@PCSchool 20150717 1/12

Maintenance, Follow-up and PCSQ

Contents Lay of the land ................................................................................................................................................... 2

Keeping PCSchool Back Office up-to-date. ........................................................................................................ 3

How does the follow-up process actually work? ............................................................................................... 4

The new wsAutoUp ........................................................................................................................................... 5

What is PCSQ ..................................................................................................................................................... 7

Ensure you have the latest driver ...................................................................................................................... 8

Spider updater……………...................................................................................................................................10

@PCSchool 20150717 2/12

Lay of the land

PCSchool has a set of folders located somewhere on your network. The folders PCSchool requires are inside

the folder called PCSchool. At the same level as this folder should be a folder called “Visual Dataflex 11.0”.

This folder is only used when installing PCSchool on a new computer for the purposes of locating licenses.

This will be surpassed in the next version of PCRemote.

Files in the root of the PCSchool folder are NOT used when running PCSchool. The only files that should be

there are files that are needed when installing PCSchool on a new computer.

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Keeping PCSchool Back Office up-to-date. PCSchool regularly releases newer versions of its software. As many of these changes are tweaks to an

existing feature, and not a required fix, they are not advertised. If there is a necessary fix, PCSchool will

email all users advising to download the follow-up. As the Scholastic module undergoes more changes than

the other modules, it is used to determine your current version. Help>About of the Scholastic module will

show which version you are running. The first 2 sets of numbers determine the underlying data structure

which rarely changes. The last number determines the version you are running. In the example below, it is

version 897.

It is good practise to download the latest follow-up at least once a month although it does not hurt to do

this more often and can be done for a single computer.

The follow-up is a zipped file with newer versions of the existing programs in it. PCSchool is run locally, not

from the server, so every client computer needs updating. To achieve this, there is a mechanism whereby

when the new files are copied to the server’s …\PCSchool\Programs folder, the client computers will

attempt to update themselves on next launch. To achieve this, the logged in user MUST BE ABLE TO WRITE

to their local …\PCSchool\Programs folder.

If experiencing an issue with PCSchool, try installing the latest version on your computer as the issue may

have been resolved already. This is done by downloading the latest follow-up to your computer and

copying the contents of the follow-up.zip to your …\PCSchool\Programs folder (close PCSchool first). This

process does not require other users to be logged out.

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How does the follow-up process actually work? When you extract the follow-up to the server’s …\PCSchool\Programs folder, it contains a file called

version.pcs. When you run PCSchool, it compares the date of the file on the server, to the date on the same

file on your computer. If the server’s file is newer, it triggers an update process by running a program called

wsAutoUp.

The current version of wsAutoUp copies the necessary PCSchool Back Office programs, as well as some

.DLL’s which it attempts to register. This was necessary as some DLL’s were not part of the PCRemote.

@PCSchool 20150717 5/12

The new wsAutoUp (YET TO BE RELEASED) To update PCSchool to the most current version, the process has always been to download the appropriate

version of the “follow-up” from the website (http://www.pcschool.net/support/updates-downloads/), then

extract the contents to the PCSchool\Programs folder on the server. A program in the background is

triggered to copy the new files to the client computer when they first run PCSchool. The program that

completes this task is called wsautoup.exe, and is located in the same folder on the server as the Program

files are copied to. The regularity of downloading a Follow-up is determined by the school however

PCSchool will always advise if a follow-up is required for such purposes as a tax table update. As a guide,

this should be done at least once a month.

With the introduction of PCSQ, a new version of wsautoup.exe has been written to ensure that this

application is also updated at the same time. As PCSQ requires some pre-requisite programs to be loaded

on the local computer, the new wsautoup has some additional prompts. The local user must be able to

install applications on the local computer for this to run successfully.

When PCSchool is run on the client computer, a check to see if the version.pcs file on the server’s

PCSchool\Programs folder CONTAINS A NEWER VERSION NUMBER than that on the client computer. If it

differs, the wsautoup process begins otherwise PCSchool runs as per usual.

