DOCUMENTATION UPDATES Date Description Where Changed 5/16/03 New upgrading instructions have been added to upgrade OpenLink to version 4.1. Getting Started chapter, in the Upgrading OpenLink section (page 7)
Getting Started OpenLink Server Software Using
The documentation in this publication is provided pursuant to a Sales and Licensing Contract for the Prophet 21 System entered into by and between Prophet 21 and the Purchaser to whom this documentation is provided ( License Agreement ). In addition, the licensed software to which this documentation refers may be supported in accordance with a customer support agreement by and between the same parties ( Support Agreement ). All warranties, conditions of use, transfer restrictions, and other provisions in the License Agreement or Support Agreement which are applicable to Licensed Software, are applicable to this publication. In addition, this publication may include inadvertent technical inaccuracies or typographical errors for which Prophet 21 is not responsible. Changes may be periodically made to this publication; these changes will be incorporated in new editions of the publication. Any questions about the material contained in the publication should be addressed to the Prophet 21 Customer Support Department at http://customer.p21.com. Nothing in this statement amends or extends the terms of your agreement with Prophet 21, including any warranties that might be included in our products. Warranties for such agreements are set forth in your agreement with Prophet 21. Improvements and/or changes to the Licensed Software described in this publication may be made by Prophet 21 at any time without notice. DOCUMENTATION CONVENTIONS The eyeglass symbol () indicates a field on which you can browse. The star ( ) indicates the default for a field. To allow for the widest possible parameters when printing a report or performing a function, accept the defaults for all of the parameter fields. To accept the defaults, either escape through all the fields, or press [Enter] without specifying any values. Generally, samples in the documentation are shown using the default values. Start and End parameters define the limits to a range of information you will print on a report. If information does not appear on a report, it may be because the information was excluded from the Start, End range. For a detailed explanation on how maintenance screens function, refer to the Tour Guide manual. Use the search tool in Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.05c or higher to find which manual describes a specific module, job, or function. 5/16/03 Prophet 21 Acclaim Version 14 The Prophet 21 system and Prophet 21 Acclaim are registered trademarks, and Prophet 21 and ScratchPad are trademarks of Prophet 21. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective companies. iii
Table of Contents 1 GETTING STARTED 6 Introduction to 6 About 6 How Works 6 What You Can Do with 7 Requirements for Using 7 Software 7 Hardware 7 Upgrading OpenLink 7 Who to Call for Support 11 Downloading the Client Software 11 PC Setup for Drivers 12 PC Configuration 20 Registering 26 2 OPENLINK SERVER SOFTWARE 28 Making Sure You Have Installed the Files 28 Checking/Upgrading Your OpenLink Version 29 Starting the Server 29 Manually Starting the Server 29 Automatically Starting the Server 29 Stopping the Server 30 Automatically Stopping the OpenLink Server 30 Manually Stopping the OpenLink Server 30 3 USING 31 iv
Using on a PC 31 Using the File Layout Browse 35 4 HOW DO I 38 Get support for this product? 38 Check to see if my client drivers are working? 38 Pull my Prophet 21 data into the compliant PC packages? 40 Verify that the OpenLink server is running on my RISC box? 40 v
ETTING TARTED INTRODUCTION TO ABOUT Open Database Connectivity () is a Microsoft standard for database access. It provides a mechanism for desktop-based tools (word processors, spreadsheets, report writers, Internet/Intranet tools, for example) to transparently access data sources, such as databases. All Prophet 21 Progress databases are now accessible via through a modified third party package provided by OpenLink Software, Inc. Note: Because this product can be run across multiple platforms (Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows 2000, etc) and on different software programs or versions, the screen pictures shown in this manual may not exactly match the ones you see on your system. If you have any questions about installing or connecting to your data source or database, contact OpenLink at 781-273-0900, or e-mail their Technical Support Department at technical.support@openlinksw.com. HOW WORKS The product consists of a server that runs on your RS/6000 system, and a client (the driver) which needs to be installed