Application not found

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When I load the Inspection Report I get a message saying that the application was not found.  Why? What should I do?

When you get the error or dialog box asking telling you that the application was not found, it is most likely that either your Windows file associations are not set correctly or the program required to run the program is not installed on the PC.  It is very common for programs to hi-jack file associations during installation.  Our reports do not change the Windows file associations.  Most of our reports use a Microsoft Excel interface.  You will either need to reset the Windows file associations or reinstall the program that is needed.  If you are using a report that requires Microsoft Excel, follow the directions below.  The procedures are the same for reports operating other platforms (for example OpenOffice.org) but you will need to substitute Microsoft Excel to the appropriate program in the steps below.  

You can reset the file associations so that Windows always recognizes an .XLS file by following these steps:
1. Open Windows Explorer
2. Find any file with the extension .XLS and single click on it with your left mouse button.
3. Single click on the file name with the right mouse button.
4. Select "Open with"
5. You will be presented with a list of programs.  Microsoft Excel may be listed as a recommended program. At the bottom of the list there is an option to "Choose program".  Select "Choose program".
6.a. Microsoft Excel should be listed as a recommended program. Select Microsoft Excel.  If Microsoft Excel is not one of the options, select "Choose Program" and locate Microsoft Excel in the list of available programs and select it by single clicking with the left mouse button.
6.b. If Microsoft Excel is not installed on the PC, you will need to install it.
6.c. Click on the box that says "always use the selected program to open this type of file".
7. Click on the "OK" button.

Your Windows file association .XLS files is now properly set.

Also see: File Associations

Carriage Return

Line Feed

How can I put a carriage return (put text on a separate line) within a field? 

You can create a carriage return by holding down the ALT key and pressing the ENTER key while holding down the ALT key.

Category Assignment

How can I assign a Category from the Comments and Descriptors Library to a field in the report?

XL Pro Platinum Edition users, use the Category Assignment Tool (click here.  Users of all other XL Pro Editions can assign categories from the Library by using Data/Validation.

Data Validation
Click on the images for larger views

View the video

Download the Comments and Descriptors Library index. 

Check boxes,
Nothing happens

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When I double click on a Check box, the check mark does not appear.  Why?

You will need to enable macros when you load the report.  If you do not get a prompt to enable macros, your macro security level is set too high.  Set your macro security to medium or low.  Our reports use extensive use of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).  The XL Pro Series reports are written almost entirely in VBA.    When you enable macros, you are allowing VBA to run.

Click on the picture for a larger view

Check boxes,

Strange characters,

Letters instead of checkmarks or X's

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When I click on a check box strange characters appear?  Or, When I click on a check box letters of the alphabet appear instead of check marks or X's.  Why?

Inserting check marks and X's by double clicking the left mouse button or clicking the right mouse button requires the use of the standard Windows font called Marlett.  If the Marlett font is not installed, you will need to reinstall it. Consult your Windows documentation for instructions on installing the Marlett font.

Colored Phrases

Colored Words

How can I have key words or phrases appear in Red, Green, or Blue in a drop-down comment field?

There are three special categories in the Comments Library.  One is for RED, one is for GREEN, and one is for BLUE words and phrases.  These are key words and phrases that also are in the Topic Categories and that you always want to be in one of the three colors whenever the words are entered into any comment field.

For example, you may want the word "Danger" or the phrase "Unsafe to Operate" to always appear in bold red letters.  All you need to do is to put those words and phrases in the Red Words category. 

Column Headers

Modify, Remove

Can I delete or change the column Header icons?  Can I change the Text?

Yes, you can delete or change the column Header icons and you can change the text. 

The icons are individual graphics that you can delete or replace with graphics of your own.  Delete an icon by selecting it with the mouse then pressing the "delete" key on your keyboard.  Refer to the screen shots at the right. 

Insert a new icon using the "Insert Photo" button from the XL Pro Command Bar or from the XL Pro drop-down menu.  All standard photo and graphics formats are handled by all XL Pro editions. 

The appearance of your XL Pro Command Bar may differ from the screen shots.  The screen shots were taken from XL Pro Express.  The Command Bar icons for identical functions are identical for all XL Pro editions but not all editions have text descriptions on the Command bar.

