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Version 2.8 Released! Monday, October 4, 1999 8:00am

The next release will provide numerous features to make life easier, like . . .
  • Unit of Measure Descriptions – "Compound" units of measure are displayed in the catalog with a quantity description, such as "Pack of 25".
  • Minority/Recycled Items – "Socially-responsible" products, like those from minority suppliers and recycled items, are identified by icons in the catalog, as well as appearing in their own product categories.
  • Forgotten Password Notification – Users may retrieve passwords quickly, by sending their e-mail address.
  • User Profile Templates – Administrators may use "templates" to simplify setting up numerous users with similar profiles
  • Online Catalog Index List – Catalog may be searched by comprehensive alphabetized keyword list
  • Image/Logo Upload (to Bulletin Page) – You can now load your company logo directly to the Bulletin Page, all by yourself
  • Order Template Enhancements – Items are sorted alphabetically within Category sorts, and Message Lines may be entered here, to simplify ordering direct from the template.
  • Simplified Contact Us – If you are logged in to SyntraNet, you can click "Contact Us" to generate an email with contact info auto-populated from your profile.
  • Department Order History – If you are set up with restricted departments, you can view order history for those departments as needed
  • Auto PO Sequencing -- An Administrator may select a PO Number prefix and starting number for the entire account, which will be automatically incremented. Additionally, users may add a suffix to each PO Number.
  • Recently Ordered Start Page – "Recently Ordered" may be selected as your Start Page.
  • Enhanced Enterprise Procurement Integration – For customers using SyntraNet with their own enterprise procurement systems, pages have been refined to simplify product selection

  • Version 2.7 Released! Monday, February 22, 1999 8:00am

    Syntranet has been improved with the following new features:
    • Improved Online Help - Detailed "context-sensitive" Online Help is available for every page, to make SyntraNet even easier to use. A special Help window is opened so you don't lose your place in SyntraNet.
    • "AutoCharge" to Credit Card - If credit cards are required for your account, and your department already has a credit card on file with BTOPI, that card will automatically be selected as the payment option for new orders.
    • Diner's Club - Diner's Club credit cards are now accepted by Syntranet.
    • Approval Thresholds - Order Approvals can now be conditional, based on a dollar limit, non-contract items, or a combination of both.
    • Order Header Start Page - You can now select a New Order Header as your default start page.
    • Custom Contract Item Indicator - A custom logo can now be used in place of the "Contract Item Indicator".

    Version 2.6 Released! Monday, December 14, 1998 8:00am

    Syntranet has been migrated to a new and improved database engine. No visible front-end changes were made.


    Version 2.5 Released! Monday, October 19, 1998 8:00am

    Syntranet has been improved with the following new features:
    • Department Restriction - Users can now be assigned a drop-down list of available departments to choose from.
    • Auto Credit Card Reference - The reference number field for credit cards can now be automatically populated with a field right off the order header. This includes behind-the-scenes account credit cards.
    • Postponed Order Expiration - Users can now "HOLD" a pending order, effectively pushing the expiration back another 7 days. This feature is found in the action drop-down on the Pending Order list.
    We've also enhanced the order template, enabling the catalog links for custom item numbers.


    Version 2.4 Released! Monday, August 3, 1998 8:00am

    Syntranet has migrated from user levels to user privileges! Now, any user can be assigned any of the following rights:
    • Full Profile - Normal users are only allowed to change their start page and their password. This options gives the user full control over all their profile settings.
    • Manage Users - The typical "admin" privilege of adding/changing/deleting user profiles.
    • Order History - Gives the user the ability to view Syntranet order history for all users.
    • Edit Bulletin - Allows the user to edit the custom bulletin. Now, your admins don't have to be web experts. Give this one to the person studying HTML in their spare time!
    • Edit Template - The user with this option can build/maintain the custom order template.
    The translation from existing user levels to new user privileges was made as follows:
    Default
    User
    Power
    User
    AdminSuper
    Admin
    Full Profile XXX
    Manage Users  XX
    Order History   X
    Edit Bulletin   X
    Edit Template   X
    We have also made significant improvements to the Syntranet engine AND installed multiple, concurrent Syntranet servers, improving response time considerably.

    The next upgrade of Syntranet will include, among other things, drop-down department selection based on a specified list, and improved credit card capabilities.
    Version 2.3 Released! Friday, May 15, 1998 8:00am

    Syntranet now includes email notification!
    • Approver Notification - When an order is submitted to an approver, they will automatically receive an email notifying them of the order, with a copy of the order attached.
    • Send Notification - When an order is sent to BT, the submitter (and the originator, if an approver is sending the order) will automatically receive an email verifying the send, with a copy of the order attached.
    • Printable Users List - Admins can now print out a summary of all the their users profiles in Syntranet.
    • Order History - Admins can generate a list of all the orders their users have placed through Syntranet.
    Next, we're working on more Administration enhancements, including approval thresholds.
    Version 2.2 Released! Friday, March 13, 1998 8:00am

    Syntranet now has a direct interface to BT's internal National Sales System. Now all the account customization and validation used by our Customer Service Reps is available to you. Some of these features, as well as new enhancements are listed below:
    • Efficient Order Form - The order form has been redesigned into split header/lines pages to minimize scrolling.
    • Complex Header Validation - This includes Not Required/Required/Validated/Masked checks for Department, PO and Req. fields.
    • Order Detail Message Lines - Now you can identify not only the recipient of the order, but who each individual line goes to.
    • Default Attention Lines - The Attention Lines that print
    • Order Limits - Account specific Line Limits and Order Limits are now in effect.
    • Template Categories - Product Categories are now stored with the Order Template, and can be sorted by when ordering.
    • Permanent "Recently Ordered" Items - Items in your Recently Ordered list can now be marked "permanent" to prevent them from rolling off the list.
    • "Recently Ordered" Categories - Product Categories are now stored with the Recently Ordered list, and can be sorted by when ordering.
    • Auto PO and Req - The PO and Req fields on the header can now be autopopulated with a Syntranet generated unique number.
    Weren't many bugs to speak of since the last release. Those few we did have were voided by the interface to the National Sales System.

