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Topics:   Shared Files     Irreconcilable Conflict     Setting up Weeks     Changing School Year
Backup Records    Additional Suggestions     Why Must I Get a New Code to Re-Register the Companion?

Shared Files Issue

Depending on other software installed on your computer, after installing The Homeschooler's Companion® you may immediately encounter a message that says "Error in the Notes System." Some people get this message and some do not. It is the result of shared .ocx files being overwritten by the latest version existing on your hard drive. Since the Companion was written in 1997 using an earlier database conversion, there is a conflict with more recent MS Access® databases. This is not a serious error problem, but it is inconvenient. 

We do have a self-extracting executable file to fix the notes system error. Please e-mail your request for the HSCompfix.exe file to and I will send it as an e-mail attachment. Return to top of page.

If you have upgraded to Microsoft® Windows XP, there are a couple of options that allow you to run older programs concurrently with new programs. To access these options, right-click the Planner.mde file with your mouse and select properties. On the General tab there is an option to choose which program you want to open or run the file with (an MS® Access database file). If you do not have a more recent Access database installed, there will be no problem; if you have more than one program that uses Access, you can select which version to use for The Homeschooler's Companion®. Windows XP also offers the opportunity to select a compatible operating system, which is MS® Windows 95 for the Homeschooler's Companion. To view the Compatibility tab, right-click the setup executable file, hscomp.exe, and select Properties. Always, if you have questions, please don't hesitate to call. Return to top of page.

Notice of Irreconcilable Program Conflict

If you have Microsoft Office 2000®, specifically Access 2000®, installed on your computer, the Companion will not operate on the same system hard drive. This relates to the newer shared files overwriting our older database files as mentioned above. However, since Access 2000 was designed with major changes affecting the location of stored objects in the database, our database cannot be "fixed" or converted. We regret that some of our clients must make a choice to use either Access 2000 or The Homeschooler's Companion®. (Also, there are many new programs available that use the 2000 database files, so the same irreconcilable program conflict occurs.) Some of our clients have come up with creative ways to get around this problem, so it can be done, but not easily. Return to top of page.

Setting up weeks (this seems to be a common difficulty for users)

The Week Setup Wizard can be used three different ways:

(1) If you want to do long-term planning, basically it becomes your school year calendar; <*dv_2*>you can go right through the year, assigning all the dates to the weeks, without respect to children, subjects or assignments. Use the week setup (select Week Info and click OK). In this case, it isn't designed for detailed lesson plans; you go to the Daily Assignments for that. And you don't need to repeat this process again once it is done.

<*dv_1*>(2) For the parent/teacher who likes longer term lesson planning, don't do the week setup detail, set up the calendar and then set up individual weeks in Daily Assignments. For Daily Assignments you can use part of the weekly setup wizard, which is just for the assignments that you pick. This option is designed for those who like to plan the first month or six-week period much the same way classroom teachers do. Or, the weekly setup wizard will walk you through the whole week (IF you are not already set up) of each week that you want to plan in a detailed manner. (You go through it, complete the process, and return for each week you are planning.)

(3) Last minute planning suits the style of many homeschooling parents, who, on a weekly basis (possibly on Sunday night before) plan what their children will do for the next week. Again, there is no need to use the calendar in the week setup. When you are ready to do the lesson plan, for short-term planning on a week-by-week basis, select Week Info, and do not click OK; just click the wizard on the left, and follow through with all the information for the immediate week under consideration.

A "duplication" error message makes you aware that a record already exists. The calendar isn't designed to be returned to for additional input (that would be like working backwards) because once a record is created, there is no need to recreate it; duplication would cause confusion and the database would get messed up. Therefore, you go to assignments to edit information. (The Homeschooler's Companion online help provides step-by-step instructions for adding to, modifying, or deleting assignments.)  Return to top of page.

Changing School Year

If you receive a duplication of records messages when you try to enter a new school year, it is a valid error message, as the system database will not allow you to have two years listed for your current year. First you need to deselect the old year before you can select the new year as current.

You need to go to Setup and click Year Info. When the screen comes up, you see a toolbar above. Do not enter anything in the Year Setup box. Click the Binoculars Icon, which brings up the Find dialog box*. Type the year in the text box next to Find What. Click Find.<*dv_0*> The year you typed will appear in the Year Setup<*dv_5*> box, in the text box next to Year. The check box next to Current Year will either be blank or have a check in it. Select or deselect the Current Year box accordingly.

