Automatically Updating TABS III File Definitions

Last reviewed: 06/02/2003
Article ID: R10842

The information in this article applies to:

TABS III Version 10.6 and later
TABS III Version 10.2

Summary

Periodically, STI will change the properties of certain fields and indexes in the TABS III System Files in order to support new features. Because TABS III file definitions cannot be manually edited, it is necessary for the software to be able to change these components automatically when required. This article describes the automatic update process that occurs when you start TABS III for the first time after updating from Version 10.2 to Version 10.6 or later.

More Information

Every time TABS III is started, a comparison is performed to determine whether the currently installed system has the most current system files. If TABS III detects that the file definitions for the System Files are not current, a message will be displayed indicating the System Files need to be updated. The files must be updated before you can use TABS III. If you click OK, the update process will begin. If you click Cancel, the program will close without updating the System Files.

Manager Note: You must be a designated manager in STI System Configuration in order to successfully complete this update.

Network Note: This task is an exclusive task. No other users can be using any program in TABS III, PracticeMaster, TAS, or the APS Manual Checks/Invoices programs when performing this task. We recommend running this process on the fastest workstation available.

Update Process

When you click OK to update the System Files, a message will be displayed prompting you to make a backup. It is critical that you have a current backup BEFORE proceeding with the update process.

After making a backup, the update process will begin. Each System File will be compared to the current system file definitions. Indexes and fields may be added or modified. Depending on the size of the file and the speed of your hardware, this may take some time to complete. Upon completion, a message will be displayed indicating that the update completed successfully.

Once the update process has completed, the "TABS III System Files Need to Be Updated" message will not be displayed again (unless a future TABS III program update requires additional system file changes).

What Gets Changed

Changes to Field Names in TABS III Version 10.6

In all files that store information about or related to TABS III clients (e.g., Fee, Cost, Archive, etc.), the CASE_ID field is renamed to CLIENT_ID. The exception is the Client file itself, in which this field was already named Client ID in Version 10.2 and is not changed in Version 10.6 and later.

In addition, the following changes are made to field names in the TABS III data files when the update process is run:

Changes to Field Names
File	Version 10.2	Version 10.6 & Later
Client File	PRIM_ATTY	PRIM_TKPR
	SEC_ATTY	SEC_TKPR
	ORIG_ATTY	ORIG_TKPR
	SENSITIVE_CASE	SECURE_CLIENT
	N/A (field added in 10.6)	BUDGET_WARNING
Client Notes File	NOTE_TEXT	DESC
Employee File	TIMEKEEPER_NUMBER	EMPL
Tcode File	TCODE_NUMBER	TCODE
Tcode File	DESCRIPTION	DESC
Client Rate File	SHARED_CASE_ID	SHARED_CLIENT_ID
Split Fee File	MAIN_CASE_ID	MAIN_CLIENT_ID
Split Fee File	SPLIT_CASE_ID	SPLIT_CLIENT_ID

A list of TABS III data files and their fields can be found in the online Help provided with TABS III. Use the following instructions to access this information:

From the TABS III menu, select Help | Help Topics.
In the first field on the Index tab, type ODBC.
In the second field, double-click data file list under the ODBC entry.

Additional Values Added to the Archive File

With the release of TABS III Version 10.6, the following possible values were added to the Source field of the Archive file:

Value	Meaning
P	PracticeMaster
T	Trust Accounting System
M	Manual Client Funds Payment
W	Client Funds Withdrawal

References

R10672 - Automatically Updating PracticeMaster System File Definitions

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