    Next, we're working on enhancing Administration and including email notification (Now, the number one requested new feature).
    Attention all BTOPI users:
    The latest version of BT OPI's SyntraNet will be released on March 13, 1998. This new version will include such highly-requested features as:
    • Order Detail Message Lines (useful in identifying the User or Department for each item)
    • Order Limits
    • Saving Items to each User's Recently Ordered List for "personal" Order Templates
    • Additional Sorts by Item Category in the Order Template and the Recently Used list
    • A SyntraNet-generated PO Number or Requisition Number.
    Due to the nature of the changes being made, it will be necessary for ALL USERS to complete and SEND any SAVED ORDERS by March 13, 1998. Any Orders remaining in SAVED ORDERS will be deleted when the new version of SyntraNet is released.

    We apologize for any inconvenience, but your patience and cooperation will be rewarded with some great new features and functions!


    Version 2.11 Released! Monday, November 10, 1997 8:00am

    Boy, have we been busy! We've done quite a bit of feature enhancements and bug fixes:
    • Secure Login - We've got our new SSL Certificate and a new secured login page. Very soon, your entire ordering experience may be secured through an encrypted channel.
    • Most Recently Ordered - If you order that favorite pen of yours all the time, you don't have to write the number down anymore! We remember it for you. You'll find this feature in the catalog.
    • Contract Item Indicator - We flag the items on your contract for you so you know where to look for the BEST deal. (As opposed to just the really, really GOOD deals.)
    • Order Retrieval - Just like real life. If you forgot to add something to your order, but you've already submitted it to your approver, you can sneak into his virtual office, and take it back from his virtual inbox.
    • Print Sent Orders - When your order arrives, you can goto Syntranet, pull the order back up, and print it for comparison.

    We've squished hordes of bugs, as well. Here are some of the memorable ones:
    • We turned Order Expiration back on. If orders are mysteriously falling out of your Saved Orders, check your email address. You should receive a notice before it happens.
    • Changing your email address no longer loses all your orders. (Nice segue, huh?)
    • Added a 7 day limit to the Order Status list. (Some of them were getting rather large.)
    • Netscape shouldn't warn you about an incomplete line item, when your cursor passes through a product input field.
    • Fixed Administrator's user list so that clearing out a user's last name does not "loose" the profile.
    • Paging backward through the user list no longer causes an error.
    • HTML tags don't get lost anymore when re-editing the bulletin.
    • You can now use apostrophes in user profiles without causing nasty errors.
    • The account credit card check box on the order form works.
    • The Printable Order Form will properly indicate whether a credit card was used for an order.

    Next on our plate are Order Templates (the number one requested new feature), and the new order form everyone's anxiously waiting for.
    Version 2.1 Released! Monday, August 25, 1997 8:00am

    We have made many visual and administrative enhancements in Version 2.1. First, we standardized on a more familiar "windowey" look. (Thanks goes to Khoi for his HTML <TABLE> magic!) Next we added quite a number of Administrative functions:
    • Personal Profile Maintenance - This allows normal users to change their password, their default start page, etc.
    • "Admin" Users - Your company can now have Administrators in order to add/change/delete your own users, as well as update the customer Bulletin
    • User Maintenance Screens - Easy to use, friendly pages for your new Admins.
    • "Virtual" Users - An encrypted, secure "backdoor" for large Intranet-enabled corporations wishing to use their own User Database.
    • Customer Customized Bulletins - A convenient way to display instructions/policies to your users when they log in.
    • Online Help - Context sensitive help for each area of the site.
    You'll find these new functions under the ADMIN tab after you log in. You're company's bulletin is under the new BULLETINS tab.

    We've also fixed a few minor bugs like:
    • The Unit missing from the Catalog.
    • JWOD Items missing from the Catalog.
    • Unable to open "Other Credit Card..." page.
    • Printable Order not displaying properly.
    • Order Status not working.
    ...as well as a few others you probably never noticed.

    Next, we're going to attack the Order Form and pack in so much functionality, we won't be able to hold it all in one page!
    Version 2 Released! Monday, June 30, 1997 8:00am

    Version 2 of BT's Online Catalog and Ordering is released! This version constituted a complete overhaul of the site that focused on usability. The entire structure, as well as the graphics and layout, have been greatly enhanced to provide visual clues on where you are and where you can go.

    Functionally, the site is a hybrid between Version 1 and Version 2. Ordering is accomplished through the same order form, however, the online catalog has been rebuilt with a much faster engine and a true catalog "look-and-feel". We've made it extremely simple and easy to find exactly what your looking for. You can now browse through the catalog, with the option of searching, rather than searching only. The search itself has also been enhanced to allow complex keyword searches.

    We're sure you'll feel our hard work was well worth it. Enjoy the site!


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