Frequently Asked Questions
This document is designed to answer general questions about FMS. If your question is not answered in this document, please email info@fmsinc.com.
General Information
- How can I be sure that your products will work for me?
- How do I receive a product catalog?
- How do I contact you?
- Are FMS software products ECCN (Export Control Classification Number) certified?
Product Information
- What version of your product do I need for my version of Microsoft Access, SQL Server, .NET, and VB?
- Are there any demo/evaluation copies of the products?
- When I purchase an FMS product upgrade, can that be installed on a PC without having to install the previous version first?
- What is a Runtime License?
- Which FMS products require Administrative rights to be installed on a machine?
- Why should I Not install Microsoft Access Add-ins and Databases in the Program Files Folder?
- Why do I have the Microsoft Access "Class Not Registered" Run-time Error '-2147221164 (80040154)'?
- How do I obtain Technical Support?
Shipping and Ordering Information
General Information
How can I be sure that your products will work for me?
FMS is
committed to creating high quality products. We want you to be satisfied with our products and believe
you will discover their usefulness when you try them. FMS offers a 30-money back guarantee on all FMS
products when purchased with a check or Visa/MC credit card*.
Read our Quality Promise for more information!!
* Purchases with American Express and Discover card are subject to a 3% processing fee since those cards do not refund their fees.
How do I receive a Product Catalog?
You can view our product catalog and fliers online. We also have a catalog we can mail you upon request.
- Sign up online and select our monthly newsletter
- Email us: fms@fmsinc.com
- Call us: 703-356-4700
How do I contact you?
We'd love to hear from you! Email, call, or visit us. Information on our Contact Us page.
Are FMS software products ECCN (Export Control Classification Number) certified?
FMS products are not required and do not have ECCN certification. Since FMS products do not provide encryption and they work within the confines of a host platform (e.g. Microsoft Access, Microsoft Office, SQL Server, Visual Studio, and Visual Basic 6), FMS products are not subject to export restrictions.
- For more information on ECCN, please see the following URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_Control_Classification_Number
- For information on the ECCN certifications held by Microsoft products, visit: http://www.microsoft.com/exporting/matrix_a.htm
Product Information
What version of your product do I need for my version of Microsoft Access, SQL Server, .NET, or VB?
Check the Product Compatibility Chart for all the version information you need!
Are there any demo/evaluation copies of the products?
We offer demos for several of our products! Visit our demos page for details. If we don't have the demo you need, remember our 30-day money-back guarantee!
When I purchase an FMS product upgrade, can that be installed on a PC without having to install the previous version first?
Yes it can. When you purchase an upgrade, the installation does not require the previous version of the product to be installed on your system. The only difference between an upgrade purchase and the full purchase is the price you pay. The setup program itself is the same in either case.
What is a Runtime License?
Runtime Licenses are royalty-free, distribution licenses that allow you to incorporate our program into your own applications for distribution to people who do not own our program. For most of our products with this feature, a programmatic interface is available to let you run the product without the user knowing it is there. You can then distribute a small runtime library or file with your application to as many users as you want. The exceptions are our source code products (Total Visual SourceBook and Total .Net SourceBook) where you embed the source code directly into your projects.
You may not distribute the entire FMS application to others. Runtime Licenses are contracts between the developer and FMS. Your programs must be substantially different from our program, and you support your users. FMS does not provide technical support to your users.
The following products include a runtime license:
- Total Access Components
- Total Access Emailer Professional Version
- Total Access Memo
- Total Access Statistics
- Total VB Statistics
- Total SQL Statistics
- Source code in Total Visual SourceBook
- Source code in Total .NET SourceBook
Which FMS products require Administrative rights to be installed on a machine?
For any product that the user specifies Local Machine installation, they will need Administrator rights.
These products require Administrator rights:
- Total Visual Agent
- Total Access Components
- Total Access Emailer
- Total Access Memo
- Total Visual SourceBook
These products do not require Administrator rights if installed for current user:
These products are in Visual Basic 6.0:
Visual Basic 6.0 products may not require admin rights if the user already has these components below installed (this should not be an issue for Windows NT 4 or later):
- Microsoft OLE 2.40 for Windows NT and Windows 95
- Microsoft Tabbed Dialog Control 6.0 (tabctl32.ocx)
- Microsoft Visual Basic Virtual Machine (msvbvm60.dll)
- Microsoft Windows Common Controls 6.0 (mscomctl.ocx)
- Microsoft Windows Common Dialog Control 6.0 (comdlg32.ocx)
- Microsoft DataGrid Control (msdatgrd.ocx)
Total Visual CodeTools also uses:
- Microsoft Scripting Runtime (scrrun.dll)
Why should I Not install Microsoft Access Add-ins and Databases in the Program Files Folder?
Installation Folder Background
Years ago, our setup programs defaulted to install itself in the C:\Program Files folder since that was Microsoft's recommended location for installing software. However, our more recent setup programs intentionally prevent installation in that folder. This is because Microsoft has made directories in the Program Files folder READONLY ever since Windows Vista. To prevent viruses that attacked and modified program files like EXE files, Windows prevents files in that folder from changing. It doesn't matter if you have administrator permissions.
Problem for Microsoft Access Add-ins and Databases
This poses a problem for our Microsoft Access add-in products or any Access databases you install. Unlike an EXE file, Access add-ins are Access databases. Though we ship our add-ins as ACCDE or MDE files so that the code can't change, they still change to store new data and link to tables in other databases. When installed in the Program Files folder, these modifications are not allowed and unexpected errors may arise.
For example, this error may be triggered in Total Access Analyzer if the program is installed in a READONLY folder: Error 91: Object variable or With block variable not set
Solution
Our products now avoid this problem by not allowing installation in the Program Files folder and installs by default in on one of two places:
- If installing for yourself (user installation), it defaults to your private Users folder
- For Machine installation, it defaults to a folder on your C: drive, which you need to ensure you have READ/WRITE rights
If you are installing one of our older versions, be sure to override the default Program Files folder and select a folder where you have WRITE permissions after installation.
Why do I have the Microsoft Access "Class Not Registered" Run-time Error '-2147221164 (80040154)'?
This error may appear while attempting to use our addin products. It occurs if there is an issue with ADO on your machine (which is used by MS Access). We've created a page that talks about this issue and the way to resolve it on your system. You can read about this issue and the solution in our paper entitled "Microsoft Access "Class Not Registered" Run-time Error '-2147221164 (80040154)' ".
How do I obtain Technical Support?
FMS is committed to providing professional support of all our products. We offer free access to our on-line FAQ and newsgroups. Bug reports, feature requests, suggestions, or general pre-sales questions related to our products are always available at no cost.
Additional maintenance plans are available to provide subscribers with enhanced technical support. This is the best way for you to stay current with the rapidly changing technologies that impact project development, and to ensure you are getting the maximum return from your software investment.
Please note that only the registered user of a product may receive technical support. Submit a support ticket if you have any questions.
Shipping and Ordering Information
Orders generally ship within one business day after you place your order. Products can be downloaded with a physical version shipped to you (Shipping Costs apply).
For additional questions related to ordering, visit our FAQ page for Ordering.
More Resources
Microsoft Access Resource Center"I want to praise your support staff for being very helpful and friendly. Technical support was extremely helpful and gave me much more information than your average support person ever does. Thank you."
- Nora L.
