Home Forums Discussions Feedback and Recommendations Simple way to save files.

I have problems occasionally with losing files. I use Wireless sysytem with tablet pc.
Is there a way to keep on saving patients' file while working on it without forwarding it to somebody or me (which cumbersome and time taking).

Because once the wireless signal is lost even for a second, the whole working chart is lost and gone for ever.

Working via VPN would solve this problem, wouldn't it? Just get an El Cheapo computer to correspond to your tablet, and use LogMeIn free to access it. If your tablet exploded in your hands, all the data would be on the PC in the other room.

Ctrl-S is a little quicker way to save than forwarding it, but it is buggy -- social history doesn't save -- I have emailed Jon about it.

The real question is why is your wireless signal so messed up... Picture this we have network issues, then this thing with our internet security suite blew up. Now that we have found a happy home with a new security package, the network is quiet as a mouse. I never quite realized how much this was affecting our wireless traffic until I had to swap out three times in just about two weeks.

The other thing is, what router are you using and how have you set all that stuff up. You need to understand that to some extent so as to getting working smoothly. And even now I wonder how much of the issues I used to struggle with related back the security software. Just unreal. It is like this little unspoke problem that seems to in most of them. And it can affect wired as well as wireless traffic.

We had the exact same problem of losing messages/charts when the wireless network connection was occasionally lost. Nothing to do with the software or power, simply the operating system thought the signal was weak and lost the connection. Part was operator error in response to this situation though as you should never actually lose the chart.

To address, simply re-connect to a hard wired ethernet connection. This will allow you to save the chart even after the wireless connection was lost. Even if you make the mistake of exiting amazing charts after losing the connection, you should find that AC asks you if you want to "resurrect the chart". if you disregard that message, you will really lose the updates.

If your building is the problem and you have a weak wireless signal, you may need to either (1) install a wireless signal repeater or (2) install a hard wired network to serve as backup.

We ended up installing hard wiring into each exam room as backup. My theory was either our particular laptop/OS occasionally loses its connection or the building itself had too much interference. Rather than spending the time to investigate, it was easiest to just install a network switch and patch cables as we already had the rooms wired.

Brian, you lost me on that one. How would that work?

I hope you are not working on a Linksys router. You know the story with them don't you. Linksys used to be one of the best routers back in the day, then about 4-5 years ago Cisco bought them out, and they very intentionally weakened and messed up their own routers, and then "offered" the Linksys consumer level, pro-sumer (us) level customers a slightly discounted buy in give back to "upgrade" to the upper level Cisco routers. I kid you not this is the honest truth of what went down. I will never ever by a linksys or Cisco product on principle alone.

What they didn't count on was the growth in other router companys and that many customers (ourselves included) simply jumped ship to other more ethical companies. Imagine actually waterdown your own decent product in an attempt to get you customer base to purchase new product all over again... twice!!! The set of brass , on those folks.

Anyway, we use a good old NetGear Max Range and it is the best router we have tried and this is number three for us. Until this puppy fails or has issues, I'm sticking with it. Although I was thinking of upgrading to their new dual frequency one. But right now we work just fine and the wireless are not much if any slower for most parts of the office than the 100 speed tower plugged directly into the router just five feet away on ten feet of cable. I'd say that's pretty darn good performance. We just about alway have 54 throughput reading on all of the laptops. And we do have lots of other networks laying around.

Here's s decent tip. B&G 2.4 networks have bleedover on most of the channels so you need to go to one extreme or the other. There really are but three good solid channels, 1, 6 and 11. And for some reason most people seem to go to either extreme side, so we are in the middle here at 6 with almost no other networks working the same channel. That's human nature and Pysch for ya. Anyway, there are devices and programs that can sniff for networks and even tell you what channel they are on, how strong they are, and what type of incription they are running. My new Dell laptop came with such a program on it. And again both at the office as well as at home we are just about the only #6 channel 2.4 network anywhere near us.

So sniff your surroundings or play with some different channels and only use 1, 6 or 11 and see which one works. It can make a really nice difference... Let me know how it all works out.