Change the Column Header text or the Column Header Legend simply by typing over the existing text.

Comments and Descriptors Library

How can I edit the comments and Descriptors Library

In XL Pro Platinum Edition, you can edit the Library by selecting the Category Assignment Tool™.  In all other XL Pro Editions, select the "Comments" page tab and edit the comments and field descriptors directly in the Comments and Descriptors Library categories.

The new and edited comments will automatically appear in all fields with drop-down boxes.

The Category Assignment Tool

Click on the image for a larger view.

The Comments page tab

Compile Error in Hidden Module

When I attempt to run XL Pro I get an error message that refers to a "Compile Error".  What is the cause and how can the error be corrected?

Compile errors are caused by either by attempting to run XL Pro in a version of MS Office that is not supported, the installation of MS Office has been corrupted, or the installation of MS Office is incomplete. 

Check to make sure that you have the required versions of MS Windows and MS Office installed on your PC.  If you have the correct version of Office, reinstall Office using your original installation disks.

Cover page

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Where is the report cover page?

The report cover page is the first page of the report in the XL Pro 6 reports and XL Pro 5 reports (build 1.4 and higher).  The cover page is a separate Microsoft Word document for all other reports.  The report cover page is usually located in the "inspection Report" folder on the CD.

Differences among reports

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What are the differences among the reports you sell?

We have an Inspection Report Comparison Chart that outlines the major features of our more popular report systems.  If you have questions that are not answered by the Inspection Report Comparison Chart, please contact us.

E-mailing reports

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How can I e-mail a report?

Before you can e-mail a report You must create a PDF version of the report.  It will be small and cannot easily be altered.  You should not e-mail the Excel file to the client.  It is not a spreadsheet file.  It is a program.  As such, it needs to reside in its installation directory.  Protecting it and e-mailing it may  render it unusable (depending on which report system you are using).  the recipient may be able to open the file but the contents may not be correct.  In most cases they will get a box that pops up and tells them that the program will not run and they will be presented with a list of possible reasons.

You can use the PDF print driver (PDF Creator) that came on your Report CD or you can use another one if you already have one.  The one that is on your CD may not be the current version.  It is a third party open source program.  You can download the latest version of PDF Creator from our Free Stuff section.  If you also have a PDF editor, you can enhance security of the PDF by password protecting it and by adding a digital signature.  Most people do not have a PDF editor and PDF's are not easy to alter so it is generally secure enough to suite most users without enhancing security.

Icons

Symbols

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How do I insert icons and symbols into the report?

Inserting icons and symbols is a feature of XL Pro Platinum Edition, Version 6 builds 19.74 and higher.  If you do not have build 19.75 or higher, you will need to download the latest version of XL Pro Platinum Edition.  Icons and symbols can be inserted by clicking on the "S" on the XL Pro Command Bar.

The Symbols and Icons Library pages can be turned on and off at any time.  The pages have a transparency mode which allows you to have the Library pages visible on the screen at all times while you are working on the report.  Transparency Mode allows you to see the report through the Library Pages.

The Symbols and Icons library has 52 common symbols and icons that can be inserted almost anywhere in XL Pro.    Symbols can be used in stead of check marks or X's in check boxes.  They can also be placed directly on a photo to highlight a defect, a deficiency, or an attribute or they can be used simply to draw the readers attention to an item depicted in the photo.

The use of symbols and icons in the report can make the report much easier for the reader to read and understand. 

Click on the pictures for a larger view in a new browser window

Insert Photos

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When I select Insert Photo from the Command Bar (XL Pro 6) click on a click on a Insert Photo button, nothing happens.  Why? 

You will need to enable macros when you load the report.  If you do not get a prompt to enable macros, your macro security level is set too high.  Set your macro security to medium or low.  Our reports use extensive use of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).  The XL Pro Series reports are written almost entirely in VBA.    When you enable macros, you are allowing VBA to run.

Insert a photo by clicking on the Insert Photo Command Button on the XL Pro Command Bar.  Photos can be inserted almost anywhere in XL Pro Silver, Gold, and Platinum Editions.  They can even be inserted over, or in, text boxes or overlapped onto other photos.  An example of where you might want to insert a photo overlapped onto another photo would be where you want to show a small area of greater detail against the background of the wider area of interest.

