Revelation PRO Tips And Tricks
Revelation Pro Topics
Win2000/XP: Revelation will not run after
Pastel installed
Win98: Revelation will not run after Pastel
installed
Windows XP: Setting number of Files
(Config.sys)
Printing to Network printers in Windows
2000/XP/NT
Windows 2000/NT: Setting number of Files
(Config.sys)
Windows Millennium: Setting the number of
Files
Retaining data that was input into a
ProForma Invoice
Re-Sort outstanding Sales Orders for stock
items by Date
How to set normal size print (10cpi) for a
wide-body printer
How to use the CATEGORY field in a
Debtor/Creditor record
Printing a different message for
each Aged period on Debtor Statements
Copying Statement messages from one Aged
period to another
Posting a VAT only entry into a Creditor
or Debtor account
"Hanging over" into the new month before
performing a Month-end Update
Use a filename extension of ".csv" when
exporting data to Excel
Amend your own Delivery
Address on Purchase Orders
How to remove a Company from the
"Select a Company..." list
Printing a 4-digit year on Invoices,
Orders, Statements, etc
How to restart the system after a
crash
One-line per account Debtors Aged
Analysis
Utilities menu so you no longer have to
exit to DOS prompt
Special Promotional Prices on
selected Stock Items
Print Reports to screen first…
Using the Notes field as a Stock
Description
Searching for a Transaction
Keeping history longer than 2 Years
Win2000/XP: Revelation does not run after Pastel installed
If you install a Pastel product (Payroll, etc) on a PC (running
Windows 2000/XP) that has RevPlus or RevPro installed on it, you may
find that Revelation will no longer run. Proceed as follows to fix
this problem. Edit the CONFIG.NT file in the \Windows\System32
folder. At the bottom of this file, you should see this command:
DEVICE=C:\PVSW\BIN\BTRDRVR.SYS . Delete this line and save the
CONFIG.NT back to disk. Then, run Windows Explorer (right-click
[Start] and select “Explore”). In the left-window pane, locate the
“PVSW” folder and click the + sign next to it. Below the “PVSW”,
click the yellow “BIN” folder. In the RIGHT-window pane, locate and
DELETE the following files:
BTRDRVR.SYS
BTRVDD.DLL
Close Windows Explorer. Revelation should now run as usual. The
Pastel product should also run without a problem.
Win98:
Revelation does not run after Pastel installed
If you install a Pastel product (Payroll, etc) on a PC (running
Windows 98) that has RevPlus or RevPro installed on it, you may find
that Revelation will no longer run. Proceed as follows to fix this
problem. Note that this involves editing the Windows Registry which
controls how your PC operates. This procedure should only be
attempted by competent users. Revelation accepts no responsiblilty
for any problems caused by editing the Registry. On the Windows
Desktop, with the left-mouse button, click [Start] and then [Run].
Type: regedit (and press [Enter]). Using the LEFT Mouse button,
click the + sign to the left of: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE". Then click
the + sign to the left of "System". Click the + sign to the left of
"Current Control Set". Click the + sign to the left of "Services".
Click the + sign to the left of "VXD". Locate and RIGHT-Click
"BtrBox95". On the popup menu, left-click "Delete". If prompted "Are
you sure?", left-click "Yes". Close the Registry window and restart
the PC. Revelation should now run as usual. The Pastel product
should also run without a problem.
Windows XP: Setting number of Files (Config.sys)
Windows XP does not use the traditional CONFIG.SYS file to define
the number of Files that programs like RevPro will use. Here is
another way you can set the number of files. Note that the following
is only necessary where RevPro is actually going to be run on a
Windows XP machine - it is NOT necessary where the Windows XP is
being used as a dedicated File Server in a Network (with no RevPro
actually running on itself). On the Windows Desktop of the Windows
XP machine, click "Start", then "Programs", then "Accessories", then
"NotePad". In NotePad, click "File", then "Open". In the "FileName"
box, type: \windows\system32\config.nt (and press [Enter]). When
this file is displayed, keep pressing [Page-Down] until you get to
the bottom of the file. At the bottom of the file, you should see a
"files=" command (if not, then add one). Change it to read (without
the quotes): "files=150". Now click on "File" again and then on
"Save". Exit out of NotePad and restart the PC.
Printing to Network printers in Windows 2000/XP/NT
Windows 2000/XP/NT does not have the facility to "capture" printer
ports that we are used to under Windows 95/98. This causes problems
for Dos programs such as RevPro and RevPlus that might need to print
to a printer attached to another PC on the network. To overcome this
problem, proceed as follows. First, make the printer(s) shareable on
the PC that it is attached to and make a note of the name that the
printer is "shared as". Also, you need to know the Network "name" of
the PC to which the shared printer is attached. Now edit the RP.BAT
file that is used to load RevPro. On the first line of the RP.BAT
file (move everything else down), type the following command
(without the quotes): "NET USE LPT2: \\ComputerName\PrinterName".
