PRS Version 8

in version 8.2.0

Message template custom placeholders allow you to create message templates that will prompt the user for input and insert the user input into the mail message. For example the custom placeholder {Please-enter-the-employee-carpark-number} will prompt the user to Please enter the employee carpark number. The prompt text is the placeholder name with dashes replaced with spaces.

Add custom placeholders by editing message templates using the PRS Tools→Setup→Message Templates menu command:

When the message template is inserted into an outgoing mail message you will be prompted to enter placeholder values. The placeholder value replaces the placeholder in the outgoing mail message:

in version 8.2.0

The Send messages immediately Mail option forces email messages sent immediately from the PRS irrespective of Outlook settings. If you untick this option messages will be dispatched based on Outlook’s outgoing mail settings.

in version 8.1.9

The PRS remembers the on-screen size and location of most resizable forms. This new feature allows you to create your own custom screen layouts which will be restored when the forms are next opened (handy if you have a large high resolution display).

Here’s a thumbnail image of a custom layout on a high resolution (2560 x 1440) display:

If you want to disable this feature, open the Options dialog (using the PRS Tools→Options… menu command) then untick the Remember form locations option on the Appearances page.

To return a form to its default location hold down the Ctrl key while you open it.

in version 8.1.9

The Personnel Summary form is now synchronised with the Personnel form so you can open them both side-by-side and the Personnel Summary will automatically update to display the summary of the person on the Personnel form.

in version 8.1.8

If you have an Android phone and are subscribed to the PRS SMS option you can now send SMS messages through your phones via a free SMS Gateway API account:

Once you have configured and added your phone(s) to the SMS Gateway API account you can configure the PRS to use the SMS Gateway API.

First, logon as PRS Supervisor (File→Logon→Supervisor menu command) then open the SMS configuration dialog (Tools→Setup→SMS Texting and Phone Calls):

in version 8.1.8

The PRS logging system has received a lot of attention:

in version 8.1.8

To accommodate scaling in large databases we’ve reimplemented the Goto commands and some related Goto List and form Lock/Unlock behaviour — everything still works the same but there are a few subtle differences:

in version 8.1.7

We’ve doubled the number of user-definable Vacancy Activities giving you a total of four user-definable activities.

in version 8.1.7

We have added Save client invoice and statement files and Email saved client invoice and statement files Roster tasks. These new tasks save and email Roster invoices and statements in PDF format.

in version 8.1.7

A No skills option has been added to the Personnel Find command — it allows you to find personnel that have not had any skills assigned to them.

in version 8.1.7

A second general purpose field Reference 2 has been added to page two of the Vacancies form. It generates Ref2 bookmark for Vacancies document templates and VacancyRef2 for Invoice document templates.

in version 8.1.6

Using the new Tools→Import→Personnel and Sites from CSV File… command you can import Excel spreadsheet data to create new PRS Personnel and Site records:

in version 8.1.6

Modifications have been made to the GoTo list feature in this release to ensure that list entries will not be lost after subsequent PRS Client upgrades.

in version 8.1.6

After adding the new Import CSV File command we:

in version 8.1.6

The behaviour of the Hide rejected candidates checkbox under the Candidate Activities list on the Vacancies form has been changed to Hide rejected and withdrawn candidates:

in version 8.1.5

In PRS 8.1.5 we have introduced a Candidate Vacancy Ranking system that makes reviewing and managing per vacancy candidate rankings a breeze.

A three tier ranking can now be applied to vacancy contenders on a per vacancy basis. The color coded rankings are viewable at a glance from the Vacancies form (unranked candidates can be hidden using the Hide unranked candidates checkbox):

Rankings can be assigned when you edit candidate activities:

You can also assign a ranking when you generate a candidate vacancy application from the PRS InBox Tool:

Rankings are also displayed on the Vacancy Activity Manager and Personnel Candidate Activity forms:

in version 8.1.5

You can now choose a specific note type when printing Personnel reports (either from the Reports→Personnel menu command or the Print button on the Personnel form). If you leave the Note type blank all notes types will be displayed.

