Preventing data from being overridden

When users simultaneously run MYOB Accounting Plus on two or more workstations and send transactions to a shared company file at the same time, it would be possible for one person to overwrite the data of another if special precautions were not in place. MYOB Accounting Plus ensures that only one person can access the company file at a time by locking the file to keep others out until the first user has finished.

When a user attempts to send transaction data to the company file, MYOB Accounting Plus checks for the presence of a lock file in the same folder as the company file. Then, if no lock file is present, MYOB Accounting Plus creates a lock file which allows only that user, but no other, to write data to the company file. When the data has been written, MYOB Accounting Plus removes the lock file.

There are also times when only one person should have access to the company file to perform important maintenance procedures, such as a backup, printing end-of-period reports or optimising the file. Again, a lock file prevents all but a single user from performing maintenance tasks. For more information, see:

■	Multi-user file locking for daily transactions.

■	Single-user file locking for special tasks.

■	Problems with lock files.

■	To delete lock files.

Multi-user file locking for daily transactions

Multi-user file locking ensures that changes cannot be made in some windows while related data is being changed by another user.

For example, a situation could arise where a user is recording information in a sales transaction window while another user is changing details of the customer card being used in the sales transaction.

In such a situation, multi-user file locking disallows changes being saved in one of the windows until the changes have been saved in the other window.

If you would like to know when another user has changed data in a window, go to the Setup menu, choose Preferences, click the System tab, and mark Automatically Refresh Lists When Information Changes. Now, if another user changes information you are viewing, MYOB Accounting Plus closes your window. When you reopen it, the data is updated.

tip : View a list of users

If you have been prevented from accessing the company file, you can identify which user is locking you out. To do this, go to a computer that has access to the company file and view the list of active users (go to the File menu and choose Active Workstations).

Single-user file locking for special tasks

Although several users can share a company file for entering daily transactions, there are times when only one user should have access. Many of these tasks are file maintenance procedures such as backing up, and checking and optimising the company file. For example, optimising a company file rearranges its internal structure, so you need to ensure the file is not being accessed while this process is taking place. Other single‑user tasks are part of standard bookkeeping practice. For example, when you print a report, you do not want anybody to change data that will appear in the report while it is being printed.

tip : View a list of users

To check whether any other users are currently using the company file before you set a single-user lock, go to the File menu and choose Active Workstations.

Single-user file locking prevents all but the first logged-in user from accessing a shared company file—other users cannot even log in. To enable single-user access after starting MYOB Accounting Plus, click Single-user access in the Sign-on window.

The tasks that require single-user file locking include:

■	backing up a company file

■	restoring a backup file

■	company file verification

■	purging data

■	exporting data

■	importing data

■	starting a new financial year

■	starting a new payroll year

■	loading payroll tax tables

■	setting up, changing or removing an employee’s payroll information

■	creating, changing or removing payroll categories

■	creating, changing or deleting report batches

■	optimising a company file

■	setting up, changing or removing user accounts.

Problems with lock files

MYOB Accounting Plus displays a File is busy; access denied message when another user is accessing a shared company file, and you both try to save a transaction or write data. When you see this message, wait a few moments for the other transaction to finish and for MYOB Accounting Plus to delete the lock file, and then click Retry.

If the power fails, or you switch off your computer while MYOB Accounting Plus is running, or your system crashes, MYOB Accounting Plus is unable to delete the lock file. You will need to delete the lock files manually. The following situations can cause lock files to accumulate in the folder where the company file is kept, resulting in various error messages when you try to open a company file:

■	Someone else is currently signed on with the same User ID

Someone else is using the company file with your user ID or a lock file from an irregularly ended session is present.

■	No more than 10 company files in any folder may be opened at one time.

There are more than 10 lock files—the maximum permitted—in the folder where the company files are kept. This can occur legitimately if there are more than 10 company files in the folder, 10 of which are open simultaneously, In this case, opening an 11th file would create an illegal 11th lock file.

It is unlikely that 10 company files in a single folder will be open simultaneously. More likely, 10 lock files have accumulated in the folder owing to crashes and other problems.

■	You have reached the maximum number of simultaneous users allowed under your MYOB Accounting Plus Workstation Licence

If you know this is incorrect, the problem may be a lock file.

To delete lock files

Any of the above messages may mean that there are old lock files cluttering the folder where you store the company file. You need to delete the lock files before MYOB Accounting Plus will run correctly.

1	Ask all users to close the shared company file and log out of MYOB Accounting Plus.

2	Go to the File menu and choose Active Workstations to check whether any users are still logged in. If there are, ensure they have logged out before continuing.

3	Log out of MYOB Accounting Plus.

4	Navigate in Windows Explorer to the folder where you keep the shared company file.

5	Delete all lock files. They are named Lock????.flk, where ???? stands for a number from 0001 to 0010.

6	Restart MYOB Accounting Plus and reopen the shared company file.

Related Topics

■	Preventing data entry while generating reports

■	Storing custom reports and custom forms on a network

■	Displaying up-to-date information

■	Improving network performance