Web Based Help

This really is a no-brainer and yet it took me a while to think of it. ZonePro SQL has moved all of its help files to the internet. When you click on the little yellow ? button in any ZP SQL screen, your default web browser is launched to display the relevant Help topic. This is an obvious way to go since you need internet access to use ZP SQL anyway. Have a central repository for the Help files means fewer files that customers need to manage. It also makes it easier to update the Help files incrementally rather than waiting for a new release.

Report Screen Speed Features

As I have mentioned (over and over) speed was a major concern when designing ZP SQL. All of the report screens were modified to add two new features that limit the amount of data requested from the internet. The first is a simple field that limits the maximum number of rows pulled down for a report. By default reports are limited to 100 records. You can edit this value to grab more records. Entering a 0 (zero) in the box effectively turns the feature off. The second new feature is a check box which limits the number of fields that are pulled by each report screen. Because report screens typically include data from both the property database and an application database, there are potentially many fields that could be pulled for every query. Most of the reports, however, include only a fraction of the fields available. So we devised a system whereby a text file holds a list of all the fields each report screen should pull. These lists are shipped with ZP SQL and are initially limited to only those fields included in the default reports. There is a screen in Maintenance where you can edit these lists of fields and add more fields as needed. This system works great but as we soon discovered, speed is not nearly the limiting factor we thought it might be. So now there is an option to turn off field limiting feature in the Personalization Options screen.

Super-Sized ID Codes

Okay, this is not the most exciting change in the world, but another difference between ZP SQL and ZP 32 is that the property ID and all of the ID Codes in the system have been expanded to 8 characters. This does not change the way the program works but it does make it easier to identify where a record came from just by the ID. In ZP 32 all of theID are prefaced by a single letter. In ZP SQL each ID is prefaced by two letters. The Contact File gives a good idea of why this is improvement. In ZP 32, all Contact File records are prefaced with an "X." Why? Because "C" was already taken by the Contractor database. In ZP SQL, the Contact File records are all prefaced with "CF" and the Contractor records are prefaced with "CT." That, to me at least, makes sense.

Contractor Details Database

Another difference between ZP 32 and ZP SQL can be found in the Building Module. In ZP 32 each building screen has spaces for five contractors per permit. In ZP SLQ the contractor info is no longer stored with the permit screen but instead is tracked through its own Contractor Details Screen. Just by the name you should figure that the Contractor Details Screen works similarly to the Fee Details and Inspections Details sections of the Building Module, and you'd be right. With the contractor info stored in its own screen you are no longer limited to five contractors per permit. You can have as many as you like.

Property Deletion Follow-Up

As a follow-up to the deletion post of a few days ago I wanted to mention that there is also another change to the way deletions work from the Property Screen. Unlike in ZP 32, in ZP SQL you cannot delete a property record if it has any other records linked to it. Any other words, you must delete any attached permits, violations, photos, etc., before you can delete a property record. You must also first delete any names attached to a property in the Contact File before you can delete the property. This is basically a safety measure. Typically when ever we've had customers contact us about missing permits, the culprit turns out to be a property record that was accidentally deleted. Because deletions are easier to execute in ZP SQL, we decided to make it harder to delete a property record if it has anything attached.