Technical Support's Frequently Asked Questions

Below, you'll find some of the most commonly asked questions of our Technical Support staff, with regard to .Net.  Many of these answers will walk you through solutions to these questions.  To view the answer to the question, click the plus (+) sign to the right of the question. 

If you're a Brand-new user to AE7...

How do I open Attachments outside of Agency Expert? 

1. Go to Maintenance>Configuration
2. Uncheck all boxes except .tiff/tif (Windows no longer supports viewing Multi-page tif files)​

How do I setup User Functions, such as setting the auto-logout time to never, or after 8 hours?

This is an Administrative function (only accessible by a System Admin) and can be found in Maintenance>User Permissions>Automatic logout settings.

How do I disable the user restriction notifications (for users, as opposed to admins)?

This is an Administrative function (only accessible by a System Admin) and can be found in Maintenance>Configuration>Display>Pop-up Settings>Hide Notifications for User Permissions

how do i rearrange the fields on a user defined fields screen?

1. ​On a UDF screen, begin by clicking the UDF Configuration icon
2. Choose the number of rows and columns you would like (we recommend a maximum of 17 rows and 3 columns)
3. Click Edit UDFs
4. If there are existing fields, you may remove them all by clicking the Clear icon (note, if you have already configured fields, they will retain their field name and can be chosen from the field lists.  Additionally, any data entered in UDF fields will be retained).
5. Click the place (ie [place #0]) to select, and choose the desired field type from the field list drop downs (for example, Date1).  
6. To edit the field name, click on the blue field name and type the new name.  Tab off the field name to save.
7. If you do not add a field to a place, it will appear as a blank space on the UDF screen.
8. When you have added the desired fields in the desired places, click the Save icon.
9. To return the screen to the prior configuration without saving, click the Reset link.

how do I adjust firewall settings for agency expert on the SQL server?

1. Add Incoming rule for sqlservr.exe. Start by giving it a descriptive name, something like "SQL Server Rule (GBSAE)."  To find the folder where that file is running from, open task manager and check box "Show processes from all users."  Find the sqlservr.exe on the list then right click and select Properties.  Copy the folder name from location field.  On the rule screen click Advanced tab and make sure Local, Domain and Public scopes are all checked.
2. Repeat the steps above for the new Outgoing rule also.
3. Repeat steps 1-2 for the sqlbrowser.exe process.
    
   There should be four rules total.

how do i create a filter?

1. Go to the Tools dropdown and select Filter Designer.
2. Choose Individual as the base table (click the little magnifying glass to the right of the field and double click Individual from the list).
3. Click the green Add button and change the Filter Name to whatever you want it to be.
4. If you genuinely want to mail every individual in your system, you can just close this and save it.  However, I suspect you'll want to add some kind of criteria. 
5. Click the green add button.
6. Choose the Field from the list (like Status).
7. Choose the Operator (Equal to by default, but you can also choose things like greater than or between).
8. Now choose a value (click the magnifying glass to the right of the field and choose what you want from the list, like "Client").
9. Click the save icon in the middle of the screen, and you'll see the line move up to the white box.
10. To see how many people this selects, click Test Filter at the top of the screen - it'll be in a terrible format, but there will be a count at the top.
11. If this is sufficient, X out of the screen and choose Yes when asked to save.
12. Otherwise, keep adding criteria in exactly the same way - click add, then choose your stuff, then save. Test Filter.
13. Filters can be as complicated as you like, through the use of and/or and parentheses, but this is enough to get you started, I think!
14. Close the Filter Manager.  

how do I create a Label?

1. Go to Tools>Label Designer.
2. Click File>choose New Label.
3. Name the label.
4. Choose a template by clicking the *** next to the Template field.
5. Once you choose the Category, then a whole list of possible templates will appear on the right. Choose the one you can and click Select.
6. Choose  the type of label you'd like to create (ie, Individual client, Agent, etc)  from below and click OK.
7. Click into the box and put your cursor where you want it.
8. Click the Insert dropdown and select Merge Fields from the list.
9. Double-click the _________ Fields (where blank is the type of label you are creating, such as IndividualFields) to display them.
10. From there, click on the field you want and click Select. You can leave this screen open and go back to reposition your cursor as need be.
11. Please note that to get address fields (I recommend that you choose from Main, Mailing or Primary), Scroll down to view all the available fields.
12. Once you're happy, click File>Save Label.
13. Then File>Print Merge Label.
14. This will bring up the list of Filters. Double click the desired filter (see the section above on creating Filters for help, if necessary).
15. This will bring up a screen with all the recipients you'll print labels for.
16. Click Proceed in the upper left.
17. That will bring up a standard Print screen - We recommend you print only 1 page as a test, to make sure the label setup is correct, and if everything looks good, proceed with printing the remaining pages. 

how do I create a Report Filter (in report manager?)

1. Click on the report you want to run.
2. Click on the Binoculars in the Filter Options section (just below title and instruction).
3. This will bring up the Filter selection screen.
4. Click the green add button to create a new one.
5. Rename the filter to what you want it to be.
6. Click the green add button in the middle of the screen.
7. Choose the Field that you want to use to filter against, from the Field list (for example, Administrator Name).
8. Choose the Operator (Equal to by default).
9. Type part of the name you want to search for into the Value field (for example, "Ant" for "Anthem" and click the magnifying glass to the right of the field. Double click the desired search result from the list.
10. Click the save icon in the middle of the screen, and you'll see the line move up to the white box.
11. X out of the screen and choose Yes when asked to save.
12. Select the filter you just created from the list of available filters, by double-clicking.
13. You should see the filter you just created in the field to the left of the binoculars.
14. Now click Run, and it will run the selected Report just for the criteria you selected.

how do I create a user-defined report?

