faq

 

The sections below cover some commonly asked questions in relation to eDocs and document design.

 

•How do I obtain the latest version of eDocs?
•How do I upload a "partial mailing"?
•Give me a general description of how eDocs works.

eDocs is a separate program / application / interface which is used in conjunction with AutoMail®. This means that both the eDocs add-on AND AutoMail® "share" common databases.  AutoMail® will be executed just as it is now for each job (Profile). At some point following the completion of AutoMail®, eDocs will have to be opened to select each profile that was run and submit the Postage Statement information electronically.
•References in the documentation indicate 500 pieces or more (the amount of qualified / coded mail-pieces to qualify for full manifest discounts) We currently submit paperwork with any Batches (mailings) exceeding 200. Will the Batches between 200 and 499 be submitted electronically also?

Yes!
•Can the same report data (Postage Statement and Floating Batch Manifest data) be submitted twice?

For example, institution (Profile) "A" has a Batch / mailing today and we submit the reports. Tomorrow institution "B" has another run ....is it possible that we could submit the reports from the previous day instead of today? Will eDocs know that we submitted the same reports twice and tell the operator?

 

Sorta'. Whle eDocs doesn't launch any sort of pop-up or alert telling you this, it is clearly obvious within the interface. You can see which Batch(es) you've already uploaded.
•Can I use the new Full Service "tray-tags" with non-Full Service mailings ...while in the interim process (pre January 26, 2014)

Yes! Once the new tray-tag is configured in an instance of AutoMail® it is global, instead of being “per profile”? We have observed no issues / complaints in using the "new" Full Service tray-tags while still running in Basic Service mode. This would mostly affect data-center environments. For individual entities ....once you change to Full Service using eDocs you're going to be using Full Service altogether.
•Once we are configured / tested for eDocs, does that cover anything our CRID/Mailer ID submits? For example, if I submit institution "A" reports as a “test” so as to get approval …does that then allow us to go live with all the other institutions (Profiles) we process?

Yes! When you, as a mailer, test for Full Service using eDocs that is good for any mailings coming from your organization which utilize AutoMail®.
•What if the process of submitting the reports is not possible (communication broken, site down, etc.) does that mean the work cannot be taken to the post office? I read that no work can be taken unless the reports are submitted electronically.

Correct! This is our understanding thus far. Contact the PostalOne! HelpDesk if unable to complete a transmission. These issues are usually quickly rectified.
•Does the username and password placed in eDocs ever expire?

No! Not that we have observed. The password for your Business Customer Gateway account, unlike a network user password, does not appear to expire. Conclusively, it would be logical that maintenancing this is not necessary within eDocs. On the other hand, if someone "manually" changes their Business Customer Gateway account password ...then the reference in eDocs configuration would need to be manipulated as well.
•Do we have to wait for our local post office representative to check anything as we drop-off our mailing(s)? Is the post office supposed to check for submission when the work is dropped off at the facility?

This could vary from local post office to local post office. Some may desire that you remain at the facility while they login to the Business Customer Gateway, and review your account. Still others may verify this later.
•We're a data-center environment. Should the AutoMail® Mailer Info address be our data center’s address?

Yes! ...but only for your reference purposes. This address is NOT used in eDocs transmissions.

 

What is a ghost account?

Ghost accounts are used, by local post offices, to co-mingle multiple permits together. This would apply to multiple entities, with unique Mailer IDs, being mailed by a single mailer.
•Should the ZIP+4, in Mailer Info, be the local post office’s ZIP+4?

Yes! Historically, this has been recorded as your organization's ZIP+4. For eDocs purposes, this ZIP+4 should reference your local post office, where you take your mailing(s) for delivery ....if different than your own ZIP+4.
•What is the difference between a CRID and MID?

Think of your "CRID" as your unique customer identification number, as a mailer. Think of this as the umbrella in which items, such as multiple Mailer IDs, would fall under. Your "Mailer ID" could be unique per institution, if a data-center mailing for multiple clients.

•CRID = Customer Registration ID
•MID = Mailer ID
•I am in a data-center environment. How can I ensure that AutoMail® is NOT running when I launch eDocs?

eDocs and AutoMail® share common databases. Therefore, both AutoMail® and eDocs should NOT be active / running simultaneously. For instance, maybe you're running in a VM (virtual machine) environment, or a Terminal Server environment, and you need to determine whether or not an instance of AutoMail® is running under another account. We recommend opening Task Manager and show processes for all users. Look for AMPro.exe. Also, below is a script using "tasklist" to check for instances of AMPro.exe. Simply copy the text below into a text file, change the .txt extension to .bat, and execute.

 

@tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq AMPro.exe" 2>NUL | find /I /N "AMPro.exe">NUL

@if "%ERRORLEVEL%"=="0" goto AMRunning

@if "%ERRORLEVEL%"=="1" goto AMnotRunning

:AMRunning

@ECHO ***************************************

@ECHO *** AutoMail Pro IS running  ***

@ECHO *** on this machine               ***

@ECHO ***************************************

@pause

@exit

:AMnotRunning

@ECHO ********************************************

@ECHO *** AutoMail Pro is NOT running ***

@ECHO *** on this machine                     ***

@ECHO ********************************************

@pause

@exit