| Trouble Shooting On-line Shipment Problems |
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This is a Level 4 and higher feature. On-line Shipment Processing is reached by selecting SHIPPING TOOLS >> ON-LINE SHIPMENT PROCESSING from the Menu Bar on top of the Main Invoice Screen. This feature allows you to access shipping company websites, fill out shipping forms, print shipping labels, schedule pick-ups, and carry out other tasks. Note: Shipping companies have been changing their websites so quickly that it has been difficult for us to keep up with the changes. They also have been instituting new password protection schemes which prevent Internet Macros from logging in. Consequently, we have decided to build in a new on-line system whereby the shipping company website is by-passed, and AnyOrder communicates directly with the shipping company's server. We are working on this for the Level VII program. We will, however, continue to leave this module in the program since it is workable for a significant number of our users. Additionally, it is flexible enough that you can make your own changes or create your own macros. On-line shipment processing is one of the more advanced features found in AnyOrder. Primarily that's because it involves the use of a subsidiary program called Internet Macros. Internet Macros was developed by the iOpus company and is highly regarded in the computer and web programming worlds. It is utilized by companies like UPS for automating web processes. In AnyOrder it is used to automate the process of filling out on-line forms. Internet Macros is a remarkable program, but it is not as easy to use as many functions in AnyOrder. Being successful with Internet Macros involves some preliminary work: reading, understanding and practicing. We can't overstate how important it is to read the Help documentation. Be sure to run through the practice session. Additionally, read through the UPS example. Even though you may not use UPS as your shipper, it really helps to review how on-line shipment processing works in practice. All that information is found at On-line Shipment Processing. With that said, let's take a look at some problems that may occur when trying to process on-line shipments:
Problems Installing and Running the Internet Macros Program. If you have difficulties getting Internet Macros installed or running, try the following: 1) Check Minimum System Requirements. Check to make sure you have the minimum system requirements for Internet Macros. Internet Macros works only on Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP or 2003. You must also have Internet Explorer Version 5.5 or better installed on the computer that you are using. 2) Close All Programs. Close all other programs before installing Internet Macros. The Internet Macros installation program requires a considerable amount of memory, and you want to make sure everything is closed before getting started. 3) Re-install Internet Macros. When Internet Macros is unable to start, it usually means that it needs to be re-installed. To do so, close down AnyOrder and re-boot your computer. Make sure all other programs are closed. Start AnyOrder. Select SHIPPING TOOLS >> ON-LINE SHIPMENT PROCESSING from the Menu Bar on top of the Main Invoice Screen. When the On-line Shipment Dialog box appears, click on the "Re-install Internet Macros" button at the bottom of the screen. 4) Try a Manual Installation. If you tried re-installing (step 3, above) and can not get a successful installation, the next step is to do a manual installation. Before doing so, however, try re-installing one more time by following the steps in # 3 above. If, after trying one last re-install, Internet Macros still won't start, here's how to do a manual installation: a) Exit from AnyOrder. b) Start Windows Explore (by right clicking on the Windows START button and selecting "Explore" from the menu. c) Using Explore, copy all the files in C:\AnyOrder\WebInfo to an empty, temporary directory on your hard drive. d) Close all programs. e) Select START and RUN from the Windows desktop. Click on "Browse." f) Look for the C:\AnyOrder directory. Find the file: "InternetMacros-Setup.exe." Select it and run the file. When the file asks for the installation directory, use the following: C:\AnyOrder\Internet If the manual installation works, you'll need to make several additional adjustments: a) Start Internet Macros by clicking on the icon on the Windows Desktop. Select TOOLS from the menu bar. Click on the "Paths" tab. Change the settings to the following: Folder Macros: C:\AnyOrder\Internet\Macros\ Folder Datasources: C:\AnyOrder\Internet\Datasources\ Folder Downloads: C:\AnyOrder\Internet\Downloads\ Log Events: C:\AnyOrder\Internet\MacrosLog.txt b) From the TOOLS Menu, click on the "Browser" tab. Under Internet Macros Browser Homepage enter: C:\AnyOrder\Welcome.htm c) Select the HELP >> ENTER ACTIVATION KEY. Enter the following number: KDLPT-N3XQC-Q8TJK-NXJW5-7HX77-5YCC5. d) You'll also need to manually copy the macros. See # 5 (below) for directions. 