Studio Manager Bulletin

Supporting You with Screen Sharing in OSX Leopard

Now that Apple has released the second update to OS X Leopard, 10.5.2, the promise of Leopard is being realized. We are enjoying being able to almost instantly see and manipulate local computers in the office. I can reach out to my iMac from my MacBook Pro and see the screen and run programs. I can open our business database if it isn't open. All this is ultra easy now.

In this world of remote desktop that Apple calls Screen Sharing, we can Screen Share with you in either direction if you are also on a Mac running OS X Leopard. We can demonstrate things on our Macs while you watch and we can also remotely control your computer when you have so authorized and make changes or add things to your custom version of Studio Manager. Pretty slick.

It's sometimes been a challenge to explain things on a graphical user interface by phone. Leopard screen sharing can make things much easier. If you ever call us for tech support or have a question that requires looking at your Mac screen running Leopard, please let us know so we can augment our conversation by seeing your screen or vice versa.

Please note that if you are using remote desktop on a Tiger based machine, we can also use remote desktop to accomplish much of the same thing. It's just a wee bit easier in Leopard.

Studio Manager Bulletin Has a New Look

Wow! TypePad just expanded their themes and I found this one that I really like. So much for white backgrounds. I just love this. I'm hoping that enjoyment won't fade quickly. We'll see. Hope you like the new look.

One of the things I like about TypePad is their strength in design. That's why I'm on TypePad for my blogging service. You aren't stuck with a generic theme either. You can add your own CSS into the page to override theme CSS.

By the way, I use CSSedit these days. Fun to use and effective! Today I'm using the theme unedited. After I examine it in more detail, I'll start tweaking.

One thing I have to do is go back and change some of my graphics to have transparent backgrounds. Black aint going to work anymore. Argh! Cutting corners sometimes bites you in the butt later.

Studio Manager 9 Demo Manual v2 Up

All right, we just spent about $2500 user testing, improving and revising the demo manual for Studio Manager 9. Please consider the demo manual as a helpful introduction to the functionality of Studio Manager. The demo manual can be a handy training resource for new employees. Perfect for getting a thorough overview of the product. It has lots of screenshots so you can see what the instructions are talking about.

If you haven't checked out he Getting Started tutorial, we also recommend it for a hands on walk-thru. Step by step. Getting Started is 12 pages. The demo manual is 24.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the manual, Studio Manager or this post. I'll be notified if you post your question as a comment here. Or you can email me. Or, feel free to call us at 415 789-5219. We're open 8 am to 5:30 pm week days Pacific time.

Tutorial: Using the Scripts Menu

This article is going to be brief but it is worth mentioning that there is a Scripts menu in Studio Manager that has handy shortcuts that will help you get around. Each of the menu items has a corresponding keyboard equivalent listed in the menu.

Light users who may be entering time and noting the completion of tasks can zip around Studio Manager with the first 6 shortcuts.

Heavier users may want to use the first seven shortcuts religiously to save time and mousing wear and tear.

Entry Screen and List Screen. The first 2 shortcuts give you a way to toggle back and forth between the entry screen and list screen. If you've gotten away from your home base, you can quickly get back to the entry screen with Cmd-1 and the List screen with Cmd-2. The most common use here is to work with a list of contacts or jobs and then view the entry screens for particular contacts or jobs to work in more detail. When you are done, get back to the list screen in a hurry with Cmd-2.

Contacts, Jobs and Timesheets. The three most popular places to hang out in Studio Manager are Contacts (command-3), Jobs (command-4) and Timesheets (command-5). If you want to quickly get to your timesheet or lookup a contact or job details, these shortcuts get you there fast.

Home Base. We aren't playing baseball, but now that Studio Manager has links and views of all your data like your current and overdue tasks on your employee screen, it's handy to be able to get there without delay. Type command-6 and you'll get back home. Many users find having a home base a nice point of orientation to the whole system. We hope this helps. By the way, those who prefer a menu can click the little target icon at the top of the righthand button bar to go Home as well.

Studio Manager 9 Demo Manual Up

We have the first version of our Studio Manager 9 Demo Manual Up. We've updated the screenshots and added coverage of Studio Manager 9 features. It is currently 24 pages. We highly recommend the demo manual as a learning tool for new Studio Manager users. Great for new employees or for employees new to Studio Manager.

Our 13-page Getting Started manual is also a good learning tool and has been redone for Studio Manager 9. Getting started is more of a walk through at the detail level, walking you through creating a job, creating an estimate, write correspondence, etc.. The Demo Manual is more conceptual, giving you a tour of Studio Manager with more context in terms of explanation, features and benefits.

We are still at work on an even better version of the demo manual based on user testing. Stay tuned.