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Postalsoft® Business Edition
Release Notes
Postalsoft 7.84c includes updated
USPS postage rates. Install and
begin using 7.84c for mailings that
you’ll deposit on or after May 12,
2008.
For details, see “Installation” on
page 5 and “USPS postage rate
changes” on page 7.
Business Edition 7.84c
April 2008
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Contact information Contact us on the Web at http://technicalsupport.businessobjects.com
If you find any problem with this documentation, please report it to Business Objects
in writing at
Copyright © 2008 Business Objects. All rights reserved.
Patents Business Objects owns the following U.S. patents, which may cover products that are
documentation@businessobjects.com
.
offered and licensed by Business Objects: 5,555,403; 5,857,205; 6,289,352;
6,247,008; 6,490,593; 6,578,027; 6,831,668; 6,768,986; 6,772,409; 6,882,998;
7,139,766; 7,299,419; 7,194,465; 7,222,130; 7,181,440 and 7,181,435.
Trademarks Business Objects and the Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects, Business Objects
Crystal Vision, Business Process On Demand, BusinessQuery, Crystal Analysis,
Crystal Applications, Crystal Decisions, Crystal Enterprise, Crystal Insider, Crystal
Reports, Desktop Intelligence, Inxight, the Inxight Logo, LinguistX, Star Tree, Table
Lens, ThingFinder, Timewall, Let there be light, Metify, NSite, Rapid Marts,
RapidMarts, the Spectrum Design, Web Intelligence, Workmail and Xcelsius are
trademarks or registered trademarks in the United States and/or other countries of
Business Objects and/or affiliated companies. All other names mentioned herein may
be trademarks of their respective owners.
Third-party contributors Business Objects products in this release may contain redistributions of software
licensed from third-party contributors. Some of these individual components may
also be available under alternative licenses. A partial listing of third-party
contributors that have requested or permitted acknowledgments, as well as required
notices, can be found at: http://www.businessobjects.com/thirdparty
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Business Edition Release Notes
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Introduction
What’s new in this release
This release includes the following changes:
May 2008 postage rate adjustments. Postalsoft 7.84c includes the updated
USPS postage rates, which go into effect May 12, 2008. See “USPS postage
rate changes” on page 7.
08-2 Mail.dat standard. Postalsoft 7.84c supports the new Mail.dat 08-2
standard and the 08-1 standard. See “Mail.dat changes” on page 8.
Documentation The complete documentation set includes the following:
Postalsoft
Postalsoft Business Edition User’s Guide
Postalsoft Business Edition Text-Based Printing Guide
Online help, available within the software
®
Business Edition Release Notes
To access documentation, choose Start > Programs > Postalsoft Business
Edition. Or go to
http://support.businessobjects.com/documentation/product_guides/default.asp
USPS news The USPS changed the date that Intelligent Mail barcodes will be required for
automation discounts from January to May 2009. To learn more about Intelligent
Mail, see http://ribbs.usps.gov/OneCodeSolution/USPSIMB_QandA.pdf
.
.
You can print Intelligent Mail barcodes with Postalsoft's Label Toolbox.
Introduction
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Software and directories delivery
Software and directories no longer automatically shipped on CD
Electronic Software Delivery (ESD)
Starting in June 2008, all software and directory updates will be available
only through our Electronic Software Delivery (ESD) site. CDs will not be
automatically shipped. This change allows you to have immediate access to
software updates and directories as soon as they are available.
When you use ESD, you receive software and directory files electronically, so
that you can install the software right after you download the .zip file(s).
When updated software and directories are available, Business Objects sends
you an email notification with a link to the ESD web site. Then you can go to
the ESD web site and download the software and/or directories.
ESD web site: https://businessobjects.subscribenet.com/control/bobj/login
Internet connection ESD requires a high-speed internet connection. If you don’t have internet
access set up on your system, begin the process of acquiring an internet
connection now. Contact your IT department for help.
ESD help For help with the ESD site:
• Read the FAQs on the ESD site. The FAQ link is available under
“Information” on the left side of the ESD page.
Optional shipment on CD
• Email the ESD team at e-delivery@businessobjects.com
.
• Call Customer Care at 800-877-2340 (dial 5).
If you can’t receive a particular software or directory release by ESD, you can
request a shipment on CD for a particular release by selecting “Order CD” on
the ESD web site. The ESD site does not store your request for a CD, so you
would need to do this each time software or directories are released.
