Update Finished Lens Inventory

There is a setting in Kalahari which decides if the level is reduced when the calculation is made or when the stock has been confirmed as picked.

This has now been implemented for finished lenses also.  This is under the inventory settings.

So if there are 5 items in stock.  When the order is entered, there will still be 5 items in stock. When the item is taken off the shelf and the barcode is scanned then the level is reduced.  If the barcode is not known then the software will remember the barcode for that prescription.

Kalahari - Ovalling

It is now possible to turn off the ovalling feature.  The software will then revert back to the trepan diameter.

Rx Purchasing - Confirm before sending and Local Mapping.

The purchasing module has been updated so that it is possible to send only certain orders by selecting beforehand. If this is not turned on then the program works as now, that is to send all the orders.

If the web service is used then it is possible to apply a local mapping to convert the codes before sending.

There is a tick box to indicate this and clicking on the link will bring up a text  file. The entries in the text file are in the form

Annapurna code=Supplier Code


For example
A123=567890

This will send code 567890 to the supplier for codes A123.

You can also use
A123=567890+MC

to convert the one code into a lens and coating code.

Currencies revisited

An addition to the earlier post.

Annapurna does not explicitly support currencies. It simply raises an invoice for a value and that value is interpreted to be appropriate currency for the customer by the financial system.

Annapurna does stop prices from being applied with the wrong currency so a dollar price list is not used for a Euro customer.

If multiple currencies are used then the local currency is assumed to be the default currency and only records that are not the default currency are changed.

Firstly in the customer record, you set the currency code to a field eg USD for dollar or EUR for Euro. The code does not matter but it helps to use a recognised code.

When you create a pricelist, there is a field for currency. Put the currency code in this field.

Annapurna will now check to see that the pricelist being considered is the same currency as the customer.

Packages also have a field for currency code so that a package in one currency is not applied to a different customer.

Currency Screenshots

Kalahari

The base selection screen now supports entry in plus and minus cyls.

Browser - search by current status

There is a new feature in Browser to filter orders by status code. The default is for any status code but if the status message under the job and tray number fields is clicked then a pop-up will appear.

This will ask for the status code that you wish to use for filtering the search.

Safety Frame Type

Annapurna and Solenzara allow additional frame types to be specified outside the four standard. Up to now, the only additional frame type has been "Plastic Cold Frames".

This has been extended to cover Plastic Safety and Metal Safety with additional restrictions on the lens thickness - similar to Nylon Supra.

Intelligent Assesment of Supra Thickness

Finished lenses may not have sufficient edge thickness for supra lenses or it could be that a larger diameter finished lens does have the sufficient edge thickness when cut down to the shape.

Currently, finished lenses are not accepted by a simple power check for example to exclude all plus powered lenses.

Annapurna has now been developed to have an additional setting - Intelligent Assessment.  The software will estimate the thickness of the finished lens to the diameter. The software will also estimate the thickness of the required lens as shown via the estimate button.  If the finished lens diameter is less than the required thickness or exceeds the required thickness by a value then the finished lens is rejected. If there are larger diameters then these are considered in turn.

The value for exceeding the required thickness is also made in the settings - see 
Pricing - Surfaced Prices - Supra/Rimless Limits - Intelligent Assessment

This process does depend on having the correct figure for the finished stock lenses.  Annapurna will guess this by calculating the thickness of a lens with the largest power over the necessary diameter but this does depend on a guess on the edge thickness of the finished lens.  

It is recommended that this setting is turned on and reviewed against real jobs.

Frame Hotel

A new feature is being added into Annapurna and comments / suggestions are welcomed.

The traditional approach for glazed work has been to put the frame in a tray and store the tray on a shelf while the lenses are sourced. If a frame is being sent in then this needs to get matched to the lenses so an empty tray can be placed on a shelf.

For larger labs, the space for the shelving and the looking and finding can take some time.

The frame hotel is a solution to this. The frame hotel is a set of racking divided into Aisle/Bay/Shelf/Box/Position.

