ECMPS Support

This is the fourth installment in a series on how to get a faster response to your technical support questions by using technical support tips.

Technical Support Tip #4: Picture This

A picture being worth a 1000 words is very true when it comes to technical support. Often, an attached screen shot makes it very clear what the problem is and how it can be corrected.

The tip is to include the screen shot when it makes sense. It makes sense if you think that words will not be enough to convey your question and a picture will help to make your question clearer.

However, you should not make a screen shot of something that could be attached on its own. For example, rather than sending a screen shot of an evaluation report, send the actual PDF of the evaluation report.

How should you send the screen shot? Simply use the Print Screen button (often this button is located near the top right side of the keyboard. (Sometimes the button is labeled ,"Prnt Scrn".)

Copy the current contents of the screen to the Windows clip board by pressing the Print Screen button on your keyboard. Then, in your email, paste the screen shot by typing CTRL + V or using Paste from the Edit menu.

Do not put your screen shots in a Word processing document. Often this makes the screen shots too small to read or cuts off part of the picture. Just add them to your email using the copy and paste method. Any attachments which you send will be put in our ticketing system, and we will be able to answer your question much faster.

Labels: Technical Support Tip

With April 1st just around the corner, we, at ECMPS Technical Support, know that things are about to get really busy. We would like to share some technical support tips for helping you get your technical support question answered as quickly as possible. Here is the third installment of this series.

Technical Support Tip #3: Attachment to Details

Sometimes we get technical support requests in which the requester has put some important details in the body of the email, and those details are formatted like a table. The problem is that our ticketing system sends and receives emails in a text-only format. All of that nice formatting gets mangled, and it is difficult to read the email. We end up asking you to send another email with the information included in an attachment.

For example, this table sent in an email,

becomes,

Quarter
Op. Hours
HI
SO2
CO2
2008Q1
1924
708841
0.2
42077.1
2008Q2
909
286265
0.1
17008.1

in our ticketing system.

When you have to provide information that needs to be formatted a certain way in order to be able to read it, do not format it in the body of your email. Instead, attach the information in a spreadsheet or word processing document.

Labels: Technical Support Tip

The email ticketing system, Request Tracker, which is used for processing all technical support requests sent via email will be down for scheduled maintenance from 12:30 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. EDT today, March 27, 2009.

Any email sent during that time will be queued up on the email server. Once the maintenance is complete, all emails in the queue will be processed by Request Tracker.

Note, also that any email sent during the maintenance period will NOT receive an automatic response.

If you have any questions, please call technical support.

Labels: Scheduled Outage

We, at ECMPS Technical Support, would like to share some technical support tips for helping you get your technical support question answered as quickly as possible. Here is the second installment of this series.

Technical Support Tip #2: See for Yourself

One of the challenges of releasing new software is helping users learn to use the new software. Like most software, ECMPS has predecessors which are familiar to its users. In this case, it is natural to compare the Client Tool with MDC and ETS-FTP. (If you look closely you will see that the Client Tool shares some of the design of both of these as there was a conscious attempt to retain what had been successful in both of these venerable software tools.) However, this background can make it even more of a challenge to help users work with the new software. ECMPS has worked hard to address training new users in several ways.

Software Demonstrations

First, at each Stakeholder meeting since there has been a version of the Client Tool to show, there has been a demonstration of the the Client Tool's functionality. And in the case of the last Stakeholder meeting, this demonstration is available to be viewed online.

Help File

Second, the Client Tool has a Help file that contains quite a bit of information to help users work with the Client Tool. This Help file is available in the Client Tool, and the Help file is also available online.

Tutorials

Finally, building on the success of the MDC tutorials, there is an ever growing series of online ECMPS tutorials which cover everything from the very basics of the Client Tool to the more advanced areas of functionality. These are all audiovisual, interactive presentations which can be viewed directly from the Support Web site.

Labels: Technical Support Tip

With the release of the 2009Q1 version of the Client Tool, we have begun what we anticipate to be a very busy several weeks of technical support.

We, at ECMPS Technical Support, would like to share some tips for helping you get your technical support question answered as quickly as possible. To do that, we want to provide several resources to assist you. First, we will soon be releasing a tutorial on Technical Support Guidelines. Second, there is already a page with tips for technical support. Finally, over the next few weeks, we will be posting on the Blog, technical support tips which we want to highlight.

Technical Support Tip #1: File It

In most cases, you should send us the files. If you simply describe the problem in your email, but do not include the related files, we will often have to reply and ask you to send along additional files. That is a step that can be skipped, if you take the time to send the relevant files in the first email.

Every report in the Client Tool can be saved as a PDF. For example, if you have a question about an evaluation error, save the evaluation report as a PDF and attach it to your email to technical support. You can view these reports using a free PDF reader from Acrobat.