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Business Edition Release Notes
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Installation
Required installation if you presort
If you prepare presorted mailings with Postalsoft, you must install this update and
use it for any mailings that you will drop on or after May 12, 2008. Make your
decision on when to install Postalsoft 7.84c based on when you will start
preparing mailings that you’ll submit on or after May 12.
Install at the appropriate time. It’s important to time the installation of
!
Postalsoft 7.84c appropriately for your business. Because Postalsoft 7.84c
includes the rates that go into effect May 12, you must not use 7.84c to
prepare mailings that you’ll deposit before May 12, and you must use it to
prepare mailings that you’ll deposit on or after May 12.
Operating systems Business Edition runs on the following Windows operating systems:
Windows 2003 Server
Windows XP Professional
Windows 2000
Windows Vista Professional. Postalsoft is tested on Windows Vista
Professional. Continued testing and full support for Vista Professional will
follow in the near future, but you should be able to use Postalsoft on Vista
Professional if you need to. Ensure that your printer manufacturer offers
support for your printer as well.
Install Postalsoft Before you install Postalsoft, close any open programs, especially antivirus
programs, which can interfere with installation. To install the software, you need
full administrator rights.
To install the software:
When you insert the Postalsoft program CD in your CD-ROM drive, the
installation program should start automatically. If it doesn’t, follow these steps:
1. Access your Windows Start menu and choose Run.
2. In the Run window, type x:\setup (where x is the letter of your CD-ROM
drive) and click OK.
During installation, please note:
Java. You may be prompted to install Java software. You can cancel the
Postalsoft installation and download Java for free from http://www.java.com
Keycodes. Type your product activation keycode(s) when you are prompted
to do so. If you own add-on options, enter a keycode for each option that you
own. If you received a physical shipment, you’ll find the keycode(s) printed
and shipped in the package. For ESD orders, you receive your keycode(s)
along with your product, electronically. Your keycodes are also posted to
your ESD account. If you need to enter or edit your keycodes after
installation, you can access the keycode program, License Manager, from the
Start menu. Choose Start > Programs > Postalsoft Business Edition > License
Manager. Note: You need to enter your keycodes just once, not each time you
install an update.
.
Installation
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.Net. A delay may occur while the Microsoft .NET Framework is installed.
Please be patient and allow installation to finish.
When installation is complete, the installation program restarts your computer.
Install directories Directories are now available separately from your software. To install
directories, you need full administrator rights.
To load the directories
1. Open Postalsoft and choose File > Load Directories.
2. In the Load Directories window, select the directories that you want to install.
Diversified directories include ZIP4US and other directories needed for
presorting and address correction.
eLOT directory is used when assigning Line-of-Travel codes for carrier-
route discounts.
DPV directories are used during Delivery Point Validation processing.
DPV is required for CASS certification.
LACS
Link
directories are used during Locatable Address Conversion
System processing (converting rural route addresses to street addresses,
Link
and other types of renaming. LACS
is required for CASS
certification.
3. Click OK.
A Loading Options window appears for each directory that you chose to
install. When you finish loading one directory, the next Loading Options
window appears.
4. If you’re installing from CD, insert the corresponding directory CD as
needed. For example, when the Diversified Directory Loading Options
window appears, insert the Diversified Directory CD.
5. In the Loading Options window, specify whether you’re loading the directory
from a Downloaded File or from CD. Specify the Source Location (where
you’re loading from), the Destination Location (where you want the
directories installed to), and click Load. Repeat this step for each type of
directory that you're loading.
You can click the Browse button to search for the location that you’re loading
from and to. You can also click Skip if you do not want to load a particular
directory now.
When you load the Diversified directories, the ZIP4US directory is installed to
the destination that you specify. Other smaller directories installed with ZIP4US
are automatically installed to your default directory installation folder.
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Business Edition Release Notes
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USPS postage rate changes
New rates May 12 Updated postage rates go into effect May 12, 2008, for First Class, Standard Mail,
Periodicals, and Package Services. The USPS did not introduce any sortation
changes with this rate case.
Plant Verified Drop Shipment (PVDS)
New Outside-County Limited Circulation rate for Periodicals
If you prepare PVDS mailings, be aware that the USPS is allowing you to use the
new rates to verify mailings starting on April 12, 2008. You also have until May
27 to enter mailings that you prepared with the old rates. However, you must
verify these mailings before May 12.
