Dear WinTOTAL User:

Usually, we send the e-mails outlining the Aurora product updates only to Aurora users. But since you’re an Athena user the message below is important to you too because it talks about our plan to support Athena indefinitely, along with Aurora changes that we’re making which may help you decide if or when you want to install it.

Today’s Aurora update focuses on formfilling functions in general and the Files PowerView.  The details of this week’s update (and some of next) are at the end of this message.  If you haven’t already downloaded the update using WinTOTAL’s Instant Customer Update, please do so now.

As I said in previous updates, our beta users test components, and some make it through with no need for additional revisions while others go back for more changes and then more beta testing.  The list of what will most likely be in next week’s update will grow as a result, with new components passing the beta approval process.  We also have some significant improvements in memory overhead and speed which will need a longer testing period and will be out soon, and will have what we believe will be a substantial impact on the “feel” of Aurora.

By now you’ve probably also read Dave’s e-mail regarding Aurora’s status, and some of you have sent us excellent information regarding issues you’ve seen.  He reads them and forwards those to me and my product management staff, and they’ve been invaluable in discovering and diagnosing issues. 

Those feedback e-mails also have shown that you’re basically split into three camps:  (1) Those who use Aurora and our entire product line and like the automation, (2) those who use Aurora but don’t like the change and would prefer Athena, and (3) those who have never used Aurora and don’t want to switch. (That’s the “we don’t need bells and whistles, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” Athena people – and that’s a quote, as many of you know.) 

For the first group, we’ll continue to keep Aurora in the leading technology position in the industry.  It will continue to do more and automate more than any other system.  We will of course streamline it and make it more predictable (simplifying the XSites syncing is a great example), but it won’t run away from its roots of the past 20 years:  Being at the forefront of ideas and technology tools.  There are clearly a large number of users who want the latest technology, and we’ll provide it. 

For the third and most vocal group, the Athena users, we’re going to keep Athena indefinitely as the “little brother” of Aurora in our product line.   That’s what you want, and that’s what you’ll get.  It will stay exactly as it is.  We’ll let you install either Athena or Aurora at any time and support both on our tech lines.  Athena will not be “replaced” by Aurora at all.  If all you want to do is fill out forms and print and deliver, Athena is perfect for you, and we won’t make you switch.   You can move up to Aurora’s more advanced features later, or never.  It’s up to you.  It will be like Microsoft Works versus Microsoft Office.  Both are current products, but targeted at different types of users with different needs and different technological desires.

For the middle group, those who have Aurora but are having problems or learning curve issues, for whatever reason, we’ll give you a rollback tool which will take your reports and databases back to an Athena installation.   You can move forward to Aurora again later, or stay with Athena like some of the others.  We’ll get you more details on the process this coming week, for those who wish to do so.

Thanks again for your business.  I hope you continue to see the improvements we’re making daily, and that we do indeed listen to you more than any other vendor.

Adam Calvery

VP, Appraisal Products

a la mode, inc.

[To download Instant Customer Updates click Start, Programs, WinTOTAL, then Instant Customer Updates.  To schedule WinTOTAL to automatically download and install updates, click Options, Configure WinTOTAL Settings, and choose the Internet option.]

WinTOTAL Aurora – March 17, 2006 Update

Formfilling

• Improvements were made to the “Change All” and “Ignore” options in the spell checker.
• When you sign a report that does not contain a major form, you will no longer get an error message. 
• Sketch or map pages added from the Contents view display correctly. 
• When using the 1004D form, the effective date is now transferred into the effective date field at the top of the form, and no longer transferred to the appraisal update effective date field at the bottom.

Files PowerView

• Setting status on a file after performing a search in the Files PowerView no longer clears the search results. 
• If Pocket TOTAL is not already installed, clicking the Pocket Sync button notifies you. 
• When retrieving subject photo information upon first time report expansion, focus is now properly maintained on the desired report. 
• Type mismatch errors and loading issues in RELS orders are corrected. 
• When the Order view is selected, and you do a search for files, the order form preview now updates immediately, instead of when you select one of the search results. 
• The Files PowerView interaction with your Vault account has been improved, avoiding unnecessary error messages caused by temporary Internet interruptions.
• When you send a report to QuickBooks, focus is now maintained on the Files PowerView after the QuickBooks export tool closes. 
• Syncing a selected order properly shows the progress indicator.
• The ALT key now activates the menu items in the Files PowerView.
• When you open an XML order file (*.ord file) from your e-mail or hard drive, it will now launch and open in WinTOTAL as expected.
• In certain instances, if you expanded a report detail grid, your mouse cursor position could cause WinTOTAL to think you were attempting to reorganize columns.  This has been corrected.
• Screen refreshes have been improved (“flickering” behavior).

SafeStart

• SafeStart no longer remains on screen after an update is downloaded automatically. 

Sketching

• Attempting to load the APEX sketcher sometimes resulted in a “Data integration error”.   This has been corrected.

Appraiser XSites - March 17, 2006 Update
For those of you using an Appraiser XSite, click here for a list of the bug fixes and improvements to Business Management and Contacts.

Some of the things already queued up for next Friday, March 24th

These things should to be coming out of beta over the next few days and we expect all of them will be in next Friday’s update.   There will be more than these, but these are the ones that seem certain.

• When you select to use auto-numbering with the sequential method, characters added to the Internal Order # field are properly filtered, avoiding a type mismatch error.
• When you update a comparable in your report, and then immediately import it into your comparable database, it will now be correctly identified as an updated comp and added to the database.
• Creation of duplicate images when importing previously used comparables into the database is now fixed.
• In certain cases, after cloning a file and adding a new flood map, the sketch could be lost.  This has been corrected.

• Automatic text overflows to the addenda are now saved immediately.
• When using the net.X wizard from the Tools menu in WinTOTAL, the comparables are now properly added to the location map. 
• Entering your registration information in WinTOTAL has been improved.
• Cases where adding a calculation addendum to your sketch could cause a crash have been fixed.
• When you delete a sketch page from the Sketch PowerView, it is now removed immediately.