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Total Visual Agent

 

With Windows NT Service!
Supports: All Access, Jet Engine and Visual Basic versions

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"Total Visual Agent is a real find, a rare combination of ease of use, and bang for the buck. In the end, no other competitor even comes close." - Thomas Wagner, Product Review in MS Office and VBA Developer
 

 

Total Visual Agent Frequently Asked Questions

Pre-Sale Questions

Installation and Initial Use Questions

Use Questions

Pre-Sale Questions

What version of Total Visual Agent do I need and what versions of Access/VB does it support?

The latest version of Total Visual Agent replaces all previous versions of the product and supports:

  • Jet Engine 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0
  • Access 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 95, 97, 2000, 2002 (XP), and 2003
  • Visual Basic 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0

An Access 2007 version is in development to support Access 2007 and its new Access 2007 ACCDB database format.

Check the Product Compatibility Chart for version information for all of our products.

Can I try Total Visual Agent before I buy it?

Yes. Download the fully functional Trial Version of Total Visual Agent and use it for 30 days.

Also, remember that FMS products come with a 30-day money back guarantee, so you can buy with confidence!

Can Total Visual Agent run as a Windows NT Service instead of a standalone application?

Yes. Total Visual Agent 2003 includes an option to run the program as a Windows NT Service. An NT service runs even without a user logged on to the computer, providing increased security and automated restart if the machine crashes.

Can Total Visual Agent manage files across my network?

Yes. Assuming you have security privileges, Total Visual Agent works with files in any folder across your network. Depending on the actions and options you set, you may need read, write, and/or create rights to those files and folders.

Can Total Visual Agent run a macro on a database with a password?

No. Total Visual Agent can successfully launch a macro in your database if it has workgroup security or doesn't have a password.

However, Microsoft Access does not provide a way to open a password protected database using command line arguments. Total Visual Agent only launches Access with your database and designated macro. It cannot respond to any prompts or other dialogs that appear as a result of your macro, such as a database password.

Installation and Initial Use Questions

Why won't Total Visual Agent install?

There are a few reasons that may prevent Total Visual Agent from properly installing.

  • Do you have rights to install files in the installation folder? With Windows Vista and XP, you may be prevented from installing programs in your Program Files folder. If so, install the program in another folder.
  • There may be interference with other programs that are currently running. Please close the programs you can and try installing again.

How do I reinstall or upgrade Total Visual Agent without losing my existing schedule settings?

To reinstall Total Visual Agent or to upgrade to the latest version, follow these steps:

  1. Make a copy of your settings database (TVAGNT9.MDB, TVAGNT10, or TVAGNT11.MDB, located in your installation directory).
  2. Uninstall Total Visual Agent, and delete the settings database from your installation directory (be careful NOT to delete the backup copy you just made- you'll need it!).
  3. Install the new version of Total Visual Agent.
  4. Start the Total Visual Agent Manager, and select Tools, Import Manager Settings from the Total Visual Agent menu.
  5. Browse to the copy of your settings database (which you created in step 1), and press "Import."

To reinstall Total Access Agent (for Access 97 and earlier), follow these steps:

  1. Make a copy of your settings database (TAAGNT16.MDB or TAAGNT32.MDB, located in your installation directory).
  2. Uninstall Total Access Agent.
  3. Move the database that you created in Step 1 to the directory where you intend to install Total Access Agent.
  4. Total Access Agent will detect the existing settings database the first time you run the Total Access Agent Manager program, and it will import your settings.

What do I do with this error: "You cannot install this VB5 application without the latest service pack first being installed onto this computer. Please install the latest service pack and rerun this installation"?

This error occurs with older versions of Windows, and means you do not have the minimum Windows service pack installed.

Total Visual Agent is not supported under Windows NT 3.x. If you are using Windows NT4, please install Service Pack 6 (or higher).

Total Access Agent 8.0 requires Service Pack 5 (or higher) for Windows NT 3.51, and Service Pack 2 (or higher) for Windows NT 4.0.

When I run Agent for the first time, I get error number 3633.

This issue can occur for several reasons:

  1. The user does not have the full permissions needed to do work over the network, or on specific databases. Please see your Network Administrator to obtain any needed privileges, or permissions to have full rights to the database or network.
  2. You have the executed the Agent Monitor prior to opening the Agent Manager. Please ensure that you run the Agent Manager at least once before running the Agent Monitor.
  3. If you are installing Total Visual Agent 2000 for Access 2000, the setup may not have properly installed the necessary MDAC update. Please install the latest MDAC that is available from Microsoft, then reboot and reinstall Total Visual Agent 2000.

How can I find or configure an SMTP Server for sending error alert email?

If your organization or email provider offers an SMTP service that allows relay, configure Total Visual Agent to use that. Many internet service providers, including gmail, allow access to SMTP servers.

The following topics on the Total Access Emailer FAQ page may help you find an SMTP server that is available to you:

If you do not have access to an existing SMTP server that allows relay, Windows 2000, XP Professional, and 2003 include it for free. Refer to the help topic "Error Alert Mail Settings" for details about installing and configuring an SMTP server.

Note that Windows Vista does not include an SMTP service. Details are provided under this Total Access Emailer FAQ:

Why do I need to have Access installed to use Total Visual Agent 2007?

While previous versions of Total Visual Agent did not require Microsoft Access, the latest version requires Microsoft Access 2007 installed.

