Vertec apps

The application landscape of Vertec is as follows:

All apps can be used in parallel. The data is matched by the Notif server and automatically updated in all instances.  

Implementation and use of the specialized apps are described in the respective articles:

• Vertec Phone App
• Vertec Outlook App

Why different full-featured apps and how do they differ?

The full-featured apps basically work the same way and have the same interface. Because of their architecture, there are some differences in how they interact with other Windows applications and how they handle files. What you need to pay attention to when using the different apps is described below. For more information, see the article What works with which apps?.

• The Cloud App is a Windows app. It is slim and fast and suitable for high-performance access in the LAN as well as for remote access via VPN to the company network. Unlike the Web App, it can interact with the local Windows environment and has access to the file system.
• The Web App is a browser app that runs in the all popular browsers. It can be used anywhere over the Internet, and can also be used on non-Windows computers.
• The Desktop App is only available to Vertec On-Premises customers. It is available for backward compatibility reasons and will be discontinued in the future. It runs locally and is not suitable for remote access or via VPN. The only reason to use the Desktop App are extensions that have not yet been migrated to be cloud capable. We recommend that you use the Desktop App only on the LAN and only specifically where these extensions are needed, and not use it any more if possible.  

The Cloud App and the Web App are, unlike the Desktop App, so-called cloud clients. This means that the business logic does not run locally, but on the server. The interface is also prepared on the server and the cloud client only display this and receive the user input. This architecture offers many opportunities:

• Cloud capability: Vertec can be operated via the internet, independently of the company network.
• The cloud clients are high-performance and lightweight to use, as the logic and processing predominantly take place on the server.
• They offer a wide range of options for the customer to make interface adjustments (see Customizing user interface). These are automatically displayed in all full-featured clients.

The Vertec Cloud Server is responsible for the connection between Vertec and the Cloud Clients, which must be running and accessible from the outside in order for the Cloud Clients to be able to access Vertec.    

• Vertec Cloud Suite: If you operate Vertec in the Cloud Suite, you do not have to do anything for the deployment, but simply receive your access data from Vertec, see Start cloud suite.
• Vertec On-Premises: If you operate your Vertec yourself, the deployment can either be made via the of Webaccess service of our partner Spektra Netcom AG, or the Cloud Server can be placed on the Internet by yourself. In this case, please refer to the article Vertec Cloud Server: deployment and security.

All apps can be used at the same time, depending on the requirement. The data is always the same and is matched by the Notif server.

The full-featured cloud clients (Vertec Cloud App, Vertec Web App) require a permanent connection to the Vertec Cloud Server. If this connection is interrupted, the following message appears after about five seconds:

The connection to the Vertec Cloud Server was lost.
Trying to reconnect.
Remaining Time: 110 seconds.

During these 110 seconds, the Vertec session attempts to reconnect. If the connection is re-established during this time, Vertec continues to run normally. If the reconnection fails, the current session is closed and the cloud client closes.

A message The client has been inactive since ... and it has exceeded the inactivity timeout of ... ms. Stopping the connection. appears.

The Vertec Cloud App has to be restarted. The Web App can be reopened in the same browser window by clicking on the Link Restart Vertec.

This is not a timeout of the Vertec cloud clients. They do not have a timeout, there is no time limit for either the Web App or the Cloud App, after which they will automatically exit down. The Cloud Client only complete down when they no longer have a connection to the Vertec Cloud Server. 

Therefore, there is no setting in Vertec that can prevent this. The Remember me feature has no effect on this either, since it only means that you do not have to re-enter your login name and password when logging in to Vertec. 

Possible reasons for connection interruptions are:

• Power saving mode of the computer
• Power saving mode of the network card
• Unstable VPN (for On-Premises installations)
• Network interruptions

The Cloud App is a Windows App. It is slim, fast and suitable for high-performance access in the LAN, as well as for remote access via VPN to the company network. Unlike the Web App, it can interact with the local Windows environment and access the file system.

Install Cloud App locally

You can find the Cloud App Installer on the App Portal for cloud clients. This installs the Cloud App locally on your client. Afterwards, you can open the Cloud App on your client using the desktop shortcut or by clicking on Vertec.Cloud.exe.

Handling documents

In the system setting Document storage, you can choose between Internal or Filesystem or DMS:

• With Internal, the documents are saved directly in Vertec. In other words, they are always available from anywhere, regardless of the app or the local environment.
• With Filesystem or DMS, the documents are stored on the file system or in an external DMS, e.g. Sharepoint . If you select file system, the following points have to be observed for the Cloud App:

  • With the Cloud Suite (or with Restrict Filesystem Access activated), the reports are stored on the client side. This means that you need to make sure that the document file system (usually located on your server) is accessible from the machine where the Cloud App is executed, and can be accessed by the Cloud App. You can achieve this by setting up a network share or by synchronizing the document file system using other tools.

