Facíl Frequently Asked Questions

Facil is a database program designed for use in media access centers to schedule, track, and report the various activities performed by these organizations. The name is pronounced "fah-seel"; it is similar to the Spanish word for "easy".

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What does Facil do?

Some of the main functions of Facil are… (Click for the complete list of Facil features)

Record persons contact information and demographics. Track and report volunteer availability and volunteer service. Schedule training classes, register people for the classes, and track completion of the classes (Certification). Facil contains a “point of sale” system that allows creating a catalog of items for sale (such as videotape, promotional items, etc.) and fees (membership fees, class fees, etc.) and collecting payments and issuing refunds for these items. A mailing list system allows creating any number of mailing lists and assigning people individually or selecting them based on status, Person type, etc. The mailing list functions support labels, envelopes, email, and mail merge.
Facil tracks and schedules all equipment and facilities. A complete inventory of equipment and facilities is kept, including purchase dates, costs, location, status and more. Maintenance records can be kept for each inventories item. Reservations are used to schedule equipment and facilities, minute by minute, for any future time. The reservation records the person and project using the equipment and produces a reservation receipt with full information. An appointment book display visually represents equipment availability. A reservation viewer allows locating and reporting the saved reservation data, based on dates, people, project, equipment, etc.
Facil tracks the costs and progress of defined projects, contains a library of programs produced or acquired for cablecast, and maintains a cablecasting schedule for any number of channels. The cablecast scheduling allows programming events of any length, as far into the future as you wish. Programs can be added to the schedule individually or automatically inserted on a repeating schedule. The Facil program schedule can then be published in multiple formats and transferred to a number of different playback automation systems. Schedule reports analyze any time period you choose, showing the total number and hours of programs played, of unique programs played, of first run vs. repeat, broken down by subject, origin, and many other criteria.
Facil assists in communications by maintaining mailing lists, doing mass emailing, and producing mailing labels and form letters. Facil can automatically generate and email equipment reservation receipts, class registration reminders, and lists of program play dates. Facil can send an email to automatically selected lists of persons - for example: email all persons holding reservations in a chosen time period, or with reservations for specific equipment, or all producers with shows scheduled to air in a selected time period, or everyone who produces a show on a selected subject - and much more.

Some other notable features of Facil include…

Facil calculates a value for every reservation, based on rates set for your equipment and facilities. This allows tracking resource consumption by person and by project, and provides for reporting the level of services provided in meaningful dollar amounts.
Facil has quick, automatic links between related information. For example, one click on the reservation form displays person or project records for the person / project making the reservation. On the Person form, a single click links to a list of all reservations for that person. This easy movement between related information is implemented throughout Facil.
User defined custom data fields: Three user defined data fields are available in each of the Person, Reservation, Project, and Program forms. The source code is not required to use these custom data fields.
Online help: the online help system is context sensitive, displaying help topics appropriate to each form and function in the program. The end user can add additional help topics and edit their content, customizing the help to their organization’s needs.
Flexible reporting: Many reports can be customized by user specified selections when run.
User accessible data: The user can work with the Facil data, using Microsoft Access or Excel, to perform custom queries and reporting, By simply using a copy of the data file, there is no risk of damaging the production data.

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What is the price of Facil?

Current Facil permanent license prices…

	Single-user	$1,395.00
	Multi-user	$2,695.00
	Multi-user, with Source Code	$3,695.00

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How do I purchase Facil?

Access Tucson, the non-profit organization that manages public access in Tucson, is the publisher of Facíl and receives a share of Facíl licensing revenue. All Facíl license purchases are made through Access Tucson. Click to view/print a Facíl order form.

Access Tucson
124 E. Broadway
Tucson, AZ 85701
(520) 624-9833 Ext 104

Phone or email Carol Romano, carol@access.tucson.org

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How can I get more information or ask some questions?

Email or call Becker Software at (520) 991-0909 with any questions you may have.

Order the free Facíl Demonstration video from Becker Software by email or phone. This 80 minute computer based video presents a detailed overview of Facil's key features.

Take the Facíl on-line "tour" illustrating many of the screen displays used in the program.

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What are the different licenses?

A single user license allows the use of Facil on one computer.

A multi-user license allows the use of Facil on all the computers in your organization, working with a single shared data file on a network. Any number of users may operate Facil at the same time using the single data set on the server.

A source code license includes the multi-user license and a copy of the original Facil programming source code, which allows modifying the functionality of the program using Microsoft Access 97 as the programming tool.

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How many users is multi-user?

