Some of you may have noticed that the web application text editors were quietly updated with font sizes over the weekend. The system back-end was updated to optimize the database processing at the same time, but also to prepare for the latest version of the desktop application. When released, the desktop application will resolve a nasty bug that is limiting attachment replication. In the upcoming desktop release, please look for smoother data pull, data push, and data replication. All of these functions will be conducted over regular web services, so if you have been behind a firewall and could not replicate from the office, stay tuned.
We will release the desktop application by this coming weekend. The original target was tomorrow, but have made a management decision to delay release by a couple of days in order to test more.
By the way, if you are a beta user and you are trying to pull, push, or replicate data unsuccessfully – please contact support by filing a ticket at http://support.workpapers.pro . We are currently restricting these features to users that are not subscribed, but will make them available on request.

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Over the past couple weeks, those of you that have been following our tweets may have noticed that we keep buzzing about something called REST or JSON. For the non-techies…. no, no, no it’s not another sequel to Friday the 13th!! But it is a big change in the way that WorkPapers desktop exchanges data with WorkPapers.Pro web application and other interfaces.
Did you notice the last part of that? In other words, we are completing an API in/out of WorkPapers that will allow other applications to leverage WorkPapers features. However, the biggest impact will be on users behind a firewall that want to use both the desktop and web application. This will allow the desktop application to exchange data over a standard web port (443) securely – without having to ask the IT department to make some firewall changes.

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Still baffled at why everybody still wants a desktop application, but think that it’s more paranoia and control-freakishness. Here is a blog post published on one of our developer’s personal blogs.
Exactly one year ago when I started on the latest iteration of WorkPapers.Pro, the web application development took front and center position, and a desktop integration was an after-thought… for a couple of reasons. First, I had already developed about four different versions of the desktop application in multiple languages, so was not worried about generating another iteration to accommodate the web application rapidly. On the other hand, developing a web application for the internet (versus intranet) was a new experience and took more time.
The release times reveal this. The web application took about nine months to develop into its current incarnation, and one can argue that the development of a web application never really stops at version releases. The desktop application took all of about ten weeks to put together since we could re-use a lot of the web application code.
Anyways…. yesterday morning I set out once again to figure out a way to package a web application into a desktop package that end-users could install and be happy. For some reason, with all the web application (notice I did not use the word ‘cloud’) buzz you would think that users would not require a desktop application, but I have found that 80% of my users are willing to purchase the monthly subscription because we offer a desktop application.
To answer the end-user craving for a desktop application and to eliminate the requirement to manage two code sets, I am willing to go great lengths to deliver the web application in its entirety to the desktop application users. The first solution that came to mind was to develop a dedicated browser that throws the web application into a consolidated browser – hence, Prism from the Mozilla projects, and Fluid on OS X. Both of these solutions basically take your favorite web application or web site and put them into a dedicated browser experience, create a desktop icon, and isolate the browsing experience. With WorkPapers.Pro isolated into Prism, the experience was actually impressive. It really felt like a desktop application because all of the code is browser loaded script. Facebook, on the other hand, felt cumbersome because it constantly called back to the server to reload something and I felt like that experience actually belonged in a browser tab.
After a couple of hours of trying to package Prism with Advanced Installer and a couple of other solutions, I gave up and decided it was time to try something else. Then I went through the Mozilla projects page to see that Prism was becoming a deprecated project, patted myself on the back for giving up, then found Chrome-less. Chrome-less is an effort to allow developers to create whole web browsers with Javascript (and no you morons…. javascript has absolutely nothing to do with Java), HTML, and CSS. This development project offers a lot of potential, but it is so new that Mozilla still has not come up with an icon for the project and all of the tutorial and getting started links point to links to the tutorial and getting started links, which point to all the tutorial and getting started…. you know what I mean.
One big technology behind the Chrome-less project is XULRunner, which is the run time and SDK upon which Firefox, Thunderbird and many other commercial and non-commercial projects are built. I dabbled with XULRunner and discovered that you can build a whole browser with about 30 lines of Javascript and XML, if you are willing to accept the fact that the project file structure has to be a certain way without any real explanation for why it has to be that way.
In the end, I opened up RealBasic Pro and put an HTML viewer in a document window, coded a couple of pre-compile directive #if statements to tell Windows clients to use Firefox rendering if available or IE 8 if available, and had a custom browser that displayed the WorkPapers.Pro web application just the way I wanted it to. Bye, bye desktop code! This decision is not final, but close to it.Here is a screen shot.

