Training Partner Online–Modifying Portal Settings

By rfage | July 25th, 2011

In Training Partner Online, the Portal Settings keep both the embedded style sheets and global settings used in the online pages. Below is how you update them:

  1. Open the Training Partner Online Designer
  2. Click on the portal icon. Circled in red below.

    TrainingPartnerOnlineDesigner

  3. This will give you access to the Portal Settings

    PortalSettings

  4. From this screen you can access the Training Partner Online embedded styles.  Make sure you click apply
  5. To access Portal settings, you the Type dropdown and select Setting

    ModifyPortalSettings

  6. Scroll down to the setting you wish to update and select it. You will be updating it on the right hand side. Some settings are text fields while others are dropdowns.
  7. Again, click Apply when done.

Note:

As with all Training Partner Online updates, make sure that Training Partner Online is stopped and started. Do not use the Restart button in the services as it does not give Training Partner Online enough time to exit and you will get an error.

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Training Partner Graphic Report–Conditional Field

By rfage | June 28th, 2011

A common requirement in a report is to have a conditional field. What is a conditional field? Display one value if a condition is true, else display another.

An example would be Payment Method in an invoice. If the Payment Method is a credit card, then display the credit card type, otherwise display the payment method such as Cash or Check. This will be the example used below.

  1. Open the Graphic Report you wish to edit.

    OpenReport

  2. Click on the Report Designer icon ReportDesignerIcon
  3. This opens the Editing Report window

    EditReport

  4. To have a conditional field on the report, we must use a variable. Click the Variable icon variableicon
  5. Click on the report where you would like the variable field to appear.

    variablefield

  6. You can choose what type of date (data type) the variable will display by using the String dropdown.

    variabledatatype

    Note that String is the most common data type. We will be using String in our example.

  7. Right click the variable field and select Calculations…

    calculations

  8. The Calculations dialog will appear.

    calculationsdialog

    You enter your calculation above. The information on the right-hand side are the fields you selected in the report. They can be dragged and dropped to the left-hand side to create your calculation .

  9. Below is a sample calculation from our example. 

    paymenttypeif

    Notice the semi-colon at the end.

  10. You must compile your formula to ensure it is correct by right clicking in the calculation and selecting Compile.

    compileformula

  11. Click OK on the Calculations dialog to save your change.
  12. Click the Preview tab to verify the calculation works.

    preview

Clearly, there is a lot of functionality and complexity that comes with calculations.

You can check out the System Administrator’s Guide under Graphical Reports. Specifically, look in the Code Environment section.

OSG Consulting Inc. is available for report customization.

Contact us at rfage@osgconsulting.net.

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e-Learning Course Video Does Not Display on IIS

By rfage | May 26th, 2011

Scenario:

You have an e-learning course that you are testing by double-clicking the launch page (usually index.htm, default.htm, if you are unsure ask your course developer). The course launches fine and all the video displays properly.

You load the course on your IIS web server, the course launches fine but no video is displayed.

Solution:

The issue is that IIS has not be configured to recognize the video format. You must make IIS aware of the video’s mime type.

In the fix below, it is assumed you are using .f4v flash video files.

For IIS 6.0:

  1. Open the Internet Information Services Manager.
  2. Expand the Local Computer Server.
  3. Right-click the local computer server and select Properties.

    IISProperties

  4. Select the MIME Types button.
  5. Click New and enter the following information:
    • Associated Extension box: .F4V
    • MIME Type box: video/mp4

      EnterMIMEType

  6. Click OK on the MIME Type dialog
  7. Click OK on the MIME Types dialog

    MIMETypes

  8. Click OK on the local computer Properties
  9. Restart the World Wide Web Publishing service and any other dependent services like Training Partner Online that would have been stopped with the World Wide Web Publishing service.

    StopWWWService

The above example was for a Flash Video file but it can be applied to other media format types.

For more information on mime types, check out Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_media_type

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Training Partner–Database Primary Key Format

By rfage | May 5th, 2011

If you have spent any time in the Training Partner database, you probably seen something like the following in the STUDENT_NO, ORG_NO and COURSE_NO fields:

  • STUD2010112613253401751458
  • ORGA2010112613292507201627
  • COUR2010112613241906691320

These are the primary keys (or unique ids) for a student, organization and course respectively.

