August 21, 2014
Introduction
The new release of SpendMap includes more than 30 new features and capabilities, in addition to various minor fixes and performance improvements.
The update utility will bring forward all your data, history, settings, etc., so you will not lose any of your work in SpendMap.
Unlike minor “patches” that you may have applied in the past by selecting HELP > CHECK FOR UPDATES from within SpendMap, this is a “full release” and, as such, will add new features and options to your SpendMap system.
Need a Little Help?
If you need assistance, please use the free Support Ticket System.
Don’t Like System Maintenance?
Just as a friendly reminder, we also offer a hosted/SaaS version of SpendMap that runs on our servers “in the Cloud”, and we take care of updates and other system maintenance for you. You can learn more about our paid products and services on this page.
Just Getting Started with SpendMap?
If you have NOT yet gone live with SpendMap (e.g. if you have only been using the Evaluation Copy so far), it will be easier for you to uninstall and reinstall the latest release, rather than going through the upgrade process below. Please see “Uninstalling/Removing the system” in the Getting Started Documentation that came with your free software. You can download the latest release here.
Important Notes and Tips for Upgrading
If you have a multi-user (network) installation, you only need to run the update once, on the workstation of your choice. All other workstations will be updated automatically when they run SpendMap the first time after the upgrade, at which time SpendMap will pull the new files down from the server to the individual workstations.
However, the steps below will update one system at a time only. If you are using more than one system (e.g. the Evaluation, Live and/or Testing copies of SpendMap), you will need to run through these steps multiple times, once for EACH system that you want to update.
SUGGESTION: Start by updating your Evaluation copy of SpendMap, rather than starting with your Live copy. Then log into the Eval copy to review the changes to the system, before applying the update to your Live environment. The Online Help system has been updated with all the new features, and you can review a list of new features in the update documentation. Once you have reviewed your updated Evaluation system and you’re familiar and comfortable with the new version, you can then apply the update to your Live system with confidence.
If you need assistance, please use the free Support Ticket System.
Update Steps
The upgrade steps are fairly easy, but since our Free users don’t have access to phone support like our paying customers do (i.e. turn-around time for the free Support Ticket System is usually “next day”), we thought we should take the time to write out all the steps in detail.
In summary, all you need to do is…
- Backup your SpendMap system(s)
- Select the menu HELP > CHECK FOR UPDATES in your Evaluation Copy of SpendMap, then follow instructions below and on-screen during the update
- Test your Evaluation Copy to make sure that you’re happy with the results
- Upgrade to your Live system
So while most of the steps, below, will be self-evident during the installation process, we thought you would appreciate seeing them in advance of actually running the update.
Note: This update includes a new PDF Printer Driver that SpendMap uses to create PDF files when e-mailing POs and other documents and when previewing reports to the screen. The update utility itself does not actually install the new printer driver. Rather, the new printer driver will be installed automatically when you run SpendMap the first time on each PC workstation after the upgrade. You will need to be logged onto your computer as an Administrator to allow SpendMap to install the new printer driver. This only applies the first time the system is run on each PC workstation – once the printer driver is installed, the users will not need Admin rights for their ongoing/daily use of the system.
- Ensure that all users are logged out of SpendMap.
- Make a FULL backup of your system (not an incremental or partial backup). For details, please see “Backup and Restore Procedures” in the Getting Started Documentation that came with your free software.
IMPORTANT: This step is absolutely mandatory. If an error occurs during the update procedure (e.g. power failure, loss of network connection, etc.), you will need to restore and start again. If you do not have a backup to restore from, you will not be able to recover your system. - Ensure that your Windows and SpendMap user accounts have the required access/rights to complete the upgrade…
- You will need Administrator privileges in Windows to complete the installation.
- You will need to log into SpendMap with a user account that has an access level of 9 (as specified in the Access Level field, in the User Master File in SpendMap).
- Your Windows user account must have FULL access to the folder where SpendMap is installed. Your rights should include Add, Read, Change, Delete (or equivalents). If you’re not sure which folder SpendMap is installed in, you can RIGHT-mouse-click on the shortcut/icon that you use to run SpendMap, then select the “Properties” menu – the “Start In” Field shows the location of your system.
- RIGHT-mouse click on the shortcut/icon that you use to run SpendMap, and select the menu to “Run as Administrator”, then log into the system until you get to the Main Menu.
- From the Main Menu of SpendMap, select the menu HELP > CHECK FOR UPDATES, and follow the prompts on-screen.
NOTE: Once the update process begins, various pop-up windows will be displayed briefly as files are extracted – this is normal. Do not close any of these windows – they will close automatically when complete. - You will be prompted to confirm that the system was backed up. Please see Step 2, above, for details.
- You will be reminded about the new PDF printer driver that will be installed as part of this upgrade. See note, above, for details.
- The update will then begin and you will see a white screen listing the steps that the update utility is going through. Again, at various points along the way, various pop-up windows will be displayed as the update utility extracts files. Just wait for the update to complete.
- A Notepad window will open showing the contents of a “WHATSNEW_V11.98-V12.65_IT.TXT” file. These are notes intended for a System Administrator or other IT person. You can review or print the file, or just close or minimize it.
NOTE: the first item in the list (Subject: SPENDMAP SERVER SETTINGS) does NOT apply to the Free version (sorry about that…this update utility shares some components with the Update for our Paid version) - You will be notified that you now need to run SpendMap to complete the upgrade process. When you close the message, SpendMap will restart automatically. Login as usual and SpendMap will complete the update.
REMINDER: per note above, you need to run SpendMap once as an Administrator on each PC so that the new PDF printer driver can be installed. - The first time you run SpendMap, the system will be reindexed, which may take some time. Once the reindex procedure is complete, you will be notified that the upgrade is complete. Click [OK]. SpendMap will exit.
- You can now continue using SpendMap.
- When you log into SpendMap following an upgrade, if there are any priority items in the WhatsNew documentation, those important items may be displayed in a pop-up window on the way into the system. When you’re ready, you can select “Don’t show me this again” at the bottom-left corner of that window to suppress this message. If there are any important items following your next upgrade, the window will be displayed again. If you would prefer to review these notes the next time you run SpendMap, just click the [OK] button without selecting “Don’t show me this again” to bypass the message.
- The new version of SpendMap uses a new URL when checking for updates. If you have tight security standards, you may need to adjust your firewall white list to allow SpendMap to access this new URL (below). Just select HELP > CHECK FOR UPDATES in SpendMap following the upgrade- if you get an error, you most likely need to perform this step but, if it works, nothing needs to be done.
New update URL: http://www.spendmap-updates.com/updates/free1265/logsminf.ashx
Once you are comfortable with how your Evaluation copy has been updated, you can update your other systems (e.g Live, Test), if applicable. Again, the Online Help system has been updated with all the new features, and you can review a list of new features in the update documentation.
NOTE: In most cases, new features are optional and will NOT be enabled by default following the upgrade, so some configuration or settings may be required if you want to take advantage of some of the new features (the Online Help and the update documentation will reference any applicable settings). In addition, some new features may be available via new menu options – if your User Profile has an access level of 9, you will get all the new menu options automatically as part of the upgrade. However, users with access levels from 0-8 will NOT get the new menu options by default, so if those users need the new menus, you can add them using the following menu in SpendMap…
PURCHASING > User Setup > User definable menus and pop-up prompts > Add/Remove individual menus and pop-up prompts.
We hope you enjoy using the new version of SpendMap!
Please tell your friends and colleagues about our Free Purchase Order Software. Thanks!
Best regards,
The Free-Procurement Project team
Totally FREE software that automates Purchase Orders and a whole lot more