Actinic Link and Multi-site Actinic

[PeterThake]

Can I raise the following as a bug report for Link and Actinic Multi-Site v8 and as a 'request for change' please?

This describes using Actinic Link and Multi-site Actinic.

For Site1 I export the orders from Actinic. In Quickbooks I can then import these orders. So far so good.

When, for my next site, Site2, I export the orders I get this error message from Link and the program does not complete the operation:

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Actinic Link for QuickBooks
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Can not find file C:\Program Files\Actinic Link\QuickBooks UK\DataFiles\euro-rang\Source\Buyers.csv
---------------------------
OK
---------------------------

To get Actinic Link to export those orders, I have to open Actinic Link, change the current profile to Site2, exit Actinic Link, then re-run the export process.

I am about to open my 4th store. This means I have to run Actinic Link and change the profile each time I export orders from each site. Not automated and rather time-consuming. The Actinic Link application does to seem to be automating this process. Surely Actinic multi-site should tell Actinic Link module which site it is operating and Link should change the profile accordingly? It is very disappointing to find that Actinic Link is not truely compatible or seamlessly integrated with Actinic multi-site. Yet again I find Actinic is not as good as it could be.

BTW I the same will be true when using Link with Sage. Be warned.

So, a warning to anyone wanting to run multiple sites and integrate Sage or Quickbooks. It does not work properly.

When can we have a fix? Or will Actinic now indicate on their web site that Link is not integrated with multi-site Actinic?

[cdicken]

Peter

What you you need to do is add a /ui parameter into the 'Options' field of the 'File Export Settings' dialogue. This will start Sage with a full user interface - and allow you to change profile as you export the orders.

[PeterThake]

Hi Chris,
Actinic will not let me add this to the 'Exectutables to run after export" dialog.

It presently says
C:\Program Files\Actinic Link\QuickBooks UK\QuickBooksExport.exe

I think you want it to say

C:\Program Files\Actinic Link\QuickBooks UK\QuickBooksExport.exe /ui

or maybe

C:\Program Files\Actinic Link\QuickBooks UK\QuickBooksExport.exe/ui


Either way, Actinic beeps when I type a '/' forward slash.

Or am I misunderstanding you?

Thanks for your help
Pete

[cdicken]

Sorry Peter - I edited my post as I realise I was giving the wrong instructions. You need to add the '/ui' to the 'Options' field in the window where you enter your export file details.

[PeterThake]

Hi Chris,


Not quite right yet. If I add /ui to the options field, I still get an error message. Bizarely, next time I look at the options field the /ui has gone!

Out of curiosity I tried ticking the 'Include filenames as command line parameters' and this threw up a different error message that said 'wrong command line parameter'. It did then take me to Actinic Link where I could change the current profile.

Am I doing this right? If so, is there any way to get rid of the error message?

Cheers!
Pete

[cdicken]

Is the error message you get still

Can not find file C:\Program Files\Actinic Link\QuickBooks UK\DataFiles\euro-rang\Source\Buyers.csv

?

If so, have you checked the path of the Buyers.csv file? It's worth a look.

Also try entering the /ui into the 'File Export Settings' window you get when you click the 'Export Options' button in 'Business Settings. Actinic might not remember the field if you enter it in as you export them.

I'm also not sure what the 'Include Filenames...' is meant to do, but I think it's safer to have it unticked.

[Jan]

Include filenames passes the names of the files you have exported to the application that you run after you have exported the files.

There is some info here about automatiing / running the quickbooks liink, it relates to using it with our software but I think that you might find some useful stuff in there :

http://moleend.helpserve.com/index.p...kbarticleid=27

There are a few other articles about the quickbooks link as well, a search on that system will bring them up.

Regards,

[PeterThake]

Without the 'include filenames' checked, the error is still:

Can not find file C:\Program Files\Actinic Link\QuickBooks UK\DataFiles\euro-rang\Source\Buyers.csv

The reason Actinic Link cannot find this file is that the file it needs to look for is different for each site being processed. The error is being generated by Actinic Link. When you change the profile, Actinic Link looks in the correct location.

You said "Also try entering the /ui into the 'File Export Settings' window you get when you click the 'Export Options' button in 'Business Settings. Actinic might not remember the field if you enter it in as you export them." - this IS where I am putting this information.

If you do tick the 'include filenames' box, then you get this error:
---------------------------
Actinic Link for QuickBooks
---------------------------
Wrong command line parameter! The application will start in manual mode
---------------------------
OK
---------------------------

It does then start Link and you can then manually change the profile, but this is very crude! It means you still require manual intervention every time you use Link.

Could you ask a programmer to check this over?

[PeterThake]

Hi Jan,

Thanks for the reply! I can see where you are coming from, and maybe there is a way to pass the parameters this way (if only I had more time!). But having bought Actinic Multi Site with Actinic Link to sell online from multiple stores I had rather assumed this would all be integrated.

If I am going to hack around code then I'd rather be investing my time in some open source software.

I really do appreciate your input though, thank you . Maybe in the spring in quieter times (this now getting towards one of the busiest times of year) I will return to this and attempt a workaround if Actinic have not yet fixed this bug.

[cdicken]

Ooh - I've just found this in the help

If you have more than one profile set up in Actinic Link, you can enter the name of the profile you want to activate in the 'Options' field here. Simply enter the name of the profile straight into the field. Don't select 'Include Filenames As Command Line Parameters' though.

So just try entering 'euro-rang' into the 'Options' field.

[Jan]

Chris,

Those options don't work for the UK quickbooks link, only for Sage. The only way we have managed to do it is by modifying the ini file.

Pete, you've lost me a bit with your reply but if you don't want to change the ini files then I believe that your only option is to also change the selected profile in the link software when you change sites.

Regards,

[PeterThake]

Thanks Chris, but Jan is right, I am using Quickbooks, not Sage.

Jan, sorry I lost you! I was basically saying I did not want to spend hours trying to fix a bug in Actinic. Actinic should fix it for me.

[Jan]

Ah, I see, I thought I had confused you without meaning to, thanks for explaining.

Regards,