DPCC,

First, if you can ask your question in just one forum, it will get a better response; and we will all be on the same page. It probably would have been best to post it only in the Problems forum and it is a problem.

Paul, you have given some good advice, but I don't think that really answers the question. Sure, if the network were improved, then the problem would happen less, but it still will be a problem.

The simplest answer to your question is no. The only way to effectively "save" your work is to forward it to yourself. This would be a rather cumbersome way to do things. On the other hand, if you find that you have written a very extensive note, it may make sense to forward that note to yourself. Just be careful when you open it again from your inbox, that you choose no when it asks you if you want to remove it from your inbox or you will be in the same boat. I do the same things with email. How many times have you been in the middle of a long email only to have your computer freeze and lose the entire thing? Outlook doesn't use Autorecovery the way Word does (more later). So, if I have written a rather extensive email, I will save it to draft and then reopen it. Outlook has an autosave and not an autorecovery. So, it will save your work up until that moment and you can't go back.

When you are writing a note, you are composing the note on YOUR computer in RAM. By nature, nothing in RAM is generally saved when your computer closes. So, until you either save your note or forward it, it is not in the database on the hard drive of your server.

But, you don't have to lose your note. If you lose connectivity to the server, you can continue to type all you want, because you have not asked the program to use the database. It is open and you are typing. As soon as you click on something that requires information to be read or written to the database including forwarding the chart, signing it or changing tabs, you will receive an error which states you have lost connectivity. "Do you wish to try to reconnect. Yes or No." By all means choose either nothing (best bet) or yes. Do not choose No or it is bye bye note. Sure, as stated above, you can reconstruct it, but you better hope the text file you are reconstructing from is yours and not your partner's. If you do nothing or click on Yes (you will hear the "ding" sound), you will not crash or lose your note. As soon as connectivity is back, click on Yes, and you should be back in business.

Word uses something called Autorecovery. Autorecovery is the process where Word saves an autorecovery file every ten minutes by default (it can be changed). If your machine is turned off or freezes, the next time you open Word, it will look for an autorecovery file and offer to let you use it, save to it or rename it. Note that it is autorecover and not autosave. Autosave would not allow you to go back to an earlier point in time. So, if you have been typing for thirty minutes and three autorecovery files have been made, when you close Word, it asks you if you wish to save. If you say no, then you revert back to your original stopping point and you lose your autorecovery files. But, if you have written something earth shattering, you should manually click on the Save icon (the little diskette).

Hope this helps.

Maybe I'm the one that's lost! Here is my understanding of the problem:

1. You need to use a tablet or slate.
2. There is something about your facility that makes your signal unstable.
3. This is causing you to intermittently lose your entire file.

My hare-brained scheme was to use the tablet as a remote control for a PC, using LogMeIn. If your signal was dropped completely, you would just lose connection with the remote PC, not all your documentation.

I didn't say it was a good idea!

Related thread:

http://amazingcharts.com/ub/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=8488#Post8449

All he is saying is that he loses his note when he loses his connection to the database due to his wireless network going down. We all would lose our note in much the same way if we lost connection to our database no matter what the reason was. But, you don't, if you do nothing when the error message comes up. Just don't panic and reconnect.

I still have no idea what you're saying or how it would work. But, if it does, let's move it to Tips and Tricks.

Either I'm not explaining myself well, or it's such a dumb idea that you can't believe I'm suggesting it.

All I'm suggesting is that you run LogMeIn on the slate/tablet, not AC. Connect to another PC in the clinic, maybe the one in your personal office. As you enter the data on the slate, it is being entered on that PC, not the one you're using, so even if the slate were sucked into a black hole, you walk into your office and there is your note, right as you left it.

Maybe I didn't understand the problem. If you can just reconnect, and you don't lose the note, it's immaterial.

But, you can't connect data like that in real time. For instance, if I use LogMeIn from home, I would be using AC from the work computer. Even if I were typing on a program on my home computer that was connected to the database over the VPN or LogMeIn, the data would be going to the AC on the work program and its database and would be dependent on the work connection to its database.

