Quick Estimator™ 2005 can be used on a network. The ideal maximum number of users is five, but you can have more. You may see poorer performance if you have a large number of users. For good performance you will require a high-speed network (100 mbps). If some of the computers may not always be connected to the network as is the case with laptops, you may want to consider using the solution discussed in the Replication topic. If there is only one user but you want to use the program on two or more disconnected computers try the suggestion in the Using On Disconnected Computers topic.
To use Quick Estimator™ 2005 on a network you must install the program on all workstations. You then must decide which computer will act as a server. This should be one of your more powerful computers. This is the computer where you will keep your data file.
To connect a workstation to the data file on the server, open Quick Estimator™ 2005. On the Startup screen click Open Other Data File. A Open File dialog box will open. This is similar to Open File boxes used in other Windows applications.
Browse to the folder on the server where the data file is located. Select the data file and click Open. It may take few moments to connect to the data file. Once it is connected, the Main Screen will be displayed. You are now ready to use the data file.
The next time you open Quick Estimator™ 2005 you can click on Open Most Recent Data File. This will be much faster and the Main Screen will display almost right away. If there is a problem (ie. the server is off line or the data file has been moved) you will be asked to choose a different data file.
You will notice that screens open a little slower when connected to a data file on another computer but this is offset by the benefit of being able to have more than one person use the program at once.
Fitz Solutions Inc. cannot help you with setting up or troubleshooting your network hardware and software. We can only help setup Quick Estimator™ 2005 to run on your network. Your network must be fully operational and you must understand how to use it. Please see the Support topic for information about the support we offer.
Quick Estimator™ 2005 can also be run on a Citrix Server. This allows you to install it on the server only and allow users to run it from thin client computers on the network or remotely over the internet. Being able to run it over the internet is perfect if you have more than one office that needs to share the same data or if you want to be able to work from home and don't want to worry about how to keep your data synchronized. Please contact us for more info if you are interest.