The user is shown the following screen. If they choose to “Defer” the Followup, a file called

DeferFollowup.pcs is written into their local PCSchool\Programs folder and PCSchool will run as before. If

the DeferFollowUp.pcs file is more than 3 days old, once again the user will be prompted to Update

PCSchool. This allows the user to continue working with an older version of PCSchool or if an error occurs

during updating.

If the user chooses to “Update” their computer, the latest versions of the programs will get copied to the

local computer. If the client computer has a newer version than the server, it will not get over-written.

After copying the new programs, it then updates any missing bitmap files from the server’s

PCSchool\Bitmaps folder to the local Bitmaps folder (excluding any sub folders).

The next step checks to see if a file called SkipPCSQ.pcs is present on the local computer. If it is, it means

that the user on this computer has previously elected not to install the PCSQ and will therefore not be

prompted to install it again. Deleting this file will prompt the user next time the wsautoup runs.

If SkipPCSQ is not present, it checks to see if pcstray.exe (PCSQ) is present on the local machine. If it is, the

latest PCSQ files from the server’s PCSchool\Programs folder are automatically copied across as PCSQ has

already been installed on this computer. If it is not present, it checks to see if the PCSQ installer (PCSQ.exe)

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is present on the server inside the PCSchool\Program’s folder. If it is, the user will get prompted as seen

below.

<Yes> will trigger the PCSQ installer. It is initially copied to the local machine as some network

configurations do not allow applications to be installed if triggered form a network location. The installer

checks for DotNet framework 4 and the Crystal Runtime libraries and installs them if they are not present.

For this reason, the logged in user will need administrative rights to the local computer for the copying and

registering of files. Once the pre-requisites have been installed, the PCSQ files are copied to the local

PCSchool’s Programs folder.

<No> will create a file names SkipPCSQ.pcs on the local computer’s PCSchool launch folder. This will

prevent future requests to install it during Followups. To trigger the prompt again, delete this file form the

local PCSchool Programs folder.

<Cancel> will complete the Followup but prompt to install the PCSQ next time a Followup is needed.

If the PCSTray.exe file is found, it means that PCSQ is already installed other client. Wsautoup.exe will

process to copy the latest PCSQ files from the PCSchool\Programs\PCSQ folder. The files are copied to this

location by the PCSQ installer that has the option to do this. Refer to the PCSQ documentation for further

information.

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What is PCSQ PCSchool has developed an application to address an issue when bulk emailing and printing to Document

Management from within Back Office. The Print Tray is currently able to email Payslips, Statements and

Voluntary Letters as well as sending documents to “Document Manager.” Print Tray will continue to be

implemented throughout Back Office.

Requirements SQL Version of PCSchool Minimum Windows XP PCSchool Data Version 2014.7 Installation Download, extract then run http://www.pcschool.net/download/pcsq.zip onto the client computer. This installer needs to be run on each client machine. If PrintTray is not found on the local computer, the previous printing method will be used. Enable Select the checkbox as shown below (Utilities->System File Maintenance). This is a school wide setting and can be used to disable Print Tray if required (unselect).

If you are using the Payment Gateway and wish to add the link for parents to click on to immediately pay

their accounts, the Spider URL also needs to be set up Utilities->Identity Management.

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Ensure you have the latest driver For back office to retrieve the data for PCSchool, it uses a driver file called SQL_DRV.DLL. In order to run,

this file needs a compatible companion file called SQL_DRV.CFG which contains the number of licenses your

school has. These files need to be of the same base version. As the license file is unique to each school, it

needs to be distributed individually.

Until recently, the version of the license was not critical to the running of PCSchool, however program

changes have made it critical to be on the latest version (14). If your school is not on Version 14, the end of

year procedures will fail. Please contact PCSchool for your updated license if you do not have it already. By

default, it is in the c:\Prog……\Visual Dataflex\Bin folder.

Another way to ascertain your license version is to press the [Show Users] button under Utilities> Audit Log.

An output window will appear in the background showing which version of the license users currently

running PCSchool have. If you get a “Bad param” error when pressing the [Show Users] button, it means

your license and driver are NOT version 14. You may need to minimise PCSchool to see the Output window.