This feature allows you to answer questions like “which clients have not been visited for the last six months” — the above example reports all Client Visit notes since March 2014, clients with no reported notes have not been visited. Another example: If you want to see just the last note of a particular type use the Last 1 notes only report option.

in version 8.1.4

Rejected candidates can be a distraction when you viewing large numbers of job applicants — you can now hide rejected candidates when viewing Candidate activity on the Vacancies form by ticking the Hide rejected candidates checkbox. This checkbox also hides rejected candidates on the Activity Manager.

in version 8.1.4

You can now rename text fields on the Candidate Summary form (hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys and click the corresponding Goto button).

in version 8.1.4

To reflect today’s phone and Internet communication diversity we have repurposed the five dedicated phone number fields on the Personnel form to accept phone numbers as well as email and Web addresses.

in version 8.1.4

You can now open mail messages directly in Microsoft Outlook from the PRS InBox Tool — hold down the Ctrl key when you click the green Goto button next to the mail message. For example, you can use this feature to forward a message without having to switch back to Outlook.

in version 8.1.4

We’ve redesigned the Message Templates user interface (in the PRS Tools→Setup menu) to make it easier to manage lots of templates.

in version 8.1.3

We’ve added an Email command to the Invoices form so you can email a copy of the invoice in PDF format directly with just a couple of mouse clicks (if your version of Microsoft is older than Word 2007 the invoice will be sent in Word format, not PDF).

in version 8.1.3

The Email Linked Document option now has the option to email Word documents in PDF format (PDF format option requires Word 2007 or newer).

in version 8.1.3

The Personnel Summary form can now be switched to Datasheet View (use the Window→Toggle Form View menu command or Ctrl+Shift+F).

in version 8.1.3

It’s now quick and easy to email PDF formatted contract vacancy invoices to your clients. Two new timesheet task options have been added to the Timesheet Tasks command:

in version 8.1.2

It’s now quick and easy to email contractors PDF formatted pay advices. Two new task options have been added to the Timesheet Tasks command:

in version 8.1.2

A Reply All button has been added to the Inbox Mail Message dialog which allows you to reply to all recipients when replying to emails from the InBox Tool.

in version 8.1.1

When you save a linked document or email attachment the PRS prompts you to save it in the shared documents folder, if you always save to a particular sub-folder you are left with extra mouse clicks to get there. The new Document save folder option eliminates this inconvenience by allowing you to specify your own default document save folder.

The PRS’s file naming convention for saved documents doesn’t suit everyone so we’ve introduced the new Document file name format option which allows you to specify the file naming convention for linked document files that best suits your company.

in version 8.1.1

Ever wished you could send SMS messages from the PRS via your own phone? Our new HTTP SMS delivery option can be configured to work with many and smartphone (and Cloud-based) HTTP gateways — all you need to do is enter the correct server parameters for your chosen gateway in the PRS SMS Texting and Phone Calls dialog.

A smartphone based SMS gateway is an application that runs on your smartphone and accepts SMS messages sent wirelessly from your PC. Cloud-based SMS gateways are hosted on the Internet. The new HTTP server delivery option caters for both. Here is an example of each type:

in version 8.1.0

You can now increase the size of text in large text boxes from 8pt to 10pt by changing the Font size option on the Appearance page of the Tools→Options… dialog.

in version 8.1.0

Wildcards can now be used in all Consultants with occupation fields in report criteria dialogs. The following example uses the * wildcard character to specify all consultants with an occupation beginning with recruitment:

in version 8.1.0

The consultant Pay Ref is taken from the Timesheet consultant billing records for contract vacancies and from consultant billing records on page 2 of the Vacancies form for non-contract vacancies.

in version 8.0.9

A new Adjustments currency field to the Invoice form allows non-billing related charges to be added to an invoice.

in version 8.0.9

We’ve added two new Roster reports which summarise outgoings and income by Site and by week and show profit margin percentages. The new reports are accessed by pressing the Print button on the Roster form.

in version 8.0.9

We have added a Consultants with occupation Notes selection option to the Notes reports and Notes Tool. This allows you to search and report on specific recruitment divisions or branches.

You can use wildcards when entering the Consultants with occupation. You can also use wildcards when specifying Note types. In the following example all notes with note type starting with the word Client that were created by consultants with occupation Sales Recruitment NSW will be selected.

in version 8.0.8

We’ve added a Birthdays option to the Personnel Find command — combine it with other search criteria to create birthdays notifications (see the Email/SMS Selected Personnel from the Find Command example below).

in version 8.0.8

Ever wish you could Email or SMS your search results directly from the personnel Find command? Now you can using the Email/SMS selected personnel records option that we’ve added to the Personnel Find command.