The frame hotel also means that work can scheduled according to rules set in the software rather than picking up the first job in a pile of work trays.

When an order is entered and the job is  a glazed order then a hotel room is allocated and printed on the order.  The logistics department are asked to pick the frame and place the frame into the hotel room. The software will know if the frame requires tracing by a flag in the frame file. The lenses are ordered or surfaced. If a frame is taken from stock and lenses are stock then the hotel room can be skipped and logistics will pick and send for production directly.  A jobs is also assigned a difficulty level which is based on the frame and the lenses.

When the lenses are available from surfacing then the lenses are also placed in the hotel room. If the lenses are from the supplier then the barcode on the lenses is scanned and a put-away list is produced. While waiting for lenses, frames that need tracing can be taken out of the hotel room, traced and restored to the hotel room. A list of frames needing tracing can be produced.

When the lenses and frames are in the hotel room then the job is available for checkout.  The software will produce a list of jobs to pick. The list of jobs to pick is made by following rules e.g. earliest needed with other filters - supra / rimless. These jobs are then sent into glazing.

When the job is sent for assembly the difficulty level can be printed on the job ticket so it is assigned to the correct person.

Assigning barcodes for inventory in Kalahari

Instructions are here:

Assigning a barcode in Kalahari

Semi Finished Inventory

Updated documentation here:
Kalahari and inventory

Frame Inventory Documentation

Updated documentation is here:

Adding Frame Inventory Information

Annapurna Base Camp

On October 3rd, I reached the  Annapurna base camp.

And it was an amazing view of the mountains and well worth the five days walk to get there, even if we did take it the easy way and had a porter to carry our bags.

IOT Freeform Designer

Kalahari has now been updated to include an interface to the IOT Freeform Designer software via the external calculation engine interface.

Frame Inventory

Frame Inventory has been extended to allow import and export of the products by the valuation screen.

It has also been extended for the creation of purchase orders.

CSV file layout

There is updated documentation here:

www.hawkstonedesign.co.uk\documentation\csv file formats-030914.pdf

Kalahari Backup

It is now possible to have the Backup automated by running with run time parameter BACKUP.

It is expected that this will be added into the Santiago activity list so that the backup can be launched overnight or whenever convenient.

Minus cyl

There is a new setting under Job Entry which will mean that cyls will default to minus cyl format.  

Plus cyls will have to be explicitly set.   

This is for those organisations or countries where minus cyl is the norm.

A&R Focovision

A&R Focovision focimeters have been connected to Annapurna / VCADevice. This will allow automated reading of the lenses at QC and recording of the measured powers into Annapurna, can be useful if the customer queries the measurement.  It is also possible to pass over compensated powers if available from the lens manufacturer.

Update 20.09.14 - the measured powers can now be viewed in Annapurna.

Power Range restrictions on packages

The power restrictions in Annapurna on packages can be interpreted in different ways.  In order to fit in with the classic way of powers from -6 to a combined power of +6 to a 4 cyl then a new tick box has been added to the package configuration. 

If this is how you wish the power restrictions to be applied then this is recommended to be ticked.

If it is not ticked then the combined power of sphere and cylinder is not checked.

Preventing Remote Edge lenses from being cut on certain machines

The lab may decide to direct remote edge work to a different cell of machines which have been configured for remote edge work. If this is the case then there is a  need to prevent remote edge jobs from being called to the regular machines.

This is achieved by an update to Annapurna which will set a flag in the OMA glazing file for remote edge orders and an update in VCADevice program in which a machine can be ticked to indicate that it can process remote edge orders.

NonTol Pricing

Annapurna has been update so if an order is recorded for as being returned for NonTol then only the lens part will be recorded as being replaced free of charge.  Glazing and other items are still charged for. 

On the returns screen, there are two options FOC and Manual Pricing.  For NonTol the Manual pricing should be accepted.  The FOC option applies a overall 100% discount on the order.

