Mail Merge hangs entire system

[BasilFawltytoo]

Ok, perhaps 'hangs' is a bit overdramatic. It's more of a 'pause'. We are using GM 5.5 SQL. 25 users. When any user prints a mail merge document to Word (envelopes, labels etc.) the entire system stops responding until the job is done or cancelled. This happens about 20% of the time on different computers with different users. All other programs (server and client) keep running just fine. Any ideas?

Our server is a dual p3 1GZ, 1GB ram and 150GB RAID 5 hd.

 

[richardy]

Basil,

Yep you'll probably find the SQL server is paging - writing to disk. When it pauses go look at the server and you'll see the HDD going crazy writing to disk.

Its an MS issue not GoldMine, its just your seeing it through GM... If you've got the latest service packs its likely one of these have introduced the issue.

There are actually 3 related files that need to be back revved.......
· mshtml.dll
· urlmon.dll
· shdocvw.dll

Hope this helps. If it doesn't then we've deployed a merge wizard program to our customers to work around the issue which works real well and has better functionality than GoldMine in any case.

Regards,

Richard.
PRIOR Analytics UK

http://www.prior-analytic.com

************************************************************


All statements, technical information, and recommendations in this document
and in any guides or related documents are believed reliable, but the
accuracy and completeness thereof are not guaranteed or warranted, and they
are not intended to be, nor should they be understood to be, representations
or warranties concerning the products described. Further, FrontRange
reserves the right to make changes to the information described in this
document at any time without notice and without obligation to notify any
person of such changes. This document is intended for use as a guideline
only.

FrontRange recommends consulting a GoldMine Certified Solutions Partner when
building a server and planning an implementation.

Following is important information regarding Internet Explorer Cumulative
Patch (810847).

Overview:

GoldMine Business Contact Manager/GoldMine Corporate Edition (GoldMine 6.0)
relies on Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 (IE 6.0) for key e-mail client
capabilities, such as composing HTML-based e-mail messages.

Microsoft® released Internet Explorer Cumulative Patch 810847 on February 5,
2003. If users have not already installed this patch, FrontRange Solutions
suggests that they do not install it at this time.

GoldMine may encounter errors or close down unexpectedly when creating
HTML-based e-mail messages on systems that have downloaded and installed
Internet Explorer Cumulative Patch (810847). Users may encounter errors such
as an Invalid Page Fault GPF (IPF) error on the file MSHTML.DLL, when
creating HTML e-mail in GoldMine 6.0 and possibly other applications, such
as Outlook Express and Novell GroupWise, as this is an Internet Explorer
issue.

To determine whether users have installed Internet Explorer Cumulative Patch
810847:

1. Select Start>>Search>>For Files or Folders.
2. In the Search for files or folders named: field, type MSHTML.DLL
and click Search Now.
3. Once found, right-click on the MSHTML.DLL file and choose
Properties.
4. Note the Created and Modified date on the General tab.
5. Select the Version tab and note the File Version value.

If the file is dated December 12, 2002 and the file version is
6.0.2800.1141, the patch has been installed on the system, and users could
experience difficulties in GoldMine or other applications when working with
HTML e-mail. Users will need to restore a previous version of the
MSHTML.DLL[1] file and other interdependent files to prevent the IPF errors.

To restore the files affected by IE Cumulative Patch 810847:

1. Locate another computer (Computer B) using the same operating
system as the affected computer (Computer A) -- that does not have
Cumulative Patch 810847 installed.

2. Copy the following files from Computer B to the Desktop on Computer
A. Do not overwrite the existing copies of the files on Computer A yet..

· mshtml.dll
· urlmon.dll
· shdocvw.dll

3. Identify all the locations containing the mshtml.dll file on
Computer A, usually Windows\System (or Winnt\System32)[2]. Write all the
locations down.

4. Restart Computer A and boot it to Safe Mode[3].

5. Copy the files listed in Step 2 from the Desktop on Computer A to
all the folders identified as containing the MSHTML.DLL file in Step 3.
Click Yes when prompted to overwrite existing files.

Restart Computer A and check the date and version of the MSHTML.DLL file to
confirm the process was successful.

Additional Notes:
· Some GoldMine users have reported that simply replacing the
MSHTML.DLL file has corrected the problem. However, FrontRange Solutions
recommends that all three referenced files be replaced.

· Some GoldMine users have reported that copying text from Notepad
to the GoldMine e-mail editor has allowed them to circumvent the problem on
systems using the problematic version of the MSHTML.DLL. If you are unable
to revert to previous versions of the file and are experiencing IPF errors
when composing e-mail messages, try composing the message in Notepad, then
copying it from Notepad to GoldMine. This technique can also be used if you
need to include text from documents or a web page. Copy the necessary text,
paste it to Notepad, copy it to your clipboard again from Notepad, then
paste to GoldMine.

· Some GoldMine users have reported that disabling HTML for e-mail
messages has allowed them to circumvent the issue as well. Users can turn
off HTML by selecting the Options tab on the e-mail compose window (3rd tab
down) and un-checking Rich text (HTML).

Caution: FrontRange Solutions Inc. provides these instructions for
informational purposes only. Users implementing these instructions do so
with the understanding that reverting to older versions of MSHTML.DLL, or
other files, may leave their system vulnerable to security holes and other
issues Cumulative Patch 810847 addresses. FrontRange Solutions Inc. is not
responsible for damage that may result on the users system as a result of
reverting to older versions of system files.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] For Windows 2000 systems, version 6.0.2800.1106, dated August 29, 2002
is known to correct the issue. For Windows XP systems, version 6.0.2505,
dated June 27, 2001, is known to correct the issue.

[2] On many systems, the files will also exist in the DLLcache folder.

[3] If you are unable to overwrite the files while in Safe Mode, reboot your
system to Command Prompt Only mode or Safe Mode with Command Prompt mode
(depending on Operating System used).

 

[BasilFawltytoo]

Tell me more about your merge wizard program.

 

[richardy]

Basil,

The program allows you to target both primary and additional contacts using a GoldMine group or all records. You can then specify additional and primary contacts using the merge codes as targets for inclusion and EXCLUSION (ie both sides rather than just inclusion), you then decide what information to be included in the export. Next your presented with an Excel style grid of the contacts so that you can add new ones or take some out as required. Once you've done this you can either select an E-mail template or Export them - history created for all contacts.

Also allows you to globally tag the contacts with a given merge code (or remove one) if required.

Pretty cool really...

Regards,

Richard.
PRIOR Analytics UK

http://www.prior-analytics.com