Unified Reporting Tool: Troubleshooting Guide

Transcription

1 Unified Reporting Tool: Troubleshooting Guide This appendix identifies procedures and best practices for the most frequently-encountered challenges and questions regarding the 2015 Unified THIRA/SPR Reporting Tool (URT). The THIRA/SPR Help Desk is available at or from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern time to provide further assistance. General Problems 1. I receive an error message that states, Application-defined or object-defined error. What can I do to fix this? This error is associated with a December 2014 Microsoft Windows update and certain Microsoft Excel controls used in the URT. For the URT to work correctly, your system needs to be updated with a new Microsoft Windows update. To determine the latest update to your system, please follow these steps: 1. Click the Start button on the lower left of your screen. 2. In the Search programs and files box, enter Microsoft update and hit enter/search. 3. In the navigator that opens, select View update history from the left list. This will bring up a list of updates to your system. 4. Look for the most recent update starting with the letters KB. These updates often occur automatically and without the user noticing. If your system has not been updated since December 2014 due to local IT policy or practice, please follow the steps below to update your system. Please note that if you do not have administrative privileges on your computer, this may require coordination with your local IT department. 1. Click the Start button on the lower left of your screen. 2. In the Search programs and files box, enter Microsoft update and hit enter/search. 3. In the navigator that opens, select Check for updates from the left list. 4. This will bring up a list of recommended updates. 5. Update your system with the recommended updates. If updating your system does not remedy the issue, or if you are unable to update your system, please contact the THIRA/SPR Help Desk for other workarounds. If you received this error while attempting to import your 2014 data into the 2015 URT and your system has been updated since December 2014, creating an.xlsx version of your 2014 URT may remedy the import problem. Please follow these steps: 1. Open your completed 2014 Unified Report Tool. 2. Select the file tab on the scroll bar and select the Save As option. 3. In the Save as type: box use the drop-down menu to select Excel Workbook (.xlsx) 4. Click Save. 1

2 5. Open your 2015 URT and import the.xlsx version of your 2014 URT (instead of the original.xlsm version). 2. When I open the URT, I receive a security warning that says Macros have been disabled. When I click on the Options button, the security dialog box only provides the option to Protect from unknown content, rather than allowing me to Enable Macros or Enable Content. How can I enable macros? You must re-save the file to your computer to establish the URT as known content for Microsoft Excel. Please follow these steps: 1. With the URT open on your computer, click OK in the Security Alert dialog box. 2. Click the File menu on the toolbar, and click the Save or Save as command to save the file to your computer. 3. Close out of the file. 4. Open the URT again from the newly saved file location on your computer. 5. Microsoft Excel will generate a security warning again, but this time you will be able to Enable Macros or Enable Content from the security warning at the top of the screen. 3. I am working on the tool in Excel 2010, but one of my contributors has Excel Can we pass the URT back and forth to each other? Microsoft applications such as Excel use reference libraries to communicate with each other within the same version. Earlier versions of Microsoft Office (e.g., Office 2007) may not work properly with applications saved using later versions (e.g., Office 2010 or 2013). For instance, saving the URT in Excel 2013 establishes Office 2013 references, and the URT may not work properly when using Office 2010 or In this instance, you will receive an error message referencing a missing library. Please see below for some best practices to mitigate this issue: Be aware of what version of Excel you are using, and what version contributors are using. Instead of sharing the URT with a contributor with a more recent version of Excel, consider other options to collect the information, and only enter data into the URT on one computer (i.e., keep a master file). If you receive the error, send your file to the Help Desk, and ask for the file to be modified for the appropriate version of Excel. 4. Text boxes and font sizes in the URT are changing randomly (e.g., the font is becoming much larger). How can I avoid this? This problem often occurs when using a projector or multiple screens to more easily view the URT (often in groups). Please see below for some practices to address this problem: Avoid displaying the URT with a projector or on multiple screens simultaneously. Use a sample URT for projection. Only select one device to display the URT at a time. 2

