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May 3rd, 2016 by Paul
![]() Dear Paul, We have a newly installed user that cannot log into the Saleslogix client. The user is receiving the following error: Exception ETimeZoneError: The time zone has not been defined for user U6UJ9A0000XX Exception location: [006892BE]{Saleslogix.exe} IsBrandingEnabled This is a Windows LAN client using v8.1. Can you help us with this error? Certainly, we can help. After some research, the problem seems to be a missing value in the user profile entry for the timezone column. I am not confident how the setting came to be without a value, but here is what we did to correct the issue. 1. Diagnose the issue. First review the login process on the client machine and confirm the login issue. 2. Review the problem area. Second, review the Userinfo table to examine the user record. The SQL below is as-is and may need to be adopted by a person with knowledge of how to run and correct the data use SQL statements: – Select * from Userinfo – Next, review the user profile record noted from the error and review the timezone column – Select * from Userinfo where userid = ‘U6UJ9A0000AB’ — change to a known value 3. Identify the resolution steps. Identify the possible timezone value from the other working users. – Select distinct timezone from Userinfo 4. Implement the resolution. UDPATE USERINFO set Timezone = ‘Eastern Standard Time’ where userid = ‘U6UJ9A0000AB’ Change Timezone value and userid value to known and correct values. 5. Confirm the result with the end user. Meet with the user and make sure that they can now login. 6. What else can be corrected? Check other possible users for missing timezone values and correct as needed. – Select * from Userinfo where timezone is null This following statement will set all NULL timezone values in the userprofiles to one Value, make sure it defined correctly or update one Userinfo record at a time as described above. – Update Userinfo set timezone = ‘Central Standard Time’ where timezone is null 7. How can the problem be prevented or avoided. If the timezone value is not set for a user profile then the Network (LAN) client will potentially have problems logging in. These steps will help correct the issue. We did not come to a root cause of the issue, but if it becomes problematic, a KnowledgeSync event or database trigger can be setup to mitigate the issue for the future. We are here to help! If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Time Zone Error Resolution in Infor CRM LAN Client
March 10th, 2016 by Janetta
![]() Teri Unger will be conducting quarterly web training sessions for Infor CRM Technical Administrators called Tips, Tricks, and Tools. This blog article chronicles one of her tips from the February session. She created this summary, Teri’s Tips,Trick, and Tools – February Session for your reference. Plan to attend the May session by registering here. TIP: Default Groups Applies to: New or existing users Platform: Web/LAN Benefit: All detail pages (entities) in LAN or WEB build based on a group. When entities have defined groups that are SMALLER in record count this significantly decreases the page load speed since a smaller set of records has to be loaded before the page can display. Notes: Always set the groups to a smaller set, like a MY group or latest. The ‘ALL’ groups should be avoided. The main considerations for most users will be Account, Contact, Opportunity, Lead, and Ticket. All users, including admin, should have entity groups defined. Users can set their own in Tools > Options > Lookups & Groups. Admin can set groups in the Administrator program under each user profile. LAN user: WEB user: Caveat: web users MUST set their own default groups as it is stored in a web configuration file within the web client. This means that the settings are LOGGED-IN user specific. Notice that the default for a new user comes in with the ‘ALL’ group selected. This NEEDS to be changed! ADMINISTRATOR user profile: Open a user profile > Client Settings tab These settings ONLY apply to a LAN user. If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Infor CRM Tips,Tricks, and Tools from Teri – Setting Default Groups
February 18th, 2016 by Paul
![]() I understand synchronization is not a predominate deployment method for Infor CRM today, but our company still uses it. I am a new administrator and I wondered if you can provide an overview of synchronization? Can you also show me how to tell the last time a user synchronized? Yes of Course. Sync in general is a topic that takes quite a while to explain, and even more time to fully understand, so I will try my best to be thorough but concise. From an end user’s perspective, it is easy and that is the most important part. In the Administrator, there are 2 dates that will be pertinent to the remote users. They are the ‘Last Send Date’ and ‘Last Apply Date’. The ‘Last Send Date’ is the last time the Sync Server sent files to the remote user. For the most part, this date should be fairly regular as files are sent to the remotes every sync cycle during the work day, depending on how this is configured. TEF files are sent to most (if not all) users when changes are made. The ‘Last Apply Date’ is when the remote user sends files back to the HOST database. This date can vary more widely as it only gets updated when the remote user has files (made changes) to apply. If the remote users are working inside of Saleslogix and syncing regularly, this date should be within the last few days. There are a couple of tools that we have in place to automatically monitor the Sync Service that we have modified from a partner source. Notably a Windows Script that works well with Exchange server. There is a built-in Saleslogix tool called ‘Sync Monitor Console’ that you can open and view the status of the Sync process. Let me start out with the built in tool. 1. The ‘Sync Monitor’ provides you with a GUI interface to see what the Sync Service is doing, and the date/time of the next scheduled process job along with historical jobs. It provides you with the window to make sure things are moving correctly. It is more of “pull” the status type of tool or specifically where you need to open the tool to check the status. It is a good tool, but more reactive. 