All primary keys within the Training Partner database have the same format. It is stored in a VARCHAR(30) even though it is always 26 characters long.

First 4 characters are characters representing what table the primary key comes from.

Below are some of the most common:

Abbrev in Primary Key Table
COUR COURSES
FACI FACILITIES
MATE MATERIALS
INST INSTRUCTORS
FEEI FEEITEMS
PROG PROGRAMS
SITE SITES
ORGA ORGANIZATIONS
STUD STUDENTS
USER USERS
GLAC GLACCOUNTS
ENRS ENROLLSTATUS
CSTA CLASSSTATUS
CGRO CGROUPS

The above is far from a complete list.

The next 17 digits are the date and time down to the millisecond that the primary key was created.

yyyymmddhhmissmmm

You can generate this with the following SQL call:

SELECT REPLACE(CONVERT(VARCHAR(20),GETDATE(),102),'.','')
+ REPLACE(CONVERT(VARCHAR(20),GETDATE(),114),':','')

The last five digits are a random number to ensure uniqueness. It would be zero filled if it was less than 10000.

In summary:

4 characters: table abbreviation
17 characters: date/time to millisecond
5 characters: random 5 digit number

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Training Partner – Apply Credit Memos as Payments

By rfage | April 15th, 2011

Once you create a credit memo against an invoice, some users are confused that the amount due on the invoice has not changed. Training Partner accounting allows you to use the credit memo as a payment.

It is highly recommended that you ensure that both the original invoice and the credit memo are posted before you apply the credit memo as a payment.

PostedCreditMemo

If either is not posted, it is possible to make changes to either one.

Once they are posted, open up the invoice can create a payment.

NewPayment

From the Method dropdown, select the Credit Memo.

SelectCreditMemoType

Another dropdown called Credit No is displayed. Select the Credit Memo that you wish to apply as a payment against the invoice.

CreditNo

Apply the payment as normal and post.

AppliedPayment

In the above example, the total credit memo was applied. The invoice will be fully paid.

Alert: Training Partner allows you to create a credit memo for only some of the line items on the invoice. If you do this, the Max amount available to apply will be incorrectly shown as the total amount of the invoice. Be careful not to over apply the credit memo in this case.

Customization of this process is available from OSG Consulting Inc. including a fix for the above issue.

Contact: rfage@osgconsulting.net

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Training Partner – Rollback to previous version

By rfage | April 3rd, 2011

The following is not recommended in a production environment.  Please test thoroughly if using in a production  as there are some macro differences between TP versions.

Training Partner stamps your database with the TP Admin client version to ensure the database and the version of the client are in sync. This is important since there can be incompatibilities between TP versions and the database schema.

Sometimes, the database and the TP Admin client get out of sync, either by accident or through testing another version of TP against the database. It is always recommended that you test different version of TP against copies of your database to avoid this issue.

Need to Reset Database Version Only

If you have already have the TP files installed, you simply need to reset the database version number as below:

  1. Find your TP Admin client version by going to Help menu and click About Training Partner.
  2. Your version number is actually both your Version and Build numbers. In the example below, your version number will be 2007.1.1.809
    About Training Partner
  3. Open up Microsoft SQL Server Management Server or Query Analyzer
  4. Connect to your TP database

SELECT * FROM ITEMS
WHERE ITEMTYPE=’DEFAULT’ AND ITEMKEY=’TP2000VERSION’

UPDATE ITEMS
SET NAME=’2007.1.1.809′
WHERE ITEMTYPE=’DEFAULT’ AND ITEMKEY=’TP2000VERSION’

SELECT * FROM ITEMS
WHERE ITEMTYPE=’DEFAULT’ AND ITEMKEY=’TP2000VERSION’

Rolling back to a previous version of TP is not hard if you have all the pieces:

  • TP executable
    Depending on your version of TP: TrainingPartner.exe or TP2005.exe
  • TP License file
    Depending on your version of TP: TPLicense.dll or TP2005License.dll
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Training Partner–PayFlow Pro .NET

By rfage | March 24th, 2011

Training Partner Build 1012 now supports PayFlow Pro .NET. Which is a great thing since the older COM version has been depreciated for quite some time now.

