[Created for Ciphr version 4.5.0 and above]

The subset screen in Ciphr contains a certain number of fields that can be used as selection criteria. It is possible to add to this list and tailor the selection criteria to suit differing requirements.

NOTE: This will affect all users of Ciphr and These instructions should only be followed by a user with an advanced level of knowledge of the Ciphr application, who has attended the System Manager training course.

For this example, we will look at a system which has had some Further Information fields added to the Personal Details area, to store Keycard information (for information on how this has been achieved, please see the article ‘How To Use Information Fields To Store Additional Information In Ciphr’).

We will outline how to add the Keycard Category field to the subset selection screen, so a user can easily produce a list of records with access of a certain level. In our example, members of staff can have a Keycard which is Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3:

Checking the field type (if appropriate)

NOTE: You will only need to follow step 1 if you are adding a Further information field to the subset form.

For this example we need to establish which Further Information field has been configured to store the Keycard Category. To do this follow the step below:

1. Click on the Configuration group > Further Information Fields

In this example, the field in question is Text 1, as shown above.

Adding the fields to the subset form

2. Click on the Configuration group > Subset Administration

NOTE: In the subset screen, the Subset Creation tab allows records to be selected via Quick Selection or Advanced Selection. When using Advanced Selection, the selection criteria can be based on either Personal Details or Job and Pay information.

The subset administration screen is therefore divided across three tabs; Quick Selection, Advanced Selection – Persrec, and Advanced Selection – JobPay.

For this example, we will add the new Keycard Category field to the Advanced Selection – Persrec’ tab.

3. To add the new field, click on the Advanced Selection – Persrec tab 

4. Click the Insert Record button

5. Next, click on the drop down arrow against the Field box in the lower part of the screen to choose the desired field. In this case, we need to locate PersrecClientFieldText1 – the name we have given this field Keycard Category will appear to the right of the field name:

6. As we are selecting a field from the Personal Details table, no table join is required – this box should therefore be left blank. If the field was from another table, an appropriate table join would have to be selected.

7. Click the Save button to complete the change.

8. You can now access the subset form and the new field should be available in the drop down list as below:

The options available will filter through from the data in the system. That is to say, that if this example system only contained records with Level 1 Keycard Categories assigned to them, only the Level 1 option would appear in the drop down list.

[Created for Ciphr version 4.5.0 and above]

From time to time, users of Ciphr Net may report that in place of the date time controls they see a Red X. This is an indication that the ActiveX controls have not yet been downloaded or cannot be run. 

This article will assist your internal IT representative in resolving the issue for you. 

NOTE:  This is a permissions issue, not a product issue.

First, check that Ciphr Net is specified as a Local Intranet Site

1. Go to Internet Explorer > Tools > Internet Options > Security tab > Local Intranet > Sites.
Second, ensure that Active X Controls are enabled to be installed.

2. Go to Internet Explorer > Tools > Internet Options > Security > Local Intranet > Custom Level > Active X Controls and Plug Ins.

3. There are 7 options (there may be fewer depending on the version of IE) found under Active-X controls and plug-ins, they all need to be set to either Prompt or Enable.  If prompt is used, then users will see an installation wizard before installing and will have the ability to choose not to install it

Second, check that the following files are installed in the Registry

- PVCalendar9.ocx

- PVDateEdit9.ocx

- TITIME6.OCX

- TIBASE6.DLL

- TISHARE6.DLL

If the above files do exist in the registry, they will need to be unregistered.  To do this:

- Go to Start > Run > Type regsvr32(space)/u(space) “filepath, including name of DLL” (this is case sensitive)

- Unzip PVDateCal9.cab and Titime6.cab usually found in C:\Program Files\Computers in Personnel\CIPHR People\CiphrNet\Components on the Web Server

Copy the following files to the C:\Windows\System32 directory

- PVCalendar9.ocx

- PVDateEdit9.ocx

- TITIME6.ocx

- TIBASE6.dll

- TISHARE6.dll

Register the following (tibase6.dll does not require registration)

