SDS Sequel. Release Notes for Version 7.0.0

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "SDS Sequel. Release Notes for Version 7.0.0"

Martin Hill
6 years ago
Views:

1 SDS Sequel Release Notes for Version 7.0.0

2 Contents Introduction... 3 Installation notes for IT department... 4 Checklist Technical Citrix/thin client Breaking change Installation Registry options Log Files Version Checking Creating a test environment... 7 Changes to SDS Sequel (user notes)... 8 Appraisal import from ProVal LS... 8 Step Step Step Step Step Step Cashflow manager Sales sequence Cashflow interest Attributes People Appraisal fields Look and feel Other updates and fixes Future updates P a g e

3 Introduction These release notes are for version of SDS Sequel. Version is a general release that introduces some new features, as well as resolving some known issues. It is the next release after v6.3.4 (an interim release), and the next general release after v The changes introduced since v6.3.0 are outlined over the following pages. This version of SDS Sequel has a breaking change in the design of the database from v6.3.4 and earlier. The IT installation notes section contains instructions for checking that reports have not been affected by this change. Please check this section before updating. Once the update is carried out, previous versions of the program will not work correctly in the cashflow section. If you need any assistance installing a test version, please let us know. This version of SDS Sequel also requires the Microsoft.NET Framework v4. This does not change the minimum requirements for the operating system for client or server. Interim versions of Sequel that have been released since v6.3.0: v6.3.5 October 2014 v6.3.4 July 2014 v6.3.3 May 2014 v6.3.1 March 2014 v6.3.0 February 2014 Notes for IT departments begin on page 4. Notes for end users are on page 8. 3 P a g e

4 Installation notes for IT department Checklist 1. Check no views are affected by database change (see 1.2) 2. Check correct version of.net Framework installed on client PCs (see 1.0) 3. Completely uninstall prior versions of SDS Sequel 4. Install new version (see 1.3) 1.0 Technical SDS Sequel has been upgraded to version 4 of the Microsoft.NET Framework. SDS Sequel is now supplied as a single.exe installer, rather than a separate MSI and setup executable. 1.1 Citrix/thin client Any reference to client PC should be taken to refer to any server hosting the application in a thin-client environment. 1.2 Breaking change A table called CalculatedBalances_P has been dropped from the database. This will affect bespoke report views if they are using that table. Before doing any installation, please run the following two queries on the SDSSequelWorking database first. Please copy and paste the results of the queries into an Excel file and send across to SDS. We can then update these views before the application is installed. If nothing is affected you will get no results from the queries and need take no further action on this point please proceed with the installation. Queries: SELECT * FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.VIEWS WHERE VIEW_DEFINITION like '%CalculatedBalances_P%' SELECT * FROM [sds sequel].reports WHERE rdatasource like '%CalculatedBalances_P%' 4 P a g e

1.3 Installation Download the latest version from the following URL: http://www.s-d-s.co.

Please run this file to install the application.

where you would like to install the application.

5 1.3 Installation Download the latest version from the following URL: This zip file contains one file: SdsSequel_v7_Installer.exe. Please run this file to install the application. You should see the following screen appear on the installer: On the next page, please choose where you would like to install the application. Confirm the installation options and click Install to begin. Once the installation has finished, it will have added shortcuts to the application in the Start Menu and, also, the desktop. 5 P a g e

To uninstall the application, please run the Add/Remove Programs snap-in from the Control Panel and locate SDS Sequel in the list: Highlight SDS Sequel in the list and click Remove or Uninstall. 1.3.

6 To uninstall the application, please run the Add/Remove Programs snap-in from the Control Panel and locate SDS Sequel in the list: Highlight SDS Sequel in the list and click Remove or Uninstall Registry options The standard installation of SDS Sequel will write the user name and database server to the HKEY_Current_User/Software key. This is used to save the user re-entering these each time they run the application. If you would prefer not to use the registry, please modify the application shortcut as follows:../sdssequel.net4.exe [/Server=address] [/User=username] The /Server command line option allows you to change the default database server:- eg. /server= eg. /server=myserver.mydomain.local If the server is running on a non-standard port:- eg. "/server=myserver,1513" If the server is on a non-default instance:- eg. "/server= myserver\instancename" The /User command line option allows you to specify the default name with which to try to log in to Sequel. Note that this is not the database login name, which will always be either "sds sequel" or "sds query" depending on the application's need to read or write from the database, but the username chosen by the user Log Files Each time the application is run, a log file keeps track of any program errors that may occur. One file is used per day per user and at the end of the month the files are recycled, so that no more than 31 files are kept at any one time for a user. The location of the log files is: C:\Documents and Settings\<User Name>\Application Data\SDS Shelton Development Services\SDS Sequel\<Version No>\Logs\ 6 P a g e

