Release Notes

Always check here for important information you may need to know prior to loading a software update.

We constantly strive to improve the software; input from you and dealers like you help us make our products better for you and for all the other dealers who use them. What to Expect When You Report a Software Issue describes how to report a software issue, and what happens afterward.

Release Notes highlight important information; they do not list every change. For a complete list of every software change in recent releases, see the DDMS Version 8 page under What's New.

Preparing to use DDMS® EBS Applications

O/PUS Update Notes
Windows Platform Notes
Third-Party Software

ECinteractive® and is.D-Force® 2

DDMS 8.21.60
DDMS 8.19.40
DDMS 8.19.20
DDMS 8.19.0
DDMS 8.17.0, 8.17.40, 8.17.41
DDMS 8.15.2
DDMS 8.14.0
DDMS 8.13.45
DDMS 8.12.32
DDMS 8.12
DDMS 8.11
DDMS 8.10 General Release

ECinteractive and is.D-Force 2 Release Notes

Features That Require Back-End System Software Updates

Upcoming Changes in ECinteractive and is.D-Force 2

In the next few months, the ECinteractive team has an aggressive schedule to release more hot priority features to make your Web presence more competitive and efficient. We have made significant strides in implementing advancements vendors make in content. We continue working with our trading partners, our mutual goal being a better experience in searching and shopping for your customers. Log into your Admin Control Panel for more details on the Home page.

For a list of recent changes, see the FAQ, What are the latest enhancements in ECinteractive?

DDMS

DDMS 8.21.60

Credit Card Processing Message. An issue with an installation routine in DDMS 8.21.60 inadvertently re-authorizes the older Approval Link 2, which may cause a “Security Violation” message to occur when processing credit cards. If this issue affects you, please contact your DDMS support team with reference to QC #56549 for assistance with correcting the configuration files. An upcoming DDMS maintenance release will correct this issue.

DDMS 8.19.40

Pre-8.17.42 EBS Server Causes SQL Timeouts in 8.19.40

Friday, Sept. 4, 2009 — After loading 8.19.40, an older version of EBS Server is resulting in timeouts in SQL applications such as Customer Price Plans, SQL Report Preview, Project Management, and so on). This issue has been turned in under QC #55942, and has been corrected in the next DDMS maintenance release, 8.19.60. If you have not yet installed DDMS 8.19.40, we recommend loading DDMS 8.19.60 instead.

If you are upgrading from 8.17.42 or lower, you must uninstall the EBS Server, before installing 8.19.40:

  1. This is a dedicated procedure. Make sure nobody is currently using DDMS programs.
  2. On your DDMS server, close all applications, including TBL Server.
  3. open Control Panel (In Windows 2003, it’s on your Windows Start menu. In Windows 2000 Pro, it’s on your Start menu under Settings.)
  4. Select Add or Remove Programs.
  5. Select DDMS EBS Server CSLA 2005, as shown below.
  6. Click Remove.
  7. When prompted, “Are you sure …?,” click Yes.
  8. Wait while Windows completes configuration. When the Add/Remove Programs window refreshes, close the window.
  9. You may resume installing or re-installing 8.19.40, and EBS SQL applications will no longer time out.

Add/Remove Programs window, with DDMS EBS Server CSLA 2005 selected.

DDMS 8.19.20

DDMS 8.19.0

DDMS 8.15.x, 8.16.x, 8.17.0, 8.17.40, 8.17.41

Friday, Feb. 20, 2009 — Kimball Office Furniture Orders Require Customer Information

Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009 —DDMS Release Note: Overwritten Proc Backup Command File

DDMS 8.15.2

Order Entry Notes Issue (QC#54513)

Thurs 7/24/2008 — We are issuing an emergency release to correct issues in graphical Order Entry with Start Notes, End Notes, and line item Notes (QC# 54513). Rest assured, Order Entry specials work as they always have in text-based (G) screens. We will automatically ship a new software update CD for 8.15.3 or higher to customers who received version 8.15.0 or 8.15.2. For details, see the Release Note: Order Entry Notes Issue in 8.15.0, 8.15.2.

