This command allows you to synchronize two different accounts databases. If an account is open, this item will be unavailable. You must close the account to synchronize databases.
Synchronization is a useful utility for several scenarios. Suppose, for example, you have a master database on a computer in the office and your installers each carry laptops to the job sites. At the end of the day, whenever they return to the office, they can connect their laptops to the company network and synchronize their databases with the master database. By so doing, they may update the Master Accounts database with the changes they made to their own databases during the day.
When you select this menu item, ElkRP prompts for the locations of the master and remote databases. Use the browse buttons to locate each. If either database is on another machine (i.e. networked), that machine’s disk drive must be mapped to a letter drive on your computer. Browse to that drive and locate the database on it. The remote database may also be copied to your machine and placed in a temporary location. In that case, browse to the temporary location and select the database.
ElkRP will examine both databases to find any differences. If it finds any, they will be displayed. The differences are listed in two columns, one showing the Master database and the other, the Remote database. ElkRP separates the differences into two types – accounts that exist in one database but not the other, and accounts that exist in both databases but are different. You may choose which account(s) to copy from one database to the other.
Accounts that exist in one database but not the other
To copy one or more selected accounts, select them in the list to be copied from, then click one of the “Copy Selected” buttons. The selected accounts will be copied in the direction of the arrow. To select more than one account, hold down the Ctrl or Shift keys while clicking on the accounts. To copy all accounts listed, click one of the “Copy All” buttons. All accounts on the “from” side of the arrow will be copied to the database on the “to” side of the arrow. If there are accounts in each database that don’t exist in the other and you want to copy all accounts from each to the other, click “Merge All.”
Accounts that exist in both database but are different
These accounts deserve special attention. If you indiscriminately copy these accounts, you may accidentally overwrite an account you didn’t intend to. Before copying these accounts, make sure you know what changed. Suppose, for example, you know your laptop’s database was in-sync with the Master database before leaving on a service call. Upon returning to the office, you know that the changes you made to that account should be copied to the Master database. Before synchronizing the databases, you should confirm that no one at the office modified that same account in the Master database while you were out. If they did, and you copied your version of the account to the Master database, whatever changes they made will be lost.
You may possibly create an account on your laptop with an Account ID that already exists in the Master Database. Whenever you try to synchronize the databases, if you are not aware that the account already exists, you could inadvertently overwrite the Master’s copy with your own. ElkRP helps to prevent this by comparing the serial numbers of the accounts you are copying. If they are identical, ElkRP will overwrite the one with the other. If the serial numbers are different, ElkRP will warn you and will not copy the account. The “View Accounts” button is useful in this situation. Select an account from the Master Database and click it to view the Account Details of both accounts. This will help you determine whether the two accounts are for the same or for two different customers.