This instructs Windows 2000 to route all traffic sent to printer
port LPT2: over the network to a printer named "PrinterName"
attached to the PC named "ComputerName". Put as many "net use"
commands as required in the RP.BAT file to print to other network
printers from RevPro. This doesNOT apply to local printers attached
to the PC itself. Note that, if there are multiple shared printers
on different PC's on the network, each terminal should have it's own
renamed copy of the RP.BAT file (used to load RevPro) with the
appropriate "net use" commands to avoid printer conflicts.
Windows 2000/NT: Setting number of Files (Config.sys)
Windows 2000 and NT does not use the traditional CONFIG.SYS file to
define the number of Files that programs like RevPro will use. Here
is another way you can set the number of files. Note that the
following is only necessary where RevPro is actually going to be run
on a Windows 2000 or NT machine - it is NOT necessary where the
Windows 2000/NT is being used as a dedicated File Server in a
Network (with no RevPro actually running on itself). On the Windows
Desktop of the Win2000/NT machine, click "Start", then "Programs",
then "Accessories", then "NotePad". In NotePad, click "File", then
"Open". In the "FileName box, type: \winnt\system32\config.nt (and
press [Enter]). When this file is displayed, keep pressing
[Page-Down] until you get to the bottom of the file. At the bottom
of the file, you should see a "files=" command (if not, then add
one). Change it to read (without the quotes): "files=150". Now click
on "File" again and then on "Save". Exit out of NotePad and restart
the PC.
Windows Millennium: Setting the number of Files
Windows Millennium has done away with the CONFIG.SYS file where you
specify the number of files your various programs use. Here is
another way you can set the number of files. On the Windows Desktop,
click "Start", then "Run". Type: msconfig (and press [Enter]). In
the window that opens, click the "System.ini" tab at the top. In the
displayed list, click the "+" sign next to [386Enh]. A new list is
displayed under [386Enh]. Click once, with the left-button, any
entry in this new list. It will be hi-lighted. Now click the "New"
button at the bottom of the window. A field will open for you to
type in. Type: pervmfiles=150 (and press [Enter]). Then click
"Apply" and finally "Ok". Restart the PC. This has the same effect
as "Files=150" in the old Config.sys file.
Retaining data that was input into a ProForma Invoice
As you probably know, when you print a Pro Forma Invoice in RevPro,
it is not retained anywhere on the system - it is simply printed and
then "thrown away". To save you having to type it in all over again,
first input the Pro Forma invoice data into a Sales Quote ("6" on
main menu, then "3"). Then, select to process a Pro Forma invoice
and import the Sales Quote into it (type "=Q" in the Stockcode
field). Now, when you need to produce the actual Sales Invoice for
that sale, you simply import the Sales Quote again into a normal
invoice.
Re-Sort outstanding Sales Orders for stock items by Date
Under certain circumstances, when displaying (or printing) the
outstanding Sales Orders for a stock item, the Orders are not
printed in Date order. To rectify this, select 'V' (main menu), 'E'
(utilities menu). Although this is the 'Purge old orders' option, we
do not want to actually purge orders. So, input a very old date for
the purge date (eg: 010190). This forces RevPro to re-sort the
orders in date sequence.
How
to set normal size print (10cpi) for a wide-body printer
Some RevPro users who own wide-body (132 column) dot-matrix printers
have asked how to "switch-off" the compressed print mode so they can
print full-sized reports on wide continuous paper (as opposed to the
normal 80 column paper). Select 'U' on the Main menu followed by '1'
on the Maintenance menu. In the displayed list, select the 'Epson
FX80 Compatible' printer (or whichever dot-matrix printer your
reports are set to). Press 'F7' to amend the displayed printer's
parameters. Change the 'Print Pitch' parameter (top-right of the
window) to '3'. This instructs the printer to print in normal size
print (10 characters per inch). Note that this has no effect on the
size of print on Invoices, Statements, etc.
How
to use the CATEGORY field in a Debtor/Creditor record
RevPro users are always looking for more ways to group different
categories of Debtors together. Using the Rep and Area codes are the
most obvious ways. Then, when printing reports, etc, you can select
only to print accounts for Areacode "005", for instance. Did you
know that the "Category" field gives you another 10 ways to
categorise accounts by using a method called "pattern-matching"?