7 To view the logs from the application, please use the Help/About menu option and then click the Logs Folder button on the About dialog. 1.4 Version Checking SDS Sequel will also automatically check to see if it is up-to-date. It does this by querying its version number against a master version number on the SDS website, using a web service. The proxy credentials are set to emulate those in Internet Explorer. If you do not use Internet Explorer, or it is not configured correctly, this checking may not work. If the service cannot reach the website, or determine the version number, a message will appear on the login dialog to that effect. If the service can identify the version, and it is out of date, then a red warning will appear on the login dialog. Otherwise, if it is up-to-date then the message will appear in green and confirm that it is the correct version. The latest version can always be downloaded from: Creating a test environment To test this release before deploying to end users, please follow these steps: 1. Using SQL Server Management Studio, create a new database called SDSSequelTest with the owner set to [sds sequel]. 2. Make a backup (.bak) of the existing SDSSequelWorking database. 3. Restore the backup from step 2 over the SDSSequelTest database, overwriting the database. 4. Execute the following two SQL statements: a. sp_change_users_login auto_fix, 'sds sequel' b. sp_change_users_login auto_fix, 'sds query' 5. Install the the client software onto a computer with network access to the database server 6. Create a new shortcut to the application on the desktop (removing the one put there by the installer). 7. Modify the shortcut by placing the following parameters after the application: a.../sdssequel.net4.exe /server=<name> /database=sdssequeltest In step 7, change <name> to the name of your database server without the brackets. 7 P a g e

Changes to SDS Sequel (user notes) Appraisal import from ProVal LS The process to import appraisals from ProVal LS has been updated to allow a multitenure appraisal to be automatically split into

8 Changes to SDS Sequel (user notes) Appraisal import from ProVal LS The process to import appraisals from ProVal LS has been updated to allow a multitenure appraisal to be automatically split into single-tenure appraisals/cashflows. This has meant some design changes to the appraisal import wizard. Although the steps required are the same, the screens have changed as follows: Step 1 Selecting an appraisal. Please choose an appraisal from your ProVal LS database in the usual way: Step 2 Choose whether to import the appraisal as separate tenures by ticking the first option on this step. Secondly, choose what action to carry out on each line: create or update. If updating, ensure the correct appraisal to update is selected in the third column. 8 P a g e

These last two columns contain drop down menus with

whether to create a new cashflow for each

link to an existing cashflow without making any changes.

existing, or No change for the budget, latest estimate

9 These last two columns contain drop down menus with further options Step 3 Choose in the Action column whether to create a new cashflow for each appraisal/tenure, update an existing cashflow, or to link to an existing cashflow without making any changes. If updating or linking, ensure the correct cashflow is selected in the third column. Finally, choose whether to Overwrite/set, Add to existing, or No change for the budget, latest estimate and forecasts for each cashflow. The last five columns contain drop down menus with further options 9 P a g e

Step 4 Map the descriptions used in your appraisal to the account codes in Sequel in the usual way. If your security level is 5, you will see two further options at the top of this step.

Ticking the second option to clear any existing mappings will delete any previously saved mappings, which is useful if some codes have got mapped incorrectly in the past.

10 Step 4 Map the descriptions used in your appraisal to the account codes in Sequel in the usual way. If your security level is 5, you will see two further options at the top of this step. The first option is to save the mappings you have assigned for use by all users. Ticking the second option to clear any existing mappings will delete any previously saved mappings, which is useful if some codes have got mapped incorrectly in the past. Choose the account code from the drop down menu in this column Step 5 (Only visible when updating an appraisal.) If you are updating an appraisal, you will get the same options to map the unit types in the incoming appraisal to those existing unit types in the database. Any existing unit types that are not mapped will be deleted. Choose the unit type to be updated from the drop down menu in this column 10 P a g e

Step 6 Check the options you ve selected and click Finish to complete the process. If you have split the appraisal by tenure, the display name of the appraisal will be the scheme name plus the tenure.

