Manifold System Technical Support

Technical Support - Manifold Database Commander

General questions? Read the online support FAQ for Commander. Check the obvious first:

do you have a Microsoft browser installed?
If installing on NT, do you have Administrator privileges?
Make sure to exit all other applications and background processes. Some "virus protectors" do such a great job of protecting the system they end up interfering with installations.
If all else fails, check the online support FAQ and online documentation.

If you have any questions regarding Database Commander, your first and most comprehensive guide to correct operation is the Help system: this contains many pages of on-line documentation that is available to you whenever you run Commander. Use the topic organization, index, and find command in the help system to locate topics of interest.

Free Support Upgrades: Service Packs

From time to time, manifold.net releases Service Packs (SPs) for Database Commander. Service Packs fix bugs and add new features and other improvements in between major releases. Service Packs are free to download, but they require the fully licensed edition of Database Commander. Whenever a new SP is issued, it will be cumulative in that it incorporates all fixes released in previous SPs. SP1 will be the current service pack for Database Commander when it is issued at the end of April.

Occasionally we find a problem that affects a limited number of customers or otherwise does not merit a new Service Pack. To provide those customers a bug-free Database Commander experience until the next SP is issued, we will provide a Hot Fix that may be installed. Hot Fixes always require the installation of any prior Service Pack, and should not be installed on their own. Hot Fixes typically deal with one, very limited problem. There are no Hot Fixes currently outstanding.

Service Pack 1

Database Commander Service Pack 1 (SP1) is available by request to holders of fully registered Commander licensees. SP1 provides a bug fix and an upgrade. Install the service pack by unzipping the file into your Database Commander installation directory. It will overwrite older files with new, upgraded versions. There have not been enough bugs found in Commander to issue a general SP. In addition, the Oracle connection problem is so rare that the patch found in SP1 has not been extensively tested. If you are a Commander licensee, please write tech@manifold.net to request SP1.

Service Pack 1 Upgrades:

Oracle Database connection - There are several issues which affect interactivity with Oracle that may be seen both in Microsoft Access and in Manifold Database Commander:

some tables not visible.
some visible tables could not be opened.
some tables could be opened but not edited.

The above three points are rare, and may usually be solved by applying SP1 to Commander and observing the following rules:

Must use Microsoft ODBC driver for Oracle. This will give Commander the same connectivity to Oracle as Access has.
The Oracle table must have at least one field that is constrained to unique values (....this need not be the primary key). This will enable full Commander function and provide better connectivity to Oracle than Access has.

Functional Upgrade for Security - Microsoft Access includes a password-protection scheme. SP1 adds support for this scheme when used with Access 2000 databases. Because the Microsoft scheme changed from Access 97 to Access 2000 in an incompatible way, this feature is supported only for Access 2000 systems. To use this feature, install SP1, launch Commander and in Tools - Options you will see a new Security option that utilizes workgroup security info file. Browse over to the location of your .mdw file in this option box. Close Commander and re-launch it, and security will be enabled using the information in the designated .mdw file.

Contacting Technical Support

If you have questions regarding Commander or wish to report a possible bug, please make sure you provide the necessary information when emailing tech support so that our team can solve the problem.

Please Note: Technical Support does not support the Trial Edition of Database Commander. If you are having difficulty installing the Trial Edition, see the Support FAQ for self-help. If you cannot install the Trial Edition, there is something broken about your Windows system, or you are running applications at the same time as the install and do not realize it. See the FAQ for more.

When writing manifold.net on a tech support issue, be sure to include the following:

State whether you are reporting a bug, complaining about a feature, or suggesting a new capability or improvement to an existing feature.
Precise operating system version and any service packs applied
Your machine configuration and amount of RAM
A list of any other programs that were operating
A description of the problem
The data set or map you were using and the version of Commander.
(Most Important!) If you can do so, provide a specific sequence of actions that reproduce the problem using only data sets from the Commander CD.
Please do NOT email large files (> 200K) to tech support. If a sample file is requested, Tech Support will provide upload instructions.

We realize that most people don't contact Technical Support unless they have a problem. We'll try to make the experience as painless as possible for you.

Don't hesitate to contact us if the documentation is in error or unclear, or if you have found a bug or wish to make a suggestion, or would like some advice on using Database Commander. Customer email is always welcome. Technical Support is here to serve you!

Home Page - Products - Search - Support - Shopping - News - Online Store
Personal Mapping - GIS - Database Commander - 3D View Studio - Maps and Data
Testimonials - Y2K - Links - Licensing - Privacy Statement - Terms Of Use

Š 2001 CDA International Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Manifold is a Registered Trademark of CDA

Prices, terms and conditions, and product specifications subject to change without notice. Please contact Manifold Net with any special needs or requests.

Back to Manifold Home Page