Postalsoft DeskTop Mailer Release Notes

Transcription

1 Postalsoft DeskTop Mailer Release Notes This release includes updated postage statements, which the USPS requires as of January 2, Because of the updated postage statements, you must install version 8.00c and use it for any mailings that you will deposit on or after January 2, Do not use 8.00c for mailings that you will submit before January 2, See Installation on page 5 for details. DeskTop Mailer 8.00c December 2010

2 Copyright 2010 SAP AG. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. SAP, R/3, SAP NetWeaver, Duet, PartnerEdge, ByDesign, SAP Business ByDesign, and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and other countries. Business Objects and the Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects, Crystal Reports, Crystal Decisions, Web Intelligence, Xcelsius, and other Business Objects products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects S.A. in the United States and in other countries. Business Objects is an SAP company. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Data contained in this document serves informational purposes only. National product specifications may vary. These materials are subject to change without notice. These materials are provided by SAP AG and its affiliated companies ( SAP Group ) for informational purposes only, without representation or warranty of any kind, and SAP Group shall not be liable for errors or omissions with respect to the materials. The only warranties for SAP Group products and services are those that are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services, if any. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. The following trademarks are owned by the United States Postal Service: 2 DeskTop Mailer Release Notes

3 Introduction What s new in this release Version 8.00c of Postalsoft DeskTop Mailer and Business Edition includes changes to the following: Windows 7 supported. Postalsoft DeskTop Mailer and Business Edition are now fully tested and supported on Microsoft Windows 7. For the complete list of supported operating systems, see Operating systems on page 5. Load directories. Downloaded directories were formerly compressed into a.zip file within an.exe file. Now you ll receive simply the.zip file containing your directory files. See Installing directories on page 7. Lots of new features and enhancements. See the following: Presort changes on page 9 Import/export changes on page 12 Intelligent Mail changes on page 13 Extended Services changes on page 14 Reports changes on page 16 Other changes on page 17 Documentation The complete documentation set for this product includes the following: Postalsoft DeskTop Mailer Release Notes Postalsoft DeskTop Mailer User Guide Online help (press F1 or click the? button.) To access documents, choose Start > Programs > DeskTop. Or go to click SAP BusinessObjects, click All Products, choose Postalsoft from the top drop-down list, and choose your product from the lower drop-down list. Introduction 3

4 USPS news Move-update requirement change Previously, mail pieces were charged a move-update assessment postage charge if more than 30 percent of addresses with a change of address (COA) were not updated. The Postal Service changed the tolerance from 30 percent to 25 percent. For details, see Federal Register final rule published 27 October 2009: May 2011 deadline for Intelligent Mail Are you using Intelligent Mail barcodes yet? If not, will you be ready by May 2011? Postalsoft Business Edition and DeskTop Mailer already support Intelligent Mail. Postalsoft DeskTop Mailer offers the basic option. If you want to use the fullservice option, you can upgrade from DeskTop Mailer to Business Edition. To learn how to set up Intelligent Mail barcodes, see the Postalsoft User s Guide or online help topics. The following article, excerpted below, appeared in the September/October 2010 edition of Mailpro (a USPS publication): Beginning May 2011, to be eligible for automation prices on letter-size and flat-size mailpieces, mailers will need to use the IMb, either the Full Service or Basic option, in place of the POSTNET barcode. Additionally, the PLANET Code barcode, used with Confirm service for mail tracking, will be retired. To receive Confirm service after May 2011, mailers will have to use the IMb. The PLANET Code and POSTNET barcodes have served us well for decades, says Tom Day, senior vice president, Intelligent Mail and Address Quality. But now it s time to embrace the latest technology to assure better service and increased value of the mail to meet your business needs. The Intelligent Mail barcode holds all routing, sorting and additional services information in one barcode. It enables unique identity of individual mailpieces and provides more real estate on the envelope for marketing messages. It offers OneCode ACS at less cost than traditional ACS. And, beginning May 2011, it allows customers to receive automation prices. 4 DeskTop Mailer Release Notes