11 Step 6 Check the options you ve selected and click Finish to complete the process. If you have split the appraisal by tenure, the display name of the appraisal will be the scheme name plus the tenure. Cashflow manager The Cashflow manager screen has been significantly updated from the previous version. Please see the A3 hand-out supplied with these notes for a quick visual guide to all the functions. The most important change to note is that the cashflow is no longer saved as you edit each cell. Instead all changes are cached and only written to the database once you click the Save Cashflow button (or a shortcut to it) on the toolbar. The only exception to this rule is changes to the budget or latest estimate. This change has meant we are able to provide an undo facility for any of the functions in the cashflow. For example, if you spread something by s-curve accidentally, you can undo those changes. Furthermore, the undo history contains all actions since the last save, so that you can roll back as many changes as you need. Related to the undo function, there is a new option that allows you to turn on highlighting for all cells that have been changed and not saved yet. This option called Highlight Changes is available from the context menu that appears after right clicking the mouse on the cashflow. Highlighted cells have an orange background. 11 P a g e

12 The next biggest change is that all functions are now accessed directly from the toolbar, context menu, or keyboard shortcuts. The context menu has been re-designed and is now the same menu used across all cells (e.g. budgets, transactions and forecasts). Previously there were 4 separate context menus. The following screenshot is a list of all keyboard shortcuts to the functions. There are two further keyboard shortcuts, which are not on the context menu, which are used to select all used cells in a row, i.e. to select the first used cell and then to highlight everything until the last used cell. The combination for this is either Ctrl+Shift+Right_Arrow or Ctrl+Shift+Left_Arrow, depending on which direction you are highlighting. If you reach the far right of the cashflow (i.e. the last used date), please use the arrow keys on the keyboard to continue extending the cashflow further. There is no longer a Spread Forecast screen. To spread some money by straight line, select the range of cells that you want to spread the money over and then either click the Straight Line button on the toolbar, or right click and choose the Straight Line Selected Cells menu option, or use the keyboard shortcut of Ctrl+Shift+L. 12 P a g e

13 The range of cells that you select to spread over can contain multiple rows at the same time. For example, to shift several codes back a few months, select at least one cell in each row (i.e. a column), and then use the Delay option. To select individual cells or rows, click the mouse whilst holding down the Ctrl key. For information about what each function does, please hover your mouse over the item to get a popup with further information. The two new functions that have been added to the cashflow are Copy Right and Copy Left, which perform the same action as they do in Excel, i.e. in a range of cells that are selected, the copy right function will copy the contents of the left most selected cell in each selected row across each selected cell to the right. For those people who liked using the F button to balance their cashflow, it has not been removed, just moved! This function is now called Autobalance and can be accessed from the toolbar, context menu, or by pressing Ctrl+Shift+F. At the bottom of the cashflow, the traffic light reports on loan, TSC and interest have been condensed into popup reports to save space. The traffic light result is shown in the status bar, so you can quickly see if costs have drifted. There are also Sum/Count/Average results for any cells selected in the cashflow, as well as a sparkline graph for the selection. Sales sequence The utility to spread the sales figures by using data from the Property section has been enhanced as well. Previously, this screen was shown over two pages, but it now uses three pages as follows: 13 P a g e

14 This first page asks you to confirm the account code that is used for sales. The next page contains two sets of options. Firstly, we ask you to confirm the attribute that represents either the full sales market value, or the value at which the property is going to be sold. Optionally, you can set an attribute for the equity percentage to be sold and, also, any incentives. So, if you have an attribute for the full sales value, plus one for the equity % sold, these can be now be combined to calculate a net sales value on the next page. If you don t want to use an option, select the Don t use this option value from the dropdown list. Secondly, the sales dates. You can use a forecast sales date and, optionally, an actual sales date. In this situation, the actual sales date is used if it has a value and where not, it uses the forecast date. Alternatively, you can specify an attribute for the month of sale and another for the year of sale. The month can be text (i.e. Jan or January ), or a number. The year can a single year, or a two year combo (i.e. 2014/15). In a two year scenario, the year is based on the first year. Both the month and year attributes must be selected for this to work. Finally, if the month is not a calendar month, but is instead an accounting period, tick the option under the month attribute to indicate this. 14 P a g e

Finally, the third page will show all properties linked to the cashflow you have open, and will display the results of each of the attributes you have selected.

