Release: November 20, 2009 New Features:
Enter Phase Data Before Adding – When you add a new phase, a new popup window lets you enter dates and quantities before the phase is added.
Copy a Phase – Right-click a phase to see a new option titled “Copy Phase”. When you copy a phase, the popup windows appear the same way they would when you click “Add Phase”. The popup that lets you enter dates and quantities is prefilled with data from the copied phase. Custom date formulas will also be copied.
Release: November 16, 2009 New Features:
Multiple Login Connection Editing – The Login window has been modified to make editing Multiple Connections easier. After installing this version, CN will try and carry in your previous Login settings. If an error occurs, you may need to re enter your login settings. Click the “Connections >>” button to open up the Connection editing portion of the window.
Task Overview Report Expansion – The Report Tab on the Task Overview form now allows you to display all of the Qty, Project Date, and Phase Date columns. Once the Report Tab is selected, right click the “Tab” to display a drop down menu which lists each of the displayable columns. Click them to Toggle them Off/On.
Release: November 2, 2009 New Features:
Multiple Login Connections – On the Login window, there is a new drop down selection titled “Connection”. Most users can ignore this. Users that are mobile and alternate connections to the server from an intranet to the internet can use this to set up a connection for each. Advanced users can use this to switch between multiple databases more easily than before. To save a new connection, click the button titled “Connection >>” to show the connection settings. Then Change the “Description” to the name of the new connection. Once a successful login occurs, the connection will be saved for future use and will show up in the drop down selection box. Bug Fixes:
Task Overview Report Error – After installing the previous update, the Task Overview Report would not load and an error would display which read “The source of the report definition has not been specified”. This is fixed in this release.
Release: October 27, 2009 New Features:
Task Overview Filters on My Tasks Pane – On the My Tasks pane on the bottom of the Main form, you can click the words “My Tasks” to select filters that have been created on the Task Overview form to control what tasks are displayed.
Google Apps Domain Setting – On the Settings Menu, there is a new option titled “Set Google Apps Domain”. If you are a Google Apps user and your email account uses your domain name through Google Apps, then set your domain name (example: crowsnest.com) so that the Gmail links in Crows Nest function properly.
Copy & Paste in SOV – Keyboard Copy & Paste functionality has been added to the SOV Grid on the Contract tab of the Project Form. Bug Fixes:
Task Overview Sort by Project Date – When creating Task Filters, selecting a Project Date to sort by was not working. No matter what date was selected, it was still sorting by Project Date 1. This is fixed in this release.
Release: October 18, 2009 New Features:
Calendar Form – The Calendar form has been redesigned. The calendar will display sum totals by day, week, and month per the selected filter. Use the controls to the left of the calendar to control the filter. Use the drop down menus to select a Type, Quantity, and Date. Use the Status list to include/exclude items by Project Status. The bottom of the form displays a list of the individual items that match the criteria in the filter. Click on a day, week, or month on the calendar to highlight it orange and control which records are shown in the list.
Release: October 13, 2009 New Features:
Vendor Part Number on PO – On the Pricing tables for Vendors, there is a column titled “Item Number”. Use this to enter the Vendor’s Inventory number. If one is entered, it will appear on the printed PO under the Part and Color descriptions.
Contacts Form – A new Contacts form is available. It functions similarly to the Project and Business Forms. Use it to find and edit Contacts in the database.
Open in Project/Business/Contact Form – On the Contacts Tab on the Project Form, you can right-click a Business or Contact and select “Open in Business/Contact Form” to jump to the selected item in the corresponding form. Similar options are available on the Business and Contact Forms.
Release: September 22, 2009 New Features:
Accounts Receivable Report – The Accounts Receivable Report has been modified to function properly with the new Retention Items.
Project Role Task Assignment – When you Add or Reassign a Project Role on a Project, a prompt lets you reassign any Incomplete Tasks that would originally be assigned to the Project Role based on the Task Definition.
Release: September 15, 2009
Minor Bug Fixes
Release: September 14, 2009 New Features:
PO Payment Terms – A New Field has been added to the PO Form titled Payment Terms. This field lets you select the Payment Terms agreed upon with the Vendor. The list of Terms is customizable but is preloaded with some common options. There is a new option on the PO Tab of the Settings Form to require selecting Terms before being able to print a PO.
PO Shipping Terms – A New Field has been added to the PO Form titled Shipping Terms. This field lets you select the Shipping Terms agreed upon with the Vendor. The list of Terms is customizable but is preloaded with some common options. There is a new option on the PO Tab of the Settings Form to require selecting Terms before being able to print a PO.
PO Need By Date and CTA – Two new columns have been added to PO Items. The first is “Needed” and is for entering a Need-By Date for an individual PO Item. The second is “CTA” or “Confirmed Time of Arrival”.
