Practical Small Business Server

Install: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Management Studio Express

Stephen Holder — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:40:52 +0000

Download SSMSE 2008 here.

The Management Studio is now built into the main SQL Server 2008 Express installation routine.

To add SSMSE, ensure that “Perform a new installation of SQL Server 2008” is selected.

Select “Management Tools – Basic” from the “Feature Selection” dialog box when prompted.

That’s it!

Note: if there are any issues running the installation routine, try applying SP2 and then re-try.

CodeCharge Studio & SQL Server 2005 Datetime

Stephen Holder — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:14:21 +0000

I recently migrated one of my Database from Microsoft Access to SQL Server 2005 Express. However, the Dates did not display at all in my PHP Forms.

To ensure that SQL Server “Datetime” is displayed correctly, check the following settings within your CodeCharge Studio Project:

Project => Settings => Locales & Encoding:

Project => Settings => Connections => => Server:

The “Text Box” Properties on each Form within the Project:

Remote Administration of VPN Client Computers

Stephen Holder — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:25:36 +0000

Within the Microsoft Environment, Remote VPN Client Computers do not register themselves within DNS. Additionally, DHCP entries are attributed to “RAS” rather than the host name of the clients.

This means that remotely administering a VPN Client machine using the Host Name isn’t going to be possible. However, I did have some success using the IP Address of the Client.

So, how do we find the IP Address of the Remote Client?

You can find a list of currently connected “Remote Access Clients” within the “Routing and Remote Access” snap-in

Administrative Tools => Routing and Remote Access => Select Server => Remote Access Clients => Status. Make a note of the IP Address for the Client.

You can then use IP Address (rather than the Host Name) to connect to the Client with the usual Administration Tools.

Dell Vostro Laptop: Toggling Full Screen Mode within Remote Desktop (RDP)

Stephen Holder — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:37:13 +0000

Normally, you would use “Ctrl + Alt + Break” to toggle the “Full Screen” mode within a Remote Desktop Session.

However, what if your laptop does not have a “Break Key”? How do you force Full Screen Mode in such a circumstance?

My Dell Vostro 3300 is such a machine. There isn’t a “Break” Key.

However, with a bit of playing around, I discovered that “Ctrl + Alt + Fn + F12 (Pause)” does the job.

Sage 2010: Stock Balances

Stephen Holder — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:24:56 +0000

The terminology used by Sage within the 2010 Stock System is not always clear. Here is a brief attempt to document the various types of Balance.

Qty Allocated = Qty Allocated Stock + Qty Allocated BOM + Qty Allocated SOP. These are the three mechanisms by which Stock levels can be depleted.

Unconfirmed Quantity in Stock
Essentially, this is POP Stock Received but not Invoiced. Therefore, the Stock Value cannot yet be “Confirmed”.

Confirmed Quantity in Stock
POP Stock Received and Invoiced. Therefore, the Stock Value is “Confirmed”.

Actual Qty (Physical Stock) = Confirmed Qty + Unconfirmed Qty. Within Sage, the terms “Physical” and “Actual” stock are used interchangeably.

Free Stock = Actual (Physical) Qty – Qty Allocated.

Microsoft Office Outlook Hotmail Connector: Error 4102

Stephen Holder — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 11:13:06 +0000

If you are experiencing "Error 4102” when using the Outlook Hotmail Connector, try updating to the latest version here: Microsoft Office Outlook Hotmail Connector.

It has now been updated to support the SSL Encryption features within Hotmail.

Improve Hotmail Security by Enabling SSL Encryption

Stephen Holder — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 11:08:58 +0000

This one must have passed my by. If you use Hotmail, be sure to visit https://account.live.com/ManageSSL and enable your account to use a fully encrypted connection.

If you access your Hotmail account from within Microsoft Outlook, you will need to grab the latest version of the Microsoft Office Outlook Hotmail Connector which now supports the SSL features.

Windows 7; Sage Construction and Outlook 2010 Incompatibilities

Stephen Holder — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 09:06:56 +0000

Many applications that purport to run on Windows 7 often require UAC (User Access Control) to be disabled or additional privileges to be given to Standard Users.

I had reasonable success running the latest version of Sage Construction (v14) on a Windows 7 Workstation, until one of the users attempted to Email a Report from the Print Spooler.

This generates an “R5Manager.exe” run time error, causing the program to bail.

The only way to get this to work is to set Sage Construction to start up in “Compatibility Mode” with with “Administrator” Privilege.

This is fairly standard procedure, but we now have an additional problem on systems where UAC is enabled. Each time a user wants to load Sage Construction, they will receive a UAC warning and they will not be able to continue unless they are an Administrator on the local machine (or enter Administrator credentials when prompted).

So, we are now faced with the possibility of giving Standard users Administrative permissions for their Workstation.

Not only that, but (to “resolve” the problem fully) we also need to Configure Outlook 2010 to run in “Administrator Mode” as well. Personally, I think this is a step too far and Sage needs to get a patch issued ASAP to address this issue.

Despite Sage Support advising me that Sage Construction will run on Windows 7, it is clear that more work still needs to be done.

Sage 50 HR Firewall Ports

Stephen Holder — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 13:44:44 +0000

Sage 50 HR requires the following Firewall Ports to be open on the Server:

TCP 4197
TCP 5150

SBS 2008: SharePoint Members Group “Access Denied”

Stephen Holder — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:13:38 +0000

Within the Windows SBS Console “User Preferences”, there is an option to allow access to the “Internal Web Site”: this is the http://companyweb/ SharePoint collaboration tool.

Users are then added to the “Windows SBS SharePoint_Members” Universal Security Group. In turn, this Security Group is registered within SharePoint “Users & Permissions”.

In circumstances where users are receiving an “Access Denied” error when trying to load the “Internal Web Site”, check the SharePoint permissions as follows:

Log onto the SBS Console as an Administrator
Open the “Internal Web Site” from within a Web Browser: http://companyweb/
Choose “Site Actions => Site Settings => Users & Permissions => People & Groups => Team Site Members”
Select “New => Add Users” and add the “Windows SBS SharePoint_Members” group as shown below.