5 Installation This release includes updated postage statements, which the USPS requires as of January 2, Because of these changes to postage statements, you must install version 8.00c and use it for any mailings that you will submit on or after January 2, Do not use 8.00c for mailings that you will submit before January 2, When you install, you will be prompted to choose from the following options. Choice Install 8.00c over your previous release Install 8.00c to a different location Description You can install version 8.00c in your usual location, overwriting version 8.00c.03 (this does not overwrite your data files). If you overwrite version 8.00c.03 with version 8.00c.04.00, any mailings that you prepare must not be submitted until January 2, When you install 8.00c over 8.00c.03, your saved settings and preferences from 8.00c.03 are transferred to 8.00c By installing 8.00c to a separate location, you can keep using version 8.00c.03 to prepare mailings that you will submit through January 1, 2011, and use version 8.00c to prepare mailings that you will submit on or after January 2, If you install to a separate location, you may want to uninstall version 8.00c after January 2 and then install it over version 8.00c.03. By doing this, your saved settings and preferences from 8.00c.03 are transferred to 8.00c.04. Not backward-compatible. When you open a job in version 8.00c.04.00, you cannot access that job again in version 8.00c.03. Operating systems Postalsoft DeskTop Mailer runs on the following Windows operating systems: Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate Windows Server 2003 and 2008 Windows Vista Business Windows XP Professional Downloading software and directories You can download updated software and directories from the SAP Service Marketplace. Follow these instructions to download software or directories. If you re installing from a CD or DVD that you ordered, you can skip this section. Downloading software from SMP 1. Go to 2. Sign in with your S-User ID and password. 3. In the Download Software & Directories section, click Support packages: service packs, fix packs, merge modules. 4. Select your product three times (on three successive pages). 5. Select your operating system (Win32). 6. Scroll down to the Download section and select the product(s) to add to your download basket. 7. Follow the instructions on screen to download your software. Installation 5

6 Downloading directories from SMP 1. Go to 2. Sign in with your S-User ID and password. 3. In the Download Software & Directories section, click Address directories for Data Quality / Postalsoft. Available directories are listed, with the exception of elot, which will be presented after you select the Diversified directories (see step 6). 4. Click the item that you want to download (for example, SBOP ADDR DIR US - DIVERSIFIED), and click it again. 5. Click Installation. Make sure that you download all corresponding files for the same month and that you download the.zip files. 6. For each file that you want to download, click its checkbox so that a checkmark appears, and then click Add to Download Basket. 7. If you haven t already installed Download Manager, click Get Download Manager to install it now. Download Manager is a Java-based utility that allows you to download multiple products and schedule downloads for a later time. When you click Get Download Manager, further instructions are available to follow. 8. To add more directories, click Address Directories near the top of the page, and repeat steps 4-6 for each remaining directory. 9. Open SAP Download Manager on your computer and use it to complete the download. Downloading tips: Make note of the location on your computer where you download the file so that you can locate it later. If you re not using Download Manager, change the numeric file name to something more descriptive before downloading. For directories, consider including the directory name and its month and year in the file name. If you re using Internet Explorer, manually add the.zip extension to the file name either when you save the file or after you download. If the extension is missing, you may not be able to extract the files. Installing Postalsoft You can install from downloaded files or from a software CD if you ordered one. Before you install software, close any open programs, especially antivirus programs, which can interfere with installation. To install software, you need full administrator rights..net Microsoft.NET is a software component that is used by many programs, including Postalsoft DeskTop Mailer..NET is automatically installed on Windows operating systems, and for several years, the Postalsoft installer also installed.net. Now the Postalsoft installer does not install.net and instead relies on the version that is installed on your system. If your system does not have.net version 2.0, 3.0. or 3.5 installed, the Postalsoft installer prompts you to go to the Microsoft Download Center ( to download and install.net 2.0, 3.0, or DeskTop Mailer Release Notes

