A new version of AllTalk server has been released AllTalk Server V.1.0.0.169 31-10-2008 

This is a full release and testing has been completed.  To install the update, simply stop the 3 AllTalk services using Windows Management Console.  Replace the existing AllTalksvc.exe with the new one and then restart the services.

This is a replacement for the recent Server update (V1.0.0.159 13 October) which an incomplete fix for the Address.IN file problems.  Users of that version reported that the while the Address file remained small, the temporary address files were not being cleaned up and that the address data was incomplete.  So please ensure that you delete any temporary address files that may be in the  mailboxes folder (there may be hundreds).

Deeper investigation the problem revealed that faulty XML data in the some of the clients address details was causing the Address File re-indexing service to terminate abnormally leaving behind the incomplete Address files.  This new version overcomes the problem by checking the quality of the XML data before trying to apply it.

NOTE: I thought I sent this message before but I couldnt find it anywhere in the group.  So please forgive if it this message is a repeat!

Thanks

Glen.

Dear All,

Two important changes to AllTalk Tracking are about to be released. 

Decrypt Fail

The "Decrypt Failed" notification is a function that has been present for some time in the Server but has not been used in the past (mainly due to the high reliablility of Alltalk Proprietary encryption).  As more clients change over to PKI encryption, the likelyhood of decrypt failures increases due to things like expired/lost certificates etc.  AllTalk will attempt to download files 3 times.  If it is unsuccessful on the 3rd attempt, the message is flagged for deletion with "Decrypt Fail Notify".  Corrupt message are normally skipped by AllTalk (ie wont hold up delivery of other messages)- but on on rare occaions, corrupt files have caused the AllTalk client to crash.  The method for tracking the number of failures is robust and will cope with this situation - ie the message will be flagged for deletion on the 3rd unsuccessful attempt to decrypt regardless of whether the AllTalk has crashed.

The tracking records generated by AllTalk  indicate different status using "Special" Delivery dates.  For example the date used to indicate "Undeliverable" is January 1 1900.  The "Decrypt Fail" date is July 6th 1905.  The reason for using the date as a flag was to allow sorting of Failed messages in a sensible sort order when browsing the database.  Below is a list of the special dates.

      at_track_status_Undeliverable = '1900-01-01';
      at_track_status_download_fail = '1900-04-10';
      at_track_status_server_unreachable = '1904-04-03';
      at_track_status_decrypt_fail =  '1905-07-06';
      at_track_status_signature_fail = '1905-07-03';
      at_track_status_unknown = '1905-07-07';
      at_track_status_email = '2001-01-01';

For ATTrack users:

There will be a new ATTrack released at the same time as 1.1.1.98 to reflect the new status, but in the mean-time, it is important for you to watch for the decrypt Fail date to identify messages that need resending.

For Medipath/MediRad users:

The background process will be updated to manage the dates.  Initially, this will be in the form of a warning

For other systems consuming tracking messages (eg Dorevitch GGG) ,  you will need to update your systems to manage these special dates.

READ Status Flag

The AllTalk server to be released on December 1st, 2008 will support methods for identifying when Health Messages have been "imported" into the practice software.  The flag will be an integer from 1 to (initially) 5.  This is implemented in the tracking data using Field 18 of the tracking record.  The values are:

         1 - Unprocessed.  The message has been received and written into the Health message folder
         2 - Processed. The message no longer appears in the Health message folder (ie processed by the practice software)
         3 - Acknowledged.  The message has been acknowledged by PRACTICE SOFTWARE (ie not AllTalk PIT acknowledgement)
         4 - Folder Moved. The message was written into a folder which no longer exists (ie AllTalk cant tell what happened to it).
         5 - Forwarded By Email .  The file was forwarded by an AllTalk  email forward rule.

AllTalk Client Version 1.1.1.98 already supports READ status flag 2 (Processed) and 4 (Folder moved) and will become active for sites running the new version of December 2008 AllTalk Server.  Flag 1 is the "normal state" and AllTalk client will not be implementing it.  Other applications choosing to access the AllTalk server via SOAP services may choose to implement it.

Medipath/MediRad and even the oldest version of ATTrack will manage the change in field so the changes in the format of the Tracking record should not affect successful importation of the records. 

For Other systems, you will need to check sucessful importation of the new format using the test files at Tracking File changes .  Remember that the design is that the Message ID should always be the LAST Field in the tracking record.   It occurs sometimes in 17, sometimes in 18 and (now) sometimes in 19.  This was for historical backward compatibility reasons  to support the older versions of EQuery Tracking records still in widespread use. 