WorkPapers Dedicated Browser

Click of the link for a bigger image. You can see that a dedicated browser without the navigation bar, navigation buttons, and browser menu can take a web application and make it look like a desktop application. There are some motivations for this effort:
1) Eliminates having to setup firewalls for desktop application to replicate data – especially in corporate environments
2) Eliminates data replication altogether
3) Generally speaking, data is safer on a server instead of spread out on everybody’s hard disks
4) Manage a single code base and include the dedicated browser code development with web app development
5) Users do not have to pay the additional cost of a desktop application
While most of the WorkPapers Browser was completed with just a few hours of coding, there are still a couple of necessary enhancements, such as proper file download handling, enhanced rendering for Linux, and installation file setup. After all this is done, will make the final decision – deprecated the WorkPapers desktop application once and for all, or keep on maintaining a second set of code?

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As we moved on with upgrading the desktop application with findings management in an effort to replicate the function available in the WorkPapers web application, we took another look at the email integration on the web application and decided to upgrade that instead. At least, for the time-being. We will still release findings management within the desktop application by the Windy 2011 release at end of March.
Our upgrade of email connectivity will still include the same functions – IMAP access to an external server – but the interface will be much improved and include an actual email profile. In other words, the users will get everything they wanted in email integration, plus a complete email interface. Here is a screen shot of the new WorkPapers Webmail interface opened outside of WorkPapers.Pro. Second thought… wait a week. We will probably release the next upgrade to include WorkPapers Webmail by the first or second week of February, so please hang in there. We may have a chance to post an integrated screen shot by late next week.

- Additional features will include:
- Improved interface
- Address book
- Access within the web application or access in a separate browser tab
- Direct link email to a WorkPapers project from within the mail interface

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Just sharing our most recent press release here. If you have not looked at the latest version, it really is worth looking at it again….

Yokohama, Japan (January 21, 2011) WorkPapers.Pro (http://workpapers.pro), the creator of the original WorkPapers electronic audit working papers program, today announced the an update release of the Snowy 2011 version of WorkPapers.Pro web application. This release includes findings management to help auditors and investigators that use the software to manage finding categories and other details, thereby, easing the reporting process. “This will bring our goal of delivering true one-click reporting to the end-user community one step closer”, says WorkPapers author, Kirt Cathey. WorkPapers.Pro has a very natural project work flow and low learning curve, which makes it the ideal tool for busy audit professionals, junior auditors, practitioners, and ivestigators with daily work challenges.

Traditional audit electronic working papers require auditors to engage in extensive training to use the tools, usually including additional required training to learn approaches, methodologies, and other specialized knowledge. WorkPapers.Pro eliminates this road block to productivity by offering a tool that fosters the audit approach and planning through checklist and template management. The framework is up to the individual practitioner or audit practice and is not enforced in the WorkPapers.Pro tool – making it the only universal audit checklist manager, audit documentation manager, and audit template tool currently available to auditors and investigators. Furthermore, the desktop version allows audit team members to work without a network connection individually, then synchronize their work with other team members via the WorkPapers.Pro web application.

WorkPapers.Pro currently offers the following with an expanding feature list as the application is under continuous development:

- Attach external documents
- Link emails to audit work steps ? great for tracking client responses
- Access control between manager, editor, and reviewer profiles
- Template export and import
- Export all data to PDF or RTF (more formats coming soon)
- Synchronize between a desktop application and a shared web application
- Cross-platform solution for Windows and OS X
- Findings management
- One-click reporting

The enhanced features added to this release was a direct result of end-user feedback and enhancement requests to the software, says Kirt Cathey, the author of WorkPapers.Pro and WorkPapers desktop software. “We are always looking for ways to improve and enhance the software from the end-user community. After using the software with an end-user on an audit project, we decided that this was a feature that would set us apart from competing software offerings.”

“Traditional electronic working papers require a steep learning curve, cost an exorbitant amount for licensing, then enforce a specific methodology on the practitioner. It’s about time we created an affordable tool for the practitioner that can be quickly implemented to existing projects, has a low training requirement, and actually fosters the planning, evidence gathering, and reporting process. WorkPapers.Pro offers the very features that a practitioner needs to deliver consistent results through improved planning with a template import/export feature in an affordable package.”

orkPapers.Pro is open for registration. Subscriptions are available from $7.50 per month for the web application service, and $104.50 annually which includes the desktop software. Custom intranet installation options are available upon inquiry. For more information about WorkPapers pricing and registration, please visit http://workpapers.pro.