7 .NET 4.0 is also available, and you can install it. However, Postalsoft requires that version 2.0, 3.0, or 3.5 also be installed. Multiple versions can be installed (a new version does not overwrite an older version). Installing software from a downloaded file You must unzip the downloaded file, before you can install the software. If you re installing from CD, you can skip this section. 1. Locate the downloaded file. When you unzip the downloaded file (in the next step), be sure that the option to retain folder names or paths is selected in your unzip utility. (In WinZip, the option is called Use Folder Names. ) 2. Double-click the file that you downloaded to unzip the downloaded files. Unzip them to a new folder. 3. Go to the folder where you placed the downloaded file and double-click setup.exe to install the software. Installing software from CD When you insert the software CD in your CD-ROM drive, the installation program should start automatically. If it doesn t, follow these steps: 1. Access your Windows Start menu and choose Run. 2. In the Run window, type x:\setup (where x is the letter of your CD-ROM drive) and click OK. Reboot When installation is complete, the installation program restarts your computer. Installing directories Directories are available separately from your software. To install directories, you need full administrator rights. Before you install directories, close any open programs, especially antivirus programs, which can interfere with installation. Load the directories from downloaded files or DVDs If you request that directories be shipped to you, they are shipped on DVD. Your computer must have a DVD drive if you want to install directories from DVD. 1. Open the software and choose File > Load Directories. 2. In the Load Directories window, select the directories that you want to install. Diversified directories include ZIP4US.DIR and other directories needed for presorting and address correction. elot directory is used when assigning Line-of-Travel codes for carrierroute discounts. DPV directories are used during Delivery Point Validation processing. DPV is required for CASS certification. LACS Link directories are used during Locatable Address Conversion System processing (converting rural route addresses to street addresses, and other types of renaming). LACS Link is required for CASS certification. Suite Link directories are used during Suite Link processing, which adds suite numbers to high-rise business addresses. Installation 7

8 3. Click OK. A Loading Options window appears for each directory that you chose to install. When you finish loading one directory, the next Loading Options window appears. 4. If you re installing from DVD, insert the corresponding directory DVD as needed. For example, when the Diversified Directory Loading Options window appears, insert the Diversified Directory DVD. 5. In the Loading Options window, use the following options to load directories. Repeat this step for each type of directory that you re loading. Option Select the Location of the.zip File Load Directories To Load Browse Skip Description Type the path for this directory on your DVD drive or C:\ for example. Or you can click Browse to search for the path. Type the path only, not the.zip file name. Type the path where you want the directories copied to. Or you can click Browse to search for the path. Copies the directories from and to the locations specified. Opens a window where you can search for the location that you re loading from or to. Advances to the next directory without loading this directory. When you load the Diversified directories, the ZIP4US directory is installed to the destination that you specify. Other smaller directories installed with ZIP4US are automatically installed to your default directory installation folder. 8 DeskTop Mailer Release Notes

9 Presort changes Content of mail Four new options are available that help you identify the contents of your mail. This information is used on Standard Mail and First Class postage statements. You can leave these options unselected, or you can select one or more. To set the new options: 1. Choose Tools > Presort > Sort Settings and begin setting up your presort. 2. In the Sort for Mailing - Sorting Information window, set the new Content of Mail options according to your needs. Option Reply Envelope or Card Product Sample DVD or CD Not Mailing as First Class Mail Description Indicates that the mailing contains pieces with reply envelopes or cards. Indicates that the mailing contains product samples. This option does not apply to First Class Mail. Indicates that the mailing contains pieces with media such as DVDs or CDs. Indicates that the content of mail does not have to be mailed as First Class. This option is for First Class Mail only. Mailing catalogs If your Standard Mail flat is a catalog, select the new Flat Is a Catalog option. The catalog indicator is used by the PostalOne system and on some postage statements. For a piece to be considered a catalog, it must meet the following criteria: The piece must be at least 16 pages. The piece must be of uniform thickness as described in DMM To set the new option: 1. Choose Tools > Presort > Sort Settings and begin setting up your presort. 2. In the Sort for Mailing - Sorting Information window, select the new Flat Is a Catalog option if this is a Standard Mail mailing and your mail piece is a catalog. Reusable mail piece information You can save mail piece information to the Settings Library so that you can reuse it in future mailings. The mail piece information that you can save includes: Job description Mail piece height and width Barcode Piece rigidity Piece includes repositionable note Sample size, thickness, and weight Participation in USPS Confirm Saving mail piece information for future use To save mail piece information as a Settings Library component, follow these steps: Presort changes 9

