NEWSLETTER

BSD SpecLink-E is Up-to-Date with Summer Quarter Release

With the summer release of BSD products, SpecLink-E (SLE) becomes fully compatible with its older predecessor SpecLink+ (SLP) and fully up to date with Summer Quarter data. You can now copy any project from SLP to SLE and maintain full fidelity. We highly recommend updating SpecLink+ projects to the latest version (Summer Quarter Release 12.3) before copying to SLE. This ensures full updatability in SLE going forward.

Speaking of going forward, BSD plans to release new versions of SpecLink-E in sync with SpecLink+ over the next couple of quarters (Fall 2010 and Winter 2010-2011). Each new quarterly release will include the corresponding data update for that quarter for both SLP and SLE. However, beginning in the Spring Quarter 2011, SpecLink-E will switch to automatic updating via the Internet, and SpecLink+ will no longer receive updates of either software or data. SpecLink-E software will be updated and enhanced three or four times a year, independent of the Internet-based data updates.

If you are already using SpecLink-E, you may have sneaked a peek at the Updates Administration command in the Update to Master group on the Tools tab. If you did look there, you saw that you can set up to get your data updates from BSD on a weekly or monthly basis. You can choose the day of the week or month and the start time on that day (or night). Updates don’t take very long, but it will be best to schedule them when you know your server will be on and nobody will be using the software. This service won’t be enabled until we stop updating SpecLink+ later this year. As noted above, between now and then you’ll get updates via a combined software and data delivery download or via DVD.

BSD SpecLink-E is a brand new application that we think you’ll ultimately find even easier to use than SpecLink+. You should also read the companion article on using the new App Menu and associated “ribbon bars” in both SpecLink-E and LinkMan-E. That article will give you a head start on finding what you need in the new products, so you can work productively from day one. Let us know what you think and what we can do to improve. It’s what we’re here for.

John R. Witherspoon
CEO