In addition, all data can be exported from the Client Tool, and to really see what might be happening, we will often need your data. Go ahead and send it along as an XML file, or for monitoring plan, it might make sense to simply send the PDF of the monitoring plan printout report.

The only data that can be problematic is emissions data. You will probably need to zip up the XML file before sending it because many times the emissions XML file size exceeds what our email server will accept.

Finally, files are better than screen shots of reports. We would rather have the PDF of an evaluation report than a screen shot of an evaluation report.

Labels: Technical Support Tip

In order to address a few bugs that are in the Client Tool, a service pack will be released next week. The service pack is tentatively scheduled to be released either on March 30th or March 31st. After the update, the Client Tool will be on version 2009Q1 SP1.

Users who already have the 2009Q1 version of the Client Tool will be prompted to update to 2009Q1 SP1. The Update Service will guide these users to complete the update.

User who have never installed the Client Tool or who are installing it on a new machine will be able to download the full installation of the 2009Q1 SP1 version.

All users who are working with a shared, network database will need to update both the individual Client Tool installations via the Update Service and the database. These users should contact their database administrator (DBA) in order to for the DBA to run a script which will update the shared, network database.

The details of what bugs were fixed will be included in the updated version of the Release Notes.

If you have any questions about how the Update Service works, we would suggest watching the recently released Update tutorial.

Labels: Release Schedule Information

It is time for another mailbag post. Ever since the release of the 2009Q1 version of the Client Tool on St. Patrick's Day, the electronic mailbag has been filling up with questions from users.

In this edition, we will answer questions on why 2009Q1 emissions data cannot be viewed and how to view Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Hidden from View

Question

I imported my 2009Q1 emissions data into the Client Tool, but I cannot see the data?

-- Just Not Seeing It

Answer

Dear Just Not Seeing It,

This has been identified as a bug and posted on the Web site as a known issue. There is also an FAQ on the problem of not being able to view the emissions data which includes a way to correct the problem. Note, the problem will go away on its own on April 1 when the bug will stop preventing the data from being viewed.

Checking the FAQs

Question

Do you have any Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that I could search or browse?

-- FAQ Checker

Answer

Dear FAQ Checker,

Yes. The ECMPS Support Web site has an entire section devoted to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) which can be browsed or searched. The quickest way to check for a FAQ is to use the instant response search. As you type in your search, the relevant FAQ links are displayed below. Simply click on a FAQ link in order to view the FAQ. You can also browse the FAQs.

This section of the Web site is fairly new and it is growing daily. If you would like to make a suggestion for a FAQ, simply send your suggestion to technical support.

SecuRemote: Another Dinosaur

Not long ago, Technical Support posted that the days of the dinosaur were numbered referring to MDC and ETS-FTP. You can add SecuRemote to that list.

SecuRemote was necessary for connecting to the EPA using ETS-FTP. However, because all submission of data is through the ECMPS Client Tool which does not use SecuRemote, it is no longer a necessary application. In fact, having SecuRemote running while trying to connect to the EPA Host System through the Client Tool will cause problems. It is better to simply uninstall SecuRemote.

To help with that uninstall, we have posted a FAQ on uninstalling legacy applications, including MDC, ETS-FTP, and SecuRemote.

The latest version of the Client Tool has been released. This is version 5 or the 2009 Q1 version. For details about what was included in this release, consult the Release Notes.

In order to use the Client Tool, you must be a Designated Representative, Alternate Designated Representative, or an ECMPS agent for a Representative. In addition, you must have a CAMD Business System (CBS) user name, current CBS password, and have completed a CROMERR Subscriber Agreement Form.

All current users of the Client Tool will be prompted to upgrade to this latest version the next time that each user logs in to the EPA Host System. For more information about the Update Service which updates the Client Tool, watch the Update Service tutorial.

All new users of the Client Tool or users who have only used the ECMPS Client Tool Preview (CTP) must download and install the 2009 Q1 version of the Client Tool. Users are urged to follow all instructions on the Web site and to consult the Installation Guide for step-by-step instructions on how to install the Client Tool.

In order to insure that all technical support questions are tracked and answered, EPA has requested that all technical support questions, including installation questions, should be submitted to ECMPS Technical Support.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Just in time for the release of the latest version of the ECMPS Client Tool, ECMPS Support is pleased to announce the completion of a new tutorial on how to use the updating service in the Client Tool.

The Update Service tutorial explains how to update your Client Tool from an older version of the software to the latest version of the software using the automated updating service built in to the Client Tool.

For everyone who has been using the ECMPS Client Tool for official data submissions, the release scheduled for today will only require that you use the update service to get the latest version of the software. If you have never used the Client Tool for official data submissions or only have a the ECMPS Client Tool Preview (CTP) installed, you will need to download and install the latest version of the Client Tool.