- Regsvr32 C:\Windows\System32\PVCalendar9.ocx

- Regsvr32 C:\Windows\System32\PVDateEdit9.ocx

- Regsvr32 C:\Windows\System32\titime6.ocx

- Regsvr32 C:\Windows\System32\tishare6.dll

Third, check the cache control in IIS

When Ciphr Net is installed, an “http header” (cache-control: no-cache) is used to prevent caching of sensitive information, either in the client’s local machine or in any proxy server between the client and the server. The cache-control: no-cache   http header only needs to be applied to the pages that contain sensitive data. However, it may have inadvertently been applied to the Components directory, which may cause problems with loading the ActiveX controls after the security update is applied. By default, the Components directory will inherit the settings from its parent directory, which will cause this problem.

To resolve this:

1. Load Internet Services manager on the web server; expand the tree until you can see the Ciphr Net web site

2. Right click on the Components directory and select Properties

3. Click on the HTTP Headers tab, locate the  cache-control page header and click Remove

4. Check in the CiphrNet\Components folder for PVDateCal9.cab and InfraDateEdit.lpk to ensure that they exist

5. Check that IIS is not rejecting access to the PVDateCal9.cab and InfraDateEdit.lpk files (by browsing to them and seeing if IIS lets you download them)

6. Place the attached test.html page in your “C:\Program Files\Computers in Personnel\CIPHR People\CiphrNet” folder on the web server

7. Check in the CiphrNet\Components folder for PVDateCal9.cab and InfraDateEdit.lpk to ensure that they exist

8. In Internet Explorer load the test.html page that is now in the CiphrNet folder – it is a blank page containing just the ActiveX control – you should see a text box that you can enter a date into (not a red X)

9. If this does not work, check that IIS is not rejecting access to the PVDateCal9.cab and InfraDateEdit.lpk files (by browsing to them and seeing if IIS lets you download them)

10. If this does not work, copy the test.html page and the components directory to your local machine and just open it in IE by viewing it outside of IIS/another machine. i.e. enter “C:\Documents and Settings\<your name>\Desktop\test.html”.

[Created for Ciphr version 4.5.0 and above]

This error when logging into Ciphr is caused by a communication problem between the Application Proxy installed on the client machine and the Business logic on the COM+ server.

It is very important to first establish if the error is happening on all machines or if it is occurring on just one.

Several of the steps below are likely to require your IT department to carry them out. Test logging in to Ciphr People after each step, as it may have resolved the issue.

Where a 3265 error is appearing on one client PC, then the following steps should be taken:

1. Check if the Microsoft Windows Firewall is active. If it is turned on, then ensure that port 135 is kept unblocked for Ciphr.exe.

2. One of the servers will have Ciphr People Business logic (COM+) installed, log on to this server and go to Control Panel > Admin Tools > Component Services.

3. Expand Component Services > My Computer > COM+ Applications (see screenshot below) and right click on Ciphr, then select to export as an application proxy.

Click image to enlarge

4. Tick to Save application in COM+ 1.0 format  – if the COM+ server is Windows XP or 2003, and any of the clients are Windows 2000 based PCs.

5. Save it locally on the server, then copy to the client machine displaying the 3265 error.

6. On the client machine, uninstall the Ciphr Application Proxy from Add or Remove Programs and then reinstall the new application proxy.

Where a  3265 error is appearing on all client PCs, then the following steps should be taken:

1. One of the servers will have Ciphr People Business logic (COM+) installed, log on to this server and go to Control Panel > Admin Tools > Component Services (see screenshot above).

2. Right click on Ciphr and click Shutdown.

3. Request that one of the users tries to launch Ciphr People again. 

Ensure there is sufficient free space

1. Ensure that the amount of free space left on the drive which the SQL database files are located on is sufficient (100MB Minimum). If there is not sufficient space then it may be necessary to shrink the database. Please request information from the CIP Helpdesk if you require help with doing this.

.

[Created for Ciphr version 4.5.0 and above]

This article explains how to use the Bulk Change Wizard in Ciphr People, and shows some examples of changes that can be made using the Bulk Change Wizard.

From time to time, you may need to update information for a group of employees. The Bulk Change Wizard function in Ciphr People may be able to assist, removing the need for time consuming, repetitive entry of similar data for multiple employee records.