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@PCSchool 20150717 10/12

Spider Updater PCSchool has developed an installer to enable schools to update their own version of Spider with minimal

user input. Due to the large number of network configurations Spider is installed within, it is advisable to

run this during times when PCSchool support is available. There are 2 main aspects to updating Spider. The

first is the copying of files to the web application’s folder structure. The second is to execute a series of SQL

Scripts against the database Spider is using.

The installer can be found at http://www.pcschool.net/support/updates-downloads/ Download it to the

computer on which Spider is installed on (IIS server). Extract the file and run the executable file contained.

The initial “Important Information” advises users who are using the “Late Station” or the “New Library”,

that these may need updating at the same time. Consult with PCSchool to check this if uncertain.

By default, the installer will assume that the SQL Server is on the same computer as Spider. If this is not the

case, remove the tick from “Run SQL Scripts.” You are also given the option to “Perform an SQL Backup.”

This process will take place after the Spider files are copied and can only be run on the computer where

SQL Server is installed. This process creates a full back up to the database, so space is a consideration. Prior

to running the SQL scripts, the stored procedures are backed up, so this process is additional to that.

The first time installer is run, it locates the root of the “Default Website.” From here, you need to browse to

the “Spider” folder (the name of this folder will vary from school to school). In some instances, Spider may

be installed elsewhere. If some cases, this path may have been hidden so a mapped drive will need to be

created in order for the installer to locate it. The mapped drive will need to be set one level behind the

Spider folder in order for “Backup” folder to be created. Once successfully located, a registry key is written

to store the location for next time. A check is done to see if the installer files are newer than the current

Spider. If your Spider version is newer, it will not allow the install to continue. If the installer is same version

or newer, you can continue with the update.

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The first part of the update process backs up the current “Spider” into a folder called “Spider Backup” at

the same level as your Spider is installed. The archive file is called Spider[version] Date_Time and can be

used for recovery purposes. Once this is successfully completed, you may be prompted to “Overwrite” files.

Answer “Yes to All” to this prompt.

When this process completes, all of the application files have been updated. The pcsschool.css,

pcschool.skin and web.config get amended to ensure that any customisations to Spider are preserved. If

you have amended other files, you may need to copy them back after the install (Templates are not over-

written). A copy of the original web.config is made (web.bak) in the root folder. If you unselected “Run SQL

Scripts”, the installer will end here. In order for Spider to operate, however, it is critical that the matching

SQL scripts run.

IMPORTANT: If SQL Server is on another computer, copy both the installer and the newly

created web.config file to it. The installer needs the new web.config to extract the current

version as well as match the correct database to the newly updated Spider. When running

the installer on the SQL Server, unselect “Copy Files” as this has already been done. You

can select to make a backup at this stage if you wish to create one.

If you checked “Perform an SQL Backup”, you will be prompted for a path. The first time the installer is run,

a registry key will be created to store this location for future backups. The file name is Spider-Date_Time.

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Prior to executing the scripts, the installer backs up the stored procedures. Currently there are 2 scripts. If

there is an error during their execution, you will be prompted for a course of action. In the example below,

the sp_functions script has encountered an issue. If you choose to “Abort” the process, the installer skips

all other processes and jumps to the “Finish” screen. If you choose to “Re-try”, it will attempt to run the

scripts again. If you choose “Ignore”, the installer will continue with the next set of actions. Any errors are

stored in a log file for later analysis. Please call PCSchool if you get any script execution errors.

Once completed, you will be shown the “Finish” screen. If no errors were reported during the process, the

install should be complete however it is very important to check that Spider is running post update. To do

this, you need to log into Spider. The first time after an update, Spider may appear slow to respond. This is

because it is recompiling itself. The new version should appear on the login screen.

Once logged in, check the following 3 controls; Student Information (ensure students information displays

correctly), Absence Entry V2 (check a roll can be generated) and Result Entry (Check to see if the screen

loads without error). You may not be using all of these controls and some may have been renamed. If this is

the case, just test the ones you use. If these basic controls work, generally there should be no issues with

other controls.