on every PC that is going to access the data. The driver must be accompanied by an application, such as Microsoft Office, which will use the driver to access and manipulate the data. The OpenLink software has been approved to work with the following software packages: Microsoft Excel Microsoft Word Microsoft Access Crystal Report Writer Microsoft FrontPage98 (web page development tool) Visual Basic, Visual C++ All standard Microsoft Office applications use the Microsoft Query tool to access data; this package must be installed in order for drivers to work. Microsoft queries can be embedded in documents and spreadsheets and easily reused and modified. Crystal Report Writer is a stand-alone reporting tool that enables you to write and graph reports. It employs a click through user interface. 6
WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH Everyone can do something different with. Here are just a few ideas: Customize reports directly in Microsoft Excel Create mailing lists in Microsoft Word Write and design reports in Crystal Reports Create custom reporting tools or data monitoring tools (like CorVu s Executive Alert) through applications written in Visual Basic, C++, Java, etc. And much more REQUIREMENTS FOR USING SOFTWARE You must have the following software to use : Prophet 21 Acclaim Version 9.1.520 or higher, which contains the Server software OpenLink client software (the Driver) on each PC you plan to use compliant software package HARDWARE You must have the following hardware to use : Note: Prophet 21 RS/6000 system TCP/IP Network (and a working connection between the PC and the RS/6000 system) PC running Win 95, 98, or NT Requirements for the PC depend on the client applications you want to use. For example, Microsoft Office may require a Pentium 100 and 16 MB of RAM. UPGRADING OPENLINK The following steps describe how to upgrade OpenLink, version 4.1, on your system. If you need further assistance, contact OpenLink at 781-273-0900. You can also e-mail their Technical Support Department at technical.support@openlinksw.com. 1. Access the AIX prompt and login as the root user. You should see the pound sign (#) prompt. 2. If you have OpenLink already installed on your system, you can check the current version of the software. To view the current version, enter the cat /usr/lpp/openlink/version command: 7
In this example, the system displays that version 3.2 is installed. 3. To upgrade to version 4.1, you need to first shutdown OpenLink. To shutdown the software, enter the oplshut -f command: 4. You are asked to confirm the shutdown of the OpenLink Request Broker. To shutdown the software, enter [y]. OpenLink takes approximately two to three seconds to shutdown. A message displays when shutdown is complete: 5. To begin the upgrade process, change to the correct directory by entering the cd /usr/lpp/p21pro/bin command at the root prompt: 6. To upgrade to version 4.1, enter the install_openlink v4.1 t the AIX prompt: 8
7. The OpenLink screen appears. You are asked to confirm that installation should continue. Press [Enter] to continue or [Q] to quit the installation/upgrade process. If the upgrade process was confirmed, the system starts to move and copy files: 9
Other installation messages appear: When completed, the system displays a message that the upgrade is finished: The upgrade process lasts approximately three minutes. If you have multiple units on your system, installation may take slightly longer. 8. Congratulations! OpenLink has now been upgraded. Should you wish to confirm that version 4.1 is on your system, you can enter the cat /usr/lpp/openlink/version command: 10
WHO TO CALL FOR SUPPORT When using this manual to install and use, you might need another tier of support to help you with a specific procedure or question. Therefore, for further assistance, refer to the Who to Call for Support? box at the beginning of each chapter. Who to Call for Support? For assistance on installing, registering client software, and PC setup and configuration, contact OpenLink at 781-273-0900. You can also e-mail their Technical Support Department at technical.support@openlinksw.com. For further assistance, you can contact the Technical Support Department at Prophet 21. The configuration charge per PC is $100. DOWNLOADING THE CLIENT SOFTWARE Important! The OpenLink web site allows the downloading of their drivers, versions 5.0 and 4.2. To download OpenLink s version 3.2 drivers, visit Prophet 21 s web site at http://customer.p21.com/acclaim/support/downloads/. Double-click the Openlink3.2.zip file. 1. Once the file is downloaded from the Prophet 21 web site, the system prompts you to open the file or save it to a disk. Select Save It To Disk and click OK. 11