Dear All,

As mentioned in other threads, the new AllTalk Profile editor now allows the users to pick a list of Providers in order to create a new profile. New By Download Profile Editor View 

If you would like your company names included in the standard download, please send me the names of the company/s you want to appear AND the alltalk server's Host name (or IP address if there no public DNS for it).

On the client site, the details are filled from a text file of Name/Value pairs called AlltalkServers.txt.  Pairs look like this:

Last Resort Support=alltalk.lrsupport.com.au

Royal Womens and Childrens Hospital=alltalk.lrsupport.com.au

You could of course override this file with an custom version of AllTalkServers.txt if you chose to deploy clients yourself.

If for some reason you dont wish your company name to appear (why you would not want that I cant fathom) then please let me know and I will remove it.

I have fudged the entry for ARL and SydPath in this list because I dont know your server address.   Can you guys please contact me to get it corrected before the final release?

Thanks

Glen.

Dear All,

A new alltalk Client beta (Windows) is available for trials.  It is version 1.1.1.98 AllTalk 1.1.1.98 Beta 

Important fixes:

1. Stack Overflow occasionally seen on close fixed.

2. Client Downloads Address Book more than once per day. The client no longer downloads at startup if address book is current

3. Lost Tray icon, but client still running.  If the system tray icon cannot be created due to busy start up process, AllTalk will not minimise.

New Features:

1. Profile Editor "New By Download" feature has been updated.  Clients have had poor sucess with this feature due to issues with DNS entries and poor E-Domain name choices.  The user longer needs to specify the full mailbox name: they can now select the server from a drop down list  see New By Download.  IMPORTANT also see thread entitled "Getting Company Names added to the drop download list of Providers"

2. Corrupted files will be deleted from the server after 3 failed downloads and generate a "Failed Download" notification.  IMPORTANT See message separate thread entitled "New Features in Tracking Data"

5. Extended Notification features support has been added allowing the sender to be notified when Health Message  files have been imported by the server.  The feature is will become active when the server is updated the December 1 2008 release.

6. Updated Insecure Email client features allowing AllTalk profiles connecting to standard Email servers to download and automatically extract all attachments to the appropriate folders.  For emails containing Plain text Bodies only, the text will be extracted into a text file.  For Multipart alternate messages with no attachments, the eml file will be saved unchanged.   (Note: the text body is ignored for all emails with attachments).

-----Original Message-----
From: Warren, Rob  

 Sent: Friday, 24 October 2008 10:12 AM
To: Glen Kleidon
Subject: AllTalk question

Hi Glen

A query on how the AllTalk scheduler works:

We have the schedule set to 8:00;10:00;12:00;13:00;14:00;15:00;16:00;17:00;18:00;19:00 each day but there is
also activity at other times eg:  <<SNIP>> 

I know our client picks up files from \equeryfiles\Pitfiles every 10? seconds but what determines when they go to the LRS Alltalk server?

The reason I ask is because of a report from the Austin that they typically get faxed results before electronic ones.  They download hourly so there shouldn't be much of a delay there and the messages don't seem to be held here for very long.

I don't know if the faxes are being released before the electronics by us but I wouldn't expect that to happen consistently.

Any ideas?

Rob

Just stop All 3 AllTalk services.

Replace the EXE with the new one.

Restart the services.

Glen.


-----Original Message-----
From: Robbins Kerrie (SVHM) Sent: Tuesday, 14 October 2008 9:34 AM
To: Glen Kleidon
Cc: ROSE Mark; BRYANT David (SVHM)
Subject: RE: [alltalk-avp] Re: Client dowloads 'freezing' at address
information


Hi Glen,
do we just need to replace the alltalksvc.exe and restart, or do we
need to uninstall / reinstall the windows service
thanks
kerrie.


