WINZ 5.2 Problems and Solutions

Two problems have been identified in the WINZ 5.2 pack (December 2005) sent to all WINZ users, including one that affects the importing of new supplies. A solution to Problem #1 has been sent today (10 January 2006) to all users, and a fix for #2 will be available to anyone affected upon request.

Problem #1

Affects all users importing supply transfer files

A number of WINZ users reported that importing the Supply Transfer file from the floppy disk in the WINZ 5.2 pack (December 2005) caused an error, and the import could not be completed.

We have now found that the master dataset had a configuration problem, and therefore the original transfer file is not usable.

A new transfer file has been prepared and sent on 10 January to all users via DHBs. (This floppy disk will be marked "2006" to avoid confusion with the faulty one.)

A copy can be emailed to users if they don't have a diskette drive, or if they need the update urgently.

Problem #2

Affects only organisations for which WINZ 5.2 is their first WINZ version.

The “WINZ 5.2 Data Starter Pack” on the WINZ 5.2 CD-ROM has an error which will make future updating problematical. Therefore, if you want to start a completely new database (not just connecting a new PC to an existing WINZ database), please contact us for a replacement CD-ROM.

If you have already used the Dec 2005 Data Starter Pack, please contact us for advice.

If you are just updating your WINZ from version 5.1, you don’t need to do anything. Similarly, new users that are connecting to an already-present dataset on their network are not affected. The problem applies only to new WINZ organisations starting with a new and empty data database:

If you have any concerns about these issues, or need further clarification, please contact us at ESR. Thanks to those who pointed out problem #1 to us, and thanks for your patience while we determined where the problem had arisen.