2. Save the file to either a 3.5 disk or directly to the hard drive of the PC. Note the path and file name. 3. Click Save. 4. After you have completed downloading the client software, exit the web page. PC SETUP FOR DRIVERS Note: If you haven t already done so, download the driver from the OpenLink software web site. For specific instructions, see Downloading the Client Software on page 11. 1. Create a directory on your hard drive under the Temp directory to install the client drivers. In our example, we named the directory Openlink. Note: The location of the Temp directory varies on different PCs. 2. In Windows Explorer, complete the following steps: A) From the File menu, select New. B) Select Folder. C) A new folder is created. Type the name Openlink and press [Enter]. 12
The following example shows the new Openlink folder on the C: drive of a PC: The Openlink folder appears. 13
3. Copy the file you downloaded into the Openlink directory you just created. Note: For these examples, assume the downloaded file was called nto3xxxx.zip and was temporarily stored in the Download directory on your hard drive. 4. In Windows Explorer, complete the following steps: A) Highlight the downloaded file and click the right mouse button. B) Select Copy. Select the Copy option. C) Select the Openlink folder. D) Click the right mouse button and select the Paste option. 5. Because the file is compressed, you need to unzip it. You can use any decompression software you have available. The following example uses WINZIP. Note: If you do not know the decompression software you use, contact your system administrator. 14
6. In Windows Explorer, complete the following steps: A. Highlight the zipped file and click the right mouse button. B. Select Extract to. Select Extract To. C. In the Extract To: text field on the Extract screen, enter the directory where you placed OpenLink. Note: On the following screen, OpenLink is stored in C:\Temp\OpenLink. Therefore, the Extract To: field reads: C:\Temp\OpenLink. The contents of this field might vary depending on the exact location of your OpenLink folder. 15
D. On the Extract screen, click Extract. The system creates ten disk folders (labelled disk 1, disk 2, disk 3, etc.), that it uses for setting up OpenLink. E. Double-click on the folder labelled disk 1. F. Double-click on Setup.exe. Double-click on Setup.exe 16
7. The Welcome screen displays. Click Next. 8. The Software License Agreement dialog box displays. Read the agreement and if you agree, click Yes to continue. 17
9. The Choose Destination Location dialog box displays. Click Next to accept the default destination folder, or click Browse to choose another directory. 10. The Select Components dialog box displays. Select the client components to install (select all of them) and click Next. Select all components. Note: The file sizes displayed on the previous screen might vary depending on the configuration of your PC. 18
11. The Select Program Folder dialog box displays. You may type a new folder name, or select one from the existing Folders list. To continue, click Next. 12. The Start Copying Files dialog box displays. If you wish to check any of the settings from previous steps, click Back. If you are ready to begin the copy, click Next. The files will be copied. A message will display when the copy is complete. 19
13. Once the copy is complete, the Setup Complete dialog box displays. Click Finish to complete the installation and restart your PC. PC CONFIGURATION You must configure the PC so you can use the OpenLink software drivers to access Prophet 21 data. Note: The following instructions are for a PC using the Windows NT operating system. 1. Click Start. 20
2. Select Settings and then select Control Panel. A window similar to the following will display: 3. Double-click the Data Sources () icon. A screen similar to the following appears: 21
22
4. Click Add. The Create New Data Source dialog box displays: Select the OpenLink Generic 32 Bit Driver. 23
5. Select the OpenLink Generic 32 Bit Driver option and click Finish. The OpenLink Setup screen displays: 6. Complete the following fields on the OpenLink Setup screen: Datasource Name... name of the data source. Enter any name you want in this field. The name just serves as a reference for your data source. For example, on the previous screen, the name is: p21qa2 because that is the name of the system we used. 24