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WorkPapers Updates

This past weekend WorkPapers.Pro was under construction for an extended period and aplogize for any inconvenience. This update to our back-end server systems was a major step in moving the web application from a beta, mashup to a full-production server system. We can now do most updates via scripting while the server remains live, so expect far fewer server shutdown announcements in the future.

WorkPapers.Pro Updates

As mentioned above, WorkPapers.Pro web application underwent many back-end improvements to enhance performance and make regular maintenance easier for the end-user. However, other updates are noticeable with a collapsible right (projects, attachments, emails) panel and a collapsible left (task/work step listing) panel. This will make it easier for users with smaller screens or lower screen resolutions to use WorkPapers.Pro. Another update includes an enhanced rich text editor, however, expect to see further improvements in this part of the application soon.

WorkPapers Desktop Updates

During the recent training sessions and as a result of extensive user testing, a few major bugs in the desktop application were reported. Those bugs have been fixed with the most recent release of the trial version (Windows here and Mac here) and registered version (Windows here, send access request for Mac) of the software. The WorkPapers.Pro web application and WorkPapers Desktop software are updated at least twice monthly, so if you notice any bugs or have a suggestion to improve the software, please do not hesitate to post on the user forum, or contact us.

WorkPapers Training

WorkPapers Desktop and web application training was scheduled last week. A few of you attended, but many did not pre-register so were unable to see most of the presentation. Our very first presentation had a few technical difficulties, but all is smooth now. The next web training is scheduled for November 26, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. US Pacific Standard time, 15:00 US Eastern Standard time. This time we will not require pre- registration and will be free-form. Bring your questions and suggestions and we will show you how it’s done, or issue a change request to see if our team can make it happen.

Sincerest Thank You!
–WorkPapers Team

https://workpapers.pro/blog/?feed=rss2

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Over the past couple of days some web meeting (or webinar) invitations have been sent out to the WorkPapers user community from Webex. Please disregard those invitations.

WorkPapers Free Training Sessions
We have spent a bit of time sourcing a good web meeting service, considering GoToMeeting, WebEx and others, and the results of that search has concluded in engaging DimDim.
Much feedback about WorkPapers has been directed at lack of training and help materials. To answer those concerns, we have created a Quick Start outline for WorkPapers desktop software, have added a lot of content to the user forums and actively survey the user forum for open questions, and now we are addingregular training meetings to the offering. If your organization is considering WorkPapers for an audit documentation, investigation documentation, or documentation project tool, this is an excellent opportunity to participate in an introduction from the author of WorkPapers.Pro and WorkPapers Desktop software. The following meetings will be recorded and those recordings will be posted to WorkPapers.Pro web site.

WorkPapers.Pro Training Event Details
Although we will not require pre-registration, your cooperation to pre-register will help us to better prepare for the event.

Meeting : WorkPapers.Pro Web Application Intro
November 22, 2010 12:00:PM PST. To join the WorkPapers event simply click here

Dial In: 702-473-3463    Pass Code: 547822
Start: November 22, 2010 12:00:PM PST (Add to Outlook)
Meeting Agenda:
- Overview  – Creating Projects – Customizing Project Tabs
- Creating Tasks – Attaching Files – Linking Emails – Q & A

WorkPapers Desktop Application Training Event Details
Although we will not require pre-registration, your cooperation to pre-register will help us to better prepare for the event.

Meeting : WorkPapers Desktop App Intro
November 23, 2010 12:00:PM PST. To join the WorkPapers event simply click here

Dial In: 702-473-3463    Pass Code: 547822
Start: November 24, 2010 12:00:PM PST (Add to Outlook)
Meeting Agenda: -Overview -Creating Projects -Customizing Projects
-Adding Tasks -Attaching Files -Linking Emails -Sharing Work

WorkPapers.Pro Web Application Update
Some of you may have noticed that email integration with the WorkPapers.Pro web application has not been working lately. We disabled local storage of email for two reasons, a security issue with Internet Explorer and a separated security issue with Safari made this locally stored email vulnerable, so we performed an emergency update two weeks ago to disable this feature. Both Microsoft and Apple have released security updates addressing this issue and we will be re-enabling this feature during the next scheduled update on Monday, November 22, 2010 at 22:00 Japan time, 13:00 GMT, 05:00 San Francisco, and 08:00 New York time.

