These logs do not contain any sensitive information. They provide a linear look at how Acorn is running and may indicate where there was a problem.

These logs can be found on the machine running Discovery’s Acorn, and are only generated after you have run Discovery’s Acorn. The logs keep a continuous record of each time Acorn is run, and will keep up to 7 days worth of logs.

Windows XP

C:\Documents and Settings\[user]\My Documents\Discovery Software\Logs\

• where [user] is the user with which you are logged on to the Windows machine.

Windows Vista and 7:

C:\Users\[user]My Documents\Discovery Software\Logs\

where [user] is the user with which you are logged on to the Windows machine.

File Naming

Acorn-YYYY-MM-DD.log

Where:
YYYY is the 4-digit year
MM is the 2-digit month
DD is the 2-digit day

File Format

This file is a text file and can be opened in Notepad.

The format of this file is as follows:

The first portion contains the header, this contains information helpful in determining when the product was built, when it was run, and indicates the start of each run instance of Acorn.

The last run will begin with the last occurrence of this header.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acorn Log File
Discovery Software Inc. (c) 2002-2011

http://www.discoverysoftware.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Built on       : Nov 12 2010 15:03:43
Generated on   : Jan 11 2011 12:20:16 PM
Version        : 1.0.5.0
               : Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 (operating system version 6.0)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the header you can see one line for each log entry:

Acorn:12:20:16: Debug         MainWindow::MainWindow: Starting App...

• First we have the Application name: Acorn
• Next the time of this log, this is useful in determining which portions are taking too long to complete.
• Next we have the log level of this log entry: Debug
• Next we have the Method reporting the log, this is internal information useful for our developers to find an issue: MainWindow::MainWindow
• Lastly We have the actual log message, this can occupy multiple lines, and may be scrambled for security purposes: Starting App…

The rest of the log contains information useful in diagnosing problems with running Discovery’s Acorn. Please contact our support department for help in diagnosing problems: Email Support

1. You must set up Acorn on a computer that has network access to your Skyward data.
2. Data extraction from Skyward requires an ODBC DSN that has read access to the Skyward database. Typically you will already have an ODBC connection to Skyward for use with other programs such as: Crystal Reports, or COGNOS. If you already have an ODBC DSN set up on your machine, you may continue to the next step. Otherwise you will need to follow the directions for setting up the ODBC connection below:

To check for an existing ODBC DSN:

1. Open the Windows Data Sources (ODBC) control panel:
   1. From the Start menu, choose Control Panel.
   2. On Windows 2000/XP/Vista, open the Administrative Tools folder.
   3. Double-click the Data Sources (ODBC) icon.
2. On the User DSN or System DSN tab, in the User Data Sources or System Data Sources list, check for an entry that matches your school, generally this will be called Skyward Student
3. Note the name of the DSN if you found one, this is the same name that you will enter in the DSN field in the Discovery Data Extractor later.

If you have no ODBC DSN entries matching your school, please follow one of the setups below:

For this set up you will need the following information:

1. The name or ip address of the Skyward server.
2. The name of the Skyward database on the server, typically Skyward.
3. Username and Password for an account that has a minimum of read access to the appropriate views in the Skyward database.

Follow the instruction on one of the following pages, if you do not know which suits your school’s setup, try the Skyward data source configuration first.

• ODBC Set-Up: Skyward Data Source Configuration Utility will automatically set up the correct data source, if you have this utility
• ODBC Set-Up: Progress Merant Drivers manual setup of Merant Progress drivers

Your Data Source is now set up and ready to be used by Acorn.
Move on to Skyward: Connections

Once you have selected Skyward as your bridge from the bridge drop-down, you should see a new list of parameters:

Connections

There are three parameters requiring information:

• ODBC DSN: This is the Data Source Name as you set up in the Skyward Data Source Configuration Utility section; This parameter is required.
• Username: The username matching the ODBC DSN; This parameter is required.
• Password: The password matching the ODBC DSN username; This parameter is required.

Once these have been added you can “Test” the connection, by clicking the Test button.
Test results should appear in the “Test Results” section; below is a list of many of the results, and possible hints on troubleshooting them:

• Connection Successful.: This message indicates success. Your connection is now ready to use.


• Connection Failed.: Indicates there was some problem connecting to the Database via ODBC.
  • ODBC DSN may not exist, check for extra spaces, make sure it is spelled correctly. It must match the name listed in the ODBC Data Source Administrator.
  • Username may not be correct
  • Password may not be correct

Move on to Skyward: Schools

Once you have selected Skyward as your connection from the connection drop-down, you should see a new list of parameters:

Schools

• District: This is the Data Source Name as you set up in the ODBC setup section; This parameter is required.
• School number: Once the District has been chosen, the School number drop-down will be populated with a list of all possible schools for this District in the database.

Once these have been added you can “Test” your choice by clicking the Test button.
Test results should appear in the “Test Results” section; below is a list of many of the results, and possible hints on troubleshooting them:

• District and School Validated.: This is the success message, this indicates your setup is working and you are ready to extract.

