Sign-In Electronically™ Troubleshooting Guide

Dependency on electronic Signature Capture has grown over the past five years. In today's world, a practice or company's success is highly dependent on its knowledge and use of up to date computer technology and security.

The Sign-In software has been thoroughly tested and should work as intended without problems. However, since it is not possible to test on every computer using different hardware and/or running different kinds of software, occasionally a problem may occur.

This Troubleshooting Guide is intended to resolve most of the problems, perceived or otherwise, that have been reported. If this guide does not resolve your problem, email support@sign-inelectronically.com with the pertinent information, including your contact details. A Sign-In Electronically™ representative will respond within 24 hours.

Definitions:

SIE = Sign-In Electronically™

Tablet =Topaz Signature Capture Device

Signature Pad = Another term for the Tablet

Stylus = Special Pen attached to the tablet TESTING THE STYLUS

USB = Universal Serial Bus

HSB = Topaz’s own identification for a USB signature pad that uses the Window’s Human Interface Device (HID) feature.

Symptom	Problem	Solution
Writing on the tablet gives erroneous results in the program.	Weak or Dead Batteries in the stylus.	Change the stylus batteries per the instruction provided with the tablet. #393 Hearing Aid Batteries
After initially working OK, the tablet stops responding or appears to be “hung”, “locked up”, or is blank.	Probable cause is a conflict with another running program or an action of the computer’s operating system.	Save any open file, close all programs, and turn off the computer. Wait 60 seconds, and then start the computer. When the startup has completed, start Sign-In Electronically™.
The program takes considerably longer than normal to open.	The program was opened with the signature pad not connected properly.	Close the program, plug in the signature pad, and re-start the program.
Tablet is blank, does not initialize properly, or does not communicate with the the main SIE program when it is started.	Defective USB port or extension cable (if used). Corrupt Software Program. Tablet or other hardware Failure	Try another USB port. Try the tablet without the extension cable. Restart the SIE program. Uninstall, then reinstall the SIE program from the CD Call 1-800-423-8826 Ask for Technical Support
A blank entry appears in the signature cell.	This rarely occurs, but is usually caused by a conflict with another program. It is especially true for an older DOS program that does not multitask properly.	Re-enter the signature. On extreme cases, the SIE program may need to be closed and re-opened. Refrain from using the DOS program concurrent with the SIE programs.
One of the columns has disappeared.	Changing the column widths too far can cause the columns to overlap and hide a column	Re-installing from the original SIE CD without first uninstalling it will restore the default widths.
The entry time/date is for today, but the number sequence has continued from yesterday	The SIE program was probably left open overnight. (Past midnight)	To properly set the date/time, open the SIE main program afresh each day (After midnight).
The last entry is sometimes momentarily entered twice.	This occurs when the page is full to assure the entire entry is visible	The program is designed to work this way to force a scroll up.
The “Access Denied” error is displayed when backing up the database.	The database is opened in the Viewer or Network Viewer if it is used.	Close all incidents of the Viewer before trying to backup the database.
When opening the Archive, the “Database In Use” error is displayed	The database is opened in the main program or Viewer	Close the main SIE program and Viewer before opening the Archiver.
The Anti-Spyware program gives an alert when installing the SIE software	The installation program makes a necessary entry in the registry causing this alert.	This is not harmful, but a normal function of the setup program. Allow it to proceed.
The database cannot be viewed using MS Access or other database program	The database is password encrypted to ensure security.	View the database using the main SIE program, Viewer, or the Network Viewer
Tablet Warranty period has expired.	Each Signature Gem carries a 3 year manufacturer’s warranty.	Additional warranties can be purchased by calling Call 1-800-423-8826 Ask for Will Miller
The Sign-In Instructions are in a format I cannot open.	The instructions are in PDF format requiring the free Adobe Reader or equivalent program to open and read	Download Adobe Reader from www.adobe.com It can also be installed directly from the SIE CD.
After creating another user profile, the program has stopped working correctly.	The SIE program was designed to work with one user profile per computer.	Log on as the original user, uninstall the SIE program, then sign on as the new user, and reinstall the SIE program.
Runtime Error 91, “Object variable or write block variable not set”, appears when the SIE program or Viewer is opened.	The database is corrupt. This most likely occurred when the database was being backed up or updated and was interrupted for any reason.	Restore the database from backup copy. (See the restore program in the archived folder). If you do not have a backup, contact Sign-In Electronically™ support.
Runtime Error 91, “Object variable or write block variable not set”, appears when the Network Viewer opened.	The SignInElecVx folder containing the Data folder and Database on the host computer does not have sharing set correctly	Set the sharing on the SignInElecVx and Data folders for both “Share this folder” and “Allow network users to change my files”.
Runtime Error 70, “Permission denied” appears when the SIE program is closed. (Prior to V3.1.16 & V4.1.16 only.)	The SIE program was closed on the host computer while the database is open on a remote networked computer.	Open SIE on the host computer, close the network viewer on the remote computer, then close SIE on the host computer.