For example, to send an email birthday greeting to all personnel who have their birthday today:

in version 8.0.8

Our new Email Signatures Catalog makes it easy to create and manage HTML email signatures for everyone in your company in one place.

Once you’ve created a Signatures Catalog all PRS users on version 8.0.8 or better will be able to choose from a list of signature names when they send a mail message from the PRS:

Each user can set their default signature under Mail options using the Tools→Options menu command:

in version 8.0.8

Consultant total billings now appear in the new right-hand TOTAL column of the Consultant Year to Date Billings report:

in version 8.0.8

The new Non-standard InBox mail option allows you to choose the Microsoft Outlook mail folder used by the PRS Inbox Tool. By default the PRS Inbox Tool loads incoming mail messages from Outlook’s default Inbox folder, most of the time this is fine, but there are situations where it makes sense to use another Outlook folder as the Inbox (for example if your mail is delivered from Google’s Gmail).

in version 8.0.7

A new Invoices Statement report (PRS Reports→Invoices→Statement menu command) has been added for printing client invoice summaries.

in version 8.0.7

Commission and Billings and Invoice reports now have a Page breaks between sections option. When this option is selected report sections will be started on a new page, which allows you to print separate client reports.

in version 8.0.7

You can now filter invoice reports by invoice status (Paid or Unpaid).

in version 8.0.7

Lots of enhancements and additions have been made to the contractor timesheet tools:

in version 8.0.6

Up to six user customisable publication options can be added to the PRS Vacancy Publication Details form. The following example shows four of the options enabled for the purpose of assigning vacancy publication to SEEK and TradeMe job hosting sites with a Featured tagging option:

The checkboxes are enabled and their worded captions customised by editing the shared prs_data.ini configuration, you can find out how to do this in the PRS Administration Guide. The options are exported in the exported PRS Vacancy files.

in version 8.0.6

Users of the PRS Mail Data feature will be pleased that we’ve added HomePhone, WorkPhone, OtherPhone and Fax fields to PRS Mail Data, plus Mail Data field names can now be fully customized.

in version 8.0.5

A Retired field has been added to the Sites form (bottom right), this allows you to hide inactive sites without having to delete them and lose historical information (similar to the Personnel Retired field). More information can be found in the PRS online help.

in version 8.0.5

Markdown is a simple set of rules for formatting text to generate nicely formatted HTML. Although the PRS has always had a Markdown option for composing HTML formatted emails, it has not been very accessible because you needed a different HTML mail signature to use it. We’ve lifted this restriction and added a Use Markdown option to the mail composition form.

Hover the mouse cursor over the Use Markdown checkbox to bring up the Markdown Help tooltip (see above screenshot).

in version 8.0.4

You can now go directly to related linked document records from the Document Search Tool results.

in version 8.0.4

The Message Merge Tool now includes an EMail addresses option that allows you to select any combination of the recipients' EMail and Fax/EMail addresses.

In the following example the email will be sent to the address in the Fax/Email field. If the Fax/Email field is blank it will send the email to the address in the Email field.

in version 8.0.4

The creator of a new note can be altered providing the user has the administrator password. This is handy for organisations where the administration staff enter records on behalf of the consultant.

in version 8.0.4

You can set the PRS colour when in Offline Access mode using the Tools→Setup→Offline Access… menu command. This serves as a visual cue to remind you that you are viewing a read-only copy of the database (the PRS now displays a different colour by default).

in version 8.0.3

The Vacancies form is now divided into Tabbed pages instead of a single scrolled form.

The Candidate Activity section has been moved to Page 1 because it is the recruitment process’s most viewed and used section.

Page 2 contains vacancy skills, activity, notes, invoicing and billing, and linked documents. The Vacancy type tabs have been moved to a separate sidebar on the right-hand side of the form where they are always visible.

in version 8.0.3

Use the new PRS Tools→Import Outlook Contacts… menu command to create new PRS Personnel and Site records from your Outlook Contacts. It checks for duplicate Personnel names and Email addresses and you can edit and select the contacts you want to import.

in version 8.0.3

You can now set the time that PRS Reminders to the Outlook Calendar are scheduled:

in version 8.0.3

You can now customise the color of Top Note text using the new Top Note Color command button to the Appearance tab of the Tools→Options dialog.

in version 8.0.3

When sending multiple SMS text messages using Message Merge you now have the option of also sending the message in an EMail.

in version 8.0.3

You can now set the contract timesheet units of work on a per timesheet basis:

The default vacancy Billing Units are set in the Contract tab on the Vacancies form.