2. Simplesoft has built a couple of tools that allow you to monitor the Sync Service a bit more closely than just opening up a GUI interface. Our tools are sent by e-mail and come to you as a “push”. The first tool we have is our “Sync Report’ which provides you an e-mail on a scheduled basis telling you which users are syncing (and which are not) along with some vital information about the health of your Sync Server. I have attached a screen shot of ours from this morning. Additionally, we have developed a scheduled job that has thresholds built in to allow you to tell when the Sync Service has stopped. I don’t have an example of that one to share, but it fires off an e-mail basically telling you ‘The Sync Server has not sent files in X period of time’. Both of our tools are built off the database tables used for the sync process and are set up through a Windows task scheduler and sends e-mail alerts. We recommend using a distribution group for the e-mail. With the tools mentioned above, an Administrator can tell fairly quickly when there is an issue with the processes that run the synchronization engine. When the operational monitoring tools are put into place, corrections can be made before it becomes a bigger issue. You would then be working in proactive mode more rather than reactive mode. We can help you to configure the Administrator to review the dates a little better by turning columns “on” for visual review. We can also help you implement the monitoring tools to see the process via e-mail. If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Infor CRM (Saleslogix) Synchronization Monitoring Overview
December 28th, 2015 by Teri Unger
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Microsoft recently released Office (365) 2016 to all eligible users in September of this year. As of the publishing of this article, the compatibility of Office (365) 2016 and Infor CRM (formerly Saleslogix) has NOT been approved (what is called qualified for support). Please refer to the latest Infor CRM Compatibility Guide for all compatibility questions. It is our recommendation that you do not upgrade until Infor has approved compatibility certification as we have already seen some breaking items with the Outlook Integration and launching Outlook from the LAN and WEB client. Even after uninstalling and re-installing to an earlier version of Microsoft Office there have been some issues. If you are currently using a Microsoft 365 product, as Microsoft has the ability to upgrade without a user’s permission based on settings within the 365 package, it is recommended that you review your settings for automatic download of updates to ensure that you do not accidentally upgrade. Microsoft is gearing their products to operate solely from the cloud, as is the Microsoft Office 365 product currently released. This change in direction for the Microsoft Office product has a ripple affect with other programs that integrate closely. Infor CRM is one of them. Rumor mills have been whispering that Microsoft is pushing the cloud applications rather than desktop versions; if the rumor mills are accurate, we may be seeing the last of the desktop versions. While researching the new Office product, I found that the desktop versions for business use are still offered by Microsoft. Office 2016 Professional Plus for enterprise licensing, Office 365 Business, Office 365 Business Premium, and Office 365 Enterprise E3. Although integration with Outlook 2016 has not been tested with the Infor CRM client, both LAN and WEB rely on the actual desktop version of Office to be installed. It is required to trigger the program launch during certain tasks, like generating emails, mail merge, template, etc. For best compatibility, the desktop versions of Office will have a better chance of working with the Infor CRM client’s current design. Infor CRM is aware of the change to the Microsoft Office software and will determine compatibility as they test the changes necessary to utilize the Office 365 platform; desktop and cloud version. Infor is currently working on compatibility with Microsoft Office (365) 2016 and has tentatively set the update to be released with Infor CRM v8.3.0 in February 2016. We will keep you informed as we hear updates. In the meantime, if you a prompted for an update to Microsoft Office (365) 2016 … Don’t Do It… At least not yet anyway! If you have any questions on this issue, please contact support@simplesoft.net If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Infor CRM and Microsoft Office 2016
December 9th, 2015 by Paul
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Here are some quick steps to make sure SLX Profiler is working properly. For mass data changes and system work, I recommend the work be completed when users are not on the system and after the database has been backed up. It is important to make sure this work is completed when no one is using the Web client. Tasks to correct SLX Profiler not running right: If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Dear Paul, SLXProfiler is not showing results
