When first installed, the default 'top level' user name is SUPERVISOR, without any password.

If you have changed the initial settings or the system states that your password is invalid, contact the Shire Help Line, who will be able to provide you with an override code that will act as a temporary password. This code is only available to customers who hold a current support agreement and proof of software ownership may be required.

FrontLine extra user licences are installed from within a FrontLine module. Start up and log on to any one of your system modules and:

Within Frontline Maintenance and Safety First for Windows select File > System Control > Add Licence

Within Frontline Purchasing, Stock, and Labour Management select File > Options > Add Licence

An extra user licence is only installed once, from any PC that has FrontLine installed.

The installed licence is stored with the data and so is visible to all other PCs.

If you encounter this message, always contact the Shire Help Line for further advice. The information below is simply a guide to help you understand what may have caused the error.

There are three main causes of a 'Serious System Error'.

• The first and most common of these causes is the link to the data on your file server having been lost by your PC. This can happen from time to time but simply call the help line and we will re set the link to your data.
• The second cause of this error is data related. Occasionally, the file accessed when the system starts up (FLMaster.MDB) can become damaged, causing the Serious System Error message to be displayed. This normally is not as serious as it might sound and again, a quick call to the Help Line will get you up and running again.
• The final cause of this error can be avoided. When moving your data to another location or backing up your data using a CD, the files are automatically set to 'read only'. When the files are copied back from the CD, the read only attributes on the files can be left on, causing the Serious System Error. If you are not sure how to remove the 'read only' attributes, contact the Shire Help Line or see related FAQ.

If you have problems logging onto your system you may have files marked as 'Read-Only'. Files may be marked as 'Read-only' if a CD has been used as a means of transferring data from one PC to another. To rectify this problem, simply highlight the relevant folder, right-click your mouse and uncheck 'Read-Only' via the Properties option.

Yes. Using the standard Windows 'Scheduled Tasks' utility found in Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools, it is possible to schedule a Re-index of your FrontLine database automatically.

• Select the 'Scheduled Tasks' utility and double click on 'Add Scheduled Task'.
• The Scheduled Task wizard screen will ask you to specify a program you want to run. Select the Browse button and navigate to C:\Program Files\Shire Software and specify 'FLMReindex.EXE'.
• Select how often you wish the task to run (we recommend weekly) and click 'Next'. Select the day of week and time ensuring the re-index schedule will take place at a time when all users will be logged out of the system.
• Finally opt to open the 'Advanced Properties' dialog when you have added FrontLine Re-index utility to the list of scheduled tasks. In the 'Start In' box, enter the path to your data directory e.g. F:\Shire\Data\V2DATA.

FrontLine contains a PM plan covering two years. Once a year, you need to roll the plan forward, dropping the older year and generating a plan for a new year.

It is not necessary to roll the plan forward exactly at the end of each calendar year - normal practice is to leave it until a couple of months into the next year, when all planned work for the old year will have been completed.

To roll your plans forward use: Setup; System Options; PM Plans [Advance PM Plan].

Important! Do not use the facility for selective adjustment of PM Plan details: File; System Tools; Shift PM Planner.

You may need to add more years to the list of plan year start dates. The start dates for standard calendar years are shown in a separate FAQ.

When you advance the FrontLine PM Planner, you may need to add more years to the list of plan year start dates. The start dates for standard calendar years are:

Please note the above dates are for a standard calendar-based year, running from January to December with the start of week on a Monday. If you are running a financial or academic based year planner alternative dates will need to be calculated and entered.

You can make the same change to a number of the same type of record (assets, tasks, work orders, etc.) by using the Group Change facility. This is a very useful timesaving feature.

• Open the appropriate Index grid.
• Make sure you are in 'edit mode' (click on the small icon of a pencil writing on paper).
• Select the records that you wish to change by holding down the [Shift] key and using Up/Down arrow keys, by holding down the [Ctrl] key and clicking on the required lines with the mouse, or by selecting all lines through the Edit menu. The selected lines will appear highlighted in a different colour.
• On any one of the selected lines make the required change to any one field (column).
• Press F7 (or select 'Group Change' from the Edit menu). The system will make the change to all the selected lines.
• Carry on with changes to other fields (columns) if required.

There is no group delete facility within FrontLine but there is a way of getting round this.

• The first thing you need to do is create a ‘dummy’ site code. It doesn't matter what you call this site but we normally recommend calling it something like 'Deleted', so as not to get it mixed up with any of your other sites.
• Once you have done this, you need to go into your asset index and using edit mode, group change all the assets you want deleted to the dummy site code.
• Once all the assets have been transferred to the dummy site, you simply need to delete the dummy site, deleting all of the assets in the process.
• To delete the site, go to File, System Tools, Delete a Site. Select the dummy site and then click OK.
• This process could take some time if there are a lot of assets to be deleted but once finished, all the selected assets will no longer exist.

Access violations can be caused when a database's index files are out of synchronisation with the database or become corrupted. This can usually be remedied by running the re-index utility found within File > System Tools > Re-index Database or within the Database Manager.

If you are still experiencing Access Violations errors after a 'Re-index', it is recommended that you manually delete the index files and completely recreate them.

• Close down FrontLine and ensure that no other users are logged in.
• Open up your V2DATA folder using Windows Explorer or My Computer.
• Locate and delete all the index i.e. all files of type CDX. (There should be approximately 50 of these files).
• Do not delete any other files.
• Start up FrontLine. The system will detect that the indexes are missing and will automatically recreate them.

If Access Violation errors still occur contact the Shire Help Line for further assistance.

If you have a number of old stock take reports that you no longer need and wish to delete.

• Go to the Stock Take section
• Click on the 'process stock take' tab and click on the drop down arrow to select old reports.
• To delete any of the listed reports, simply right click on the report and confirm that you wish to delete the selected report.

• Go to System > Configuration and then click on the system numbering tab.
• Change the sequence type to Purchase Order, using the drop down arrow. You should now see the default prefix of PO that is already set up.
• To add a new prefix, fill in the fields in the 'new sequence' section of the window. You need to give a prefix, a description of the prefix and the number you wish to start at.
• If you would like this new prefix to be the default, put a tick in the relevant box.
• When you have done all this, click on the [+ADD] button. Your new prefix will now be ready to use.

It is possible to set up more than one delivery address, or any other kind of address you may wish to log. As standard, the system holds four address types, 'Business', 'Delivery', 'Invoice' and 'Other'. You can enter a different address for each of these types if you so wish.

However, what if you need another address type or a second delivery address? To do this you first need to add another address type.

• Click on System on the toolbar and then go into Configuration.
• Click on the Miscellaneous tab. You will see the different address types listed
• To add another, enter the name you wish the address type to have, (e.g. 'Address 2') in the 'Entry' field
• Once you have typed the name of the address type in this field, click on the [+ADD] button to save the address type.
• To add any further address types, repeat the same procedure.
• To enter addresses against your address types
• Still within System > Configuration, click on the Address Book tab.
• Click on the drop down arrow to select the address type, then type in the relevant address in the spaces provided.
• These addresses are all available now when setting up a purchase order.

In some situations, you may have unlocked Safety 1st Xpress but when in client view, it still says it is an evaluation in the right hand window. This is because the client data set was created while the system still was an evaluation. To update the client data set:

• Right click on the client(s) in question.
• Select View Details
• Click on the dataset tab and then click on the button 'Update Dataset Licence'.