help and FAQ
answers
1

Reports are read-only in Vista

When starting Report Rascal on a computer running Microsoft Vista, it is currently necessary to start the program with admin privileges.
Right-click on the Report Rascal "Splat" icon and select Run as Administrator from the resultant drop-down menu.
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2 Network Compatible?
Yes. Please see here for further information.
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3 Identical Reports?
No. Although Report Rascal comes supplied with a Library of "starter" Comments, these can be amended and your own Comments added to the Library for later use, perhaps next year. Amending an existing Comment (or adding an ad-hoc Comment from the report being worked on) is simply a matter of a few mouse clicks.
Each staff member will soon develop their own unique Comment Library.
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4
 Download Problems
Some ISPs (Internet Service Providers) place a limit on the size of files that can be downloaded, or the length of time you can be online. Despite its relatively small size, the Report Rascal download file may exceed the limit set by your ISP.
Other factors affecting your ability to download are poor quality telephone lines to your PC, and heavy traffic on your ISPs server. In the latter case, you may have more success if you try the download at a less popular time, such as early morning.
If you continue to have problems, you can order a free CD containing the software.
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5
Finding the Downloaded File
To find the downloaded file, proceed as follows:
  • On the Desktop, right-click on "My Computer".
  • Select "Find..." or "Search..." and enter "RR42Setup.exe" as the name of the file to search for.
  • Click the "Find Now" button.
Installation instructions are detailed in the instruction page.
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6 Re-registering Report Rascal on a new computer
Please remember that each Licence is to be used to enable a single installation of Report Rascal - see our Licensing Conditions. If you still have access to the computer with the original installation, it should be uninstalled.

Note: before uninstalling Report Rascal, you may want to copy your existing Rascal Reports and Comments to the new computer - see Where is my data.

If your Report Rascal Licence relates to Version 4 ("ESi4"), simply download and install Report Rascal onto your new computer, then register it using your existing Registration Code.

If you purchased a Report Rascal licence prior to Version 4 ("ESi4") you will have been issued with a Release Key. In order to enable a new installation of Report Rascal you need to convert your Release Key to a Registration Code. This service is free-of-charge.

Private licence holders should click here.
A representative of a school holding a Site Licence should click here.
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7 Adapting Existing Word document Report for Report Rascal
Start Word and open your existing report layout. Save it in the Report Rascal Style folder, as follows:-
  • On the Word menu bar,select "File", "Save As..."
  • Save the document in "C:\Program Files\Repor tRascal\RepStyles" (this assumes the default location was accepted when Report Rascal was installed. If not, you should save it in the appropriate path).
  • It is important that the layout is saved as a standard Word document (.DOC). It must not be saved as any other type.
  • Now close Word and start Report Rascal.
  • Select "Design Mode" from the Admin menu (jigsaw) and select the "Styles" Tab - your school's report should be listed as a Report Style. Click to open it.
  • Click on the "Style Tags" tab.
  • Position the cursor at an appropriate point in the Report Style (Word window), select an SRML Tag and double-click it to insert the tag into the Report Style. Continue until all required Tags have been inserted. Save and close the Report Style.
  • Exit from Design mode (Jigsaw icon), click the "Reports" Tab and select "[Create Report]". Select your new Report Style from the drop-down list and enter pupil details.

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8 Version Conflict warning during Report Rascal installation
This is nothing to worry about. The message indicates that one or more of the Report Rascal support files we supply are older than the ones you already have on your computer - simply select the option to keep the more recent file that already exists on your computer.
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9 Word is Freezing on Exit
Some users have reported problems when closing Report Rascal by using the Word "File" --> "Exit" menu command. Word will appear to "freeze" (stop responding), with the cursor being displayed as an hourglass. The situation can be rectified by clicking the Word icon on the Task Bar (to the right of the Start button). To ensure this situation does not occur in the first place, close Report Rascal by right-clicking on the Report/Comment list area and selecting "Close Report Rascal" from the drop-down menu.
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10 Corrupted Installation File
Some of our visitors have reported installation problems with an apparently damaged download file (RR42Setup.exe). This appears to be related to connections via particular ISPs (Internet Service Providers). If the installation process reports an error when started, you can request a free installation CD.

When ordering your CD, if you could take the time to give a brief description of the problem and identify your ISP, this could assist us in correcting the problem - thank you.
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11 Where is my data?
The default installation location is C:\Program Files\Report Rascal\. The subfolders "Comments" and "Reports" should be backed-up on a regular basis as a security measure. The subfolder "RepStyles" contains the Report Style used to create your Rascal Reports and is not changed by Report Rascal.

You may want to move the above subfolders to another location ("My Documents", for instance) if that makes your backup routine easier. When you next start Report Rascal, you will be prompted to specify the new location for each moved subfolder - this will only happen once.
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