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Q.
Is Tracer 9 easy to use?
A.
Tracer 9 is very intuitive and easy-to-use.
We do suggest that you read the illustrated documentation that installs with Tracer 9. The documentation is provided in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format.
After that, it takes about 20 minutes of browsing to become familiar with Tracer 9.
You can also delete the demo records and enter some of your own to see how it works for your system.
A.
Tracer 9 is a full-featured key control software package for managing your Personnel Key Records and your master key system.
Tracer 9S is the same as Tracer 9 but manages student housing records for educational institutions that have residence halls on campus. Many sites have their student housing facilities on a different master key system
A.
The Tracer 9 Demos are fully-functional and have personnel/student records already entered, as well as a key system. We suggest you browse these records and try Tracer's different functions to familiarize yourself with Tracer 9.
You will also find in the installed folder (C:\Program Files\Tracer 9 Demo) two additional folders called Graphics and Photos. These contain some personnel photos, and floor plans to familiarize you with placing photos, signatures and floor plans in Tracer 9.
If you want to enter your own records in Tracer 9, you can delete the demo records and enter your own. The demos are limited to 25 personnel/student records, 25 key records, and 25 miscellaneous key records.
A.
Tracer 9 has thirteen levels of account / password protection (including the administrator account).
Accounts define the level of access to Tracer 9 and passwords give access to the account privileges.
The Administrator can create as many unique accounts as required and assign each a password.
Passwords can be changed by the Admistrator. Accounts can be de-activated and re-activated by the Administrator.
A.
Yes. The theoritical limit of Tracer is 2 terabytes. As with any database, the more records in it, the more of a performance hit you take, especially on sorting. But that amount of keys and personnel would have a negligible effect on speed. Of course, speed is also affected by the speed of your computer.
A.
Yes. Tracer will run on a TCP/IP network.
There are no licenses or seats to purchase. All you need to do is install FileMaker Pro v9 on your server and on each client machine that will access Tracer 9. Please refer to the documentation for more information on networking Tracer 9.
A.
Very easy. Just click the "New Entry" button at the top of the screen. Tracer 9 creates a new personnel record. Tracer 9 will then wait seven seconds for an entry in the Personnel ID Number field. If nothing entered, Tracer 9 will ask you if you want to change your mind or continue. If you continue, Tracer 9 will wait another seven seconds for an entry in the ID number field. This is a safeguard to make sure that no records are entered without an ID number. The ID number is required to link key assignments to the proper person. Since it is necessary for ID numbers to be unique, Tracer 9 will also check the ID number against ID numbers already entered by clicking the "Validate ID" button. We strongly suggest you use this function before issuing keys to personnel.
If you use ID photos for personnel, these can easily be placed in the personnel records. Please refer to the documentation for the graphic formats supported.
A.
When personnel records are deleted from Personnel Key Records, they are moved to an Archive file for future reference. If at a later date, for any reason, you need to see what keys were assigned to that person, the record can be found in the Archive file. The Archive file retains all the relevant functionality of Personnel Key Records for generating reports of keys assigned to personnel and personnel assigned keys.
A.
No. ID numbers can be any alpha-numeric combination.
A.
Yes. Tracer 9 will see leading zeros in the ID number as alpha characters.
A.
No, but it would be better to have the key system entered first. You can start with whichever section you want. You can even issue keys to personnel before entering your key system.
However, be sure to use the same key number in the personnel section that will be in the Key System Management section so Tracer 9 can update the location data for each key. For instance, if a key is named AAA1 in the Key System Management system, you can't name it AAA-1 in the personnel records. Tracer will see the one with the hyphen as a different key number and be unable to find the location data.
A.
Use the button on that person's data entry screen to change the ID number. All related key assignments will be re-assigned to the new ID number.
A.
Yes. Just scroll to the record where the key number appears in the "Delete" button and click the button. The key number appears here to minimize the possibility of deleting the wrong key.
A.
Yes. At the top of the personnel data entry screen, click the button "Print Key Signout Sheet". Tracer 9 will gather all the keys that have been issued to that ID number.
At that point, the recipient can either electonically sign directly into Tracer 9 and you can print the signout sheet, or just print the signout sheet and have the recipient sign the printed copy.
A.
Yes. Tracer 9 will generate five reports relating to key due dates.
From the Main Menu of Personnel Key Records, click " Overdue Keys / Keys Returned. Lost, Stolen".
From the menu on the next screen, you can generate summaries of overdue keys, dates keys are due to be returned, keys that have been returned, keys reported as stolen, and dates that keys are due to be returned.
A.
Yes. You can easily email personnel from within Tracer 9.
When that person's record is on screen, just click the "E-mail" button.