How do you know if your Training Partner build supports PayFlow Pro .Net?

Open the Tools/Options menu and go to the Act. Options tab. If you see Payflow .NET checkbox greyed out, you have support.

Options_Before_Install

NOTE:
If you have Payflow Installed checked off you will need to uninstall the COM version of Payflow Pro. I will include instructions at the end.

The install is not too hard if you can find all the pieces. This is where things get tricky.

First, make sure .NET Framework is installed. It must be greater than 2. Windows Update is the easiest way to accomplish this.

These instructions were tested on 3.5 .NET Framework.

Next download the Payflow Pro .NET SDK . This is the confusing part, the link to Payflow Pro .NET SDK that is on the PayPal site is not pointing to the latest version which is v4.33. v4.31 does not have all the files you require to install Payflow Pro .Net and have TP recognize it properly.

  1. Download: Payflow_dotNET_Setup_v4.33.zip (2.7 MB)
  2. Install Payflow_dotNET_Setup.msi by following the prompts.
  3. Open the Payflow SDK for .NET folder that was placed on your desktop during the install.
    PayflowProSDKFolder
  4. Rename Payflow_dotNET_2.0.dll to Payflow_dotNET.dll
  5. Rename Payflow_dotNET_2.0.tlb to Payflow_dotNET.tlb
  6. Copy Payflow_dotNET.dll and Payflow_dotNET.tlb to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32
  7. Register the Payflow_dotNET.dll. From the Command line:“C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\regasm” C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Payflow_dotNET.dll

    Register_Payflow_dotNET
  8. Another trick one here. You need to register Payflow_dotNET to the Global Assembly cache using gacutil.exe. The problem is that gacutil.exe is no longer distributed with the .NET framework.
    1. You need to find it on another workstation with v1.1 or v2 of .NET. Which I did.
    2. Another option is to download the .NET Framework 2.0 Software Development Kit (SDK) and install it. I have not tested this option.
  9. Once you have gacutil.exe execute the following at the command line:“C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\gacutil” /if C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Payflow_dotNET.dll

    Register_Payflow_dotNET-2

  10. Login to Training Partner as an Administrator and go to Tools/Options menu. Click the Act. Options tab.Options_After_Install
  11. The Payflow Installed and Payflow .NET should now be checked and you will be able to enter in your PayPal information. It is recommended you use a test account to confirm the installation.
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    Training Partner Online–Secure Page Setup

    By rfage | March 17th, 2011

    Like most eCommerce systems, Training Partner Online requires Secure Socket Layers (SSL, also called HTTPS) to be setup. Depend on your version of Internet Information Server (IIS), you will need to set it up differently.

    If you do not have a valid SSL certificate, below are some reference links to create Self-Signed SSL Certificates and installing them for testing only:

    Once your have enabled SSL on your IIS server, test it by going to:

    https://servername/TPOnline/TPOnline.dll/About

    Replace servername with the hostname of your IIS server with Training Partner Online installed.

    The above assumes you have a default install of Training Partner Online and the Online pages. Please replace with your relevant page name and TPOnline folder.

    If you used a self-signed SSL certificate, you will get the following warning in your IE browser:

    WebsiteSecurityCertWarning

    This is why self-signed certificates are for testing or internal use only.

    Click “Continue to this website (not recommended)” since we know it is our own certificates.

    Due to Training Partner Online using full qualified references rather than relative for all links, you will get the following warning message whether you use a self-signed certificate or a valid one:

    SSLSecurityWarning

    If you click Yes to the above Security Warning, you will notice that some images on the page will not be shown due to them not being delivered with SSL as is the case below:

    TPOnlineAbout

    Once the SSL has been installed and tested, a new folder in the TPOnline folder needs to be created. This is normally located in C:\TPOnline for a default Training Partner Online install.

