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This
page provides answers to common questions related to
the Achieve Planner (AP) software.
If you have questions that are not addressed by this
page, please submit a support ticket.
Licensing/Ordering FAQ
Q:
Is the free 30-day trial really free? Any strings
attached?
The 30-day trial for the Achieve Planner software is
completely free with no strings attached. You don't have
to give your credit card and you won't be charged for
anything when the trial expires.
Q: If I
decide to purchase, does all my data entered during the
trial get transferred over to the purchased version?
Yes. When you purchase, you don't have to download
anything new. You just apply a registration code to
"unlock" the trial. All your data that you entered
during the trial remains the same and is fully
available.
Q: I want to use Achieve Planner on
my desktop and laptop. How many licenses do I need to
buy?
If you will be the only person using
these computers, you only need a single-user license.
We realize that many people use more
than one computer. We have designed our licensing
agreement to be reasonable and flexible. If you have any
questions regarding licensing, please do not hesitate to
contact us by submitting a ticket.
Single-User License
The single-user license applies to
either a single person using more than one computer, or
a single computer used non-concurrently by multiple
people, but not both.
For example, with a single-user
license you can install and use Achieve Planner on your
desktop, laptop, and home computer as long as you will
be the only one using these computers.
If multiple people will be using your
home PC, you would need to purchase two licenses: one
for your work computers and one for your home PC.
Please note that if you buy Achieve
Planner through your work, it is your company (and not
you) that owns the license. If you move to another job,
you would need to buy a license of your own in order to
continue using it.
Multiple-User License
Multiple-user licenses are exactly the
same as if you had purchased multiple single-user
licenses individually, but have the additional benefit
of volume discounts.
The same rules that apply to
single-user licenses apply to multiple-user licenses:
each one can be used by a single person on multiple
computers, or in a single computer by multiple people
(but not at the same time.)
Achieve Planner is not licensed on a
concurrent user basis.
Please note that Achieve Planner is a
personal planning tool and is not groupware or multi-user capable.
Multiple users cannot share the same data file in a
networked environment.
By purchasing multiple licenses, you
are only taking advantage of volume discounts so that
multiple people can use Achieve Planner individually.
Q: Can I take
my copy of Achieve Planner with me to a new job?
It really depends on whether you
purchased Achieve Planner through your old employer
(e.g., your employer paid for it), or you purchased it
yourself personally.
If your past employer purchased it for
you, then it most likely belongs to them and not you.
Please check with your employer regarding their policy.
If you purchased it yourself, you can
transfer your copy of Achieve Planner to a new PC as
described here.
Q:
How do I transfer my copy of Achieve Planner to a new
PC?
To transfer your license of Achieve
Planner to a new PC, follow these steps:
1) Download the Achieve Planner
installer on the new PC (download area)
2) Run the installer on the new PC to
install the software
3) Use your existing permanent
registration code (code received via email) to unlock
the software and register it on the new PC.
NOTE: Starting with version 1.5.2.2,
you can view your full permanent registration code in
the Help->About dialog. Older versions only display a
partial code which cannot be used when transferring AP
from one PC to another.
If you lost your registration code,
please click here for instructions.
4) Copy your data file (.ach) from
your old PC to the new PC. This is typically a file with
a .ach extension and by default it is saved in the 'My
Documents' folder.
5) The first time you run Achieve
Planner on the new PC, you will need to open the data
file manually. Use the File->Open->Open Data File menu
command and select the Achieve Planner data file on your
new PC.
NOTE: You can still keep a copy of
Achieve Planner on your old PC if you will be the only
one using it, otherwise please
uninstall it.
Q: What
is the difference between the 30-day trial and the
purchased version?
Both the 30-day trial and the
purchased version of Achieve Planner are the same (you
download and install the same file).
When you purchase Achieve Planner, you
will receive a registration code that unlocks the trial
and converts it into the purchased version.
Q: Is there a
CD version or is it just available via electronic
download?
At this point, Achieve Planner is only
available via electronic download. There is no CD
version.
Registration Codes
Q: Why haven't I received my permanent
registration code?
We typically send the permanent
registration code within 1-3 business days of your
purchase, but it may take up to 5 business days.
If you haven't received your permanent
registration code and it's been more than 5 business
days since you purchased it, please check your SPAM/bulk
folder.
In some cases, our email with your
permanent registration code may be blocked or dropped by
your ISP before it reaches you.
If you still can't find your permanent
registration code, please go here to
submit a ticket
and include as much information as possible about your
order including, your order number, name, email address,
and any other information that could help us locate your
order.
