Windows 7 and Vista - Essential Setup Information

Parts&Vendors runs great on Windows 7 and Windows Vista.
There are a couple of Windows settings that need to be addressed:

[Full permissions required in program folder]
Parts&Vendors needs to have full READ/WRITE/DELETE capabilities in its own program folder and subfolders. (The default is C:\Program Files\PV6... or \PV5, \PV4, \PV3 for older versions).

If, upon closing P&V, you get an error message that says: "COMPACT LOCAL --- Database already exists," your Windows profile (Windows login name) does not have full permissions for that folder.  (You are missing Delete permission.) This will prevent P&V from saving its local settings and preferences, or creating Purchase and Kit Lists, and MUST be fixed for proper program operation.

To remedy this, log into Windows as Administrator, and set the permissions for all Windows users to that folder (and any subfolders) for FULL permissions.

This setting is made in Windows Explorer (the file manager) by right clicking on the folder and choosing Properties from the popup menu. On the folder Properties dialog, click on the Security tab. In the Group or user names listing, locate the Users entry and click on it. Below that, make sure that it's set for Full Control. Click OK.

When you log back into Windows under your operating profile name, closing P&V should not produce the error message.


[Help file]
Windows 7 and Vista don't include the traditional WinHelp32 program to open our Help file.  Here's a converted Help file that will open on Vista. The conversion lost the hyperlinks, but does have the contents outline plus full text search capability (4megs).  After downloading, right click on the file, choose Properties and click the Unblock button.

OR--(even better) Upon attempting to open the Help menu in the program, you can follow the prompts to download and install the WinHelp32 program from Microsoft's site. After jumping through some Genuine Windows validation hoops, it installs the help application and Help from P&V's menu works normally.

Many users prefer the Video Tour over the Help file anyway. http://www.trilogydesign.com/videotour/index.htm.

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