Exactly!

Probably too much discussion for such a namby-pamby idea, but...

The work computer/program is hard-wired and not subject to data loss, right? The wireless, which is subject to such, is just an input device. If the connection is lost, the data is not lost.

I have wireless laptops. This happens daily. When they lose connection, I get a window within AC that says "connection was lost, do you want to re-establish connection." Click "YES" and it will restore connection and no problem occurs. I continue working as if nothing happened.

Even I understand although I think it's a backwards overkill to the real issue which is his router or wireless cards are having issues. Wireless is a weird animal with issues all it's own. I know many of you are very hard against wireless but I have had some decent success with it, although it is a learning process like anything else.

So that is why I figured I would step up and share some pointers, real pointers that could help him get some good signal going and resolve the main, real issue. My goodness your doctors, yes you can treat the fever and the sore throat with and the patient feels better, but at the root cause is a strep infection which properly diagnosised and treated with common antibiotics we'll cure the actual infection and the patient will actually get better, also resolving the fever and sore throat. Let's treat the real issue here, a poorly set up wireless network or some poor equipment choices. Heck we haven't even heard back from him yet on the actual tech issues I brought up to see where his network stands. This is one of the few areas where I actually feel I know a bit more than some of you because I have continued to struggle with it and have learned a great deal about it in the last year or two.

last pointer here for anyone who would care to know a lot more. I hope it has been revised as tech always marches on, but the best $15-$20 I ever spent on this subject was for the "Wirelss Networks and Hacks for Dummies" book I bought about a year and a half ago now. Yes the big bright, embarressing ones. This things was choke full or terms, advice and a whole bunch of other things wireless not directly related to computers (but they are out there, you could have an entire wirless home!)

Not to toot my own horn here, but we have at least half a dozen other known and easily "visiable" networks all around us polluting the surrounding area, we ourselves are using a great little 2.4 four line phone system that also works in the same basic frequency range, and we have some pretty solid signal. Nancy really wants to stay wireless, as a long time ago I offered her ethernet plugs all over the office and she was firm about no plugs for the laptops. So "Rabbit baby wants, Rabbit baby gets". Trust me, setting deep inside the cards and their software, your router, your choice of router, and espeically which channel you choose, makes an aweful large difference.

And lastly, I am amazed, really, really amazed at just how much better our basic thru-put and stability has been effected for the better since changing internet security packages. It never even dawned on my, nor was it anything any of the "experts" ever suggested or discussed. But after all the hell I went thru just a few weeks ago with Trend Micro and now we are the best we have ever been, the girls just are not calling out about "lost connections" at all, they are all gone, completely, the security package you use really does have a big influence on the function of your network. And I gather since wireless is more tenuous, it really shows up many fold larger in a wireless network. Kaspersky you have made a believer out of me....

Sniff your area, find the other networks and their channels, pick a solid channel, with the less amount of traffic or the weakest of the signals around. So if there are 2 really weak ones in 6 but one strong one in 1 and 11 I would still try 6 first, because the strength of the signal and the possible cancelation conflicting signals can cause are just as important and the number of networks. Get a good MIMO router, if you don't have built in wireless cards, then certainly get the brand matching card for perfect commmunication (we don't ours all have their cards built in). The NeGear Max Ranges really do seem to have gotten the idea of multiple out and sniffing and finding the clients down very well. If you are investing for the first time the new 2.4, 5.0 "N" standard ones that can do N totally out of the crowded 2.4 range sound like a great way to go both for better uncrowded signal as well as security (almost nobody uses it or has equipment to work there). If and when our equipment has issues, this is where I'm probably heading. "N" at the 5.0 range, but to really take advantage of it you'll need to get the matching duel range cards for the laptops, but if you really have a difficult area or office park, it's probably your best bet.... Check out this link and tell me I'm wrong here....