IMPORTANT: If you've already
contacted support and have not received a response in a
day or so, it's very likely that you are not receiving
our email messages.
This could happen EVEN IF YOU RECEIVED
the email with the temporary registration code because
that email is sent automatically by our shopping cart and not by
us.
Q: What is a
registration code, where do I get it?
A registration code unlocks the
Achieve Planner trial and allows you to use the software
after the 30-day trial period.
You should receive a temporary
registration code via email immediately after you
purchase Achieve Planner, and you should receive your
user specific registration code via email within 1-5
business days.
Q: Why do I get a
temporary registration code when I purchase AP?
The temporary registration code allows
you to unlock and start using Achieve Planner
immediately after you place your order while we prepare
and send you the permanent registration code based on
your name.
We provide this so you can start using
Achieve Planner right away without having to wait for
the permanent registration code to arrive (which can
take up to 5 business days).
Q: I lost my
registration code, how can I get it back?
If you lost or can't find your
permanent registration code, please
submit a ticket and provide as much information as possible so we can
locate your order.
Q: How do I enter my
registration code into Achieve Planner?
To enter your registration code,
please do the following (version 1.5 and later):
In your email client:
1) Select all the text in the email
containing your registration code (Ctrl+A)
2) Copy it to the clipboard (Ctrl + C)
In Achieve Planner:
3) Invoke Help->Registration menu item
4) Click on the Register button
5) Make sure that both the user name
and registration code in the appropriate boxes match the
values from the email message.
If they don't, you may need to enter
them by hand (we recommend using cut and paste directly from the
email message).
NOTE: User name is case sensitive.
Enter it exactly as shown in the email message.
6) Click OK to complete the
registration
Q: If I use
the temporary code, will I have to re-enter my data when
I get the permanent code?
No, you won't have to re-enter all
your data when you register with the permanent code. We
wouldn't do that to you!
All your data will be safe in your
data file when you change codes.
Upgrades FAQ
Q: How can I upgrade to
the latest version of Achieve Planner?
The
Achieve Planner download area contains the latest
released version of Achieve Planner.
NOTE: The trial version is the same as
the purchased version once you apply the registration
code.
To upgrade to the latest version,
follow these steps:
1) Close all running instances of
Achieve Planner
2) Download the installer to your PC
from the download area
3) Double-click to run the installer
from your PC - This will
automatically upgrade your Achieve Planner version to
the latest value
NOTE: We recommend that you make a
backup of your data file before upgrading to a new
version just in case you want to roll back to an earlier
version
4) Start Achieve Planner - If the data
file format has changed, your data file may need to be
converted to the new format. This should happen
automatically
Q: Are
upgrades free or do I have to pay for them?
Achieve Planner minor and bug-fix
updates are free to registered users of the same major
release version. For example, Achieve Planner 1.x users
are entitled to free updates to all 1.x releases.
Each major revision of the software
(e.g., from 1.x to 2.x) requires users of previous
versions to purchase an upgrade license at a discount.
You can get the discount code by
following the instructions on the order form when you want to purchase the
upgrade.
Q: How do I find out
what's new in each version of Achieve Planner?
Take a look at the
What's New with Achieve Planner page, where we post
new features/fixes for each release.
Q: How do I download
older versions of Achieve Planner?
We currently DO NOT maintain an older
version archive of Achieve Planner releases that is
available to the public.
If you want to be able to roll back to
an older version of Achieve Planner, please keep a copy
of the old installer before downloading a new one.
If there is a compelling reason why
you need an older version, please
submit a ticket.
Install/Uninstall
FAQ
Q: How do I install
Achieve Planner?
Achieve Planner uses an installer
package from InstallShield to simplify the process of
installing Achieve Planner and all it's necessary
components.
All you need to do is run the
installer and follow the on-screen instructions.
NOTE: Achieve Planner requires the
Microsoft .NET framework V1.1 which may
already be installed in your system.
If it is not already installed, the
installer will attempt to download the Microsoft .NET
Framework installer directly from Microsoft (dotnetfx.exe)
and run the installation for you.
Q: What is the Microsoft .NET
Framework?
The .NET Framework runtime (which may
already be installed on your computer) is a software component that must
be present in order to run any .NET applications like Achieve Planner.
The Achieve Planner setup
installer will automatically detect if the .NET runtime is not present
and can download it if necessary from the Microsoft
website.
You would only need to install it once to run any .NET application in
the future. If you need to install the Microsoft .NET framework,
installer may need to restart your computer before it can install
Achieve Planner.
If you prefer you can also download
and install the Microsoft .NET Framework directly from Microsoft
(click
here for the download page). IMPORTANT for Windows Vista/Windows
7
Users: Achieve Planner currently requires the Microsoft
.NET Framework version 1.1.