1. The Bulk Change Wizard icon is normally located within the Administration menu group:

On launching the Bulk Change Wizard, an opening screen will appear which outlines the steps of the bulk change process.

2. Click Next, the contents of the current subset will be displayed:

3. At this point, you can click Alter Subset if required, to ensure that the appropriate set of staff is selected for the bulk change.

4. Click Next

5. Select which field is to be updated for the employees in question, along with the value to which it will be changed.

For the purpose of this example, we will demonstrate how the department name can be updated for employees in bulk. This could be necessary where a department is changing name, and it has been decided that in order to maintain the historical data in the Ciphr People database, the old department is to be ceased and a replacement department created to take its place. In our example, the ‘Data Programming and Systems’ department is to be replaced by a new department called ‘Information Systems’.

Our new department has already been created in Ciphr, so we simply need to pick the field to be changed and the value to which it will be changed:

6. Click Next, a list of options will appear.

NOTE: As the field which we are changing relates to the Job and Pay area of Ciphr, we will be presented with a choice as to how to record the change. Choose either Edit the current Job and Pay record or Insert a new Entry in Job and Pay.

7. Put a tick in the check box for creating a report to list those records updated by the bulk change.

8. As mentioned above, for this example we will maintain the historical data in Ciphr, by inserting new job and pay records.

9. Enter an appropriate Change Reason and Date.

10. Click Finish.

11. Click Yes to confirm that the bulk update should be applied.

12. A list of amended records will appear. This list can be printed if required.

[This article includes two sets of instructions, one for Ciphr versions up to and including 4.3.1 and one for Ciphr 4.40 and above]

If you have not purchased either the Ciphr Training Module or Ciphr Recruitment Module and wish to remove the links to them from Ciphr Net, this can be done by your IT representative using the steps below – dependent on the version of Ciphr installed.

To check the version number from within Ciphr, click Help > About on the tool bar.  The dialogue box generated will show the version of Ciphr installed.

[For Ciphr Net versions up to and including 4.3.1]

1. Navigate to and open the Ciphr Net folder on the web server.

2. Take a copy of the Links.asp page and Save as Linksold.asp

3. Edit the existing Links.asp page in Notepad by commenting out Lines 224 – 238  (’Hardcoded Recruitment Module Option) using an apostrophe on each line referring to the un-purchased module.  Save the changes.

4. Load Ciphr Net and test the page – the link should be removed.

NOTE: A re-start of IIS may be required.

[For CiphrNet versions 4.4.0 and later]

1. Navigate to and open the Ciphr Net folder on the web server.

2. Take a copy the Links.aspx page and Save as Linksold.aspx

3. Edit the existing Links.aspx page in Notepad by commenting out Lines 458 – 472 (’Hardcoded Recruitment Module Option) using an apostrophe on each line referring to the un-purchased module.  Save the changes.

4. Load Ciphr Net and test the page – the link should be removed.

NOTE: A re-start of IIS may be required.

[Created for Ciphr version 4.5.0 and above]

This article explains how to configure the Ciphr People software in order to store additional information, using a selection of Further Information fields.

1. Click on the Configuration group > Further Information Fields

This area of the system is configurable, to enable the storage of many additional fields in various areas of the Ciphr system.

These areas include; Personal Details, Job and Pay, Jobs, Terms and Conditions, Department, Grades, Change Reasons, Training and Development Needs, Absences, Cost Types, Event Details, Course Details, Evaluation Questions, Question Groups, Question Sets, Applicant Details, Vacancy Details, Applicant References and Applications.

Each of these areas of the system has either five or ten additional fields available, of three different types, giving you a total of up to 30 fields to use;

- Numeric

- Date

- Text.

The additional fields, when configured, will appear on a new tab (or tabs) on the relevant data screens.

For the purpose of this article, we will look at an example of recording Security Keycard information for employees on new tab on the Personal Details screen, upon which we can display the ID number of the issued security keycard, along with the date of issue, and category of keycard issued.

It is important to consider the implications of where the Further Information fields are placed. This example uses the Personal Details area, based on the assumption that only one set of keycard information will apply for a person at any one time, and also that no historical data is required.

