Users can choose to be notified when a metric value falls below a specified value, when a score reaches a particular limit, or when a comment is added to a scorecard object. Administrators can even send instant alerts, letting users or groups know about important events.

For people who don’t want to have to log into the software to see if they have alerts, the software can automatically email users when something triggers an alert. Users can also choose to group multiple alerts into a single email to avoid too many alert emails.

Check back every week for information about more enhancements. If you’re interested in being a beta tester, be sure to let us know!

One of the first things you’ll notice is that we’ve redesigned the application header.  Although the old header design displayed all of the required information, it was lacking in layout.

In the new header design there are many changes. The most noticeable change is that the section selector, the subsection selector, and the calendar selector all have been moved to a single line layout in the upper left hand corner. This makes the calendar selector much easier to see.

The search button, the username, and the logout button have all been moved to the upper right hand corner and the organization selector has been moved to the top of the navigation pane. Not only is this a more logical placement for everything, but it also allows for the removal of the secondary header bar to free up space.

Stay tuned for information about more enhancements.  If you’re interested in being a beta tester, be sure to let us know!

We were just notified that we were named as one of the “Best Places to Work” by the Washington Business Journal for 2012.  Thank you to everyone at Spider Strategies for making this company so great!

• Your calendars need to be extended
• The specified date (January 15, 2012) falls outside of this metric’s defined calendar range
• Calendar period does not exist.

All of these messages indicate that you need to extend your calendars back or forward. You can do this by going into the Administration section and selecting Calendars. For additional support on calendars, contact our help desk at helpdesk@spiderstrategies.com.

The good news is that you can now set start and archive dates in version 2.3. With these options you can make structure change based on the calendar period selected. To set your start and archive dates, just create or edit a scorecard object and expand the advanced options.

Chart background color selected to None, Shininess and rounded corners turned off

1. If you are trying to learn a new program, try playing with it for a few minutes. (Play? Yes, this is actually fun for geeks.) Don’t try to accomplish a specific task. You don’t know the program yet, so you won’t get anywhere. Instead, hover your mouse over icons so you can read their descriptions and click on menus and read the options. Try out any options that sound useful or unclear. A few minutes playing with a program is often more beneficial than hours spent in training or reading a manual.
2. If you don’t know how to do something, type what you are trying to do into Google. Usually someone else had the same problem and posted the solution on the web. The great thing about this tip is it applies to all sorts of things, not just computers. I know, I know, this is a pretty obvious tip, but I’m still surprised how often I have to remind myself to check Google. For example, for years I’ve had trouble picking a halloween costume, and it didn’t occur to me until I wrote this article that I should ask Google. Sure enough, there is a detailed article on wikiHow that is very helpful.
3. If something doesn’t work, try it again. Technology these days is incredibly complex, and temporary glitches are common.
4. If a web page or web application doesn’t work, try another browser. Government and some corporate web sites sometimes only work with older browsers like IE7 or IE8. Most other sites work best with a modern browser like Firefox, Chrome or Safari.
5. If a program doesn’t work, try restarting the program. If you are using a web application, restart the whole web browser (including all windows and tabs you have open)
6. If you have a bunch of computer problems all at once, such as the computer running too slowly, try restarting your computer. If your computer is always slow, you probably don’t have enough memory in the computer. Buying more usually costs less than $100 and can save you hours of time. If you want to be sure you have enough memory in the computer, have a geek check for you. It only takes a couple minutes to check so he or she probably won’t mind.