The multi-user license allows any number of users, as long as there is only one data file on one server.

Under normal use, Facil will support more users than the number of employees in even the largest access centers. The database engine used in Facil (Microsoft Jet) will support 20 or more users making simultaneous transactions, i.e. every user saving newly entered data at the exact same moment. This easily translates into an organization with 50 or more employees that use Facil.

The number of users connected to the database at one time is limited to 250. The performance of the workstations, network, and network file server all impact on the speed of the system.

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What is the capacity of Facil ? Will it hold all my data?

Facil will hold all the data generated by the largest access center for decades. At Access Tucson, Facil contains data for more than 19,000 persons, 2,700 pieces of equipment, 140,000 reservations, 310,000 reserved items, 4,700 projects, 37,000 programs, and 280,000 program schedule events.

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Why would I need the source code for Facil?

You probably don’t. There are two reasons you might want to have the source code.

One is if you must add a different function or modify the operation of the program. Facil has been designed for flexibility and can be configured for many of the specific aspects of your operation without modification. While it may include features or data that you don’t want to use, in most cases you can simply choose to not use them – the rest of the system will work fine. If you have a specific concern about how you can use Facil in your organization, please ask. There may be a solution that does not require modifying the program.

The second reason we offer the option of purchasing the source code is for the assurance of continuity it gives your organization. You will find that Facil quickly becomes the administrative backbone of your organization. Even though we expect Facil to be fully supported for many years to come, some organizations may want to insure their own self-sufficiency against any eventuality by owning a copy of the source code.

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Who created Facil?

Facil was developed for use at Access Tucson and is licensed by Access Tucson to other media centers. The Facil system was designed and programmed by Becker Software, a custom software developer in Tucson, in an ongoing partnership with Access Tucson.

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What is the history of Facil?

Facil was originally created around 1990 for use at Access Tucson, then known as Tucson Community Cable Corp. The original program was created using the Paradox database system for DOS and included membership and equipment information. After the program had been in use for about 2 years, it was offered for sale to other access centers. The programming and cablecast capabilities were added about a year later. Development of the Windows version of Facil using Microsoft Access was begun in late 1998 with the goals of adapting the system to the Windows platform, improving ease of use, and adding many new capabilities. The first Windows version of Facil, version 4.0, shipped in November, 1999. As of October, 2006, more than 200 organizations have licensed Facil. Click here for a detailed history of updates to the program.

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What support is provided to Facil users? What is the cost of Tech Support and program updates?

Technical support is available directly from the developer of the program, Becker Software, via email or telephone.

Updates and enhancements to Facil are distributed free of charge to current Tech Support subscribers as part of the support services.

Technical support for 120 days from the date of purchase is provided without charge. Continued technical support, including all software updates, is available at a cost of $250 per year for Multi User and Source Code licensees, or $150 per year for Single User licensees.

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How often is Facil updated?

Updates are issued as new features and capabilities are added to the system. The original release of Facil 4.0 was in November 1999. Updates were issued in December 1999, January 2000, February 2000, April 2000, and May 2000. Version 4.1 was issued in September 2000, and updated in April 2001. Version 4.2 was released in December 2001, and updated in March 2002. Version 4.3 was released in December 2002. Version 4.4 shipped in December of 2003 and was updated in August 2004. Version 4.5 was released in July of 2007. Click to view the detailed history of changes to the program. Only subscribers to Facil technical support services are eligible to receive program updates; all updates are free of charge to those subscribers.

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How can I contact Facil Technical Support?

Contact Becker Software for Facil technical support by phone at (520) 991-0909 or via email.

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What documentation is available?

Facil has extensive context sensitive help. The Help file can be printed in its entirety from the Report menu. Users can also add their own help topics directly to the Facil help system to explain their own policies, practices, etc. A training video, 5 hours in length, and demonstrating all aspects of using Facil, is included with the initial licensing of the software at no additional charge. Facil licensees who have an older version of the training videos may purchase the current videos on a set of 5 DVDs from Becker Software at a cost of $40 for duplication and shipping.

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Can we receive personal training for our staff in the use of Facil?

Training at your facility by representatives from Becker Software can be arranged with costs depending on the length and location of the training. Typical training plans are two or three days to cover all functions of Facil in detail for your entire staff in a group training format. Becker Software has conducted on-site training at more than 15 organizations. A combined training session for multiple organizations in a geographic region can be organized to reduce per person costs, making personal training affordable to smaller organizations. Contact Becker Software for further information.

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How can I participate in discussion about Facil or ask questions of Facil users?