5) Installation is Successful but Can't Find Macros. One of problems that can happen on some older systems is that the on-line shipping macros may not be copied to the macro directory. To tell whether you need to use this procedure, start the Internet Macros browser. Look on the left side of the screen for a list of macros. Look for AnyOrder's macros: "1-Initialize," "2-General_HELP", "3-BACK_Button," "FedEx Autofill," and others. If you see them, you're okay. If not, you'll need to do the following. First of all, get rid of all macros. That's easily done by using Windows Explore. Start Windows Explore (by right clicking on START and selecting from the menu). Find the C:\AnyOrder\Internet\Macros directory. If you have any files in the directory, the files will all have the extension: iim. Make sure you are in the correct directory and then delete ALL files. Using Explore go to the C:\AnyOrder\WebInfo directory. You find a list of files. (Note: if you used the manual install described in step # 4 above, copy the files from the temporary directory instead of the WebInfo directory.) Here's where to copy them... All *.iim files TO C:\AnyOrder\Internet\Macros\ All *.htm file TO C:\AnyOrder\Internet\ All *.png TO C:\AnyOrder\Internet\ AND Practice.txt TO C:\AnyOrder\Internet\datasources\ You'll now have access to all of AnyOrder's macros. 6) Long List of Macros. If you used the manual system (step # 4, above) of installing Internet Macros and didn't save macros to a temporary directory, you may end up with a long list of macros. It is helpful to pare the list down to only those Macros that you will be using. You can remove macros by manually deleting the *.iim files found in the C:\AnyOrder\Internet\Macros directory. You should keep the following macros: 1-Initialize.iim 2-General_HELP.iim 3-BACK_Button.iim And, you should keep those shippers that you actively use (or may use in the future). For example, if you use FedEx, keep all macros with FedEx in the name: FedEx-Autofill.iim FedEx-Just_Login.iim FedEx-Login&Autofill.iim Keep any other shippers that you may use. Delete all other macro files. 7) Low Memory & Runtime Error. Finally, one additional problem that may arise results from low memory resources. Low memory is indicated when you try to start Internet Macros and you get a "Runtime Error 6 Overflow" or a similar message. This means a memory problem. The combination of AnyOrder and Internet Macros requires a considerable amount of memory. Even systems (particularly older systems) with 256 MB of memory may run into this problem. If you do, close all other programs when using Internet Macros.
Problems with Macros 1) First: Read the Help Documentation. It is really, really important to read the Help documentation. Run through the practice session. Read through the UPS example. Even though you may not use UPS as your shipper, you'll find it invaluable to review how on-line shipment processing works in practice. All that information is found at On-line Shipment Processing. 2) Don't try to do too much when you first get started. Stick to one invoice at a time until you get comfortable with the technique. 3) Do on-line processing in two basic steps. First log-in. Then run the auto-fill macro. Let's review how that's done in practice: a) Open the On-line Processing Dialog Box. b) Select the WebLink (name of shipper). c) Select the "Log-in Automatically" option (just below the shipper). d) Click on the "Process Current Invoice." This will get you logged in. e) Manually click on the appropriate link on the shipper's website to get the on-line shipment form. f) Once you're at the on-line shipment form, select the "Autofill" macro (for example, if it's UPS, you would select "UPS-Autofill"). Then click on PLAY. 4) Macro Won't Run: Check Starting Location. If the macro simply won't run, the first thing you should do is to make sure you are starting in the right place on the shipper's website. That's where the first on-line shipment form is found. UPS calls it the "Create a Shipment" page. FedEx calls it the "FedEx Ship Manager." The U.S. Post Office calls it "Click 'n Ship" but they title the page "Print Shipping Labels." Primarily what you are looking for is a form where you can start entering information on your shipment. The Autofill macro must start at this page or it will not run. If necessary, use your mouse and manually click on the correct links so you move to the correct page. 5) Macro Won't Run: Check Macro and Website. If the macro doesn't run, make sure that you are using the correct macro. Also make sure you are on the right website. For example, if you are processing a FedEx shipment, make sure that you are on FedEx's website. When you run the macro, make sure that you have highlighted "FedEx-Autofill" and click PLAY. If, for instance, you highlight "UPS-Autofill" and click PLAY, nothing will happen. 