I’ve been watching all the various questions and potential (in the works) changes in how forms are being used and updated. I’ve already seen one instance (Order number now only being filled by a number in a sales order/quote) that will require me to make a custom setup and am very concerned about other potential changes I will have to make. I’m, thankfully, using the desktop version so I can avoid getting updates that might unexpectedly cause problems with my day to day business.
I do want to eventually get updated again and wonder if you would consider putting all the various form changes into one document rather than splitting them up throughout various Guide listings. Obviously they need to be there as well but I’d rather see what’s going to happen in everything so I’m prepared rather than finding things out in bits and pieces. this would also help since things are still being tweaked and could change quickly and unexpectedly.
Other possibility - can I be running two completely different versions of Manager? This way I could use a backup from an older version, which would be my ‘working’ version to load into a separate newer version to see the issues and make sure I’ve got everything covered before I officially move to that newer version as my working version.
Yes and no, in your context. You can always import a backup from an older version (your working version) into a new version as a test business. But you cannot go backwards. No version of Manager (within the past several years) will open a data file that has been opened by a newer version.
So, you can very easily test new versions before committing to them for real work. But you cannot go back and forth with the same data file. You should be very careful about naming of files to keep them straight, or you might find that you’ve accidentally forced yourself into accepting an update before you were certain you wanted it.
I very much understand keeping them separate. My hope was to keep running the older version actively. I’d make a copy of a backup file to put into the newer version of the software for testing. Once I had things fixed as necessary (while still using the older version actively for daily work) I’d then import whatever backup I was on in the older version into the newer version for full use going forward.
So - the question is more about Manager itself being able to be run twice on the same machine with different versions and not so much the backup file issue. It would be far easier to do it on a single machine than having to have two computers set up to work in different versions. I’m guessing the answer will be ‘no, you can’t do that’ but I had to ask.
Thanks.
Actually, the answer is a definite yes. The only requirement would be to clearly name the data files for the different versions to avoid confusion. Both versions of the application will display the same list of businesses, assuming you don’t move them somewhere else for the test business. As long as you don’t open the production data file with the new version of the application, you will be fine.
I’ve done this myself several times when early feedback with an update revealed potential problems. I downloaded and installed the new version, but kept both versions. Then I’d make a backup of my production data file while in the old version of the application, give it a unique name, and open it from the new version of the application. No problems at all.
To keep things safe, I would also close the old version before opening the new version just to avoid potential confusion.