CS

IQ

uar

terl

yC

OR

NE

RS

TO

NE

SY

ST

EM

SI

NC

.

January 2006CSI News

Sales and Marketing

There are now over 275Visual Shop installations.In 2005 we added over25 new customers. Itwas our best year since1999.

Our user conference in Orlando was thelargest ever. We look forward to our nextconference in Las Vegas.

Visual Shop is the leading product designedfor your industry. We will continue to do whatis necessary to maintain that position.

New Development

We continue to add new features to VisualShop. Becki’s column highlights many ofthese new features each quarter.

One of the more popularfeatures that we haveadded over the past 12months is the ability tohave the customer sign anelectronic device when youdeliver their work or whenthey pick it up at you facility. A lot of VisualShop users have now startedusing these devices. This is atime saving feature as iteliminates the signed deliveryreceipt and the need to file it.If there is a questionconcerning the shipment, youcan easily create a proof ofdelivery document with thecustomers signature and email/ fax it to the customer. These devices costabout $400 to $500 dollars each.

Data Backups

Customers not backing up their data hasbeen a problem for a long time. So over ayear ago, we started our online backupservice - Visual Safe.

We now have over 40customers signed up. Thisservice backs up your Datato our servers every nightover the Internet. Yourdata is encrypted andprotected and we are ableto provide you with areliable offsite backup forpennies a day.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005

At the end of 2005, Microsoftreleased a new version of its’SQL Server database. This newversion is compatible with VisualShop.

Price Increase

It’s been several years sinceour last price increase. As youall are aware, the cost ofeverything is rising.

Effective January 1 the followingincreases will take effect;

Onsite training will increase from $750 aday to $800 a day.

Pay as you go support will increase from$125 an hour to $150 an hour.

Custom Programming will increase from$100 per hour to $125 per hour.

The price of Upgrades or Upgrades with FullSupport will remain the same.

The monthly price of the CV and VS-Esystems will remain the same.

All quotes for customization that have beenapproved for production will not change.

All quotes for customization that have not yetbeen approved will expire on February 15 andwill be subject to re-quoting at the new rates.

If you already have made arrangements foronsite training, the price will remain at $750 aday.

True Backup Horror Stories!Be careful where you putyour server!

One of our customers serverscrashed and the servicetechnician refused to fix it.

Why did he refuse?

Because it was located in the ladiesbathroom. It was doing double duty. It was aserver and a magazine rack. Anyway the shytechnician refused to fix it until they moved it.

It turns out, the reason they kept the server inthe bathroom was because it was thecleanest room in the building.

CSI Server Room

E-Mail Version

Did you know?

Windows shortcuts

Pressing the windows key and e key simultaneously will starta copy of windows explorer

Pressing the windows key and f key simultaneously will starta copy of find file

Pressing the windows key and r key simultaneously willdisplay the run dialog.

CTRL-TAB switches between active windows in a program(like ALT-TAB switches between open programs on acomputer)

To stop more than one copy of Visual Shop from running on yourworkstation add a c:\visual shop.ini file with the following line inthe [defaults] section: single_copy_only = Y If you do not have a[defaults] section, add it after the [sqlca] section. NOTE: settingwill not work on Windows 95 or Windows 98 workstations.

New Features – includes new options, features, andfunctions based on User Conference requests:

Orders:

You can now pick a column from the part record to be displayed as aresponse window part note. Information keyed in the selectedcolumn will be display as a message window to the operator andthe operator will be required to press OK before continuing withorder entry. Requires new Program Default in [orders]

part_note_column = {column name} (NOTE: cannot benumeric only field)

Cancel message was said to be confusing. It has been changed to"Cancel any changes made"

Order type is now displayed. If order type is 'Rework' then rework will bedisplayed in Red.

