Out with the old and in with the new!  The website has been the same for a long time so we thought it was time to modernize it a bit.  We have retired the old website and replaced with a brand spanking new one that has a completely different look.

The site navigation has changed so we hope you don’t get lost trying to find what you’re looking for.  Some of the navigation bar items have drop-down menus.

There may be some little gremlins lurking around the site that we need to sort out, but hopefully all the links are working correctly.  Please let us know if you discover any that are not.

We will be gradually adding more content.  One of those will be video-based training courses that you will help you learn various features in PhonePad and make you more proficient quickly.

Stay tuned.

We are pleased to announce the release of PhonePad Version 5.39.0.

Database Optimize

After a while your PhonePad database may become fragmented, just like a hard-drive can.  The Database Optimize program now included with PhonePad can be used to defragment your database.  It does this by removing any unused space, compacting the data, rebuilding the indexes, and reorganizing your data for maximum efficiency.  This can result in improved performance.

Depending on your usage of PhonePad, you may only need to optimize your PhonePad data once in a while, eg. once every 6 months or so.

64 Bit Version of PhonePad 5 Server

PhonePad 5 now includes a 32 bit and 64 bit version of the PhonePad Server.  Both the Server setup program and the Server update will detect the version of Windows (ie. 32 bit or 64 bit) running on your Server or Host PC and will install the appropriate version.

Changes in This Release

• NEW – Database Optimize program optimizes the data structure of your database, reorganizing for optimum performance.
• NEW – New Auto Reconnect System Rule attempts to reconnect to the server if the connection is lost.
• NEW – Refresh lookup lists button added to Home toolbar and Tools menu.
• NEW – PhonePad 5 Server 64 Bit Version. The installer automatically detects whether the Server or Host PC is 32 Bit or 64 Bit and installs the correct version.
• IMPROVED – Database Repair now has a print option so you can print out the repair log.
• CHANGED – Buffered I/O file settings to improve performance.
• FIXED – Folder message counts were incorrect.
• FIXED – User list counts were incorrect.
• FIXED – An error was occurring when creating Group folders.
• Various minor fixes and improvements.

Installation Information

Please note: Server Updates must be installed on your Server or Host PC, not your workstation (unless your workstation is also the Host PC) – they cannot be installed directly on your workstations.  Make sure all users are logged out of PhonePad as the PhonePad Server will be stopped during the update and then restarted once it has completed.  Workstations will be automatically updated when PhonePad 5 Workstation is started on each workstation.

Important: When downloading and installing an update from your My PhonePad account, make sure it’s actually the update and not the server setup program.  The update will update your database whereas the setup program will overwrite it with a blank database.

Important Information If You Are Updating from PhonePad Version 5.35.x

Some code was added to the PhonePad loader program (the blue window with the PhonePad logo that finds the server connection) to log what security software was installed on the workstation that we would use to diagnose any startup issues.

Unfortunately on some Windows 7 workstations this caused the PhonePad loader to just sit there and do nothing.  We don’t know why this would have caused this and, as far as we have been able to ascertain, it only affects Windows 7 workstations.

This code has been removed in this release so this problem should no longer occur once these workstations have been updated to 5.36.0 or higher.  However, it does mean that the PhonePad Version 5.36.0 workstation setup program will need to be manually downloaded and installed on any affected workstations.

Downloading the Update

You can download the update from your My PhonePad account.

If you are a trial user please contact Support for a download link for this version.

Please contact Support if you have any problems or questions.

We received an important notification from the company that produces the database we use in PhonePad 5.  In a recent version of the database engine, a new feature was added that dramatically improves performance, however, this week the database company discovered a bug in the database engine that could possibly result in data loss for new messages.

Yes, this took us by surprise as well!  This affects all versions of PhonePad from Version 5.30.0 and onward.

The company has fixed the issue and released an update.  We have incorporated the update into a new version of PhonePad and are in the process of releasing it.  It should be available within the next few hours.

As a precaution, we strongly advise you to turn off the feature that could cause you this issue:

1. On your Server or Host PC, open Control Center.
2. Select PhonePad Server.
3. Click the Settings button.
4. Select the Support Use Only tab.
5. Click the I/O Buffering button.
6. Uncheck the Enable File I/O Buffering check box.
7. Click OK.
8. Click OK.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause but we were not aware of the issue and it did not present itself during testing.  As already mentioned, the bug is in the 3rd party database engine that is incorporated into PhonePad.  We have not been able to reproduce any data loss ourselves but we know of at least one customer that has had this problem.

Another announcement will be posted once Version 5.38.1 has been released.

We are pleased to announce the release of PhonePad Version 5.38.0.

This is an important update. The internal database engine used by PhonePad is provided by a 3rd party company. We have been advised by the database company that there is a possibility of data loss IF the PhonePad 5 Server crashes when File I/O Buffering is enabled.

This is due to a bug in the database engine that was just discovered.  This release includes a new version of the database engine that fixes the problem.

As a precaution, it is highly recommended that you update to Version 5.38.0 as soon as possible.

Changes in This Release

• UPDATED – An important update of the database engine (2.28 Build 6) is included in this release to prevent potential data loss from File I/O Buffering if the PhonePad Server crashes for some reason.
• FIXED – Message archiving was not working.
• FIXED – New version check was not working.
• Various minor fixes and improvements.