See the following announcement from the USPS’s February 19, 2008, DMM
Advisory:
May 12 Pricing Change – Plant-Verified Drop Shipment Procedures
Our plant-verified drop shipment (PVDS) procedures for the May 12 implementation
of new prices are as follows:
Current Prices
Mailers may use the current prices for PVDS mailings verified and paid before May
12. We will accept these mailings at destination entry postal facilities up to May 27
when presented with appropriate verification and payment documentation.
New Prices
Mailers may use the new prices for PVDS mailings verified and paid beginning April
12 for deposit on or after May 12. We will accept these mailings at destination entry
postal facilities beginning May 12 when presented with appropriate verification and
payment documentation.
To subscribe to the DMM Advisory, send an e-mail to
dmmadvisory@usps.com
with “subscribe” in the subject line.
A new Outside-County Limited Circulation rate goes into effect for Periodicals
mail. Eligible issues of publications entitled to use this rate receive a 5 percent
discount off the total qualifying Outside-County postage excluding the postage
for advertising pounds.
Postalsoft tries to give this discount if all of the following conditions are met:
The Regular or Agriculture rate is selected.
The publication has at least one copy mailed at In-County rates.
You are mailing fewer than 5,000 copies at Outside-County rates.
In-County rates are turned on for at least one entry point.
Changes to Postage Statements
A new box, called the Move Update method, was added to Postage Statements
3600r, 3602r and 3602n.
See also For more information about the rate-case changes, see:
Rate adjustment information at
Postal Bulletins at http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm
Federal Registers at http://ribbs.usps.gov/fedreg.html
Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) at
http://www.usps.com/prices/new-prices.htm
http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm300/dmm300_landing.htm
(Note: DMM will not be updated with new rate information until May 12.)
USPS postage rate changes
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Mail.dat changes
Postalsoft 7.84c produces Mail.dat in the new IDEAlliance Mail.dat 08-2
standard format and in the older 08-1 format.
Must catch and must send dates
Choosing the right standard
The “must catch” date, the date on which you are required to be ready to receive
and process the Mail.dat 08-2 standard, is 13 July 2008. This date applies to you
if you use software that imports Mail.dat files and uses the information to develop
reports and to maximize postage discounts through entry plans, for example.
The “must send” date, the date on which you are required to produce and send
Mail.dat 08-2 standard files, is 3 August 2008. This date applies to you if you
produce and send Mail.dat records to others who use the information in the
Mail.dat.
Important! If you send Mail.dat from 13 July 2008 to 3 August 2008,
!
contact the recipient to make sure that they are ready to accept the 08-2
standard. Recipients must be ready to receive the 08-2 standard on 3 August.
To choose the Mail.dat standard:
1. Choose Tools > Presort > Sort Settings and set up your presort as needed.
2. When you reach the IDEAlliance Mail.dat window, choose the Mail.dat
standard from the Mail.dat Version drop-down list.
Choose 08-1 when you produce Mail.dat before 13 July.
Choose either 08-1 or 08-2 when you produce Mail.dat data between 13
July and 3 August based on your recipient’s readiness to accept the 08-2
standard.
New USPS Pick Up option
New Volume Number and Issue Number options
Choose 08-2 when you produce Mail.dat data on or after August 3.
3. Complete other settings as needed, and click OK to produce Mail.dat files.
A new field called USPS Pick Up was added to the Container Summary record
(.csm). PostalOne requires this field to determine a start the clock for service
performance measurement and to identify if a customer used USPS transportation
to deliver mail to USPS plants.
To set the USPS Pick Up option:
1. Choose Tools > Presort > Sort Settings and set up your presort as needed.
2. When you reach the Presort - Entry Point - Details window, click the USPS
Options button.
3. In the USPS Mail Options window, set USPS Pick Up to Ye s or No if you are
participating in PostalOne. You can set it to (Leave Blank) if you are not
participating in PostalOne.
If you participate in PostalOne, you can enter your Periodicals volume and issue
number in the new Volume Number and Issue Number boxes.
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Business Edition Release Notes
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To enter the volume and issue number:
1. Choose Tools > Presort > Sort Settings and set up your presort as needed.
2. When you reach the Sort for Mailing - Periodical Information window, enter
your publication’s volume number in the Volume Number box, and enter the
issue number in the Issue Number box.
CSM EP Delivery Local Key option removed
See also Mail.dat Specifications at http://www.maildat.org/
The CSM EP Delivery Locale Key option applied to Mail.dat 07-1 only, and so it
is no longer available in Postalsoft 7.84c, which does not produce Mail.dat 07-1.
Mail.dat changes
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