Support Hot Topics for Sweet Products
Sweet Support Team

Sweet Support Team

Question: Database backups...remind me again why they are important...

Answer: It is imperative to safeguard the database backups of any Ortivus Product. If the unexpected should occur, and you have a system failure, you can be back up and running with minimal to no loss. Ortivus Support Services can provide you with information on what you should be backing up.

Database manipulation or modification can be detrimental to your company. Making any kind of change to the database such as structure change or inserting data can corrupt the database. If a database is modified through SQL, it may cause the program to stop working. In this case, Ortivus can attempt database repair, but this service is not covered under your Support Contract.  To stay on the safe side, never modify your live database and always have good reliable backups.

Question: How do I create PDF documents from my Sweet applications (billing, field data and CAD?

Answer: (disclaimer) Ortivus North America is in no way affiliated with CutePDF™ Writer, Ortivus North America assumes no responsibilities for the CutePDF™ Writer product or licensing of the product.  Assistance with the CutePDF™ Writer product is not a covered service under the Ortivus North America Service Maintenance Agreement.

What is CutePDF Writer
CutePDF Writer is a freeware version of a PDF creation software. CutePDF Writer installs itself as a "printer subsystem". This enables virtually any Windows applications (must be able to print) to create professional quality PDF documents.The website states that it is FREE for personal and commercial use!  No watermarks!  No Popup Web Ads!

How to Install CutePDF Writer
To install CutePDF Writer you must download 2 files:

o        CuteWriter.exe

o        Converter.exe

1.       Execute CuteWriter.exe and follow the instructions during the installation

2.       Execute Converter.exe and follow the instructions during the installation

How to Use CutePDF Writer
Once installed a new device called ‘CutePDF Writer’ will appear in your ‘Printers and Faxes’ list. To create PDF documents perform the same steps used to print documents to a printer.

As an example if you wanted to turn a Microsoft Word document into a PDF file the following steps would be performed

1.       With the document open in Microsoft Word press ‘Ctrl+P’

2.       The print dialog will appear

3.       Select the ‘CutePDF Writer’ as the printer device

4.       Press Ok button on the print dialog

5.       After a few seconds the save as dialog will appear

6.       Enter a name for the document

7.       Press the Save button (the document has now been saved in the PDF format)

References
http://www.cutepdf.com/
http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/Writer.asp

Question: I am thinking of implementing an AVL solution with my Sweet-CAD program. What are my options?

Answer: AVL is an acronym for Automatic Vehicle Location. Many people mistakenly use the terms GPS (acronym for Global Position Satellite system) and AVL interchangeably. This is not correct, however, with current technology GPS usually plays a role in an AVL system.

Simply put, AVL is defined as a system that has the ability to identify the location of a vehicle and provide a display of that location. There are AVL systems on the market that do not use GPS to determine the location of a vehicle, but those are generally being phased out.

The remainder of this document will provide information on how a GPS-based AVL system works.

There are three components to a GPS-based AVL system:

1.       AVL software that displays the location of a vehicle. 

2.       Data communication system that communicates the data from a GPS receiver to the AVL software.

3.       GPS receiver installed in the vehicle to be located.

AVL software: Sweet-CAD, AVeL-CAD, and AVeL-Base are all Ortivus applications that can function as the AVL software. These three pieces of software can all be configured to receive messages from GPS receivers and then display this information as the location of a vehicle on a map. Most GPS receiver messages will not only provide the latitude/longitude of the vehicle, but also the altitude, speed and direction of travel of the vehicle. Our applications are able to utilize all of this information.

RadioGate functions as the gateway for data exchange between the GPS receivers and the AVL software. Depending on the data communication system that is used, RadioGate may receive the location messages directly from the GPS receivers, or it may receive location messages from a third-party piece of software that manages the data communication system.

Data Communication Systems: The data communication systems that support AVL systems can be broken into two general categories: public networks and private networks. 

A public network is one that a customer will pay to transfer data packets between the GPS receiver and the AVL software. Many wireless phone companies can provide data communication on the same networks that are used to place voice calls. CDPD and GPRS are data services that are often referred to when talking about data transmission on a public network. Most public networks provide IP addresses to the vehicles that are using their data services, and these IP addresses can be used by RadioGate to communicate with the GPS receiver. One important item to investigate early in any discussion about an IP network with a wireless provider is to find out whether the IP addresses in the vehicles are fixed or dynamically assigned. We only will support dynamic IP addressing if specific GPS receivers are used.  The method that the information gets from the wireless IP network to the customer’s server will vary from carrier to carrier. However, the method usually involves either router to router VPN connections over a broadband internet connection or a frame-relay network. These are details to be worked out between the customer and the wireless carrier.

A private network is a network that the customer owns. Private networks are typically not IP based. In the case of a private network, the customer typically has a modem in each vehicle that attaches to a 2-way radio, and the GPS receiver is connected to the modem. At the site where the location messages are to be received, there is another radio with modem attached, and this modem connects to a computer that will process the messages. Each modem is assigned a specific ID number, and depending on the manufacturer, there may be special software loaded at the customer site to act as a translator between the radio modem system and RadioGate.

GPS Receivers: The GPS receiver that a customer selects will be determined by the data communication system that is chosen. 

Private networks require GPS receivers that mate with radio modems.  We support two different private network solutions: CES Wireless Trak-Control and Kenwood Fleet-Sync.

Customers using IP-based public networks have more flexibility if the IP addresses are fixed addresses.  In a fixed IP network, the basic requirement is that the GPS receiver has an output of either NMEA or TAIP format location messages.