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FAQ INDEX - Click on a topic to jump to that section
PORTABLE bsa Questions
  • R1 - How does PORTABLE bsa work?
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  • R2 - Lost Portable Entries
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  • R3 - PORTABLE entries Post to wrong matter
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  • R4 - Installing PORTABLE bsa from the CD
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  • R5 - Back up data to CD-R or other device/media
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  • R6 - Can I make remote entries on a 2nd copy of BSA Pro?
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  • R7 - Why can't I add/edit Client/Matter info and print from PORTABLE?
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  • R8 - How do I Post from an email attachment of PORTABLE entries?
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  • R9 - I can't edit entries in PORTABLE
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  • R10 - Update causes error
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  • R11 - Error 91
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  • R12 - Uncompress Error 105
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    PORTABLE bsa Issues

    R1. Problem: How does PORTABLE bsa work?
  • Solution: When you use PORTABLE bsa, you:
    1. Use the 'Back Up' feature in BSA to make a back up of ALL your data to a floppy disk, CD-R, Zip drive, network drive or any other media. This will create a file called 'bsabakup.zip'.
    2. Use the 'Update' feature in PORTABLE bsa to update PORTABLE bsa with the information from the back up file you made in BSA. If you made the back up to a floppy disk, you would insert the floppy disk and specify the file name when asked for it in the UPDATE process in PORTABLE. This concept is the same for any media. If the back up file was emailed to you, you would specify the back up file that was attached to the email.
    3. Make your entries in PORTABLE bsa.
    4. Use the 'Send' feature in PORTABLE bsa to transfer your entries from PORTABLE bsa to another floppy disk, CD-R, Zip Drive, network drive or any other media.
    5. Take the media (floppy disk, for example) from step #4 back to the office and use the 'Post Entries' feature in BSA Pro to review and post the entries. If you sent the PORTABLE entries to a file on your hard drive, you could email the resulting file from Step #4 to the office as an attachment to an email.
      Also, see the next question for more on how PORTABLE bsa works.

    R2. Problem: I lost (damaged) the floppy I Sent entries to from PORTABLE bsa. Can I recreate them?
  • Solution: Yes, you can. But, first, if you have never Posted from PORTABLE bsa before, be sure you understand the process before you conclude something is wrong. The process requires that you SEND the entries you made in PORTABLE bsa to a floppy and then POST from that floppy in BSA Pro by using the 'Post Entries' feature in BSA - Utilities. When you Post Entries in BSA, you are given a chance to Review the entries before Posting them. If you're having problems, be sure to go through the Review process to see exactly which entries are on the floppy before you try to Post them. (It's easy to grab the wrong floppy...) If you conclude there is a problem with the floppy disk, PORTABLE bsa takes care of this by making back up copies of your last three sets of entries to the hard drive before it sends them to the floppy. So, even if there's a problem with the disk (or you lose it, the dog eats it or whatever), you can recreate the entries and Post them in BSA. So, first, be sure you are trying to Post from a floppy with PORTABLE bsa data on it. You can look at the contents of the floppy in Windows Explorer and see if has a file called REMOTE.ZIP on it. You can also check the date of the file. If the floppy has this file, then chances are it is a PORTABLE bsa disk and you can Post from it in BSA. If, for some reason, the floppy you thought had PORTABLE bsa entries on it does not, or the floppy is bad and can't be read by the machine with BSA on it, then you can still get the entries from the back up copy PORTABLE bsa makes when it creates the floppy. In order to find the proper back up copy of your data in PORTABLE bsa, it helps to understand the back up process. When you first Send entries from PORTABLE bsa to the floppy disk, PORTABLE bsa makes a copy of the file on your hard drive under the name REMOTBK1.ZIP. The next time you Send entries to a floppy, PORTABLE bsa makes a copy of that file as REMOTBK2.ZIP. The 3rd time you Send entries to a floppy, PORTABLE bsa makes a copy of the data as REMOTBK3.ZIP. After that, it starts re-using the file names so that the 4th time you Send entries to a floppy, it will overwrite the oldest back up and save the copy as REMOTBK1.ZIP. In other words, PORTABLE bsa always keeps the last 3 sets of data you sent to floppies. Thus, if you use Windows Explorer to look into the folder where PORTABLE bsa is installed (the default folder is seaBILL\Portable), you should see at least one of these files. If there's more than one, look for one with the most recent date and copy it to a floppy. Once you have the back up file on a floppy, Post from it in BSA in the normal way except you need to select the button in BSA to Post from a "Different directory or filename..." When you select that button in BSA, you will see a box that lets you specify the file name. Select the A: (or appropriate) drive from the list of Drives and then select the REMOTBK1.ZIP file (or whichever file name you ended up using) from the list of files. Select OK and continue with the Post operation. Given the triple redundancy built in to PORTABLE bsa, you should not have a problem recreating your work.
       If you Updated PORTABLE bsa before you Sent your PORTABLE bsa entries to a floppy, it will appear that you have lost your PORTABLE bsa entries. This is not, however, the case. The PORTABLE bsa entries are still waiting to be Sent to a floppy but you can't see them because the Updated information is the latest information you can see. So, if this happens, simply select the Send option in PORTABLE bsa as you normally do and your entries will be sent to the floppy for Posting in BSA. It is better practice to Send the entries from Portable to a floppy BEFORE you Update PORTABLE bsa with the latest information from BSA.

