Techical Support - Ability for Windows 1.5
Overview
Ability for Windows 1.5 was released for the Windows 3.1x platform in August 1995.
The latest update was produced in September 1996.
Ability for Windows is able to import files from any of the previous releases of Ability and Ability Plus.
For a comprehensive list of features, see the product guide.
Anything not covered in the Frequently Asked Questions section should be addressed directly to support@ability.com.
FAQ
- Windows 95 - general notes
- "Invalid mail merge setup"
- Cannot open an Ability for Write document
- "SHARE must be installed for Ability for Windows"
- "Format converter not installed"
- How do I import Ability DOS files?
- Printing problems - general
- Year 2000 - any problems [Answer :- No!]
- Windows 95 - general notes
If you have just upgraded your Windows to Windows 95, you need to make sure that the Ability disks you have are Windows 95 compatible. Go into any Ability application and select Help/About - the version number should read 1.6. If you have an earlier version, you should Email support@ability.com for an update.
- "Invalid mail merge setup"
This can occur when:
A field in the Write document doesn't connect to the merge database - check each field by double-clicking and confirming that the table name and field name are correct.
Or
A query was attempted from the mail merge dialog box. This is a fault in the software which can be fixed with an update. Please Email support@ability.com for the fix.
- Cannot open an Ability for Write document
Either:
The Write file is corrupted (an error occurred when it was last saved). You usually recover the text - download the file recovery module RCD from this site.
Or
You are running Windows 95 and don't have the right version of Ability. See Windows 95 - general notes above.
Or
SHARE.EXE is not installed correctly. See the notes SHARE below.
- "SHARE must be installed for Ability for Windows"
SHARE.EXE, a DOS utility, is required to run Ability for Windows under Microsoft Windows 3.1 (it is not required for Windows 3.11 or Windows 95). The following line is added to your AUTOEXEC.BAT during the Ability setup:
C:\DOS\SHARE.EXE /L:500 /F:5100
Check your AUTOEXEC with the SYSEDIT (select File/Run from Program Manager and enter SYSEDIT at the prompt) - make sure that the "L" and "F" parameters have the correct values.
Note: If you've just installed Ability, it may be that you need to reboot your PC in order for the setup changes to take effect.
- "Format converter not installed"
This can arise when you are try to open a file that Ability does not recognize (e.g. an EXE file). Otherwise, see Cannot open a Write document above.
- How do I import Ability DOS files?
There is a separate guide that assists in opening your data files created in an earlier version of Ability (Ability 1.2 and Ability Plus 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0). This is installed as part of the standard setup process. To view this guide:
In Windows 95, click the Start button, select Programs, select Ability Office 1.6 and then select Ability Upgrade.
In Windows 3.1 or 3.11, double-click the Upgrade Help icon in the Ability Office program group.
- Printing problems - general
The following applies to Microsoft Windows 3.1 and 3.11.
Printer Manager works by spooling a print job to disk and then directing this to a printer as a background process. The advantage is that control is generally given back to the user faster than it would if it had gone directly to the printer and many documents can sent printed simultaneously.
However, if you find the printing in Ability is not working ("Device not ready" and other catastrophic messages), it would be a good idea to switch Printer Manager off as a test. To do this, double-click Control Panel in the Main program group then double-click the Printers icon. Next, clear the "Use Printer Manager" check-box. If printing now works, you can leave the setting as is. (trouble shooting Printer Manager is beyond the scope of this document).
