ManEx is an extremely comprehensive system that provides manufacturing businesses with a totally integrated system for tracking all operational functions.  The extent of functions available to the user depends on the number of modules purchased for the company’s particular needs. The setup articles are intended to explain setups for each module, although not all may be required in each application.

The articles are divided into sections, and each section describes the prerequisites (e.g. other modules must be set up before setting up the one being viewed), introduction, fields and definitions (for each screen within the module), How To ...... (find, add, edit, etc.) and reports available within that module. 

We hope that these articles will be a complete guide to load and run the ManEx programs purchased. Suggestions and comments are welcomed, and may be used to enhance the usability of these articles. 

NOTE: The articles include setup instructions for all of the available ManEx software modules including those you may NOT have purchased.  Please call the ManEx Support Department or your Sales Representative if you have questions regarding the modules for which you have been licensed.   This way, you can avoid spending time setting up for modules you have NOT yet purchased.

The ManEx system requires that all ManEx users have Read/Write access to the ManEx folder and sub-folders in order to update the tables within.   In a few instances, some customers have experienced their end users accidentally moving or deleting DBFS tables from the directory and as a result they lost very important data.  So Backups are Extremely important. It should also be pointed out that a Terminal Services environment provides the ability to give the end user rights to the ManEx directory only when they are within the ManEx system..  When the user exits ManEx the session is over and the user will no longer have access to the ManEx directory and subdirectories within. This will help prevent end users inadvertently affecting with data files.

Periodically, ManEx updates its standard product in order to stay current with the state of the art or to add increased functionality or additional module options. Additionally, if the trigger section is set up to allow emails, your system will automatically report any problems encountered to Manex for review by support personnel.

Points to Review Before Installing

You are about to install ManEx, the finest program available for Electronic Manufacturing Operations Management. But before you do, our general recommendations (for ManEx) are: 

• You should have Internet Explorer installed on all workstations and servers that will use this program.
• On your server, you will need at least 1GB of free disk space to start with. As your database grows, you should check it regularly to be sure you have adequate free space. You should maintain a minimum of triple the size of your Manex DBFS folder as free space.
• Your server will work best if you have at least 2 GB of ram. The more you have, the faster the program will run under heavy usage. Workstations should have at least 1GB of ram space.
• You can use the same computer as a server and a client for the ManEx system. To do this you have only to perform the Server installation, which includes the Client files.
• You should have all other programs closed on your computer before beginning the installation process. As your usage increases, it is recommended that you move programs other than Manex to a second server.
• In the course of this installation, you may also need to obtain some third party software programs. The instructions are included in this document. As an example, one program is needed if you wish to take advantage of the ability to create PDF files.
• Once installed, the system comes with the password “ONE1”. You will need this password to begin configuration of the program to meet your needs. You should immediately use the security module to assign various passwords and capabilities to personnel.
• If you are going to install this program without assistance, be sure to download the setup manuals from our website.
• This database is a universal database complete with about 3000 parts included. There may be some fictitious Suppliers and Customers in this data to help you get started.

Consideration for Expansion:

The following recommendations takes into consideration that the Server and Work Stations may be a shared resource (non-exclusive to ManEx).  Although you may be able tol run email, word processor, spreadsheet and other software on the same server while starting up, it is highly recommended that the Manex server be dedicate to only Manex operations..  The more programs you have on one server, the more hardware resources (especially more DRAM) you will need to ensure satisfactory system performance.

ManEx operates on a standard network by capturing data information from the server, bringing in into the users workstation and is operated on by local programs in the work station. When data is modified, and saved, the database on the ManEx Server is updated with the modifications. While this approach is quite satisfactory for smaller usage environments, ManEx recommends using a Terminal Service environment to help minimize the risk of Corrupt tables. When Users take advantage of Terminal Services, then the data is NOT passed along the network. It is processed entirely on the terminal server. Then, information going over the network to Users is not the data, but a screen image of what the terminal server is doing. This takes a lot less traffic, and because the data is not outside the “computer room”, it cannot easily be disrupted. Of course, this also emphasizes the need for UPS on the ManEx Terminal Servers. Another perspective is that in a terminal server environment all application logic runs on the server, the processing and storage requirements for client machines are minimal. A further advantage of running Terminal Services is when you have some older desktops on the network running legacy versions of Windows.  Note:  If ManEx is setup using the Terminal Server there is a setup option on the server to adjust the users account environment to open ManEx upon login, then when they exit ManEx it will also disconnect the session.   

 

This section of the document is provided to guide in the installation of the drivers and programs needed to utilize the ManEx feature of printing directly to PDF files.