Thurs 8/21/2008 — The software correcting this issue has been released in DDMS 8.15.9. Please see Announcing ECi DDMS Version 8.15.9 (www.DDMS.com/support/release/whatsnew/dd8159.htm).

General Installation Guidelines for 8.15.0 and higher

UPDATED Thurs 8/21/2008 — Version 8.15.2 and higher includes many changes including an exciting new look and feel to the software installation. For complete instructions on installation, please see the Installing Version 8 DDMS handout included with this package. Please read the following BEFORE installing version 8.15.2 and higher.

  1. You must be on version 8.13.0 through 8.14.46 in order to install version 8.15.2 and higher. If you are not on version 8.13.0 through 8.14.46, and do not have one of those software update CDs to install, contact ECi DDMS Support and ask for version 8.14.46. If you had already requested a newer version and just haven’t installed yet, install the software then install 8.15.2 or higher.
  2. When installing 8.15.2 and higher, your system takes two snapshots of your SQL database. Your system must have enough space to hold these two snapshots until the install is complete. If it does not have enough space, an error message appears, as shown below. If you see this error message, simply click OK and continue business as usual. The software install had not yet begun. For assistance in creating space on your hard drive, contact ECi DDMS Support.
    Disc space error when installing 8.15
  3. One of the exciting new features of this release is Vista Business edition compatibility. If you had previously installed DDMS software on a Vista system, you must manually uninstall that previous version before installing version 8.15.2 or higher.
  4. If you previously disabled SQL server, you must enable it by setting the Startup Type box to Automatic or Manual prior to installing 8.15.2 or higher. To do so, complete the following steps. If you have not ever disabled SQL server, skip these steps.
    1. Right-click My Computer on the desktop of your DDMS server.
    2. Select Manage.
    3. The Computer Management window opens. In the left pane of the window, expand Services and Applications by clicking the + sign.
    4. Click Services. All the services display in the right pane of the window. There are two services for which you must modify the properties: Ensite.DataPortal and SQL Server (ECI2). You must highlight each of these services then complete the following steps for each one.
    5. Highlight either Ensite.DataPortal or SQL Server (ECI2) in the right pane of the window.
    6. After highlighting the service, right-click and select Properties.
    7. Use the drop down arrow to set the Startup Type box to Automatic or Manual.
    8. Click OK.
    9. Repeat these steps for each of the above named services.
  5. After installing 8.15.2 or higher, it may appear as if you have multiple sessions of TBL Server running on your system (see below). This appears only if you have the console set up to display for TBL NetComm or UtilExt. You can disable the consoles in TBL Config, if needed. For instructions, see Disabling TblNetCom Console and UtilExt Console in DDMS 8.15.
Start bar displaying what appears to be multiple instances of TBLServer

DDMS 8.14.0

DDMS Purged Prorated A/R Deposits Issue

Update Monday, March 31, 2008: Version 8.14.41 is available upon request to resolve this issue.

March 11, 2008 — We are issuing a DDMS maintenance release version 8.14.40 in late March 2008 to resolve an issue with purging A/R Deposits. See DDMS Purged Prorated A/R Deposits Issue. If you have loaded Version 8.13.44 - 8.14.0, we recommend that you do not run the (OR-E) function to purge deposits until you have loaded 8.14.40 or higher.

DDMS Discontinues Support for "Slave" Printer Configurations

March 7, 2008 — To identify the presence of slave printers in your DDMS system, see detailed instructions and examples in "DDMS Discontinues Support for "Slave" Printer Configurations ". If you are still utilizing slave printers, please contact your DDMS support team — before you load Version 8.14 — to discuss your options for changing over to newer printer configurations.