Installation Information

Please note: Server Updates must be installed on your Server or Host PC, not your workstation (unless your workstation is also the Host PC) – they cannot be installed directly on your workstations.  Make sure all users are logged out of PhonePad as the PhonePad Server will be stopped during the update and then restarted once it has completed.  Workstations will be automatically updated when PhonePad 5 Workstation is started on each workstation.

Important: When downloading and installing an update from your My PhonePad account, make sure it’s actually the update and not the server setup program.  The update will update your database whereas the setup program will overwrite it with a blank database.

Important Information If You Are Updating from PhonePad Version 5.35.x

Some code was added to the PhonePad loader program (the blue window with the PhonePad logo that finds the server connection) to log what security software was installed on the workstation that we would use to diagnose any startup issues.

Unfortunately on some Windows 7 workstations this caused the PhonePad loader to just sit there and do nothing.  We don’t know why this would have caused this and, as far as we have been able to ascertain, it only affects Windows 7 workstations.

This code has been removed in this release so this problem should no longer occur once these workstations have been updated to 5.36.0 or higher.  However, it does mean that the PhonePad Version 5.36.0 workstation setup program will need to be manually downloaded and installed on any affected workstations.

Downloading the Update

You can download the update from your My PhonePad account.

If you are a trial user please contact Support for a download link for this version.

Please contact Support if you have any problems or questions.

We are pleased to announce the release of PhonePad Version 5.37.0.

New Sub-Folders Support

There have been a lot of requests for this and it’s finally here.  Now it’s even easier to organize your messages because you can create sub-folders in the folder tree under Personal Folders and Public Folders.

You create them the same way you create folders, ie. by clicking the Add Folder button on the Folders toolbar, or by right-clicking on a folder and selecting Add Folder from the popup menu.

When you create a sub-folder you will see a slightly different window.  It shows you the parent folder you are creating the sub-folder under so that you can confirm you are creating it in the right location.

How many levels down can you go with sub-folders?  As many as you like.

Folder Navigation Bar

Once you go down a few levels in folders you may end up losing track of where you are in the hierarchy of folders.  That’s why we have included a folder navigation bar (sometimes known as “breadcrumbs”) that shows you where you are and the path back to the top.  You can click on any of the folders above the current folder to go straight to them.

Search Folders

If you create a lot of folders, after a while you may find it difficult to find them.  That’s why the folder tree now includes a search function to search for folders.  The search is not case-sensitive and it automatically searches for text within a folder name so you can search for folders using only part of the name.

Drag and Drop Folders

Personal and Public folders, including sub-folders) can be moved around using drag and drop.

If you create a Public folder that should be a Personal folder, simply drag and drop it under your Personal folders.  Or you can drag Personal folders over to Public folders.

External Users

Do you have staff that are out of the office most of the time and never login to a computer?  How do you get their phone messages to them?  Well with 5.37.0 you can now send messages to users that don’t have a PhonePad user account.

Using the new External Users feature you can create staff as an external users.  They can receive their messages by email, SMS and/or Pushover via MessageSender.

There is no limit to the number of External Users you have.

Changes in This Release

• NEW – Personal and Public Folders now support sub-folders.
• NEW – Folder Navigation Bar.
• NEW – Folders can be rearranged using drag and drop.
• NEW – The Folder Tree now has a search feature.
• NEW – External Users. Send messages to users that don’t have a user account.
• FIXED – When accessing another user’s Inbox and completing a follow up, the user for the Inbox was recorded as the user completing the follow up, rather than the logged in user.
• Various minor fixes and improvements.

Installation Information

Please note: Server Updates must be installed on your Server or Host PC, not your workstation (unless your workstation is also the Host PC) – they cannot be installed directly on your workstations.  Make sure all users are logged out of PhonePad as the PhonePad Server will be stopped during the update and then restarted once it has completed.  Workstations will be automatically updated when PhonePad 5 Workstation is started on each workstation.

Important: When downloading and installing an update from your My PhonePad account, make sure it’s actually the update and not the server setup program.  The update will update your database whereas the setup program will overwrite it with a blank database.

Important Information If You Are Updating from PhonePad Version 5.35.x

Some code was added to the PhonePad loader program (the blue window with the PhonePad logo that finds the server connection) to log what security software was installed on the workstation that we would use to diagnose any startup issues.

Unfortunately on some Windows 7 workstations this caused the PhonePad loader to just sit there and do nothing.  We don’t know why this would have caused this and, as far as we have been able to ascertain, it only affects Windows 7 workstations.

This code has been removed in this release so this problem should no longer occur once these workstations have been updated to 5.36.0 or higher.  However, it does mean that the PhonePad Version 5.36.0 workstation setup program will need to be manually downloaded and installed on any affected workstations.

Downloading the Update

You can download the update from your My PhonePad account.

If you are a trial user please contact Support for a download link for this version.

Please contact Support if you have any problems or questions.

PhonePad 5.37.0 has 2 new features that we believe many users will find very useful.  We had planned to release it over the weekend but there are still a few things that need to be finished before it’s ready to go out.

For users that were expecting it today we apologize for the delay, but we feel it’s better to have it done properly then to have to release an update to fix problems.

Hopefully it won’t take longer than a few days more.

So what are these new features?  You’ll have to wait and see. 🙂