Example: If 2000 was selected as your current year, when you try to insert 2001 as the current year, you end up with the error message about not having duplicate records because.the database only allows one record to be the current year. If you type "2000" in the Find <*dv_4*>box, it appears in the Year text box with the Current Year check box selected (checked). This means the old year is still selected as the current year, so you need to click the check box to remove the check. Or, if you type "2001" in the Find box, and it appears in the Year text box with the Current Year check box empty, you need to click the Current Year check box to select it (put a check in it).

* When the Find<*dv_3*> box pops up, if it is visually obstructing your view of the top portion of the Year Setup box, simply position the cursor in the title bar of the Find box and hold the mouse down to drag the Find box to a different position on the screen so you can view both boxes. Return to top of page.

Performing Backups and Restoration of your HS Companion Records

The Homeschooler's Companion program is operated by running an executable file named Planner.mde. The planner uses the records stored in a database file named Plandata.mdb. When you back up your records, the file is automatically named PlanBackup.mdb. It is a good idea to periodically back up your records.

Backing up Records

To back up your Companion records, please do the following: On the main (Welcome) screen, click Setup, then select Backup Companion from the Setup Options and click OK. The message box asks you to enter the drive letter for your back up (type the letter in the text box) then click OK. You can back up your records to a floppy disk, which is probably drive A or B, or you can back up to a fixed hard drive, usually C, unless you have more than one.

NOTE: If you have a very large number of records, it is possible that you cannot copy them to a floppy disk without first using a file compression program, such as WinZip, to compress them before copying to the floppy disk.

Sometimes backups are used to store the records from previous school years that you want to keep, but do not need to refer to during the current year. We suggest that you rename the backup file with a name that will readily remind you of its identity and contents. Most backups, however, involve safeguarding records while a transition is being made from one computer to another, which usually involves reinstalling the Homeschooler's Companion. Return to top of page.

Restoring Records

When you reinstall the Companion, your PlanData.mdb is empty. The executable, Planner.mde, only "recognizes" the file named Plandata.mdb when it searches for records; therefore, to restore your records you must rename the files you backed up Plandata.mdb (instead of PlanBackup.mdb). The important factor is to NOT click so quickly that you overwrite the file containing records with the empty file--when doing something in haste, this CAN happen! We suggest that you make a copy of your backup file then rename the copy Plandata.mdb. You can right-click the file, select copy then paste it into the proper directory, or, if you have two directories open side by side on your desktop, you can usually drag one file into the other directory. Restoring records from the backup isn't difficult to do, but it does require care.

Note: When you restore your files, please be aware that you will overwrite any newer records that have been entered since the backup file was made.

If this is not clear and you still have questions, please feel free to call for more assistance. Return to top of page.

Registering the Homeschooler's Companion with a New Code

Although you may have used the Companion for several years, every new installation of our software has a timed expiration security feature, which enables us to allow trial downloads. Therefore, if a computer crashes or you update to another computer, even though you have previously registered the Companion, you must do so again. When you contact Franwell for a new code, you do NOT pay another license fee; we are happy to provide the code to our clients (who have purchased the software license) as many times as necessary. The code allows you to continue usage of our software, but because it is a timed code that changes daily, we cannot provide it in advance--we must give you the code the same day you intend to register it. Simply call Franwell for the new code and, if you are able to work online because you have a separate telephone line, go to the main screen, select Help, then click About and Register. Your code will appear highlighted, delete it and enter the case-sensitive code given to you by a Franwell representative.  Return to top of page.

Helpful Suggestions

You are always welcome to call or write regarding problems, but we do want to suggest some self-help options:

• Have you downloaded our free tutorials and used them? (They are available on the Trial Version page.) The tutorials help you understand how to manage the wizards efficiently.

• Have you tried using the online help from your Homeschooler's Companion menu? This was written to explain how to use the various features and allows you to search for topics related to the use of our Companion.
  
• Also, once you've opened the Companion, we've found that some of our users only notice the active center window(s) or boxes that pertain to Activities, Setup, Reports, and Help and they don't notice the larger window with a toolbar menu that changes according to what is open in the smaller window it contains. The large window toolbar contains several icon buttons for finding, sorting, deleting and performing other useful operations.
  Return to top of page.

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