How to Send Us a File

Problem

The user has a mystery problem in Goldenseal Accounting software that we can't diagnose over the phone or by email. We can often solve it faster if we can actually see the file, and then see their data first hand instead of guessing what they have.

Use this option for data problems ("a number is wrong!") or any other mystery problem that is hard to diagnose without actually seeing the data.

NOTE-- User files often help us to catch obscure bugs that we'd never manage to duplicate in our testing.

Solution

To send us a file, follow these steps:

STEP 1-- LOCATE THE FILE TO SEND

They should locate their company file. It may be in My Documents, or in the Goldenseal folder.

To have them locate the Goldenseal folder in Windows , follow these steps:

1. Double click My Computer
2. Open Local Disk C drive
3. Open Program Files
4. Open the Goldenseal. folder. They may also need to open the Starter Files folder.
5. If that doesn't find the file, have them use File--Search to locate the file on their hard drive.

If they use shortcuts on the desktop to open their Goldenseal file, make sure they do not send us the shortcut file! The shortcut icon has an arrow on it, and when they compress and send it the file will be tiny (1 or 2K). The company file will probably be at least 500K in size, more likely a couple of megabytes.

HINT-- If they use a shortcut and don't know where the file is, right-click on the shortcut icon and choose Properties from the menu. Click Find Target to locate the actual file.

STEP 2-- COMPRESS THE FILE

On Macintosh, use ZipIt, Stuffit or DropStuff to compress the file.

• For DropStuff, drag the file onto the DropStuff icon. NOTE-- in Mac OSX, use .zip format rather than .sitx format (which seems to get frequently mangled).
• For Zipit, drag the file onto the Drop Files Here.. icon.

NOTE-- DropStuff is available for a free trial download at www.stuffit.com. Zipit is available at www.maczipit.com. A compression utility is useful for other things (e.g. compressing files for backup) and we highly recommend that users get a copy!

On Windows, use WinZip to compress the file. Usually they can choose WinZip from the Start menu, but they may need to choose it from Programs or double-click on a shortcut). Click New and choose a file name and location (My Documents is good). They'll get an Add window, where they should 'navigate' to the company file and hit the Add button.

NOTE-- WinZip is available for a free trial download at /www.winzip.com. It is useful for other things (e.g. compressing files for backup) and we highly recommend that users get a copy!

If they simply can't figure out compressing, they can also send the whole company file. But it will take longer to upload, and there's a higher % change it will have problems getting through the Internet.

STEP 3-- SEND THE COMPRESSED FILE

Open whatever email program they use. Compose an email to support@turtlesoft.com. Attach the compressed file from step 2. Include a description of the problem, and which records we should look at to see the problem. Send it.

NOTE-- We treat all user files with confidentiality and respect. We normally archive tech files for about one year, and occasionally that saves a user from disaster! However, if users want complete confidentiality, we will delete their files immediately after we check them.

Comments

Entered 1/28/05 by Casey. Updated 1/26/06 by Dennis.