Our Vista installer
DOES NOT automatically install the 1.1 .NET framework on your PC.
While Vista & Windows 7 come pre-installed with
the .NET framework 3.5, due to a Vista/Windows 7 quirk, some users have reported
strange/random errors when using Achieve Planner on
Vista/Windows 7 without having the 1.1 .NET framework installed.
If you experience any problems while
running Achieve Planner on Vista or Windows 7, you may want to install the 1.1
version of the Microsoft .NET framework separately to
see if it helps resolve the problems.
You can get the installer directly from Microsoft
(click
here for the download page). You don't have to re-install Achieve
Planner after you've installed the framework. The different
versions of the .NET framework can be installed
side-by-side on Vista & Windows 7 without any problems.
Q: How do I uninstall
Achieve Planner?
If you would like to
uninstall Achieve Planner, you can do so from the
"Add/Remove Programs" in the control panel. Simply open
the control panel, choose "Add/Remove Programs," find
the entry for Achieve Planner, and click on the "Remove"
button (in some computers you may have to click the
"Change/Modify" button and then choose to uninstall from
the wizard.)
Support for Multiple Users, Groups, Teams
Q: Does Achieve Planner
support multiple users or a team/group?
Currently, Achieve Planner is a
personal planning tool and it does NOT support multiple
simultaneous users sharing access to the same data file.
You cannot assign or send tasks to
subordinates other people in your team. Achieve Planner
will not automatically keep track of their progress or
send you status updates.
Q: Can Achieve Planner
send delegated task requests to my staff?
Not at this time. Achieve Planner is
currently a personal planning tool and it does not
support sending delegated task requests to your staff.
Q: Can I put my data
file in a network server so that everyone in my team
can see each other's projects?
Yes and no. While you can always put
your data file in a network server so anyone can open
it, you will run the risk of someone else overwriting
your changes, especially if you've enabled the Auto Save
feature.
Achieve Planner is not a multi-user
capable application and it DOES NOT detect multiple
program instances using the same data file.
We DO NOT recommend allowing
multiple users to open the same data file
simultaneously.
Data Files
Q: Do I need
to save my data to a file?
Yes, you need to save your data to a
.ach file (use File->Save) command. The first time you
save, you will be asked to select a name and location
for your data file.
Q: My data file does
not open automatically when I launch Achieve Planner,
what do I do now?
Achieve Planner tries to open the last
data file that was opened/saved while using Achieve
Planner previously. However, if you move or rename the
data file, Achieve Planner will not be able to find it.
If for some reason your data file does
not open automatically, please follow these steps:
Step 1 - If you know the name
and location of your data file, then skip ahead to step
2, otherwise, search for your data file in your hard
drive.
By default, Achieve Planner data files
have a .ach extension and are located in the 'My
Documents' folder, although you could have changed the
location when you first saved the file.
Step 2 - From Achieve Planner,
select File->Open->Open Data File menu item (from the
File menu) and select your data file from the File
Dialog.
Step 3 - Save your data file
(File->Save)
Achieve Planner should now remember
the location of your data file the next time you launch
it.
Q: Is there an
auto-save, or do I always have to save manually?
Achieve Planner does have an
"auto-save" feature that can automatically save your
changes regularly. You can specify the auto-save period
in minutes. For example, every 1 minute, or every 5
minutes.
By default, Auto-Save is turned off.
You can change the Auto-Save settings from
Tools->Options menu in the Save tab.
Sync
with Outlook, Palm, Pocket PC, Lotus Notes
Q: Does Achieve Planner sync with
Microsoft Outlook?
Yes, Achieve Planner
supports full 2-way synchronization with Outlook for
tasks, contacts, and appointments. You can also import
email messages into AP from Outlook.
Microsoft Outlook 2003, 2007, and 2010
are supported.
To learn more about Outlook
synchronization, please read the User Manual. There is a
whole chapter in the manual describing Outlook
synchronization in more detail.
You can get the user manual from
within AP (use Help->User Manual command) or by
visiting our training
center.
Q: Does Achieve Planner sync with
PocketPC?
At this time, Achieve
Planner does not synchronize directly with PocketPC.
We are working on a direct ActiveSync
implementation for Tasks using a popular PocketPC PIM
called Pocket Informant.
The sync is currently in beta test.
You can
participate in the beta test here.
Q: Does Achieve Planner sync with
Palm or Blackberry?
There is no direct sync
between Achieve Planner and Palm/Blackberry at this time. Most Palm users sync
indirectly by using Outlook as an intermediary.
