In systems where more than one user will be concurrently accessing a database, a lock manager is required. This is necessary to prevent more than one user from updating the same record at the same time. The lock manager runs as a service and is automatically installed on the computer where you ran the main QuickFill installation and on each computer where you ran the Workstation installation. It is automatically started when Windows starts and runs invisibly in the background.
The lock manager service on each computer coordinates access to the databases on that computer. The lock manager service does not access the database itself—it simply communicates with QuickFill on the workstations and acts as a "traffic cop" granting permission for each workstation to access the database in turn.
Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later (this includes Windows Vista and Windows 7) include a firewall. TCP port 8908 must be opened in this firewall to allow the lock manager to receive requests from the other computers on the network. This port is automatically opened by the main QuickFill installer and the Workstation installer. If you have a third-party firewall it may be necessary for you to open this port manually. If you do not do this, other workstations will not be able to communicate with the lock manager and you will get "lock manager communications error" messages.
When QuickFill opens a database it attempts to contact the lock manager service on the computer where the database files are stored. The lock manager service will be present on that computer as long as it is one where you ran the main QuickFill installer or the Workstation installer. If the database files are located on a non-Windows computer, such as a NAS (Network-attached storage) device, then there will be no lock manager service present and QuickFill will report a "lock manager communications" error. To work around this problem you will need to create a LockManager.ini file in the database folder to designate some other computer as the lock manager. The LockManager.ini file is a text file that you can create using Windows Notepad. It should contain a single line of text, containing the name (or IP address) of any computer where the QuickFill installer or the Workstation installer was run. Save the LockManager.ini file in the same folder as the database files.
Note: Support for non-Windows computers
We do not test QuickFill using non-Windows computers and NAS file storage devices, nor do we have much experience with such devices. Accordingly we will probably not be able to provide much support if you run into issues with them.
If you would like to see what the lock manager is doing and who is accessing the databases on your computer you can run the lock manager console. The 'Lock manager console' program can be found by clicking the 'Start' button, then 'All programs', then 'QuickFill'.
You can also see activity on lock managers running on other computers. To do this you must create a new shortcut for the lock manager console program. Right click on your desktop and choose 'New', followed by 'Shortcut'. Click the 'Browse' button and navigate to the folder where the QuickFill program is installed (this folder is located on the computer where the main installation was performed and is normally called 'Qfw'). Select the 'LockManagerConsole' application and click OK. Now add a space, a hyphen, the letter 'a', another space and the name of the computer whose lock manager you want to see. The result should look something like this:
\\ServerName\Qfw\LockManagerConsole.exe -a LMComputer
where 'ServerName' should be replaced with the name of the computer where the QuickFill program is installed and 'LMComputer' should be replaced with the name of the computer whose lock manager you wish to see.