    R3. Problem: PORTABLE bsa entries are posting to the wrong matters.
  • Solution:  You should carefully Review the entries to Verify them before Posting them. If you see that the wrong matter is shown, then your PORTABLE bsa database is not in sync with the main BSA Pro database. This should not normally happen but could occur if you have restored your main BSA database (or changed it in some other way) and then NOT Updated the machine(s) running PORTABLE bsa. To cure the problem, simply make a back up of all data in BSA and then Update the machine running PORTABLE bsa with the data. Make some entries and then Post them in BSA. You should see they are again synchronized. To avoid the problem, regularly Update PORTABLE with the latest data from BSA Pro.

    R4. Problem: I can't seem to install PORTABLE bsa from the CD. I just keep getting the main BSA Pro program installed. What am I doing wrong?
  • Solution: The CD we send has all the programs we sell, including PORTABLE bsa on it. On older CD's if you have AutoRun (installations start automatically when you insert a CD) enabled on the computer onto which you want to install PORTABLE bsa, the main installation program will start as soon as you insert the CD and you won't see an option to install PORTABLE bsa.
     If this occurs, then Cancel and Abort the installation by selecting those options. Then, (whether you have AutoRun or not) you can use Windows Explorer to explore the contents of the CD. Look for the filed named 'InstPort.exe' and double click on it. The PORTABLE bsa installation will start and you can install PORTABLE bsa.
     NOTE: Many computers are set up NOT to show file extensions (the period mark and the 3 letters after it). If this is the case for you, you won't see the '.exe' part of the file name.
      PORTABLE bsa does not look the same as BSA Pro. If you see a DARK BLUE background on the first screen (the 'splash' screen) and it says 'PORTABLE bsa', then it's PORTABLE bsa. If you see a GRAY background on the splash screen and it say BSA Pro, then it's NOT PORTABLE bsa.

    R5. Problem: How do I make a back up of my data (or SEND Portable bsa entries) to a CD-R or some other peripheral device besides a floppy disk?
  • Solution: BSA Pro, Conflict Checker and PORTABLE bsa will write or read a back up or data file to/from any device your computer recognizes and has access to. To access such a device, select the option in the program to write the back up (or data file for PORTABLE) to something other than the a: or b: drives.
      Once you do so, the program will ask you to specify the file name and you can then name the back up (or data) file whatever you want and have it saved on any media your computer recognizes.
      If the media you want to use appears in Windows Explorer, BSA, Conflict Checker and PORTABLE bsa will write to it.
      If you're trying to write a back up file to a CD, for example, you'll need a CD writer (burner), a burnable CD and the CD will have to be formatted to accept data (as opposed to nothing, music, some proprietary format or something else). Formatting a CD-R to accept data files is handled by the software that came with your CD burner and is not the function of seaBILL products.
      Once the CD has been formatted and Windows can 'see' it, BSA, Conflict Checker or PORTABLE can all write to it.
      seaBILL programs will write to ANY device your computer recognizes. You can make a back up of your data to a CD-R, Zip drive, Tape drive, USB mass storage device, optical drive, another hard drive, a network drive and so on as long as your computer recognizes it as a drive and you have access to it.
      You can even make a back up (or data file for PORTABLE bsa) to a file on your hard drive and then attach that file to an email. This is especially useful for PORTABLE bsa where you can email your remote entries back to the office for POSTing in BSA Pro.