Q: Does Achieve Planner sync with
Lotus Notes?
There is no direct sync
between Achieve Planner and Lotus Notes at this time.
You may be able to use the existing sync with Microsoft
Outlook as an intermediary.
Q: I'm using Achieve
Planner on both my home and work PCs, how do I sync
data between them?
You need to transfer the .ach file
between your multiple PCs before you launch Achieve
Planner.
Achieve Planner cannot synchronize or
merge changes made to different versions of the same
data file. If you make some changes on the file on your
home PC and make different changes to another .ach file
on your work PC, you can't then merge these two
different files together later.
What most users do is transfer the
files from one PC to another using the Internet (FTP,
email, etc.), or they use a USB flash memory device to
store the .ach file and transfer it from one PC to the
other.
Common Outlook Sync Problems
Q: I'm getting an error that says
"Invalid Class String"?
This typically means that Achieve
Planner is having difficulty connecting with Outlook
using it's automation interface. This can happen for
various reasons including a misbehaving Outlook add-in,
or an invalid registry setting due to a change in the
Outlook installation.
Outlook Detect and Repair
(advanced)
If the workaround below does not work,
you may need to repair your installation of Outlook.
1) Use the Help -> Detect and Repair
menu in Outlook and follow instructions. Please check
Outlook documentation before doing this advanced
procedure.
Workaround:
Some users have reported that the
following workaround seems to solve many Outlook Sync
problems...
1) Close Achieve Planner and Outlook
2) Check the Processes tab of the Task
Manager and look for any remaining instances of Outlook
(OUTLOOK.EXE) that may still be running. If you find
any, please wait 5 seconds and then end the process.
3) Start Outlook again
4) Start Achieve Planner
If this solves the problem, please
remember to start Outlook before you try to perform the
sync.
Q: I'm getting an
error that says "RPC server unavailable"?
This typically means that Achieve
Planner is having problems communicating with Outlook.
Please try the
workaround mentioned above and see if it solves the
problem.
Q: I'm getting a problem
report when I try to sync with Outlook?
If the problem report is not related
to the above two cases and persists even after you
try the workaround
mentioned above, please send us the problem report
and include your email so that we can contact you.
If the problem occurs during the Task
Sync process, try this workaround:
1) Go to the Outlook Tasks screen (in
Outlook Go -> Tasks menu item)
2) Select Simple List view and remove
any grouping and filtering
3) Select the Actions -> Save Task
Order menu item (in Outlook)
Try to perform the sync again after
saving the Outlook task order.
Printing
Q: How can I print my
projects, tasks or Outline?
You can print the current grid (in the
main interface tabs) using the
File->Print or File->Print Preview menu items.
You can control some of the aspects of
the printed grid (including Font) in the following
options (Tools->Options menu)
Grids tab: Grid Print Font (check box
and select font/size to use)
Display tab: Support print in color
box
You can also change the page setup
using File->Page Setup menu.
Q: How can I print the
details in the various information forms?
In most cases, you can print details
of most records that are available in the information
forms as follows:
1) Go to the corresponding tab in the
main Achieve Planner window.
For example, if you want to print the
details of a Project, go to the Projects tab
(Go->Projects)
2) Select the row of the project for
which you want to print additional details
3) Select File -> View Report menu
item
From the view report window, you can
print the detailed report of the selected item.
We are planning to add similar
reporting functionality into the various information
forms in a future release.
Q: How can I print my
appointments in the weekly schedule?
There are two main ways to print
appointments in the weekly schedule.
1) Go to the Weekly Schedule tab (Go
-> Weekly Schedule)
2) Select the File -> Print (or File
-> Print Preview) menu item - This will print a
graphical display of the weekly schedule similar to what
you see on the screen
or
2) Select File -> View Report to print
a text-only report of appointments and events
Q: How can I
change the font/size of the printout?
You can specify the font and size to
use when printing various grids using the Options
dialog.
1) Use Tools -> Options menu item to
display dialog
2) Under Grids tab, check the "Grid
Print Font" box to specify a custom print font
3) Select the desired font and size
If you are having problems with the
font size being too small, check the printer settings
using the File -> Page Setup menu item from the Outline,
Projects, or Tasks tab.
Make sure the paper size, paper
source, and printer settings are set properly for your
printer.
Q: Is Achieve Planner a
CRM (customer relationship management) software like
ACT or Gold Mine?
While Achieve Planner does have a
Contacts module (Go -> Contacts) that can be useful for
simple contact tracking, it is not a full CRM
application like Act or GoldMine.