Each of the 10 character positions in the Category field can be used
as a separate grouping mechanism. For example, let's say you want to
group a number of your Debtor accounts as preferred Dealers. In
their account records, place a "D" in the FIRST character position
in the Category field. Next, you may want to 'flag' all accounts
that are slow payers by putting the letter 'S' an the 3rd character
position in the Category field. When printing most Debtors reports,
the parameter window provides a parameter which is labelled: "Only
Category fields that match...". If you only want your Dealer
records, you input a "D" in the first character position. If you
only want slow-payers, you leave the first character position blank
and place an "S" in the THIRD position and so on. If you wanted to
print only Dealers who are slow-payers, input a "D" in the first
position and an "S" in the third position. As you can see, this
provides you with an additional 10 ways to categorise your accounts.
You can even use the same character position for multiple purposes.
"S"=Slow-payer, "C"=Cash Only, and so on.
Printing a different message for each Aged
period on Debtor Statements
On Debtors Statements, you can print a different message for each
Aged period (this assumes your statements have a place to print
messages). For amounts outstanding in older Aged periods, the
message can become progressively more assertive. When printing
statements, RevPro prints the message appropriate to the amount
owing in the OLDEST aged period. If there is an amount in 30 days
and in 90 days, the system will print the 90 day message. First,
using the "Input messages..." option on the Statements menu ("D"
Main menu, "2" Reports menu), input an appropriate message fo each
Aged period. When you print statements, in the "Statement
parameters" window, input an "N" into the "Use Default message on
ALL Stmts?" field. This instructs RevPro to print the Aged messages
on the statements. To print the default message (same message on all
statements), you would input a "Y".
Copying Statement messages from one Aged period to another
For those users who use the option to print a different message for
each Aged Period on Debtor Statements, you can now copy messages for
one Aged Period to another (RevPro version 000601 and above). In the
Statement message option ("D" main menu, "2" Reports menu, "4"
Statements menu), input a message into one of the aged periods
(let's use 180 days, for example). Now, to copy the 180 days message
to 150 days, select to input a 150 days message on the message menu.
At the beginning of the message field, type "?180" and press
[Enter]. This instructs RevPro to copy the 180 days message to the
message field you are currently working on.
Posting a VAT only entry into a Creditor or Debtor account
This question has come up from time to time where, for some reason,
you wish to post an amount into a Debtor/Creditor account that is
ALL Vat (ie: no goods value component). On the main menu, select "2"
(Postings), "D" or "C" (Debtors or Creditors), "1" (Invoices). Call
up the required account, input the Ref.Code, etc. For the Amount,
input the Vat Amount (in this case the full transaction amount).
When prompted for the Nominal a/c to contra this entry to, input the
General Sales a/c (Debtors) or General Purchases a/c (Creditors).
Actually, any account will do as nothing will be posted to it, but
it is necessary for RevPro. Leave the Vat Code as "01" and input the
Amount (Incl) as the full Amount you entered earlier. In the Vat
Amount field, input the same amount again. On pressing [Enter],
RevPro will complain that the Vat Amount does not calculate
properly. Ignore this message and tell RevPro to accept it anyway.
Then press [Esc] in the next line's Nominal a/c No. field to exit.
Input a narration (if required) and finally, press "S" to write the
entry away. If you examine the posting, you will see that the Vat
amount was posted to the Debtors (or Creditors) Control a/c and the
appropriate Vat a/c.
"Hanging over" into the new month before performing a Month-end
Update
A lot of RevPro users seem to be unaware of the fact that you do NOT
have to run a Month-end Update at the end of a month before you can
begin posting entries for the new month. RevPro allows you to keep
the old month open right up until the end of the following month.
This applies even in the last month of you financial year where you
can post entries into the first month of the new financial year
while still posting entries into the last month of the old financial
year. For example, let's assume that your financial year ends in
February. Do NOT run a month-end update on the last day of February.
On the 1st March, on loading RevPro, you input Today's Date as 1st
March as normal and you process sales invoices, etc for that day. If
you want to post a supplier's invoice or nominal closing entry into
February, you simply input the appropriate February date when RevPro
prompts you for the transaction date.
When you are "hanging over" like this, most printed reports give you
the option of printing them as at the Current Date or as at the end
of the previous month allowing you to produce complete monthly
reports when needed (usually Debtors reports such as Statements, etc
would still be printed at the end of the month for obvious reasons).
You carry on like this, posting into both the old and new months
well into March until you are sure you have finished with the
February postings. Then, you print the required February reports
and, finally, you perform the Month-end Update for February (which,
in this case, will also automatically perform the Year-end Update).
All entries dated March will remain in the Current month (now March)
and the February entries will be moved into the archives.
Use a filename extension of ".csv" when exporting data to Excel
If you export data out of Revelation for import into a Microsoft
Excell spreadsheet, use an extension of ".csv" when prompted to
input the filename for the export file. For example, "filename.CSV"
or "export.CSV", etc. This tells Excel that it is a Comma-delimited
file and stops it asking you 20 questions about what type of file it
is, what the delimiters are, etc. If you export to Lotus 123, then
use the extension ".prn".
