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New Features! |
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New System Platform |
Facil 5.0 is based on the Microsoft Access 2003 platform,
replacing the Access 97 platform used in older versions. The new
platform improves performance and reliability. |
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New Internal Email System |
A new email engine uses
multi-threading to send up to 50 separate emails simultaneously. Large
email batches are sent as fast as your email server will allow. Speeds
can exceed 1000 emails sent per minute.
Problems with bad email
addresses causing an email batch to fail are eliminated. Every
recipient is sent a separate email – no Carbon Copy or Blind Carbon
Copy. Every email is sent regardless of issues with the address. If an
address is bad for any reason, your email server will reply with the
normal “delivery failure” email specifying the problem.
If there is an error while
sending, such as a lost connection to the server, the system will
continue to send emails when the error has cleared. At the end of
the process, if any emails were not sent, Facil will save the addresses
of the unsent email in a new named mailing list so that you can resend
them later.
All email related settings are
now in a single “Email Settings” form in the Admin menu. The new system
supports SSL Encrypted (secure) email transmission (required by some
servers) and also allows choosing a custom Server Port number (also
required by some servers). Your old email settings are transferred as
part of the data conversion and your email should continue to work as
before without any changes.
A new “Mass Email Test”
feature on the Admin Menu lets you test your settings and your email
server with a trial run of up to 1500 emails. These test emails
are sent to an address you choose so you
can monitor their arrival. |
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New Authorized Crew List |
Each Project now has a Crew list to track
those Persons who are working on the Project. Each Crew member can be
authorized (or not) to make reservations on the Project. You can choose
how to use the authorization – let anyone make reservations for a
Project, only let authorized Crew (and the Producer) make reservations,
or ask you if it’s OK when anyone who is not authorized makes a
reservation. |
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New Class Registration Viewer |
View your
entire history (and future) of class registrations and certifications in
one place. Selection criteria include Cert Code, Date Range, Person,
Certified/Not Certified, Certified Date, and Cancelled Date. An instant
mailing list can be created from the results. Contact everyone who took
a chosen class during a selected time period, everyone who registered
but wasn’t certified, everyone signed up for any class or for one kind
of class during a future period, etc. |
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New Program Scheduling “Favorites” List
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Create a list of your most
used Programs for quick selection when building your Schedule. Keep
those current PSAs and promos handy and choose them with just a click.
Each user has their own Favorites list and the list itself is easily
revised while using the Program Schedule form. |
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New Physical Inventory form |
Easily update your inventory
records room by room with this new form. The form lists all inventory
items in one location at a time. Just enter the Tag Numbers and the
item’s Status and Status Date are automatically updated. Use your bar
code reader and equipment tags to quickly take your physical inventory! |
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Enhancements! |
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New Appointment Book Display Options |
Choose to display either
Person Name or Project Title for Package Reservations in the Appointment
Book.; switch back and forth with one click while viewing the
Appointment Book. A new option for a 5 minute interval gives even more
precision for users who end reservations just before the even hour. |
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Digital Program File Name & Location Automated
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If you have Programs stored as
digital files, new features make it easy to enter the file location,
name, and file type in the Signal Source Details of the Program record.
You can set a default location (server, disk drive, folder name, etc.)
and a default type (.mpg, .avi, etc.). Once defaults are set, Facil can
fill in the entire file path with one click. |
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Bar Coded Equipment Labels |
All formats of Equipment
Labels printed by Facil now include a bar code of the item’s Tag Number
for scanning in checkout |
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Organization Website |
The address of an
Organization’s website is now part of the Organization record. Click
one button in Facil to open the website in your browser. |
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Program Viewer Performance Optimized |
Some Facil users with
extremely large data sets (78,000+ Programs) experienced slowdowns in
opening the Program Viewer with multiple users. Facil 5.0 improves
Program Viewer load speed by up to 10 times. The Program Viewer window
is now resizable. |
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Person Notices Now Include Past Expiration Date
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When you do any transaction
with a Person, you’ll be notified if their Expiration Date has passed. |
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Class Registration Reminder Email Default
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Set your default choice for
sending an email reminder when you register someone for a class. |
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Preview Zoom Button |
Zoom the preview of any report
or Help Topic to a convenient size for easier reading. |
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Data File Maintenance Reminder |
Reminds you to perform the
important Data File Maintenance process on a regular basis according to
the workload on your system. |
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Automatic Client File Maintenance |
This maintenance process,
which was done manually on each workstation to prevent degraded
performance, is now done automatically each time Facil is closed,
insuring continuous optimal program performance. |
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360 Systems Playback Schedule Export |
An Export Report is available
to create a “.lst” file for playback through a 360 Systems server. |