If you need detailed tracking of
contacts, leads, history, sales funnel, etc., then you
should use a CRM application in addition to Achieve
Planner.
Q: Can I keep track of
conversations that I have with my clients?
The Achieve Planner Contact
Information Form for each contact does have a history
tab where you can keep track of basic conversations with
clients.
However, this is NOT a full CRM
solution like Act, GoldMine or even Outlook.
Data Backup
Q: How do I backup my
data so I don't lose it?
It is important to back up your data
regularly to avoid losing it in case of a problem.
While Achieve Planner provides an
auto-backup feature that creates backup files every time
you save your main data file, this is not enough to
safeguard your data in case of computer problems. To
learn more about the automatic backup feature, use the
Help -> Index menu item and search for backup in the
index.
To safeguard your data in case of
computer problems you need a more comprehensive backup
strategy including:
1) Backing up your data file and
moving it to a different media (disk, other hard drive,
flash card, etc.) - If your hard drive crashes, do you
have a relatively recent copy of your data file in some
other media?
2) Move important data to a different
location - If your PC and backup media are damaged in a
house fire, flood, or other disaster, do you have
backups in some other location (online, other building,
etc.)?
These are some of the questions you
need to ask yourself as part of your comprehensive
backup strategy.
Miscellaneous
Q: Can Achieve Planner
send me an email when an appointment or task becomes
due?
No, this feature is not available at
this time. We've added it to the wish list for a future
release.
Q: Are you planning to add a 'Personal Journal' module
to the software in the near future?
We don't have plans to add a personal
journal module to Achieve Planner because there are
other existing applications that are better suited for
it.
We recommend this one:
www.effexis.com/journal/journal.htm
Common Problems
Q: I'm getting a weird
problem report that says, "Font Arial doesn't
support style Regular" (font & style names vary)?
This is an indication that the
specified font (Arial in this case) has become corrupted
in your PC. This can happen for various reasons in
different PCs.
.NET Applications like Achieve Planner
are very susceptible to this type of font corruption.
One way to fix this is to reinstall
the affected font by copying an Arial.ttf file (or
corresponding font file for other fonts) from another PC
(or your Windows installation CD) into the Windows\Fonts
directory of the affected PC.
If you don't have access to a font
file or need further help with this, please
submit a ticket.
Q: I'm getting a strange error that says
"Overflow or underflow in the arithmetic operation"
This problem sometimes occurs when
another process hooks into the Achieve Planner process
and doesn't cleanup properly. Some of these processes
include utilities that monitor keyboard or mouse
actions, like macros, text abbreviation, template
expansion, or other similar utilities, or utilities that
change the shape or behavior of windows buttons, etc.
If you have this problem consistently,
you may want to try disabling some of these utilities to
see if they are causing the problem.
If you are not able to resolve the
problem, please
submit a ticket.
Q: I'm getting some
strange errors when trying to run Achieve Planner
and it won't even start
Sometimes you'll get an error
immediately after launching Achieve Planner (like
"application has generated an exception that could not
be handled 0xc28")
These are symptoms of a problem with
the .NET framework installation or security settings.
Please try the following workarounds:
1) If you've installed Achieve Planner
to a directory on your Server, please try installing it
directly on your PC rather than on a network server.
This is a limitation of the .NET
security settings on your local area network.
2) Try adjusting the .NET Security
Settings:
2.1) Start Menu and select Control
Panel
2.2) Double click on the
Administrative Tools icon
2.3) Double click on the 'Microsoft
.NET Framework 1.1 Wizards'
2.4) Select the 'Adjust .NET Security'
icon
2.5) Select the 'Make changes to this
computer' option or alternatively 'Make changes for
current user only'
2.6) Select the 'My Computer' zone
and make sure the setting is set to 'Full Trust'
This basically gives permission to
.NET programs on your computer to operate like any other
executable program (Word, Outlook, etc.)
Q: How do I re-install
the .NET Framework v 1.1?
If you are having strange problems
while using AP (frequent crashes, application suddenly
exits, strange errors, etc.) you may need to re-install
the .NET framework 1.1 in your PC.
Here's how to do it:
1) Close Achieve Planner (and any other application
that may be running)
2) Go to Start->Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs
3) Find the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 entry
4) Click on the Remove button to uninstall it - this
may take a few minutes
5) Download the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1
installer from Microsoft
< http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=262D25E3-F589-4842-8157-034D1E7CF3A3&displaylang=en>
6) Run the .NET Framework installer - This should
reinstall the .NET framework 1.1 (which could take
several minutes)
7) Try launching Achieve Planner again (no need to
reinstall it)
If the problem persists, please
submit a
support ticket.
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