August 26th, 2015 by Don
![]() In this blog article we have summarized the functional aspects of the four utilities/solutions for integrating Infor CRM (Saleslogix) with Outlook and Exchange. We have included a brief description, the use cases for each, and reference sources for additional information. Please keep in mind they can all be deployed and used in any combination, depending on your users’ business needs. – Desktop Enhancements: designed to record e-mail in Notes/History for a Contact; provides Word and Excel integration – Outlook Sync: designed to sync/exchange Contacts and Calendar items for the purpose of portability in Outlook, which is often not necessary with the deployment of the Mobile client – Xbar: designed to allow users to quickly access/manage Infor CRM (Saleslogix) data directly in Outlook WITHOUT having to switch to the Infor CRM application – Exchange Link: provides server-side integration directly between Infor CRM (Saleslogix) and Exchange Server (similar to Outlook Sync but server-side) Desktop Enhancements Desktop Enhancements provides the most basic integration between Infor CRM for the purpose of sending and recording e-mail. Installing this component is done by the user when logging into Infor CRM. On the login webpage, the user simply clicks the ‘Install Enhancements’ button, which installs an add-in to the Outlook client in Windows. Once installed the user has the ability to click the e-mail link or envelope icon on a Contact record to create a new e-mail message, click the “Send to CRM” button on the Message toolbar ribbon in Outlook to send and record the e-mail to the Contact Notes/History, select an e-mail received from within Outlook and click the “Record to History” toolbar button on the Home toolbar ribbon, and, lastly, drag-and-drop e-mails from the Outlook client directly to the browser to record to Notes/History (MS Internet Explorer only). For more information, select the Options button on the Outlook Home toolbar ribbon and in the Infor CRM Connector Options dialog box, select the ? icon in the upper right corner of the dialog box. Outlook Sync Outlook sync allows users to configure the synchronization of Contacts, Appointments, and Tasks between Outlook and Infor CRM, either bi-directional or one-way from one application to the other. Users can configure options by selecting the Options button on the Outlook Home toolbar ribbon, including defining synchronization rules for which folders in Outlook to sync, the frequency for the synchronization in minutes, configuring options for prompting for duplicate and unresolved Contacts, and displaying the History Details dialog box from Infor CRM to enter additional details. For more information, please reference the Help content in the Infor CRM web client by selecting the ? icon in the upper right hand corner, selecting the “Search” button on the Help toolbar, and entering “Outlook Sync”. Xbar Xbar is an add-in for Infor CRM that allows users to view, modify, and enter Infor CRM data directly from within Outlook. By clicking on an e-mail message in Outlook, Xbar will query Infor CRM to find Contacts for each of the individual e-mail addresses included in the From, To, and CC lines in that e-mail. Some of the information displayed includes Activities, History, Notes, Tickets, and Opportunities associated with a Contact. From there, the user can update the Contact details, schedule Activities, create Tickets or Opportunities, and click to go directly to the Contact in Infor CRM. If a Contact is not found for an e-mail address, the user has the option to Create a Contact or Lead by dragging and dropping an e-mail signature line, parsing the data into the proper fields and allowing the user to enter all additional fields. For more information on Xbar, please reference the Help content included with Xbar by selecting the three bars menu icon and selecting the Help menu item. Exchange Link Exchange Link provides server-side integration between Infor CRM and MS Exchange, synchronizing the same information as Outlook Sync. This solution is appropriate for customers using web mail clients such as Outlook Web Access (OWA) or Apple mail where the traditional Outlook client is not installed. It is compatible with customers hosting Exchange locally or by a third-party. If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to schedule a demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Infor CRM Users Group Events. Comments Off on Outlook Integration with Infor CRM (Saleslogix) – A Detailed Summary
March 6th, 2015 by Teri Unger
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Here is an example of a group with a 30-day window of phone calls. The list of activity codes are as follows: Phone call = 262146 We hope this short article is helpful for group building in Infor CRM (Saleslogix). If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Users Group Events. Comments Off on Building Groups in Infor CRM (Saleslogix) using the Activity Codes
December 11th, 2014 by Paul
