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An Overview of Information Builders' Online Support Resources
While analyzing responses to several brief techniques in TABLE FILE CAR that we reprinted from the FOCUS Systems Journal, we were reminded that a number of you were introduced to FOCUS after the printed journal was superseded by online resources. As such, you may have missed examples of how colleagues employed FOCUS to solve problems that you face today. A notable aspect of the FOCUS community over the years has been its willingness to share techniques to reduce users' learning curves and expedite their development efforts.
When planning content for TABLE FILE CAR, we seek a mix of brief, broadly applicable techniques and in-depth technical articles, as well as new feature descriptions and occasional special features, with a link to the current User Groups Meetings schedule. In reviewing readers' preferences based on TFC page hits, however, we decided we should formally introduce the company's online information resources, so that each of you can effectively "roam the stacks" and indulge your own interests and curiosity.
With global acceptance of the Web's potential as an information source and improved controls over in-house Web usage, most organizations now encourage employees to exploit Web-based resources and services in solving technical problems. To address these demands, Information Builders and its iWay Software subsidiary embrace the Web for delivering timely product updates, release information, technical support, newsletters, and documentation, as well as interactive Webcasts to keep you up-to-date with new products and chat rooms to allow members of the worldwide FOCUS community to share their experiences. As always, our corporate goal is optimizing your experiences with FOCUS, WebFOCUS, and iWay products.
Information Builders' Corporate Technical Support Services group is responsible for fielding and maintaining online resources and its members interact daily with the WebFOCUS, FOCUS and iWay product groups to keep the information up-to-date. You can access their Web page and review their "Guide to Using the Information Builders and iWay InfoResponse Online Support Service" by visiting techsupport.informationbuilders.com/iro_guide.html
Here's a preview of the resources at your (virtual) fingertips:
Search Facilities (http://techsupport.informationbuilders.com/tech/search.html): Our in-house gurus recommend using the advanced search facilities when starting a technical inquiry to quickly locate all of the potentially relevant information. You can pare down the responses by rephrasing queries and adding, changing, or removing criteria to sharpen the selections.
While all publications are indexed through our advanced search, the Documentation Services site also provides specialized search facilities for accessing manuals in PDF and HTML format in their Technical Library (See Documentation below).
Systems Journals (http://techsupport.informationbuilders.com/tech/sys/sys_toc.html): I mentioned Systems Journal articles above and a number of the issues are accessible online. Not all are available, however, as we periodically remove material when a new feature obviates the need for a technique.
Go here to review tables of contents for issues on file – you can read the articles online or download them as PDFs.
FAQs (http://techsupport.informationbuilders.com/tech/contents/cof_faq_toc.html): If you're new to FOCUS, the frequently asked questions are a useful way to get a sense of how fellow FOCUS users think (and talk) about FOCUS.
FOCUS Techniques/Code Examples (http://techsupport.informationbuilders.com/tech/tcn_toc.html): Here's a useful compendium of techniques organized by product functional areas: TABLE, Maintain, MODIFY, Dialogue Manager, miscellaneous, etc. You'll find these very useful as models even if they don't do exactly what you have in mind. FOCUS is a very intuitive product once you understand its scope and conventions.
Release Information (http://techsupport.informationbuilders.com/tech/cof/cof_cri.html#FOCUSforS/390): The version and release of FOCUS at your site displays in the banner at the top of the screen when you start a FOCUS session. To see if that's the latest release, check the online release information there. If you have an earlier release, you can review the Summaries of New Features for subsequent releases to see what features were added.
Documentation (http://documentation.informationbuilders.com): Once sure of the release of FOCUS you are running, visit the Documentation link to see if your documentation is up to date. Documentation Services maintains an annotated comprehensive inventory list with online procedures for ordering new manuals.
Case Management (http://techsupport.informationbuilders.com/iro/availability.html): A final major aspect of the CTSS Web site that is not covered in this article is their interactive InfoResponse problem tracking and resolution system, which users can access.
This system is used for reporting problems and checking the status of previously reported problems throughout your site. When you are unable to find an answer to a problem or question using the search facilities or FOCUS Techniques/Code Examples, you can open a case to present technical questions to our support staff. Contact the FOCUS Coordinator at your site for detailed information about this key support program.
Alternatively, you can simply go to www.informationbuilders.com/Products/FOCUS and browse through many of the sections mentioned above. It's also a Quick Link.
Whatever path you take, you'll find a great deal of information and, hopefully, ideas that will save you time when developing applications and answers to many of your questions.
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