If you're thinking about tabletplanner be warned
If you're thinking about tabletplanner be warned. The FC people need to get their heads out of their asses. I've never sent a flame about anybody or anything but right now I would strangle somebody from Franklin Covey if I could PLEASE IF YOU'RE FROM FC AND READING THIS PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CONTACT ME.
I have been semi impressed at the software (V1) at best and decided to upgrade to V2 to decide whether to buy. The problem is that you cannot upgrade your database to V2. I am no novice and I spent over 3 hours on this.
Their only free tech support is on line chat...please read the following text from my 4th, yes 4th tech support conversation of the day. They kept having me uninstall and remove the reg files which I kept doing....and everythime I get the same errors.
DO NOT DO BUSINESSS WITH FC THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY'RE DOING. NOW IF ANYBODY KNOWS HOW TO TRANFER OLD DATABASE FILES TO JOURNAL PLEASE CONTACT ME....AND MAY THE TECH SUPPORT PEOPLE AT FC DIE SLOW MISERABLE DEATHS....
READ THIS AND REMEMBER THIS WAS MY 4TH TIME OVER 3 HOURS. Just don't buy this beta product with no tech support. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED/
Darren says, "Thank you for using FranklinCovey online technical support, Andy . My name is Darren and I will be your technical support engineer today."
You say, "Darren you are the 4th session of the day for me"
You say, "can i email you the logs of the other 3?"
Darren says, "Can you please give me some more information regarding the issue that you are experiencing? It will help me to understand the issue and provide you with the correct resolution."
You say, "i am trying to upgrade from 1.0 to 2.0"
You say, "they are the trial version"
You say, "it needs to upgrade the database format structure"
You say, "but that results in the same error"
You say, "i have gone thru removing the programming including the registry files"
Darren says, "Thank you for providing me the information."
You say, "i have backed up the old data base and then deleted the directory"
You say, "same error message repeats"
You say, "source\bizmgr.cpp(1608) : WXTHRIF | hresult[80070057] source\BizMgr.cpp(1577): Tabletplanner.exe(0x00400000)Catch_HRESULT[80070057] | Source\Onkplus.cpp(339) : WXTHRIF | hresult [80070057] The parameter is incorrect"
You say, "my last session was with rusty who said he has been thru all solutions and will have to escalte but then disappeared before telling me anything more"
Darren says, "Can you tell me when do you receive the above error message?"
You say, "after it tries to convert the v1.0 database to v 2.0"
Darren says, "This is to inform you that inorder to upgrade your TabletPlanner all your have to do is to first uninstall TabletPlanner 1.0 then reinstall TabletPlanner 2.0 from the web site."
You say, "I've done that including removing the reg files"
You say, "believe me!"
You say, "i've tried it multiple times"
Darren says, "Thank you for providing me the information."
You say, "yes this is where rusty, in the last session said he would have to escalte it. then he vanished and the session ended"
Darren says, "Currently do you have Trial version of TabletPlanner 1.0 installed on your Tablet PC?"
You say, "no"
You say, "now it's been upgraded to v2"
You say, "if you can tell me how to convert the database files to another format i'll be happy and move on"
You say, "assuming i can get back into v 1.0 which shows 0 days left"
Darren says, "You have been using the trial version of TabletPlanner 1, right?"
You say, "yes"
You say, "and i wasn't going to buy it but i was told that V2 is much improved, i was going to try and convert my files to journal but that doesn't seem possible"
Darren says, "Have the Trial version TabletPlanner 2 installed on your computer but without previous database, right?"
You say, "yes"
You say, "it will not convert"
You say, "i am able to create a new database"
You say, "it goes thru the entire conversion process but when it finishes i get the error that i sent you earlier"
Darren says, "Thank you for providing me the information."
Darren says, "Please check whether the data is synced with Outlook ."
You say, "i haven't even tried to use the product with outlook"
You say, "all i've done is use the calander and notes"
You say, "i knew there were issues with V1 and outlook and therefore didn't even go that far"
Darren says, "Have you rebooted your computer after installing TabletPlanner on your TabletPC?"
You say, "would you like me to try that again or do you want me to uninstall everything again?"
You say, "but yes i've tried to reboot"
Darren says, "Yes, The issue you are experiencing is caused because all the file of TabletPlanner is unable to register on your Tablet PC."
Darren says, "In order to resolve this you have to uninstall and reinstall TabletPlanner again."
You say, "are you suggesting after reinstalling and before opening the old database"
You say, "Darren, I've done that 3X including deleting all the registry files"
Darren says, "I would request you perform these steps once again."
You say, "he program installs"
You say, "the data base does not convert"
You say, "ok"
You say, "including removing all the registry entries again?"
Darren says, "I am providing you a web page which has all the information on how to do the same."
You say, "also the last guy, rusty, even gave me a code to put in when i started the program the first time"
http://rainier.franklincovey.com/Product_Support/search.asp?5=default&6=*uninstall*&9=1&mode=query& 8=default^2911&11=How+do+I+manually+uninstall+and+ reinstall+TabletPlanner?
Darren says, "http://rainier.franklincovey.com/Product_Support/search.asp?5=default&6=*uninstall*&9=1&mode=query& 8=default^2911&11=How+do+I+manually+uninstall+and+ reinstall+TabletPlanner?"
You say, "yes darren, the first woman diane gave me that link about 2 1/2 hours ago"
Darren says, "Have you received the web page which I have sent you?"
