manual order downloads?

[herbabill]

If I am working in a different location away from the PC that has actinic is there any way orders can be downloaded manually or must it be done via the actinic program only?

[RuralWeb]

You can install Actinic on a PC in the new location and import a snapshot. You will then be able to download the orders, when you go back to the original location export a snapshot and import it back onto the original PC but this time select the overwite orders check box, this will place any new orders onto the old PC.

Another way would be to enter another email into the "send copy of reciept email field" you would get a copy of the customers reciept and you could use that to process the order. When you return to the original PC you can download the orders and carry on. This is a poor option as you will not be able to confirm payment, send mail etc.

I advise the first option.

[pinbrook]

yep use the first option if you have a computer with you at the 2nd location.

only consider the 2nd option if you only have access to email at the 2nd location. This process can be flawed...

I would also get the emails from the PSP if you use one, before you process an order. And bear in mind that you may not get all copys of customer emails if they don't return to the end page and you may also get false emails if customer abandons a basket in the middle of checkout.

[anqi]

how to merge orders?

I wonder if there's a simple solution to my problem:

We installed Actinic on 2 PCs. PC A downloaded some orders, and PC B download the rest. When I want to merge the orders on PC B to A (we stopped order processing on PC B), I use snapshot but find:

1. if PC A import a snapshot with option "overwrite order" on, PC A's existing orders would be erased;

2. if PC A import a snapshot with option "overwrite order" off, no orders would be imported.

Is it possible to merge orders?

Many thanks!

[remmo]

Also make sure that the Actinic versions are exactly the same on both computers.

I uploaded a second version to another PC when I had to send my laptop away to get repaired - but installed an earlier version of version 7 which created a few problems.

Also make sure the encryprion keys are the same if you are ordering payment details to your PC as otherwise Actinic will delete credit card details during download and you'll need to chase the customer to get the details.

[pinbrook]

there is no automatic way to merge orders, this is why you should use the snapshot method to change from one PC to another prior to using the 2nd pc, this keeps the orders together in the first instance.

You will need to wait for a database person to run you through options to merge, as personally I think it is a sticky job

[wjcampbe]

Depending on how many orders are involved, it may be easier for you to print the order details from PC B and key these into PC A as offline orders. That would leave you with an incorrect Actinic Order Number, but that one field can then be changed in the ORDER table in ActinicCatalog.mdb

If there are a lot of orders, then you need someone who can write a query to take the data from all the PC B tables involved and append it to the same tables in PC A database.

[anqi]

If I knew order could not be merged, I would have done a snapshot before downloading from the second pc.

The second pc already downloaded quite a lot orders. So it seems I have to operate on database directly. I'd like to do it by myself if it is not too complicated. As I look into the database, I guess two tables are involved when a new order is created: Order & Person. Am I right?

If it is too tricky, I must find a database professional to help. And where can I find a professional?

Btw, I have actinic cover. does it help?

Thanks again!

[wjcampbe]

There are at least four tables involved - more if you use customer accounts.

Call Actinic tomorrrow and ask if they do this sort of thing under "cover". If not, I can help you. I would need both databases, and you would need to make very sure you do not download any more orders while I am merging your data. If you want to pursue, you can email me by clicking my name on the left here.

[anqi]

I got some free time today, and studied the database carefully. As advised, I found 4 tables: order, orderdetail, person, paymenthistory. And I played a whole day with it, and merged the orders finally.

Now Actinic is working smoothly on pc A. I hope there's no hidden problem with this database cooked by myself.

Thank you, Bill. You are very helpful.