This one is the new duel range one that if I were buying now, I probably would

http://www.netgear.com/Products/Rou...ways/WNDR3300.aspx?detail=Specifications

We purchased over a year ago now, so this was one of the two best ones available at the time that did regular 2.4 "G" to match our internal cards back then. Still kicking butt and actually doing better recently since the software switch:

http://www.netgear.com/Products/RoutersandGateways/RangeMaxWirelessRoutersandGateways/WPN824.aspx

Lastly, Brian's idea certainly could work, have a few extra desktops, go to them via logmein and fly them remotely with your wireless laptops, so if you loose connection, that actual working computer that is hardwired to the intra and internet actually hasn't lost connection, on the remotely login in laptop probably has, as the two connected computers are only trading screenshots and not real data back and forth. Sure it'll work, but what a weird way to give in and not attach the issue at the source.

If you really want to go wireless, then you need to assess what is going on in your area and with your wireless signals and equipment. Yes to some people they are Voodoo like Auto trannys and servers are to many others, but if set up properly with some respect for the laws of physics they can be quite useful and function pretty reliably.

Are you enjoying watching the family in-fighting here yet??? Welcome to AC and yes post one issue on one thread and under the best heading....
Paul

OK, if your connection goes down, i.e. you lose connection to the database, a series of things should be understood.

1. You can continue to type ad nauseum and nothing will happen as the program does not know the database is down. You can type and type and go to lunch and go to a movie, come back and type some more.
2. The second you do something which requires the database, you will not be able to connect, and you will get an error message stating the above. Connection lost. Click yes or no.
3. At this point in time, the ONLY way to lose your data is to click NO. Then your program will crash. I know it is non-intuitive, but it's the way it is.
4. KEY. Usually with wireless, your connectivity issue is nanoseconds or at the most a few seconds, so clicking Yes, will get you back and running. But, whether you are down for one second or one hour, you can no longer do anything until the connection is re-established. If you click yes while it is disconnected you will hear "BING" or some sound like that. If you click yes while you are connected again, you are off to the races.

HTH and clears some things up.

Paul,

With all due respect to your answer and I understand completely what you are saying, this is not remotely the issue. If I were using Word a lot and my computer was crashng 100 times per day, and my question was "How to I get Word to autorecover more often," the answer is not you need to fix your computer. I would want someone to tell me how to change the default to the autorecovery because that is my question. Certainly, having someone asking me why my computer is crashing so often and offering to help would be for lack of a better word, helpful, it is not the question.

The answre to the original question is the only way to not lose your data is to either wait on the disconnect or forward your chart often. The latter is not a good way to do it UNLESS you have written an extremely long note and you say, "Gee I do not wish to lose this note."

After much thought I see now what Brian is saying, and using that method WOULD work, but it is so far out of the realm of practicality, I don't think it would be the answer. Humans are interesting, and given the fact that it is so far out of the realm of practicality, I would never understand it. I will not in my next post explain Brian's method.

What I believe Brian is suggesting is the following. It takes a lot longer explanation for everyone to get it I believe.

If you are in an office that needs a wireless connection to work in, but you want to insure you always have wired connectivity you would do the following:

1. You would have a computer hard wired to the server that would be able to run AC just like any other hard wired computer.
2. You would then use wireless tablets to connect via any remote solution (we will say LogMeIn for simplicity).
3. You would then NOT run the program on the desktop, you would run the program on the hard wired computer. Now, as Brian points out dramatically for effect :), if your laptop were to explode, the data would still be on your other computer, because that is where the AC program is running. You could then walk over to that computer and finish your note.
4. Of course, this opens your network up to even more security issues. And, we are assuming you have Internet access.
5. Plus, using LogMeIn, only one doctor could log into that computer at one time, so you would have to use RDP.

So, the configuration would look like:

Tablet ----> Hard-wired computer (via LogMeIn or RDP) --- Database (on server).

But, why not make it quicker and skip the entire LogMeIn and do the following:

Tablets ----> Database on server, i.e.