Install - Legacy Series, XL Basic, XL Std, XL Pro 4

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How do I install my Legacy Series (5 and under), XL Basic, XL Std, or XL Pro 4 Report software?

Insert your CD.  It should automatically start to run.  A menu will pop up with several choices.  Choose the menu item for the software you are installing.  When the Report opens, enter your registration code and your company name i the appropriate boxes.  Then save the Report file by selecting "File/Save As" and browsing to location on your PC such as "My Documents" or Desktop".  If you do not browse to a location such as "My Documents" or "Desktop", you will not be able to save the file.  If you attempt to save to the current location or you selected "File/Save" instead of "File/Save As", you will get an error saying that the file is "Read-only" and cannot be saved. this is because you are attempting to save to the CD.  You will not be able to save to the CD.

Install - XL Pro 3, XL Pro 5, XL Pro 6

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How do I install my Legacy 6, XL Pro 3 XL Pro 5, or XL Pro 6 Report software?

Installing from a CD:

Insert the CD.  It will load a menu.  Follow the menu prompts to select the program you want to install.  Some CD's have more than one program so be sure to install the one that you purchased.  Follow the prompts.  In most cases you will want to accept the default values.  

Be sure to install the program you purchased.  You will only be able to run the other programs in Demo Mode unless you have a valid activation code.

Installing from a download:

Browse to the installation file.  If you saved it to your desktop, you can run the installation from the desktop.  If you downloaded to a location other than your desktop, use Windows Explorer (File Manager in windows 98).  Double click on the installation file to start the installation.  Follow the prompts.  In most cases you will want to accept the default values. 

Be sure to install the program you purchased.  You will only be able to run the other programs in Demo Mode unless you have a valid activation code.

License

End User License Agreement

EULA

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We have more than one inspector in our company.  Can we all use the same copy of the report software.

The license agreement that came with your software describes what is acceptable and what is not.  Most of our software allows installation on at east two PC's, one stationary and one portable. Additional licenses can be purchased at a discount.

Loads slowly

Takes a long time to start

Freezes on start-up

Locks up when starting

XL Pro takes a long time to start.  Why?  Is there anything that can be done to improve it?

XL Pro requires 256MB of available memory, Windows XP, and Office 2003.  You can see how much memory you have available by going to "All programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information" from the Start menu.  The line "Available Physical Memory" tells you how much memory you have available to applications.  The line "Total physical memory" tell you how much memory you have installed.

If you have more than 512MB of memory installed but XL Pro loads slowly, we recommend running Windows Defender to temporarily disable applications running in the background (there may be more than you think!).  Many new PC's from major manufacturers (such as Dell, HP, Gateway, and Compaq) ship with many applications installed to run in the background without your knowledge.  Windows Defender will help you identify and, optionally, disable those programs.  Windows Defender is available free from the Microsoft web site.  If you need assistance or have questions, call us at 213-291-1717 (California), 407-401-9298 (Florida), 419-290-6244 (Ohio), or 416-628-1390 (Ontario, Canada).

Macro Security

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Question

When I load the Inspection Report I get a message asking whether I want to enable or disable macros.  What should I do?

You will need to enable macros.  Our reports use Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).  The XL Pro Series reports are written almost entirely in VBA.    When you enable macros, you are allowing VBA to run.

Click on the picture for a larger view

Microsoft Office 2002 and earlier

When I attempt to run XL Pro I get an error message that refers to a "Compile Error".  What is the cause and how can the error be corrected?

Compile errors are caused by either by attempting to run XL Pro in a version of MS Office that is not supported, the installation of MS Office has been corrupted, or the installation of MS Office is incomplete.  XL Pro Titanium, Silver, Gold, and Platinum require Office 2003 or newer.

Check to make sure that you have the required versions of MS Windows and MS Office installed on your PC.  If you have the correct version of Office, reinstall Office using your original installation disks.

Microsoft Office 2003

Do I need to have Office 2003 to run XL Pro?

XL Pro Titanium, Silver, Gold, and Platinum require Office 2003 or newer.

Microsoft Office 2007

When I attempt to run XL Pro in Office 2007, even though I have attempted to enable Macros, it will not run.  Why?

There is a bug in Office 2007 that must be fixed in order to be able to run Macros.  Click on this link to install the Bug Fix.