You now have the option to tab through the detail tab column in orderentry. Requires new Program Default in [orders]

tabthroughdetailtab = Y

Notes added in Maintain > Customer (Customer Notes field) can autopop up in Order Entry. Requires new Program Default in [orders]

auto_show_cust_notes=Y

Expediting

CCM that have a reference to the order selected can be displayed onthe Insp Tab. Requires new Program Default in [expediting]

display_ccm = Y

You can now scroll through the selected list of orders without press thefind button. Requires new Program Default in [expediting]

prev_next_orders = Y

Changes to Expediting based on Old Expediting functions:

To force new expediting to list shipped orders by shipmentdate (like old expediting did) add new Program Default in[expediting]

ShippedOrders_by_date = Y

Update New Expediting: If days back or shipped days back

was set to zero expediting used the default days backfor the lookup. Now zero is a valid entry.

Order top window now displays the order type if not standard.

Security

Automatically assign operator ID's when creating a new user. Requiresnew Program Defaults in [security]

auto_assign_operator_ids = Y

starting_op_id = [the first operator id to be used]

The first operator id used will be the [security]starting_op_id + 1 in order to prevent errorson subsequent auto assigned operator ids

Linx Terminal Tracking

Now will warn operator that their security will expire soon.

Shipping

Notes added in Maintain > Customer (Customer Notes field) can autopop up in Order Entry. Requires new Program Default in[Shipping]

auto_show_cust_notes=Y

Certifications

You can now double click on step text column and an edit box will openallowing more of the step text to display and allow full use of theenter key

Part Maintenance

Custom Part Window Maintenance – you can now hide columns thatyou have already selected. Requires new Program Default in[part_custom_window]

Set_Selected_Invisible = Y

Using Alt- shortcuts (Underlined characters within the picture buttons):

Alt-F will now click the Find button

Alt-U will now Click the Customer button

Alt-S will now Click the Save button

Alt-X will now Click the Exit button.

PDF files now work with Acrobat version 7

Other PDF info: Part maintenance looks in the system registry for thelocation of the acrobat.exe to open pdf file. If this location can't befound or you are using another program to open pdf files then youcan set the full path and application name by adding the followingProgram Default in [parts]

acrobat_pathandname = {path\application name}

Billing

Billing > Create Invoices from Shipped Orders

Removed ‘Mark as Invoiced’ checkbox from screen, newsecurity required to see this checkbox:

Security for module 20 (Invoicing) item #2 nowneeded to see Mark As Invoiced checkbox onscreen.

Added ‘Save As’ button in footer of list of orders.

Allow the freight price rows to be deleted when they have been createdthrough the default setting [Invoicing] Freight = L Requires new

Page 2

Visual Shop Features and Additions By: Becki

Page 3

Program Default in [Invoicing]

allow_freight_row_delete = Y

Setup default printer for Invoice forms. Requires new ProgramDefault in [Printers]

invoice_form={printer}

Include the value from "Credit Status - Optional" in Maintain >Customer in the customer notes displayed in Invoicing.Requires Program Default in [Invoicing]

show_credit_status = Y

Popup customer notes when opening an invoice. RequiresProgram Default in [Invoicing]

pop_up_notes = Y

Pricing

Billing > Pricing > Process Grid, Inspect, Dimensional Pricing

New mass update option added. Mass Update buttonwill toggle box to enter customer and percentages.(NOTE: By holding down the left mouse over thePrice Changes text at the top of the Price Changeswindow you can move the window).

Billing > Pricing > Memorized Price Changes

New option to search (and update) price rows notassigned to a Customer.

Scheduling

If batch mode was active when new schedule was selected orcancel was press batch mode was not completely reset. Thishas been fixed.

You can now select multiple steps and mark then as 'Done'.Requires new Program Default in [schedule]

flagdone = Y

You can now sort the unscheduled orders by the standard stepssearch by and search text columns. Requires new ProgramDefault in [schedule]

open_orders_by = mpi

Inventory and Purchasing

1) Employee is now editable.2) Facility (Ship To) defaults to first facility in the dropdown.3) Insert 5 detail rows instead of 14 on new POs

Added new product types, including Expense Only.

Receiving – Added quantity still on order to the screen.