Specific target times for treatments

The targets contain a fixed time for coating and another fixed time for tinting.  In practice, the time can vary between different products so there is now a calendar icon alongside the coating. Clicking this will bring up a list of all the products in the treatments csv file.  You can enter a target (as a proportion of the working day which is 8 hours so 0.25 is 2 hours and 1.5 is one day and four hours) alongside each treatment. If a target is not entered here then the default target time on the preceding page will be used.

2.69

Quote in reference

There was a database problem when " was included in the reference. This has been circumvented so that Annapurna now correctly displays orders in view jobs where there is a " in the reference.


V 2.69

Changing icon

If you wish to have a different icon then you can create a Annapurna.ico in the Annapurna programs folder with whatever picture you wish.

The icon does have to be in the icon format. There are online convertors to do this.

Job Chasing

There is a new facility in Annapurna to assist with Job Chasing. Operators can identify jobs as watched. This puts the job into a special status and the operator can then get pop-up on the status of their watched jobs.

Configuring.
To configure this, there is a setting  Browser / Chasing(My Jobs).

This needs to be ticked first.

Only certain operators are configured to use my jobs.  In the user settings then this is also a tick box. At the bottom - Launch Chasing.

Adding to Watched list.
When the operator logs in and the operator is configured for chasing then in view jobs there is a new link on the left hand side - Add to Watch list.  Clicking this adds the job to the watched list. A reason for adding needs to be entered and this is recorded in the comments for the job.


Viewing Watched list.

When the operator logs in then after one minute a second copy of Annapurna is launched which will show the watched list. 

The watched list shows the jobs that are assigned to an operator. It is possible to look at other operators jobs by ticking the operator name at the top.

The jobs in the watched list are checked every 5 minutes and if a job has changed status then it is added to a list of updated jobs which pops up. When the updated list is acknowledged then the updated list drops back.

A job can be clicked on and comments can be added.  The job can also be reassigned to another operator.

Maximum Price and Maximum Quantity.

These fields have a maximum value of 999. This is so that orders are not accidentally created for unrealistic values.  However, these limits can be reset by a setting in Settings / Pricing.


It is recommended that the settings are kept for a low value and increased for putting through an exceptional item.

Browser Job Number - can search on multiple jobs

This field now supports wild card so you can put in 123* and all the jobs starting with 123 are shown.

DX Interface

Annapurna now has an interface to DX.  

Instructions on this are here:

 www.hawkstonedesign.co.uk/documentation/annapurna courier.pdf


There will be a further update to follow so as to allow courier shipments for specified customers on certain dates only. 

Version 2.68

External Browser - Microsoft IE Update

Microsoft recently released an update to IE11 which seems to have caused some problems with the inbuilt web browser in our software. 
However, there is an option in the tracer upload program (vcatracer) and order grabber (raptor) to use an external browser, that is the web browser that is the default browser on the PC.  

Instructions on how to set this up are here:
http://www.hawkstonedesign.co.uk/documentation/external browser option.pdf

If the PC is prevented from making internet access by having the web browser disabled then the inbuilt browser has to be used.

Viewing Kalahari Job ticket in Annapurna

If Kalahari is configured on the same system as Annapurna and a Kalahari calculation has been made it is now possible to view / reprint the Kalahari Job ticket for jobs that are live in the system.

There is now a Kalahari icon on the view job screen and clicking this will recreate the Kalahari Job ticket from the surfacing data file passed over to the vcaDevice program.

A copy of the order added for external systems.

If the lab has some other software which would like to pick up a copy of the order for feeding into other systems (eg specific tracking systems, producing bespoke labels) then there is a method of doing this by putting a folder in External / Folder for copy files.

When an order is added or amended then the details in the Annapurna/Solenzara edi order format are written to a file in this folder.

Error in Annapurna writing to Ini files

It has been reported that Annapurna  gives errors about writing to Ini files.  It turns out that this is the Anti-virus blocking out access to Ini files.

The solution is to allow Annapurna access to the Ini files in the Anti-virus.