Notes:
MS Internet Explorer - click on the link, select "Run" and confirm
Firefox and Netscape - click on the link, save the file to your Desktop, click on the file on your Desktop

Open Office

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What is Open Office (also known as OpenOffice.org, OOo)?

Answer

Open Office is an office suite similar to Microsoft Office.  It is an alternative to MS Office for someone on a very tight budget.  Some of our Legacy Series reports are available in an Open Office version.  Open Office does not support Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).  Most of our reports are written in VBA so they will not run under Open Office.  If you have Microsoft Office, we do not recommend that you install OpenOffice.

Instructions for Downloading and Installing OpenOffice.org 2.0

Keywords

Open Office
File Associations

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I've installed OpenOffice but it's taken over my files ?

Open Office

File Associations

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Why is it that when I double click on a file it now opens in OpenOffice instead of my old word processor ?

Please see the answer of the previous question.

Password

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When I try to open the report, I get a message asking for a password.  What is the password?

You do not need a password to open any of our reports.  When you get the error or dialog box asking for a password, it is most likely that either you are attempting to open the report with the wrong application or another program has set the Windows file associations to associate .XLS files with an application other than Microsoft Excel.  It is very common for programs to hi-jack file associations during installation.  Our reports do not change the Windows file associations.

You can reset the file associations so that Windows always recognizes an .XLS file by following these steps:
1. Open Windows Explorer
2. Find any file with the extension .XLS and single click on it with your left mouse button.
3. Single click on the file name with the right mouse button.
4. Select "Open with"
5. You will be presented with a list of programs.  Microsoft Excel may be listed as a recommended program. At the bottom of the list there is an option to "Choose program".  Select "Choose program".
6.a. Microsoft Excel should be listed as a recommended program. Select Microsoft Excel.  If Microsoft Excel is not one of the options, select "Choose Program" and locate Microsoft Excel in the list of available programs and select it by single clicking with the left mouse button.
6.b. If Microsoft Excel is not installed on the PC, you will need to install it.
6.c. Click on the box that says "always use the selected program to open this type of file".
7. Click on the "OK" button.

Your Windows file association .XLS files is now properly set.

PDF - Legacy Series, XL Basic, XL Std, XL Pro 5

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How can I create a PDF of the Report?

You can create a PDF of the Report by installing a PDF print driver and printing to the PDF print driver rather than to your physical printer.  Our Report CD's all include third party open source and shareware PDF print drivers.  The most popular is the open source PDF Creator.  We provide the PDF print drivers as a convenience to our customers but we do not provide technical support for the PDF creation software. 

In order to combine all the pages into a single PDF file, you will need to select all the pages to be included in the report.  Hold down the Control key and use your left mouse button to select the page tabs for the pages you want to include in your report.  Go to the Menu at the top of your screen and select "File/Print".  Select the PDF print driver as the printer to which to print the file.  Your PDF print driver may present you with several options.  Follow the instructions for the PDF print driver. 

See also PDFCreator and e-mailing reports.

PDF - XL Pro 6 and 7

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How can I create a PDF of the Report?

Use the "Select Pages To Print" command from the command bar and proceed as you would to print to a physical printer.  Select the PDF print driver as the printer to which to print the file.  Your PDF print driver may present you with several options.  Follow the instructions for the PDF print driver. 

See also PDFCreator and e-mailing reports.

PDFCreator

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Where can I get a PDF print driver?

PDFCreator is a popular open source PDF print driver available free from BestInspectors.Net. 

PDFCreator is provided as for the convenience of our customers.  PDF Creator is third party software.  We do not provide technical support for PDFCreator.

Download PDFCreator from our Free Stuff section

See also e-mailing reports.

PDF software creates multiple files

PDF software stops before the report is complete

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When I try to create a PDF of a complete report, it creates multiple PDFs instead of one PDF or the PDF software stops before the report is complete.

Why?  What can I do to create a single PDF?

What usually causes what you are experiencing is the print resolution being different from one page to another. 

Example:
You have a report that is 20 ages. 
The print resolution is set to 300 dpi for the first 10 pages
The print resolution is 600 dpi on the 11 page
The print resolution is set to 300 dpi for the remaining nine pages

Most PDF software will create:
One PDF of  pages 1-10 pages
One PDF of the 11th page
One PDF of pages 12-20

The solution is to make sure that the print resolution is the same for all pages.

