--------------------------------------------------------- Microsoft(R) Business Solutions Point of Sale Service Pack 1 Release Notes August 2005 (c) 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. --------------------------------------------------------- This file provides information that supplements the product documentation. How to use this document ------------------------ View the Release Notes on-screen in Windows Notepad. On the Format menu, make sure Word Wrap is checked. To print the Release Notes, open it in Notepad or another word processor, and then use the Print command on the File menu. Contents -------- 1. Security 2. System Requirements 3. Installation 4. Configuration 5. Hardware 6. Documentation 7. Microsoft Product Support Services 1. Security ------------- Before installing Microsoft Point of Sale, make sure your Windows operating system has the latest security updates installed. See http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com for more information about Windows Update. 2. System Requirements ------------- Using Microsoft Point of Sale with Windows Server 2003 requires Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1), which provides enhanced security, increased reliability, and simplified administration to help enterprise customers across all industries. See www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem for more information. Microsoft Point of Sale supports Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition for single-computer installations. In multiple-computer installations, the first (server) installation requires Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Microsoft Windows Server 2003. Additional (client) installations can use Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition. 3. Installation ----------------- You must purchase a separate copy of Microsoft Point of Sale for each computer on which you want to install the software and use the Point of Sale POS component. The Point of Sale Manager component can be used on additional computers without an additional license. IMPORTANT: When installing Microsoft Point of Sale on multiple computers, make sure to install Point of Sale on the main computer first. The main computer will have the store database. Make sure to choose the "First installation (server or only computer)" option in the Installation Wizard only for the main computer (the computer with the store database). Choose the "Additional installation (client computer)" option for installing on all other computers in the store. During installation, when asked to choose a port, choose "Use default port" and then write down the port number, server name, and database name. Keep this information in a safe place. You will need it change database connections, perform maintenance on the database, or set up additional computers with Microsoft Point of Sale. If you lose this information, you will need to either re-install Point of Sale or contact Microsoft Product Support for instructions on how to find this information in the program's configuration file. See "Microsoft Product Support Services," below. Do not use one computer to install Point of Sale on another computer on your network. The installation routine won't be able to open the ports needed by MSDE. For security, do not install in a Windows FAT32 partition. If you are using anti-spyware software from Microsoft, when asked during installation if you want to allow or block a service called "possum.exe", choose allow. This is a Microsoft Point of Sale security service that coordinates Point of Sale startup information with Microsoft Windows. Re-installing Point of Sale will fail to install the database files if the previous database files are missing or were deleted without un-installing the program. Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition When installing Microsoft Point of Sale on Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, the Installation Wizard might display a message that Point of Sale might not work properly even though nothing is wrong. 4. Configuration ------------------ IMPORTANT: The first time you start Point of Sale Manager, the Store Setup Wizard starts. Though most of the wizard is optional, you must use the wizard to create an employee ID and password for the store owner. Write down this information and keep it in a safe place. You will need it to log on to Point of Sale and use the program. If you lose this information, you will need to re-install Point of Sale. Microsoft Point of Sale uses Windows Authentication for security. Your Point of Sale passwords must conform to the current password policy on your computer. For example, if your computer requires strong passwords, your Point of Sale passwords may need to contain uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and punctuation. When setting up the Point of Sale POS screen, displaying many elements at once or specifying large sizes for some elements will reduce the usable transaction pane. Maximum sizes for the touch-screen keyboard and custom pane should be limited to the following percentages of the POS screen: 800 X 600 Touch-screen keyboard - 15% Custom pane - 0% 1024 X 768 Touch-screen keyboard - 15% Custom pane - 10% When creating items and customers, use a prefix with customer numbers to distinguish customer numbers from item numbers. This will prevent mixed matches of items and customers when scanning items. Make sure your receipt printer can print the * (asterisk) character or scanning a bar-code receipt may not work. If you use a keyboard based MSR, add "USB Keyboard MSR" or "Wedge Keyboard MSR" to the register in Register Properties. If you use a keyboard based scanner, add "Wedge Keyboard Scanner" to the register in Register Properties. Avoid item and customer numbers of less than two characters. Keyboard MSR and Keyboard Scanner require bar codes of two or more characters. 5. Hardware ------------------ Microsoft does not recommend using Microsoft Point of Sale with Ithaca cash drawers or the PioneerPOS Rear Display due to software compatibility issues. 6. Documentation ------------------ For complete instructions and detailed information about installing and using Microsoft Point of Sale, See the Getting Started manual and Microsoft Point of Sale online Help in both Point of Sale POS and Point of Sale Manager. 7. Microsoft Product Support Services --------------------------------------- Microsoft product support You can find Microsoft product support for Microsoft Business Solutions Point of Sale at the Microsoft Help and Support Web site: http://support.microsoft.com/ Microsoft CustomerSource CustomerSource is a Microsoft Web site that provides Microsoft Business Solutions customers around-the-clock access to support resources and a multitude of tools to improve their business processes and practices. Site access is available to Microsoft Business Solutions customers currently on a service plan at https://mbs.microsoft.com/customersource. For information about available service plans, contact your Microsoft Certified Partner or visit www.microsoft.com/businesssolutions/support.aspx Microsoft Certified Partners You can also take advantage of your ongoing relationship with your Microsoft Certified Partner, who understands the unique service needs of your business. Product information For product information about Microsoft Business Solutions Point of Sale and other Microsoft retail, business, and accounting software, visit the Microsoft Business Solutions Web site at www.microsoft.com/businesssolutions Accessibility information See the Microsoft Point of Sale Getting Started manual or Point of Sale Manager online Help for complete information about Microsoft accessibility products and services. You can also find accessibility information at the Microsoft Accessibility Web site at www.microsoft.com/enable