    Create a folder called SSL in C:\TPOnline and copy the TPOnline.dll from C:\TPOnline into it.

    TPOnlineSSLFolder

    You will now have two copies of TPOnline.dll.

    Tip: Remember on any upgrades of TPOnline to copy TPOnline.dll into the SSL folder.

    For IIS 6.0, the last step to enable SSL for Training Partner Online is to add the TPOnline.dll in the C:\TPOnline\SSL folder as an Web Service Extension.

    WebExtensionTPOnlineSSL

    If you do not do this step, you will get a 404 file not found when you attempt to test it at:

    https://servername/TPOnline/SSL/TPOnline.dll/About

    I have not tested IIS 7.0/7.5 for ISAPI and CGI Restrictions which is the equivalent to the above.

    You should see the same messages as when you did the original test with the exception of the certificates warning because you already agreed to continue to the site.

    Training Partner Online is ready for SSL.

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    Training Partner Online – Save Online Pages

    By rfage | February 14th, 2011

    The Training Partner Online web pages are actually stored in the Training Partner database. The Online Designer allows you to add, update and delete those pages.

    It also allows you to save a copy to a folder and upload it into another copy of Training Partner Online. Very handy for us developers.

    To save a copy of your Training Partner Online web pages:

    1. Open the Online Designer
      OnlineDesigner
    2. Click on the disk save icon which is the second icon from the left.

      SaveIcon

    3. Save the file on your hard drive. Usually, the Save As dialog box will open in the C:\Training Partner – Server\Macros folder.

      TP-Pages

      In the above example, the file name will be TP-Pages.tpi in the C:\Training Partner – Server\Macros folder

    4. You will see the progress of the save. It can take up to 5 minutes to save a site depending on the size.

      Saving

      The resulting file can be as much as 6 megs.

    5. Look for TP-Pages.tpi in the C:\Training Partner – Server\Macros folder

      Since the file is text, it will compress very well if you need to email it.

    6. DONE!
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    Training Partner Online – Portal Access

    By rfage | January 12th, 2011

    Training Partner Online allows you to create different portals for different user audiences. Part of the configuration of a portal is what your users will have access to.

    Access is controlled by folder of the following inventories:

    • Courses
    • Facilities
    • Equipment
    • Instructors
    • Reports
    • Programs
    • Materials
    • Vendors
    • Skills
    • Job Roles
    • Learning Groups
    • Remote Sites

    Unless a particular folder is exposed through the Portal Properties a user will not be able to access it.

    How to Give Access to a Folder

    The following walkthrough applies to any of the inventories listed above.

    In this example, we will be using a Course Folder. We wish to give online users access to all courses in the Office folder and all subfolder in the Office tree. Below is the sample folder structure:

    CourseFolders

    1. Open the Training Partner Online Designer
    2. Click on the portal icon. Circled in red below.TrainingPartnerOnlineDesigner
    3. This will give you access to the Portal SettingsPortalSettings
    4. Using the Portal dropdown, select the portal you wish to update. In this example, we will be using the Default portal.
    5. Right click the Default portal dropdown and select PropertiesPortalSettingsMenu
    6. The Portal Properties will open. Click on the Access tabPortalPropertiesAccess

      From here, you may update access for any of the inventories. Just click on the inventory you wish to update. We will be updating the Courses inventory that is already selected for us.

    7. To allow access to the Office folder, we must expand the Microsoft folder.MicrosoftFolderExpanded

      You will note that all folders are greyed out indicating no access for the online user.

    8. It is important that you first select folder you wish to update before right clicking for the menu. Left click on the Office folder to select it.
    9. Right click on the Office folder and select Allow Access then Child Folders to give access to all subfolder.OutlookFolderAccessChildFolders
    10. Expand the Office to see that the Office folder and all its children are not greyed out anymore.OutlookFolderAccessGranted

      Online users will now have access to any course in the  Office, Access, Excel, Outlook and Word folders.

    11. Click OK to access the change.

    Important Note

    Granting and denying access to different inventories assumes that you have not customized Training Partner Online. It is very easy to disable this feature.

    Please contact a Training Partner consultant to review your code if you have any concerns.

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