--- In alltalk-avp@..., "Glen Kleidon" <glenk@...>
wrote:
>
> Dear All,
>
> We have completed the trials of the latest Version of AllTalk
server.
>
> This release overcomes the increasing size of the the address file
problem.
>
> This release also includes Remote Download notifications - ie
notifies an
> AllTalk remote server of a successful or failed download where the
message
> has originated from a different server from the recipient.
>
> The download is located at
> http://www.lrsupport.com.au/downloads/alltalksvc.exe
>
>   _____
>
> From: alltalk-avp@... [mailto:alltalk-
avp@...]
> On Behalf Of lrs_y_gk_07
> Sent: Wednesday, 27 August 2008 11:31 PM
> To: alltalk-avp@...
> Subject: [alltalk-avp] Re: Client dowloads 'freezing' at address
information
>
>
>
>
> Dear Rodney,
>
> There have been reports of the Address.In file increasing to very
large
> size (many MB). Inspection of the address file reveals many
duplicates
> of the address data.
>
> The root of the problem appears to be stray the temporary
> Address.in.tmp file not being deleted each refresh cycle. This issue
> will be resolved in the next version of the AllTalk server.
>
> For the present we suggest scheduling a batch file to delete daily
the
> Address.in file and ESPECIALLY any address.in.tmp files that may be
> present. Schedule this before the standard first schedule login time
> when most AllTalk clients will request the address data. This should
> keep the address file down to a sensible size. Note though that the
> only reasonable explanation for the temporary address file not being
> delete is that there is a file lock issue. Ie it might be that a
batch
> file will not be able to successful deleting the temporary file
when it
> gets into the faulty state.
>
> The temporary address file should only exist for a minute or two in
any
> case, so if it is older than 3 minutes - it is faulty.
>
> --- In alltalk-avp@ <mailto:alltalk-avp%40yahoogroups.com.au>
> yahoogroups.com.au, rodneyebird <no_reply@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Glen,
> >
> > We have had three users, over the last day, reporting Alltalk
> downloads
> > freezing at the 'Address file download' entry. They have all now
> > resolved, although one took 48 hours. All three were using version
> > 1.1.92 of the client.
> >
> > Rodney
> >
>

Dear Rodney,

There have been reports of the Address.In file increasing to very large
size (many MB).  Inspection of the address file reveals many duplicates
of the address data.

   The root of the problem appears to be stray the temporary
Address.in.tmp file not being deleted each refresh cycle.  This issue
will be resolved in the next version of the AllTalk server.

For the present we suggest scheduling a batch file to delete daily the
Address.in file and ESPECIALLY any address.in.tmp files that may be
present.   Schedule this before the standard first schedule login time
when most AllTalk clients will request the address data.  This should
keep the address file down to a sensible size.  Note though that the
only reasonable explanation for the temporary address file not being
delete is that there is a file lock issue.  Ie it might be that a batch
file will not be able to successful deleting the temporary file when it
gets into the faulty state.

The temporary address file should only exist for a minute or two in any
case, so if it is older than 3 minutes - it is faulty.






--- In alltalk-avp@..., rodneyebird <no_reply@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Glen,
>
> We have had three users, over the last day, reporting Alltalk
downloads
> freezing at the 'Address file download' entry. They have all now
> resolved, although one took 48 hours. All three were using version
> 1.1.92 of the client.
>
> Rodney
>

Hi Glen,

We have had three users, over the last day, reporting Alltalk downloads
freezing at the 'Address file download' entry. They have all now
resolved, although one took 48 hours. All three were using version
1.1.92 of the client.

Rodney

Just finished reconfiguring profile, moving keys, eqi files etc. with
a client who tells me that SJG pathology visted and changed him from
EQuery to AllTalk.  SJG let him know that St.Vincent's would probably
have to come and fix their downloading after the update.  We faxed him
because he had outstanding files and he contacted us with this info.

It would seem reasonable that if you see other providers' keys in the
EQuery directory, and you are changing the client to AllTalk, or
moving the program etc, that you move all of the keys over.  This doc
had gps and svhm keys that weren't moved.

Just wondering what policies other providers have about this?

Dear All,

I have completed the client updates for AllTalk Java (ATj2)1.2.j.1 and created a new Mac OSX AT2j Installer.  This is a beta release.

Can you please try it and give me any feedback.

This java client provides the following:

a) CRAMMD5 logon support (eliminates EQ2 password algorithm Date problem)

b) Support for EQ2 Servers - Earlier versions of AT2J did not support Logon to Legacy EQ2 servers.

c) Run all profiles on startup.

c) Updated Profile editor allowing Multiple profiles to be created and managed.

Installing the new version.

Go to www.lrsupport.com.au/allTalk_links.htm

The new installer is called "NEW Macintosh AllTalk Java Client Beta"

Download and run this.  The Installer will download the AT2j from the LRS website, Create the /Users/<currentUser>/EQ2j folder if it doesn't exist and create new getresults and getresuts.cron scripts.