Annapurna Slow starting

Sometimes the program takes some time(minutes) to start up. If the program starts within a few seconds on other PCs then it indicates a problem on that PC.  Here is a list of things to check.

a) Run the program on its own and check the resources eg there is sufficient memory.
b)  Make sure Anti-virus is not checking the program - the server Anti-virus should have checked the program when it was installed.
c) Make sure the network is set as "work", not as "public". Public networks have higher security checking and has been found to slow up starting the programs.

Compare settings with a PC that starts in a normal time.

Automated Backup

It is now possible to have Annapurna create the backup automatically by running 
Annapurna BACKUP

It is also possible to add this into the Santiago activity scheduler so that Backups can be run regularly.

V2.65

Sunglass Packages with Solid and Gradient Tints

A Sunglass package will include tint free of charge in the package price. You can specify the tints that are free of charge in the package settings. Any tint that is not in this list is charged.

If the package has been extended to include Gradient tints at an additional price then this can be achieved by not setting the gradient tint in the list of allowable tints BUT set a pricelist for treatments in the package.  Next, assign the gradient tint price in the package treatment pricelist as the additional charge. Now the gradient tint will be priced as the addition.

In Summary
Tints in the sunglass packages are priced as follows.
Specified Tints - included in the package price
Priced Tints - these have a special price set in the package treatment price list
Other Tints - prices as normal

Frames on Approval

It is now possible to have Wholesale Frame orders to be sent out on Approval.

In Settings / Despatch there is a setting to indicate this is operated at the lab.

When a wholesale frame order is completed then the operator is asked for the number of days for approval. The default is 0 which means no approval.

The sent date in Annapurna will then be set to today plus the number of days on Approval. (This may affect performance reports) but it means that if the frames are not returned then the jobs will be automatically invoiced on the next run after the approval date has expired.

If the frames are approved then the order will have to be "undespatched" and then the order is cancelled. If only some frames are returned then the order will be amended and resent with only the items actually sold on it.

Assigning Barcode to Finished lenses.

There is now a means to copy the barcodes from Orinoco into Annapurna finished lenses.

You need to have Orinoco installed and the relevant finished lens suppliers activated.

In the finished lens inventory, select a lens.

On the barcode tab, select Import Barcodes from Orinoco.

You will be given a new screen. A list of the Active Orinoco suppliers will be shown on the left hand side. Select the supplier and then enter one barcode from the lens packet. The other barcodes for the lens will be extracted.

Press the Use button and then the barcodes will be copied over.

Repeat as needed.

For the barcodes to become active in Annapurna, the program needs to be restarted.

Nontol - Credit Lenses Only

The recording of Nontol has been updated so that when a credit is given for Nontol, it is only the lenses and coating that is credited and not glazing.

Invoice Number in Order Comments

When a job is invoiced, the invoice number is now recorded for reference in the order comments in the view job details.

Customer - No Pricing Option

There can be circumstances where an order is to be processed for a customer but there is not a need for any financial record for the order. For example for orders between sister companies or for internal use. Currently if pricing is not set up then there are warning messages and orders cannot be completed.

In order to solve this there is a new tickbox in the customer record in the additional options to identify customers where pricing is not required.

Wholesale Ordering for Treatments.

It is now possible to filter the list of treatments that are offered in wholesale ordering. For example, you may be asked to tint or coat a lens only but this will be restricted to the own tints and coatings and not external suppliers specific treatments.  Such non-rx orders are entered through the Wholesale option in Order Entry.

This is done by marking the treatmentss as being in a family. This family is identified as being the family for Wholesale treatments in

Entry Defaults
  Wholesale Treatment Family

Enter the necessary family code here.

Print Credit Notes but not delivery notes

Some labs are geared up to not print a delivery note at the completion point, they will use shipping notes or the order entry document instead. However they may wish to have credit notes printed when the credit is completed. A new setting has been added to allow credits to be printed whilst suppressing the prints of regular delivery notes.

Screen resizing

Annapurna now remembers screen sizes as you resize on the screen. However, on some systems where font sizes are changed, external displays are added, it can become troublesome and can cause screens to become garbled. A new option has been added to the bottom right of the opening menu panel to reset the screen layouts.