Create PO - remove updated POs from select list

Receiving - PO can now be closed (update button) even if only itemon the PO is expense only

Product Maint - product unit can be changed after product hasbeen saved [Inventory] inv_master =dw_inven_master_valmontact

New Receive Invoice module

Receive Invoice module will now calculate weighted unit cost ofproduct if unit price is changed. Note: Unit cost of product onoriginal PO will be updated; if some of that product has beenused (FIFO), it is not included in the weighted unit costcalculation.

Fixed unit cost when adding products via Adjust screen. Use button in Fixsystem to correct weighted unit cost on all products.

In Part Maintenance, can now add unlimited inventory requirements for apart. (press the + button in the inventory section on the All tab) Musthave [Inventory] use_inventory = Y

Other New Features

New option to print 5160 labels for Customer Name/Address in Reports >Customer Activity > Customer Listing – press Labels button to opennew window

Picture Frame Display

You can now display the picture in its original size via the OriginalSize checkbox added above the picture. Without thischecked, dragging the mouse within the picture moves thewindow. When this box is checked the picture will now movewithin the picture control. (if picture is larger than the control)

Single Picture Frame Display

Operator can now resize this window to enlarge the picturedisplayed.

Email

Customer Address / Contact

Added new button to Maintain > Customer formaintaining addresses and contacts whennew_addr_table = Y (NOTE: Before adding thisdefault, call CSI Software Support office – anotherutility must be run BEFORE you begin using thissetting)

Added new checkbox to view the email list when emailing ashipper form. Email list for shipper form will default to shiptoaddresses email (if set) and any contacts set up to receiveshipper when new_addr_table = Y (see above noteregarding this default).

When emailing a quote, a list of all customer contacts andaddresses becomes available to select from, since quotesdo not always go to the same individuals.

When emailing an invoice, list of recipients will include the emailaddress from the buillto address (if set) and any contacts setup to receive invoices when new_addr_table = Y (see abovenote regarding this default).

Provide ability to email within Visual Shop without attaching areport or form. New menu option under Notes > Send Email

Program Default Maintenance – background color is different when addingentries vs. modifying entries.

Visual Shop Features and Additions (continued)

Save Paper - Sign up for E-mail!If you want this newsletter E-mailed to you,please contact Linda at (800) 275-4274 and

give her your E-mail Address.

For up to date information on what’s going on atCSI, visit our website at: www.ask4csi.com

Copies of this and past newsletters are on the website.

Do you need to upgrade your server?Have we got a deal for you!YOU GET: IBM Pentium D (Dual Core) 2.8 GHZ Processor, 1 GB ECC Ram, 160 GB RAID 5Hard Drive Array, Dual Redundant Power Supplies, 3 Year 24x7x4 IBM Onsite Warranty,Server 2003 w/ 5 User Cals, Symantec SMB 5 user pack, APC Smart UPS power backup.

Fully configured and ready to run for ONLY $4,999.99We can customize this server to fit your exact needs. Call Kevin at (800) 275 4274 for a custom quote.

Do you worry about your backups?Check out our worry free Visual Safe online backup service!Starting at only $8.95 a month you can have a worry free automatic offsite backup.Each night your server will create a backup encrypted with a passkey that only you know.Then the backup will be compressed and sent to our servers where your data will be safeand secure for when you need it. For more information, call Kevin at (800) 275 4244.

Do you have MAS 90?Do you want a sophisticated accounting package like MAS 90?Partners in Technology, Inc. has developed and implemented a sophisticated linkbetween MAS 90 and Visual Shop. It is currently installed at several of our customers.If you are interested in purchasing MAS 90 or just purchasing the link to Visual Shop,call Mike Bachman at (630) 462 7190 or visit their website at www.partners-in-tech.com.

Do you need a website or Email with your company name?Call Kevin at (800) 275 4274

CORNERSTONE SYSTEMS INC.333 Commerce Drive, Suite 200Crystal Lake, IL 60014

(800) 275-4274sales@ask4csi.comwww.ask4csi.com

Visual ShopVisual ShopVisual ShopWinter 2006 Newsletter

E-mail Edition