This requirement is because with the release of Access 2007, Microsoft no longer allows distribution of the components that support the new Access ACCDB format. You may install the free Runtime version, which is available for download from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=D9AE78D9-9DC6-4B38-9FA6-2C745A175AED&displaylang=en

Why is launching external programs (executing macros and custom commands, and compacting ADP files) considered risky?

Certain events require Total Visual Agent to launch external programs, including:

  • Executing Macros

  • Compacting ADP files

  • Executing Custom Commands

Executing these actions from an unattended or a non-interactive user account is risky, and can cause the computer to stop responding, leave programs open in memory, and possibly corrupt data.

If you understand these risks and still determined that you want to launch external programs using the Service, Microsoft has a few suggestions. Refer to the following Microsoft KnowledgeBase articles for more information:

Use Questions

I set up my events. Now how do I run them?

To run your Events, you must have them enabled.

Total Visual Agent
To enable events in Total Access Agent, right click on the Event name in the treeview section of the Total Visual Agent Manager. Select "Enable" from the menu. The Event should now be no longer grayed out.

Total Access Agent
To enable events in Total Access Agent, ensure that "Enable Event" is checked (on the Schedule Status form).

I get an error saying "Unable to compact replicated databases," but my database is not replicated.

This issue can occur for a number of reasons.

  1. Your database is read-only.
    To resolve this, use Windows Explorer to locate the database in question. Right click on the database, and choose the menu selection "Properties." Ensure that "Read-Only" is not checked.
  2. You have either a database password, or a user ID & password that is not specified in the Database Settings.
    To specify these settings, go to View, Managed Databases (in the Total Visual Agent Manager). Then, highlight your database, and choose the Edit button. The "Use Global Default" setting will allow you to set the database password. The "Specify Workgroup" setting will allow you to specify the user ID & password. Please keep in mind that with this setting you must specify an .MDW.
  3. This is not a valid Microsoft Access database.
    If this file is not an actual Microsoft Access database, but has the .mdb extension, this error can occur. To ensure that it is a Microsoft Access database, please try opening the .mdb with your version of Microsoft Access. If an error is returned saying "Unrecognized database format", then the database was either created with a newer version of Microsoft Access than what you have installed, or it is not a Microsoft Access database at all.
  4. The database you are trying to run the compact action on is a replicated database. Please note that Total Visual Agent will not perform this action on replicated databases.

How can I tell which Event or Action is going to run first/next?

You can always tell which event is going to fire next by looking at the "Next scheduled activity" field on the Monitor.

Actions within each event are executed in the order in which they are listed in the Manager portion of the application. In Total Visual Agent, the actions are listed in the treeview on the left side of the Manager screen. In Total Access Agent, the actions are listed in a List Box in the Manager portion of the application.

Why doesn't the Archive Table Data action copy indexes or relationships?

Indexes and relationships could interfere with Total Visual Agent's ability to perform an archive of your table. Total Visual Agent makes a copy of each table individually. If relationships require certain values to exist in other tables, it may fail to save your records due to missing records in the tables it depends upon. By not including indexes and relationships, it avoids problems associated with the order tables are populated.

You should archiving individual tables when it's not possible to make a complete database backup (if users are in the database). The purpose of the table data extract is recovery of data that was added since the last time a complete copy of the database was made (with the Archive action).

The recommended backup procedure for databases that are heavily updated during the day is:

  1. Perform an Archive Database action one or more times a day at a time when nobody is using the database, such as the middle of the night.
  2. Schedule an Archive Table Data action to run several times throughout the day (e.g. every hour) to extract the data from the most crucial tables.

When I try to open my database it has a password that it didn't have before. How did this happen?

If you enter a value in the "Database Password" field of the Settings dialog, that password is assigned to the compacted database, even if the database did not originally have a database password.

After Total Visual Agent executes the compact/repair action with the option "Compact onto Original File," the password you entered is assigned as the database password.

Here is how this works:

  1. Agent makes a Temporary copy of your database
  2. Agent then compacts and repairs that database
  3. Agent renames the original database
  4. Agent renames the Temporary database to the original database file name
  5. Finally, Agent deletes the original database that was renamed.

During this process Agent uses the database password the user entered on the Settings screen as the database password to use when creating the Temporary database. After the process is completed this password is now the password of the database you ran the compact/repair action on.

To change your database back to having no password:

  1. Open the database with your copy of Microsoft Access in exclusive mode using the password you entered into the "Database Password" field in the Agent Setting screen.
  2. Go to the Tools Menu...Security...Unset Database Password... You will then be prompted for the password you used to open the database. Enter that password and then click OK.
  3. Open Agent and click on Configure. Choose the database that has the password that was previously assigned to it and then click Settings. The value in the Database Password field (in the bottom right corner) should be deleted. Doing this will ensure that the database does not have a password assigned to it again when the compact/repair action is executed.

When I run a macro, I get the error: "Microsoft Access location not specified or is invalid."

This issue can occur in Total Visual Agent if you have two versions of Microsoft Access installed on your machine, but did not specify the path of the Microsoft Access .EXE. To resolve this, please do the following:

  1. Open Total Visual Agent.
  2. Go to Tools, Options, and select the "Microsoft Access Locations" tab.
  3. For each version of Access that you have installed, specify the correct path of the msaccess(version).exe.
  4. Under "Access System Database" or "Access (version) INI File", specify the path to the *.MDW or *.INI.
  5. Set the user ID and password if necessary.

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