Santiago - Scheduling tasks to go.

Santiago.

There has come an increasing need for running programs at scheduled times for example for sales extraction overnight, for uploading tracking to the web site, for downloading EDI orders.

Although Windows has task scheduler, it becomes problematic to maintain this on servers because of all the security restrictions hence a new program Santiago has been written.

When launched, it will by default load in the common tasks and you can add or schedule as required.

The program is available for download from the downloads folder.

At the same time, Annapurnatrk has been deprecated and replaced with three new programs to do its functions. These can all be scheduled to run independently and at different time intervals within Santiago.

VcaTracking – This processes the tracking files created from vcaDevice program.

AnnapurnaEmail – This sends a daily status email to selected customers.

UploadTracking – This uploads the tracking to Solenzara.

Cut Edge & Fit (CEF).

Cut Edge & Fit (CEF).

Annapurna has an order type for CEF. If this is selected then the lens and frame are not charged but the glazing is. The glazing can be set to a different price. This is done in one of two ways by making an entry in the settings editor under prices.

Setting a special CEF pricelist.

If this is set then the price is taken for the glazing from this pricelist. This will apply to all customers. If there is a need to have different CEF prices for different customers then you need to use the prefix option.

CEF Prefix.

You enter a prefix here eg CF-. The prices for the CF-xx where xx is the glazing code are then entered. You can enter different prices under different pricelists.

The software will look first for a CEF Prefix. If that is not present then it will use the CEF Pricelist. If that is not present the standard pricelist is used.

Cancelled Date

When a job is cancelled, the date of cancellation is recorded as the completion date.  This is so that reports for the jobs in and out will tally up.

2.62

Kathmandu Lens Suppliers with multiple price lists

It was originally conceived that the Solenzara web catalogues would only have the standard list price.  However it has become apparent that there are some advantages to having multiple price lists on the web site that the Kathmandu catalogue can download and deliver into Annapurna.

For example, it is good to have a lab price list and an optician price list. 

In the Kathmandu importer, the software will look to see if there are multiple pricelists specified in the web pricing data.  If there are then a screen will pop-up with the Kathmandu pricelists and the Annapurna pricelists. 

The Kathmandu pricelist and the matching Annapurna pricelist are selected and the Process button is pressed. This will then import that pricelist. It is not recommended that multipliers are used as the same multiplier will be used on all pricelists imported in this way.  When the prices have been imported then you are returned to the selection of the Kathmandu and Annapurna pricelist for the next selection of prices to import. If there are no more prices to be matched then press the Close button.

V2.62 

Viewing Order from Completing Orders Screen.

In V2.62, you can now click on the Job number in the top right hand screen to view the full job details and also to make any updates such as recording a comment or changing a status.

Kalahari - Decentred Progressives and Prism

An explanation is here

Printing Lens Labels at Despatch

There is now a new feature to allow lens labels to be printed at despatch.  There is a label for right and a label for left.

This is turned on in Settings / Despatch / Lens Labels.

In the layouts menu there is now an option to design the lens label.  You will be asked Right? to determine which label to edit.  Press on "Check for latest" to download the fields that you can add to the label.


Labels are printed one page per label eg via Dymo printer.

Emailing Invoices

Instructions on this can be found here

Multiple currencies

Here are some notes on how to set up a customer to use a pricelist with a different currency.

http://www.hawkstonedesign.co.uk/documentation/multiple currencies.pdf

EDI Mappings

When processing EDI orders there is a setting to record the mapping made from the customer code to the Annapurna code. This will then be used as the default value for the next time an order is processed.

It can be that a lens is mapped wrongly. In order to remove this, you can view the mappings in the EDI configuration screen and remove or update accordingly.

V2.59

Kalahari - specify prism thin

There is a new icon (prism) on the Kalahari calculation screen which will allow the prism thinning value to be specified. 

This is relevant if you are trying to match prism on an existing lens.

