Frequently Asked Questions

This suggests that there is no access to the path set in the BDE (Borland Database Engine) administrator. On a network this is usually "masterdata" where "master" is the name of your server. Check: (1) that the LAN connection has not been disabled, (2) the paths you have set by running BDEAdmin.

Run the program "Makeindex.exe" from your utils folder, located in the forest\stock\utils folder. Messages such as "Index out of date" or "cannot find record" also indicate an index error — run makeindex.exe as above.

AGM will run normally on all current Windows operating systems once you have configured the security settings that Microsoft have introduced. These include settings in your network, the control panel and the registry which are not for the faint-hearted. We have spent many hours developing our own installation routines which accomplish this automatically in a very short time. Installations where all network computers can already "see" each other (both ways) are straightforward.

If you prefer to go it alone: (1) Disable the UAC. (2) Enable the registry to accept entries or add the required BDE registry entries manually. (3) Set alternative regional settings and then reset back to UK. (4) Set AGM and its utilities to "run as administrator". (5) Configure the BDE for your system. (6) Set up data sharing and network paths. Note: Mixed operating systems on the same network are NOT recommended. More details on installing AGM are available at www.agmdata.com/howto/installagm.pdf.

YES! Forest / AGM is reliable. However, it is only as reliable as the underlying operating system and infrastructure. For example, if you are running on a network and that network fails then Forest/AGM will fail too. After many years of operating we know that symptoms caused by network connectivity loss are not within Forest/AGM itself.

These appear because the Open Invoice screen is trying to refresh itself every 4 seconds. If network connection has been lost it cannot do so and every 4 seconds it will give a message which cascades diagonally down the screen. Hold the [ENTER] key to progressively close these windows. When the last one closes, you have less than 4 seconds to close Forest/AGM. Then open Windows Explorer and double-click on "Network". If you can see the master computer then your network has recovered.

Close Forest/AGM on all computers and run the utility MakeIndex.exe to reset the timestamp of the .MB to that of the .DB file — i.e. synchronise them.

If your server hard drive has failed, you can switch to operating from a temporary server. Contact Plan-IT support on 01473 723046 or log a ticket at planit.halopsa.com/portal for assistance.

VAT is calculated according to the rules laid down by HM Customs and Excise in Notice 700 Para 6.10. Invoices which can bear multiple VAT rates should be calculated line by line to 4 decimal places. Each line is then totalled and rounded to 2 decimal places. If you simply multiply the goods total by the VAT rate this can give a slightly different result due to rounding — Forest follows the correct HMRC method.

Vista and XP themes can cause the display of both the Customer and Supplier lists to appear all in black. You can select the Windows Classic theme which resolves this issue, or contact support for alternative display configuration options.

Estimates will only print Retail or Trade prices. You have selected a customer with Base (Cost) terms — change the customer's pricing terms to Retail or Trade to see prices on the estimate.

You may view an archived invoice and then print an image of what appears on screen using a screen dump (ALT + Print Screen). Alternatively, you may send a copy of your data to Plan-IT and we will print any invoices required and return hard copy.

If you are using a letterhead logo and that logo cannot be found, the rest of the print will fail resulting in blank output. Go into Company Settings and make sure you have selected a valid image file, which should be stored in the stock folder.

In the same way that you would sell a positive amount, you "sell" a negative amount. In the quantity box, enter a minus sign before the number (e.g. -1). This will create a credit on the invoice.

A network setup has one master computer on which the only copy of the data exists, and one or more workstations which access this data across the network. We recommend that the server is named "master" and workstations are named according to their location or operator. The master computer should have a shortcut targeting the program directly, usually "C:\forest\stock\forest.exe". Workstations should have a shortcut targeting "\\master\stock\forest.bat". This batch file sets the workstation time to match the master (vital for chronological invoicing) and copies any updated files from the server before running them locally.

Find BDEAdmin.exe and run it. There are two settings that must be EXACTLY the same on every computer: (1) The PATH for the database "forest4db" — set to "masterdata". (2) The NETDIR for Paradox — set to "masternetwork". Providing your master computer has shared these folders with full access rights to all users, the BDE should give proper management and access to your single copy of data.