The first step is to obtain the file winsteng.exe from Adobe. This is the installation program for installing and configuring the Adobe PS Driver. It is recommended that you setup a file folder to receive this download. You may wish to call it “Utilities”, or you may already have such a folder. The file may has been attached to this article below or can be obtained at this URL:   http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=1500 this link will also provide you detailed information pertaining to the utility you are about to download and install.
Please review the full text, then click on  download. You may then see (depending on your system setup) a caution message before proceeding with the download:   Depress "Save" , locate the file to save to, then proceed with the download.
Then run the executable file winsteng.exe
The Drive Setup Begins:
Select the Printer Installatin Type as "Install a new PostScript Printer"
Select the Printer Connection Type as "Local Printer"
Local Port Selection will usually be LPT1
Select Printer Model, and make sure that defaulted Generic PostScrip Printer is highlighted.
The Printer information will be displayed.  Do not change the Printer name.  It needs to be left exactly as "Generir PostScript Printer"  Otherwise ManEx System will be unble to locate the printer. Make sure that it is not set to be your default Printer and change the test page radial to "No."
The Setup Information will then be displayed.  Depress the Install button.
Confirm that the "Genric PostScript Printer" has been installed onto this machine.  NOTE:  That you have to leave the printer named as displayed, if you change the name the Manex system will not know where to locate the printer.

It has been recorded that Vista, Windows 7, and Win 2008 Server operating systems sometimes have issues when the users attempt to install the Adobe PS Drivers and Ghost Script Printer install.  

The screen that is presented to the users is similar to the image to the right.
After depressing the OK button, then the following is displayed. Depressing Either Resume or Exit Setup will result in the installation just not launching.
It has been suggested to go to the Installation program (winsteng.exe) and right click on it and select Properties.
Go to the Compatibility tab and check the “Run this program in Compatibility mode for:” and then select (Windows XP SP2) option.
Then attempt to install the Adobe PS Drivers again.
If a message similar to the following is received when the system attempts to install the Driver, we suggest that you check the Security restrictions of your Server/Machine. It could be set to disable Drivers from being installed.   Also make sure that you are logged in as the Adminstrator Account on the machine.

Depress the "Start" button / Settings / Printer and Fax.  Once in the screen then select to "Add a Printer"
Follow the Printer Setup prompts.  When you get to the "Install Printer Software" screen, go through and find any printer that has a "PS" at the end (Post Script). Continue on with the installation.
When you come to the point of the installation where you need to determine the Printer Name, make sure that you change it to "Generic PostScript Printer" .
Once finished with the installation process there should be a "Generic PostScript Printer" setup on your machine.    Once you have made sure that Ghost Script software has also been installed on this machine, you should then be able to export PDF files out of the ManEx system.

Ghostscript

Before capturing this program, you must have on your local C:drive a folder at the root level called gs(C:\gs) 

After selecting the file to download from SourceForge, you are asked to select a source from which to download.

When completed, will display the shortcut folder

  

Then verify completion by checking that the file C:\gs\gs7.04\bin\gswin32.exe is installed.

 

 

You may have to scroll down to find the gs704w32.exe (or the most recent version) file.

 Depress the "Save" button 

The program will prompt for the location of the installation.  Be sure it is loaded in the c:\gs folder.

When completed, will display the shortcut folder

Then verify completion by checking that the file C:\gs\gs7.04\bin\gswin32.exe is installed.

1.                    

You will need to install a Post script printer. 

Make sure that ALL users are logged off of the ManEx System

Stop the TrigTimer on the Server

Place a copy of the ManEx provided Service/Post Update program (exe and zip files) into your ManEx Root Directory.  (The Post Updates will be provided to you via e-mail).  As the program runs, it will prompt to select a folder to install ManEx system.  Please select the root directory already created on your server.

To Launch ManEx, from the server, you can either create a shortcut or simpley double-click on the "ManEx.exe"  located within the Manex Root directory.   Note: that for the end workstations it is recommended to map to the Manex Root Directory and then setup shortcuts on each desktop to the ManEx.exe  executable

The first time that you launch Manex you will be asked to select a local directory on the client machine to hold applicatons and temporary files when running ManEx. You cannot have this directory in nor under the ManEx folder created during the installation. We recommend you create a folder with a name like “ManEx_local” or “_Mlcl” as shown in the example below for this folder. Each client will prompt for the local location only once during the initial program execution. To the right is an example of the prompt you will see.  when the desired Local directory has been selected and is displayed in the field located at the bottom of the window.  You can depress the Select button.
The user will then receive the following prompt, so they can verify the directory they had selected is the one they wish to have the local files copied to.  Once the user selects ok they will see a series of files being copied from the Main Manex directory on the server to the Local workstations local drive.
Then finally, the opening screen is presented.  Enter a password (use the Generic Admin Login "ONE1" to access the Manex Demo) and begin the adventure.

 See See Article #396 for Instruction on "How to Navigate through ManEx".

MANEX MANUALS

Each module within ManEx has detailed step by step instructions available by clicking on the (?) action (function) button located at the top of each screen.  Each manual set will have the following sub-categories listed:  Prerequisites;  Introduction;  Fields and Definitions;  How To....;  Reports;  FAQ's; and Manex Minutes.  These manuals are also available in the "Help" menu, or on-line at http://www.manex.com/kb.