6) Macro Won't Run: Check for Address Book. If you're sure you are on the right website and you sure you are on the right page on the website, check to see if the shipper is using an address book. Most do. UPS and FedEx both use address books. Address books really aren't necessary when you use AnyOrder's autofill feature. AnyOrder, itself, becomes your address book. But the shippers have designed their websites in this manner, and, consequently, AnyOrder's macros have been designed to work with address books. It does, however, add another layer of complexity. When a shipper has an address book, the macro is programmed so that it clicks on a link to open up the address book. Then, it autofills the address book. When the address book is filled, it clicks another link to return to the original page where it fills out the rest of the information. It's that link to the address book that's important. For example UPS has a link on the "Create a Shipment" page. The link is titled: "Enter New Address." The UPS autofill macro clicks that link and enters the address in the address book. If that link is not there, then the macro won't run. If a macro doesn't run, check to make sure that the address book link is showing on the starting page. In the UPS example mentioned above, there are times when the link "Enter New Address" is not present. That usually happens if an old address is still in memory. You can clear the form and regain access to the "New Address" link by clicking on the "Clear All" button (found lower down on the UPS page). 7) Macro Runs but Error Occurs in Address Book. Another problem that can occur with an address book results from an incorrect address. Most shippers' websites will run a check on the address in the address book to make sure it is valid. If the address is not valid, it will trigger a website error message. The macro, however, is unable to detect a website error and it will continue to run. That wouldn't be a problem if the address book was on the same page as the main shipping form, but the way most websites are built, the address book will be on its own webpage. That means that even though the error message is triggered, the macro will continue running taking you back to the original shipping form page. You'll know that an error has been triggered because the customer's address will be missing from the first page. You won't be able to see why--at least on the first page. You can, however, see the error message by using the tab feature on the Internet Macros browser. If you look at the bottom of the browser, you'll see two tabs. One of the tabs will the starting page and the second tab will be the address book tab. Click on the address page tab. Once at the address book, you'll be able to view the error and find out exactly what part of the customer's address caused the error. Armed with that knowledge, you can exit from Internet Macros, return to AnyOrder, make the needed adjustment in the customer's address. Then run on-line shipment processing again. 8) Macro Runs but Misses Fields. If you have situation where the macro runs, but misses some of the fields, you'll want to check the following: (a) Check Shipment Form. First make sure that you've filled in the information on AnyOrder's Shipment Form. If information is missing from the Shipment Form then it won't appear on the on-line form. For example, if the Address1 field is blank on the Shipment Form, then the main shipping address field will not be filled on the shipper's site. (b) Examine Selection Box Fields. Check to see what sort of field on the on-line form is missing information. Usually problems occur with selection boxes. Selection boxes are a type of on-line field where you click a down arrow and select from a list. In order to use selection boxes, the information on AnyOrder's Shipment Form must be spelled and punctuated exactly the same as the desired choice in the selection box. If not, the macro will skip the selection box and no information will be entered. For example, let's say that the shipping service field on AnyOrder's Shipment Form is "Ground Service." But on-line form has it listed as "UPS Ground." The Macro will skip the selection box because "Ground Service" does not equal "UPS Ground." AnyOrder comes with pre-loaded shipping methods and packaging types but shippers can change the nomenclature on their websites without notice. Watch for that situation, and if you find that names have changed, make the appropriate change in AnyOrder. Additionally, you'll want to make sure that the shipping service you want is available. For example, UPS provides different kinds of shipping services depending upon where your customer is located. Standard, Express, Expedited, Express