This tutorial, like all of the others, is an interactive, audiovisual presentation which can be viewed in an Internet browser. Also, like the other tutorials, it is designed to provide practical instruction in a format which can be viewed in 9 minutes or less.

To see the complete list of ECMPS tutorials, click here.

Labels: Tutorial

Today, we at ECMPS Technical Support bid a fond farewell to the ECMPS Client Tool Preview (CTP).

The testing period for the ECMPS Client Tool Preview (CTP) ends today, March 13, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. EDT. Soon after that, both the CTP technical support phone number and email address will be changed to return a message that the CTP testing period has ended.

From feedback which we have received, we know that the CTP was a useful tool for helping stakeholders make the transition from the legacy evaluation and submission tools to the ECMPS Client Tool. In addition, EPA has benefited from stakeholders who worked with the CTP. They provided valuable feedback on application functionality, bugs, and technical support issues.

The CTP was launched in May 2008, and from all accounts, the CTP has significantly helped sources and the EPA prepare for what is now the imminent mandatory use of ECMPS for reporting data.

Of course, like many farewells, there is also a simultaneous welcome. We welcome all of the new sources who are joining the official version of ECMPS for the first time. Many of you have spent time with the CTP and are familiar with the ins and outs of the Client Tool thanks to the CTP.

A warm welcome to all of the new stakeholders. Keep tuned in for the release of the 2009 Q1 version of the ECMPS Client Tool. It is still on target to be released on Tuesday, March 17th.

Labels: Industry Testing

Spring is a week away, but ECMPS, always trying to be ahead of the curve, is already planning on a fresh start with the advent of spring.

In this case, with the release of the 2009 Q1 version of the Client Tool, sources who have already submitted monitoring plan data through ECMPS will be required to resubmit the monitoring plan data.

The reason for this is to finalize the transition to ECMPS. For the majority of sources who have already made the transition to ECMPS, this will only require that the monitoring plan data be evaluated and submitted. The evaluation should return the expected results which have no critical errors. In the event of critical errors, the source should contact technical support if necessary.

For all of the new sources who will begin to use ECMPS in the next several weeks, this is not a change because all of these sources will be expected to submit monitoring plan data prior to or during the April reporting period. (Unlike in the past in ETS-FTP, emissions data can be submitted independent of monitoring plan and quality assurance data.)

U.S. EPA's Clean Air Markets Division (CAMD) has just recently posted the registration page for the Spring 2009 Stakeholder Meeting. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m at the St. Louis Convention Center. The ECMPS Stakeholder Meeting will be held in conjunction with the EPRI 2009 CEM User Group Conference and Exhibit.

The following topics will be discussed:

• Results from 2008 ECMPS Reporting and Lessons Learned
• Access and Use of Previously Submitted Data
• Emissions Submission and Resubmission Processes
• Technical Support Process
• Client Tool Demo of New Functionality/Enhancements/Reports
• Question and Answer Session

The meeting is free and open to ECMPS stakeholders.

Labels: Stakeholder Meeting

As the countdown continues to the first mandatory ECMPS reporting period, which will begin on April 1, ECMPS Technical Support would like to share a few recommendations for ways you can insure that you are ready to begin reporting using the ECMPS Client Tool.

If you have already completed the following steps, pat yourself on the back. If not, get busy and complete these steps. You have just under three weeks until April begins.


Next Release Update: As of this morning, the next version of the ECMPS Client Tool is still on target to be released on March 17th.

Labels: Transition to ECMPS

Playing it Safe: Insuring Delivery of Emails from ECMPS

There are four email addresses which users should insure are allowed by both their email client and their company's email server and firewall. These should be added to your email client's "safe" list, as well as any "safe" list which is used by your company's email server or firewall.

If you have any questions about how to insure that you are able to receive email from these four email addresses, contact your IT staff. The four email addresses are:

Labels: Transition to ECMPS

Update on Daily Calibration Checks for March 2009 Client Tool Release

With the release of the next version of the ECMPS Client Tool which is scheduled on or about March 17th, there will be a few important changes related to the evaluation of daily calibration data.

First, the daily calibration data evaluation errors will become critical. Up to this point, the daily calibration evaluations have only returned informational messages in the event that the data did not pass the evaluation check. Beginning with the next version, the daily calibration evaluation result will be a critical error, if the data do not pass the evaluation.

Second, a bug in the Emissions XML schema will be corrected. Currently, all versions, including the latest version 1.2, of the emissions XML schemas allow there to be multiple daily calibration records for a the same exact minute for a component. This will be corrected in the March release. If there is more than one daily calibration data record for the same exact minute and component, the XML validation will fail the file and data will not be imported into the Client Tool. The correction will be made to the emissions XSD version 1.2 and the Reporting Instructions daily calibration data diagram will also be corrected.

For more information about how to perform and report daily calibration data, consult Part 75 and the Reporting Instructions.