2. In the Further Information Fields screen, select Personal Details from the drop down options list at the top right of the screen:

NOTE: This will then show the Further Information fields available for the Personal Details area – in total ten text fields, ten date fields, and ten numeric fields. (This article presumes that up to now, none of the available fields have been used)

3. Select Text 1 in the upper part of the screen:

Click image to enlarge

4. In the lower section of the screen, add the field name into the Heading field

NOTE: You do not need to change the Field Name from Text 1

5. Enter the name of the Tab on which it should appear

6. Enter the Order of the field on this tab

7. A Pick List (if appropriate – this is useful for ensuring data consistency for text fields)

8. A CiphrNet Page where the field will appear (if appropriate) 

9. A tick in the Bulk Change Wizard? box if this field is to be updatable in bulk via the bulk change wizard.

For the purpose of this example, we will just add the field’s name (heading), the tab name, and tab order, as below:

Click image to enlarge

10. Next, select the Date 1 field, and add the required options. This time, the tab name will be available from the drop down list:

Click image to enlarge

NOTE: The date type further information fields can also be restricted to a date range, however for this example we will not set date limits.

11. select the Number 1 field, and add the details as required.

NOTE: It is also possible to specify a range for the number value and a number of decimal places:

Click image to enlarge

12. Save the changes 

13. Open the screen you added the fields to e.g. Personal Details and the new tab(s) should appear as below:

Click image to enlarge

These new fields will also be available to select in the Ciphr Report Designer and Mail Designer wizards, along with the other Personal Details fields.

NOTE: Once Further Information Fields have been configured and contain any data they cannot be deleted.

[Created for Ciphr version 4.5.0 and above]

Prior to updating the holiday year

1. We recommend that you run a report to highlight any employee records with a blank Start Date or blank Continuous Start Date, as this has been known to cause errors during the update process.

NOTE: This report is free and available from the downloadable reports area of the Online Support Site, follow this link to download the report.

2. As an alternative to step 1, get your IT department to run the following SQL Script against your Ciphr database; this will ensure that all records with a blank Start Date or Continuous Start Date are shown.

Use Ciphr

Select PerEmployeeNumber, PerStartDate,PerContStartDate

From Persrec

Where Perstartdate is null or percontstartdate is null

3. If you wish to keep a record of the previous holiday years information we recommend that  you run and print or export a copy of the Holiday Left Report.

4. Take a backup of your Ciphr database as once this process has been run it is irreversible.

Updating the Holiday Years

1. Go to Administration > Absence Tables > Holiday Years.

2. From the list, click on the holiday year that you want to update.

3. In the Holiday Year Details section of the form, change the Holiday Year Start date to the current year.

NOTE: The system will automatically populate the Holiday Year End date.

4. Save the record.

5. Click the Update Holiday Entitlements button.

6. On this form, select the appropriate Holiday Entitlement Option:

• Do not carry forward any remaining holiday entitlement – Choose this option if you do not wish to carry forward any remaining entitlement
• Carry forward all remaining holiday entitlement – Choose this option if you want to carry over remaining entitlement.
• Limit holidays brought forward to days/hours – Choose this option if want to limit the number of days brought forward.
• Prompt before carrying forward any remaining holiday entitlement – Choose this option to prompt for every employee who has remaining holiday entitlement.

7. Once you have made your selection and clicked OK, Ciphr generates the following alert:

8. To proceed click Yes, else click No if you wish to go back and amend the option you selected. 

NOTE: Once you have clicked Yes, Ciphr will generate another alert to inform you of the process you are about to run and the entitlement option you have selected. 

9. Click Yes to proceed, else click No if you wish to amend the option selected. 

10. The process will now start and you will see a blue progress bar to the right hand side that will show you the percentage completion until the process has ended. Once the process has completed you will receive another alert informing you of the number of employee records that have been updated.

11. Repeat the above steps if you have more than one Holiday Year to update.

NOTE: Where the holiday entitlement is User Entered, those employee records will need to be updated manually.

