Symantec Spreadsheet Enhancements General Troubleshooting Tips Symantec realizes that every customer's request of SQZ! and Budget Express technical support helps bring both Symantec and its customers together towards successful software solutions. Although individualized concern for each of our customers is paramount, our technical support staff feels confident that some troubleshooting concerns can be resolved by following a few basic guidelines. After all, it is very important for our customers to feel good about our software, but it's even more important for our customers to use our software to their maximum benefit Ä as soon as possible. Spreadsheet Enhancement Software Is It Symantec's Software That's At Fault? Ä Probably the most important thing to check when troubleshooting a problem with our software is to see if the problem recurs without our software being used Ä perhaps it's not our software which is causing problems. If a problem recurs when our software is not being used, then skip this section and check the sections below regarding the spreadsheet software, the operating environment, and the hardware being used. Refreshing Your Software Ä Sometimes, software just stops working Ä "it worked yesterday, then all of a sudden..." (For instance, when the software is run, it displays a wild screen dance or even causes the computer to seize up). Fortunately, these mishaps can be overcome if the original program disk(s) have been kept in a safe place and are free of error. If your software "just isn't working like it was before," try reinstalling the software from the original program diskettes. The Latest And Greatest Ä As Symantec has fine-tuned its software over time, newer releases have been designed to solve many concerns which may have come up from past versions. Thus, plenty of support issues that arise are actually curable by upgrading to the latest version of the software. The current version of SQZ! is 2.06, and the current version of the Budget Express is 1.1. Contact SQZ!/Budget Express technical support for upgrade information. Do Your Software Packages Get Along? Ä Sometimes software packages are incompatible with one another. When used exclusive of one another, they may work; when used simultaneously, they may not get along and cause strange (or potentially destructive) results. Since there are many spreadsheet enhancements on the market, it is difficult to keep track of what does and doesn't work with what. Thus, we suggest that if you are using other add-ins or TSRs when trying (unsuccessfully) to use Symantec's spreadsheet enhancement software, try detaching and/or clearing all of the add-ins or TSRs in memory, then attaching/loading Symantec's spreadsheet enhancements alone. Marching Order Ä If you've determined that Symantec's spreadsheet enhancement software and other add-ins don't get along, try attaching/loading the items in a different order than the currently order. Less Mousing Around With Impress or WYSIWYG Ä The Impress and WYSIWYG add-ins may help your spreadsheet look great on-screen by creating a more visually appealing "mask" over 1-2-3. However, since Impress and WYSIWYG were written to conform to 1-2-3's menus only, they do not allow use of a mouse while an add-in's menu is invoked. If you wish to use an add-in's menu while using Impress or WYSIWYG, you must use the keyboard to make your selections. SQZ! Application Note Rev. 6/92 #7111 Page 1 of 4 Putting .ADN Files In Their Place Ä Lotus 1-2-3 Release 2.3 can be finicky about where it wants its add-in (.ADN) and related files placed. Although simply adding the 1-2-3 subdirectory to the DOS Path statement might seem to be a logical solution, 1-2-3 still won't want to attach the add-in. A general rule is to install Symantec's add-in files in the Lotus 1-2-3 subdirectory itself and/or in any subdirectory where "123" is typed. Spreadsheet Software How Many Times? Ä If you get an error message while trying to use spreadsheet enhancement software, you might have inadvertently loaded multiple copies ("sessions") of the spreadsheet software into memory at the same time. (This is possible when you leave 1-2-3 via / System and then return to 1-2-3 by typing 123 or LOTUS instead of EXIT). To check for this problem, from 1-2-3, select / Quit Yes, and type EXIT at a DOS command prompt. If you return to 1-2-3, you have loaded multiple copies of the program into memory. Repeat this procedure until you remain at the DOS command prompt after typing EXIT. Now load the spreadsheet software and try to use the enhancements. Selecting The Correct Display Setting Ä There are a thousand different variations of monitor and display card setups. Along with those come a thousand problems that spreadsheet enhancement software must cope with. If you had to speak a thousand different languages, you might just throw a fuss, too. Taking this into account, try the "simple is better" strategy when telling your spreadsheet software what monitor and display hardware is being used. To do so, use the "Universal Text Display" setting in the Lotus' Install Program's Advanced Options. That way, your spreadsheet software, your monitor, and your display card can relate to one another in one common language. Memory Problems Can Be Your Undoing Ä If you are running low on available memory in Lotus 1-2-3 Release 2.2, one of 1-2-3's handy but at times rarely used options may be the problem. The UNDO option, which allows you to cancel the latest changes made to a spreadsheet and revert to the unchanged version, eats up a lot of memory. If you're fairly confident about how you work, you can disable the Undo option and free up some useful memory. To do so, select / Worksheet Global Default Other Undo Disable. Add-In Support Files Ä Lotus 1-2-3 Releases 3.1 and 3.1+ require the use of up-to-date Add-In Support files. If your Add-In Support files are not current or are missing, you could run into problems when trying to use Symantec's add-in files. First, make sure that the files have been installed, for Lotus 1-2-3 3.1x does not install them automatically. You can easily check for their presence by typing DIR LL*.