PO Receiving Log Report – There is a new button at the top of the PO Form titled “Receiving Log”. Clicking this button will open up a new Receiving Log Report for the selected PO which shows a log of items received, grouped by date, and shows the extended price for items received. You can use this to show the value of items received on a specific day.
MR Need By Date – Project MR Items now have a “Needed” column for entering a Need-By Date for individual MR Items.
MR to PO Column Transfer – When PO Items are created from MR Items, the values for the “Note1”, “Note2”, “Note3”, and “Needed” columns will transfer to the new PO Item.
Business Vendor Tab – There is a new Vendor Tab on the Business form which let’s you select the default Payment and Shipping Terms for the selected Business. If default Terms are selected, they will be automatically filled in while creating a new PO. Also displayed on the Vendor Tab is the part pricing for the selected business. This is the same part pricing list as on the PO Form and can now be edited on either form.
Disable Email Notification – A New checkbox has been added to the Notifications Tab on the Options window to Enable and Disable email notifications.
Project Retention Percentage – There is a new field at the top of the Invoice Tab on the Project form for storing a Project Retention Percentage.
Invoice Retention – You can now add Retention to an Invoice so it can be tracked separately. If the Project Retention Percentage field on the Project is greater than zero, then Retention is automatically added to Invoices as they are created. Retention shows up as an Invoice Item and can be added or removed the same was as a Custom Item by right-clicking the Items window when an Invoice is selected. You can only have a single Retention Item per Invoice. You can highlight multiple Invoices and Add Retention to them simultaneously which is handy for modifying projects that were invoiced before this feature was added.
Invoice Email Notifications – Two New email notifications have been added. The first sends a notification when an Invoice is added to a project. The second sends a notification when a Payment is added to an Invoice. Go to the Notifications Tab on the Options window to enter email addresses to receive these notifications.
Increased Project Note Size – The Project Notes now allow 4000 characters.
Task Definition Explanation – A new field titled “Explanation” has been added to the Task Definition Form. Use this field to type a detailed explanation of each Task Definition. When you right click a Task on any form, there is a new option titled “Explain this Task” which will display the value of the Explanation field for the selected Task.
Auto-Open My Tasks on Startup – There are two new options under the “View” drop down menu titled “Show My Tasks at Startup” and “Open My Tasks Window at Startup”.
Local Install File Location – There is a new field on the Options window titled “Install File Location”. Click the Browse button to locate a file or type in the file location. After this release, when Clients are prompted to Update, CN will look for this file first. If it finds it, the user is presented an option of installing from this file or downloading and installing from the CN web site. If the file is not found, then it will automatically attempt to install from the web site. A network UNC path is recommended but a location on a mapped drive will work as long as the client has the same drive mapping loaded. If set up properly, this should streamline the upgrade process by eliminating the need for each client to download the installation file from the web site. For future updates, follow these steps (which I will continue to email with upgrade notices). A) Download the Installation File from the Web Site to your shared Installation Location. B) Run the Installation file on the Server. C) If a Database Model Update is needed, then open the Database Utility and Backup then Update the database. D) Open Crows Nest and verify that it opens and connects properly. E) Now any Client that opens will see that an upgraded and present the option to update to the user.
Release: August 16, 2009 New Features:
Rearranged PO Form – The PO Form has been rearranged to show more data on screen. The PO Total is now displayed on the top half of the form and the extended price (qty * price) is shown on the individual PO Items. The Vendor’s Full Address is shown on the top half of the form as well.
Editable PO Date – The PO Date is now an editable field.
PO Followup Tab – There is a new Followup Tab on the PO Form. This tab has a grid that will display any PO that has a followup date. You can double-click an item to jump to the PO. Right-click the Followup Date field on a PO to set it to a few preset values or Left-Click it to enter a custom date. The Followup Tab will display a count of days until the next Followup Date and will display a Yellow Asterisk if the next Followup Date is Today or earlier. On the Grid on the Followup Tab you can enter a note for each PO to remind you why you are following up.
Release: August 11, 2009 New Features:
Task Duration and Start Dates – Tasks now have two new fields; “Start Date” and “Duration”. The Start Date is the date a Task needs to be started on to be finished on the Due Date. The Duration is the difference in days between the Start Date and the Due Date. The Start Date can be formula based and works similarly to the Due Date. You can set the default Start Date formula per the Task Definition, and then override if necessary on a specific instance of the task.
Task Overview, Timeline View – On the Task Overview form, there is a new tab named “Timeline”. This view shows the filtered Tasks in a timeline fashion. A colored line is drawn to represent the duration of the task on the calendar. Items are color coded as follows: Green = Completed, Red = Past Due, Orange = Due within 3 Days, Blue = All Other Tasks. If the task duration is not viewable in the current view, a “<>” indicator will be shown at the edge of the field to indicate in which direction in time the task lies.