An email list serve (“bulletin board’) is maintained by Access Tucson for the exchange of ideas and comments by Facil users. Each email message sent to the list by a subscriber is automatically forwarded to every other subscriber. To subscribe to the Facil mailing list, just send an email to Facil-subscribe@accesstucson.org. The "reply" address from your email will be your receiving address for the Facil list serve. Email to Facil-unsubscribe@accesstucson.org if you wish to be removed from the list.

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What are the software requirements to run Facil?

Any version of Windows starting with Windows 98 will support Facil. Facil is fully compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 2000. If you are purchasing Windows XP systems to run on a network, be sure to get Windows XP Professional, not XP Home. Facil can also be run, in Windows, on a Macintosh computer - see details below. Facil will not run on Linux or Unix derived operating systems, however a Linux system can be used for hosting the shared data file in a multi-user Facil installation.

Facil runs on the Microsoft Access database system, but a copy of Access is NOT required to use Facil. Facil comes with its own run-time version of Access that supports Facil regardless of whether there is or is not a separate copy of Access on the workstation.

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What are the hardware requirements for Facil?

Any computer built in the last 4 years is more than sufficient to run Facil. If the computer can run Word, it can easily run Facil.
Disk space: Disk storage requirements are insignificant by today's standards. For the Facil program on each user’s workstation, approximately 20 megabytes. For the Facil data file – approximately 2 megabytes increasing to 50-100 megabytes for a very active access center over 10 years of use.
Display: A 17” or larger monitor displaying 1024x768 pixel resolution or higher is strongly recommended for efficient use of the program.

A top quality computer, with much more power than needed to run Facil, can be purchased for under $600 - including a 19" flat screen LCD display - from any number of vendors.

The factors that most influence Facil performance are…

Workstation RAM (random access memory) – Any system with enough memory to run Windows will run Facil. Realistically, no new computer should be purchased with less than 1 GB (gigabyte) of RAM. 2 GB is recommended. RAM can be more important then processor speed – a slower processor with 1 GB RAM will perform better than a faster processor with 256 MB of RAM.
Network speed – A 100 Mbps network will give much better response then a 10 Mbps network.
Network server – A network server should have at least 1 GB of RAM to give good performance. A faster processor and faster hard disk system on the server will also improve response.

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What kind of network / file server will run Facil multi-user?

A 100 megabit per second Ethernet network with a dedicated file server is recommended. A server running a full scale network operating system such as Microsoft Windows Server (or Windows Small Business Server) will support Facil data file sharing and provide security and other network services.

Facil will also run on a peer-to-peer network without a dedicated server, but you should consider the following in making any decision about networking:

A peer-to-peer network is a group of computers that can communicate and share files from any computer to any other computer. All Windows networks have this capability, whether there is a server in the network or not. If there is no dedicated file server, that is if you have ONLY peer-to-peer networking, then you will be placing the shared data file on one of your Windows workstations and it will be read from there by all the users. The problem is that in this situation the workstation holding the shared file is not dedicated to the task of being the "server". If, for any reason, there is a delay in responding to a request for data - which would typically be due to someone using the "server" workstation for some other purpose - this can cause an error to the "client" workstation which is asking for the shared data. If the workstation holding the data file crashes while Facil is in use, this will obviously cause problems and will require restarting all Facil clients and might possibly require repairing the data file.

This is not an issue that is specific to Facil or to Microsoft Access. Any multi-user database would have the same considerations in the same situation.

On the other hand, placing your shared data on a dedicated file server running a network operating system insures immediate response to any request for data from a user’s workstation, improving both performance and reliability. The server and the server software (the network "operating system") are designed specifically for this kind of use. The larger your organization and the greater the number of computers networked, the greater the need for a dedicated file server.

If you want to try using Facil without a dedicated server, here are some suggestions...

Make sure the workstation that holds the shared data file (the “host”) has fast processing, a fast disk, and plenty of RAM and disk space.
Make sure that no one uses the host workstation for other tasks while you are using Facil.
Make sure that diagnostics – Scandisk and Disk Defragmenter - are run regularly on the host machine.

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What language is Facil written in?

Facil is written using the Microsoft Access design system and the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming language.

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Do I need a copy/license of Microsoft Access to use Facil?

No - you do not need to own ANY version of Access to use Facil. Facil comes with its own run-time version of Access that supports Facil regardless of whether there is or is not a separate copy of Access on the workstation.

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What if I already have Access?