In general if you do not receive a District and School Verified message than there is a problem internally and you will need to contact Discovery Support for assistance.

1. Open the Windows Data Sources (ODBC) control panel:
   1. From the Start menu, choose Control Panel.
   2. On Windows 2000/XP/Vista, open the Administrative Tools folder.
   3. Double-click the Data Sources (ODBC) icon.
2. This will open the ODBC Data Source Administrator:

Create New Data Source


3. On the System DSN tab, click the Add… button.
   

Choose Driver

4. From the list of drivers that appears, choose Merant 3.60 32-bit Progress SQL92 (v9.1; or v10) ODBC Driver (or similar).
5. If you cannot find a suitable Progress Driver you may need to install one. For Skyward users: These drivers should be included with your Skyward installation, but their availability and installation is outside the scope of this document. Please contact Skyward for help in obtaining or installing these drivers.
6. Click Finish. The ODBC Progress SQL92 Driver Setup will appear.

ODBC Progress SQL92 Driver Setup


7. For Data Source Name, enter a name for the data source. Remember the name you choose, it is the same name you should enter in the ODBC DSN box in the Extractor. This can be almost anything, typically the name of your SIS will work.
8. Description This can be left blank, but is best used for reference so others will know what this ODBC is used for.
9. Host Name Enter the name of the system or the IP address, where the database is located.
10. Port Number The service number setup for the database listener process. (may be 12501)
11. Database Name Skyward.
12. User ID This is the default user name that you want to appear when connecting to the data source. It is only required if the database has the security options enabled.

Click the Advanced Tab


13. Default Isolation Level Make sure that the Default Isolation Level is set to READ_UNCOMMITTED.

Troubleshooting:
If after examining the errors below you still cannot find your issue, please email our support department with your issue.

If your extraction fails and you see this error in Acorn or in the log file, it generally indicates that the isolation level was not set.

[DataDirect-Technologies][ODBC PROGRESS driver]Error in row.

Solution:

1. Open the ODBC Data Source Administrator, as above, and ensure the isolation level is set to READ_UNCOMMITTED

Skyward Workstation ODBC Configuration Setup

1. The connection should be made to the Student Database
2. The Student ODBC IP is the IP address of the progress server with the student database.
3. The Student ODBC Port is most likely 12501, but could be anything based on setup of the Database.

Once finished follow the steps in Setting up a Data (ODBC) Connection to ensure the data source has been set up, and to retrieve the DSN name.


Troubleshooting:
There are no specific solutions for problems with this utility.

• IP address of the Pentamation Host
• DNS Hostname of the Pentamation Host
• DBPATH of the Host’s Pentamation student database
• Informix Server Name on the Host
• the Pentamation student database name
• a valid Pentamation access ID and password

Next we will install the Informix client and set up the ODBC DSN. This portion of the setup is fairly technical, so if you are unsure of anything please contact your IT department:

1. 1.Install the Informix client. This is a licensed product from Informix that should have been provided as part of your Informix installation. Generally it is available on CD, or as a file distributed on your network.
2. Place the CD in your CD drive, and explore the CD.
3. Find the setup.exe program: [CD Drive] \ICONNECT\WIN_NT95\Setup.exe (or similar)
4. Run this program (double click on it). Follow the steps on screen:
   

   Welcome

   
5. Click Next.
   

   Enter Serial # and Key

   
6. Click Next.
   

   User Information

   
7. Click Next.
   

   Choose Destination Location

   
8. Click Next.
   

   Setup Type

   
9. Click Next.
   

   Select Program Folder

   
10. Click Next.
    

    Start Copying Files

    
11. Click Next.
    

    Setup Complete

    
12. Once the Intaller has Finished, Click Finish.
13. The Informix Connect Drivers should now be installed

Next we need to do some setup on your computer.

1. Locate the Hosts file in c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc or c:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc and add this line:
   xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx DNSHostName
   Where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the IP Address of your Pentamation Host, and DNSHostName is the DNS name of your Pentamation Host machine.
2. Locate the Services file in c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc or c:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc and add this line:
   sqlexec 1525/tcp
3. The Informix Connect install places a SETNET32 utility in the Start/Programs menu. Click the shortcut to run SETNET32 and ensure these parameters are set:
4. On the Environment tab:
   • INFORMIXDIR=/c:\Informix/
     This is the installation folder of the Informix client.
   • INFORMIXSERVER=/xsrvr/
     This is the name of the Informix server on the host (this may be different if you have a different server name enter it here) DBPATH=//stubase/schdata/
     This is the DBPATH of the Host’s Pentamation student database (again this may be different, if you are having trouble finding this value log on to the server and display the DBPATH this should be the same)
5. On the Server Information tab:
   • Informix Server: /xsrvr/
     Same as INFORMIXSERVER above.
   • Host name: /DNSHostName/
     Same as DNSHostName that was set in the Hosts file in step 2.
   • Protocol: sesoctcp
   • ServiceName: sqlexec
6. Now Click Make Default Server
7. On the Host Information tab:
   • User name: Set with a valid Pentamation ID that has access rights to extract data.
   • Password: Ask Password at runtime.
8. Close the SETNET32 utility.

