Goldenseal Security Features

This section explains how to use security features in Goldenseal.

AUDIT TRAIL-- how to use the audit trail to keep your company safe
        Audit Trail Window | Audit Trail Setup | Audit Trail Fields | Using the Audit Trail

DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS-- how to use Goldenseal's diagnostic menu commands to keep your data safe
        Cache Report | Database Report | File Order Report | File Contents Report
        Verify File

OTHER UTILITIES-- some useful commands for file management
        Clear Memory Cache | Compress File | Delete Multiple | Developer Tools

RELATED TOPICS
        Passwords | Reports | Technical Notes

Audit Trail Window

The Audit Trail is a record of everything important that has happened within the company file.
HINT-- You can only view the Audit Trail if you have signed on with a Password that gives you access to it.

To view the Audit Trail, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Security from the View menu, then choose Audit Trail from the submenu.
  2. You'll see a standard browser window. Each record shows one action that happened with the company file.

Audit Trail Fields

The following information is shown for each audit trail entry:
NOTE-- You can never change Audit Trail entries-- you can only view them passively.

Action-- The type of action that was logged in. Audit Trail actions include new, changed and deleted records, importing, exporting and use of common process commands such as Write Payroll. An Audit Trail entry is also entered every time the company file is opened or closed.
Transaction Type-- If an account, list or transaction is changed, its basic type is shown here.
Item Name-- The name of the account or transaction is shown.
Item Number-- The ID number of the changed item is shown.
Main Account Type-- The type of main account is shown.
Main Account-- The name of the main account is shown.
Second Account Type-- The type of second account is shown.
Second Account-- The name of the second account is shown.
Amount-- the final dollar amount of the transaction is shown.
User-- The password that was in use when the transaction was created is shown.
Date Entered-- The date that the transaction was entered is shown.
Time Entered-- The time that the transaction was entered is shown.

Setting Up the Audit Trail

To control the items that are included in the Audit Trail, follow these steps:
  1. Choose Preferences from the Options menu, and choose Data Entry from the submenu.
  2. In the Audit Trail section, turn on the checkbox for each item you'd like to include in the Audit Trail.

Using the Audit Trail

The audit trail lets you see exactly what has been entered and changed in the company file, and by whom.
NOTE-- The audit trail shows the password used for each entry. To get full use of the audit trail you'll need to assign each employee a different password, and keep them secure so one person can't sign on with another person's password.

Use the audit trail if you suspect dishonesty, if you want to find out the person responsible for an error, or if you just want to see who has entered or changed what when.

For example, to find all changed transactions, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Security from the View menu, then choose Audit Trail from the submenu.
  2. Choose Find from the Edit menu.
  3. Enter Transaction Changed into the Action Field.
  4. Click the Find button.
  5. You will see a listing of all transactions that have been changed.
HINT-- To see the actual transaction record from an audit trail record, choose Detail Transaction from the View menu.

Cache Report

The Cache Report shows a list of all records that are currently stored in RAM.
HINT-- This is a diagnostic window that you will probably never need to use.  It may be helpful for tracking down problems with memory management.

Click the Purge Cache button repeatedly to remove records from the RAM cache.  The only items that are left should be records that are currently on display in a window, and a few utility objects that work in the background.

Large numbers of records that can't be removed, or large numbers in the Reference Count column may be symptoms of a memory leak in the Goldenseal program.  Please report it to us!

Database Report

The Database Report shows all of the records in your company file.  It's a way to see the "raw data" that is stored on disk.
HINT-- This is a diagnostic window that you will probably never need to use.  It may be helpful for tracking down problems with file management.

The Database report shows all of the object classes that are stored in your Company File.  It shows you the class name and ID, the number of items, and some technical information about the first item.
TECHNICAL NOTE-- The memory location is where the record is currently stored in RAM.  The size is the amount of space it takes up on the hard drive.  The file location is its position (measured from the front of the file).

Click the Save as Text button to save the report as a text file.  Click Close to leave the report.

If you double-click in a row, you will see a list of all the stored records in that class.  If there is just one item in the class, you will see the data fields in that record.