Polish Trivex

The VCA protocol defines a separate material code for Trivex and this material code is used to determine the defaults for polishing.  However, there was not an option in the glazing configuration programs to set the default polishing for Trivex.

This has been corrected and there are new versions of vcaglazer and vcadevice.


Also vcadevice will now mirror the trace when uploading a tracer if the mirror glazing is selected.

Inventory and Credits

When a credit is raised on finished items there is a decision to be made on whether to return the goods into stock.  Some labs prefer to inspect the items and then return into stock manually.  In order to do this then there is a new setting to indicate if inventory is to be updated on credits.

V2.59

Deleting Glazing files when job is completed

There was the option to delete trace files.

This has been extended to delete the glazing files created when communicating with the machines.

You can find this in settings / despatch / delete glazing file


2.57

Processing degressive lenses in Kalahari.

Processing degressive lenses in Kalahari.

In Annapurna, degressive lenses are often set up as Single Vision with a different product for each “addition”. For example Office 1.25, Office 1.75 for lens set as Single Vision with 1.25 “addition” and 1.75 “addition/degression”.

To process these lenses in Kalahari, Kalahari needs to know the addition/degression. Because the order has been entered as Single Vision then Kalahari is not given the correct value. If there is not a value then Kalahari will look at lens description to ascertain the value of the addition/degression. For a description of Studio 1.25 then 1.25 will be taken as the addition and will be used for selecting the correct base. 

EDI Orders waiting - there is a mail icon in order entry and now on the main menu.

A reminder - if there are EDI orders waiting to be processed then there is a email icon showing in the top right hand corner of the customer screen.

Just to make it more obvious, it has also been updated to the main menu.

Selling Semi-finished from Annapurna.

This document describes how to add semi-finished for resale into Annapurna.

Adding Semi-finished into annapurna.pdf

This post is to explain how Postage is calculated.

In Annapurna there are two fields to control the postage charged.

Postage Type and Postage Code.

Postage Type.

This determines how postage is calculated. There are the following types of postage.

No Postage 

Postage per Job - postage is charged for each job and is added to the order at the time of despatch.

Postage on First Job.

When a job is marked as completed a check is made to see if there are other jobs completed for that user on that day. 

If it is the first job on that day then a postage charge is raised.

Postage per Day.

The postage is raised on the invoice. The invoice will collect together the jobs sent on a dy together on the invoice and from this deduce the postage due on that day based on the number of jobs that were sent. On a weekly invoice there will be a charge for each day.

Postage per Box.

When a job is marked as completed, a check is made to count the number of other jobs that have already been completed on that day.  The postage charge is then calculated from the number of completed jobs per day.

Postage at Entry.

This is like postage per job but the charge is applied at order entry.

Postage Code.

This is a code which determines the rate at which the postage is charged. There is a 3 characted code (eg STR). This code is linked to a postage rate screen which determines the charge.

To add a new code then open the Postage Rate screen (press the ... button) and enter the code and click update.

To set the values for a postage code, click on the code. A list of quantities and charges are displayed. How the charge is applied depends on the Postage Type.

Postage per Job and Postage per Entry.

The charge applied is the value linked to the value of 1.

Postage per day.

The charge applied is the value linked to the number of jobs sent on that day eg

1  1.00

2  1.20

3  1.40

4  1.60

and 3 jobs were sent then 1.40 is the charge.

Postage per box.

This is like postage per day in that it is based on the quantity. A typical set up will be

1  1.00

2  0.00

3  0.00

4  0.00

5  2.00

6  0.00

7  0.00

8  0.00

9  3.00

10 0.00

In this example each box can hold 4 jobs so the first job in the box is charged at 1.00 and the subsequent are not charged.

Varying across different customers.

You can create different postage codes with different charges. You can then apply customer to the appropriate charge by entering the postage code and postage type in the customer record.

Kalahari - when optician has requested a base.

When an optician requests a base and Kalahari finds that the base is suitable then it is chosen.  However, the surfacing operator can easily change a base to another.  That is fine if the lab are choosing the base but if there is a special base request on the order then this should not happen. 