Tracer 9 will launch your email client (Outlook or Eudora) and fill in the To: with that person's name and email address if it is entered in Tracer 9.
A.
That information is a reflection of what has been entered in the Key Sysem Management section, and must be changed there. When it is changed, the personnel record automatically reads the new information.
A.
Many facilities prefer to number keys with a blind code rather than the actual key number from the master key system. If a key is lost or stolen, the blind code number does not indicate if the key is a master or submaster, nor what the key operates.
If the same key is being issued to more than one person, the blind code number serves to indicate which person received which key. The actual key number should not be entered in Key Records Management more than once.
Tracer 9 provides both a summary of blind code numbers and a search feature to find a blind code number. Both report the actual key number in addition to the blind code, the location for the key, and who it has been issued to.
A.
Yes. When you issue a key to a person, enter the number of keys issued to that person in the "No. Issued" field (this will usually be one). In the Key System Management section, when you enter a key's location data, enter the number of keys in the starting inventory in the "Keys in Inventory" field. Tracer 9 will keep track of all assignments of that key and subtract it from the inventory.
A.
Yes. From the Main Menu, click the button labelled "Summary of Keyholders by Keys Issued". In the next screen, enter the key number you're looking for in the appropriate field (for instance, enter a change key in the change key field, an MK in the MK field, etc.), and click the "GO" button. Tracer will provide you with a list of all the people that key has been issued to. Incidentally, if you click the arrow button next to any ID number in this list, Tracer will take you to the data entry screen for that person.
A.
Yes. From the Main Menu, click the button labelled "Summary of Keys Issued by Keyholder". In the next screen, enter the ID number you want or select it from the listing of existing entries, and click the "Continue" button. In the next screen, you'll find columns of classes of keys (change keys, MKs, etc.) that report which keys have been issued to that person.
A.
Absolutely.
From the Main Menu, click the button labelled "Print All Keyholders Issued Keys". Tracer 9 will interrogate the database for all personnel who have been issued keys and what keys they have been issued. Tracer 9 will intercept this report on the way to the printer and preview it on screen. You can scroll through the pages by clicking the bookmark icon in the upper left hand corner. When you're done, click the "Continue" button in the left-hand frame below the bookmark icon. Tracer 9 will pop up a print dialogue box. If you just wanted to view the report on screen, click the cancel button. If you want to print the report, click the pring button.
From the Main Menu, click the button labelled "Print All Keys Issued to Keyholders". Tracer 9 will interrogate the database for all keys that have been issued to personnel and who the keys have been issued to, breaking the report down by key class. Tracer 9 will intercept this report on the way to the printer and preview it on screen. You can scroll through the pages by clicking the bookmark icon in the upper left hand corner. When you're done, click the "Continue" button in the left-hand frame below the bookmark icon. Tracer 9 will pop up a print dialogue box. If you just wanted to view the report on screen, click the cancel button. If you want to print the report, click the pring button.
A.
Some facilities, such as educational institutions, assign large amounts of keys (50, 100, 200) to maintenance personnel. The Key Ring fuction is designed to do just that. Key rings are issued in the same manner as issuing keys. Only one key ring can be assigned to each person.
A.
If you are manually entering a key system, these buttons are great time savers. For instance, if you are entering all change keys under MK AAA, GMK AA, and GGMK A, clicking the button "New Record - Same MK" will give you a new change key record while retaining the MK, GMK, and GGMK information. This is covered in more depth in Tracer 9's documentation.
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This is usually signified by the letter designation of each key. In the documentation that installs with Tracer 9, you'll find a section on master key system structure.
A.
Easily. In the Main Menu of the Key System Management section of Tracer 9, click the button labelled " Miscellaneous Keys - Add/Modify". You'll find fields to enter location information, what the key is used for, the manufacturer, the type of lock (padlock, desk, cabinet, etc.), the key code, what key blank it uses, etc.
Tracer 9 will also show you who the key has been issued to, as well as keeping inventory of each key.
A.
Clicking on the arrow next to a key number will take you to a screen for entering location data for that key.
For instance, to enter location data for change key AAA20, use the arrow buttons in the upper left corner to scroll to AAA20, or locate it in the scrolling list of change keys. Click the arrow next to AAA20. This will take you to a screen where you can enter location information for AAA20, as well as door number, hook number, keys in inventory, cylinder data, and any comments you want to make.
This screen will also show you who the key has been issued to, as well as what masters and submasters operate it.
If you click on the arrow next to a master or submaster that operates that key, you'll go to a screen to enter data for that master or submaster. You can also get there from the screen for entering the key system.
A.
Support is only an e-mail away (support@dlaco.com). DLA Security Systems does not charge for support.
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