 Introduction
A warm welcome to the ZooEasy newsletter of November 2009. This month, we would like to inform you of the latest developments surrounding ZooEasy Online, including our new corporate clients and the release of version 1.6.00. We will also introduce you to our new employee Wouter Peters. Moreover, ample coverage will be given to the release of ZooEasy stand alone version 9. This year, until the first of February 2010, you will be able to profit from a significantly reduced subscription price! In addition, you will also come across our usual calendar and tips & tricks items in this newsletter.
Personnel Changes
Last month, Wouter Peters joined the ZooEasy team. Wouter will primarily be devoted to testing the ZooEasy Online releases.
Introducing
 Name: Wouter Peters
Age: 55
Position: Tester
“For almost 20 years I have been working in the ICT industry. In those years, I have accumulated a broad range of experience in various working areas within this sector: application development, user support, system management – and regarding the latter in particular the management of desktops for larger organizations. Approximately five years ago, my passion turned out to be the structural testing of software systems (which, in a nutshell, is specifically checking whether the software functions as it should according to predetermined structural tests.)
Hereby, the broad ICT experience I have accumulated over the past years has proven to be rather useful. It’s a world of its own...but with lots of variation and always an interesting challenge. For several months I will be supporting the ZooEasy team since there will be significantly more test work associated with the upcoming version of ZooEasy Online than has been the case with previous releases. ”
ZooEasy Online Developments
ZooEasy Online is the ZooEasy product for the corporate market specifically designed for animal associations, clubs, stud/herd books and other commercial animal organizations. With ZooEasy Online, associations and clubs can grant multiple users simultaneous access to a central, online database of animal data. In addition, this online web application allows users to carry out trial pedigrees and to determine inbreeding percentages and relationship degrees, using calculations provided by Wageningen University in The Netherlands. By means of various entry levels, members can become more involved with their association or club and gain access to the animal data. ZooEasy Online is available in the Dutch, English, Danish and German language.
The past months much hard work has been devoted to ZooEasy Online. As such, various developments can now be reported. New ZooEasy Online Corporate Clients
Also the past several months various clubs and associations have become ZooEasy Online client. As such, the Flatcoated Retriever Club, the Dutch association of Small Munsterlanders, the Dutch Large Munsterlander Association, the Dutch association for Swiss Canine Breeds, Australian Labradoodles and the Papillion club the Netherlands have decided to implement ZooEasy Online. In addition to dog associations and clubs, also the Bentheim Black Pied foundation has become ZooEasy Online client. This is a project from the Dutch ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality directed at protecting the Bentheim Black Pied breed. The release of version 1.6.00
The release of ZooEasy Online version 1.6.00 has been planned for January 2010. In this latest version of the online web application, an authorization module will be added. In addition, also the user-friendliness will be further improved.
ZooEasy stand alone version 9
With regard to the ZooEasy stand alone version, a new release is planned for November 2009. This version will contain various improvements and new extra features. Features:
A brief summary of the latest options in version 9:
- The sorting of each list can be adjusted by the user and saved. A sorting can also be made according to more than 1 column.
- When composing a breeding pair, ZooEasy can display a list of animals that have not yet been used in a current breeding pair.
- In the relationship matrix, a cell can be clicked in order to retrieve a trial pedigree of the breeding pair.
- A graph of the AVK and relationship percentages can be retrieved showing a trend analysis of these value per year. As such, insight can be gained into what the average inbreeding value has been of the population over a certain period of time.
- Compatible with Windows 7
Temporary price reduction
Earlier this year ZooEasy carried out a customer survey with regard to the ZooEasy stand alone subscription (July, 2009). The results from this survey revealed that more customers would purchase the latest ZooEasy version at a lower subscription price. This has led to the implementation of a temporary price reduction for the newest stand alone version this year. Up to and including the first of February 2010, you can purchase ZooEasy stand alone version 9 for only Euro 19/USD 28/GBP 19 (download version). After this period expires, the original subscription price of Euro 25/USD 36/GBP 25 (download version) will again become applicable. In addition, the CD version of version 9 will be offered for Euro 24/USD 35/GBP 24 in this period, instead of the usual Euro 30/USD 44/GBP 30. We would also like to thank the many respondents of the stand alone customer survey. The winners of the free ZooEasy annual subscriptions have been personally notified.
Tips & Tricks
Tip #1 – Reinstallation after a crash
It happens to the best of us but remains a hassle: a computer crash. By regularly creating a back-up you will at least be able to restore your data, but also the restoration process can at times cause problems. If you experience this, you can always request the link to download, install and activate your program from us again. If this is the case, you should always install the program with the most recent update of your version. If you are re-installing from CD, please do not forget to download the most recent update from our website. You can find this in the Support menu, by clicking the heading Download latest changes. If the version that you have on CD is older than the latest version for which you have purchased a license, it makes no sense to install the CD and only install the updates of the most recent versions in order to upgrade your version. In this case, please request the installation link from us and you will automatically download and install the correct program. Tip# 2 – Frequently asked questions
On our website, we publish frequently asked questions in the Support menu. Regularly we update this menu by publishing new frequently asked questions. Possibly the answer to your question is already included on the website. Trick #1 – Characteristics in Pedigree
In ZooEasy it is possible to add missing fields via the characteristics. These characteristics can be added to the pedigree via the Layout button on the pedigree screen. Accidently, characteristics can also be created in two-fold. This may cause problems on the pedigree. By selecting two or more characteristics with the same name on the pedigree, an error message is generated. The error message 3062: Duplicate output alias ‘characteristic name’ is then shown, after which the pedigree can no longer be consulted. The rest of the program functions normally. By in this case adapting the layout of the pedigree and deselecting one of the duplicate values, the pedigree can be consulted again. In addition, the naming of the characteristics has to be adapted via the base tables. Prevent this error by never using a duplicate characteristic name in the different categories. Truc #2 – Creating characteristics
Using the characteristics item, you can add fields to the program that you personally feel are missing. Because this is a rather complex part of the program, a Wizard has been created for this. If you close the list of animals, with only the main menu remaining open, you can select the Wizard from the Extra menu. This tutorial will help you through the first setup of the characteristics. If you are consequently satisfied with the setup of the characteristics, you can add data to the characteristics for the animals concerned. You should only proceed with this step once the characteristics have been set up to your satisfaction. Correcting the setup is much easier than removing all the data for the animals.
Forum and Link Suggestions
Are you an active user of online forums or do you know of any interesting links for the links page on the ZooEasy website? If so, let us know which animal related forums you frequently use or consult by sending an email to rozemarijn@zooeasy.com containing the forums concerned. In addition, you can also add suggestions for useful websites to the links page by clicking on Links in the navigation menu on the ZooEasy website and following the instructions at the bottom of the page.
Any questions about this Newsletter? Send an e-mail to info@zooeasy.com
Hope to talk to you again in the next Newsletter!
With kind regards,
Team ZooEasy
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