The new getresults scripts simply contain a SINGLE AT2j entry which asks it to run all profiles each time, so there is no need to specify a profile name at the outset.

AT2j will start, then you can click on Profiles to add the first profile (next release will automatically start the profile editor when there are no profile specified).

To make a Desktop shortcut, simply make an Alias to AT2j.jar (works on the newer versions of OSX).  For older versions (<10.3) use the old Run All profiles script - this will still work fine.

Updating a site from Older Version

To update, a site on either EQ2j or older versions of AT2j, simply run the new installer and it will overwrite the old getresults scripts and start running immediately.  Just make sure that the old version is not running.

For Linux and Unix Systems

1. In getresults and getresults.cron, remove All but 1 of the java statements

2. Replace the text "EQj2.jar" with "ATj2.jar" in that statement

3. Also remove the Profile Name (eg 'default') in the statement

4. Copy the new AT2j.jar into the folder pointed to by the script.

In the future...

I have also completed the Transmission utility (but this is currently disabled).  Watch for new releases which will provide methods for transmitting from Java to windows clients.

Glen.

Dear All,

It appears that all versions of AllTalk server do not allow mailboxes with 3 letters (eg ABC@alltalk.galkam.com.au)  to be accessed via the web interface!

This problem is isolated to Web App (alltalkwi.exe CGI) as using the 3 Letter Name account works fine with AllTalk and EQ2j/AT2j by copying or emailing the key works fine.

We will rectify this problem in due course.

Glen.

FYI the install you helped me with this morning was to download into Smartrooms on Mac. Their software has a “feature” that doesn’t allow you to specify the result directory. There is also another “feature” that imports all results into the name of whoever is logged on at the time. Example, GK is logged on and we’re downloading GK and DM results into result directory. GK imports files, but all results for GK and DM import under GK’s name! Thought you might be interested to know that one.

>GK>>> Ah, thanks for that  useful tid-bit!! <<

So basically I have to go and move one of the profiles onto another machine. Question, how do I remove an EQ2j profile? Just delete the <profile>.eqi file??

<<snip>>

Regards,

Darius Monaghan

#!/bin/sh

cd /Users/monashstudent/eq2j

date

echo --- Default Profile  ---

java -cp EQj2.jar:. -Dcom.apple.macos.useScreenMenuBar=true eqj.EQ2j default

# Add more profiles here...

# java -cp EQj2.jar:. -Dcom.apple.macos.useScreenMenuBar=true eqj.EQ2j ep2  <<< delete this line

echo --- end of tasks ---

--- In alltalk-avp@..., rodneyebird <no_reply@...> wrote:
Glen,

Sounds good. Another problem I have with the current Mac/Java client is
the creation of a psuedo-destination directory, when the actual
destination directory is unavailable (for whatever reason).

Looking forward to the christmas release of the new client.

Rodney

Glen,

Having ongoing problems with Mac Clients (3 sites reported so far)
where they occasionally fail authentication and then don't download for
the rest of the day. They then pass authentication the next day and
scheduled downloads return to normal.

1. Is it possible to broaden the date/time match required in the
authentication process and would this reduce these failures?

2. If I install a second client on a different Mac, for manual
initiated downloads only (ie when the first client suffers the above
authentication problem), will it also fail authentication?

Rodney

Hi Glen,

I have a customer who is receiving an 'Alltalk Shell not found' error
on startup.

If I want Alltalk to startup via the 'Programs\Startup' what are the
commandline paramaters to startup scheduled and minimized?

regards,

Rodney

Dear All,

There have been some recent developments with regards to AVP.

Most notably, there seemed to be some changes with ZEDMED which made
it difficult for AVP to deliver unsigned messages.

This problem has been rectified.

Also, there had been a problem with some peoples tokens.  On first
access, it appeared that some users tokens were not responding.
Second use was fine though.

The problem was found to be with the token store logon process, and
this problem has now been solved.

So this update is critical for ZedMed users and for users who had
been experiencing token logon problems.  For other uses, there is no
particular urgency for an update.

Please always use the update method from AVP's Help menu.

Glen.

Dear All,

There has been a number of issues recently involving the Mac Profile Updater (MacOSX_AddProfile) script overwriting existing profiles.

The problem has been identified.  It related specifically to an AppleScript paramater assignment. 