Pocket PC

Palm Pilot

Hand Held

UMPC

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Do your reports work on Pocket PC's, Palm Pilots, or other hand held devices?

XL Pro 6 and XL Pro 7 support UMPC's (Ultra Mobile Personal Computers) but we do not support Pocket PC's. 

We stopped supporting Pocket PC's and other hand held devices several years ago.  Surveys indicate that most inspectors who use a hand held or Pocket PC later switch to a larger format after a very short time (usually within six months) because the display screens and are too small to be practical and data entry is very time consuming.  We sell quite a lot of software to inspectors who have made big investments in one of the Pocket PC based report systems because they ultimately become frustrated with the small size.  The focus of their efforts ends up being with trying to complete the report rather than focusing on the inspection itself and on the client.

UMPC's are a perfect alternative to Pocket PC's for completing inspection reports in the field.  UMPC's have a much larger screen (typically 7") than Pocket PC's yet are small enough to hold in your hand.  They also run the full versions of Windows (XP, XP Tablet, Vista, Vista Tablet, etc.) unlike Pocket PC's which run scaled down versions of Windows such as Windows CE or Windows Mobile.  XL Pro 7 Silver, Gold, and Platinum Editions have been optimized for use with UMPC's.

Keywords

Print  Legacy Series, XL Basic, XL Std, XL Pro 5

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Answer

In order to combine all the pages into a single printed report, you will need to select all the pages to be included in the report.  Hold down the Control key and use your left mouse button to select the page tabs for the pages you want to include in your report.  Go to the Menu at the top of your screen and select "File/Print".  Select your printer or PDF print driver as the printer to which to print the file. 

See also PDFCreator and e-mailing reports.

Print - XL Pro 6

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How do I print reports using XL Pro version 6?

The answer to this question depends on which report you are using.  XL Pro Bronze and Titanium have print buttons located at the bottom of the "General" page.  XL Pro Silver, Gold, and Platinum have a "Select Pages To Print" button on the XL Pro Command Bar.  Click on the appropriate button and follow the prompts.

Protected cell

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When I try to enter information in a field, I get a message that says the field is protected.  Why?

The answer to this question depends on which report you are using and which field you are trying to change.  If you are attempting to alter a field  that you were previously able to alter, it is likely that your Report file is corrupted and will need to be reinstalled.  If you have never been able to modify the contents of the field, it is probably a field that is not intended to be modified in your Report program.  The contents of almost every field in the Legacy 5 and 6 Reports, and all the XL Pro Series Reports can be altered.  The only fields that cannot be altered on Report pages in any of our reports are the "Company Name" field.  The company name must be entered on the registration page.

Protected file

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When I try to open my report I am getting a message that says the report is password protected or it is a protected file.  What is the password?

You do not need a password to open any of our reports.  When you get the error or dialog box asking for a password, it is most likely that either you are attempting to open the report with the wrong application or another program has set the Windows file associations to associate .XLS files with an application other than Microsoft Excel.  It is very common for programs to hi-jack file associations during installation.  Our reports do not change the Windows file associations.

You can reset the file associations so that Windows always recognizes an .XLS file by following these steps:
1. Open Windows Explorer
2. Find any file with the extension .XLS and single click on it with your left mouse button.
3. Single click on the file name with the right mouse button.
4. Select "Open with"
5. You will be presented with a list of programs.  Microsoft Excel may be listed as a recommended program. At the bottom of the list there is an option to "Choose program".  Select "Choose program".
6.a. Microsoft Excel should be listed as a recommended program. Select Microsoft Excel.  If Microsoft Excel is not one of the options, select "Choose Program" and locate Microsoft Excel in the list of available programs and select it by single clicking with the left mouse button.
6.b. If Microsoft Excel is not installed on the PC, you will need to install it.
6.c. Click on the box that says "always use the selected program to open this type of file".
7. Click on the "OK" button.

Your Windows file association .XLS files is now properly set. 

Keywords

Read-only

Read-only error

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When I try to install (or save) my report, I get a "Read-only" error.  Why and what should I do?

