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<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation: THE REMOTE DATABASE VERSION > Remote Database Version Switching to Another Version |
Please read the Remote Database Overview section first, if you have not already done so, before reading this section.
Note: This version was previously called the Web Network Version.
It is possible to switch back from the Remote Database Version to any one of the other versions (Standard or Local Network). The most likely choice, if you do have multiple users not all on the same local network (in the same offices), is to switch to the Standard version with the Cloud Storage Service.
Please inform us if you make such a change, so we can update your records in our user database appropriately, to reflect which version you have switched to!
Keeping your Existing Data
To switch to any other version, first just use the Remote Database Version's Upload/Download ⇒ Download Enter value to Local menu option to copy all of your data down from your remote database to a local database on your computer.
Assuming you have multiple computers with the Remote Database Version on it, each of them should do that.
The only exception to that would be in the fairly unlikely case that you are switching to the Local Network Versions of ACCOUNTS. (It's unlikely because you would have chosen the Remote Database Version for use on computers connected over the Internet, and the Local Network Version is only for use with computers all on the same local network, such as in one set of offices.) In that case, though, you would only need to do this on the computer that will become the Local Network Server version (or from which you will copy a backup of the database to the computer that you want to use for the Local Network Server version).
What if I have multiple Remote Database Databases?
Because we charge independently for each database with the Remote Database Version, very few users will have this situation. (The other versions all allow for up to 5 databases at no extra charge.) If you do have multiple databases that you access with the Remote Database Version, and want to end up with them all on your new version, please contact us for assistance before continuing, because what to do is a bit complicated, and will probably be best done by us via a remote control session on your computer.
Installing your New Version and Getting a License Key
Next, download and re-install the desired other version from the DOWNLOAD page on the website, https://www.software4nonprofits.com/accounts/download.htm, on top of your Remote Database Version. Again, each computer on which you want to continue using ACCOUNTS will have to do that. When you run the program, it should then come up with all of your data there. You may need to request an updated license key, since all of those other versions need license keys.
One complication could be that if you had previously upgraded the same computer from a non-Remote Database Version of ACCOUNTS to the Remote Database Version, and then want to switch back, when you run the installation program for your desired other version it could tell you that you aren't entitled to the upgrade because your license key indicates your support and upgrades eligibility has expired. Assuming you were paid up for the Remote Database Version, you can click OK to that message, and answer Yes to the following question it asks you about deleting the license key file and continuing. After that, the install will complete, and as mentioned above you can then request your updated license key through the program.
If what you switched back to was the Local Network Server version, because you want to instead use that Local Network version only on a network within your building, you can then install the Network Client versions as you usually would. Please carefully follow the instructions for that.
Setting Up Passwords
Unlike the Remote Database Version, the Standard Version doesn't have separate email address logins and passwords for each user. Instead, there is a Program Entry Password for full users, and an optional Read Only password for users who should not be able to change any data. All users with a given permission level use the same password. See Passwords in the Program for more details about them. They are set up with the Maintenance ⇒ Change Password sub-menu options.
Assuming you are switching to the Standard version with the Cloud Storage Service, as explained in the next section below, when you set up for Internet Backups as the first part of that setup, you also have to set up an Internet Backup Encryption Password. That password will have to also be carefully communicated to all users so that they can participate in the Cloud Storage Service.
For organizations that don't need Read Only passwords, the normal setup is to use the same strong password for the Internet Backup Encryption Password and the Program Entry Password. That way users will only have to enter one password when they enter the program. However, if you do need Read Only passwords, do not make the Internet Backup Encryption Password and the Program Entry Password the same, because that would allow all users to have full rights!
Using the Cloud Storage Service of the Standard Version
The most likely thing you would want to switch to from the Remote Database Version is the Standard version with its Cloud Storage Service, because that also allows you to have multiple computers over the Internet accessing the same database, and is much faster.
Please read the Help page on the Cloud Storage Service to fully understand it. Its section "Turning the Service On" tells you how to do that.
As long as you are up to date on your payments, there is no charge to switch from the Remote Database Version to the Standard version, and there is no additional charge for using the Cloud Storage Service.