As the name, Timesheet Expert Server suggests, this software can be highly productive in a networked environment. Timesheet comes to you with a five-user license, so if you run a small business, PC Plus is giving you the perfect opportunity to bring professional project management to your organization!
Timesheet really comes into its own when coupled with Timesheet Expert Web, which is also included on this CD. It's a complicated package to install, requiring Windows NT with IIS or Peer Web Services and Active Server Pages support installed - it won't work with Windows 9x and the Personal Web Server. The installation (which is fully documented in a downloadable PDF file) is complex, and involves setting up new web aliases and system wide ODBC sources, so it's not for the faint hearted - but the benefits that Timesheet Web can bring to your business are potentially enormous. Once you've downloaded Timesheet Web, be sure to install the correct license file for it, by loading Timesheet Expert Server, and selecting 'About License Details' from the Help menu.
To begin with on the SuperCD this month, we're going to look at setting up multiple user accounts, so that we can login to Timesheet Web. Timesheet uses a system of 'Login Templates' to control user access rights - those of our multi-talented readership who work in a network management environment will be able to equate these login templates with NT's user groups. Each user is assigned a login template, and this controls what they can and can't do once they're logged in to the Timesheet Server.
If you select the Login Templates button on the toolbar, you'll see that three templates are installed as standard. We're going to amend the 'PERSONAL' template to allow our users a certain degree of flexibility. Timesheet's system of resources and activities assumes that each of your projects is conducted in exactly same manner. In reality this is rarely the case, and if your employees are waiting for the supervisor to add new activities to Timesheet every time something unexpected comes along, they're quickly going to become frustrated. It is useful for our employees to be able to add new activities to the database - this way, if some unexpected activity does crop up, they can add the activity, and then log the amount of time they spent working on it.
Step 1: Select the 'Login Template' button. In the 'Setup Login Template' dialog, select 'PERSONAL' and click the 'Amend' button.
Step 2: This calls a new dialog box which allows you to define the access restrictions imposed on members of this group. We've added 'Activity' access in the 'Setup Access' group. Save the changes, and exit the Login Template dialog.
Step 3: Click the 'Setup Logins' button, followed by 'Add'. Here we've added a new user called 'Web', made them a member of the PERSONAL group, and set their default resource. Step 4: In the same dialog box, we specify that the user can login to both the server, and the web interface. Select 'Save', and exit the 'Setup Access' dialog.
Once all this has been done, you can fire up your web browser, and connect to the Timesheet Web interface. By default, new users are set up with no password, so enter 'Web' as the username and then click 'Login' to gain access to the web interface. TesWeb offers you the full functionality of Timesheet Expert Server, from anywhere on your network, or even the internet!
Support:
For Support enquiries there are two options.
1. For Non-contract support: Please call the Atlantic-EC technical support help-line on:0906 200 4142(calls cost £1 per minute) or visit our online learning zone at http://www.atlantic-ec.co.uk/
2. For customers wishing to purchase a annual support and maintenance contract, please contact Atlantic sales or visit our website http://www.atlantic-ec.co.uk/ for more details on pricing and cover, or email info@atlantic-ec.co.uk
Minumum System Requirements:
Intel Pentium 100 Mhz
16MB RAM
15MB Free Hard Disk Space
Windows 3.11,Windows 95, Windows 98
Databases Supported:
Any ODBC complient database management system including:
Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft Access
Sybase
Oracle
Uninstall: Yes - Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel.
Installation
Username SUPERVISOR Password None
Click the icon to the left to install Timesheet Expert Server
