Preferences

The Preferences window provides users with basic customizations for the behavior and appearance for the local OpsCenter client. This window can be opened by selecting Preferences under the Edit menu header. These settings are what make up the user profile for the local computer:

o	The user information tab shows some basic information for the default user. This information is for display purposes only but these fields can be changed from the Manage Users administrative option.

▪	This option allows the user set the format to display the user names. The names can be displayed firstname lastname or lastname, firstname. This format applies to all places that user names appear. (Default Value: lastname, firstname.)

▪	This option allows the user to set the display style for the various visual components of the application. This includes the look of the menus, toolbars, and docked windows and tabs. (Default Value: Office 2003.)

▪	This option allows the user to set the name of the default group that will be displayed whenever a new status table window is opened. Changing this setting will not modify any status table windows already opened. (Default Value: All.)

▪	This option allows the user to set the name of the default group that will be displayed whenever a new calendar window is opened. Changing this setting will not modify any calendar window already opened. (Default Value: All.)

▪	This option allows the user to set the name of the default user that will be displayed in the event calendar whenever a new status table window is opened. Changing this setting will not modify any status table window already opened. (Default Value: <default user>.)

▪	This determines how far in the future schedules will be displayed in the event calendar on the status table. (Default Value: 3 Months. Minimum Value: 1 Day. Maximum Value: 10 Years.)

▪	This option will set the main toolbar (the toolbar with the large icons) to show text labels below all the icons. If disabled, the text labels will only appear to the right of the main window icons. (Default Value: False.)

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This option makes it possible to open duplicate tabbed windows. For example, if disabled, clicking on a main window icon such as the "Communication Manager" will only open a new communication manager window if the communication manager isn't already open. If it is, then the existing communication manager window will be selected and displayed. If this option is enabled, multiple communication manager windows can be open at the same time by selecting the pull down option next to the communication manager icon on the main toolbar. This also applies to the Status Window, Schedule Manager, and Calendars. In order for this to take affect, OpsCenter must be restarted. (Default Value: False.)

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On the event calendar and bulletin board, new items have a star icon at the beginning of the subject. Items are considered new if they were created within a certain amount of time. This option allows the user to determine how many days old an item can be and still be considered new. (Default Value: 2. Minimum Value: 0. Maximum Value: 999.)

▪	This determines which audio sound effect will play when a new message arrives or pops up. Click the play button to preview the sound effect. (Default Value: default.wav.)

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This determines how a message will be handled when it arrives. It can either pop up on the screen, not pop up and blink the system tray/program icon, or pop up based on the current users status. This setting can be overridden for high priority messages based on the settings below. (Default Value: Pop up when user status is 'IN'.)

▪	This determines when the audible alert will play, either when the message arrives, pops up, or never. This setting can be overridden for high priority messages based on the settings below. (Default Value: When message pops up.)

▪	This determines whether or not to handle high priority messages different from the preferences default preferences above. (Default Value: False, False.)

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This option determines if the option to auto-format a phone number on a phone message is on when a new phone message is created. (See the "Sending / Receiving Phone Messages" section for more information on the auto-format phone number option.) This option will be grayed out if the administrator has disabled the phone messages system or if a phone number country format has not been selected. Both of these controls can be managed in the system controls. (Default Value: True.)

▪	This determines whether or not to close the original message when a reply or forwarded message is sent. This option will be ignored if the "Close original message on reply/forward" option is selected since that event occurs before this one. (Default Value: False.)

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This option allows the user to set the amount of time to keep notes and phone messages that have been read. Messages that are older than the chosen age will be automatically archived in the system. Archived messages can still be accessed by selecting the display archived messages option in the My Messages window. Automatically archiving these old messages helps reduce the clutter in the message inbox. Unchecking this option will result in messages not being archived automatically. (Default Value: 2 Weeks. Minimum Value: 1 Day. Maximum Value: 12 Months, unless otherwise determined by administrator in the system controls.)

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This option allows the user to set the amount of time to keep notes and phone messages that have been read. Messages that are older than the chosen age will be automatically deleted from the system. Deleted messages cannot be recovered. Automatically deleting these old messages helps reduce the clutter in the message inbox. Unchecking this option will result in messages not being deleted automatically. The check box will be grayed out if the administrator has set the option to force old messages to be deleted in the system controls. (Default Value: 12 Months. Minimum Value: 1 Day. Maximum Value: 10 Years, unless otherwise determined by administrator in the system controls.)

