But...It's not in the documentation!

Just because something isn't in the technical documentation, doesn't mean it's not so. However, the same can be said of situations where the documentation says something that isn't true, may be partially true, or may be incomplete.

Sound confusing?  It often is...

As an example...

Recently, a new customer shipped us some servers that were purchased and staged in another country.  When trying to use the CP SQL Multi-Site Utilities to create the First Site server database, the scripting process was failing to insert the replication tables and triggers into the newly created database, an generating an "unknown error" message.  This was later determined to be due to an conflict between the default file, MS SQL Server, and the operating system.

The default file (used to create the tables in the new database) ran into a conflict because the installed default SQL Collation Sequence (English US) must be the same as what was used when the default was originally created at the factory. In this case, the installed default was not English US.  Simply the changing default setting was insufficient because the software looks at the install default not the current setting, and would not accept the change.  Resolving this required re-staging the server from scratch. These facts were missing from the documentation.

Sometimes reading software prompts and/or technical documentation can appear to conflict with what you know or see, this can be equally confusing.  This can be especially risky when whatever you do could have possible extreme negative connotations.

Examples of this are:

• The Physical Count question "Adjust items not counted to zero?

• The File Utility question such as "Initialize All Files?"

• Installation questions such as "Is this a Server, or a Workstation, or both?", or "Is this a Client or Thin Client?"

For system changes,  If you have a test company, try it there first.  For installations, do a trial installation to clarify all the open questions before your final installation and data conversion or import. 

Make sure you have a list of the steps you plan to complete beforehand.  Keep a running log of the steps you complete as you go.  You can clean it up when you are finished.  This will allow you to know what to clarify and what you have already tried.  

Keep this information online with an editor so you can refer to it now and in the future.  Don't tell yourself that you will remember it any way and do not have to write it down.  Don't tell yourself that you will make some notes after all is finished rather than as you complete the steps.  In either case you will NOT be able to get the most value out of your work.  You or others will not be able to help you or replicate your work later when it is most critical.

If you are unsure about anything you are reading in your documentation, or be prompted to do by your software, please call the CCS Retail Systems Support Department for clarification.