Expedite 5.6b Copyright (c) 2006 AASHTO Welcome to Trns.port Expedite The following information is available in this README file: - Files Installed With This Distribution - Summary of Changes - Important Notes - Bid Install Troubleshooting - Uninstall Information - Contact Information - Export Warning Files Installed With This Distribution ====================================== EXPEDITE\GEN Pre-letting activities programs --------------------------------------------------------------------- GEN.EXE ....... Creates proposal .ebs files from proposal passfile. GEN.CFG ....... Default configuration file for GEN 5.6b. This config file creates EBS files that do not have DBE entry, MISC data entry, or BOND data entry and do not allow electronic Bid submission. See the example EBS files and GEN.CFG files in the samples directory if you are interested in one or more of these features. MOD.EXE ....... User to view/print/modify proposal files. EBLIB.EXE ..... Library packager (pkzip(tm)-like program). EXPEDITE\BID Bidding program (for contractors) --------------------------------------------------------------------- SETUP.EXE ..... Installs Expedite BID 5.6b EXPEDITE\LOAD Letting activities programs --------------------------------------------------------------------- LOAD.EXE ...... Loads bids from proposal file to a bidtab file. LOAD.CFG ...... Configuration file for LOAD 5.6b. ENTRY.EXE ..... Manual entry of paper bids to a bidtab file. PATCH.EXE ..... Changes bidder IDs in bidtab files. Lists bids in bidtab files. BONDCHECK.EXE . Allows an SHA to verify Bid Bonds via the Internet. EXPEDITE\SAMPLES Sample files --------------------------------------------------------------------- 10MAY001.EBS .. Sample using default GEN.CFG. 10MAY002.EBS .. Sample using DBE screen. 10MAY003.EBS .. Sample using MISC screen. 10MAY004.EBS .. Sample using BOND screen. 10MAY005.EBS .. Sample using alternate item report format. 10MAY006.EBS .. Sample using Bid Submission feature. 10MAY007.EBS .. Sample using all features (DBE, MISC, BOND, SUBMIT, report data, and so forth). 10MAY008.EBS .. Sample using Georgia config file. 10MAY009.EBS .. Sample using Iowa config file. 10MAY010.EBS .. Sample using Michigan config file. 10MAY011.EBS .. Sample using Minnesota config file. 10MAY012.EBS .. Sample using North Carolina config file. 10MAY013.EBS .. Sample using Oklahoma config file. 10MAY014.EBS .. Sample using Virginia config file. 10MAY015.EBS .. Sample using Wyoming config file. 10MAY016.EBS .. Sample using SITE screen. 10MAY017.EBS .. Sample using Expanded Extended amount fields (BUC). 10MAY018.EBS .. Sample using New York config file. 10MAY019.EBS .. Sample using alternate Currency. 10MAY020.EBS .. Sample using Kansas config file. 10MAY021.EBS .. Sample using multiple miscellaneous screen config file. 10MAY022.EBS .. Sample using radio buttons (az). COMPLEX.EBS ... Sample using section and item alternates and options and so forth. DBE_WY.BIN .... Sample DBE file used with calls 015. DBE_GA.BIN .... Sample DBE file used with call 008. DBE_NC.BIN .... Sample DBE file used with call 012. DBE_IA.BIN .... Sample DBE file used with call 009. PASS2EBS.txt .. Sample passfile used to create these samples. SAMPLSRC.ZIP .. Sample GEN.CFG files used to create these samples. Also included is the PASS2DEF.TXT, which is the field definition descriptions for the PASS2EBS files used to create EBS files. Be sure to use -d if you use DOS PKUNZIP or to preserve directories if you use Winzip. Summary of Changes ================== Important Note ============== * Beginning with Expedite 5.6a, the EBS files will no longer be forward compatible. Expedite BID 5.6a will be able to open EBS files that were created in any version 5.6a or prior. However Expedite BID will refuse to load files that were created in a newer version than itself. (For example, Expedite BID 5.5a WILL NOT open an EBS file created in 5.6a Expedite BID 5.6a WILL be able to open a file created in 5.5a). In testing it was found that a feature introduced by the newer version will be ignored by older versions of the BID program. The older version of BID will deem a bid complete even though it is unaware of the new feature. As an example lets consider A + B bidding. An EBS file is created in GEN that supports A + B bidding. Assume a bidder uses an older version of BID that does not support A + B bidding, and opens the EBS file. This version of BID will not display the proposal sites to enter the time bids. The bidder can fill out everything that IS displayed and BID will consider the bid complete (even though there are no time bids). This was done for the protection of both the bidder and agency to make sure a bid is truly complete upon turning it in. Expedite 5.6b ------------- TMR# 7270 In the Proposal Sites screen, when there are mixed sites (both "biddable" and "non-biddible" the bid program displays the number of days of the "non-biddible" sites and Entry did not. Entry was fixed to make this consistent. TMR# 8619 References to operating systems in the User's Guide and the Readme file were updated to reflect only Windows 2000 and Windows XP. TMR# 8670 The GEN program did not warn an agency if a PRIVATE key was mistakenly placed in the gen.cfg file vs. a PUBLIC key. GEN now displays a warning when creating an EBS file / amendment. TMR# 8875 The Digital ID creation process should have had the contractor back up the