An update has been made to Kalahari to implement this behaviour.


Version 1.60

Kalahari - Wax Blocker

If the lab uses Wax for surface blocking then the restriction to prevent blocking ring being greater than the crib diameter can be dropped as the generator can cut into the wax.

There is a setting in Kalahari for this.

Orinoco - Younger and Zeiss

A quick note to let you know that semi-finished from these suppliers can be ordered through Orinoco program. 

In Orinoco program, go into the configure page and select Activate Supplier.  

Choose Younger and Zeiss.

When Orinoco is next started, they will appear in the supplier drop down list for you to select. On the first time, you have to enter your account number and password. If you are unsure of these then let us know.

Serial Com Ports numbered > 16

There was a restriction on serial port number. This mean that devices (tracers, blockers, edgers) that were connected to a port numbered > 16 did not receive communication. This restriction has been lifted in new software released from now.

Connecting Solenzara so that Annapurna customers are uploaded to Solenzara

In the past, it was necessary to create the customer both in Annapurna and as a user in Solenzara.

You can now set Annapurna to upload all users with a email address to Solenzara. If the user has to be created then a default password of Welcome1 is used - you can amend this in Solenzara.

To do this, you need to make the correct settings for talking to the Solenzara web service are set.

Under Settings / Labname / Webservice/Address enter the web service for Solenzara eg

http://www(x).solenzara.co.uk/cgi-bin/lab name/slzws_simple_cgi.exe/soap/IProcessor

Replace www(x) with www, www2, www3 are appropriate
and lab name with the name of the lab as shown on the Solenzara site.

Under Settings / Labname / Webservice/User enter the Admin user name for Solenzara
Under Settings / Labname / Webservice/Password enter the Password user name for Solenzara.

If all is good then when you go into Annapurna customers there will now be a link at the bottom to allow the upload.

Wholesale Layout

Wholesale orders are printed using their own layout file but this was not accessible from the layout menu on the front screen. 

This oversight has now been corrected.

V2.56

Tracking Sections - Having a different Name

Each lab has different conventions for the tracking points even if they do the same thing. 
If you want to change the name of a tracking section then you can achieve this by using the language files.

In the files\lang_files folder there is a file called

Default_Shared.lang

If it does not exist then open Notepad and save the file (please note it must not be saved with .txt extension).

Open the file with Notepad and enter a line

message_existing trackingname=newtracking name

eg

message_Customer_Services=Order Handling

Please note that any spaces in the existing name need to be replaced with _


Save the file and restart Annapurna.

Reprint Last Delivery Note

It can be that the delivery note is messed up or that certain customers want to have a second copy. In order to make life that little bit easier there is a button at the bottom of the individual complete order screen which will reprint the last delivery note.  

You can still get reprints by completing the order again.

Tint Selector

Tint Selector.

In the Data Panel there is a new button Tint Details. If you bring this up then it will show a list of tints. Click on a tint and indicate whether Solid / Graduated, Colour Group and Density. You can also set a Commercial code.

The commercial code is used for pricing so if a supplier has 100 tints at the same price then they can be set to the same commercial code, making that part easier. The data is stored as extra columns in the treat.csv file so once you have added one or two then you may find it easier to continue using your favourite spreadsheet program.

In the lens picker screen, there is a link by the tint combobox. If pressed then the user is asked to select Solid/Graduated, Colour Family and Density and a list of matching tints is shown.

Note that Density is used as we are not specifically specifing Absorption or Light Transmission. It may make easier for all to use if Absorption (ABS) or Light Transmission (LTF) is set in the tint description.

Glazed Promotion Pricing

There is a new feature which is aimed at labs wishing to give special prices for the combination of lenses into certain frame types.  Typically this would be for customers where the lab is offering special deals on supra or rimless glazing for certain products.

More information can be found here:
www.hawkstonedesign.co.uk/documentation/glazed promotion pricing.pdf

Sales Extraction Overnight

If the Sales Extract is being run daily then it is possible to have this run automatically. 