That's not a problem. Facil installs its own independent run-time version of Access, so even if you already have Access installed - in any version - you will still be able to use Facil.

You can use any version of Access to create custom reports from the Facil data file by making a COPY of the Facil data and then connecting to the data tables in that copy. Working with a copy of the data is very strongly recommended in all cases to avoid damage to the production data file. See our Technical Document "Creating Custom Reports" for more details.

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Can I run Facil on a Apple Macintosh?

Yes, you can. Facil runs in Windows; not in the Mac operating system - but there are at least three ways to run Facil on a Mac computer.

If you have an older Power PC based Mac, you can use Microsoft's Virtual PC Windows emulation software. Virtual PC allows you to run both Windows and Mac OS at the same time, and switch back and forth instantly. Because Virtual PC must translate the Windows/Intel instructions to run on the Power PC processor, Windows performance is slowed considerably - but a faster Power PC Mac will give adequate performance. Many Facil users have reported that they run this setup successfully.. For more information about Virtual PC, visit the Microsoft Virtual PC web site.

If you have a newer Intel powered Mac, you can use the free Apple Boot Camp software, which lets you install Windows XP on your Mac, while still retaining the original Mac OS installation. Then you can choose Mac OS or Windows each time you start the computer. This solution has the advantage of being free and giving maximum performance in both Windows and Mac OS. The disadvantage is that you have to wait for the computer to reboot every time you switch, Download Boot Camp from the Apple web site.

If you have an Intel powered Mac, and are going to be going back and forth between Mac OS and Windows many times per day, you will want to use the new Parallels Desktop for Mac virtual machine software. This is different from Virtual PC, because it creates a virtual machine that runs Windows directly on the Intel processor. The performance in Windows is excellent and you can switch between Mac OS and Windows instantly. The downside - it only works on Intel powered Macs and the software is not free, though it is not very expensive. See the Parallels website for details. See the MacWorld review of Parallels Desktop for Mac.

For any of these solutions, you will need a licensed copy of Windows for each computer. Windows XP Pro is required for the Apple Boot Camp solution, but Parallels Workstation also supports older versions of Windows if you already have those licenses. Windows XP Pro sells for $200-300 at retail.

If you are going to be buying Virtual PC or Parallels and also Windows licenses, it might make more sense to just purchase one or more Windows PCs to run Facil. A new high quality PC which will run Facil very well can be purchased for as little as $600 including Windows XP Pro and a 19 inch flat-panel LCD monitor. See the topic "recommended hardware requirements" above.

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Can Facil interface with the automated playback system in our Master Control?

The Facil program schedule contains much of the data required for playback control. Becker Software has worked with the manufacturers of the following playback control systems to develop interfaces that transfer the Facil program schedule data, eliminating the duplicate effort of entering your program schedule into both Facil and the playback system.

the Synergy Broadcast (TiltRac) playback automation system
the Sundance Fastbreak and Sundance Timeliner automation systems
the Capital Networks Audience.tv system (formerly Matrox InfoNet)
the Digicaster playback system from D.Co
the Matco playback control system
the Princeton Server Group digital video server and playback control system

See the Facil Feature List section on Playback Control for more details and links to more information on these playback systems. Becker Software is pleased to provide technical information and cooperation to all playback control vendors who wish to import the Facil program schedule or other Facil data.

If you are using a playback system other than those listed, you may still be able to interface it to the Facil data. Facil includes a generic export of the program schedule data into several common data file formats; this allows developing interfaces to most devices. The exact requirements for data format and method for data transfer is different for each kind of control system. Please contact Becker Software if you have specific needs or questions about interfaces.

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Can Facil interface with a "bulletin board" character generator system?

Specific exports are provided for Program Guide and Class Schedule information to be used with bulletin board systems from Scala and Capital Networks Audience.tv.

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How can Facil be interfaced to other external systems, like event controllers, bulletin board systems, or accounting programs?

Because Facil uses Microsoft Access data files, it is possible to work with that data outside of Facil. Access, or any other programming tool that supports ODBC database connectivity, can directly read the Access files. Becker Software can provide an Access “framework” file (“MyFacíl”) that provides the ability to easily link your reports and queries to a current copy of the Facil data. This will allow you to develop your own Access queries or reports, save them within this framework, and reuse them without interfering with Facil, without owning the source code, without exposing the actual shared data files to risk, and without causing problems when Facil is updated.

Whatever external system you want to interface to, be it an event controller, a bulletin board, or an accounting system, the concept is the same. You must know what format the data needs to be in for the external system. For example, a system may accept specifically arranged text files or it may accept data files in Access format.