Amend your own Delivery Address on Purchase
Orders
A number of users have asked how they can amend or input a New
Delivery Address to print on Purchase Orders that they send to their
Suppliers. When you process Purchase Orders ([6] Main menu), after
selecting the required Supplier's account in the Creditor's file, a
window displaying OUR Delivery Address(es) is displayed for you to
select from. If there are NO Delivery Addresses or you wish to add
one, press [F8] to input a New one and fill in the details as
prompted. These Delivery Addresses are not linked to a particular
Supplier's account (as is the case with Debtors) - they are
available to ALL Suppliers accounts. You can have as many Delivery
Addresses as you wish.
How to remove a Company from the "Select a
Company..." list
If you have physically deleted a Company in the RevPro directory
(for security, this can only be done at the Dos prompt), this is how
you can remove it from the Company list displayed on loading RevPro.
Load RevPro as usual and select option [2] on the first menu (to
load another Company). On the displayed list of companies, select
the one you have just deleted. RevPro will inform you that the
Company does not exist and will remove it from the list. Next time
you select option [2], it will no longer be displayed.
Printing a 4-digit year on Invoices, Orders, Statements, etc
For those users who would prefer to print a 4-digit year on
Invoices, Orders, Statements, Quotes, etc (eg: 15/01/2000), this can
be set as follows. Select [U] on the Main menu followed by [C] on
the Maintenance menu followed by [1]. Set the 'Use 2 or 4 digits for
Year on Inv' field to what you require. ENSURE THAT YOUR STATIONERY
ACCOMMODATES 4 DIGITS.
How to restart the system after a crash
If Revelation freezes or a Terminal running Revelation on a Network
hangs or crashes, it is always wise for everyone to exit out of what
they are doing and shut down the PC and the entire Network (and down
the File Server). Do this BEFORE running the "Fix" program or
restoring from backups. This forces the Network to re-initialise
itself thus preventing open file conflicts and other peculiar
errors.
One-line per account Debtors Aged Analysis
Some Clients have complained about the layout of the Debtors Aged
Analysis report. This is because 2 lines have to be used per account
to cater for the 30 to 180 days aged periods. To accommodate clients
who prefer the old style of 1 account per line, set the ‘Only print
up to 120 days’ parameter to ‘Y’ on the Aged Analysis Report’s
Parameter screen. This instructs RevPro to print the sum of the 180,
150 and 120 Days fields in the 120 Days column. This prints one line
per a/c.
Utilities menu so you no longer have to exit to DOS prompt
These house-keeping functions can be performed internally from the
Utilities Menu ([V] on the Main menu): Backup, Restore (from stiffy,
quick-backup, pre-month-end), run the ‘Fix’ program, Copy a Company,
Zeroise a Company, Create/Amend Colour Tables (per user), Format &
Copy disks, copy & amend Document Layout files.
Special Promotional Prices on selected Stock
Items
Each Stock record has a Special Promotions section which allows you
to define a Promotional Selling Price for that item with a Starting
and Ending Date. RevPro will automatically use that price if that
item is invoiced out during that date range.
Print Reports to screen first…
Remember, we supposedly live in a paperless society (?). Very often,
viewing a report on the screen is all one needs. RevPro's report
output to screen greatly enhanced. It can be scrolled up, down, left
and right for easy viewing. Good idea to always test a report on
screen before printing it.
Using the Notes field as a Stock Description
If you offer a service that requires a lengthy description (3 or
more lines), capture that service as a Stock item (ItemType=’S’) and
type the full Description into that item’s NOTES field (put a brief
description into the normal Description field). Then, on that item’s
‘Control’ page, set the ‘Use Notes as Description’ flag to ‘Y’. On
printed Invoices, that item’s Notes field will now be used as the
Description covering as many lines as required. Up to 50 lines may
be entered into Notes fields.
Searching for a Transaction
This useful facility allows you to search for a transaction by
Reference Code. This searches all files (including Archives) and
displays all legs of the requested transactions. Once found, you can
instruct it to print out details of the transaction for audit
purposes or search further back for other instances of the same
Ref.Code.
Keeping history longer than 2 Years
In Pro, when a Year-end update is performed (automatically as part
of the Last Month-end update of the year), the Last Financial Year’s
data is ‘dumped’ to make way for aging the Current year’s data. If
you want to keep the Last Financial year’s data on file, use the
‘Copy Company…’ option on the Utilities Menu (V) to make a copy of
the Company’s data to another number just before performing the LAST
Month-end Update of the Year.
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