HLMSW Blog

In the coming weeks we will be releasing a version of HLMSW that allows you to integrate your consignments that are sent using the UPS WorldShip desktop program.

For those that do not use WorldShip, this is Windows software provided by UPS that does everything except wrap the parcel.  You can use it to book any type of consignment and print the accompanying documentation including labels automatically.

To make things even more streamlined, HLMSW can now create special files used by the WorldShip program to automatically process the consignments as they happen.

It works like this:

1. You create a consignment in HLMSW as usual including the number of boxes and weight
2. If the consignment matches the rules, HLMSW automatically sends to WorldShip the consignment info.
3. WorldShip automatically processes the information and if there are no errors, creates the consignment and prints all of the  documentation and labels
4. HLMSW also optionally retrieves past WorldShip information (like the Tracking Number and Shipping Costs) and puts the information  back into the Consignment or in special Extra Database Fields as per the example to the right.

Enter the WorldShip XML Export folder and filename,  any rules you may want to add to make sure it is only called when you want it to (eg for specific countries and postage types), and a Form Default option Consignment New (although you should test the form before making this connection).

When you press the Edit Layout button the following dialog is displayed.

where all of the UPS settings are entered and saved.

That is really all you have to do.  Whenever the routine is run, the appropriate information is directly copied across to WorldShip.

To process it, simply click on the XML AutoImport option in UPS WorldShip and press the START button and UPS will process the consignments automatically.

That all saves a lot of time.

The World Clocks feature of HLMSW is always very popular but the reliability of the times it displays is hampered by the complexity of world times zones. To make it work you had to make sure the daylight start/stop information was correct against every city in HLMSW, and even then it could not cope with all of rules and regulations world-wide.

For example did you know that some regions…

• move the clock 2-3 hours back summer, not just 1 hour
• change the start and finish date of summer time each year
• have a time difference that is 15 or 30 minutes past the hour (like we do here in Adelaide)

So working out just what time it is anywhere can be very complicated.

To make things easier, with HLMSW Build 7.2.0.85 the World Clocks feature now uses an authoritative source for all times zones which will be automatically updated with every new version of HLMSW. To use this, you must first set the time zone of the server in the HLMSW Configuration Editor

Once this is done the new world clock bar is displayed.

This will show the Server time automatically (this may be different to your local time if you connect to a HLMSW located in a different country).

To edit this list simply:

1. Click on any text  text to open up the World Times dialog
   
2. Select the position of the clock you want to include
3. Locate the City from the lists (note: not ALL cities are listed here. If the city you require is not listed, select the closest matching city)
4. Change the Label of the Clock by edit the Display As text
5. Press the SET button to store the changes

The CLEAR button can be used to remove a previously defined clock.

To make things even easier, the clocks are color-coded according to the times:

• 7am-9am
• 9am-12pm
• 12pm-5pm
• 5pm-7pm
• all other times (including weekends)

So you can see at a glance who is likely to be available at any time.

If you cannot see the word times at all, make sure the Show Macro/Time Bar item in the Window menu is checked.

To add the BTMI time zone use the Australia\Adelaide option.

Another new feature with this build is a new Open/View option in forms where you can automatically open a file after it has been created by the report editor.

For accounts that have more than 1 delivery address, which is the delivery address that is selected automatically when you create a new transaction?  In version 7.1 of HLMSW or earlier it would be based on the alphabetic order of the addresses.  This can lead to problems if a user does not check that the correct address is selected when a new transaction is created.

So in version 7.2 the new delivery address system has a lot more flexibility to make sure that the correct delivery, contract and licence address is always selected when creating new transactions.  The key to this is to use the Default selections in the Delivery Address Editor.

You can always see which address is marked as Default by matching the style to the names in the list (Bold is the default dispatch address, Italic is the default Contract Address and Underlined is the License Address).

It is recommended that you define a default address for every account, but what happens if you do not?

Well,  Contract and Licence Addresses will have the Invoice Address selected and the Delivery Address will use the old system of the first address in alphabetical order.  If you would like the Invoice address to be also selected by default if there is no default Delivery Address, then you must select the NEW Select Invoice Address if no Default option (available in Build 7.2.0.83 of HLMSW) in the Extended Dispatch Address Configuration window (available on the Maintenance Tab in the HLMSW Config Editor).

A maintenance release of HLMSW is now available which has a number of important changes and improvements.

Click here to read more information about this release

Please contact BTMI for assistance in upgrading your system this version.

Zinfonia users have requested more flexibility to handle the addresses of incoming orders, and so with HLMSW Build 7.2.0.66 this option is now available.

When you add a new order from Zinfonia into  HLMSW, the following dialog is displayed

The screen displays the address that has been entered on Zinfonia, and the addresses that are in HLMSW (red text indicates that the HLMSW address is different to the Zinfonia Address).

The options available here are as follows:

• Add or Update a Zinfonia AutoUpdate address (the default selection) will create a new Zinfonia dispatch address for every DIFFERENT address sent from Zinfonia and will automatically update the contents if minor alterations are made, but will create a NEW address if a major change (postcode, street, country) is detected.
• Add as a NEW Single Use Address (this is the the way HLMSW used to work) will create a new Zinfonia dispatch address for every order
• Use Invoice Address and Copy to Memory - will select the Invoice Address as the destination address, but copies the Zinfonia detail into the Dispatch Editor Memory so you can create your own address later
• Use Transaction Information Address - will copy the address to the Transaction Information box (this is provided for backward compatibility and is not recommended)
• New Dispatch Address - will create a new standard dispatch address
• Use Existing Address with Similar Details - allows you to select an already existing delivery address to use for this order

The remaining 2 checkboxes are VERY important if you receive more than one order from Zinfonia  for this client:

• Always use this Selection for this Account - will remember the option you selected for this account when the next order comes in
• Automatically Update Address Details - when selected will update the address details in HLMSW for the selected item without displaying this screen

You can also change these settings in the HLMSW Dispatch Address editor screen using the new Edit Zinfonia Default Dispatch Settings  button.