Ok, maybe it’s not fair to compare Bo Derek with TimeControl but today’s topic is Internet Explorer version 10. As Windows 8 is making its way onto more and more PCs, IE10 has become more and more prolific amongst our users. In the last couple of weeks Microsoft has made IE10 available to a wide range of Windows 7 users as well and we have had numerous questions about TimeControl’s support of IE10.
If you are a TimeControl 6 basic timesheet user then you will likely find that TimeControl is supported without having to do anything new. Some of our tests have shown that under some conditions, you must turn on compatibility mode in which case you can add your TimeControl URL to your list of compatibilty sites to ensure that compatibility mode activates automatically for your site.
If you are a TimeControl Administrator, or someone who must use one of the few remaining ActiveX controls in TimeControl (such as for System Preferences) then you will have to ensure that IE10 is running in 32bit mode. Unlike IE9, Microsoft no longer ships two different Internet Explorer versions (32bit and 64bit). Both are contained in the same system. To turn on 32bit mode however isn’t obvious. If you are in a situation where you must run a TimeControl ActiveX, then you can turn it on in the Advanced Tab of your Internet Options. Scroll down to to “Enable Enhanced Protected Mode”, click it on and then click OK. Close all browser windows and restart and hey-presto! You’re in 32bit mode.
For most users this will not be required as it only applies to the handfull of users who must use one of those last few ActiveX Controls. If you have any challenges with IE10, please let TimeControl Support know at support@hms.ca.
TimeControl entries are typically in hours and minutes but TimeControl can be configured to work in percentages. These slides will walk you through how.
HMS has just released an all new Solutions Portal for those who are using Excel timesheets and know it’s time to graduate to a full timesheet system like TimeControl. Thousands of organizations every year create their first timesheet in Excel. And, why not? It’s easy to do, there are numerous free Excel templates available for download and The new solutions area contains a number of resources that will be of interest to those currently using Excel for timesheets and are considering a move to a timesheet application. Among the collateral on the portal is included:
- Moving from Excel timesheets to TimeControl Webcast
This webcast shows the benefits of moving from an Excel timesheet system to TimeControl and how easy and familiar TimeControl will be to those who have used Excel for timesheets in the past. The webcast shows TimeControl in action and discusses how TimeControl can import and export data directly with Excel.
- Excel to TimeControl PowerPoint presentation
This slide presentation shows various free Excel templates and some of the benefits of moving from an Excel-based timesheet to TimeControl.
- Excel to TimeControl factsheet
This all-new 4-page factsheet describes the ease of moving from Excel timesheets to TimeControl timesheets and highlights some of the functionality that may be missing from an in-house Excel-based timesheet system that can be found in TimeControl.
The Solutions area is free of charge and can be found at www.timecontrol.com/solutions/excel/.
We’ve made some changes to the free TimeControl timesheet Trial site that we think will make trying our timesheet system that much easier. First of all, the dashboard on the main page has been updated to show some readily accessible online learning resources such as the TimeControl Online Learning Center. We’ve updated some of the data and the flow of the system once new users log in to make it more intuitive.
The biggest news though is the new Evaluation Guide that guides a user through basic functionality of the hosted trial from the registration right through adding a timesheet, adding a vacation request using TimeRequest and doing some reports click-by-click. Now anyone who wants to see just how easy TimeControl is to use can be guided through those steps screen by screen. The Evaluation Guide was based on the hosted trial site itself and describes what the user should see at every step and where to click or type next in order to put TimeControl through its paces.
The TimeControl trial site has its data refreshed nightly but users who register for the system will have access to it for 2 weeks. There are no restrictions on functionality though users are cautioned not to upload any information that is confidential or sensitive as the data is open-access. There is no cost to users to access the Free TimeControl timesheet trial.
To see the new Free Hosted TimeControl Trial Evaluation Guide, click here.
To access the updated Free Hosted TimeControl Trial, click here.
To visit the TimeControl Buyer’s Guide where there are numerous resources for evaluating timesheets, click here.
EXFO has been a TimeControl client since 1999 and recently they were gracious enough to allow us to interview them and do a case study on their use of TimeControl. EXFO wasn’t a publicly traded company when we first sold them TimeControl but they sure are now. The company has expanded enormously since our first visit there years ago. The case study is on our website and available in both French and English. Our thanks to Andre Richard who took time out of his busy schedule to do the interviews for us and to review the final copy. We invite you to read how EXFO has been able to enjoy some of TimeControl’s key benefits and see how the timesheet links to multiple systems for multiple purposes within the EXFO environment.
To see the EXFO case study in English, click here.
To see the EXFO case study in French, click here.
We’ve encountered an unusual condition when clients are installing TimeControl 6 on a 64 bit server with the very latest Oracle 11g. Most 64 bit installations go forward without incident but, if you are installing your TimeControl on a 64 bit server and you are using Oracle 11g or later
Because TimeControl’s architecture now includes elements that are both in 64 bit and 32 bit. When TimeControl is installed on a 64 bit server and the Oracle 11g or higher driver is installed, you will need to do some specific configuration in order to have the TimeControl Transaction Server (TTS) (in .Net) connect through the 64bit Oracle supplied driver and the TimeControl Administration Transaction Server (ATS) connect through the 32bith Oracle supplied driver.
Do this you will need to create multiple Oracle homes by installing Oracle 32bit and Oracle 64 bit client. For more information on installing and configuring multiple homes please refer to Oracle documentation.
First, install both the:
* Oracle 32 bit Client Software (minimum Runtime installation) and the; * Oracle 64 bit Client Software (minimum Runtime installation)
Next, create an environment variable called TNS_ADMIN to point to the location of your tnsnames.ora file. For more information on creating environment variables, refer to your Oracle documentation.
Now update your tnsnames.ora file to have the connection information for your Oracle data.
Now you’re ready to install TimeControl or run the TimeControl database configuration tool.
The official blogsite of TimeControl
If you are a TimeControl Administrator, or someone who must use one of the few remaining ActiveX controls in TimeControl (such as for System Preferences) then you will have to ensure that IE10 is running in 32bit mode. Unlike IE9, Microsoft no longer ships two different Internet Explorer versions (32bit and 64bit). Both are contained in the same system. To turn on 32bit mode however isn’t obvious. If you are in a situation where you must run a TimeControl ActiveX, then you can turn it on in the Advanced Tab of your Internet Options. Scroll down to to “Enable Enhanced Protected Mode”, click it on and then click OK. Close all browser windows and restart and hey-presto! You’re in 32bit mode.