Comment... statement about the data source. You can leave this field blank. OpenLink Server Domain... type of database operating system. Select the Progress version you are using from the drop-down list in this field. If the version you are using does not appear in this list, enter this information according to the following format: Progress [Space Bar] main version number. (For example: Progress 8.) Do not enter any sub-version numbers. For example, if your version number is Progress 8.3C12, enter the following: Progress 8. Note: To verify the version of Progress you are using, type the following at the jump to box: Who-Am-I [Enter]. The Progress version appears on the following screen. Protocol... type of protocol. Select TCP/IP. Hostname... hostname of the provider. Enter the hostname of the RS/6000 system. To verify your hostname, type the following at an AIX prompt: hostname [Enter]. Your hostname should appear on the following line. Note: If a blank line appears when you type hostname at the AIX prompt, you did not set up your hostname. For further assistance on this issue, call Technical Services at Prophet 21. Others Read-Only Connection... establishes a read-only connection between the client and the server. Select this checkbox to ensure that both the client and the server share a read-only connection. No Login Dialog Box... determines whether a login dialog box appears, requiring you to log into the system in order to access the data source. Select this checkbox to prevent a login dialog box from appearing every time you log into the system. When you enable this option, you can click directly on the data source to access it. Do not complete any fields that are not previously described. 25
7. To end the configuration session, click OK on the Data Source Administrator dialog box. Click OK to finish. Click OK. Note: If you would like to test your connections to make sure that they are working, do so now. To test your connections, follow the procedure described in the "Check to see if my client drivers are working" section on page 38 of this manual. REGISTERING Note: Downloading the client/server software from the OpenLink Internet site only gives you a temporary 2-user license. You must fill out the online order form to purchase the permanent license files. 1. Use the Internet browser to connect to the following web site: http://www.openlinksw.com. 26
2. Follow the web site instructions for registering your OpenLink software, or call OpenLink for assistance at 781-273-0900. 3. In the End User Company Name field, enter your company name. 4. Complete the Annual Support and Maintenance section. Note: Prophet 21 does not offer any support on OpenLink software. If you need help with the OpenLink software, contact their Technical Support Department at either technical.support@openlinksw.com or 781-273-0900. 5. Complete the Payment Details section. Be sure to enter the Method of Payment, the Invoicing address, and the Delivery address. 6. Click Submit Order. 27
PEN INK ERVER OFTWARE Who to Call for Support? For further assistance on the procedures in this chapter, contact the Technical Support Department at Prophet 21. Prophet 21 supplies the OpenLink server software as part of the Prophet Acclaim software. When you install or update the appropriate level of Acclaim, the system creates the directory structure and automatically creates the files. For more information about the appropriate level of Acclaim, refer to the Requirement for Using section of this manual on page 7. MAKING SURE YOU HAVE INSTALLED THE FILES To check to see if you have the files installed, you can type the following commands. This will show you if the directory and the files exist. 1. Access an AIX prompt. 2. Type cd /usr/lpp/p21pro/openlink/bin. Press [Enter]. 3. The system returns to an AIX prompt. 4. Type ls and press [Enter]. The system lists files similar to the following example. 28
2 OPENLINK SERVER SOFTWARE CHECKING/UPGRADING YOUR OPENLINK VERSION Prophet 21 recommends that you always use the current version level of OpenLink. To determine the OpenLink versions available to you, run the following command at the AIX prompt as the root user: STARTING THE SERVER After you install the OpenLink server software, you have to start the server. You must start the server manually, or you can add a command to the crontab. Note: The current directory must be in your path statement for the server commands to work properly. For example, your path statement may appear similar to the following: MANUALLY STARTING THE SERVER The. (period) indicates the current directory. To start the server manually, proceed with the following steps: 1. Log onto AIX as the root user. 2. Type cd /usr/lpp/p21pro/openlink/bin. Press [Enter]. 3. Type nohup oplrqb &. Press [Enter] two times. 4. To ensure that the server software is running, type ps -fa grep opl. Press [Enter]. The system displays a process running the oplrqb executable file. Note: If you have any problems querying data, make sure that this server process is running. AUTOMATICALLY STARTING THE SERVER You can have the OpenLink server start automatically by adding a command to the crontab. To have the server start automatically, proceed with the following steps: 1. Log onto AIX as the root user. 2. Type crontab -e. Press [Enter]. This accesses the crontab file and allows you to make changes to it. The default editor for the crontab is the VI editor. Steps 3 6 assume you are using VI. 29