Plus are all for international shipments. "UPS Standard" in particular is used for shipments from the US to Canada. If you are using AnyOrder's auto-fill function on the UPS website, and the on-line form does not fill in the "Service" field, then you've probably selected a service that is not available at that location. (c) Missing Address. If your customer's address is missing after the macro runs, check to make sure the customer's address appears on AnyOrder's Shipment Form. If the address is present on the shipment form, you'll want to make sure the address is valid. Most shipper's websites will trigger an error if the address is not valid. However, if the shipper uses address books on their website, the error may not be readily visible. You can, however, view the error message by using the tabs on the bottom of the Internet Macros browser. For more details, be sure to read the information in #7 (above) concerning missing addresses and address books. (d) Non-supported Fields. Finally, AnyOrder may not fill all the fields on a shipping form. It will, of course, fill most of the fields, but it may leave a couple of check boxes or other fields for you finish up. You can tell which fields are supported by looking at AnyOrder's Shipment Form. The macro skips any field not found on the Shipment Form. (e) Error Checking. If you'd like to dig deeper and understand why a particular field won't fill, you can turn on macro error checking. This is a bit more complex, and it's usually no necessary, but if you're interested, you'll find more information here: Macro Error Checking. 9) Macro Runs but Enters the Wrong Information. If, after the macro finishes, you find that the wrong information has been entered in some of the fields of the on-line form, check the Shipment Form. AnyOrder uses the information from the Shipment Form for on-line processing. Make sure that contact name, company name, address, etc. are correct on the Shipment Form. 10) First and Last Name Not Correct. Some shippers have a field for the first name and last name (FedEx is an example). AnyOrder will use the Contact Name field from the Shipment Form for first and last name fields. The name in the Contact field is divided it into two parts. The first part becomes the first name and the second part becomes the last name. When working with such shipments be sure to look at the Contact name and make any needed adjustments before going on-line. 11) Log-in is Rejected: Unfortunately, some shipping websites are using extra secure log-in systems. It is the same sort of log-in system that banks use. That makes it impossible for any software to use an auto log-in feature. In other words at these locations, AnyOrder is unable to log-in automatically. You will have to log in manually and then manually click on a link to go to the shipment form. That adds an extra step, but the autofill feature will continue to work when filling out the shipment form. Other Information: Printing Shipping Labels One of the advantages of on-line shipping is that you are able to print shipping labels. Often the shipping company will provide a "print" button to print the label. Some shippers (like FedEx) instruct you use to the print feature in the browser. There's no FILE >> PRINT found in the Internet Macros browser. So instead, you need to use the PRINT macro found on the left side of the screen. Highlight the "PRINT" macro and click on PLAY. You may also be able to use the RIGHT click menu. However, it's quite important where you click. On the FedEx shipping label, you need to right click on the lower part of the shipping label where the text appears. On the websites of other shippers look for an area of explanatory text and right click in that area. When you right click in a textual area, a menu will appear. You'll know you have the right menu when "Print" is listed as one of the options. Select "Print." You'll have the opportunity to select a printer and afterwards the label will be printed. If you right click on the shipping label where the barcodes are located, you'll get a different menu. On that menu, you'll see "Print Picture." That's the wrong print function. When you use this method of printing, you'll end up with a shipping label that's too large. Instead, look for "Print" and you'll be able to properly print the label. Other Information: BACK Button To go to a previous webpage, use the "BACK" macro. Highlight the "BACK" macro found on the left side of the Internet Macros browser and click on PLAY
More Information about Macros For more information on how to build your own macros, see: Macros.
Other On-line Shipment Processing Links: On-line Shipment Process - General Information WebLinks (WebLinks Properties Dialog Box) Macros (Developing Your Own or Editing Existing Macros) Macros (How to Turn On Error Checking)
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