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This option allows the user to set the frequency that the OpsCenter client will go through their messages and archive and delete old messages based on the auto-archive/delete settings. (Default Value: 1 Day. Minimum Value: 1 Day. Maximum Value: 12 Months, unless otherwise determined by administrator in the system controls.)

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This button allows the user to manually force OpsCenter to go through their messages and archive and delete old messages based on the auto-archive/delete settings. This manually control bypasses the set schedule to automatically check for old messages. The date and time OpsCenter last checked for old messages are also displayed. This date and time applies to both the manual and automatic check.

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This option determines how frequent the local OpsCenter client queries the database to get updated user status information, schedules, bulletin board posts, messages, administrative settings, etc. The user can force the local OpsCenter client to update the status information immediately by selecting "Refresh" from the standard toolbar or from the Edit menu. Notes, phone messages, and vacation requests are additionally sent directly between clients so they will still reach their destination within seconds of being sent even if the refresh interval is large. (Default Value: 1 Minute. Minimum Value: 15 Seconds, unless otherwise determined by administrator in the system controls. Maximum Value: 12 Hours.)

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This option sets OpsCenter to automatically check the Audama Software website for an update to the OpsCenter software. If there is an update, a notification will be displayed on the screen with links to the update information. This check will occur according to the specified frequency. (Default Value: False; 1 Week. Minimum Value: 1 Day, unless otherwise determined by administrator in the system controls. Maximum Value: 1 Year.)

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This control will determine how the main OpsCenter window will be displayed when the program first starts. The three options are: 1) Minimized - OpsCenter will startup minimized on the program bar or minimized in the system tray if "Run in system tray on program start" is enabled; 2) Normal - OpsCenter will startup in a normal window which only takes up part of the screen; 3) Maximized - OpsCenter will load maximized so it will take up the entire screen. (Default Value: Minimized.)

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This option determines whether the OpsCenter client will automatically log the default user IN when the program starts and OUT when the program ends. Shutting down the computer without closing OpsCenter first still counts as a program ending event and will log the default user OUT if this option is enabled. Selecting "Exit - Bypass AutoLog" from the "File" menu will shut down OpsCenter and will not log the default user OUT even if this option is enabled. (Default Value: True.)

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This option determines whether or not a database error message is displayed if the database cannot be found when OpsCenter first starts. This option is useful in situations where the computer, such as a laptop, is not always connected to the network where the OpsCenter database is located. If this option is disabled and the computer cannot find the OpsCenter database, the program will startup in a disconnected state. If this option is enabled and the computer cannot find the OpsCenter database, the program will display a database connection error message and provide the user the opportunity to create a new database or manually locate an existing OpsCenter database. (Default Value: True.)

▪	This option will force OpsCenter to always prompt for a default user when the program starts. This could be useful in situations where a computer is shared by multiple people. (See the installation guide for more ways to configure OpsCenter on a shared computer.) (Default Value: False.)

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This field specifies the number of seconds between when the program starts and when the database connection is established. This may be useful in situations where OpsCenter is set to start with Windows but the network resources where the database is located take a few seconds to become available. (Default Value: 0. Minimum Value: 0. Maximum Value: 60.)

▪	This option will force OpsCenter to automatically load the Status Window tab when the program starts. If this is disabled, the user will need to click the "Status Window" icon in the main toolbar in order to open the Status Window tab. (Default Value: True.)

▪	This option will force OpsCenter to automatically load the Communication Manager tab when the program starts. If this is disabled, the user will need to click the "Communication Manager" icon in the main toolbar in order to open the Communication Manager tab. (Default Value: False.)

▪	This option will force OpsCenter to automatically load the Schedule Manager tab when the program starts. If this is disabled, the user will need to click the "Schedule Manager" icon in the main toolbar in order to open the Schedule Manager tab. (Default Value: False.)

▪	This option will force OpsCenter to automatically load the Calendars tab when the program starts. If this is disabled, the user will need to click the "Status Window" icon in the main toolbar in order to open the Status Window tab. (Default Value: False.)

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This option determines if the user password feature is enabled. When enabled, a password will need to be inputted when logging into OpsCenter as the user with the password. The option below to remember password when logging in can be used to not have to always type a password on the local computer. Any other OpsCenter client on the network that tries to log in as the user will have to enter the password. This option will be grayed out if the password system is disabled in the system controls. There is also an administrative control to force all users to have a password so this option will become enabled even if the user doesn't specifically enable it. If all users are forced to have a password, this option will also be grayed out. (Default Value: False.)