Insert your CD.  It should automatically start to run.  A menu will pop up with several choices.  Choose the menu item for the software you are installing.  When the Report opens, enter your registration code and your company name in the appropriate boxes.  Then save the Report file by selecting "File/Save As" and browsing to location on your PC such as "My Documents" or Desktop".  If you do not browse to a location such as "My Documents" or "Desktop", you will not be able to save the file.  If you attempt to save to the current location or you selected "File/Save" instead of "File/Save As", you will get an error saying that the file is "Read-only" and cannot be saved. This is because you are attempting to save to the CD.  You will not be able to save to the CD.

Keywords

Registration

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Is it necessary for me to register online in order to use the software?

No, it is not necessary to register online in order to use the software.  However, you must register your software in order to qualify for free technical support and updates.  We will not sell your personal information.  We use your information to notify you of updates, verify eligibility for updates and technical support, send news related to BestInspectors.Net and to notify you of special offers.

Your registration information must be correct in order to qualify for free technical support and updates.  Please read the registration form carefully when completing it.  Registrations with incomplete or incorrect information may be automatically removed from the database.

Keywords

Registration
25 Character Code

25 Character Activation Key

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When I try to install (or use) my report software, or other BestInspectors.Net software, I get a message asking for a 25 character activation key" or "product key".  What is it?

This request is NOT being generated by your BestInspectors.Net software.  None of our inspection reports or other software require a 25 character code,  25 character "activation key", or "product key".  The most likely reason you are getting the message is that either Microsoft Windows is not properly installed or Microsoft Office is not properly installed.  It may be that a trial version of Office was preinstalled on your PC and the trial time has expired or you have a new PC and Microsoft Windows has not yet been activated.

Sales Record

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What is my "Sales Record" and where can I find it?

Your Sales Record is a number that is assigned to your purchase.  The sales record number is on your packing slip.  It is usually somewhere on the right side side of the page and is either a four digit number, a five digit number followed by a decimal point and an additional two or three three digits, or and eight digit number.  You will need your record number to get special upgrade pricing when purchasing an upgrade and you may need your sales record number when requesting technical support.

Keywords

Save, Save-As

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When I try to install (or save) my report, I get a "Read-only" error.  Why and what should I do? And, what is the difference between "Save and "Save As"?

"Save" saves the current file to the default location.  If you are installing the report from a CD, the default location is the CD.  You cannot write to the CD so you will need to use "Save As".  "Save As" allows you to browse to a location on your PC's fixed disk (hard drive) and (optionally) change the name of the file.

Insert your CD.  It should automatically start to run.  A menu will pop up with several choices.  Choose the menu item for the software you are installing.  When the Report opens, enter your registration code and your company name i the appropriate boxes.  Then save the Report file by selecting "File/Save As" and browsing to location on your PC such as "My Documents" or Desktop".  If you do not browse to a location such as "My Documents" or "Desktop", you will not be able to save the file.  If you attempt to save to the current location or you selected "File/Save" instead of "File/Save As", you will get an error saying that the file is "Read-only" and cannot be saved. this is because you are attempting to save to the CD.  You will not be able to save to the CD.

Symbols

Icons

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How do I insert icons and symbols into the report?

Inserting icons and symbols is a feature of XL Pro Platinum Edition, Version 6 builds 19.74 and higher.  If you do not have build 19.75 or higher, you will need to download the latest version of XL Pro Platinum Edition.  Icons and symbols can be inserted by clicking on the "S" on the XL Pro Command Bar.

The Symbols and Icons Library pages can be turned on and off at any time.  The pages have a transparency mode which allows you to have the Library pages visible on the screen at all times while you are working on the report.  Transparency Mode allows you to see the report through the Library Pages.

The Symbols and Icons library has 52 common symbols and icons that can be inserted almost anywhere in XL Pro.    Symbols can be used in stead of check marks or X's in check boxes.  They can also be placed directly on a photo to highlight a defect, a deficiency, or an attribute or they can be used simply to draw the readers attention to an item depicted in the photo.

The use of symbols and icons in the report can make the report much easier for the reader to read and understand. 

Click on the pictures for a larger view in a new browser window

Technical support

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Does my purchase include e-mail support and telephone support?

Yes, we provide e-mail support and telephone support for at least six months for all our inspection report systems.  Some of our report systems include technical support for longer than six months.