Records in Class

Double-click on a row to see a list of all the records in a class.
NOTE-- You will only see this list if there is more than one record in the class.

You will see a scrolling window that lists every object.  It shows you the object name, ID number, and some technical information about the record.
TECHNICAL NOTE-- The memory location is where the record is currently stored in RAM.  The file location is its position (measured from the front of the file).  The size is the amount of space it takes up on the hard drive.

Click the Save as Text button to save the report as a text file.  Click Close to leave the report.

If you double-click on an item in this report, you will see the raw data fields in the record.

Object Details

When you double-click on an object in the Database report, you can see the raw data fields that are stored in the record.
HINT-- This is a diagnostic window that you will probably never need to use.  It may be helpful for tracking down problems with corrupted data.

You'll see a listing of data fields, with the data size, value and raw disk contents for each field.
HINT-- Every record should start with a POBJ "safety tag", and end with an EOBJ "safety tag".  If the disk contents are different, the record is probably damaged.
The Field column lists each of the data fields in each record.
The Size column shows the size of each field in bytes or bits.
The Value column shows the current value of the field.
The Disk Contents column shows the actual raw data on the hard drive. Money, number, popup and clairvoyant fields are stored in a special format, so the disk contents will not look the same as what you see in the Value column.
Click the Save as Text button to save the report as a text file.  Click Close to leave the report.

File Order Report

The File Order Report shows the raw file contents of your company file.  It's a way to see the "raw data" that is stored on disk.
HINT-- This is a diagnostic window that you will probably never need to use.  It may be helpful for tracking down problems with file management.

You will see a listing of database objects, with some technical information for each item.
TECHNICAL NOTE-- The file location is the record position (measured from the front of the file).  The size is the amount of space it takes up on the hard drive.

Double-click on an item to see the data fields in that record.

File Contents Report

The File Contents report creates a text file that lists every record, and its position in the file.

When you choose this command, Goldenseal asks you for a file name, and lets you choose a location in which to save the file.

You can open the file with a word processor or spreadsheet program.  The report shows the entire contents of the company file, starting at the beginning of the file.  You can use the report to see where each Goldenseal record is located on disk.

Verify File

The Verify File command checks every record in the company file, and warns you about any items that may have problems.

The Verify command checks for the following potential problems in each record:

  • Records that aren't saved in the location where the File Manager expects them to be.
  • Records that have a different length from what the File Manager expects.
  • Records that have the same ID number as another record of the same class.
  • Records that have a damaged 'safety tag' at the beginning or end of the record.

When the Verify command is finished, it tells you how much data your file contains, and how much empty space it includes.  If there were problems with any records, it will report them.
NOTE-- If the Verify command reports problems, please let us know!  We will probably want to see the file, so we can determine what went wrong with it.  We can also help you to fix it.

Compress File

The Compress File command can reduce the size of the company file by shrinking the empty spaces between records.

WARNING-- Always make a backup before you use this command!  It moves every record in your file.  If it is interrupted by a power outage or other problems, you may lose data.

When the compression is finished, Goldenseal tells you the new size of the file, and the amount of empty space that remains.

HINT-- Sometimes running the Compress command a second time will free up more space.


TECHNICAL NOTE-- This command moves each record as far as possible towards the beginning of the file. Because some records must have a fixed location in the file, you usually can't remove all empty space with the Compress FIle command.  However the compression combines many small spaces into a few larger ones, so Goldenseal will be able to fill in the gaps more efficiently when you add more records.  After you've added a few records, the amount of empty space in the file will usually go down.

Clear Memory Cache

Use the Clear Memory Cache command to clear out Goldenseal's RAM cache of recently-used records.

Clearing the cache may speed up some operations that involve a large number of records-- for example, reports that list several hundred to several thousand items.  It may also slow down the Find command and other actions that use records that you've already used recently.

Delete Multiple

Use the Delete Multiple command to delete all of the found records.
WARNING-- You cannot undo the Delete Multiple command!

Goldenseal will not delete records that are used in another record.

Developer Tools

The Developer Tools menu currently is not available to users.