Invoice Tab on Project Form is Rearranged – The tab has been rearranged so that more data can be view simultaneously.
Invoice Dates are now Editable – Right-click an Invoice and select Set Invoice Date.
Qty of Flags per Project – Has increased from 5 to 10.
Business List Report – On the Business Form, the printable list of Businesses has been modified. It now includes the Business Phone Numbers and Email Addresses. When opened, an option appears to include the associated projects or not. The report opens up in a Preview window for manual printing and exporting.
PO Attachment Indicator – On the PO Form, when the current PO has one or more file attachment, a yellow asterisk appears on the title of the Attachment Tab and the qty of Attachments is displayed.
Release: July 23, 2009 Bug Fixes:
View License Seats Used – This new feature was not working but has been fixed in this release. See the notes from the last release for info on this feature.
Release: July 22, 2009 New Features:
Project Description Editing - The Project Description field on the Project Form is no longer a text field but is a hyperlink field so you must click on the description (or press Space while the field is has focus) to edit it. This was added to avoid accidental changing of the Description field. Also, the Description field is now colored per the Project Status color.
Sorting in Task Overview Filters - Sorting on the Task Overview form is now controlled by the Filter Definition instead of by clicking on column headers. This allows you to enter multiple sort columns and choose Ascending and Descending for each selection. Edit a Filter to set the sort options. If no sort options are set, the filter will sort by the Task Due Date.
Filter Employee List - The Employee list is now filtered to hide terminated employees and other employees designated as hidden on the Employee Form.
Custom Sort the Project SOV - A Sort column was added to the Schedule of Values grid on the Contract tab of the Project Form. This column allows integers and is used to control how the records sort. When new columns are added to the SOV, this column will be auto filled by looking up the largest integer stored in this column for the current project and adding one to it.
Filter Completed Tasks - A “Show Completed Tasks” checkbox was added to the Task Tab on the Project Form. The value of this checkbox is saved in the user settings.
Displayed Task Dates - The Tasks on the Project Form now show a date to the right of the description. For completed tasks, it displays the date it was marked off as complete. For incomplete tasks, it displays the current due date.
Triggered Project and Phase Dates – Add a project/phase date to a Task Definition to have the date filled in when the task is completed.
Forward and Back Buttons – Forward and Back buttons have been added to the home form.
Home Form – Now when Crows Nest first opens, the Project Form will be opened. To have CN open to a different form instead, open the desired form, and then from the drop down menu select Settings > Set Current Form to ‘Home’.
Phase Templates – When adding a new phase to a project, you must select from a list of Phase Templates. Right click the list of templates to edit them. Each template can be configured with a specific set of tasks that should be added to the phase. This takes the place of the “Automatically Add to New Records” checkbox on the Task Definition Form. This checkbox still applies to task types other than Phase Tasks. When this form is first opened, it will create a template named ‘Default’ which will contain all Phase Tasks that have the “Automatically Add…” checkbox checked.
Project Flags – The flag form now has a checkbox to automatically add a flag to new projects. You can also set a default project note to be set when you add a flag to a project.
My Tasks Window – There is a new free-floating My Tasks window that you can open from the drop down menu under View > My Tasks Window. This works similarly to the My Tasks area at the bottom of the CN Home form. The arrow buttons will dock the window to the left or right of the current display. The minus button will reduce the window to its minimum size. The plus button will restore it to the size it was before the minus button was pressed. The refresh button will reload the data in the form. The Details area gives you more information about the selected Task. Click the Details area to jump to the Task in the main Crows Nest window. You can close the main CN window and the My Tasks window will stay open. If the Details area is clicked, it will automatically reopen the main CN window. Double clicking an item will check or uncheck the item. This is the first draft of the form and more functionality will be added later. Plans are to add interactivity with the Notes section, and a To-Do list for adding freeform tasks that exist only for the user. Feedback would be appreciated.
View License Seats Used – There is a new item on the drop down menu View > License Seats Used which opens a window that queries the license server and lists all of the current seats used. This is currently read only and is for reference purposes.
Release: June 12, 2009 New Features:
The shortcut menus for Projects, Phases, and Tasks now have an option named ‘Clear Date’ which will set the date to ‘None’
The Installation file has an option to ‘Run Crows Nest after Installation’
The Installation file also has an option to ‘View Release Notes’. Checking this option will open this document after installation. This document is stored in the Crows Nest installation directory and can be accessed by clicking on ‘Help’ > ’Release Notes’ from the drop down menu on the main CN window.