October 2005 Edition
Feature Spotlight: Create a File using MetaScript
Q&A with Technical Support: DBO Permissions
Smart Tip of the Month: MetaScript Example - Build a Notes History
Third Party Software: Remote Desktop via Timbuktu
Support Bookshelf: DevGuru
Feature Spotlight
Create a File using MetaScript
A previously unpublished MetaScript function named meta_CreateFile allows for the creation of files with Virtual Ticket. Create html files, generate your own .vts files, and extract data from Virtual Ticket into an xml file for use in a third party product. The possibilities are many. Knowledge Base article 16212 contains a full description of the functionality and an example of its use.
For more information, visit:
http://www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16212
Q&A with Technical Support
What are the correct permissions settings for creating a custom SQL dbo user for a Job Manager/Virtual Ticket database?
Corporate security policies may require your database administrator to manually create or restrict permissions for the SQL dbo user of the Job Manager/Virtual Ticket database. The dbo user is used by the database links in the MetaCommunciations Application Server Shell to connect to the SQL database. To insure that all custom solutions and integrations which rely on SQL Server jobs are created and updated, the dbo user should have a System Administrator server role which will provide access to all of the necessary SQL system databases. For instance, all SQL jobs, including those installed by some Job Manager/Virtual Ticket solutions, are created in the msdb database. For these SQL jobs to work correctly, the appropriate access permissions are necessary to initiate installation and updating. Administrators who do not want to grant these permissions all the time may manually grant the system administrator role for the dbo user upon installation or update of solutions in the database and remove the role when the installation is complete.
For more information, visit:
http://www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16211
Smart Tip of the Month
MetaScript Example - Build a Notes History
Use MetaScript to automatically organize the most recent notes at the top of your memo fields. The form example in Knowledge Base article 17213 provides a method for accomplishing this by using two fields, a button, and a MetaScript function. The fields include an entry field for entering today's notes and a field for storing the historical view of all previous notes. Upon clicking a button on the form, the information in the notes field is moved to the top of the history field and designated with a separator, the date and time, and the name of the user who entered the note.
For more information, visit:
http://www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16213
Third Party Software
Remote Desktop via Timbuktu
Netopia's Timbuktu provides a useful remote administration tool for administrators who need to access a system on the other end of the office or on the other side of the world. In addition to controlling a system remotely, functionality for observing the use of a machine, exchanging files between computers, and chatting with a user at the controlled computer provide opportunities to quickly resolve technical issues or for training remote users.
For more information, visit:
http://www.netopia.com
Support Bookshelf
DevGuru
This site contains multiple quick references and tutorials for a number of different subjects, many directly or indirectly related to Job Manager/Virtual Ticket. These include T-SQL, JavaScript, HTML, ASP, and more. For example, the T-SQL reference provides and index of various components including functions, triggers, views, and stored procedures which are all helpful in developing backend customizations to your custom queries and VT/JM systems. Though most items are free to view, a fee is required for some references.
For more information, visit:
http://www.devguru.com
New MetaCommunications Knowledge Base Articles this month:
16143 - Customized QuickBooks export using Customer name
http://www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16143
16211 - Setting Microsoft SQL Server role permissions
http://www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16211
16212 - Creating a file with MetaScript
http://www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16212
16213 - MetaScript Example - Setting up a notes history
http://www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16213
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