Atrex 24 Change List

Please note that Atrex 24 is still in development.  The features and changes listed here are not guaranteed to be included in the final release.

The following is a list of changes that have been made to the Atrex 24 package, broken down into functional areas.

General
Sales / Service
Customers
Inventory
Purchase Orders
Receivables / Payables
Reports / Export
Options
Scheduler
Resolved Issues
Functionality Changes

General

Platform

Please note Atrex is now exclusively a 64bit application, allowing it to make use of additional CPU resources as well as access to significantly greater amounts of RAM.  This change allows for:

• Importing and exporting larger data sources, such as Excel spreadsheets.
• Compatibility with 64bit MAPI programs, such as Outlook.
• Improved performance when processing large amounts of data. 
  

Performance

• Modified printer check to read registry entries rather than enumerate the printers on startup. Much faster if there are offline network printers present.
• Modified internal stock code existence function to use a lookup table if available to prevent having to open the entire table for each product operation.
• Reworked integrated credit card processing token cleanup to better accommodate large payment tables.
• Modified category AfterUpdate trigger to only propagate changes to the products if there is a change to the full category value.
• Modified Open PO selection window for performance across WiFi or WAN connections.
• Modified internal batch update builder for performance when large numbers (>1000) of items are changed on a transaction.
• Modified transaction update procedures to restrict updates to only fields with actual value changes. This will reduce contention on the database and reduce replication update file sizes.
• The item sequence number packing function will now run outside of the database transaction locks, and only if there are deleted item present, to reduce the time the database is locked.
• Reworked internal field index caching to use a hashed lookup rather than linear search.
• Removed unnecessary updates to in memory tables when updating item costs during transaction edits.
• Removed unnecessary calls to the company information table for every email sent.
• Modified inventory selection window to only query the sale price table if the on sale record id actually changed.

Email

• Emails now support rich HTML formatting, including links and embedded images in both the body and signature.
• All outgoing emails are now recorded in messaging history with default retention of 90 days.
• Added messaging history window to view previously sent emails.
• Added the ability to retry failed emails or forward previously sent emails from messaging history.
• Added validation to manual email entry in the email dialog to reduce bounces.
• Added email templates with ability to select the template from the email window.
• Improved the security and reliability of Outlook/Hotmail authentication by eliminating a periodic manual configuration update in the Microsoft application registration.
• Added self-service OAuth from the email send function so users can re-authenticate their own Google/Microsoft email without needing "Edit User" rights

Misc.

• Added an integrated AI Writing Assistant – Use AI directly from notes, emails, descriptions, and other multi-line text fields to rewrite, shorten, expand, improve clarity, change tone, correct grammar, and more.
• User access rights and settings are now updated periodically with the company information.
• Added confirmation of password reset and indications of which databases could not be updated if not all location updates were successful.
• Implemented skin colors for right click popup menus.
• Window customization will now allow end user to indicate auto-column width for improved visual aesthetics.
• Added folder verification check on local data backups to make sure that the destination folder is writable before attempting the backup.
• Database Server engine will now attempt to restart itself if it does not start properly after a Windows restart or update.
• Extended drag and drop functionality to allow dragging virtual files, such as email attachments, into Atrex drop points.
• Modified stock code, customer, vendor entry windows to automatically select the first MRU entry if the text field is empty.
• Modified the Find dialog for notes/memo fields to leave the cursor at the found match location when the dialog is closed.
• Common document save/load paths are now semi-persistent and will remember the last location selected within the current Atrex session.
• Modified multiple windows to remove the glass frame around skinned windows that contain a menu when running in Windows 11.
• Updated application menu and toobar for a more modern appearance that better integrates with the overall application visual theme.

Credit Card Processing

• Implemented credit card surcharging in the Sola payment processing plugin for US merchants.
• Added option to include surcharge amounts when processing credit card returns.

Sales

Invoices

• The Return function now remembers the selected item entry method during the current session.

Orders

• Added a warning to the Order Picking window if there is an over picked item present.
• Past due orders are now highlighted in yellow.

Recurring Invoices

• Added ability to select alternate customer email addresses on the Recurring Invoice Creation/Editing window.

Service

• Added support for attaching documents to Service Orders and Service Order Quotes.
• Added "Paid" amount to footer of SO main window to match the balance of the payment window.
• Past due service orders are now highlighted in yellow.
• Added support for multiple deposits on service orders.
• SO job templates now default to using the default labor rate.
• Manually entered labor rate on SO job templates are preserved when toggling the Use Default Labor Rate setting.
• Added the ability to timestamp entries in the Service Order Work Performed field.

