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ALWAYS MAKE COPIES OF DATA BEFORE OPENING IMPORTANT FOLDERS CONTAINING VALUABLE DATA.

The BCSS Data Folder

The BCSS program by default is installed on the computer directly on the C: drive in a folder named 'BCSS'. That folder also contains the data files that are used by the program.

'Data Files' are electronic files which store all of the information (databits) about consignors, sellers, inventory, item IDs and barcodes, quantities, prices, discounts, sales, settlements and disbursements. All data that has been keyed or scanned into the program (or that has been computed by the program and saved) are stored the BCSS Folder. The 'path' to the folder is C:\BCSS.

To locate the BCSS folder:

1. Go to Start.
2. Click on Computer, My Computer or This PC - depending upon the Windows edition.
3. Double click on the C: Drive. (If the program was installed in a different location, navigate to that drive.)
4. If necessary sort the name column of the contents of the folder by clicking on the name-column header.
5. The BCSS Folder should be present in alphabetical order. (If it is not present, the program was likely installed elsewhere, not on C:.)
6. Double click on the BCSS Folder to view its contents.
7. DO NOT DELETE ANY FILES.

The BCSS Folder contains subfolders:

• blank db or blank database contains BCSS data folders with no content.

  It is possible to erase current data in BCSS by copying blank database files to the BCSS folder. Before doing so, at least one copy of the BCSS Folder should be preserved. For example, to erase all inventory records in the current BCSS program, copy the 3 inventory files (inventory.dbf, inventory.cdx and inventory.fpt) from the 'blank-db' folder to C:\BCSS, overwriting the existing files.

• sample db of sample database contains sample entries of clients, inventory, sales and settlements.

An alternate and easy way of backing up (copying) BCSS data is to copy the BCSS folder to another location. Right click on the folder, select copy, then paste the folder elsewhere, preferably on an external storage device like a flash drive or external hard drive.

It is not possible to copy the BCSS folder to another computer and have the BCSS program work correctly. All software programs must be 'installed' on Windows with proper Windows Registry entries (software registration) to work as expected.

Restoring Data

Data can be placed in the BCSS database 3 ways:

1. Copy the contents of a data file containing BCSS data files to C:\BCSS. The source files may be the blank or sample data files or a backup of BCSS data.

   Older databases may not be compatible with the current version of the software. If errors appear after data files have been copied to C:\BCSS, it will probably be necessary to send the data files to consign@usa.com for an update. Include your name, shop name and BCSS version.

2. Use the Restore Function under Utilities in the program:
   1. Click on Utilities.
   2. Select Restore Data.
   3. Navigate to the location of the files to be restored.
   4. Select that folder.
   5. Click Open then Save.

      The new data should now be present in the program. It may be necessary to close the program and reopen it to refresh the content.

3. Data can be imported from .csv spreadsheets. Detailed instructions are available in the user's guide (press F1 in BCSS to access it) under the Admin section at the bottom.

Networking

The data may be shared with other computers using a Local Area Network (LAN) which connects computers through a router using Ethernet cables. To succeed in doing so, the network must be configured correctly, including the sharing of the folder C:\BCSS.

On a network, all data is stored on the host computer in the C:\BCSS folder. On remote computers using BCSS, the path to C:\BCSS on the host computer must be set in Program Setup in BCSS.

Miscellaneous

To view files and folders on the computer related to BCSS, Click on start and type bcss.