Mercury Systems, Windows 8 and Adobe PDF Files

If some of your workstations are running Windows 8, you may have noticed that Mercury Systems cannot automatically open Adobe PDF files. I have been searching for answers but the reason for this still isn’t clear, and the only option so far has been to switch the output to ‘Crystal Reports’. This is okay but not ideal.

I have found that you can use a free alternative to Adobe Reader called Foxit Reader, which does open correctly via Mercury Systems. You can download Foxit Reader from Foxit Software using this URL: http://www.foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader/.

Foxit is also much more preferable than the generic ‘Reader’ app that comes with Windows 8. Foxit Reader works well and does everything that Adobe Reader does, so if you are using Windows 8, give it a try…

Phone numbers within Client Details screen

With the decline of landline phone numbers in general within the UK, a customer has suggested that the “Mobile No.” field should be the 1^st phone number collected, followed by “Home Phone Number” (currently set to “Main Phone Number”).

Would any of you have a problem if the sequence of these 3 fields on the Client Details screen was changed?

If you do not reply, I will assume you are not concerned if the change takes place.

Multiple Stock Categories and Stock Groups...

From version 219 onwards, you can now select (and search upon) multiple stock categories and stock groups for each stock record.

Within a stock record, click on the “…” (three dots) icon just to the right of either Stock Category, Stock Group #1, or Stock Group #2 fields. A new panel will open which will allow you to select any combination of stock categories and groups. You can then search for any of the multiple categories selected within ‘List Stock Items’ screen.

If you want to make use of this new feature, please update your software, or contact me to schedule an update for you.

Client Notes tab within Client Details screen

If you currently use the ‘Client Notes’ editor (tab) within the Client Details record for either Mercury Service Manager or Mercury Stock Manager, please let me know by replying to this email.

Currently, this field uses an HTML editor to record and display information.  I am planning to cease using the HTML editor in favour of using a ‘rich-text’ editor.  If I go ahead with this change, it may mean the contents of this field will no longer be displayed.

If you do not reply, I will assume you are not using this field.

N.E.S.N Jobs Import...

On Monday I advised you all that Mercury Systems is now capable of importing jobs from Servast.

Well, I have now added an additional routine to facilitate the import of jobs from N.E.S.N. So if you carry out service jobs on behalf of N.E.S.N, you can now import those jobs directly into Mercury Systems from your account page on the N.E.S.N website.

Please contact me if this is of interest.

Servast Jobs Import...

If you carry out service jobs on behalf of Servast, you can now import those jobs directly into Mercury Systems from your account page on the Servast website.

Please contact me if this is of interest.

SMS Texting from Mercury Systems...

In addition to kapow.co.uk and bulksms.co.uk, you can now choose to use textmarketer.co.uk when sending SMS messages through Mercury Systems (you must be on version 205 or higher).

A new customer has reported they are currently cheaper than the other two providers – approx. 3.7p compared to 5.54p from BulkSMS and 6.25p from Kapow, so if you send a lot of SMS messages using Mercury Systems, it may be worth checking them out. Their website: www.textmarketer.co.uk.

In addition, a current promotion is offering to double your purchased credits (so if you buy 1,000 credits, you get 2,000 etc…). Credit packs do not expire.

If you sign up, don’t forget to Google “textmarketer promotion code” first to see if there are free credits to be had. Recently, you could get up to 250 free credits by keying in the promotion code of “GOOGL1” (give this a try), but the offers are changing all the time.

(P.S: If you have credits still to use up with Kapow or BulkSMS, set up the new account with TextMarketer and we can switch Mercury Systems to use the new provider at any time)