You need to determine which Facil data tables and fields contain the information required by the external system. You then create a report in Access or a spreadsheet in Excel that links to the Facil data tables and extracts the data.

This does require very specific knowledge of the system you are transferring data to and the skills with Access or other programming tool to set up the reports. You may have those computer skills in house, or you may need to hire a consultant to create the interface. While this may be a significant effort/cost, it can save a lot of tedious labor and prevent mistakes in reentering data.

We support the exchange of this kind of development among Facil users. It may be practical for several organizations that use the same playback controller or bulletin board system to jointly fund the development of an interface.

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Can we develop our own reports or queries?

Yes. You can use the Facil data to create additional reports, queries, or interfaces to other systems, using Microsoft Access or other programming tools that support ODBC database connectivity. You do NOT need the source code for Facil to develop your own reports, etc. See our Technical Document "Creating Custom Reports" for more details.

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Can we modify the Facil program? How much documentation about program design will be available? How hard will it be to make modifications?

Yes, you can modify the program. You will need the source code and a copy of Microsoft Access 97. Since Access 97 is no longer the current version, it is not available through normal retail channels. However it can readily be obtained on EBay or from a used software outlet. If you own a licensed copy of a later version of Access, it is within the copyright rules to install a copy of Access 97 borrowed from another owner.

There is no additional "programmer" documentation for Facil, however the internal design of the program is an “open book” to anyone with the source code and a copy of Access. Any competent Access programmer should be able to make simple changes to the program.

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Is it possible to set restrictions on what functions of the program a user has access to based on who they are?

Yes. There is a list of users, maintained by the "administrator", with a password protected user login. Each user can be given a specific level of permission to each area of the program - either full permission, read-only permission, or no permission (can't open that area of the program).

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Can we import data into Facil or convert data from another program?

Because the Facil data files can be manipulated with Microsoft Access, you can import data from many sources. The issues for importing or converting data are not so much technical as they are organizational. The data entered into Facil must naturally match the defined Facil data structures. Some basic data will almost certainly match well – person first/middle/last name, city/state/zip, equipment serial number, etc. The field names must be matched before the data can be imported. Because Facil has internal control over data validity, it will only allow the import of data that is correctly related, i.e. Person ID numbers used in Reservations must first exist on the Person list, Equipment Types listed as Reserved Items must first exist on the Equipment Type list, etc. Becker Software can provide assistance with data import on a consulting basis.

For detailed information on data import, see the Tech Support document “Importing Data into Facil”

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Does Facil support bar codes?

Yes. A bar code reader that is connected to your computer generally works by sending keystrokes to the computer just as if they came from the keyboard. In this way, a bar code reader can be used anywhere in Facil where you would type in an equipment tag number, person ID number, tape number, etc. Click to view a video demo of Facil bar codes in action.

For example, Facil tracks equipment check in/out by the user entering the equipment tag numbers. If you have these numbers in bar code form on your equipment, you can read them directly into Facil to record the check in/out.

The equipment tag number bar code can also be used to locate the records for that piece of equipment in the Equipment form.

Person ID numbers could be scanned from an ID card to locate the Person in the Person form, or to locate the person’s reservations using the Facil Reservation Viewer.

A bar code may also be used to identify tapes by their ID number and to locate the records for programs on that tape using the Tape form.

A quality bar code reader system including label printing software may be purchased for $300 or less. The only requirement for Facil is that the bar code reader provide data as though it were coming from the keyboard. This is the most common type of bar code scanner sold, known as a "wedge scanner" and/or "keyboard decoded". Either a CCD (charge coupled device) or laser scanner is recommended; the "pen" style scanner is the cheapest but is difficult to use and unreliable. A CCD scanner must be placed close to or in contact with the bar code label; a laser scanner will read the label at a distance of a couple of feet but laser scanners are a bit more expensive. Several Facil users have reported good results with devices manufactured by the Wasp company, a popular manufacturer of moderately priced bar code systems. Details on the Wasp product line are available at their web site. After deciding which type of scanner you prefer, shop the web for price - they are very widely distributed and discounted.

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What should I do to back up my Facil data?

Only the single Facil data file has to be backed up. The location and name of the data file in use is shown at the bottom of the Facil main menu. Read the Tech Doc "Data Backup" for full details and suggested backup strategies.

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Facil Data Management Software for Media Access Centers	Facil Home Page Becker Software Home Page
All Material Copyright © 2007, Becker Software, Tucson, Arizona	This Page Updated 03/04/2008