3 If you must display the URT on two devices at the same time, ensure the devices are set to use the same screen resolutions and at their optimal screen resolutions; the text box and font size problems usually occur when displaying the URT on a low resolution device, such as a projector running at a resolution lower than 1280 x 768. If you encounter the problem, send your file to the THIRA/SPR Help Desk. Entering Data in the URT 1. I entered in all my information for THIRA Steps 1 and 2, but the Navigation page is still showing these sections as incomplete (red). What am I missing? There are two main items to check to ensure that THIRA Steps 1 and 2 are complete. First, make sure that every threat or hazard that you have identified has an associated context description. Second, check to see if you have used the Terrorism checkbox for one of your human-caused threats. The Terrorism checkbox is not itself sufficient for the threat to be complete. For these threats, you still need to identify the specific threat, whether it is active shooter, explosive devices, or one of the other threats. 2. I have all my impacts, outcomes, and capability targets in another Excel or Word document. Can I copy and paste my data into the URT? Yes, the URT allows you to copy and paste data from other documents into the THIRA Step 3 section. Because of the structure of the page, pasting data into the various fields works best when done individually. Please use the following process: Tip: Remember, you can also separately use the Import 2014 Responses action to bring in data from your 2014 THIRA/SPR submission. The procedure described here is to copy and paste data from a different Excel or Word document into your 2015 URT. 1. Copy (Control + C) one specific piece of data (e.g., cybersecurity capability target) from your Word or Excel document. 2. In the URT, delete the standard text ( Click here to enter capability targets ) for the cell in which you would like to enter data. 3. Double-click in the cell so that the cursor appears. 4. Paste (Control + V) the text into the cell. a. You may also paste the text into the formula bar towards the top of the page. 3

4 3. I have all my resources for THIRA Step 4 entered into a different Word or Excel document. Can I copy and paste them into the URT without having to do them one at a time? Yes, you can copy and paste your resources into the THIRA Step 4 pages with the following procedures: Copy/paste NIMS Resources 1. In Excel or Word, create a temporary table that is structured the same way as the NIMS Resource table, with four columns (Category, Resource, Type, Number Required). 2. In this table, enter your resources. 3. Count how many resources you have to paste into the URT. a. Use the Add Multiple Entries button in the URT to add however many rows needed to account for all the resources you have to enter (NOTE: The table in the URT begins with 4 rows, so if you have 12 resources you only need to add 8 rows). 4. Select and copy all of the resources in your temporary table. 5. In the URT, right click on the first cell you wish to paste into, and under Paste Options, select one of the following: Match Destination Formatting, Values, or Text. Copy/Paste Other Resources 1. In Excel, create a temporary table as illustrated below, with three columns, but a blank column between Resource and Category. 2. In this table, enter your resources a. Merge the resource column with the blank column, and apply this formatting change to all of your resources. 3. Count how many resources you have to paste into the URT 4

5 a. Use the Add Multiple Entries button in the URT to add however many rows needed to account for all the resources you have to enter (NOTE: The table in the URT begins with 4 rows, so if you have 12 resources you only need to add 8 rows). 4. In your temporary table, select and copy only the Resources. 5. In the URT, right click on the first resource cell you wish to paste into, and under Paste Options, select one of the following: Match Destination Formatting, Values, or Text. 6. In your temporary table, select and copy all of your Category inputs and Number Required inputs. 7. In the URT, right click in the Category column of the first resource, and under Paste Options, select one of the following: Match Destination Formatting, Values, or Text. 4. I have entered all my resources into the URT, but I want to delete extra rows and reorder my resources. Can I do this? You cannot delete extra blank rows without interfering with the formulas that connect to the Navigation page. Additionally, cutting and pasting different rows or resources in order to reorder your resources will result in an error that can only be fixed by sending your URT to the THIRA/SPR Help Desk. You can manually reorder your resources by tracking all your resources in a separate Excel document and re-inputting them in your preferred order. You can also select and copy your resources from the URT and paste them into a blank, temporary Excel document. Use this document to sort your resources, and then follow the procedure in question 7 above to reenter them into the URT. 5. I am making changes on a THIRA or SPR page, but the Navigation page is not updating to reflect my progress. How can I fix this? Check to make sure your calculations are set to Automatic through the following steps: 1. Click on the Formulas ribbon at the top of Excel 2. Click on Calculation Options, located towards the right side of the ribbon menu 3. Check Automatic if it is not already checked 5