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This button allows the user to change or set their password. If the password option is enabled for the user, a password will need to be entered. A blank password is not allowed. A windows will come up allowing the user to enter a password. If no password has been previously set, just enter the new password. If a previous password exists, the old password will also need to be entered. The minimum password length is three (3) characters.

▪	This button allows the user to clear their current password from the system. If the password option is enabled for the user, a password will need to be entered. A blank password is not allowed.

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This option determines whether OpsCenter will remember the default user's password when the program starts. If this option is enabled, the password will not need to always be entered when the program starts. If this option is disabled, then OpsCenter will forget the default user's password when the program ends. As a result, the next time OpsCenter starts, the password for the default user will have to be entered. (Default Value: True.)

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This text field specifies the file to write all the programs log entries to. The log file is a plain text file that can be viewed in any text editor. To change the location or name of this file, click the "Browse" button and select the new location. If the "Browse" button is grayed out, click on the "Enable" button above the text fields. If a password is requested, enter the database password that was set in the system controls. You will also be given the option to move or copy the existing log file to the new location. (Default Value: %APPDATA FOLDER%\logfile.txt)

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This option determines if a log file is automatically generated. Events that are recorded in the log include any status changes. The log file can be viewed by selecting "View Log File" from the "View" menu. The log file can be cleared by selecting "Clear Log File" from the "Edit menu. The location and maximum size of the log file can be set in the preferences on the "Password / Paths" tab. This option will be grayed out if the administrator has set the option to force all users to generate a log file in the system controls. (Default Value: True.)

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This option allows the user to specify the maximum size that the log file should reach. (1000 KB = 1 MB) OpsCenter will periodically check the log file size and reduce the size to 90% of the maximum size. The oldest log entries will be the first ones deleted. Because the file reduction is based on bytes and not log entries, after a reduction occurs, part of a log entry may be left behind at the top of the log file. (Default Value: 1000 KB. Minimum Value: 1 KB. Maximum Value: 1000 KB.)

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This button will automatically open the folder where OpsCenter stores local user information. This includes log files, display settings, and login information. Users will not normally need to directly access these files but there may be specific debugging or configuration situations were direct access may be needed. This folder is located at "C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Application Data\Audama\OpsCenter" and can be browsed to in Windows as well.

▪	This will cause the applicable calendar to show the end time as well as the start time for the schedule item. If this is disabled, only the start time will be shown for schedules which do not start at midnight. (Default Value: False.)

▪	This will cause the month view calendar to combine the Saturday and Sunday box into a single split box. If this is disabled, the Saturday and Sunday boxes will be the same size as the other days of the week. (Default Value: True.)

▪	This setting determines the number of minutes between the major time dividers on the day view calendar. (Default Value: 30. Minimum Value: 1. Maximum Value: 90.)

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This setting will cause the day view calendar to label the times for the minor time dividers. If this is disabled, only the major time dividers will be labeled. This setting may be ignored if the Time scale setting does not provide adequate room to display the time for the minor time dividers. (Default Value: False.)

▪	This setting will force the year view calendar to start on a specific month every time it is loaded. The specified month will become the default start month. If this is disabled, the starting month will be the current month based on the computer's built-in calendar. (Default Value: False, January.)

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This option changes the default OpsCenter behavior so that the user must double-click the system tray icon in order to minimize and restore the main OpsCenter window. If disabled, the regular OpsCenter behavior will be used which only requires a single click to minimize and restore the main OpsCenter window. (Default Value: False.)

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This option changes the default OpsCenter behavior so that OpsCenter will always minimize to the system tray. If disabled, the regular OpsCenter behavior will be used which will leave OpsCenter running in the taskbar if the user clicks the "_" minimize button. If the user clicks the "X" close button, OpsCenter will not appear in the taskbar and instead will only appear in the system tray. If enabled, both the "_" minimize and "X" close buttons will cause OpsCenter to disappear from the taskbar and only show up in the system tray. (Default Value: False.)

▪	This option adds the notes icon to the system tray. Clicking on this icon will create a new note message. This allows for single-click access to sending new notes. (Default Value: False.)

▪	This option add the phone message icon to the system tray. Clicking on this icon will create a new phone message. This allows for single-click access to sending new phone messages. (Default Value: False.)

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This option allows you to increase or decrease the font size on the associated control type relative to the system default font size. A value of 0 means that the normal system default font sizes are used. A positive value increases the font size. For example, even if you have the Windows display settings set to use large fonts, a value of 1 will increase the font size an additional point. A negative value will decrease the font size relative to the default settings. (Default Value: 0. Minimum Value: -5. Maximum Value: 5.)