The way in which RTG Bills is installed on a network changed with Version 2.17 (released in March 2007). Before that, the program files and the data files were placed in a single location on a networked disk drive. Starting with Version 2.17, the program files should be installed on each PC while the data files remain on a networked disk drive.

Since we assume you are upgrading from an earlier version of RTG Bills, you already have the data on the file server. Make sure you know where it is, so you can enter that location during the installation procedure. Typically it is a location such as \\MyServer\Rtgbills, where MyServer is replaced by the actual name of your file server.

Note:
The reason you cannot leave the RTG Bills program files on the server and use them as before is that the help system will not work. Microsoft has included a "security feature" in Windows Vista (and above) and Windows XP (after upgrades) that prevents the help files from working over a network.

The following list shows the first versions of RTG's software that are compatible with Windows Vista:

RTG Bills and RTG Timer V2.17
RTG Conflicts V1.02
RTG Timer HE V2.09
RTG Timer ME V2.08
RTG Scripts V1.09
RTG E-Bills V1.12
RTG Names V2.03

It is important to note that these new versions work together, and most of them will not work with older versions of the software in this list.

If you upgrade RTG Bills to V2.17 or above, you must also upgrade all of the other programs in this list to the version shown here (or a later version). For example, RTG E-Bills V1.12 works properly with RTG Bills V2.17, but earlier versions of RTG E-Bills will not work.

RTG Conflicts does not require the use of RTG Bills. However, if you upgrade RTG Conflicts to V1.02 or above, and you want to import data into Conflicts from Bills, you will need RTG Bills V2.17 (or a later version).

1. We will assume you are installing the current version of RTG Bills. Install RTG Bills on one PC in the standard location:
   

   C:\Program Files\Rtgbills

   Specify this location when asked for the Destination Location.
   
   
2. Since the installation file is for Version 2.17 or above, you are asked for the Data Location. Enter the location on the server where the RTG Bills data is located. As noted above, typically it will be a location such as this:
   

   \\MyServer\Rtgbills

   If the data location has existing data, as it should, it will be preserved. If there is no data in the location you specify (because you chose the wrong location), an empty database will be installed there.
   
   
3. Start RTG Bills. View a Client List to confirm that your data is there.
   
   To verify that the help system is working, choose:
   

   Help > Contents

4. Repeat this procedure on each PC that needs access to RTG Bills.

The procedure for installing RTG Timer on each PC is almost the same as for RTG Bills. It should also be installed in this location:

C:\Program Files\Rtgbills

The Data Location may be on the server or on the local PC (wherever it was previously). Once again, you will be asked to enter the Data Location during the installation.

There is one additional setting for RTG Timer. You must tell RTG Timer where to find the RTG Bills database:

Setup > Other

On the Database tab, choose From RTG Bills database and enter the location of the RTG Bills data. As noted above, typically it will be a location such as this:

\\MyServer\Rtgbills

Click Save to save this setting.

Now that RTG Bills program files are installed on each computer, rather than on the server, certain updates must be done on every computer. For example, if you wish to install RTG E-Bills, you must do that update on every computer that has RTG Bills.

If you are using Windows Vista/7/8, you must use Run as administrator to start RTG Bills whenever you want to update. Right-click the shortcut to see this choice.