RUN THE PROGRAM OFF THE SERVER. SHARE IT OUT VIA SHORTCUTS OR MAPPING THE NETWORK DRIVE.

Now the problem with the latter two fixes is you now have lost control of features on your AC on your tablet. In other words, you would be using AC as it is set up on the wired host. So, you would have to have a separate hard wired computer for each doctor so they would be logged in as themselves on the hard wired computer.

This is even more of a problem if you run it off the server and is the reason I do not do it that way. It is also slower for some reason when running it off the server than when running the application from your desktop hard drive in RAM and accessing the database on the server. But, given that time lag, it would most likely still be faster than using the LogMeIn connection.

Paul and Bert, you guys deserve a vacation after typing all that.

Are you buying? I hear Tahiti is nice this time of year.

I am taking your A** to Branson, not good enough?
Damn you drive a hard bargain...

Will you take me to the shows? Please. Jim said there are lots of shows.

Besides, I gave you a used but refurbished power supply didn't I? Wasn't it 350 watts? Not good enough? And, you know how important those things are.

Is anyone still reading this thread? I think I hear crickets chirping...

How do we two broke users of AC with two kids that either need to come along or be tended to while we are away "get someone to take us to Branson"???? I feel so unloved.....

Bring them along. Adam can watch them.

I think people are.

Nope, they've stopped again...

"Look Bullwinkle a message in a bottle." "fan mail from some flounder?" "No, this is what I really call a message"

OK, do I need to Google that or are you going to explain it?

In Soviet Russia, you don't watch Branson shows; Branson shows watch YOU!

http://www.bransontourismcenter.com/yakov-smirnoff-show.htm

DPCC,

Any help? Are you finding/losing your files? Let us know.

This is what is called "Stopping the Hijacking." Getting back on track in a thread.

Thanks a lot for all the responses.I am sorry that I did not check the forums for last few days.

I was using Linksys Super G router which I changed to Netgear N recently. All my tablets are still having inbuilt G card and I have not made up my mind yet whether to change them to N.

My problem is better but not resolved since the change in router.Whenever I lose connection, I always press yes (never no), but most of the time I'll be bumped off and lose the data.

I still believe that there should be a simple "save" button (in stead of complicating forward button, which people can periodically press to save their data, which is available in most other programs.

The idea of using a wired desktop via something like logmein looks also attractive.

But to go to next level, we have to have a simple save button to keep on saving info as we go.

by the way how do we check what channels other people in our surroundings are using ?

Where do you want it saved to?

In other words, when you want to retrieve saved data, where do you want to look for it, and how do you want to open it?

I understand him just fine. I still don't see the problem with trying to assist the poor guy with learning something about wireless networks so he can have a good strong signal and be wireless to his hearts content??? Geeze

Ifound out a free program, netstumbler (http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/) which allows you to monitor all the wireless signal in your surroundings with all the details (including channel number). I have changed my channel number based on that and I'll see what difference does it make.

@Paul, there is nothing wrong with helping him with his network. I was just saying it wasn't the question. I told you many times you gave great advice. Except I don't think changing from a Linksys to a Netgear will help much.

@Brian, He isn't talking about saving it anywhere like to your desktop. He means a button that you push at the top of the note while you are writing that saves the data as if it had been forwarded to your inbox.

@DPCC, If you click no button or Yes, when you are back online; you shouldn't lose your note.

The bottom line (and yes Paul you can get back at me for this one -- fair is fair ) but it's always best to go wired. But, that's hard with tablets I guess.

Not sure why that would help, but Adam is a superuser in the wireless sphere. As far as wireless from the outside.

Again, though, hire a IT network guy and pay ~ $60 per hour to have it top notch. Oops. Paul can yell at me again. LOL

Bert,
I am not certain what DPCC is saying about these channels.
It is true that other wireless devices can cause interference. However I am not certain how this would affect network speed. It could affect network reliability and how often it goes down.

I do not know of any ability to change channels. Perhaps I am wrong on this, but I an not aware of this ability unless using one of the two differnt protocols 802.11a or 802.11g.