2 OPENLINK SERVER SOFTWARE 3. Scroll to the end of the file using the arrow keys. Press [o] (lower-case O), which will automatically place you on a new line in the insert mode. 4. Using the following syntax, enter the time to start the server: minute hours * * * /usr/lpp/p21pro/openlink/bin/oplrqb. For example 30 6 * * * /usr/lpp/p21pro/openlink/bin/oplrqb would start the server every morning at 6:30 am. The screen appears similar to the following: 5. Press [Esc] to exit the insert mode. 6. Press [:] and then type wq to write and quit crontab. Caution! If you reboot the system at any time during the day, you must manually reboot this server. STOPPING THE SERVER AUTOMATICALLY STOPPING THE OPENLINK SERVER When you run the job PROSHUTDOWN, the system automatically shuts down the OpenLink server software. Note: When you run PROSHUTDOWN as your end-of-day JCM, this will stop the OpenLink server software. No one will be able to connect to the system using the client drivers on the PCs while the server is down. MANUALLY STOPPING THE OPENLINK SERVER 1. Log onto AIX as the root user. 2. Type cd /usr/lpp/p21pro/openlink/bin. Press [Enter]. 3. Type oplshut -fy. Press [Enter]. Caution! The OpenLink server software has been implemented to work in conjunction with the Prophet 21 software. Any changes to the configuration of the server software will cause problems with your connections. 30
SING Who to Call for Support? For further assistance on using with Acclaim, contact the Software Support Department at Prophet 21. For assistance on the specific application you are using with, contact the vendor of that application. For example, for assistance on using with Microsoft Excel, contact Microsoft. USING ON A PC This section demonstrates how works through the PC product Microsoft Excel. This procedure may vary depending on your version of Excel. These instructions specifically explain Microsoft Excel 97. 1. Open a blank worksheet in Excel. 2. Select Data, then select the Get External Data option. 31
3 USING 3. Select New Database Query. 4. Double-click New Data Source. Important! Verify that you have not checked the Use the Query Wizard To Create/Edit Queries option. 5. Enter a name for the Data Source. 6. Set the driver type to OpenLink Generic 32 Bit Driver. 32
3 USING 7. Click Connect. Set the driver type to OpenLink Generic 32 Bit Driver. Enter a name for the data source. 8. The system takes you to the OpenLink Login. 9. Click the Database tab. Set Domain to your current Progress Level. Select your Hostname from the dropdown list. Select the Read-Only Connection box. Set the Protocol to TCP/IP. 10. Set Type to your current Progress level. If the exact version you are using doesn t appear in the dropdown list (e.g., Progress 8.3C12), just enter the main version number (e.g., Progress 8S). Note: To verify your current Progress level, type WHO-AM-I at the jump to box. Your Progress version should appear on the following screen. 11. Select your Hostname from the drop down list. In this example, the Hostname is p21qa2.p21.com. 12. Set the Protocol to TCP/IP. 13. Select the Read-Only Connection. 14. Click Connect. The system takes you back to the Creating a Data Source screen. 33
3 USING 15. Click OK. This saves the data source you just created. 16. Double-click the data source you just created. This will take you to the database tables. Note: You can set the Owner field to <All> to pull from the Progress and P21 database or you can change option to just P21 to access just the P21 database fields. 17. Scroll down the table list and highlight the second occurrence of the customer table. Click Add. 18. Click Close to close the Add Tables dialog box. The MS Query screen displays. 19. Scroll to the cust_code field. Highlight this field and double-click. 20. Scroll to the ar_balance field. Highlight this field and double-click. 21. Click File on the MS Query menu bar. Select the Return Data to Microsoft Excel option. 34
3 USING 22. Confirm the destination area. Click OK. 23. The system takes you back to the OpenLink Login screen. Click Connect. 24. Your data is now in your Excel spreadsheet. USING THE FILE LAYOUT BROWSE Acclaim has a Browse feature that allows you to easily determine what table and field names mean. This feature is called the file layout browse. For more information about the file layout browse, refer to the Browse manual. 1. Press [F7] to access the Toolbox. A screen similar to the following appears: 2. Press B to access the Browse option. A screen similar to the following appears: 35