Unfortunately, we are NOT able to support third party software such as Microsoft windows, Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or PDF creators.  You should contact the publishers of these programs directly.

Our technical support phone numbers are 407-401-9298 in the United States and 416-628-1390 in Canada.

Texas, TREC

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Are your reports TREC Compliant?

All the XL Pro Series reports are 100% TREC compliant.  XL Pro 5 and XL Pro Titanium edition have both the standard TREC and an expanded version of the TREC.  The Expanded TREC Pages conform to the TREC requirements but are expanded to 15 pages and have ample room for photos in with the text.  

Text boxes - merge

I want to put several sentences together in a larger text box than is available on a page.  Can fields be merged to make them larger?

Yes.  Go to the first text field that you want to merge with others.  Hold down the "Shift" key and use the "Arrow" keys to highlight the fields that you want to merge.  Right click on the highlighted fields and select "format cells".  Select the "Alignment" tab.  Uncheck the "Shrink to fit" box if it is checked.  Place a check mark in the "wrap text" box and place a check mark in the "merge cells" box.  If you need additional room, refer to "Text boxes - merge" in this FAQ.
 

Click on the picture for a larger view

Text - shrink to fit

Text wrap

I want to put longer comments in some of the comments fields but the text does not fit.  Can this be done?

Yes.  Go to the text field that you want to reformat.  Right click on the field and select "format cells".  Select the "Alignment" tab.  Uncheck the "Shrink to fit" box if it is checked.  Place a check mark in the box labeled wrap text.  If you need additional room, refer to "Text boxes - merge" in this FAQ.

Click on the picture for a larger view

Keywords

Updates -  XL Basic, XL Std

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I am using XL Basic or XL Std.  Are updates available?

All users of XL Basic or XL Std can get the latest versions from the members area.  XL Basic and XL Std have been discontinued.  Users can get upgrades to XL Pro Series reports for a nominal fee.  Contact us for additional information.

Keywords

Updates - Legacy Series, XL Pro 3, XL Pro 4, XL Pro 5

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If the reporting system I'm using is updated, can I get a free update?

Yes, we provide free updates for at least six months for all our inspection report systems.  Some of our report systems include free updates for longer than six months.  Updates are usually available by download.  You can also have a CD mailed to you for a nominal fee.

Updates - XL Pro 6

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I am using XL Pro 6.  Are updates available?

You can check to see if you have the latest version of XL Pro 6 by opening the "About" box from the XL Pro Command Bar and clicking on the "Check for Version and Build Updates" button in the lower left corner.  You must be online to check to see if you have the latest version.  If you do not have the latest version, you will be given an opportunity to download the latest version.

Upgrade

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I want to upgrade to one of your other inspection report systems.  Do you have an upgrade policy that give me a discount or do I have to pay full price.

We have very generous upgrade policies.  We will always give you some credit for the software that you already have.   The credit will be taken off the price of the upgrade.  You will typically be credited 50%-100% depending on how long it has been since your initial purchase and which software you are upgrading from and which you are upgrading to. 

User Templates

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What are User Templates and what can I do with them?

User Templates are undefined pages that you can use to create entirely new report pages.  Depending on which report system you are using, you may be able to make copies of the User Templates to create additional pages with the same layout.   

XL Pro Video Tutorials

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Question

Do you have video tutorials for XL Pro?

Answer

Yes, click here to go to the video tutorials.

Viewing video Tutorials

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How can I view the video tutorials?

The videos are in Windows WMV format which can be viewed live as a streaming video or can be saved to your PC for later viewing.  Click on a link to below to view a video live.  You will need Windows Media Player version 9.0 or later to view streaming videos.

You should choose videos from the column that most closely matches your internet connection speed.   If you use a dial-up internet connection, or the video is choppy, you will need to download the files and view them locally on your PC after they have completed downloading.  Right click on a video link and select "save target as" (MSIE) or "save link target as" (Netscape).

XL Pro Command Bar

What is the XL  Pro Command Bar?

The XL Pro Command Bar is the main control panel for XL Pro's Power custom functions.  The XL Pro Command Bar is visible near the top of your screen, above the report pages, at all times.

Click on the picture for a larger view of the complete XL Pro Command Bar

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