10 1. Choose Tools > Presort > Sort Settings. 2. Enter information about your mail piece in the Sort for Mailing - Piece Information window, and click the Save Piece Info button. 3. In the Settings Library window, enter a name and description for this Settings Library component, and click the Save button. Loading saved mail piece information To reuse mail piece information that you previously saved as a Settings Library component, follow these steps: 1. Choose Tools > Presort > Sort Settings. 2. In the Sort for Mailing - Piece Information window, click the Load Piece Info button. 3. In the Settings Library window, choose the desired component in the Component list. You can read the component s description and details after you select it. 4. Click Load to copy the selected component s mail piece details into the Sort for Mailing - Piece Information window. Achieving saturation: the 90% rule for walk-sequenced mail The lowest postage rate for walk-sequenced mail is the saturation rate. You can achieve saturation rates if either of the following is true: Your mailing covers 75 percent of all delivery points (residential or business) on the carrier s route. This is called the 75% rule. Your mailing covers 90 percent of the residential addresses on the carrier s route. This is called the 90% rule. Previous versions of Postalsoft could check the 75% rule, but not the 90% rule. Now Postalsoft can check both, which means more of your mail may qualify for saturation rates. Address Type (DSF2/CDS) field For Postalsoft to check if your mailing covers 90 percent of residential addresses, the Address Type (DSF2/CDS) field must be in your layout. This field contains a single character that indicates what type of address the delivery point is. This field is not new to Postalsoft. Previously its field kind was DSF2 Address Type. Now the field kind is Address Type (DSF2/CDS). The field name is the same: DSF_Ad_Typ. Field name Field kind Description DSF_Ad_Typ Address Type (DSF2/CDS) Address or delivery type. A or R. Residential address. B. Business address. C. Primary residential with business. D. Primary business with residential. G. General delivery. U. Undetermined. blank. Non-match. To add the field to your layout, choose File > Properties > Database. 10 DeskTop Mailer Release Notes

11 There are two methods of populating this field: Extended Services DSF 2 processing Importing a file that has been DSF 2 - or CDS-processed For more information about Extended Services, see the online help or the Postalsoft User Guide. For more information about DSF 2 (Delivery Sequence File Second Generation), see For more information about CDS (Computerized Delivery Sequence), see How to set up a walksequenced mailing See the Walk sequencing section in Chapter 10 of the Postalsoft User Guide or the Walk sequencing topic in your online help (Help > Topics) for details about all required and recommended fields and the steps to set up a walk-sequenced job. Advertising percentage for Periodicals According to DMM , nonprofit and classroom Periodicals mailings with 10 percent or less advertising can use 0 (zero) as the advertising percentage, which will result in postage savings. If you set up a nonprofit or classroom Periodicals mailing with an advertising percentage from.0001 to 10, the software prompts you to set it to 0. Sample mailing information removed In past releases, the Sort for Mailing - Mailing Information window contained sample information entered in some of the name, address, and phone fields. This sample information is no longer filled in. This may save you a bit of time: you no longer need to delete the sample information before entering your own or if you want to leave the fields blank. Presort changes 11

12 Import/export changes Import Excel and Access 2007 files Now you can import Excel 2007 and Access 2007 files into Postalsoft. If Excel 2007 and Access 2007 are not installed on your computer, you must download 2007 Office System Driver: Data Connectivity Components before you can import Excel 2007 and Access 2007 files into Postalsoft. You can download these components from To import an Excel 2007 or Access 2007 file: 1. Choose File > Import. 2. In the Import File window, choose an Excel 2007 file (.xlsx) or Access 2007 file (.accdb). In the Import File Format window, the correct file format is chosen for you, based on the file that you chose to import. If you re importing an.xlsx file, Microsoft Excel 2007 format is selected. If you re importing an.accdb file, Microsoft Access 2007 format is selected. Note: If you re importing an.xls file, you can choose the Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Excel (2007) format. Likewise, if you re importing an.mdb file, you can choose the Microsoft Access or Microsoft Access (2007) format. 3. Continue setting up the import as usual. See your online help for details about specific options. Astrojet (.csv) export format renamed The export format formerly listed as Astrojet (.csv) is now Comma-Delimited With Header (.CSV) (Astrojet). Use this format when exporting for use with an Astrojet printer or any situation in which a comma-delimited file with a header is needed. To export a comma-delimited file with a header, follow these steps: 1. Choose File > Export. 2. In the Export File Format window, choose the Comma-Delimited With Header (.CSV) (Astrojet) format. 3. Continue setting up the export as usual. 12 DeskTop Mailer Release Notes