    R6. Problem: I want to make entries in BSA at my Home (or some other location) but BSA is installed at the office. Can I install another copy of BSA?
  • Solution: The license agreement for BSA allows only one installation of BSA. This is done not only to protect the software from piracy but also to prevent corruption of your database. BSA, like all billing programs, is a database application. If you attempt to merge data from two different copies of BSA, you may corrupt your databases. Further, if you make a back up of your main BSA database and take it home to make entries to a second copy of BSA and then restore the data from this second copy to the main copy of BSA, you will overwrite the existing main database and lose any information that may have been input after your back up was made. For these reasons, we make a product called PORTABLE bsa that can be installed on a remote computer. Portable allows you to make entries on another computer and download them to a floppy, CD, USB drive, file for email, etc. and then 'Post' them in the main BSA Pro database without overwriting the data and without risking data corruption. You can download Portable bsa from our web site and try it free for 35 days. It is a 'lite' version of BSA Pro (fewer features than the full BSA Pro program) and will fit on most laptops. Please try it before you buy it to be certain it meets your needs. You can read more about Portable by clicking HERE.

    R7. Problem: Why can't I add/edit Client/Matter or Biller info or print from PORTABLE?
  • Solution: PORTABLE bsa has fewer features than BSA Pro for 2 primary reasons:
    1) To keep it small - PORTABLE is designed to run on laptop, notebook, portable, etc. computers which often don't have as much power as a typical desk top computer. Printing is an example of an operation that requires a lot of horsepower and peripherals. So, printing, reports and trust accounting (which take a great deal of memory) are not provided for in PORTABLE.
    2) To keep your data intact - If you could change Client/Matter or Biller data in PORTABLE, then there would always be the question of which information should control in the case of a conflict:  The info in BSA Pro or the info in PORTABLE bsa?  If you think about it, you'll see that you could easily get into a mess if you started making changes at the office, at home, on the road and especially if more than one person were able to change the fundamental data such as Client/Matter or Biller information from anywhere other than the main BSA Pro program. So, to keep your data intact and avoid the problem, PORTABLE only lets you ADD NEW DATA to the main BSA Pro database. You can VIEW existing data in PORTABLE bsa, but you can't change it.
      If you could print and finalize bills in PORTABLE, it would be possible to print bills and send them out to Clients without BSA Pro knowing this was done. If entries were made in BSA AFTER bills were printed and mailed from PORTABLE but BEFORE this information was sent to BSA, the billing information in BSA would be different than the information sent to the Client. Obviously, this is not a good idea. Similar, but more complex, problems arise with interest and aging calculations. To prevent these synchronization issues, PORTABLE does not allow printing and finalizing bills.
      Please notice that this is not a limitation in seaBILL programs; this is a limitation in the nature of ANY database application.  Any database application can have only one, controlling set of data.  If data were allowed to exist in different files in different locations at the same time, there would be no one file with all the data.  Thus, database applications need to know where the relevant data is located.  Even relatively trivial applications such as Contact Managers struggle with this issue when a remote device is involved. (Also, notice that non-database applications such as word processing or painting programs, don't have to deal with these issues.)
     Since data stored on a "remote" location (such as a laptop or home computer) by definition is not available to the main program (and vice versa), it won't be merged into the main program unless a human causes this to happen or unless some kind of automatic connection is available (such as a network which makes the 'remote' computer no longer remote).  PORTABLE bsa is especially designed for computers that are not always connected to the 'main' computer.  Further, humans make mistakes and can easily forget to merge the data or make duplicate entries, etc.  If this happens, the billing data is no longer reliable or accurate and, while this might not pose huge problems for some non-database applications such as word processing documents, this is unacceptable in the mathematically precise billing environment.
      If you've ever tried to keep your PDA contacts or appointments synchronized with your desktop computer, you've seen how tricky it can be to decide which set of data should control and how easy it is to make a mistake and wipe out the wrong data, lose data, duplicate data and generally mess up. 
     As a result of these real world issues, a careful database software engineer will consider these potential problems and limit these possibilities to insure data integrity.  The more demanding the application is, the less flexibility in data movement can be tolerated.  This is exactly what we have done at seaBILL.  This careful thinking represents just one of the MANY reasons BSA Pro is so much more stable than other billing programs that have not considered these issues and/or made inadequate or no provisions for them. Rather than promising you features that sound great but will not work in the real world, we at seaBILL use our computer, database and practical expertise to ANTICIPATE problems and help you avoid them.
      There are hundreds of issues like this in writing computer software today. Frankly, very few software engineers are willing or able to weigh all these issues and make the tough decisions that result in a superior program that works simply, well and is reliable, stable, secure, affordable, etc. If you've ever struggled with other programs and wondered why they are so hard to use and don't work as promised, keep in mind that software programming is far more complicated in the real world than it seems at first blush. For the most part, in software, simpler is far, far better. Sadly, in the marketing-driven world of high tech, almost no one can resist the urge to include more and more 'bells and whistles' to make more sales. Unlike other software companies, we've decided to keep it simple.