ID as part of the process. This is now present. TMR# 8877 The text was corrected within the Digital ID creation wizard. TMR# 9024 (Emergency Fix for NCDOT) After adding one DBE vendor, adding more DBE vendors would change the first DBE record. They weren't being treated as independent "objects". This was fixed. TMR# 9102 When a bond was being verified the information brought back into Expedite, from the response, was not being displayed on the screen. This was fixed. TMR# 9198 The sample files were misconfigured in the [MBE SCREEN] and [WBE SCREEN] sections. Specifically the UsedAsField option was misconfigured. It should be: UsedAsField = SUPPFLAG The samples were updated. Expedite 5.6a ------------- TMR# 8659 The following have been added to the Escape Sequences for the print engine: ProposalString1,ProposalString2 ProposalString3,ProposalString4 ProposalNumber1,ProposalNumber2,ProposalNumber3 ProposalFlag1,ProposalFlag2,ProposalFlag3,ProposalFlag4,ProposalFlag5 TMR# 8725 When the miscellaneous screen was renamed, the error string when you "checked" your bid for completeness did not use the new folder name. This issue is resolved. TMR# 8810 Expedite now supports an unlimited number of Miscellaneous Screens. In the Gen.cfg file you can define multiple misc screens and customize the folder names of each. Each screen has a flag to display these screens now. A customization of the pass2exp.rtf can control which screens are displayed for a given proposal. For example if you define 10 screens but 5 are for STATE funded proposals and 5 are for FEDERAL proposals. You can use a new line in the pass2ebs file to trigger each set of screens based on the data from PES. See the Expedite User's Guide for further details. TMR# 8811 Expedite has an automatic bid withdrawal feature that can be used in conjunction with Internet bid submission. This feature allows a bidder to set the current bid to be automatically withdrawn based on the results of any PREVIOUS call orders. TMR# 8813 Expedite now supports simple radio buttons on its customizable screens. TMR# 8942 In section 5.1.3 of the Expedite User's Guide, the Miscellaneous (Misc.) Bid Options screen documentation was updated to reflect the checkbox to "Automaticly Load Amendments" and the Background Color Information. TMR# 8874 A digital ID was created with the name of John Smith. If this ID was lost and a second digital ID is created with the exact same name, John Smith, there is no way to distinguish between the two IDs. When you create an ID the fingerprint of the ID is now part of the comment when you open the ID.asc file (Export ID). Expedite Bid 5.5b (Emergency Fix for KDOT) ------------------------------------------ TMR# 8839 Expedite Bid / Entry would not allow for more than 100 controls on any of the screens that are configurable. This ceiling was raised to 500. Expedite 5.5a ------------- TMR# 6887 Expedite BID did not allow the user to create a digital ID with Windows XP due to the out of date PGP library. The PGP library has been upgraded (TMR 7991) and this issue is now resolved. TMR# 6889 BondCheck was not able to verify Bid Bonds in Windows XP without Admin Privileges due to the out of date PGP library. The PGP library has been upgraded (TMR 7991) and this issue is now resolved. TMR# 7846 The sample gen.cfg files installed with Expedite contained partially commented out sections for Bond information. The files were all properly formatted to prevent errors. TMR# 7991 Expedite uses the PGP Software Development Kit (PGPsdk) to perform all encryption and digital signature functions. Expedite is now using the latest PGPsdk. TMR# 7944 Removed "TM" symbol for an unregistered name. AASHTO directs not to show multiple trademark symbols in a string that contains substrings that are each registered trademarks. TMR# 8001 The 'Ignore Fixed Price Flag' option did not behave correctly in Entry when using the Tree View. Fixed price items should be editable when this option is set. This issue is now resolved. TMR# 8024 If the only change to a proposal is the DBE goal, and that goal is changed to zero, then an Amendment would not be created and the GEN program would incorrectly state that the proposal is current. This issue is now resolved. TMR# 8108 Adobe Reader 6 has replaced Adobe Acrobat Reader 5 on the product CD. TMR# 8134 This enhancement is designated as x.509 Digital Certificates and is a enhancement to Expedite to allow contractors to use state-assigned x.509 certificates for Internet bidding rather than require contractors to generate another digital ID through Expedite. TMR# 8532 Proposals with DBE's enabled but DBE Items disabled incorrectly showed the DBE Items child folder. This issue is now resolved. TMR# 8596 When an amendment is loaded in the Bid program, the amendment description (if it exists) is now displayed in the summary. TMR# 8658 Certain formatted numbers in the gen.cfg file were being evaluated incorrectly when parsed with GEN: 1) In the gen.cfg, numeric comparisons now work correctly when the number is formatted with commas and/or the current currency symbol. Example: {ITEMS_TOTAL > #'50000.00' ? [REGISTRATION] } 2) Escape sequence options are now parsed correctly when part of a conditional statement. Example: {CONTRACT_ID,SUBSTRING='2:4' == '3101' ? 