The user may open and print any of the information available, or may copy it and modify it to suit internal procedures and processes.

	This Icon will open the menu for the Accounting Setup.
	This Icon will open the screen to view or print the Error Log.
	This Icon will open the LogOut screen.
	This Icon will open the menu for the ManEx Production and Accounting Operations.
	This Icon  will open the Security screen.
	This Icon will open the menu for the Setup of ManEx.
	This Icon will display the menu for the Utilities.
	This Icon will display the menu for Triggers.

 

 

For each individual workstation, you will receive the following when you first enter ManEx after the update has been run:

 

 

 

Select the drive, then select the directory.   Double click on the selected directory so it will appear in the Selected Directory field, as illustrated:  Depress the Select Button.

The following message should appear: Depress the Yes button.  You will see messages across the screen telling you what files are being loaded.  The initial copying takes awhile, but after that, it should only take a few seconds each time you sign in.

If you have selected the incorrect directory the following message will appear: Depress OK and system will bring you back to the ManEx Root Directory

 

Stonefield

ManEx has a program called Stonefield within the system. that will add data checking functionality to the program.  The first time each day that the ManEx icon is selected, the indexes for all of the modules throughout the entire system will be automatically checked and repaired, if necessary.  It will take 5 minutes or less for the first person to sign on.  If it finds a problem database, it will reindex ONLY the bad database, not the whole thing.  Usually there will be only one or two tables (if any) that need rebuilding, and this will only take a few minutes, depending upon the size of the table.

Stonefield checks the indexes – it’s not a re-index as is covered in the utility section of this manual.  If Stonefield finds a bad index, it re-indexes only the bad one.  Normally, there are users on the system all day long and the system won’t check the indexes unless there are NO others users on the system when a user signs on eight hours after the last check.  So a user with two shifts won’t have a time when everyone is off the system until the end of the last shift.  Then, the first person to sign on in the AM will trigger the index check.

Many of the Main Menus have sub-menus.  For example:
And those sub-menus marked with the arrow have sub-menus.  For example:

Selecting Inventory Control Management, for example, will bring up the Inventory Control screen:

Most ManEx screens have four sections: The Action buttons, Information Tabs, the Body, and Directive buttons.

Action Buttons

These are the Action buttons that you will find in ManEx.  Each button is a “smart” icon and will display its function if you place your cursor above it.  Simple descriptions are shown below for each icon. Not all buttons will be available at one time. For example, the SAVE button is active only after initiating an ADD or EDIT action.

Information Tabs

The Information tabs will be different in each module.  For example, in the Inventory Control Management module, the tabs appear like this:

 

Pressing on each of these tabs brings up another screen, displaying the pertinent information relating to the tab pressed.

The Body 

The Body of the screen is the area where information is displayed, entered or edited.  For example, the Item Master tab displays the following:

 

Copy and Paste Functions

ManEx has a Copy and Paste function in the larger free-form fields like the Notes and Profile fields. Copy and Paste instructions are the same as most Windows applications:  You must be in a field that is active for Copy and Paste.  ManEx must be in Edit or Data Entry mode for Copy and Paste to be active. The cursor must be active in an editable text field.  Tab or mouse click to go there.  Highlight what you want to copy, as illustrated. Click on the ManEx Utility pull down menu, as illustrated.  If the Copy option is lit, then the user may copy the wording highlighted. To paste, go to the destination and place the cursor at the place you want to paste and left mouse click.

You will need to create a new Directory on the new Server in which the ManEx system will be located.  You may select any location, but we recommend calling it ManEx.

Stop the Trigtimer on the server.

Take an entire copy of the ManEx directory (apps, dbfs, reports, etc...) from the old server and paste it into the new server "ManEx" directory.

Run Datamaintenance.exe

Confirm that the ManEx system is operating properly on the new server.

Once functioning then you can change all of the End Users shortcuts to point to the new Server location for ManEx.

• Make sure ALL users are logged off of the ManEx system.
• Stop the TrigTimer on the Server
• Make a copy of the DBFS directory (for further instructions to setup a test copy see Article #431 ) and paste that copy in a location outside of ManEx root directory
• Once the Copy is complete, start the TrigTimer on the server
• Let users access the manex System again.
• Go to the Location where you stored the Copy of the DBFS directory and Zip all the files
• Upload the Zip file to the FTP site. (for further instructions on uploading files to the ftp site see Article #3454) .

Windows will not copy a file if it is being used. So to make a duplicate of a ManEx database, All users must have exited the system. Then a copy of all files in the ManEx directory may be made.

First close the Trigger Timer, by depressing the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keys ALL at the same time. Then the End Task window will appear:

Open Windows Explorer. Find the directory in which ManEx is located. Highlight the ManEx folder.

 

Copy via Explorer.

Go to Root Directory on the Server C:, or whatever it may be set as. Paste a Copy of ManEx to this directory.
Rename from Copy of ManEx to ManExTest.       Set up folder and shortcuts for the ManExTest, as you see fit for the end users.