Goldenseal Multi-User Manual

Multi-User manual directory

Lesson 1-- Setting up a Goldenseal Server
Lesson 2-- Opening a Server
Lesson 3-- Using Local Clients
Lesson 4-- Sharing Mac & Windows
Lesson 5-- Dial-Up Connections

Lesson One-- Setting up a Goldenseal Server

In the first lesson you will learn how to set up a Goldenseal server.

About Client-Server Software

The multi-user version of Goldenseal small business accounting software is a client-server program.

The server is one computer that contains your company file on its hard drive. You’ll open the company file on the server just the same as you would if you were using the single-user version.

Every other computer is a client. Working on a client computer looks the same as working on the single-user version, but clients don’t have a data file on their hard drive-- they get information from the server, and save changes back to the server.

Choosing a Server Computer

Before you start using Goldenseal multi-user, decide which computer you want to use as a server. You can put the server on either a Macintosh or a Windows machine.

NOTE-- If you have an application server or file server, you can also use it as the Goldenseal server. But Goldenseal can also run on another machine.

If you have many users, you probably should use your fastest computer to run the Goldenseal server file.

If you have only a few computers, the Goldenseal server can be on a machine that is actively used by someone.

If you will have many users, it’s better to put the Goldenseal server on a computer that only runs Goldenseal, with no person working at the machine.

NOTE-- When someone is actively using the server computer, clients may experience delays, since the server is more likely to be busy with human interface tasks like drawing on the screen. The user on the server machine will also be interrupted when users do a lengthy operation such as finding from many records.

Installing Goldenseal onto the Server Machine

To install Goldenseal onto the server machine, follow the installation instructions from the beginning of the Getting Started with Goldenseal Estimating manual.

NOTE-- Everyone in your company will use the company file on the server’s hard drive. Because all your data is in one place, it is very important to back it up frequently!

Starting a Server File

If you already have a single-user Goldenseal file and want to use it as a multi-user server, follow these steps:

Open the Goldenseal file.
Choose Preferences from the Options menu, and choose Network from the submenu.
Click on the File User Type popup field, and choose Server.
Click OK.
Click on the File menu and choose Quit (Macintosh) or Exit (Windows). The next time you open the file, it will run as a server.

If you are just starting with Goldenseal, create a company file from a Starter File. Then follow the steps above.

HINT-- For more about the Goldenseal company file in the Getting Started manual, click here.

Installing Goldenseal onto Client Computers

To run Goldenseal on client computers, install the Goldenseal application on each client machine— follow the installation instructions from the beginning of the Getting Started with Goldenseal Estimating manual It doesn’t matter whether the clients are Macintosh or Windows computers.

NOTE-- You do not need to have a the company file on the client machine, since clients use the company file from the server.

Setting up a Network

You’ll need a physical network to connect client computers to the computer which is running the Goldenseal server file. You can use any of the following:

Local Area Network (LAN)

A Local Area Network (LAN) uses copper wires to connect each of your computers. Most people use Ethernet, which is a very fast and fairly inexpensive network. You’ll need an Ethernet router and an Ethernet cable that runs from each computer to the router.

Wireless Network

You can use Airport or some other wireless network to connect your computers.
Wireless networks usually require a base station, and a card in each computer. They are slower and more expensive than Ethernet, but much more convenient.

Dial-Up Connection

You can have your server answer the phone with its modem connection so you can make a connection over phone lines).

Because phone lines only offer a two-way connection, the server can only connect to one dial-up client at a time.

A modem is much slower than a LAN or wireless network, so it works best if you only need it to access some information from the server.

Internet Connection

If you have a cable modem, DSL line or other fast internet connection for all of your computers, you can connect your server to the Internet, and then also connect each clients to the server via the Internet. This feature is not yet available in Goldenseal.

Setting up TCP/IP

Goldenseal uses TCP/IP protocols to connect each client and server to your network.

Each computer on a local network needs to have a different TCP/IP address. The address number must be within the number range that is used for local networks.

When you open a Goldenseal server or client, Goldenseal will automatically configure TCP/IP with a valid address.

NOTE-- There is a small chance that Goldenseal will give the same TCP/IP addresses to two different machines. In that case you will need to renumber one of them.

See Lesson 4 for more about managing TCP/IP on your network.