With Vertec Explorer Addin , you can save documents from the document file system in Vertec.

To edit or newly add report templates via the Cloud App, the upload/download mechanism can be used.

Useable fonts

For printing Word and PDF reports, the fonts installed by default on the Windows server used are supported. In the Cloud Suite, this list cannot be expanded individually.

Scripts

With the Cloud Suite (or with restrict scripting activated), only Python scripts run in the Cloud App. And you can only import modules that are on the whitelist.

Extensions

The Cloud App contains all cloud-capable extensions.

The Web App is a browser app that runs in the most common browsers. It is suitable for data entry and retrieval, and can be used anywhere. Users on non-Windows computers can also use the Web App.

You can access it via the App Portal for cloud clients or via the relevant URL in the browser.

Allow pop-ups

You must allow pop-ups for the Web App (e.g. for https://klarup.vertec-cloud.com) in the browser settings, if you wish to show individual entries in the Web App in the browser, or to open entries by double-clicking in a new browser tab.

Usually, a message appears in the browser to allow pop-ups for the Web App directly. In Safari, this is not the case. Instead, the option Safari > Settings > Block pop-ups must be deactivated.

Language settings

As the Web App runs in the browser, it does not know the operating system’s country settings. It uses the language settings defined in the browser. This can cause currencies and date values not to appear in the expected number and date formats.

To work with the settings that are usual for you in the Vertec Web App, set your browser accordingly, e.g. for Switzerland DE-CH , for Germany DE or DE-DE , etc.

• In Firefox: Click Settings > Language > Select (Select preferred languages for displaying websites). Set your preferred language first.
• In Chrome, go to Settings > Languages. Set your preferred language first.
• Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer respect the local Windows regional settings.
• In Safari: Edit > Spelling & Grammar > Show Spelling & Grammar > Select your preferred language.

Virus scanner

It can happen that the Web App does not run smoothly when used with virus scanners.

You can solve this by whitelisting the URL used to access the Web App (e.g. klarup.vertec-cloud.com) in the virus scanner.

Handling of documents

Office Reports (Word, Excel, PDF) are generated by Vertec and the resulting documents are delivered to the Web App. They can also be generated and printed via the Web App. No local Office installation is required.

In the system setting Document storage you can choose between Internal or file system or DMS:

• With the option Internal, documents are saved directly in Vertec. For the Web App, this means:
  • An activity is created (optional) for the created documents and the document is saved in it.
  • The documents in Vertec are also available in the Web App.
• With the option File system or DMS, the documents are saved in the file system or in an external DMS such as Sharepoint. With the file system, the following points have to be observed for the Web App:
  • Reports generated in the Web App cannot be saved in the Cloud Suite (or with Restrict Filesystem Access activated).
  • No activity is created.
  • The document is delivered in the browser for download and must be saved manually if necessary.
  • Documents stored in the file system are not available in the Web App.

To edit or add new report templates via the Web App, you can use the upload/download mechanism.

Useable fonts

For printing Word and PDF reports, the fonts installed by default on the Windows server used are supported. In the Cloud Suite, this list cannot be expanded individually.

Scripts

In the Cloud Suite (or with restricted scripting activated), only Python scripts run in the Web App. And you can only import modules that are on the whitelist.

Extensions

In the Web App, you can access all cloud-capable extensions.

Special cases in the Web App

See below a list of cases in which the Web App differs from the Cloud App in terms of operation:

• Scrollbars in text fields: The large text fields use the native scrollbars of the respective browser.
• Tab behavior in the list: If you press Shift-Tab in a list, the Web App focuses on the first cell, not the last.
• OCL Editor: The OCL Expression Editor does not provide autocompletion in the Web App.
• Address layout dialog: In the address layout dialog, you can carry over an available field in the list to the address layout. In the Cloud App, the text is inserted at the last selected location; in the Web App, it is inserted at the end.
• Error dialog: In the Web App, the detailed error message has no button for sending the bug report by email.

Excel export

The Excel export from the Web App on Mac does not work with Safari. This is due to a bug related to Safari. It works fine with other browsers on Mac.

The Desktop App is a desktop client which, in contrast to the cloud clients, processes the business logic locally and can only be used in the LAN with a “near” database server. It is only used to run an extension that is not yet cloud ready. The Desktop App is only available on-premises, which means that the installation is carried out by the customer.

Also, in this case, only the customers that need to operate the extensions (e.g. for posting invoices) require a Desktop App. All others can still work via the Cloud App or Web App.

You should only use the Desktop App in LAN. Do not use it remotely or via VPN, as it is not designed for this and does not perform as well from a distance.