Pocket 3D Merge Error

[mahc]

Before I get to in depth on the problem here is a little background of the environment. I am just starting with the product and have the Premier edition. The desktop portion of the software is loaded on a Dell Inspiron with windows 7. My hand held is a HP IPAQ 211 running Windows Mobile 6 Classic.

I am trying to start a report on my desktop and take my IPAQ on site and add further data on site. Then once done I plan on merging it back to the desktop data and be able to add any other data there. I checked out the KB and have fallowed the instructions there and get the error:

"More than 1 Instance of the Item you are trying to remove was found, so I don't know which one to remove you will have to remove the text manually."

I also notice that when it is merging it is checking and un-checking items along the right side when it gives the error message. It was also noticed that it only happens on the merge from Pocket 3D to the desktop version. Can anyone please give me an answer or a direction to check into on this problem?

[Donna]

The message probably means exactly what it says. If you have the pull down Menu > "Remove text when menu unchecked" option enabled, then whenever you un-click a menu item in your report, it tries to remove the matching text from your report field- to remove it from the report. But if you have the SAME exact text/comment in the field multiple times, then it doesn't know which one you wish to take out, so you have to do it manually. So the messasge would only occur if you've included the EXACT same comment text more than once in the field you're in. Check your comments- I'll bet you have the item you're trying to remove in their at least twice.

That being said, I don't understand what you mean by "merging" a pocket report. Normally one would never merge a pocket report into the desktop- so maybe you're accidentally creating duplicates of information that way. Instead, you should be "converting" a pocket report INTO a regular desktop report. That's how Pocket3D normally works. The only time merging should ever be done is for very specialized circumstances, usually involving using both a PDA and laptop to collect and finalize report data as you inspect sections at a time, or sometimes if working with a partner who is using a separate PDA or laptop to complete separate sections of the report. You should never use merging to complete the SAME areas of a report however. So if you're not doing something special like that, don't ever Merge a report. Just convert it. When you're using a PDA, you should not have any regular report existing yet. Thus, when you convert it, it BECOMES the regular report at that time. So special "merging" ever needed.

If for some reason, you've accidentally created a regular report of the same name as your Pocket report before converting, just use File > Open Inspection in the report writer to locate, right-click and Delete the regular report. That way you can convert your Pocket report fresh like you are normally supposed to.

Does that help?