FAQs

Answers to some commonly asked questions

Is the system limited to a certain number of employees?
How are the badges personalised?
Can I re-use an employee's badge for another employee?
What do I do if an employee loses his badge?
Can somebody read out the Terminal memory with any USB-Key?
Can I use several Terminals with the same application?
Will I lose the memory contents of the Terminal if the batteries run down?
Can the Terminal display individual data to the employees?
Can the Terminal be used to open a door for access control?
Can the Terminal be installed outdoors?
On which versions of Excel® does the application run?
Will the application run with OpenOffice.org®?
Will the application run on a MAC®?
Can the application run on a network server?
Can an Excel-based Time Reporting system be contested because the Time Sheets can be modified by the employer?

Is the system limited to a certain number of employees?

Absolutely not. The basic package is shipped with 25 badges, but you can order as many badges as you need. There is no technical or licence limit to the number of people which can be handled. This said, the whole philosophy of the system is oriented to the needs of small and medium-size organisations. We have many customers with 100 employees, and several with up to 300 employees.

How are the badges personalised?

The badges are pre-coded at the factory with unique codes (we never make two badges with the same code). The code is printed in clear text on the badge so that you can tell which code is on the badge. The link between an employee and a badge is made in the software: you simply type the badge code next to the employee name. If you wish, you can stick a label with the employee's name on the badge, or write his name on the badge with a permanent marker

Can I re-use an employee's badge for another employee?

Certainly. When an employee leaves, you can either simply delete the person from the files and give his badge to someone else, or, if you want to keep the person on file you can simply replace his badge number with a dummy number which doesn't exist in your batch of badges. You can then associate the real badge number with a new employee.

What do I do if an employee loses his badge?

You simply take the next unused badge from your stock, give the employee the new badge and change the badge number in the software.

Can somebody read out the Terminal memory with any USB-Key?

No. Although the USB-keys are standard commercial products, they are formatted with a specific volume name, and they must contain a text file with a specific name. If someone tries to extract the memory contents of the terminal with an unauthorised key, the terminal will just display an error message. The technical information on preparing a key is indicated in the User Manual.

Can I use several Terminals with the same application?

Yes. You can use a single USB key to read out all your terminals one after another and then read all the time stamps into the software at once, or you can use different keys if that is more practical. You can also have the Time Stamp file on the key sent as an email attachment if you have terminals at remote sites. Employees can clock in on one Terminal and clock out on a different Terminal.

Will I lose the memory contents of the Terminal if the batteries run down?

Absolutely not. The Terminal uses "flash" memory - that's the same technology as the USB-Key memories. Flash memory doesn't need any power to retain its data, so even if you leave a terminal for months or years without any batteries the data will not be lost. However, if you remove the batteries for more than 5 minutes the clock may reset and you may need to set the clock.

Can the Terminal display individual data to the employees?

No. With an offline Terminal that is not directly connected to the computer it is not possible to display data such as the cumulative time for the current week or days of vacation left to take. Such data are only available in the software.

Can the Terminal be used to open a door for access control?

No. The Timy Terminal is only used for Time Recording.

Can the Terminal be installed outdoors?

No. The Timy Terminal is not waterproof and is not intended for the extended temperature ranges commonly encountered outdoors.

On which versions of Excel does the application run?

The application will run under all versions of Excel going as far back as Excel 97. However, not all versions of Excel are compatible with all versions of Windows. The combinations that work correctly are:

Windows® 98 and Excel 97

Windows 2000 and Excel 2000, 2002 and 2003

Windows XP and Excel 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2007

Vista® and Excel 2007

Will the application run with OpenOffice.org?

No. The compatibility between Excel and the OpenOffice.org Spreadsheet program does not extend to the fairly complex macros used in the Timy-Soft application.

Will the application run on a MAC?

No. There are limitations to the compatibility between Excel “MAC” and Excel “Windows”. Among other things, MACs use a different system for adressing external drives like USB keys, and the Timy-Soft macro that reads in the Time Stamps from the USB key cannot function under Excel “MAC”.

Can the application run on a network server?

Yes and No. You can install the Excel files on a shared network disk but you can only access the application from ONE PC at a time. Timy-Soft is not a multi-user system which allows several users to work with the application simultaneously.

Can an Excel-based Time Reporting system be contested because the Time Sheets can be modified by the employer?

Timy-Soft is an Excel application, but the sheets containing the Time Stamps are password-protected and cannot be directly modified by the user. Manually entered or modified Time Stamps are marked as such, and the user cannot circumvent this mechanism. The text file on the USB-key containing the Time Stamps from the Terminal can be opened, but the data is encrypted. In this respect the Timy application is no different than other PC-based Time Reporting packages.

Windows, Vista end Excel are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation, registered in the USA and other countries.
MAC is a trademark of Apple Inc, registered in the USA and other countries.
OpenOffice.org is a trademark of OpenOffice.org, registered in the USA.