3 USING 3. Press F to access the file layout browse. Press [Enter]. 4. The system displays a list of modules. The following example highlights the Data Entry/Order/Inventory modules. 5. Select a module and press [Enter]. 6. After you have selected a module, the system displays a list of the tables in that module. The system displays the file name, the XL file name, and the file description. This description allows you to better determine what the file names represent. 36
3 USING 7. You can access field level information. Select a table and press [Enter]. This example displays the field level information for file wbw or Who-Bought-What Information. 8. The system lists all of the fields under the WBW table. In this example, you can see the field name and the more detailed description of the field. This feature allows you to identify field names in PC applications when you are using the drivers. In most PC applications, the system only shows you abbreviated field names, but using the Prophet 21 file layout browse, you can easily determine what those field names represent. 9. You can print the file layout tables and fields one section at a time. While you are viewing a table or field layout, press [F7] to print and select a printer option. 10. After you have viewed and printed the file layout information, press [F4] to exit. 37
HOW DO I Get support for this product? For issues with downloading the client software, registering the OpenLink software, or problems with the OpenLink client or server software, contact OpenLink directly. Though information about these procedures is documented in this manual, you should contact OpenLink if issues or problems exist. To contact OpenLink Software Support, access the OpenLink web page: technical.support@openlinksw.com or call OpenLink at 781-273-0900. If you need further assistance with the Prophet 21 database or starting the Openlink server, contact Prophet 21. Check to see if my client drivers are working? When you install OpenLink onto a PC, the system creates an OpenLink directory into which it installs some test programs that you can run. You can run these programs to make sure that your OpenLink software is connecting. The following example uses the C++ demo, 32 Bit package on a Windows 95 operating system. 1. Click Start. 2. Select Programs. 3. Select the OpenLink Data Access Drivers folder. 4. Select the C++ Demo 32 Bit icon. This allows you to test the connection. 5. Once the application screen appears, you should select the Environment menu from the menu bar. 38
4 HOW DO I 6. Select the Open Connection option from the Environment menu. 7. Select the Machine Data Source tab. A screen similar to the following appears. 8. Select the machine data source that you created during your configuration. For more information, refer to the PC Configuration chapter. 9. Highlight the machine data source. In this example, it is p21qa2. 10. Click OK. 11. The system should take you back to the blank screen. Select the SQL menu and click Execute SQL. 12. When you select the Execute SQL option, a screen with an SQL statement appears. Replace the existing statement with select cust_code from p21.customer. 13. Click OK. The system displays a list of your customer codes. If a list of your customer codes does not appear, you should try again or ensure that your configuration is correct. 39
4 HOW DO I Pull my Prophet 21 data into the compliant PC packages? Because there are so many software applications available, it is nearly impossible for Prophet 21 to include instructions for all types of software. In the Introduction to section of this manual, there is a list of packages that Prophet 21 tested with the OpenLink drivers. There are many other resources available for you to use. Most software packages include online help. We suggest you use the online help for the software package and search the online help for keywords like or external data. Most likely, you will find adequate information using this inquiry. In addition, there are many web sites available. For example, OpenLink has its own web site. Microsoft also has a web site that is a helpful source of information on how to use Microsoft products with drivers. Verify that the OpenLink server is running on my RISC box? To verify that the OpenLink server is running, type the following at the AIX prompt (#): ps[space Bar]-fA grep[space Bar]opl [Enter] If oplrqb appears on the following screen, the OpenLink server is running. If oplrqb does not appear, it is not running. If the OpenLink server is not running, refer to page 29 for instructions on manually starting the server. For further assistance, contact Prophet 21. For instructions on how to verify that the Openlink server is installed on your system, refer to page 28. 40