DDMS 8.13.45

Jan. 24, 2008 — ECi is releasing a software update to resolve an issue with a custom (LGF) parameter, "Allow Held Commercial Prepays to flow to Status 8 instead of 6." If this parameter is set to Y, the (TR-P) Credit Card Service Capture and Invoicing of Prepay Orders function fails to move tickets with backordered items to a status B. This issue is related to QC52246, released in Version 8.11.40. If you use this parameter and have commercial backorder tickets lingering at status 8 or 9, please email ddmssupport@ecisolutions.com for the DDMS Version 8.13.45 software update, in reference to QC#53575.

DDMS 8.12.32

Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2007 — We have discovered an issue with the DDMS 8.12.32 maintenance release, and will automatically ship corrected software to the few dealers who have already received it once it is released.

If you do NOT use Automated Short Buy (ASB) to purchase from United Stationers, this issue does not affect you.

If you DO use ASB to transmit to United Stationers, DO NOT load the 8.12.32 software update. In DDMS 8.12.32, transmitting to United Stationers may cause a loop the acknowledgement process, generating erroneous temporary files, failing to print the acknowledgment, and subsequently slowing performance on your DDMS server. If you loaded 8.12.32 and this issue affects you, contact Support regarding QC# 53061. As always, you can contact support four ways:

Rest assured, this issue does not affect manual (SR) transmissions to United Stationers, and does not affect ASB transmissions with any other vendors.

We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may be causing.

DDMS 8.12

ECi Releases DDMS 8.12 DDMS® 8.12 offers new features carefully engineered hone your business' efficiency and competitive edge: AutoComm™ II, Approval Link™ 4.0 for NET1, S.P. Richards PSN Invoice & Advance Shipping Notice Data Handling, PPI and O Henry Electronic Invoicing Via PSN, Furniture Calculated Load Factor, Prorated Deposits, Haworth and Knoll P/Os via PSN, Machine BEI Export, and ServiceTrak™. Also see highlights of previous maintenance releases: Streamlined EnsiteEBS, ECinteractive® Gateway, Furniture Order Modifications, Machine Graphical Development

DDMS 8.11

ECi Ships Software to Resolve Department Synchronization Issue

Wednesday, 2/28/2007 — We have resolved an issue that affects some dealers after last weekend’s ECinteractive and is.D-Force2 Version 6.8 release.

Symptoms. When adding a customer account in the Admin control panel, in some cases the Synchronizing Departments function may result in an error that prevents new accounts from being added. The error message is as follows: "No accounts were found for department synchronization."

For dealers who are not yet running DDMS(tm) Version 8.11.20 or higher, the Synchronizing Departments function has trouble synchronizing properly if the Department Name field is blank in your back-end Customer database.

Solution. This issue is resolved in DDMS Version 8.11.20 and higher. We are shipping the latest maintenance release, Version 8.11.40, to all ECinteractive and is.D-Force2 dealer sites today. If this issue affects you, please load the software update when you receive it. For a complete change log of software enhancements, please see our Program Updates page.

Dealers who are getting ready to be trained on their new Web storefront must install Version 8.11.20 or higher in order to schedule training.

Version 8.11 EnsiteEBS Conversion Only Required for New SQL Applications ECi released DDMS® Version 8.11, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006, and began shipping in waves to customers who requested the software update. This message is from your ECi Technical Support team, to provide guidance as you implement groundbreaking new features.

Important Parameter Must Be Set Prior to Importing Data Into SQL We have discovered an important parameter setting was missing from the documentation for the new EnsiteEBS Utility. This parameter affects dealers who plan to use the new SQL applications, such as Customer Price Plans and Price Modeling. Before you import your data into the SQL database with the EnsiteEBS Utility, you must first set the (LØ) Global Master Parameters setting, “Using RoadRunner?” to Y. If you have already imported your data into SQL, all you have to do is set this parameter and then re-import your data and recent sales journals.

ECi Releases DDMS 8.11 Customer Price Plans, Price Modeling, Kimball® and National™ P/Os via PSN, Machine Meter Enhancements, SQL Reporting of Sales Data

DDMS 8.10 General Release

ActionEmco Communications Issues in DDMS/DDMS Sept. 29, 2006 — ActionEmco has confirmed an issue that affects electronic communications with the DDMS/DDMS® system, whether PSN, modem, or other channel. As Thursday, Sept., 28, 2006, the ActionEmco system uses longer IDs in P/O acknowledgements and electronic invoices. Instead of the seven digits that the DDMS/DDMS system currently accepts, the ID is now eight digits.