Common

• Added ability to select added description values from a user maintained list.
• Added ability to view documents associated with transactions from the Order, Quote, and PO Merge Selection windows.
• Modified Invoice, Order, Quote, Recurring Invoice, and SO contact fields to enable case insensitive search.
• Customer quick notes will now be displayed when the customer on a transaction is changed.
• Added ability to save and continue Sales Quotes, Sales Orders, and Service Orders while creating or editing.
• Added revision numbers to Invoices, Orders, Quotes, and Service Orders to keep track of the number of direct edits.
• Added ability to select recent items from consolidated customer history for Invoices, Sales Orders, and Sales Quotes.

Customers

• Added ability to filter on multiple high level columns for customer sales and service history windows.
• Implemented full text search for customer notes.
• Added SO serial number to the customer service history window.
• Added ability to drag and drop customers in the customer category and salesperson maintenance windows.
• Added the resale expiration date to the list of fields available for filtering on the customer selection and editing windows.
• Added customer count for the selected entry on the salesperson maintenance window.
• Added a Find field to the Category and Salesperson maintenance windows.
• Added bulk update function for customer updates.  (Exploratory proof of concept)

Inventory

• Added product weight to stock code view dialog.
• Inventory transfer function now shows the items during the pending transfer processing to allow for preview of what can be shipped.
• Modified the Batch Label Criteria window to exclude EHF, surcharge, and the Atrex placeholder stock codes.
• Added multi-select for inventory label selection.
• Added ability to perform simple direct image editing on inventory, customer, and SO images.
• Added ability to customize the stock code sales history window, making the transaction customer po and reference available.
• Added functions to manage EHF and Surcharge item links.
• Added ability to drag and drop products in the inventory manufacturer and location maintenance windows.
• Added bulk update function for product updates.  (Exploratory proof of concept).
• Modified serial number deletion to prevent deletions of serial numbers on RMAs.
• Added item count for the selected entry on the location maintenance window.
• Added ability to enter a description and associate an image with a product manufacturer for use with WooCommerce.
• Added a Find field to the Manufacturer, Location, and Tag maintenance windows.

Purchase Orders

• Added ability to right click and set vendor for multiple items on batch PO creation window.
• Added multi-select option for insertion of items during PO and Batch PO creation.
• Added ability to edit stock codes from PO receiving window.
• Added item receiving history to the PO item receiving window.
• POs created directly from sales orders will correctly exclude discontinued items from being re-ordered.
• Added ability to save and continue POs while creating or editing.
• Added revision numbers to POs  to keep track of the number of direct edits.
• Added ability to associate documents with RFQs.

Receivables / Payables

• Added button to outstanding transaction window to allow for printing of the corresponding AR report.
• Added the ability to refresh the contents of the AR Undo window without closing and re-opening.
• Added mouse over hint for credit/payment type on the AR post unposted window to show the source transaction.
• Added the ability to customize the unposted credit/payment selection window.
• Added a Find field to the Payee and Breakdown Category maintenance windows.

Reports / Export

• Added AI Assisted SQL Generation.
• Added the ability to drag and drop report templates into the custom tab of the Report Maintenance window.
• Added customer number to the customer detail report template.

Scheduler

• Modified scheduler window to select all scheduler resources associated with an ID instead of just the first matching entry.
• Modified scheduler window to preserve the selected visible resources when refreshed.

Options

Configuration/Setup

• Added new security option to allow AI access.
• Implemented an Added Description lookup maintenance function.
• Added ability to specify the default value for a user defined field.
• Added option to disable the application skins.
• Added ability to validate custom fields, views, and triggers for errors from the Custom Field Definitions window.
• Client/Server database name fields on the location information windows can be populated only by selection of the database.
• Automatic daily backup of server engine configuration, with 30 days of history retained.*

* Requires opening and logging in with Server Administrator to implement.

Resolved Issues

This section lists corrections to issues in the program that were identified after the last build of v23 and fixed during the development of v24.

