Weblog by Dan Stevens

Arrow Configurator Now Available

Arrow was recently added to our Configurator offering.  The current Price List is July 1, 2008.

the ROAD AHEAD or the ROAD BEHIND

I think the fates must grin
as we denounce them and insist,
The only reason we can’t win
is the fates themselves have missed.

Yet, there lives on the ancient claim-
We win or lose within ourselves,
The shining trophies on our shelves can
Never win tomorrow’s game.

So you and I know deeper down
There is a chance to win the crown,
But when we fail to give our best,
We simply haven’t met the test

Of giving all and saving none
Until the game is really won.

Of showing what is meant by grit,
Of playing through not letting up,
It’s bearing down that wins the cup.

Of taking it and taking more
Until we gain the winning score

Of dreaming there’s a goal ahead,
Of hoping when our dreams are dead,
Of praying when our hopes have fled.

Yet, losing, not afraid to fall,
If bravely we have given all,
For who can ask more of a man
Than giving all within his span.

That giving all, it seems to me,
Is not so far from VICTORY.

And so the fates are seldom wrong,
No matter how they twist and wind;
It’s you and I who make our fates,
We open up or close the gates

On the ROAD AHEAD or the ROAD BEHIND

-George Joseph Moriarty (June 7, 1884 – April 8, 1964)
an American third baseman, umpire and manager in Major League Baseball from 1903 to 1940.
He played for the Chicago Cubs, New York Highlanders, Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox from 1903 to 1916.

More CRT - Enhancements

v.1.09.0322.2 was just posted with the following enhancements:

1. "Internal-Note" has been added to the Manuf drop-down.  This will allow for notes that will only be displayed on-screen & on the Costing Report (no other reports).

2. New columns available for Weight/ea., Inbound Freight Cost/ea. & Outbound Freight Cost/ea.
These can be exposed by checking the appropriate "Show..." menu item on the Tools menu.
Once exposed...CRT will remember these settings.

3. New IBF Markup & OBF Markup fields (optional)

4. The Costing Report will now show the Order Profit Status

5. New menu choice for "Edit, Manage Hardware Categories"...allows you to edit the "User Description", Default IBF, Default OBF & Default Weight by Hardware Category.

6. new "Email CRT as GZip" (Tools menu) feature provides embedded emailing functionality, and will automatically compress and attach the current file. File Open will now allow you to open GZipped files as well.  These files take a little longer to open, since they need to be decompressed first.

7. new "Manage My-Other-Vendors" feature allow you to add your own vendors to the Manuf drop-down, for items that are manually priced.

de La Fontaine Pricing Update

I just posted the new pricing to all 3-Kelley Bros T.O.P. servers (effective March 15, 2009).  The changes represent approx 15-17% price reduction.

Twitter

You can now follow me using Twitter  (www.twitter.com).  My new username is dan_toadllc.  All postings to Twitter are limited to 140 characters, so I will not be posting the same info I send to this blog.  Twitter can be used for a number of reasons.  I am just beginning to explore it.

New! Hardware Sets Feature for TOAD-CRT (Catalog Replacement Tool)

Our latest version (1.09.0315.1) offers a new feature for doing Estimates using Hardware Sets.

Here's how it works:

1. On the Tools menu, click "Show Hardware Sets" to make the appropriate columns & controls visible.

2. By default the "Hardware Set ID" drop-down will say "ALL", replace this text with the ID of your first Hardware Set (for example "01A")...then click "Filter"

3. Start adding/building hardware items (set the Qty to the # of each item for 1 set...this will get extended later)

4. Once you have all the items in set "01A"...type your next set ID (e.g. "02A") into the drop-down...and click "Filter" (the items in the previous set will disappear).

5. If some of the items in "02A" were already built...you can use the new "Quick-Set" button
When you click "Quick-Set" you'll get a new pop-up screen where you can check the item you need for your new set...then click "Apply & Close"
any items that were "checked"/selected will be added to your new set...you can then add/build additional items as needed.

