Special Functions - Making Satellites help page

This is the start of the process to take your Account list with you on your laptop or Surface. You need to make A Satellite Database, basically a copy of the main database that you can take with you. There are two things you need to know to make a Satellite DB.
  1. The first is the password to your Main Account Tracker Database. Presumably you know this because you are already signed in.
  2. The second is the Location on a laptop or mobile device such as a 'Surface' or 'Surface Pro'.

Here is the 'Click-by-Click' process to making your Satellite Database

Clicking on the Make Sat button will initiate the process
You must acknowledge you know the password to continue,
and then enter(type in) your password to prove it.
Now you must input or select a Nick Name for this Satellite Database.
The biggest step, selecting a location for this Satellite Database.
You must Confirm the selected destination.
Finally Account Tracer Will remind you that the new Satellite Database's Password has been set to the same as the Master database.



Your Satellite Database Location (A Network Share)

This is a very important piece to building you Account Tracker constellation. You can have multiple Satellite Databases, each on a different device. These devices must be able to join a network such as you have at home using your wireless router. You can use a share from a Homegroup (a method of creating shares introduced in Windows 7/Vista) or standard network folder share.
Setting up a network is a simple process, but may take some experience to integrate the firewall settings along with the network share settings. Here are a few links to some knowledge sites for creating windows shares...

The above links will get you started on sharing out your folder on your home network. Remember all you really need to share is the one folder where you have decided to locate your Satellite DB. A suggestion is to make a new folder under your devices' 'My Documents folder' called 'AcctTrkr-SatDB' and then share this one folder with read and write privileges to your User ID from your main computer.

* These entries are non Microsoft resources

The Sync Area

The sync area is divided into upper and lower sections. The Upper section contains the Database Type display/control, the Make Sat DB Button and the Sync Button. The sync button is initially unavailable. Once you have created a Satellite DB then the Sync Button will become active.
Move your mouse slowly over the image below,

Click on the Make Sat Button or the Sync Button for more info...

The Database Type

There are two types of databases in the Account Tracker family.
Only the Master can make Satellite databases.
The master can sync to any of it's satellites.
The Satellites can only sync with their master.
You can change a DB from Satellite to Master and visa versa, but the resulting Database is no longer a member of the original constellation/family and will not be able to sync with it previous members.
Return

The Sync Button

The Sync Button is disabled until you have created your first Satellite DB. If you have Satellite Databases then clicking on this button
will initiate the Sync Sat process
Return

The Password Warning

After clicking on the Make Sat DB Button Account Tracker will warn you that you need to know the current DB password.


Press the OK button in the image above.

Return

Input Current DB Password

After clicking the Password Warning OK button you need to prove that you know the current Database password.
You must successfully enter the password to continue. If you mistype the current password the Make Satellite DB process terminates.
The focus moves to the Password input box. Type in your current DB password and press enter
or press Esc to exit the process.
Please click in the password box to simulate entering "the password.

Return

Input Satellite DB Nickname

If you have entered the DB password correctly then Account Tracker will ask for a Nick Name for your new Satellite DB.
If you create multiple Satellite Databases then the Nick name is a quick and easy way for you to differentiate between them.


Click in the Nick Name input Box to continue.

Return

Select the network location

Using the displayed folder selection dialog box, select a folder/directory to store to Satellite Database. In my example I will browse to the device called Defiant and go to the share Users/msowards/Documents (which equates to my "My Documents" folder on my Surface Pro). I clicked on the caret next to Defiant and the on the one next to Users and then again on the one next to msowards. Each time more sub entries are displayed. Then I clicked on the folder Documents to select it. And finally I clicked on the Make new folder button. Try clicking on the Make New Folder Button now. Then Return and click on OK.

Click on the OK button to continue.

Return

Make New shared folder

Use the Make New folder button, after first clicking on to select the shared folder, if you wish to create a new folder within the shared folder destination.
The new Sat DB will reside in this new folder under the share. In my case I created the folder AT-TST-SATDB under my shared out Documents folder.

Return

Confirm/OK Sat DB Location

By pressing the OK Button on the Browse for folder dialog, you confirm the selected folder
and Account Tracker will display a message detailing where it will attempt to create the new Satellite DB.
If for some reason the destination listed is not where you wanted it to be you can press cancel and the browse for folder dialog will be redisplayed.

The destination of any possible security images will also be listed. This will always be in a directory called ATSecImgs in the directory where you have created the Sat DB.
Click on the OK button to continue.

Return

Canceling the Browses for folder

Pressing the Cancel button on the Browse for Folder dialog will also cancel the Make Satellite DB process.

Return

Sat DB Creation

Now Account Tracker will create the new Satellite Database in the location you have selected. While the creation is in process the below message will be displayed.

When the Sat Creation process is complete then Account Tracker will display the UNL for the New Sat DB.


Two new short cuts have also been created.
The first shortcut should be used to start the Satellite Database. You can copy it to your desktop and use it from there.
The second short cut will initiate your default browser to down load the Access run time environment.
If you do not have Access installed on the laptop or tablet you need to install the Access Runtime Environment.
Click on the OK button to continue.

Return

Sat DB Password

The very last thing Account Tracker does, after making a new Satellite DB is to remind you that the new Sat DB has the same Password as the Master Database.


Return

Click on the OK button to continue.