Installation 

Shop Trac is provided as an executable called 'Shop Trac.exe' (if it has been customized it will be called Your Company Name Shop Trac.exe).  Since most mail servers do not allow us to email an executable file, we will use a .ZIP archive instead if we send the install via email.  From within Windows, run this exe file to install Shop Trac.  Before you do, you may wish to have a look at the following Tech Tips:

When installing Shop Trac, the default location is C:\TRAC and normally should not be changed, unless Shop Trac is being installed to a network location.  In this case we recommend installing to F:\TRAC

Single vs Multi-User

Shop Trac is single user unless you actually purchased the multi-user module.  Under NO circumstances should you attempt to access single user Shop Trac files from more than a single computer.  The data files will become damaged, and Shop Trac will become inoperable.  The multi-user version of Shop Trac includes file and/or record locking routines to conserve data integrity.  A single user version of Shop Trac can be upgraded to a multi-user version for a one-time licensing fee.  We can email the required files within a day.

Logging in for the First Time

The default user name as shipped is SUPERVISOR and the password is blank (simply press ENTER).  Additional users can be added using the Setup | Multiuser option.  Please note that this option is available to both single and multi-user versions of Shop Trac, although it serves no real purpose in the single-user version.

System Ready - Yes/No

Shop Trac is normally shipped without the system being ready.  This means that you can input historical data, existing inventory balances/values, outstanding invoices for both Payables & Receivables, as well as all existing GL account balances.  The only time we ship Shop Trac with the 'System Ready' already set is when we have been able to do this for you, or if you are starting a brand new company with all zero balances.  In this case, Shop Trac is normally ready to run live following installation.

The 'System Ready' field is hidden in the Setup | Defaults section.  It appears as the very last item on this list and shows only a Yes/No field.  Once the system is set to ready (Yes), this field will never be seen again.

Preinstalled Data

Shop Trac ships with the following pre-installed data.  In most cases we have supplied data that fits your type of business.  Some of these can be printed from the Reports menu option.

Initial Presets

There are several values you will need to input into Setup | Defaults before you can begin.  These normally include, but are not limited to:

It is a good idea to check all of the setup variables to insure they are correct.

PCL Forms

Many Shop Trac installed may include optional PCL (Printer Control Language) forms for the Invoice, Repair Order and Receivable Statement.  These will be installed during the install process, and there are several additional Desktop and/or Start Menu shortcuts that will be added.

The PCL macro ID's will have been specified for you.  These are accessed using the Setup | PCL Macro option.

Each time you print from Shop Trac you need to specify the destination printer.  PCL forms will only be produced when printing to the PCL.PD printer from within Shop Trac.  For non PCL reports, print to the HPLASER.PD printer instead.