As a result, when the ActionEmco system sends an acknowledgement of your purchase order, the last digit will be dropped before it writes to the DDMS system. The discrepancy affects your efficiency in tracking ActionEmco shipments or making returns to them. The greatest impact will be for dealers who receive electronic invoices from ActionEmco, because the discrepancy will cause ActionEmco postings to fail.

ECi programmers and testers are diligently working on a solution. If these issues affect you, please email ddmssupport@ecisolutions.com to request the software update in reference to QC#51533. Please include your account number and shipping address for confirmation purposes.

ECi releases DDMS Version 8.10.40 Software Update
August 28, 2006 — ECi released a software update for DDMS®. Version 8.10.40 includes the following enhancements and corrections:

ECi Releases DDMS Version 8.10.22 Software Update August 1, 2006 — ECi released a software update for DDMS®. Version 8.10.22 includes the following corrections:

Third-Party Software

2/1/2010 — TSYS Terminates POS-Partner Credit Card Processing, Migration Advised.

POS-Partner offered automated authorization and capture software, for which ECi DDMS wrote the Approval Link 2.0 interface.

However, after being acquired first by VitalŪ and then by TSYSŪ, POS-Partner began announcing the termination of its support in July 2009.

Effective Feb. 1, 2010, TSYS will no longer support transactions generated from POS-partner applications on TSYS boarding or processing platforms. On that date, TSYS will close any records that indicate POS-partner is still the application of record used by any merchant, which will result in the merchant's transactions being rejected by the TSYS processing platform.

By Feb. 1, 2010, it is imperative that every DDMS dealer who has been using POS-Partner migrate to a different solution. Failure to do so will result in failure to process credit card transactions. Please choose from one of the newer versions of Approval Link.

Resolving Timeouts After Loading POS-Partner 6.1 Approval Link™ dealers who use TSYS® (formerly Vital) POS-Partner 6.1 software for credit card authorization have reported issues with timeouts. There is a consistent pattern of errors such as “timeout on response” and “no reply from merchant” after dealers load POS-Partner’s recently released version 6.1 software update. ECi Technical Support has determined that these timeouts occur after DDMS and Approval Link software has passed the data to POS-Partner 6.1. If you experience timeouts after loading POS-Partner 6.1, please contact the POS-Partner Technical Support Line (1-800-847-2772). Ask for an API technician to run the SQL utility that has been found to resolve timeouts between POS-Partner and the API.

Third-Party Software Parameters Conflicts with EBS Architecture (PDF) . If you have used third party software programs with DDMS®, please note that they may have written records to the PARAMETERS file at some point. This may create invalid records that are incompatible with the new DDMS® enterprise-class business system (EBS) architecture. As a result, it may prevent EBS applications such as Campaign Manager, Notes Everywhere, or Customer Price Plans, and so on, from working properly, and an invalid data error message may display. To see if this issue applies to you, see Identifying Invalid Records in Your Parameters File (PDF).

POS-Partner Security Update May Cause Credit Card Process Failure Vital® POS-Partner® (www.pos-partner.com) has confirmed that they have resolved a known issue with their recent security update CD. This issue affects all dealers currently using POS-Partner to process credit cards. To resolve the issue, you must speak with Vital/POS-Partner Technical Support for assistance in uninstalling certain files from their update.

Third-Party PowerChute Software Issue Interferes with DDMS Operations If you are using an APC UPS unit with your DDMS server, you need to upgrade to APC’s PowerChute 7 software. 7/29/05.

POS-partner Credit Service Requires Browser Upgrade If you use this credit card authorization service, you must upgrade the machine where you installed POS-partner to the latest version of Microsoft(R) Internet Explorer by Monday, November 1, 2004.