To:      All WinTOTAL Aurora (version 5) users
From:  Adam Calvery, VP Appraisal Products, a la mode, inc.
Re:     Aurora:  April 16th update is ready

Today’s WinTOTAL Aurora update is now available on our servers. To download it, click the “Get Updates” button on the toolbar in your Appraisal Desktop.

I’d encourage you to take a moment to scan through the release notes below.  There are improvements to several key areas in WinTOTAL, especially the Files PowerView.  The improvements there aren’t “huge” by themselves, but they definitely smooth out some workflow issues that many of you have brought to our attention.

Before I go, I want to quickly mention a couple of other items of interest.

1. The GP Land form has certainly had a warm reception, and we’d like to thank all of you that provided feedback early on.  In the update at the first of next month you’ll have the GP 2-4 Unit form, in both legal and letter sizes.  And in June you’ll have the GP Condo forms as well. 
2. We’ve released an update to Vault and Exact so they now run properly on Windows Vista.  Microsoft reports that Vista is being adopted twice as fast as XP was after just two months, and getting Vault and Exact up to speed was a priority.
3. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend attending an online training webinar, or watching a recorded session. They cover everything from form filling shortcuts to automated marketing. If you’re an Elite customer we even have one showing how all the products you own work together. I was recently reminded by a long-time customer what a valuable resource they are, and I think that bears repeating.   If you’re interested, click here. 

As always, you can visit the Aurora Status website at any time to find out the latest status on things like Desktop Billing, new GP forms we’re working on, what’s coming in the next update, and other projects.  To visit it now, click here. 

That’s it for today.  Thank you for your time and your business.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Adam Calvery
VP, Appraisal Products
a la mode, inc. 

WinTOTAL Aurora (v5) – April 16, 2007 Update

This update contains improvements throughout WinTOTAL.

Files PowerView: 

• After moving or deleting reports, the report count is now immediately updated.
• Attempting to delete read-only reports no longer causes a display issue in the reports list.
• You can now drag-and-drop reports from an attached directory to WinTOTAL sub-folders.
• A right-click menu is now available for attached directories.
• Deleting reports from a search result screen no longer clears the search results.
• Optimized performance for moving or deleting files when several thousand reports are present.
• Optimized performance for rebuilding the report list when several thousand reports are present.
• Sorting numeric columns now sorts numerically instead of alphabetically. 
• Right-clicking on a report in the report list now highlights and selects that report.
• Printing the report list no longer displays a plus sign for expanding reports.

General: 

• A focus issue that brings the File Cabinet up unexpectedly when the Appraisal Desktop is set to display the Order Form has been corrected.
• Importing an image database from Athena that contained duplicate file names now correctly associates each image with the correct address.
• Removing a signature that also contains a seal no longer displays a database connection error.

Comparable Database: 

• Placing comparables into the Small Income [Form 1025][03/05] no longer incorrectly places Neighborhood data into the report.
• Sorting now works correctly when you have over a thousand comparables in your database.

Competitor Conversion Utility:

• Additional photo and comparable database conversion options are now supported in the ACI conversion process.

Configuration Options: 

• Ampersands are now displayed correctly when used in WinTOTAL usernames.
• Changing your Billing settings will now shut down both the Appraisal Desktop and WinTOTAL if they are open in order that these settings can take effect.

Contacts PowerView: 

• Modifications have been made to the Contacts PowerView providing more information about contacts and companies.
• You can now use CTRL+left click to select multiple companies in the “All” view.
• Leaving the Contacts help dialog open and then changing PowerViews no longer causes an issue in the Appraisal Desktop.
• Re-importing Athena contacts when contacts already exist now works correctly.

Desktop Billing:

• Editing billing information on a signed report now immediately updates the Billing PowerView.
• After running a Billing report, focus is now returned to the Billing PowerView.
• An issue that could occasionally cause the Invoice Creator to lose focus has been corrected.
• A rare issue where editing an invoice would cause the borrower name to be removed from the major form has been corrected.
• When Borrower is configured for “Same as…” client in WinTOTAL, you can now successfully create invoices in the Billing PowerView.
• Entering client payments in the Billing PowerView now updates the invoice grid to immediately reflect the payment on a report.
• Fee Splits are now transferred into Billing when creating a new invoice.
• The “Fees Payable to Appraiser (Staff)” report no longer incorrectly shows the appraiser split fees that have already been paid.
• A hotkey (CTRL+P) is now available for printing a new invoice.
• Invoices that are 1 day past due are now shown in the <30 days past due filter.
• Marking an invoice as paid now updates the “Payment Total” and “Total Due” column in the Files PowerView.

Orders PowerView: 

• Editing a contact that is already selected now populates the new data to the Order Form.

AppraisalPort Delivery plugin:  

• WinTOTAL is now AI Ready 3.6 Compliant.

SafeStart:

• WinTOTAL will now force a reboot if files are currently in use when attempting to install an update.
• SafeStart now re-associates file extensions with WinTOTAL components if they are associated with a different program.
• SafeStart will now copy and install missing fonts that do not exist in the Windows Fonts folder.
• The SafeStart log has been updated for better viewing of files that were replaced or failed to register/install.
• The SafeStart log now reports if any WinTOTAL source files are missing.

{154 04/11/2007 PES}