    R8. Problem: How do I Post from an email attachment of PORTABLE entries?
  • Solution: The file you need to Post from is normally called 'remote.zip.' It is the file that was created in PORTABLE when the PORTABLE user used SEND feature to send the entries to a file. That PORTABLE user MAY have re-named the file to something else so there is no way for us to know the file name by the time you get it. It should be apparent from the email you received with the attachment.  If the PORTABLE user did not re-name the file, though, it will be called 'remote.zip.'  From here on, we'll call it the 'remote data file.'
      In most email programs, you can save an attachment to a folder you specify. Once you have done this with the remote data file, you need to note WHERE you saved the remote data file. Then, in BSA Pro, go to Utilities and select the option to 'Post PORTABLE Entries.' Then, select the button 'Different Directory or File Name' in order to specify the location of the remote data file. A window will pop up allowing you to specify the drive, folder and file name of the remote data file. Specify the drive, folder and file name where you saved the remote data file and select OK. Follow the on-screen prompts to Verify and Post the data in BSA.

    R9. Problem: When I try to Save Changes to an entry, I get a message that says I can't edit entries made in BSA. Why not? And, I made this entry in PORTABLE - not BSA. What's Up?
  • Solution: You can only edit entries made in the CURRENT SESSION of PORTABLE (unsent PORTABLE entries). This is done to preserve the data integrity of BSA. Once an entry is sent to BSA using the SEND feature in PORTABLE, it is no longer treated as a PORTABLE entry since it may have been Posted in BSA. Entries that were Posted in BSA, cannot be changed in PORTABLE. Again, this is done to preserve the integrity of the data in BSA. The technical reason is the same reason you can't merge data from two different copies of BSA (or any other database programs).
      Once an entry has been sent for posting in BSA, it can only be changed in BSA.

    R10. Problem: When I try to Update PORTABLE bsa with a back up made in BSA, I get an error message that says "Retrieve_routine error uncompress error: (-10). Did you remember to insert a floppy disk?" What is the problem?
  • Solution: If you have a floppy in the drive with a proper BSA back up file on it (bsabakup.zip), then the error indicates the disk is damaged or the data file is corrupt. If the disk has an uncorrupted, readable back up file, PORTABLE bsa will not give this error. So, the easiest solution is to make a back up in BSA to a different disk. You can also examine the back up file if you have an Unzipping  program.  When you unzip the back up file, it should become BSA.MDB.  If it doesn't, then it will not work.  If it does have the proper file, BSA.MDB, and it still doesn't work, then the back up file is most likely corrupt.

    R11. Problem: When I try to run PORTABLE bsa under Vista, I get an error 91. What is the problem?
  • Solution: You need 'administrator' privileges to run the program under Microsoft's new operating system, Vista. Please consult the Vista documentation for help setting up Vista

    R12. Problem: When I try to POST entries in BSA, I get an "Uncompress Error (105)." What is the problem?
  • Solution: Either the posting medium (floppy, flash drive, CD, DVD, etc.) is bad or the posting data file is bad. Check that the media can be read by Windows Explorer and that it contains a file named "remote.zip" (or one of the remote back up file if you were using one). Also, check to be sure the data file has the correct date and a file size that makes sense compared to your other posting data files. If the medium is the problem, you won't be able to read from it. If the file is bad, it will have a very small file size or other problems such as a strange date. Remember that PORTABLE keeps a back up of your last 3 postings so you can re-create the file if needed. See question R2 - Lost Portable Entries above for details.


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