January 30, 2006 - AccessAble Help Desk Client Server Edition is now available.

January 28, 2006 - New Style web pages available on site.  Read below.

One of the web pages in the setup posted prior to 2/2/2006 had an anomaly (bug) - The word Normal had single quotes when they should have been double quotes.  If you downloaded prior to Feb. 2, 2006 you can manually edit the my request.asp page.  NOTE:  If you downloaded the trial version from download.com - I just checked it today, 2/15/2006 - that also includes the problem page.  The word Normal had single quotes when they should have been double quotes.  If you downloaded prior to Feb. 2, 2006 you can manually edit the my request.asp page.  Mea Culpa!  Sorry.

January 9, 2006 - Version 2.59 of the AccessAble Help Desk Client Server Edition is progressing pretty well and I hope to soon make this latest version available to registered users.  The web page interface has changed quite a bit and now includes email sending options (initially remarked out) using CDO instead of CDONTS or ASPEMAIL.  The new Dynamic Styles are also looking pretty good, especially compared to the older themes.  I have included a handful of web reports which some may fine useful. The biggest change in the soon to be release version 2.59 of the windows application is improved importing.  See the screen shots below.

No longer limited to .csv files, just about any data source and your system is available for importing, as is, no need to specify a "picture" format for date and time fields either.  Just drag and drop.  I think the new importing feature will be very useful for those wanting to use Microsoft's new Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express edition which does not include an importing tool as useful as the Enterprise Manager available in the other editions.

10/10/2005 - Version 2.57 of the AccessAble Help Desk Client Server is now available.  The changes are just to the windows application, and it doesn't include some of the features of the Pro Edition.  However, I have made a number of improvements which I hope will make the program and even better value.  I may next be updating the web pages to the look and feel used in the AccessAble Help Desk Pro Edition 2.57 format, which are provided to registered users of AAHD Pro Edition.

5/26/2005 - Only a few days left on the May Special, and new version almost complete. I am very near to completing new incremental updates to both the AccessAble Help Desk Pro Edition and the AccessAble Help Desk Client Server Edition. These new versions (2.57) will be initially available to registered users. A full reinstall will NOT be required, instead a .zip file containing new .exe and .dll files will only need to be unzipped to your current installed directory. Most notable in the next release is the addition of a window for users of Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express..  This will enable you to read the contents of your inbox and by clicking one button create a new problem or request record based on the contents of the email you are reading.  You will also be able to send email from within the program, with the same feature.

I will begin notifying registered users of the availability of the new version soon, and this version may not be publicly available for download.

5/4/2005 - May Special on AccessAble Help Desk Pro Edition/Client Server and price  reduced on C/S Edition.  I am once again offering a "Two-Fer" special.  Buy a site license for either the AccessAble Help Desk Pro Edition or the Client Server Edition and receive a free license for the other.  I have also reduced the site license price for the Client Server Edition to $499.  The special includes a complimentary CD for each.  This offer good through the month of May 2005. I will also be including a free license for the Standard Edition for the next few purchases of the AccessAble Help Desk Pro Edition, making it a "Three -Fer- the price of one!

1/28/2005 - Version 2.55 Available for Download. I have replaced the file from the older version with a new version tonight.  I will be providing both the latest version (2.55) and the prior release on CD to users who purchase a license in the next couple of months. After that I will only be sending out version 2.55 on CD. Note:  Registered users of earlier versions will need a new registration key for this release.  You can have both versions installed on the same computer with no conflicts.  

1/21/2005 - Version 2.55 is near enough to completion that you can now view the help file online in your browser.  Some changes may be added before final release.

1/20/2005 - Earlier versions of AccessAble Help Desk Client Server included a variety of reports created with Crystal Reports and the CR Runtime files were included. This has required a much larger download than if I did not include the CR Runtime files. I have had many email me that they don't use these reports and are content with the Standard reports, the report wizard and output to Microsoft Excel. Others have written me that they already own the full version of Crystal Reports and don't need the runtime as part of the download. For this reason I am seriously considering not including Crystal reports in the upcoming 2.55 release. I may either make the reports I created for earlier versions available to registered users on request -- or I may create a separate program (and download) to provided these additional reports. However, version 2.55 has a new Report Builder in addition the Report Wizard.  This new report builder is quite powerful and enables you to visually design your own reports without need for third party software.  

1/18/2005 - Version 2.55 is nearing completion.  Changes in this upcoming version are primarily to the windows based application.  Preview screen shots can be seen here.

(Note:  I have had one person email me about a problem with duplicate records being created.  There may be a problem with the sql script that creates the sql tables. If you have this problem, please use the MS SQL Server Enterprise Manager and check the table design of the tables.  If the PK field is not set with a Yes as an Identity field, the records will not be automatically incrementing.  If you have had this problem please email me to let me know.  I would appreciate knowing about any problem you may have with this, or any of my programs.)

9/6/2004 - If you have already installed an earlier version of AccessAble Help Desk Client Server Edition you can now try the incremental 2.15 version by downloading the small zip file (about 1 meg).

9/3/2004 - Incremental version 2.15 available to registered users.  Read about the significant changes in 2.15 here.

5/1/2004 - Price for the Client Server Edition Site License increased to $599

3/4/2004 - Incremental update to 2.11 available.  Read about the changes here.

2/22/2004 - AccessAble Help Desk Client Server Edition 2.1 is now available for download.  Same .zip file as before but additional download links available.  This version includes many changes.  Some examples: standard reports, as well as those created with the report wizard can now be saved as .pdf files. The screens you will use most often (updating requests, user information, computer inventory etc, have been redesigned to remove the notebook style tabs.  Now, all information is available "at a glance".  The included reports in Crystal Reports format have been improved and some additional reports added - total is now around 50.  Other changes are not visible but are "under the hood" meaning newer .dll files are used with version 2.1 which may provide for performance enhancements or additional functionality.  Although the full download is around 22 megs, the full install package is recommended for anyone who already has installed an earlier 2.XX installation.  Version 2.1 will be installed to a different directory so you will not need to uninstall an earlier version before you are sure you prefer this release.  Any further incremental updates* before the next major revision may only be supplied to registered users via email links.  This is, IMO, the best release so far and I hope you will like it. This version will co-exist with installed web interface from earlier downloads.  Don't hesitate to email me with any questions or comments. 

 * an incremental update is a much smaller file than a full installation.  Theses updates are most often minor changes, some may even be cosmetic or minor enhancement.  In order to apply an incremental update you would need to have already installed the previous release.

Although the program provides context sensitive help (press the F1 key on any screen for help on that screen) you can view the help file in your browser by clicking here. Also, I am in the process of creating a printable manual in Microsoft Word format which may also be helpful.  Check this page for links to download the manual when it is ready, or if you would like to be notified when it is ready email me and include AACS Manual in the subject.  I will then send you a link via email when it is ready for download.  

I will start putting some "how to do" links here.  For example, one of the new features in version 2.1 that you might not be aware of is the ability to quickly filter non-date, non-time fields.  Similar to a query, this is just another way to filter the data displayed in the browse screen.  The Query Wizard has the advantage of letting you save a Query or Filter condition to use again, and maintains any sort order if you click on a column heading.  A filter created using the right-click, filter option, will be removed when you click on a column heading.  Here is an example of creating a Query on more than one condition.

 The best way to see if any program is right for you is to download it, install it and try it out.  You can download a zip file containing a SQL script to create the tables on your server, and setup files for both the Windows and Web based application.  Try them out and then please email me with any questions or comments.