* in the 1-2-3 3.1x subdirectory. If a list of nineteen files is not displayed, you must install the files using the Add-In Support Disk (part of your 1-2-3 3.1x diskette set). If nineteen files are listed, you can check whether the Add-In Support files are the correct version by examining the dates of the nineteen files in the directory listing. If the files are dated before 12/17/90, you will need to obtain a new Add-In Support Disk, available from Lotus Development Corporation. If they are dated 12/17/90 or later, they are the correct version. SQZ! Application Note Rev. 6/92 #7111 Page 2 of 4 A Breath Of Fresh 'ware Ä Sometimes, for various reasons, software just stops working correctly. If your software just isn't behaving, and you have your original spreadsheet software program disks, try reinstalling the spreadsheet software. It might just do the trick. Operating Environment Baring Your AUTOEXEC.BAT And CONFIG.SYS Ä Most PCs have files which define the most of the computer's operating environment automatically upon start-up. These files, the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files, contain information which "customizes" the PC and its operations. Unfortunately, some settings within the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files can hinder the operations of your spreadsheet enhancements. If you are experiencing difficulties with using Symantec's spreadsheet enhancement software, try paring down your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files to "bare bones" and restarting the PC. Examples of these files include... AUTOEXEC.BAT Ä PROMPT $P$G PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\123 CONFIG.SYS Ä FILES=30 BUFFERS=30 Terminate And Don't Stay Resident Ä Clearing out your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files will not provide as sterile of an operating environment as possible. Some programs, including grammar checkers, menu programs, calendars, address books, fax software, and clock displays, can actually reside in memory, although not always being used. These programs are called Terminate and Stay Resident programs, or "TSRs". Because a TSR can remain in memory though not being used, it can cause conflicts with other software. To make sure that no conflicts can occur, ensure that all unnecessary TSRs are disabled before attempting to troubleshoot problems with your spreadsheet enhancement software. Your Manager Could Need A Vacation Ä Most PCs are shipped with 640K of conventional RAM memory. To access more memory than 640K, some PCs will be equipped with extra memory chips. In order to use this memory, DOS requires the use of memory managers, such as Microsoft's EMM386 and Quarterdeck's QEMM. Usually, spreadsheet software can use this extra memory. However, Symantec's Spreadsheet Enhancement products will not Ä they will utilize the 640K of conventional RAM only. Since our spreadsheet enhancement software only loads in conventional RAM, it might be advisable to disable the operations of memory managers before troubleshooting problems. Stacked Against You Ä Some memory managers allow you to alter the number of DOS Stacks available within your operating environment. By changing the stacks setting from its DOS default, you will free up some RAM otherwise reserved by the operating system. Unfortunately, changing the stacks setting may also hinder the operations of Symantec's Spreadsheet Enhancement products. SQZ! Application Note Rev. 6/92 #7111 Page 3 of 4 Though the extra memory afforded by altering DOS' default stacks setting can come in handy, we advise that you do not change the stacks setting while using our spreadsheet enhancements. Virus Alert? Ä PC viruses can play havoc with the operation of your spreadsheet enhancement software, your spreadsheet software, and you operating environment. If it seems you've tried all you can, and everything is still going wrong, you might want to have your PC checked for viruses... especially since typically, spreadsheets are frequently-shared files. Hardware Power And Connections Ä Generally, with PCs, either something works or it doesn't. However, with hardware, if it's functioning, but not functioning correctly, you'll get strange results. If you've made sure that your software and operating environment are working OK, you will also want to make sure that your hardware is, too. By far, the most important things to check are that everything is on and that everything is connected properly Ä cables, wires, cards, etc. It's The Middle Of The Day. Is Your Data Safe? Ä It's important to remember that software is stored on magnetic media. Just as skips in your old records "just happened" and dings in the side of your car "just appeared", disks "just go bad". Typically, bad sectors on the disk or corrupted File Allocation Tables are to blame for disk crashes. Damaged disks could not only cause frustration, but also cause the file irreparable harm. If you find that you're not able to use or access your software or your files, make absolutely sure that the disks on which they are stored are magnetically undamaged and logically free of error. Using DOS' CHKDSK or a commercial disk utility program (i.e. Norton Utilities' Disk Doctor) will determine if your disk is error-free and suitable for use. Remember, if you store a perfectly good file on a magnetically or logically damaged disk, your file will most definitely be ruined. Call The Pros I've Tried A! I've Tried B! I've Tried C! Ä Last, but certainly not least... if you've tried all of our general troubleshooting tips and are still encountering problems, please contact Symantec Spreadsheet Enhancements Technical Support as soon as possible. We'll be glad to give you the help you need. SQZ! Application Note Rev. 6/92 #7111 Page 4 of 4