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Nine Practical Strategies for Data Management Data quality is one of the core pillars for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) success. It does not take long to realize when using a CRM tool, like Infor CRM, that the need for data quality management is paramount. The grueling pains of poor data management can range from the costs of inaccurate printing and returned mailings to the subtle troubles of users not trusting the data like they should. The effectiveness of customer facing operations (sales, marketing, and support) depends on having clean data. Think of the implications of marketing to customers using inaccurate data and sending them a prospecting letter (maybe you have lived it). The costly mistakes speak for themselves. Research studies from the Data Warehousing Institute suggest it only takes about four and a half years for a database to become ninety-eight percent “bad” if data is not managed properly, and regularly. On-going T.L.C (Tender Loving Care) will keep the data constant, but changes that occur with records when customers move, marry, divorce, pass away, go out of business, etc., render them obsolete quickly. Users can become skeptical of the data and resort to deploying their own data repositories. Of course, no one plans to use a tool where the data is outdated and not trusted. So, what can an Infor CRM Administrator or Data Steward do to ensure high quality data? Strategies for Data Success First, establish the processes and tools to prevent inaccuracies. Tip: We have found it helpful to develop a document to define user policies and procedures to establish data standards. Define the policies and procedures for managing change early before the system is deployed and communicate those policies to the end users of the system. Clean up existing data inaccuracies (if they exist). Our customers find it helpful to use a data survey checklist that helps you think about areas of review. Review critical data suppliers and entry points. Insist they provide accurate and current data. Especially important before importing data with G.I.G.O. (Garbage In, Garbage Out) in mind. Build in data accuracy by enforcing required fields and pick lists. Also, use scripting to enforce business rules whenever possible. Tip: Focus on the most important data first, especially for mailing and reporting. I am sure you have observed a state field with OH, Oh., OH., Ohio, OH-IO and other variations. This scenario can be easily prevented. Don’t be seduced by the promise of CRM data cleanup tools without a plan for prevention, too. There is no substitute for preventing errors at the source. Tip: You can enforce both clean up and prevention at the same time with QGate’s Paribus and PowerEntry utility. Select specific software tools to solve specific problems rather than general tools for general problems. The Groups features is an easy-to-use built-in tool in Infor CRM. Tip: There are many built in tools and methods to manage data so spend the time or work with your channel partner to learn them all. Assign a data steward (or trustee) to be responsible for each data element (Contacts, Accounts, pricing information, etc.). Typically, this role is the business process administrator; whereas the power user role manages the data and both should have strong executive support. Establish a process through which the accuracy and quality of data in all systems can be reviewed and assured on a reoccurring basis. Schedule regular tasks to review and clean up data, such as on a weekly or monthly basis. The data steward/administrator should be held accountable for completing those tasks. In the case of multiple systems using the same data, identify a system of “official record”. That is, a system in which data will originate and “feed” other systems that require the data (accounting and sales integration come to mind). Identify Data Quality Issues in Infor CRM Infor CRM administrators can create administrative Account / Contact / Opportunity Groups for various data segmentation such as missing required fields, duplication of data, and data that needs to be reviewed because the records have not been updated or reviewed, within a specified period of time, such as a six months or a year, for example. Infor CRM also includes tools to mass ‘swap’ the content of fields, change values, and merge records. As a standard procedure, first complete the actions in a test environment to verify the steps and desired results. After verifying, perform the steps in your production system. Tip: Always backup a production database before making mass changes and complete during non-working hours. You also may want to use the built in “user fields” to mark which records are changing, this will simplify an otherwise irreversible change and provide a temporary audit. Cleaning Data Using Infor CRM There are some basic built-in tools for managing and de-duplicating data in Infor CRM, which can be supplemented with and enhanced by third-party tools, such as QGate’s Paribus and several other data management solutions. Nevertheless, a data management strategy, as outlined above, is required. Some of the data de-duplication tools available in Infor CRM include: Administrative Groups – groups can be created to help administrators identify and cleanup data issues such as missing data or duplicate data Check for Duplicates Wizard – an automated method of finding and eliminating data duplicates Merging Records Manually – a simple method of merging two or more records from the Group view Increasing the reliability of CRM data within an organization is priceless. Avoiding costly mistakes such as targeting a current customer as a new prospect is critical. Now is a great time to review and clean your Infor CRM data. Remember to review and clean existing data, clean the data being entered, and prevent the current data from becoming “stale”. Managing data quality is an ever moving target and must be a part of your overall system management strategy. Data helps solve problems. — Anne Wojcicki If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Users Group Events.
Dayton/Cincinnati, OH | Charleston, WV | Charlotte, NC
Comments Off on Dirty Data Cleaned Dirt Cheap for Infor CRM (Saleslogix)
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