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The following is a letter to one of our users. I think the information below is helpful, so re-publishing here.

We will be scheduling a webinar in a few days that
will probably take place early next week. Will send an announcement out to the
registered users. WorkPapers’ biggest flaw right now is training and support
materials, so we will also record the webinar and make the recording available
on workpapers.pro.

During this webinar we will show how WorkPapers is used, and participants can
take that knowledge and apply it to their particular audit scenarios. The
software (both web and desktop) allows for creation of robust checklists that
can be saved as templates. Also, we have created some templates that are already
available at http://support.workpapers.pro. Like most audit software, the
package comes as tool, and filling in the work that has to be performed is up to
the implementor for a couple of reasons. First, if we start offering templates
that profess to be a certain type of audit checklist, then we may have to assume
some of the risk for audit results, or at least, disclose limitations and change
licensing. Therefore, while we supply some templates/checklists, we do post
non-liability warnings on them. Another reason is that we find that just about
every pre-filled template we provide gets changed completely, deleted, or not
used at all.

IFRS reporting would be more of an accounting working papers solution than an
audit working papers solution. WorkPapers can probably handle that type of
reporting format, accounting for differences and distinguishing the changes
between IFRS and local accounting principles if it were tied to an accounting
package of some type. As far as I know, CCH TeamMate, Paisley, OpenPages, and
other working papers package does not handle this either without extensive (and
very expensive) customization.

WorkPapers offers just about everything TeamMate offers except for scheduling
and expense reporting. On the other hand, WorkPapers does offer email linkage,
ubiquitous access to audit teams through a web portal, and easier file sharing
over networks. Furthermore, with upcoming features that include in-application
editing of MS Word and Excel documents, we are certain WorkPapers will stand out
as the most affordable and comprehensive solution for the practitioner.

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Yes, that’s the name we are giving the newest squeeky clean version of our desktop software. While the interface can always use just a little bit more polishing, we think that the audience waiting is no longer patient. Here it is….. We are currently changing the pricing plan to $119.50 for the desktop software per seat, which includes an annual subscription to WorkPapers.Pro, so you can share work via the web, and synchronize work with others. Less than $10 per month for audit and working papers software that is updated regularly and constantly adding new features. Stay tuned for more enhancements!! 
This price is effective for all licenses up to 50 users. Please send an email to sales(at)workpapers.pro for licensing options greater that 50 users. We are still in the process of changing the web site, but this new pricing plan will be reflected soon. In the mean time, if you would like to go ahead and purchase a license (both annual WorkPapers.Pro and WorkPapers Desktop), please click on this link: https://secure.avangate.com/order/checkout.php?PRODS=4530524&QTY=1&CART=2

Also, to download the full Windows version after purchasing, please click here: http://workpapes.pro/download/v3/Win/WorkPapersSetup_3b2b.msi
For Macintosh versions, we will send a private download link immediately after receiving payment.

Also, we have a 30-day trial version available for both Windows and Mac here.
Windows: http://www.workpapers.pro/download/v3/Win/WorkPapers302bTrialSetup.msi
Mac: http://workpapers.pro/download/v3/OSX/Trial/WorkPapers302Trial.zip

Thanks for your support!

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See those prices listed to the right of this blog? In a few days (or hours) depending on if a support ticket comes in that will keep me running for a while, those prices will change drastically. We just setup a nice shopping cart through Avangate services that will allow us to better integrate our site, software, and online promotions, thereby, sending that administrative cost savings back to our users. The changes will be officially announced within the next 72 hours, but expect to see over a 40% decrease in prices on the lower end, but not a major shift for practices that use greater than ten licenses.
Our current price structure penalizes smaller user bases for the administrative overhead, while benefitting larger user bases. We have eliminated a large portion of that administrative overhead through Avangate and will pass the savings on to you – the end-user.
Now that the desktop version of WorkPapers has been released in a very soft manner, we will bundle a single seat annual subscription to the web service with a completely functional desktop version of WorkPapers for the great price of $119.50! That is less than $10 per month for an electronic audit working papers solution – a good value with a fanatical support offering.
If you are involved in internal audit, information systems audit, security audits, projects audits, construction audits, or anything that requires linear research and complimentary documentation, then it’s at least worth giving WorkPapers a try. WorkPapers is the only offering that provides a cloud solution, desktop application, teaming capability, attachments, email linking, templates, data portability, and flexible reporting in a single package below six figures.
We also offer advanced support, advanced training, and custome enterprise implementation services for select customers.

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