'Federal Funded' : 'State Funded'} TMR# 8703 Expedite Bid will now generate errors if the bids go out of range. However, if bids with out of range values get loaded into TrnsPort PES/LAS the values will still be zero, but that this isn't a problem because the import process will produce load errors anyway, signifying to the TrnsPort admin that something is wrong with a particular bid. Expedite 5.4b ------------- TMR# 7802 The option to customize the county label has been fixed. Expedite 5.4b ------------- TMR# 7504 Expedite 5.4b supports the use of Alternate currency Symbols. There are two new options in the gen.cfg file that control the use of currency symbols. One option defines what currency symbol to display (if any) in the bid program windows. The other option defines what currency symbol to use when generating reports. If no currency symbol is defined for display or print, the currency symbol will default to the '$' which was the behavior prior to 5.4b Expedite 5.3a ------------- Note: Expedite 5.3a supports the use of Expanded Currency Widths to be compatible with other Trns.port products that use this enhancement. By default, Expedite will continue to use the standard field widths before the Expanded Currency Widths enhancement. A sample configuration file has been included in this release to allow for the use of the Expanded Currency Widths. TMR# 5517 In Trns•port Expedite, the Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption toolkit occasionally created a key with two public keys rather than one public and one private key. This condition is now checked by Trns•port Expedite when users create a new key. This issue has been resolved. TMR# 6968 In Trns•port Expedite, the BID program failed to catch an item bid error if all of the following conditions were true: - The item was a fixed price item. - The item had an editable quantity. - The quantity field was blank. This issue has been resolved. TMR# 6992 If a bidder had the same Bidder ID for two agencies and digital IDs for both agencies in Trns•port Expedite, the View Submitted Bids function sent the request to the database of the first agency listed. This issue has been resolved. TMR# 7029 In Trns•port Expedite, the DBE Item grid was unreadable when the custom colors functionality was enabled. This issue has been resolved. TMR# 7050 In Trns•port Expedite GEN program did not recognize the error condition if a proposal contained an item option group that spanned sections. The code was modified to address the issue. This issue has been resolved. TMR# 7064 If users made the "Used As" field not required in Trns•port Expedite, the BID program would exit with a memory access violation when users attempted to choose a Vendor name and an ID from the list on the screen. The code was modified to address the issue. This issue has been resolved. TMR# 7065 When users deleted, moved, or added an input field in the DBE, MISC, or BOND editable windows in Trns•port Expedite, the attributes and resources of all the fields were not changed accordingly. The code was modified to address the issue. This issue has been resolved. TMR# 7157 In Trns•port Expedite, the spec year was being passed to Expedite by the EBS file but was not being stored by the EBS file. Therefore, the spec year could not be printed to the reports. The code was modified to address the issue. This issue has been resolved. TMR# 7239 In Trns•port Expedite, the proposal site data was inaccessible. The proposal site data and reports are now accessible and can be printed out regardless of the status that displays on the proposal sites screen. This issue has been resolved. TMR# 7305 In Trns•port Expedite, the EBLIB program caused an application error when users tried to add a large file to a library. The code was modified to address the issue. This issue has been resolved. Important Notes =============== * All Expedite software must be installed by a user with Administrator privileges. * Expedite creates files that are not compatible with earlier Expedite releases. Expedite Bid versions 4.xx and earlier will refuse to load the new files. Also, the new Expedite programs will not load older ebs files. * PATCH uses a new web printing facility. There is a known issue that PATCH may not print or print preview properly when some web browsers are installed as the PC's default browser. Bid Install Troubleshooting =========================== If an agency supports Electronic Bid Submission, Expedite programs including Bid need to be installed with administrator rights on Windows 2000 or Windows XP machines. Uninstall Information ===================== To uninstall Expedite, use the standard uninstall feature "Add/Remove Programs" in the Control Panel. Contact Information =================== For information about this product, contact: Customer Support Info Tech, Inc. 5700 SW 34th Street, Suite 1235 Gainesville, FL 32608 Phone (352) 381-4400 Fax (352) 381-4444 E-mail customer.support@infotechfl.com Export Warning ============== Expedite 5.6b contains underlying program code that incorporates strong encryption technology and therefore may be subject to United States export restrictions. Its distribution may be subject to U.S. federal laws and regulations. We understand that AASHTO has taken steps to register Expedite with the U.S. federal government in connection with its export. Please be aware that if you export this software outside the U.S. or Canada, you may wish to ensure your compliance with these restrictions, laws, and regulations.