Each time the Addprofile script is run, it was supposed to prompt for the server (ie profile) name for the new server.  This was not happening, and the result was that the most recently added profile was being loaded each time and overwritten.  The bug was related to the use of a global (unix level) parameter assignment which was being remembered between instances of the script.  We updated the script to use a local variable and the script now functions correctly.

We also updated the MacOSX_Installer:

1. The "default" profile no longer exists.  You will be prompted for the profile name on first install.  This should remove the possibility of confusing your profile with another service providers.

2. The script will not run if it has EQ2j has already been installed.  In the past, running the script more than once resulted in multiple crontab entries which would cause multiple concurrentl logins for the same user.

3. The "Get AllTalk Results" desktop alias is now downloaded by the installer.  At the end of the install, the installer now prompts you to use this Alias on the desktop rather than the older Application version which only ran the default profile.

Action to be taken.

At new sites:

Just run the new Installer as normal, you will be prompted for a profile name for your sever.  If EQ2j has already been installed (if you didnt realise), the installer will prompt you to use the AddProfile script instead.

At existing sites:

Open the users home folder and then the EQ2j folder.  Delete (drag into trash bin) the existing EQ2j_AddProfile and MacOSX_addProfile.zip Download the new version of the MacOSX_AddProfile.zip Script.  Move the Zip file into the users EQ2j folder and then double click.  This will extract the script from the ZIP file.  Double click the script to execute it.

You should always be prompted to enter your Profile name when running this script.  Do not proceed if you arent prompted. 

Also: if the Application (default profile only) Desktop shortcut is present, remove it and replace it with the "Get AllTalk results" script instead.

Thanks

Glen.

When changing from EQ2 to AllTalk, the client Descriptions are not transferred.  For large sites this can be troublesome.

The following is an outline of how to transfer the descriptions (and assign web interface passwords) into AllTalk from the EQ2 Database.

1. Extract the descriptions from the DocTable.db paradox table into a spreadsheet or other text editor. 

We have found the simplest way to do this is to use MS Access although the various other methods would be suitable.  Steps are

• Open a blank MDB
• In tables, click Import Table
• Select Paradox type
• Browse to the EQ2 SErver folder click on Doctable.db
• Import should take only a few seconds
• In queries create a new query to return the mailbox name and the description ("user" and "Real Name")

2. Construct a script to update the descriptions

Once you have the list either export to a CSV file or simply Select the entire table and copy into MS EXCEL or similar spreadsheet.

Using the concatenate command create a string in the following format

aciu <user><CRLF>name=<realname><CRLF>.<CRLF>

eg. assuming a1 has userid and b1 has the description, in cell c1 enter 

=concatenate("acui ",a1,char(13),Char(10),"name=",b1,char(13),char(10),".")

Copy this down for all rows then copy the entire column C into notepad.  Excel kindly (but wrongly) puts Double quotes around the string, so you will need to search and replace all Double quotes with Blank.

The result in Notepad should be something like this:

aciu mb1
name=Mailbox 1
.
aciu mb2
name=Mailbox 2
.

Up to N number of mailboxes.  Select all of the text in Notepad (CTRL-A) then copy it into the windows clipboard (CTRL-C)

3. Update the server with the details

Using windows telnet (from a dos window or Run)  log onto the AllTalk server's Client (pop3) port VIA A TRUSTED LAN CONNECTION

telnet <alltalk server address> 21110

At the greeting type

user manager
pass <alltalk server manager password>

Then right-click the window and the Clipboard contents will be "pasted" onto the server.  The server will update each user's description in turn, returning

+OK aciu "Mailbox 1" <mb1@...>
+OK aciu "Mailbox 2" <mb2@...>

NOTE: This same technique can be used to assign web interface passwords.  you can do this at the same time as the descriptions or later - it is of no consequence.  Use the parameter "emailpassword" to assign passwords

eg

aciu mb2
name=Mailbox 2
emailpassword=mb2001
.

Glen,

Just a couple of bugs that I have come across recently (?ver 1.1.95)-

1 - Stack overflow error, when alltalk set to close after fetching.
2 - Alltalk doesn't cope with being unable to write to destination
directory (ie directory exists but current user does not have write
priviledges).
3 - When migrating multiple equery accounts to a new install of alltalk
the profile editor does not load the profiles properly, in the first
instance.
4 - Seem to be having a problem with mac installs corrupting their
keys, two in the last few days.

Rodney