COMPAS Frequently Asked Questions

Say some words here about the frequently asked questions.

Installation

1. How do I perform a new COMPAS client installation on Windows?
   
   Follow the instructions from the COMPAS download page,

2. How do I upgrade to the latest release of the COMPAS client?
   
   You can do it directly from the COMPAS website by downloading the latest client from the download link on the support page. Also, the client will always check to see if there are new updates and notify you each time you login to COMPAS.

3. After I install COMPAS, I click on the executable file and nothing happens. I am running Windows 2000, SP III. What should I do?
   
   There is a know problem with W2K SPIII and Java that may cause this problem. To solve it, download and install DirectX from the Microsoft website. Then launch the COMPAS application again and you should see the login window.

4. Can the COMPAS Java Applet work together with Microsoft Java applets?
   
   Even though COMPAS uses the Sun Java Virtual Machine, your browser can be setup to work with both java virtual machines. Both Sun and Microsoft VMs can actually live and work together. What you have to do is install the Sun Java VM again. Then go into your browser and select the Microsoft JVM for browsing applets. In Internet Explorer for example, go to Tools -> Internet Options -> Advanced and scroll down and uncheck the Java Sun box and check boxes 2 and 3 of the Microsoft VM.
   

Getting Started

1. Are there tutorials for COMPAS?
   
   Yes, there are many on-line HTML tutorials on the COMPAS web site.
   Click here to see the set of COMPAS tutorials.

2. How do I create a start-up Icon for COMPAS Enterprise using Windows?
   
   Start up your Windows Explorer (File Manager Utility) and examine the files in your COMPAS folder. Right-click and hold down your right mouse button on the file entitled "compas.exe". Drag and drop this file onto your PC desktop background. When you release the right mouse button, a drop-down menu appears. Left-click the menu option, "Create Shortcut Here". Then you may right-click the new shortcut and rename it.

3. How do I configure Helper Applications to customize my editing and browsing?
   
   See HelperApps for quick help on this topic. See a tutorial for a detailed tutorial on how to configure helper applications.

4. How do I log into COMPAS?
   
   Your login for COMPAS is your unique company handle. If it is your first time to login, you may use anything you would like as your password and the system will remember it. The server field should be the name of the server assigned as the COMPAS server.

5. What can I do if I forget my password?
   
   If you have logged into COMPAS before and you forgot your password, you may simply click the "email passord" button on the login panel to have your password emailed to you.

Delivering and Updating Documents

1. How do I Change Document Ownership?
   
   On the Document Detail Window properties form, there is a data field named Owner. If you have permission to edit the content of the Owner data field, the field itself will have a white background and a bold border. Change the value to a new valid corporate handle and then click the "Save" command button. If you do not have permission to change the "Owner" data field, then contact the project librarian or your local COMPAS Administrator,

2. Can a document have Multiple Owners?
   
   Yes. But COMPAS implements multiple document ownership by allowing a single document owner to give ownership to another person. The COMPAS single-owner feature is a very nice solution to the time-consuming and troublesome check-in/check-out process that would be required if we allowed more than one person at a time to update a document. People would have to check out the document first before they could edit it and then check it back in before other owners could edit it.

3. Will COMPAS accept multi-file documents such as FrameMaker Books?
   
   Yes. Multiple-file documents must be compressed together into a single file before delivery to COMPAS. The zip utility may be used for this purpose. See these instructions to read about FrameMaker Book documents.

4. Why isn't my file recognized as PostScript when I replace it?
   
   Use a plain text editor (Wordpad handles large files in Windows) to look at the beginning of the file. If it doesn't have "%!PS" at the beginning of the first line, it isn't postscript! COMPAS forgives one garbage character (e.g., ^D), but that's all we allow. Use the editor to remove extraneous garbage or an extra first line.

5. Why is my file called other which is binary even though it is a plain text file?
   
   You probably have a non-ascii character somewhere in your file.

6. Why isn't my Frame-generated PostScript recognized as such?
   
   Look at the file you are delivering to COMPAS. It may be "Maker Intermediate Format", because when you tell Frame to print to file, it often returns before the file is completely processed to PostScript. After Frame says it is done printing to a file, you may need to wait several minutes before the file is converted to PostScript. Then you can deliver it to COMPAS.

Accessing Documents

1. Can I retrieve COMPAS document(s) and related information via HTML?
   
   Yes, see COMPAS HTML Scripts for the details.

2. I know the COMPAS Java Applet has been updated but my browser keeps downloading it anyway. How could that happen?
   
   The Java Jar file may be cached somewhere either on your PC or on the proxy server. First try clearing the cache in your web browser and if that doesn't work, try the following. Under your web browser options, under network connections, make sure you do not go thru the proxy server local URL addresses. That will bypass the proxy server that might be caching the jar file and it will also speed up the process of running the applet.

3. Can I print documents on the local printer attached to my desktop computer?
   
   Yes. The best way to do this is to use Adobe Acrobat Reader to browse the document, then print it. Or you could copy the document out of COMPAS and then use your desktop print mechanisms to send the file to the printer.

4. Why don't all the worksheets come out when viewing or printing an MS Excel dcoument in COMPAS instead of just the last page?
   
   The default printer setting for Excel is only print "Active Sheets" To fix it, you need to open your document in MS Excel and print to a file. When you do, select the "Entire Workbook" radio button and NOT "Active Sheets". Then print to the file and save the document. It will save those print settings and use them when the document is printed to a file by our automation server.

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