• Account reset function was inserting a zero value adjustment if the value the account was set to matched the current balance and there were no transactions zeroed out.
• Customer RMA Return Information window was not validating the sum of the quantity fields against the remaining quantity.
• Pending Transfer Selection window opened with the focus on the last entry in the grid.
• Toggling a serial number that was on RMA in/out of stock did not update rmaitem.Qty/NSQty or code.OnRMA.
• Stock Code/Customer/Vendor Selection filter builder generated an incorrect filter if an exclusion checkbox was checked and the filter builder root operator was set to "OR".
• Order dialog internal notes tab image was not updating when internal notes were added.
• Dragging and dropping a document into a transaction was not updating the tab image.
• Transaction multi-select window was not saving the last modified record if the focused record did not change before closing.
• SO Quote save function was not wrapped in a database transaction, allowing for partial saves if there was a failure at any point during the save.
• SO and SOQuote void functions were inserting an unnecessary placeholder item on the item table.
• Added a check prior to the payment window when editing a return invoice or SO to make sure the credit created by the return had not been posted.
• Quote edit function was updating product costs too late, resulting in all items being marked as modified.
• Removed the unused FontAwesome library so that it doesn't get loaded during startup.
• Several popup menu items were incorrectly enabled in multi-select mode.
• Null last sold dates were incorrectly being displayed as 1899-12-30.
• Reprinting rapid invoices from the stock code sales history window was not passing the selected transaction numbers properly.
• Voiding invoices, quotes, orders, POs, and RFQs without deleting related history was not clearing the associated documents.
• SO Quote selection window was missing the Voided icon.
• Email window had an Add Customer and CC field hotkey conflict.
• Merging POs could result in duplicate item sequence numbers.
• Inventory category maintenance window add/replace image function was not replacing existing images.
• Sale price preview was incorrectly including MSRP restricted items.
• Hide Completely Picked option was not functioning and was incorrectly updating the Hide Completely Shipped option instead of its own unique setting.
• Document changes on transactions were not saved if all documents were deleted.
• Single Customer Outstanding Transactions report was not including the company name in the subject when emailed.
• Use Default Labor Rate option was not being honored when loading a SO job template.
• Voiding a cheque created by processing a recurring payable marked the payable as unpaid, but left that payable as recurring.
• When processing a recurring payable, the AddDate for the new entry was the same as the initial payable.
• Import function was not disabling the main window.
• Serial number processing window selection was not excluding previously added entries from the selection list.
• Account Reset function confirmation window did not display the first row for SO deposits.
• Stock code EHF and Surcharge item maintenance window was allowing modification of the stock code and description values.
• EHF and Surcharge code selection fields were not selecting entries as the user typed into the field.
• User defined expression editor window too small to display the full control set.
• Clone transactions from customer history windows were not indicating the new transactions were cloned in the audit trail.
• Order status column length did not match the corresponding status lookup table field length.
• UPC/AltCode0 field was not being properly checked for uniqueness.

Functionality Changes

This section lists changes to the program that either remove or substantially change previously existing behavior within the Atrex package.

• If upgrading from v16 or older. The transaction line item delete function now behaves consistently within both new and edit functions. Line items when deleted, are deleted permanently without the ability to undelete them. This immediately releases the serial numbers associated with the deleted items and allows them to be added to a different stock code instance or container if they were added to the deleted item during the current editing session.
• If upgrading from v13 or older, all payment information on invoice, order, service orders, and the AR tables has been moved to a separate table. To help reduce the impact of these changes, a optional compatibility mode is present to allow most reports designed for Atrex 11, 12, and 13 to function properly. Once a report is opened and modified in Atrex 24, it must be manually updated to accommodate the new database structure.
• Windows XP and 2008 operating systems are no longer supported.
• Support for credit card processing via PC Charge and IC Verify has been removed.
• Support for the MagTek iPad device has been removed.
• When moving from a plain text credit card processor, the card tokenization process will only tokenize cards on open service orders, sales orders, or cards already on customer records.
• Removed unused SOJob column from the serial number table.
• Invoices created by shipping orders with pre-paid amounts can no longer be voided. In order to properly adjust the customer account, a sales return must be performed.
• Custom reports that use the direct data access functions from within the RAP toolbox need to be modified to use Int64 instead of Integer variables to hold the database object pointer.
• Default backup location for local databases if no path is specified will default to the "Backup" folder below the data location to be more consistent with backup naming conventions.
• Removed customer name format option from customer window. This should have been removed with Atrex 20, but was inadvertently left in place.
• Worldpay Datacap integration has been replaced with the TriPOS integration.
• Between, Not Between, In List, Not In List, and Does Not Contain filtering options are incompatible with full text indexed fields and have been removed.
• Removed the Name Format option from customer information window as it is no longer used.
• Removed automatic check and conversion for v12 and older databases on startup.
• SaleMthd and SalePct fields have been renamed to RegMthd and RegPct.
• AltCode field renamed to AltCode1.
• OnlineFreeShipping field changed from Boolean to SmallInt.
• Tiled background image option is no longer available.
• NoLineColors option has been removed from look and feel customization.
• Email setting are now either strictly company wide or user specific. To allow a user to specify a from name and address requires editing the user's email settings.
• The import function now interprets a blank value for boolean target fields as false.
• Sola card present processing now requires the use of BBPOS.

If you are upgrading from a version of Atrex earlier than 23, version 24 will also include the changes that went into versions Atrex 8, Atrex 9, Atrex 10, Atrex 11, Atrex 12, Atrex 13, Atrex 14, Atrex 15, Atrex 16, Atrex 17, Atrex 18, Atrex 19, Atrex 20, Atrex 21, Atrex 22, Atrex 23