This example will walk you through creating a User Defined Report for a Policy Only (the process is similar for all UDF Reports)

Step 1:  Go to Report Manager>User Defined Report Policy Only (highlighted below).  Click on the Design button to the right of User Defined report Option (lower right of the screen, currently says Doris Report in that field).

Step 2: Once you're in the User Defined Reports, click the Green Add Button in the upper right. Change the Report Name (where it says Doris Report in the example) to whatever you want it to be. Then click the Checkbox under the Landscape column. Click save in the upper right. Then click the green add button in the Layout Fields section. That will bring up the field selector section. Choose the fields shown in the screenshot below. To get to the Client>Individual fields, slide down under all the policy fields. To get to the Emails and Phones, slide down below the Individual fields and open those up. Choose the Email and Phone from the Primary categories. Save your changes and close this screen. These are the fields that will appear on your report. Select it in the User Defined report option dropdown (shown above with Doris Report in that field)

Step 3: Now you need to choose the individuals who will be shown on your report with the fields you chose above. On the main Report Manager screen (shown in the 1st screenshot above), click the binoculars next to the Filter selector. Click the green Add button on the screen that opens. Change the filter name to something useful - the example is called Doris test. Now click the green add button in the middle of the screen for each line you want to add. The first line of the example filter is the date selector - to get the people who have had their policies for at least 4 years. When you click on Effective Date from the list of fields, then change the operator to Less Than (so you get policies older than 4 years) and then change the value to whatever date your cutoff is. Then click the save button (the little diskette) in the middle of the screen to move it up into the white section. Click add again. This time, choose either Administrator Name or Carrier Name to choose your insurance company, keep operator as Equal To, and then click the magnifying glass next to the value field (you can type part of a name into the field where it's currently showing Assurant Health to show fewer options on the list) and double click the one you want. It'll now show on the value screen. Click save. Click add and save until you've added all your companies.  Now, you'll go back to your first company, click on it and from the far left field (to the left of Field), choose a single right parenthesis. Click save. Now click on the AND that separates each of the companies and change them to OR and click save. Do this between all the companies. Finally, click on the last company, in this case Assurant Health, and click the single parenthesis in the far right field (you'll see that this is showing in the example below) and click save.  You can click 'Test Filter' just to get a count of how many records the filter will select. If you're happy with your filter, then x out of this screen and click YES to save when prompted. Now double click it from the list to choose it as your filter. It should show in the filter field (where it shows Doris Test in the 1st screenshot). Now click Run and it'll give you the fields you chose in step 2 for the people you chose in step 3.

how do I export a User Defined Report to Excel?

1) When you create a User Defined Report in Report Manager, and then export to Excel, there’s often a problem with the fields wrapping to two (or more) lines that need to be manually (see below).

2) Choose Export and Excel as the output format. Then change both RemoveVerticalSpacing and UseCellmerging to True (see below).

3) When you open it in Excel, highlight the sheet, right click, and choose Format Cells. Click the Alignment tab. Then uncheck Wrap Text and Merge Cells (see below). Close.

4) Final result:

how do I merge two company records in to one?

1. Open the company you don’t want.
2. If the Delete icon is available, use that, and choose the Transfer Attachments then Delete option (skip to step 4) 
3. If not, then right click and choose “Transfer Attachments”. Both things will bring up the transfer manager.
4. Choose the Company you want to transfer everything to.
5. Click the Transfer button. This may take a while if there’s a lot of stuff.
6. Once it’s finished, if you started with the Delete icon, then you’re done. If you right clicked to transfer, then the delete icon should now be available and you can delete the record.

How do I move Agency Expert to a new server?

1. Back up old server:
   To back up the old Server: Go to Maintenance>System Backup. Click the button to the right of Zip Archive File to determine where to save the file. Make sure “Both Database and File Attachments” is checked (which it should be by default. Click start. Hard to know how long it will take – I’ve seen it take anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 hours. It will tell you when it’s finished.
2. Install AE on new server
3. Restore to the new server:
   Go to Maintenance>System Restore. Use the button to the right of the Zip Archive File to select the file you just backed up. Depending on your system options, you’ll be prompted to enter your (sa) and/or master password. Click start. When it’s finished, it will say so – and it should log you out automatically. If it doesn’t, then log out and back in.

How do I receive a Backup file transfer (from GBS?)

You should already have Agency Expert installed, before you begin.

1. From the server, open the Agency Expert Program Utility (red/orange icon).
2. Slide down to File Transfer>Receive from GBS and double click it.
3. You will see the file "aeBackupXXXXX.zip" (where XXXXX is your serial number) and it should be checked.
4. Click OK and you'll be prompted to choose a location to which to download the file.  Put it wherever you like.
5. When it's completed, close the file transfer screen.
6. Still within the Program Utility, slide up to Database>Restore, near the top.
7. Double click it.
8. Choose the file you just downloaded.
9. You'll be prompted to enter your sa password, which you would have created when you initially installed the program.
10. Once you've done that, click OK and it will do the restore.  It shouldn't take more than 5 or 10 minutes.

How do I remove a user if there are "too many" users Logged In?

1. From your login screen, click Program Utilities (lower right).
2. Double click User Monitor.
3. It will ask for your sa password and then your usual login information.
4. When it opens the user monitor screen, either select the user to disconnect or click Disconnect All (in blue in the far right column).
5. You can then login as normal.

I converted from version 6 to version 7 and can't find where to view my clients' policies/Investments?

Polices and Investments are collectively referred to as "Contracts" in .Net.  The can be accessed by clicking on the Contracts tab in both the Individual and Business Client Managers and then clicking the desired policy in the grid.​