Workstation "locked" while SI reports run

A client has 84 companies in their Sage 100 Standard system, which was recently upgraded from v4.50 to v2016. The upgrade was installed on a new Server 2012 and workstations are new Windows 10 units, all exceeding current SPM specs. In Sage Intelligence, they have a mix of complex consolidated reports as well as single company financials. Some of the consolidated reports take 45 minutes or more to compile, about the same in the new system as before.

The problem is that now, while the consolidated reports are compiling, SI effectively locks up the workstation until it completes. As long as the ticker tape in the upper right corner of the screen is running, it keeps grabbing control of the desktop away from any other application a user may try to work with; email, internet, etc. In the v4.5 environment, SI runs in the background, so the wait time for the reports was not a major inconvenience. I opened a case at Sage Tech Support for this, but they had no history of or solution for the issue; i.e. how to make SI run in the background. After escalation, the matter was referred to Alchemex, whose unhelpful response was that the application is working as designed and no further action is warranted. No explanation is offered as to why "as designed" is not working the same as it did in v4.50

Has anyone else experienced this and, if so, found a solution? A possible workaround, which we will use until something better comes up, is to set up an RDP workstation where users can run SI reports while leaving their desktops available for other tasks. The client is not satisfied with this band-aid as a long-term solution.

  • 0
    That is an annoying "feature" of SI in the newer versions and there is no solution, SI keeps grabbing focus when it runs.
    We eventually gave up and moved to F9.
  • 0 in reply to 49153
    Rule #1. "Works as designed" does not mean works as it should. It simply means that the programmer wrote the program based on the specs that the program designer provided. Designers make mistakes just as a programmer can.

    It's often a lazy way for support staff to close a case but it doesn't mean that the design shouldn't be changed. Keep after them.
  • 0
    How much Ram does the work station that runs the Intelligence have?

    Have you considered having them use the Windows Task Scheduler to run the reports after hours?
  • 0 in reply to TomTarget
    I agree, Tom, that is the lamest and laziest response to an obvious programming flaw. The Edsel and Pontiac Aztek looked just the way they were designed, too. Fixing how an application runs in Windows OS isn't impossible - others have done it and I will continue to follow up on this case.
  • 0 in reply to IanM
    Just out of curiosity, you didn't by any chance do the foregroundlocktimeout registry hack "fix" for pop-under dialog boxes? This behavior sounds like why I never recommend that "fix" (since the cure is worse than the disease).
  • 0
    Hi, I'm able to replicate this locally, I can keep focus on other tasks but Sage Intelligence does grab focus when the report completes. I've reached out to the Intelligence development team to determine what can be done and when. They are currently working on a new build of Intelligence for Sage 100 so the timing might be ideal. I'll post an update as soon as something concrete is decided.

    Thx
    John Nichols
    Sage
  • 0 in reply to Kevin M
    Kevin, I have the how-to instructions for the pop-under hack, but have never used it. I'll accept your recommendation and file it. Thanks for the caution!
  • 0 in reply to jcnichols
    Thanks for following up on this, John. In my client's case, SI is grabbing focus every couple of seconds while running, not just on completion. It isn't a problem with reports that finish quickly while the user is watching, but not acceptable with complex consolidations taking 30 to 60 minutes. There are workarounds, but that isn't the quality of programming our clients expect from Sage.