13 Intelligent Mail changes Two new IM presort posting fields Two new presort posting fields are available for Intelligent Mail (IM) barcode information. Even if you re using imported IM data, presort processing may result in a changed IM barcode, due to a corrected service type ID, for example. By using these new fields, you ll be able to see the final data that was used to produce your IM barcodes. Field kind Field name Description Intelligent Mail Barcode (Numeric) Intelligent Mail Service Type ID IM_BAR_NUM IM_STID After you perform presorting with IM barcodes, this field shows the numeric IM barcode. After you perform presorting with IM barcodes, this field shows the service type ID for the mailing. To add these fields to the layout, choose File > Properties > Database, click Multiple Fields, scroll to the Presort Posting section, and select the Intelligent Mail fields. What is presort posting? Presort posting means populating presort-related fields in your record layout so that you can see presorting results on screen, which may be useful if you need to reprint a mail piece, for example. Presort posting does not affect presorting, exporting, or printing. In other words, you can presort, export your records (including presort-posting fields), and print labels even if the presort-posting fields are not in your layout, or, if they are in the layout, even if you choose to not post to them. To choose whether you want to routinely perform presort posting, choose Tools > Options, click Posting Options, and select the Automatic Posting After Presort option. If you have presort-posting fields in your layout and the automatic posting option turned on, the Presort Posting Options window will open after you perform presorting. Then you can choose exactly what you want to post, or you can skip posting. To view a complete list of presort-posting fields, choose File > Properties > Database, click Multiple Fields, and scroll to the Presort Posting section. One renamed IM field The field kind of Intelligent Mail Barcode is now Intelligent Mail Barcode (Encoded). This helps to differentiate it from the new Intelligent Mail Barcode (Numeric) field. New Mailer ID of Mail Owner option Enter the mail owner s MID at the new Mailer ID of Mail Owner option in the Intelligent Mail Information window. Note that the Mailer ID option in that same window has been renamed to Mailer ID of Mail Preparer. Intelligent Mail changes 13

14 Extended Services changes Saving original address data Previously, when you sent data for Extended Services processing, your original address data was overwritten with the updated data. If the following new Original fields are in your database, address data from the corresponding fields will be transferred to the Original fields during Extended Services processing so that you can still access and see the address data that was sent to the Extended Service provider for processing. Original fields (Original address data is copied here during Extended Services processing.) Corresponding fields (Updated during Extended Services processing.) Kind Name Original Street Address Line 1 ORIG_ADDR1 Street Address Line 1 Original Street Address Line 2 ORIG_ADDR2 Street Address Line 2 Original City ORIG_CITY City Original State Abbreviation ORIG_STATE State Original ZIP/ZIP+4 Original ZIP/ZIP+4 No Dash Original ZIP 5-Digit Part Only Original ZIP 4-Digit Add-On Part ORIG_ZIP ORIG_ZIP9 ORIG_ZIP5 ORIG_ZIP4 ZIP/ZIP+4 ZIP/ZIP+4 No Dash ZIP 5-Digit Part Only ZIP 4-Digit Add-On Part Original Delivery Point 2-Digit Add-On ORIG_DP2 DP2 Add fields If you want to be able to see the original data after Extended Services processing, you must add these Original fields to your database before performing Extended Services processing. To add the new fields: 1. Choose File > Properties > Database. 2. Click Multiple Fields. 3. Scroll to the Extended Services Original Address Data section, and either select the entire section or choose the individual fields that you want to add. 4. Click OK. Extended Services fields listed The DPV No Stat field and the LACS-Required Flag field are now included in the Extended Services field listing, which you see when you add fields in Record Layout (File > Properties > Database). This could save you some time when you add multiple fields to your layout before performing Extended Services processing: you can simply select the entire Extended Services group of fields. Lorton Data is currently the only Extended Services provider that populates these two additional fields. Previously Lorton Data did not return DPV No Stat data, and they returned LACS-Required data to the LACSLink Indicator field. Now Lorton Data populates these fields as follows: 14 DeskTop Mailer Release Notes