Labels: Transition to ECMPS

Reminder to Turn in your CROMERR Subscriber Agreement Form

The next release of the ECMPS Client Tool is scheduled for March 17th. As was mentioned in a previous post on CROMERR, at that time, you will need to have completed your Subscriber Agreement Form in order to be able to log in to the EPA Host System. This is because both the CAMD Business System (CBS) and the ECMPS Client Tool are subject to the Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Regulation (CROMERR). Part of the compliance with CROMERR requires users to complete a Subscriber Agreement Form with wet-ink signature.

In addition, if you are responsible for submitting data from the Client Tool to the EPA, after you have completed your Subscriber Agreement Form, you need to set up five challenge questions. This can be done through CBS.

For more information, consult the previous post on CROMERR.

If you still have questions about CROMERR and completing the Subscriber Agreement Form, contact Karen VanSickle.

Labels: CROMERR

Limited Technical Support Until the Next Release

In order to focus on the release of the next version of the ECMPS Client Tool which is scheduled for March 17th, technical support will be limited from now until the release of the next version. If possible, hold your questions until after the release.

Any questions submitted will be maintained in the technical support queue, but it is unlikely that a question submitted during this time period will be addressed until after the release.

As a reminder, the EPA Host System (the production system) will not be available beginning on Monday, March 9th. That means that production users will not be able to log in to the EPA Host System, sync data from the EPA Host System, retrieve data from the EPA Host System, or submit data to the EPA Host System.

Also, for those who are using the ECMPS Client Tool Preview (CTP), technical support for CTP will end on Friday, March 13th. At that time, access to the Test EPA Host System will also be ended. All CTP users should then plan on switching to using the production version of the Client Tool.

Labels: Release Schedule Information, Technical Support, Transition to ECMPS

There are a number of odds and ends that need to be mentioned.

1. As has been previously reported, the access to the production EPA Host System will be unavailable from March 9th until March 17th when the next version of the Client Tool software is scheduled to be released. (By the way, as of now, everything seems to be on schedule to release the software on March 17th.)
   
   Sources who have been working with technical support in order to submit 2008Q4 data have been informed about the fact that, in some cases, they will need to wait until the release of the next version of the software to complete their submission.


2. Second, ECMPS Client Tool Preview (CTP) is ending on March 13th. Everyone who has been working with the CTP and has not installed the production version, should plan on switching to the production version once it becomes available. Note, you cannot upgrade from the CTP to the production version. You must install the production version. If you want you can uninstall the CTP, but it is not necessary.
   
   Under ECMPS, it is no longer necessary to have a test environment such as was found in ETS-FTP. In ECMPS, all of your data are evaluated before you submit your data to the EPA. In other words, because the evaluation of the data takes place in the Client Tool, there is no need to submit your data to a test environment. All data which are submitted to the EPA from the Client Tool have already been fully evaluated. (There is an option to submit data with critical errors, but this should only be used in order to submit data to meet the submission deadline, and the data submitted with critical errors must be resubmitted without critical errors as soon as possible.)


3. The support Web site is undergoing some work to improve the delivery of information. In conjunction with the switch to mandatory reporting under ECMPS, the ECMPS Support Web site will be updated to reflect that change. References to testing and the CTP will be removed, and the Web site will have a cleaner, easier-to-use interface to allow stakeholders faster access to support information. The improvements to the Web site can already be seen in the enhanced search functionality. Perhaps, you have used the Web site search previously and did not find it very useful. The search is much more powerful and comprehensive in its indexing of all of the information which is found on the Web site. Look for the complete Web site change to take place around the time of the release of the new version.


4. The next version of the Client Tool which will be released on or about March 17th will be available for 64-bit versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista. The version which will be available for download from the ECMPS Support Web site and the EPA Web site will be 32-bit versions. Users who need 64-bit versions should contact Technical Support.
   
   We are not putting both versions on the Web sites in order to limit confusion in this first mandatory reporting time frame. Most users are still working with 32-bit versions of the Microsoft operating systems. As time goes on, newer machines will have the 64-bit version, and that version will be made available from the ECMPS Support and EPA Web sites.


5. Finally, a reminder about keeping up-to-date with ECMPS. Currently, there are several ways including simply viewing the Web site. The site includes FAQs, information about Known Issues and EPA Host System access status in addition to all of the documentation and other information available to assist you in reporting data and using the Client Tool. For the latest updates that affect your reporting of data, you can sign up to receive emails the day after a post is added to the Support Blog. Finally, for even quicker information, we have recently added Twitter. This is a microblog which will send you information shortly after it is posted. And, you can have Twitter send that information to your cell phone if that is the best way for you to get that information. All of these ways of communication will only become more important in the next several weeks as we move into the 2009Q1 reporting month.

Labels: Release Schedule Information, Scheduled Outage, Technical Support