You say, "i've done it 3 times"
You say, "i promise you i did it right"
You say, "yes diane sent it to me"
You say, "she was the first support person i spoke with"
Darren says, "Please make sure that you remove all the registry file which are mentioned in the web page."
You say, "I did I did...i promise i'm fairly tech savy"
You say, "theres no chance that i did it wrong 3 different times"
Darren says, "Then reinstall TabletPlanner on your computer you have to reboot your computer."
You say, "don't you think i have?...ok fine...at what point do you want me to reboot"
You say, "before trying to convert the database or after?"
Darren says, "I understand how you feel right now, for not being able to convert your TabletPlanner database . We apologize for any inconvenience caused to you."
You say, "i have done these things 3 times"
Darren says, "After reinstallation of Tablet Planner you have to reboot."
You say, "i just need to figure out how to convert the files to journal or word or notepad"
You say, "then i promise i'll never bother franklin covey again"
You say, "ok when that doesn't work then i come back here for a fifth time start the whole process over and the next person tells me to do the exact same thing"
Darren says, "Please be assured that this will definitely resolve your issue."
You say, "ok i'll quote you on that"
Darren says, "Do you have any questions regarding the information I have sent you?"
You say, "i don't suppose you'd like to hang on while i try this to save me from having to totally start over with the next person"
Darren says, "We will get disconnected if you perform these steps online."
You say, "no it's a different computer"
You say, "i'm on my desktop that's my tablet pc"
Darren says, "Please note down the steps and perform it as per your convenience. If you need any further assistance please do get back to us."
You say, "yes i'll be speaking with person #5 in about 20 minutes"
Darren says, "Do you have any questions regarding the information I have sent you
And it went on from there but of course it didn't work....AGH
I don't know much about Tablet Planner, but if you expect stellar free tech support on a beta (like you said but I know nothing about FC Planner remember) then you might as well expect world peace.quote:Originally posted by bloom
Just don't buy this beta product with no tech support.
I would never expect tech support to be able to diagnose an error message that cryptic. It sounds like one of the entries in your tablet planner database is causing the whole thing to crash when it tries to convert. 2 Options, transfer everything to outlook from version 1, then open version 2 and transfer everything back in. But thats assuming you have an exchange server to do that from. Otherwise you're pretty much screwed. sorry :(
From your avitar I suspect you are on the TC1000. I didn't have any problem upgrading from 1.0 to 2.0. I am now on day 18 of the 2.0 trial and will likely purchase it. I am wondering if the problem you are experiencing is due to a library file of some form having been updated....any software installed after 1.0 and before 2.0? I realize it is a pain but if you don't have a lot of third party stuff it might just be easier to go back to scratch and reinstall everything. My experience has been that sometimes when problems like this occur it is a signal of an issue that will keep happening with other software, best to nip it in the bud early. But that's just my view.
Sorry I can't help with your problem, bloom. I would like to comment on the irony of Franklin-Covey. For an organization who professes to have the customer at heart (or I should imagine after taking all the Covey courses) they appear to be more interested in the almighty dollar. Much if not all of their software is buggy and then they CHARGE YOU when you have technical problems. Real humanitarian of you, FC.
TZ
I haven't dealt with their tech support, but I did try and buy a tablet from them. I couldn't get through to customer support, after waiting on the phone for 45 minutes multiple times. I did finally get someone on the phone, but they said they would have to check on my order and they would call me back in about 48 hours.....I cancelled the order, and bought it elsewhere.
I for one am pleased that they have taken this step forward with developing this product, but they do indeed need to hear about the major issues they are having in customer relationships....
Thanks all...
I don't expect much help on a beta but if they can't/won't get my data files to some useable form then I would never think about buying one of their products. TZ you are right...for a company selling organization, they lack those skills!
Does anybody know how to get the planner database files to open with any other application?
FC if you're here lurking FU!!! AGH!!!
I made seven attempts at contacting FC in the UK and the US (by e-mail and by phone) when trying to buy a copy in the UK. I only got useful responses when I started expressing my frustration at not being able to get a useful response. In the end, round about December 2002, the UK office confirmed that they weren't selling TabletPlanner, despite previous assurances to the contrary, and I couldn't by on-line from the website (US addresses only). So, I resorted to getting a friend in the US to buy it for me.
As for support, well, the above hassle meant that when I had problems with database upgrading there was only one place to go: Agilix. And they were super, although I suspect one should really try FC first :-(
UPDATE
So, now after 5 full on line sessions, 2 which were to be kicked up to higher support level (but 3 days later I've heard nothing) I REALLY needed to get access to the data in the files. I figured I'd risk the $18.95 for a tech support call. They guy was nice and he didn't charge me but of course he couldn't resolve the issue either so he had me email my datafile. That was Thursday morning and now it's late Friday night and I've heard nothing. Monday I'll call Agilix direct. In the meantime, I'm so mad at FC:( They truly have thee worst customer support of any major company I've ever tried to deal with. :(
I had a similar experience when I phoned only to ask about the availability of the new version and a few of the options that it would have. They actually wanted to charge me for the questions that I had....That was enough to sour me from buying anything from them or recommending them to any of my clients.
After having an opportunity to review the trial software, IMHO it is far too proprietary to compete in today's software market, and does not offer enough of what a user would expect from a PIM package. I am confident that future versions of the office with Outlook and other competitors will offer better and more compatible software at a far less price.
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