6. Repeat this cycle.

7. After all sets have been built...click the "Set Counts" button, and enter the Qty of each set
When you hit "Save & Close" on this screen, you should see your Qtys on the main grid get multiplied/extended.

8. You can change the HdweSetID back to "ALL" and click "Filter" to see the entire job (HdweSetIDs will be listed in a column on the far right....you may need to scroll)

9. All of the reports have been modified to provide the option to consolidate "like-items".

SchlageES Book 20A - New Pricing

We posted the new price book today.  The Effective Date is March 1, 2009.

CRT Enhancements - Auto-Number, Roll-Up Proposals, Product Descriptions and more...

We've added a few new features to CRT lately.

New! Web-Service based Auto-Numbering for Sales Proposals, Sales Orders, & Purchase Orders.
This new feature is available at no extra charge.  You just need to tell me if you want it turned on, and provide the starting document IDs.
Here's how it works:
You specify the starting IDs for each Document Type (email them to me)
for example...
SP-10000
SO-30000
PO-70000
I add one or more SiteIDs to your users logins on our Web-Server.
These site IDs are passed down to CRT when it connects to our Web Service (upon program launch).
If site IDs are detected the "Details" pop-up screens will have some new controls available.
Document-Prefix textbox, Document-Suffix textbox, Site-ID drop-down, and a new button simply labeled "#".
When using for the first time, the user set the values they want for Prefix, and Suffix...then clicks the "#" button.
CRT contacts our Web-Service and requests the next available DocID for that Document Type.
It appends the Prefix, DocID & Suffix...and sets the document # field.
CRT also saves the Prefix and Suffix (based on SiteID) to your Windows Registry for next time.

I set my Sales Proposals to start at 10000, my Prefix to "TOAD-", and my Suffix to "-DS" (my initials)
when I click the "#' my next new DocID is set as "TOAD-10001-DS'

Because this is web-based...it works seamlessly even when you're working remotely (as long as you are connected to the Net).
If you have people that work on behalf of multiple branch locations...we can associate multiple SiteIDs with their PCs authentication.

If you don't request us to enable this feature...the new controls are not even visible.

You will also notice that I've added a new Proposal Type ("Roll-Up By Tag Hide Details").  This provides the ability to show a roll-up price for each unique tag# you've assigned.  To use this, you also add an additional line per tag# with the Manuf column set to "Note".  Use the new Description column (optional) to provide an abbreviated description of what you're providing for each tag# (e.g. "New Frame, Door & Hardware").  This allows you to drive the price with product detail...but make your proposal to the customer in a more narrative style.

CRT now offers Product Descriptions as well.  Behind-the-scenes, the Configurator has always outputted a 4-digit HdweCategoryID.  These have been used to drive preps when integrated with other software systems (such as TOP & SFH).  We now provide a new file in the ProgramData folder called "HdweCategories090301.xml"  This file translates the 4-digit ID into a full description such as "Hinge - (4-1/2 Std Wt(.134))" or "Cyl. Lockset (with thru-bolts)". The user can over-ride this description if needed.  I will soon be adding a feature for users to set their own descriptions for these.

I've also added 3 new menu choice under the "Tools" menu.
"Explore User Data Folder" opens a new Windows Explorer window showing the files where your .CRT files are stored.  This is helpful if you need to email a CRT file to another user.
"Explore Program Data Folder" opens a new Windows Explorer window showing the data files that drive CRT.  This includes the catalog files, as well as AddressBook.xml, HdweCategories090301.xml,  MyCompanyInfo.xml, QuickPicks.xml, VendorAddressBook.xml, and VendorDiscounts.xml
"Explore Program Files Folder" opens a new Windows Explorer window showing the program files that drive CRT.

New! Costing Report - this report prints on legal (8-1/2 x 14) paper...and shows the list of products along with List Price, Discount, Cost, Markup, Sell & Sell Extended. This is documenting fixed-markup change-orders for contract work..or to put in your estimate file for bulk-takeoff style bids.