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Part 4 – System Administration
How HVAC Office Works
Quantrac Corporation’s HVAC Office is a very sophisticated computer application, designed specifically for the
Heating and Air Conditioning dealership. The primary mission of the program is to reduce the burden of organization
and data keeping for the HVAC dealership/contractor so employees can concentrate on customer service and
company profitability. We have designed this system to be as intuitive as possible, where business owners and office
personnel can operate efficiently without specific computer training. Although it is not absolutely necessary, it is
helpful for someone in the office to be in charge of system administration, and have a rudimentary understanding of
the structure of the software, basic system operation, and basic computer networking.
Product Overview
Microsoft Windows Operating System:
Microsoft has created a computer user interface, which we all know as Windows. This program is the platform on
which our HVAC Office program operates. Windows is a graphical interface between you, the operator…and the
inner workings of your computer. It is meant to enable non-computer people to operate their computer quickly and
efficiently utilizing point and click technology using the “mouse” and on-screen graphics. True Windows applications
(such as HVAC Office) fully utilize the features of the Windows operating system.
Microsoft Access:
Microsoft produced a programmable “database” program named Microsoft Access
. This program, operating on the
Windows platform, enables the organization, storage, and quick retrieval of huge amounts of data. Access, itself, is
specific-purpose software, which requires programming and customization by an experienced person in order to
function. Once programmed, Access utilizes the graphics and point and click technology of the Windows operating
system to record or retrieve the data and do actual office work. We refer to Microsoft Access as the database
“engine” which powers Quantrac’s HVAC Office program.
Quantrac Data Systems’ HVAC Office:
Quantrac Corporation uses state-of-the-art technology to create HVAC Office. It is true that moderately
experienced computer users can create a simple database for storage and retrieval of data such as Customers names,
addresses, service call logs, and equipment installed at customer sites. The professional programming staff at
Quantrac Data Systems has progressed well beyond this basic database function. Using Microsoft Access and other
programming languages, we have created a system that does actual office work for you automatically as you wish.
The software is divided into components, the Application and three Data files:
A.
Application: This is the actual guts of HVAC Office. All of the screens, buttons, functions, and
operations that you see and use are part of the application. In your Quantum directory, this software is
named “Hvac01a.app”. We call it the “ÁPP”.
B.
Data: This is the accumulation of your company’s stored information about your customers, jobsites,
service calls, etc. It is contained in the file, “Hvac01.dat” (which is in your Quantum\Data directory.
We call it the “DAT”.
C.
Attachments: If you have the “Attachments” option of HVAC Office, your attached Word, Excel,
BMP, JPEG files (see Attachments in the Options section of this manual) are stored in a separate file,
named “Attachments.dat”. This file is also contained in the Quantum\Data directory.
D.
Direct Mail: If you have the “Direct Mail” option of HVAC Office, the system will utilize an additional
data file named, “DirectMail.mdb”. This file is usually empty, except during each Direct Mail
generation episode (when it contains the direct mail recipient list data).
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