1. Open the Windows Data Sources (ODBC) control panel:
   1. From the Start menu, choose Control Panel.
   2. On Windows 2000/XP, open the Administrative Tools folder.
   3. Double-click the Data Sources (ODBC) icon.
2. This will open the ODBC Data Source Administrator:

Create New Data Source


3. On the System DSN tab, click the Add… button.
   

Choose Driver


4. From the list of drivers that appears, choose INFORMIX [version] 32 BIT, and click Finish.
   
5. Informix ODBC Driver Setup screen will appear.
   

Informix ODBC Driver Setup


6. On the General tab: Enter the Data Source Name, enter a name for the data source. Remember the name you choose, it is the same name you should enter in the Pentamation Open Series and Student Plus DSN box in the Extractor.
7. Click on the Connection tab:

   Connection Settings

   
   • Server Name: /xsrvr/ Same as INFORMIXSERVER in step 4. (should be populated already)
   • Host name: DNSHostName Same as DNSHostName in step 2.
   • Service: sqlexec (should be populated already)
   • Protocol: sesoctcp (should be populated already)
   • Database: /studentDBName/ Name of the Pentamation student database.
   • User Id: Valid Pentamation ID
   • Password: password for the above ID
8. Click Apply & Test Connection
9. Click OK.
   

The new Bridge installation file includes all of the files that you will need to run Acorn and the associated Bridge. Follow these steps below:

1. Close the current Bridge if it is running on your computer
2. Download the appropriate Bridge from the list of Bridges
3. Run the installer for the Bridge.
4. Follow the on screen instructions. This will install the Bridge, Acorn, and the Microsoft Runtime Environment.
5. The installer will also remove any old versions of the Bridge, and any associated Windows Scheduled Tasks (On Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003, 2008)
6. Once the installation has completed you can access Acorn in two ways:

a) There is a shortcut for Acorn on your desktop and looks like:  b) Or can be found from the Start Menu:

• XP: Start->Programs->Acorn->Acorn
• Vista/7: Start->All Programs->Acorn->Acorn

Documentation can be found by:

• accessing the Help menu or the User Guide icon in Acorn
• accessing the Acorn User Guide via the Start Menu
• or Online: http://www.discoverysoftware.com/category/support/kb/acorn-docs/

Verify Schools

Now that Acorn should be running, you should verify that your data was imported correctly from the old version of the data extractor. Click on the Schools tab in Acorn and ensure that you have all of your schools listed on the left hand side. Make sure that they have green check marks. If there is a problem with a given school you can click on the school and make sure that the settings are correct.

Scheduled Tasks

In order to ensure your scheduled tasks begin working again, you will need to set them up again. Acorn makes this fairly simple, once you have verified your schools, click on each school in turn, and at the bottom of the Acorn screen you should see Automatically extract school data. Click the “Update demographic/attendance data automatically” for each school to ensure that they are added to the scheduled task.

You can make modifications to the Scheduled tasks by opening the Windows Scheduled Task window, available via Control Panel in Windows.

1. You must set up Acorn on a computer that has network access to your eSchoolPLUS data.
2. You must have the appropriate views installed in your database. If you do not have these views installed please contact our support department and we will be able to get the appropriate views to you.
3. Data extraction from eSchoolPLUS requires an ODBC DSN that has read access to the eSchoolPLUS database. Typically you will already have an ODBC connection to eSchoolPLUS for use with other programs such as: Crystal Reports, or COGNOS. If you already have an ODBC DSN set up on your machine, you may continue to the next step. Otherwise you will need to follow the directions for setting up the ODBC connection below:

To check for an existing ODBC DSN:

1. Open the Windows Data Sources (ODBC) control panel:
   1. From the Start menu, choose Control Panel.
   2. On Windows 2000/XP/Vista, open the Administrative Tools folder.
   3. Double-click the Data Sources (ODBC) icon.
2. On the User DSN or System DSN tab, in the User Data Sources or System Data Sources list, check for an entry that matches your school.
3. Note the name of the DSN if you found one, this is the same name that you will enter in the DSN field in the Discovery Data Extractor later.

If you have no ODBC DSN entries matching your school, please follow these steps to add an ODBC DSN for MS SQL Server:

For this set up you will need the following information:

1. The name of the eSchoolPLUS MS SQL server.
2. The name of the eSchoolPLUS database on the MS SQL server.
3. Username and Password for an account that has a minimum of read access to the appropriate views in the eSchoolPLUS database.

Follow the instruction on the MS SQL ODBC setup page to setup and configure your ODBC connection. Your Data Source is now set up and ready to be used by Acorn.
Move on to eSchoolPLUS: Connections