by Mark Nemtsas | May 5, 2008 | New Releases, News
A new version was released today containing three bug fixes.
- The new NTP time code had a small bug in it where in some instances the time queried from the NTP server was not read properly and the old time was used instead leading to timing errors.
- Another fix was put in for the Error 6 : Overflow that some people had seen when their systems were running for a very long time. I suspect this is a limitation with a timer in MS Windows that takes effect after your system has been running for more than 47 days.
- Time Clock MTS determines your currency symbol ($ for example) and decimal symbol (. or ,) from some internal MS Windows settings. In some cases (for some reasons I’ve not been able to determine) these settings are not able to be read. This caused an error when saving Time Clock MTS settings. This has now been fixed up.
by Mark Nemtsas | Apr 30, 2008 | New Releases, News
Time Clock MTS Version 1.6.8 was released yesterday containing a few fixes and some performance updates.
- The software now functions correctly with limited user accounts on Windows XP and Windows Vista. This was possible before but some directory permissions had to be set manually, the software installer now does this automatically.
- The Client software would not register itself properly when the trial period had expired. Again this could be worked around with some effort but now should just happen automatically.
- The method used to access internet time servers has changed. Some people were reporting that Time Clock MTS wouldn’t connect to the servers properly so the changes were made in and attempt to fix this up. I should emphasize that for the best level of security for your Time Clock Software that you should use the Internet Time Server option for determining clock in and out times.
- Some users were experiencing a slowdown when the employee list had more than 50 employees in it. Some time was spent speeding this up, you should see about a 30% speed increase (this same speed increase will be seen in other areas of the software that display the full employee list).
by kathryn@timeclockmts.com | Apr 5, 2008 | New Releases
Just a minor release today. The single new feature is being able to use a custom NTP server from which Time Clock MTS can set it’s internal clock from. You might like to use this setting for the following reasons:
- Your network is not connected to the Internet and cannot access an external NTP server so you must use a NTP server on your network somewhere.
- Your network is firewalled and does not allow access to the port required for a query to an NTP server. This port is UDP port 123. If this is the case then you must use a NTP server on your network somewhere.
- You prefer to use a geographically closer NTP server than the default time servers available in Time Clock MTS. For a list of available public NTP servers try taking a look at the NTP Organization Home Page.
A minor bug was fixed in this version, the report configuration screen would give an invalid property error when the next month button was pressed and then the this week button was pressed, but only when the current month had 30 days and the previous had 31. It was fairly obscure but thanks to one alert user who figured out exactly what was going on.
Versions 1.6.3/1.6.4 were released recently in an effort to try to fix an error on the Edit Times Screen. Some users were reporting that the drop down menus on the Add Time and Delete Time buttons on the Edit Times screen were not working but I could not replicate this. It turned out the error only occurred when navigating to the Edit Times screen from the View Information button on the main Time Clock MTS Screen. There’s no apparent fix to this (it’s a system error rather than a bug on my behalf) so I’ve removed the ability to navigate to the Edit Times screen from the View Information button. You’ll have to get there via the Tools->Edit Times menu (which you could always do anyway).
by Mark Nemtsas | Mar 17, 2008 | How To, New Releases, News, Tips and Tricks, Using the Software
The System Options Screen
Version 1.6.2 of Time Clock MTS was released today. It contained a couple of minor bug fixes and added one very important security feature, support for Microsoft Access database passwords.
Users finding and manipulating the back end database of Time Clock MTS has always been a problem. Time Clock MTS has always included a series of internal checks to try to detect this sort of manipulation, but of course no system is perfect. By including support for Access database passwords we have added one additional layer of security to ensure that your time and attendance information is accurate. Using a database password with a Microsoft Access database encrypts the data it contains and prevents non authorized access to the database when someone tries to open it with MS Access.
To setup Time Clock MTS to work with an Access database that is password protected follow these simple steps:
- Password protect your Access database using MS Access. How this is done depends largely on the version of MS Access that you have. Consult your MS Access help documentation for detailed instructions.
- Run the Time Clock MTS administrator program, the software will detect that the database back end is password protected and prompt you to enter the password.
- Once entered click OK and re-start the software as prompted. If you entered the information correctly then you’ll connect directly to the database. If you didn’t enter the password correctly you’ll be prompted to enter it again.
- You’ll need to repeat the password entry process for every client installation you have.
That’s all there is to it. If you’re wondering, the MS Access database password you enter into Time Clock MTS is stored locally on each computer (which is why you need to enter the password for every Time Clock MTS Client you have). The password itself is stored in an encrypted format for extra security.