Updating the Absence Years

1. Go to Administration > Absence Tables > Absence Years.

2. From the list, click on the Absence Year that you wish to update.

3. Change the year Start date to the current year.

NOTE: Ciphr automatically populates the Year End date

4. Click Save. 

5. The absence records for all employees with that absence year will be automatically updated.

6. Repeat for other Absence Years you may have.

[Created for Ciphr version 4.5.0 and above]

Should the Ciphr database and/or the transaction log file become too large, resulting in a reduction in the amount of available disk space on the server, the steps below should to be taken to shrink both files:

Shrink the Ciphr Database

1. All users must be logged out  of Ciphr.

2. Go to Enterprise Manager and expand down the menu until you see the folder Databases.

3. Open this and right click on Ciphr.

4. Click Properties.

5. Click the Options tab.

6. Change the Recovery Model from Full to Simple.

7. Tick the box Auto Shrink.

8. Click OK.

9. Right click on Ciphr and click All Tasks > Shrink Database. 

10. Click OK to message Database has been shrunk successfully.

11. Right click Ciphr and click Properties.

12. Go to the Options tab.

13. Change recovery model back to FULL, untick Auto Shrink. 

14. Click OK.

Shrink the Ciphr Transaction Log

1. All users must be logged out  of Ciphr.

2. Go to Enterprise Manager and expand down the menu until you see the folder Databases.

3. Open this and right click on Ciphr – click All Tasks > Shrink Database.

4. Click the Files button.

5. Pick Ciphr_ Log from Database File pick list.

6. Choose the appropriate shrink options.

7. Click OK.

[Created for Ciphr version 4.5.0 and above]

This article describes how to print the Who’s Off chart in Ciphr Net.  

It specifically addresses the following issues:

- “When I print the Who’s Off Chart from Ciphr Net, it comes out blank with no data in it”

- “When I print the Who’s Off Chart from Ciphr Net, I get the menu on the left-hand side – which I do not want”

- The Who’s Off Chart utilises “background colours” in the table, but by default Internet Explorer will not print those – resulting in a blank chart.

In order to print the data in the Who’s Off Chart, you need to configure Internet Explorer (IE) to Print background colours and images.

To enable this, open Internet Explorer and do the following: (applies to Internet Explorer versions 5.5, 6 and 7).

1. From the Menu bar select Tools > Internet Options

2. Click on the Advanced tab

3. Scroll through the Settings list and look for Printing

4. Click the box next to Print background colors and images which will populate with a tick

5. Click OK.

6. Print the Who’s Off Chart.

[Created for Ciphr version 4.5.0 and above]

The pay review area of Ciphr People enables you to view and enter pay proposals for those employees whose grade has been defined with a Salary Range pay scheme. Increases for those employees on rates or spinal points would be carried out from the Grades or Spines codes tables.

NOTE: Before you carry out any bulk update of records in Ciphr, we would recommend that a backup of your Ciphr database is taken by your IT department – as the operation is irreversible.

To perform the pay review please follow the steps below:

1. From the menu tree in select Data > Job and Pay > Pay Reviews.

2. Create a subset of the staff you want to perform the pay review for.

3. If  the same increase is to be applied to all staff in that subset, you can use the Bulk Insert Pay Review Data button to update the records.

4. Enter a Proposal Date for the pay review.

5. Select whether the increase will be a Flat Amount or a Percentage increase.

6. Once you have entered the appropriate amounts click Accept. The system will now apply the proposed amounts to the selected records, which you are able to view in the top half of the screen. 

NOTE: The data can be cleared from that form and a new scenario created. The proposal data is not written to the database until the Update button is clicked.

7. When you are ready for the pay proposals to be applied to the employee records, click on the Update button which will update all of the records selected in the subset.

8. A prompt will appear advising you that the operation is irreversible and to ensure that the data is correct. Once you are happy to proceed with the update you can click Yes.

Click image to enlarge

9. When prompted select the appropriate Change Reason for the salary review.

10. Click the Accept button

11. You will be prompted to clear all the proposed basic pay(s) for the current selection. If you click Yes, the system will clear the proposals form for the updated records. If you click No, it will leave the proposals on the form after the update.

You can check the proposed salary has been updated by checking the Job and Pay details for a selection of your employees.