The selected units are automatically displayed on related invoices:

in version 8.0.3

Incoming Email messages containing PRS Mail Data are recognised by the InBox Tool — the data is extracted automatically and can be used to create and update personnel records and process job applications. When a message containing Mail Data is detected the body of the InBox Mail Message is displayed in blue text:

This feature could be used to process job applications sent from your website. The PRS Mail Data formatting conventions are detailed in the PRS Administration Guide.

in version 8.0.2

Tick the Write PRS reminders to Microsoft Outlook Calendar option (Tools→Options menu command):

From now on all new reminders that you create in the PRS:

Will also appear as appointments in your Microsoft Outlook Calendar:

in version 8.0.2

This feature provides a way to add new items of information to Vacancies and Personnel that are not already catered for by an existing field.

Here is an example scenario: on all our contract vacancies we need to record the name of the supervisor to report to (not necessarily the client) plus a client order number. First we need to create a template for the Unpublished Job Details Vacancies field which is where we will record the additional vacancy details.

From here on in the template text will be automatically copied into the Unpublished Job Details whenever a new vacancy is created:

This will remind the user to enter the additional information:

Exactly the same technique can be used to add additional Personnel information into the Synopsis field on the Personnel Summary form (click the Personnel Summary button on the Personnel form to open the Personnel Summary form).

in version 8.0.2

In addition to the standard vacancy statuses you can define up to two additional custom Vacancy statuses. Custom status values are entered on Appearance page of the PRS Tools→Options dialog:

Once set they appear in the Status drop-down list on the Vacancies form:

You can also use the Find command on the Vacancies form to search for vacancies with a user defined status:

in version 8.0.2

You can view the original message when replying to an email by clicking the View sender’s message link at the bottom of the email form:

in version 8.0.1

The Message Merge tool is used to send Email or SMS message en masse to selected candidates and clients. It is fully integrated with the PRS Mail Templates. See our February 2010 newsletter for usage examples.

in version 8.0.1

The following floating windows can now be resized and maximised to full-screen: Roster Tool, InBox Tool, Messages Tool, Reminders, Unpaid Invoices.

Very handy when working with long lists.

Just click the window maximise button or double-click the window title bar.

Clicking the Goto buttons next to street addresses on the Personnel and Site forms will display the location in a Google street map.

Ever been handed a phone number and wanted to know who it was that called? You can now search for phone numbers using the Find command on the Personnel and Sites forms. Just enter the number or just the last few digits of the phone number and the PRS will search all the phone number fields, automatically ignoring non-numeric characters such as spaces and dashes.

A Job Title wildcard search has been added to the Vacancies Find command.

The Tools→Settings→Notes Types command now supports renaming and deleting Note Types.

This feature requires the PRS8 Shared Data upgrade.

When consultant commissions don’t add up to 100% (on Page 2 of the Vacancies form the PRS generates a red warning message rather than complaining noisily every step of the way.

Old mail and notes can be moved from the database to separate archive files, this will both reduce the size of your database and improve Notes and Mail tool performance. Pressing the Options button on the Mail Archive and Notes tools opens a dialog containing commands to Create, View and Restore note and mail archives.

This feature requires the PRS8 Shared Data upgrade.

See the PRS Changelog for the full list of the changes and bug fixes since the previous release.

The evolution of the PRS’s integrated Email and SMS messaging capabilities has resulted in dramatically increased usage — nowadays it’s not unusual for archived messages to occupy 90% or more of the database. For example 100,000 mail messages typically occupy around 500MB, 250,000 notes occupy around 100MB with all the remaining data typically occupying less than 60MB.

In late 2008 it became clear that large PRS databases (1000MB or more) needed some way to archive and manage both mail and notes (in order to improve their performance and scalability). PRS version 8 achieves these objectives by splitting mail and notes into separate database files and introducing integrated mail and notes archiving features. These changes are transparent to the user.

The upgrade procedure is documented on the PRS website.