15 Field name and kind DPV_NoStat (DPV No Stat) LACS (LACSLink Indicator) LACS_Req (LACS- Required Flag) Description Indicates whether the address is vacant, receives mail as a part of a drop, or does not have established delivery. Returned values are: Y. Address is flagged as No Stat in DPV data. N. Address is not No Stat. blank. Address was not looked up. Locatable Address Conversion System conversion status: Y. Address converted by LACS Link. N. Address looked up with LACS Link but not converted. F. The address was a false-positive. S. LACS Link conversion was made; secondary information was dropped. blank. No LACS Link lookup attempted. This field indicates if a record requires LACS (Locatable Address Conversion System) conversion. T. LACS conversion is needed. F. No conversion needed. blank. Address was not assigned. For more information about Extended Services, see Chapter 8 in the Postalsoft User Guide or your online help file (Help > Postalsoft Help Topics). Extended Services changes 15

16 Reports changes Updated postage statements The USPS postage statements are updated in this release. Because of these changes, it is important that you not submit mailings prepared with Postalsoft 8.00c until January 2, 2011, or later. Automatic generation of presort report files The following change will be good news to you if you typically view or use presort report files in the Output folder, as opposed to viewing or printing them in the software. For example, if you the reports to your customer, you can now do this without previewing or printing first. In the past, presort report files were generated when you printed or previewed the reports. Now presort report files are generated immediately after presorting. Having the report files generated automatically will save you some time and the tedium of having to manually choose to print or preview each individual report in order to generate the report files. The following reports will be automatically generated. The files are created in the Output subfolder that your Postalsoft jobs are stored in (for example, c:\postalsoft\data\output) with file extensions as shown in parentheses below. Job Summary (.pjs) Mail Sort Listing (.msl) Postage Statement (.mst) USPS Qualification (.pqr) ZIP Code Listing (.zcl) Drop Ship / Confirm (.dsd) Register of Mailings (.rom) Consolidated Postage Statement (.cps) Report previewing This release includes two changes to report previewing: When you preview a report, the report is magnified with better clarity. Seven zoom (magnification) levels will now be available to accommodate a variety of viewing needs. Previously only three zoom levels were offered. To preview a report, choose Print > Reports, select a report, and click Preview. 16 DeskTop Mailer Release Notes

17 Other changes Helpful links Use the following new links in the Start Here pane to quickly access these sites for helpful information: SAP Service Marketplace Postalsoft Portal (wiki, forum, and blog) USPS RIBBS Intelligent Mail site Adding required and recommended fields Certain fields are required or recommended when you perform certain types of Postalsoft processing. For example, if you choose to perform Delivery Point Validation processing, it is recommended that the DPV fields be in your layout. Previously, the software warned you if required or recommended fields were missing from your layout. Then you could take steps to add the fields if you wanted to. Keeping the flow Now adding required or recommended fields is much quicker. If you start setting up processing and certain fields are missing from your layout, the software warns you. From the warning window, you can click Yes to add the fields right away. The Record Layout window opens, with the missing fields added to the end of the list of fields already defined in the database. You can rearrange the fields or make other changes. When you click OK to close the Record Layout window, you verify field mapping and are returned to the process that you were setting up before the message appeared. Fewer messages Previously, you may have seen missing-field messages multiple times one for every missing field or category of missing fields. Now the missing-fields messages are streamlined to save you time. All recommended fields are listed in one message. In the unlikely event that your database is missing a required field, such as City, that would appear as a separate message. Capitalization of O' names When you perform address correction or change case with the capitalization set to Mixed, the software now capitalizes the letter following the apostrophe in names that start with O (for example, O Connor). This change applies to the last name field only. During address correction, for this change to take effect, Capitalize Fields must be set to All Fields and Capitalization Style must be set to Mixed. To set address correction options, including capitalization options, and perform address correction, choose Tools > Correct Address > Multi Record or Current Record. To change casing of your fields without performing address correction, choose Records > Change Case, and select Mixed Case. Other changes 17