Running Multiple Computers

RV Park Help

The application can be run from multiple computers that are on a network or linked together. One of the Computers will be the Hosting Computer (this MUST be the Computer you got the Key Code for), where the databases are located.

Important Terms: The Hosting PC is the RV Park Licensed PC, and the Client PC is the one(s) that will be using the License and Database of the Hosting PC.

These are the steps to accomplish that:

Simple Approach: Assumes you have the Computers Networked and know the "directory path" to the the Hosting PC's RVPark directory.

1) It is highly recommended the Hosting PC's RVPark directory is in the root directory (i.e. C:\RVPark NOT C:\Program Files (x86\RVPark). This is because setting the Security Privileges in the Program Files area is much more difficult that in a non-Windows controlled area.

2) On the Client PC you must Download and Install the Full version of RV Park Software from http://rvparksoftware.us/Download.asp?DL=F

3) After installation, and the software is running correctly, go to Setup and 1) Campground Information panel. In the General Settings section, change the DatabasePath field, you need to enter the directory path to the Hosting PC's RVPark directory (example: \\hostingpc\rvpark).

4) In the Network/Other Settings area, set the Running Multiple PC's radio button, this will refresh the Grid more frequently. This should also be set on the Hosting PC's Campground Information panel.

5) Save the panel data and use the No option if you know the path is correct and you are properly networked to the directory.

6) If you are using the Maps Feature, you will need to copy the Map Images to the Client PC's RVPark directory

Done!

More Detailed Information:

1) Link to and download the full version of the software: http://rvparksoftware.us/Download.asp?DL=F This is the FULL software package.

2) Copy the software to a blank CD (in the zipped or unzipped form ... i.e. the setup.exe file).

3) Before finishing the CD also write the following 2 files to the CD (noting their difference ... i.e. the same files are in the zipped file):

a. Other.MDB

b. Park.MDB

c. Any Map Images you may have developed, if you are using the Map feature.

d You may want to also copy RVPicture.jpg if it is a special image you are using for the Main Menu. This needs to be on ALL Satellite Computers also (each can be different).

4) Install the software onto the “new computer” from the Setup file. This is needed to have all of the Libraries and configuration files on the New computer.

5) Create a "Shortcut" in the Desktop that points to the computer's RVPark.exe file. Be sure the path.txt file in the Client PC's RVPark directory points to the Hosting computer's directory (example: \\hostingpc\rvpark). See Path File for more information.

6) You should be able to launch the Client PC's shortcut that will run the Client PC's RVPark software and use the Hosting computer's database and License.

7) On the Park Information Panel in the Network Settings area, set the Running Multiple Computers radio button and Save the Settings. This will force a refresh of the Reservation Grid Panel whenever it is displayed, thereby keeping it in sync with the other computers when changes are made. NOTE: This does slow down the Grid Panel refresh if there are many Sites defined and if you leave the Reservation Grid up and changes are made, you will not see them dynamically ... i.e. the Grid Panel must be periodically refreshed to see the changes. This is also true for the Park Maps, they should be refreshed before making a new reservation.

NOTE: If the 2 computers are not linked (hard wired or wireless networking) the 2 databases will NOT stay in sync. If they are networked, there is a file that has the database path in it you can change to connect the two instances of the software to the same database. The file is called “path.txt” and may have the line similar to the following “C:\Program Files (x86)\RVPark”. If it was networked, the path might look something like this:

“\\Laptop\SharedDrive\Program Files (x86)\RVPark”

Where Laptop – is the machine name of the computer you are connecting to; and SharedDrive – is the name of the drive you are sharing to the networked computer. You can also Map a Network Drive with the proper Securities settings, that will provide a Path like: R:\RVPark, where R is the Mapped Network Drive and RVPark is the directory in R where the databases are located. One Important point that should be made is; you may want to install RV Park in it's own directory on the Hosting Computer in the C Drive by itself, as opposes to, in the Program Files directory structure to avoid some of Windows Security issues. Example: C:\RVPark NOT C:\Program Files (x86)\RVPark

If this seems too confusing you may want to hire a computer person to help with the installation.

When Updates are preformed, the Update Setup.exe file must be run on the Hosting Computer, as well as, ALL Client PCs.

NOTE: RV Park potentially uses 3 directories to accomplish Networking. 1) The Application Directory, 2) The Archive Directory where Archived data is stored, and 3) The Database Directory. Wherever the application resides, is the Application Directory, and the path.txt file defines where the Databases reside. In a non-networking setup both Directories are the same. In a Networking implementation, there are 3 sperate locations where data is kept. This is how it works:

Application Directory must contain:

RVPark.exe - the application

path.txt - the text file containing the path to the directory with the databases

RVPark.chm - the Help files

rvpicture.jpg - a 640 X 480 JPEG Image for the Main Panel display.

Also, whenever a Satellite Computer generates any reports, they are saved to the Satellite Computer's file structure.

Database Directory must contain:

RVPark.exe - the application

path.txt - the text file containing the path to the directory with the databases

Park.MDB - the database with ALL of your information, Billing, Guests, etc.

ArchivePark.MDB - the database where your previous years Billing data can be saved, leaving your current database more responsive.

Other.MDB - the Software's key file (this is a inaccessible file)

ZipCodes.MDB - the Software's USA Zip Code database.

PostalCodes.MDB - the Software's Canadian Postal Code database.

RVPark.chm - the Help files

rvpicture.jpg - a 640 X 480 JPEG Image for the Main Panel display.

Map Images, if you are using the Maps feature of the software.

One Last Note of Caution: When running in a Multiple Computer Networked environment, if the Archive Path in the Path.txt file is different on different computers, you can be Archiving your Billing information in different areas. This could present a problem. It is recommended you always Archive to ONE ArchivePark.MDB database. It is also important to note that running multiple computers may cause an error when Compressing or Backing Up the database. If you get an error, just make sure there is only one computer using the database (one instance of RV Park running) when trying to perform these operations.

With all of that said, you can also run the software across the Internet to connect to the Hosting computer's database. See Run RV Park Remotely for additional information.

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