you can choose “Classic”, and then choose from the list of classic navigators: Basic, Advanced, Tutorial, and Custom.  Some of the Enhanced Navigator features have been known to slow down Timeslips when it first opens, so that may be a reason to opt for the “Classic” Navigator. 

There are other tricks you can perform if you like the Enhanced Navigator, but are unhappy with the performance hit it sometimes causes. We’ll address that another time….

The “Change Template” button actually takes you into the Preferences screen for your login, so while we’re there, let’s look at some other Preferences settings.  On the Startup/Exit tab you can control what screens automatically open up when you open and close the program.  We typically recommend unchecking the majority of the boxes on this section of the Preferences screen.  If you are a solo practitioner, or the last one who usually leaves the office, it’s not a bad idea to be reminded to make a backup, but if you have the automatic backup enabled it’s unnecessary. 

The “Open Window” dropdown on this screen will allow you to choose a screen that automatically opens as soon as you start Timeslips.  For example, if you are just entering time you may want to have it open to either the slip entry screen, the slip list screen or the timesheet entry screen. 

We’ll briefly review a few of the other preferences that we typically customize when performing a new install.  On the “Interface” page in the Preferences area there is a dropdown menu that says “Save when closing or switching reports.”  We typically set this to “No”, since  many users find it confusing, or annoying, or both.

On the Slips page of the Preferences area you can choose which slip entry fields copy from the previous slip as you are performing data entry.  If you enter slips for multiple people, and have a data entry backlog dating back a few days, you’ll definitely want to check “Copy dates.”  Unless this is checked, Timeslips defaults all new slips entered to the computer’s system date, and you’ll have to change the date on every new slip entered. 

Another great way to tailor Timeslips is to disable features that you don’t need.  Click the Setup menu at the top of the screen and choose Features Enabled. We typically disable “unused” fields on the slip entry screen, including Custom Fields on slips (the so-called “Extra” field), the End Date field on slips, the Time Estimated field on slips and the Reference field (unless of course you are using references).  This will make your screen look cleaner and speed up the slip entry process. 

Unless you use the Timeslips-Outlook link, which we  find very few people do, you should disable that feature as well. This prevents Timeslips from spending extra time during startup trying to initiate a link for something that isn’t there. 

For most features listed in the Features Enabled list, there is a Usage column, which tells you how often you use a feature.  If it says Never, then it’s a safe bet that you can disable it. 

These are just a few examples of how you can tailor Timeslips to suit your needs.  If you’d like to learn more about Timeslips customization, please contact one of the experts at TriStar Data Systems.  

Timeslips 2010 begins shipping at the end of June.  Pre-order from TriStar now to take advantage of significant discounts.