15 Finally, the third page will show all properties linked to the cashflow you have open, and will display the results of each of the attributes you have selected. It is possible to change and update these values in this screen. To save the values back to the properties, tick the option at the bottom of the screen to save changes to the properties. If you don t see any properties in this third page, it could be for a couple of reasons. There may not be any properties linked to this cashflow. Check the Property section and ensure a cashflow is linked to each property. Secondly, there may not be any values in the Property section for these properties, or that the attributes selected do not form a valid date or number. Cashflow interest In Global Properties/Cashflow/Interest Rates, it is now possible to set a rate for interest on positive balances, as well as negative balances. Attributes In addition to setting security levels on individual attributes to prevent them being edited, there is now a visibility security level as well. Users with a lower security level than that set on the visibility level will not be able to see that attribute at all. The help tooltip that used to appear when you hovered your mouse over an attribute has been moved to a display area at the bottom of the attributes grid. People Several new fields have been added to the People section for organisations, including some Dun & Bradstreet scoring information. 15 P a g e

16 Appraisal fields Local housing allowance, handover dates and sales dates are now imported into the unit details section of the appraisal, meaning they can now be linked to the appropriate property attributes as well. Look and feel The user interface has been updated to bring the look more in line with Microsoft Office We have also taken this opportunity to streamline many of the windows and forms, particularly in Global Properties. We hope you find the new look much cleaner and simpler. Other updates and fixes 1. Milestones renamed to Workflow Events 2. Dictionaries added to spell checker in notes editor 3. Account codes mapped to appraisal fields has new option to clear old mappings 4. Added option to audit capitalised interest in Global Properties/Cashflow/Interest Rates 5. Fixed traffic lights not updating when b/le is changed 6. Fixed error occurring during editing of project name if screen closed before saving 7. Check for unit types being imported have more than 0 units 8. Stopped using posted dates in interest calculations (only uses accounting period dates - this was the default in use in the cashflow manager). 9. Fixed some minor issues during importing of appraisal in certain circumstances. 10. NPV outturn result for the traffic lights was not including NPV of capital receipts (i.e. staircasing), so this has been changed. 11. Added auditing of transaction import process 12. Saving values on a property folder overwrote any child properties attributes where that attribute had a grey background. It was removing the value, but then stopping as there was no value to insert. 13. Fixed bug in the notes form where all buttons were disabled if a date heading was selected, which prevented new notes from being added. 14. Added check for ampersands in cost descriptions when importing from appraisal. 15. Fixes for where read-only status was being ignored in Maps screen, Workflow Manager, project workflow screen, and project appraisal screen. 16. Added more checks for whether a note was being edited before switching screens. 17. Added check for when a user is read only and there were available full user licences, which meant they were asked each time they logged in if they wanted a full licence. 18. Removed the budgets allocation panel from the Workflow Manager menu on the left as this is no longer in use. 19. Fixed incorrect sign on capitalised interest 20. Deleting values on a property folder didn't work, only individual properties. 21. Fixed bug where period was not being translated to a correct date in Global Properties/Cashflow/Import Transactions. 22. Added audit logs for capitalised interest 16 P a g e

17 23. Fixed bug when capitalised interest was ignored in importing from appraisal 24. Added Stop Interest At date to cashflow summary QuickReport 25. Added date limits to date attributes for the range 1/1/1900 to 1/1/ Context menu on attribute grid was not taking Security Level into account Future updates SDS Sequel is always being updated in response to customer requirements and changes in working practices. The next scheduled general release is June As always, please let us know if you have any specific requirements for Sequel. We are always happy to hear any feedback or comments. 17 P a g e

Contents. Table of Contents. Getting Started 2 Technical Contents 11 Global Properties Contents 20 Project Explorer Contents 57 Reports Contents 102

Contents. Table of Contents. Getting Started 2 Technical Contents 11 Global Properties Contents 20 Project Explorer Contents 57 Reports Contents 102 USER MANUAL Table of Contents Contents Getting Started 2 Technical Contents 11 Global Properties Contents 20 Project Explorer Contents 57 Reports Contents 102 page 1 Getting Started Logging In When you