FAQ

Stamper's Sidekick was developed in Microsoft Access 2002. Access is a very powerful relational database for the desktop and also provides extremely fast development compared with more traditional programming languages. Depending on demand and time, the program may sometime move to another language such as Visual Basic or Visual Basic .Net.

Certainly not. The Stamper's Sidekick installation includes a runtime version of Microsoft Access 2002. There is no additional charge and you do not need any other Microsoft Office application to be able to run Stamper's Sidekick.

Because the installation requires the Microsoft Access 2002 Runtime files, the initial download is quite big at about 50 MB. There will be a CD available for a small additional charge.
Program updates will only be available for download and will be from 5-7 MB.

Yes. A demo version is available on the Download page.

Microsoft has chosen not to produce a Mac version of Access. Since Access was the best choice for initial development, there is no way to run Stamper's Sidekick directly in the Mac OS. However you may be able to run it using a Windows Emulator. Microsoft makes one called Virtual PC for Mac. I do not provide any installation support for Stamper's Sidekick on Mac.

If you have a newer Intel Based Mac you can use one of several dual boot programs including the free Boot Camp from Apple. These allow you to install and run Windws XP on your Mac which would then enable you to install Stamper's Sidekick.

Operating System: Windows 98, 98SE, ME, NT 4.0 SP6, 2000, XP

CPU: Pentium 133Mhz or higher, Pentium III 500 Mhz or higher recommended

Memory:
Windows 98 and 98SE - 32 MB RAM
Windows ME and NT 4.0 SP6 - 40 MB RAM
Windows 2000 - 52 MB RAM
Windows XP - 136 MB RAM

Hard Disk: 60MB plus as needed for project images, 150 MB during installation

Display: Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher resolution with 16-bit color (65,000 colors)

Peripherals: 2 button mouse

Some Internet functionality may require Internet access and payment of a separate fee to a service provider; local or long-distance charges may apply.

That error is caused by a bad download.

One way to verify the download is to check the file size of the downloaded file. The file size is listed next to the download link. If your file after download is any other size, that indicates the file is corrupted. If you continue to get bad downloads you might try a download manager. Here is one that I found. I do not recommend or endorse that particular program, it is just an option. You must decide if it works for you.

The basic steps are as follows:

1. Download and install the latest version of Stamper's Sidekick on the new PC (Currently 1.0.4f).
2. Move the data file from the old PC to the new PC.
3. Uninstall Stamper's Sidekick from the old PC.
4. Unlock Stamper's Sidekick on the new PC.

The data file is usually named data.ss and is normally located at C:\Program Files\Stampers Sidekick\data.ss. In Stamper's Sidekick you can verify the location of your data file by clicking Tools > Options > Database. That is the file is where all your data is stored except project images. Move it to the new PC using a portable media like a USB drive or CD.

Copy it to the same location on the new PC overwriting the data.ss file created by the installation you did in step 1. If you customized your installation location (not recommended) you may need to copy your data file to a different folder.

Open Stamper's Sidekick on the new PC and verify your data is present. If not, verify your steps and try again. If you continue to have problems contact us by email for support. Also if you need to move project images please contact us by email for support. Our support email address is support@stamperssidekick.com.

Once you have moved and verified you data, you can unlock Stamper's Sidekick. If you installed version 1.0.4f or later you can use the Internet Unlock with a provided password. Or you can send in your computer fingerprint as shwonin Stamper's Sidekick and recieve a Manual Unlock code.

[box type="note"]Please Note
When copying and moving the data file it is important that Stamper's Sidekick is closed. If you open Stamper's Sidekick at any point during the process be sure to close it before copying or moving the data file.[/box]

Stamper's Sidekick does not come with a product list for copyright reasons. Nor do I supply one. However, a product list import feature is included and you
can get an importable list from a couple sources.

Sudsol.org
This is a membership site for SU! demonstrators only. In their files section they have a list you can download. If you are not a member I believe you can do a short trial period for free.

SplitCoastStampers.com
In the Demo only forums if you post a request for a Stamper's Sidekick product list with US or Canadian prices you are sure to get a response.

You can also create your own product list import file. It is important that the import file be formatted correctly. There are instructions for setting up an
import file on the Stamper's Sidekick Support download page.

In either case you will get a Microsoft Excel file that can be imported into Stamper's Sidekick. You do not need to have Excel in order to perform the import but it is handy if you want to review and edit the list before importing. You may also be able to use other spreadsheet programs as long as they can save in an Excel 5.0/95 version or newer. Also in the future you can export your own list, work with it in Excel and them re-import it. This can be very handy to perform large numbers of updates at once.

Right-click the Stamper's Sidekick on your desktop and choose Properties.
The Target field should contain something close to the following:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Access Runtime\Office10\RunAccess.exe" /profile "Stampers Sidekick 1.0.4f" /wrkgrp "C:\Program Files\Stampers Sidekick\System.mdw" "C:\Program Files\Stampers Sidekick\StampersSidekick.mde" /excl

If your is a bit different that is OK. To correct it you should replace RunAccess.exe with MSAccess.exe. Then remove everything between /profile and System.mdw" inclusive. Using the above example the new target would look like this:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Access Runtime\Office10\MSAccess.exe C:\Program Files\Stampers Sidekick\StampersSidekick.mde" /excl

Then click OK and try the shortcut again.If that does not correct it please email me back with what is in your Target field and I can email you back what it should say.

This is normal and just as security question that comes form the underlying Micrsooft Access program. Just click Open several times, as much as 8 to 10 times, and Stamper's Sidekick will open after they have all been responded to. You should not get that prompt anymore in the future.