EZLease databases are in the form of Microsoft Access® databases. (You may optionally purchase the ability to store EZLease data in SQL Server databases; for usage instructions, see Appendix D.) While you can view them from Microsoft Access, Excel, and other programs, do not make changes to EZLease databases outside of EZLease. Many fields are interrelated, or use codes; EZLease keeps these coordinated, and if they are otherwise changed, your reports may not run correctly. LeaseAccelerator cannot be responsible for incorrect results due to changing lease data outside of EZLease. To reduce the risk of accidental changes, EZLease automatically marks its Access databases as “Read Only” when the databases are closed. If a database is not still marked “Read Only” when it is opened, EZLease automatically runs the Repair Database function (described below) to check for possible data inconsistencies. This may not catch all possible errors, though, so you should not rely on this to fix problems that could be introduced by outside changes.
If you wish to make large-scale changes to your databases, either on a one-time or recurring basis, which can be defined algorithmically, please contact LeaseAccelerator for customization options. This includes loading data from existing computerized files (such as spreadsheets and databases) into EZLease (but also see Lease Upload in chapter 3).
Users of the Standard Edition of EZLease may have an unlimited number of EZLease databases, each of which may have any number of leases. The Lite Edition of EZLease has a single fixed database (with a set maximum number of leases), so the file operations menu items are not available.
See the table below for command operations.
|
Operation |
Instructions |
|
New |
To create a new EZLease database, select File/New. A blank database is created with the name you specify. |
|
Open |
To open an existing EZLease database, select File/Open. Select the desired database from the Open dialog box. Only the first user of a database has read/write abilities with an Access database. If someone else has already opened the database, you are notified and given the option to open it read-only, or to cancel opening the database. EZLease also keeps a list of the nine most recently opened databases on the File menu. You may select any of them directly from the menu. |
|
Save As |
You may make a copy of the currently open database by selecting File/Save As and specifying a new file name. |
|
Merge |
To combine the leases in two databases, first open the database which you want to contain all the leases. Then select File/Merge and choose the second database. EZLease adds each lease from the second database to the first database. The second database is not changed by the merge. If the same lease number exists in both databases, EZLease interrupts the merge process and allows you to either change the lease number (of the lease coming from the second database), skip the lease, or cancel the merge. If you cancel, all leases already read in (going in lease number order) remain in the receiving database. |
|
Copy to New Database |
Copy allows you to selectively copy leases from your current database to another database (either new or existing). You are presented a list of the leases in your database; check the leases you want to copy. Alternatively, click on “Load list from file” to load a list of lease numbers to copy from a file, either an Excel spreadsheet (first tab, first column only) or a text file (one lease number per line). You may either copy them, leaving them in the original database, or move them, deleting them from the original database. If the same lease number exists in both databases, EZLease interrupts the copy process and allows you to either change the lease number (of the lease being copied), skip the lease, or cancel the merge. If you cancel, no leases are copied. If a lease is linked to another lease, selecting one to copy automatically selects its mate, though you can undo that. If both linked leases are copied, the link is preserved in the new database. |
|
Delete Multiple Leases |
You can quickly delete multiple leases from a list. This uses the same list methodology as Copy to New Database. Thus, check the box in front of the leases you wish to delete. You may also upload a list of lease numbers, either as a text file or as a spreadsheet. |
|
Lease Upload |
See Lease Upload in chapter 3 for details. |
|
Variable Lease Payments Upload |
See Variable Lease Payments Upload in chapter 3 for details. |
|
New Standard Updates |
See New Standard Updated in chapter 3 for details. |
|
Purge Old Leases |
While you can leave expired and terminated leases in a database, and they are not shown in calculated reports after termination, you may want to remove them from the database after a period of time. You can specify the cutoff date (leases expired/ terminated before this date are purged); the default is the start of the prior fiscal year. You can optionally copy the purged leases to another database (not in Lite Edition). When complete, EZLease displays a list of the lease numbers purged. |
|
Most Recently Used Databases |
Up to nine most recently used databases are listed on the File menu for ease of reopening them. You may set EZLease to automatically open the most recently used database when it starts in File/System Options. |
|
Repair Database |
If you are concerned that your database may have internal errors, perhaps because the computer crashed while EZLease was running or changes were made to the database outside of EZLease, select Help/Repair Database. EZLease scans the database looking for data inconsistencies. When possible, it prompts you with options to correct inconsistent data. This routine is automatically triggered if you open a database that does not have the “Read Only” attribute set, as described at the beginning of this chapter. EZLease gives you the option to repair a single lease, or all leases in the database. The single lease option is useful when you know there’s a problem with a specific lease, but don't want to take the time to process the entire database. If there are errors, you are given the option to make the changes EZLease proposes or cancel the update and leave the data unchanged. If you cancel the update and the database is being opened initially, it is immediately closed. If you have questions about the repairs EZLease is reporting, please contact LeaseAccelerator for assistance. |
|
Create Review Database |
It is an unfortunate fact of life that no complex software is completely bug-free. Sometimes an unusual combination of events will cause a lease to report an error, particularly when a report is being run. The best way for LeaseAccelerator to track down the cause may be to get a copy of the lease(s) involved. If this is permissible for you, you can use Create Review Database (on the Help menu) to select one or more leases to copy to a new Access database (.mdb format), which you can send to our Support Department (support@ezlease.net). This database also includes copies of your configuration files, since system options and other settings can be involved in the problem. |