There is a program SalesExtractor which can be run as a standalone program.

This program can be set to run from the task scheduler so automating the process.

It can be downloaded from here:

www.hawkstonedesign.co.uk/downloads/salesextractor.exe

Customers on Annapurna and Solenzara

There has been a disconnect between the Annapurna and Solenzara software. In Annapurna, we have customers and in Solenzara we have users.

When there is a new customer for the lab, it is added into Annapurna and then added again into Solenzara as an user.

In order to make life easier, a new link has been added into the Annapurna customer screen. It is on the bottom panel - Upload to Solenzara.  

This will take all the Annapurna customers where there is an email address (as this is required by Solenzara) and upload to Solenzara as a user.  The default password will be set to Welcome1  although this may be configurable in the near future.

2.52

Adjust Shape Size on the printers.

In order to get accurate sizes of shapes drawn, it is sometimes necessary to apply a scaling factor. The layout definitions are held on the server and this meant that the scaling factor was also held on the server.

It can be that the prints are being sent to a local printer (default printer) and so the server scaling could be inappropriate for the local printer.

In order to overcome this, a new field has been added into the layout manager for a local scaling factor. The applied scaling will be the server scaling multiplied by the local scaling so a local scaling of 1.00 will apply the server scaling as currently.


V2.51

VCA Glazer - Correction to shape for an individual customer

Version 1.20

This program has been updated so that it is possible to specify a correction to the shape for individual customers.

It is anticipated that this is for cases where the optician has a different tracer from the lab. In these cases the stylus on the tracer may not have the same distance into the bevel as the lab tracer. Therefore in order to be compatible with the lab set up then the traced shape is adjusted.

Corrections can be specified for Plastic / Metal frames.  For completeness, correction can also be set for Rimless and Supra frames.

The Corrections can be reached from the configuration page.

Identifying EDI orders

If you have a need to identify orders sent by EDI - eg for checking then there is an update to record this.

On EDI orders, there will be an E in the top left hand corner of the main part of the "view order details".

A new layout field has been set for inclusion on the print out  <SalesSource> so that EDI orders can be identified on prints.

2.52

Making Added comments stand out.

When comments for the order are viewed then there are a variety of types of comments for example  tracking updates, reject messages and user added.

Reject messages are shown in red and there is a request to make the user added comments different from the tracking updates.  This has been by showing these comments in a strawberry colour.

2.51

Increase Prices

A new feature has been added to allow prices for lenses to be increased by a %.

You get to this feature from the prices by design screen - at the bottom there is Increase Prices.

This will bring up the following screen.

You can select the Source (Lens Manufacturer) and the Designs that you want to be altered.

Also you can select the pricelists that you wish to be increased.

The prices will be increased by the set percentage and then rounded to the nearest value as specfied.

As always, it is best to run this on a test / training copy first.

Error on showing Jpegs in Annapurna

This one took a bit of working out.  One customer had errors sometimes reported when Annapurna was displaying a trace image as a jpeg.

The problem was that the Anti-virus software was checking the Jpeg file and stopping Annapurna from creating and reading the file with the consequence that no shape was drawn or an error message appeared on the screen.

The solution was to add the jpeg files in the Annapurna folder into the Anti-virus exclusion list.

Package - Lens Price list

It is now possible to assign the lenses to a different pricelist for packages. 

One reason for this is that if a customer has a special pricelist for a lens and a good price on the frame then the package discount can turn out to be positive number and not a minus number, not the best outcome. 

Annapurna works by calculating the price as normal and then applying a discount to bring the price down to the package price.  Using this, we can avoid the situation above so that the package pricelist is set to the standard pricelist for the lens then this will increase the price before the package discount and thus make the package discount saving appear larger.

CSV files and different delimiters

It can be that when CSV files are passed around over different computers, systems and programs that the delimiter gets changed.  There is a handy little utility on the top right of the Data panel that will put the delimiter back to the correct version for Annapurna.