Neopost Transaction Interface Program
Version 1.2

Overview

The NEOPOST program is a DOS program. It is used to convert postage expense transactions from a Neopost data file to be compatible with the Tabs3 Merge Data Capture Transactions program (Tabs3 Version 3.4 or later).

The NEOPOST program must reside in the same directory as the Tabs3 programs in order to work properly.

Note: The Create Validation Files program must be run before you can successfully use this data capture device interface program. The Create Validation Files program is found in Tabs3 by selecting the following menu options Maintenance|Integration|Create Validation Files. When creating validation files, select a Validation File Type of Data Capture Device.

Note: The NEOPOST.EXE program is designed to convert Neopost Audit Trail Version 4.01. If using a newer version of Neopost (e.g., 7.51), the file layout exported by the newer software is not compatible with this interface program. However, newer versions of Neopost can export a format compatible with TBDevice using the Other format.

Installation

The NEOPOST interface program (Neopost.EXE) must be transferred to the directory on your hard disk where the Tabs3 program files reside. This is done by using the INSTALL program on the Neopost interface program disk.

To install the Neopost interface program on your hard disk:

  1. Insert the Neopost interface program disk into your floppy disk drive.
  2. From a DOS prompt, make the floppy disk drive the default drive by entering the drive letter followed by a "colon". For example, if your floppy disk drive is drive A, then enter:

    3.         A:

  3. From the floppy disk drive prompt, enter the command:

    4.         INSTALL

    Note: The INSTALL program has a built-in search feature that will find where your Tabs3 program files reside. On larger network hard drives, this search feature can take quite a bit of time. If you know where the Tabs3 program files reside, you can bypass this search feature by entering the path following the install command. For example, if the Tabs3 program files reside on drive F: in a directory named "STI", you would enter: INSTALL F:\STI

  4. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the software onto your hard disk. The Install program will locate the Tabs3 software on your hard disk so that the interface program can be transferred to the same directory as Tabs3. After the installation process, the message "Installation Complete" will be displayed.
    5.

Executing the NEOPOST Interface Program

Use the following procedure for conversion:

  1. Copy the data file containing the logged Neopost transactions from its source location to the Tabs3 program directory.
  2. From a DOS prompt, start the interface program by entering:

    3.         NEOPOST

    Note: You can specify the input file name when running the NEOPOST program. For example, if the input file name is DATA.TXT, you could enter "NEOPOST DATA.TXT" (without the quotes). If you don't specify the input file name, the NEOPOST program will prompt you for the file name later.

  3. The first time you run the NEOPOST program, you will be asked to enter the Tabs3 transaction code number that you use for postage expenses. Once the transaction code has been entered, the NEOPOST program will use the same transaction code each time NEOPOST is executed.
  4. Next, if you did not specify the input file when invoking the NEOPOST program, you will be prompted to enter the input file name containing the Neopost data.
  5. Next, you will be asked "Is it OK to continue? (Y/N)". If you enter "N" the program will be aborted. If you enter "Y" the program will look for the data file containing the Neopost data. If the file is found to contain data, the program will display the message "Converting Transactions" followed by a count of each transaction read from the file. The files T3EXPKEY.REM and T3EXP.REM will be created which can be merged with the main Tabs3 data files. You must then start Tabs3 and run the Merge Data Capture Transactions program.

Note: If you are not using a demo version of the program, the data file containing the postage data will automatically be deleted from the Tabs3 directory when the conversion is complete to avoid double posting the data.

Note: Once the conversion is complete, the data file should be deleted from its original source location to prevent reconverting the same data in the future. If any new postage transactions have been logged in this file since the conversion has been run, they will be lost upon deletion.

Note: You may change the postage transaction code by deleting the file NEOPOST.PRM which is created in your Tabs3 directory. This will enable you to go through the setup procedure described above in Step 3 as a first time user of the program.