Thank you, that worked.  This software is a joy to use, by the way.

One thing to try: re-create the missing clients in TimeNet Law by making a new client, and making sure it is named exactly as it appears in the data file. As you re-add your clients, they should appear in the software, and all matters created for those clients should appear as they did before.

Hello!

I have 13 client folders in my data file, but for some reason, only three show up in the main window.  Of the 13, only 2 had been set to "inactive".  No matter how many times I reload the backup, the clients don't show up.  Each missing client still has it's .txt and .txt.bak files in the data folder.

hi guys...im new here...how good is the 4th gen ipod? im planning to change my 3rg gen ipod

The plist file isn't really needed by TimeNet, it's a system generated file. The preferences are stored in an invisible file in the TimeNet Data folder named ".prefs"

As long as you make a backup of the whole TimeNet Data folder, everything will be good to go.

Than kyou for being so thorough in explaining this. You say that I can back up my TimeNet Data folder and that will solve the problem. Do you mean to also back up the preference file? Is there only the timenet.plist file or is there another file? Is my plist file OK now?

Misha,

The client data (which includes not just the client name, but the phone number, address, and all other information) is stored in the same preference file that stores every other application setting. If the clients are not stored properly in the preferences file, they will not appear in the software even though the folders still exist and the data is still in tact.

I'm 99% sure this bug has something to do with Spotlight -- it was introduced originally in 10.4. It seems that when Spotlight is indexing a file, if it happens to be indexing the preferences file at the exact time TimeNet tries to read that file, it won't be able to read the file because it is locked by the system indexer. 10.5 resolved this issue by not locking the file in the first place, but duplicating it in cache and then reading it that way.

Every single case we've had reported on this issue involved 10.4, and I know it's not helpful to you, as you've been afflicted by this problem, but truthfully we haven't had very many reports of this problem, especially when compared to the thousands of TimeNet users out there.

Things you can do:

1. Backup your TimeNet Data folder nightly or weekly, and then if it happens again you can restore from the backup.

2. Disable spotlight indexing for your TimeNet Data folder.

3. Upgrade to 10.5 or later at some point -- this would be the best choice, though I understand it's not always the most plausible one.

Wow that is disappointing. I just don't see how there is a problem exactly. I have the files in the folder, does TimeNet not build the client list on the main window dynamically from the folders in my Time Net Data folder? Where is the information that goes in this window stored? I'm sure you have looked into this thoroughly, but I really don't want to re-add dozens of clients.

I am using the latest version of TimeNet so I don't think the issue is a conflicting client code. I am on OS 10.4. Moving to 10.5 would require me to buy new versions of PhotoShop and Dreamweaver (as well, likely as some other old programs I still use occasionally). I'm also, FYI on a powerpc G5.

Misha

Hi Misha,

Unfortunately, there is really no way to fix this other than by doing it by hand. However, we've finally been able to investigate the problem down to one of two scenarios:

If any of your clients have the same abbreviation/code, or no abbreviation/code then this problem can occur. The latest version checks for this and won't allow you to leave the code blank or use a code already in use by another client.

We also notice that almost every case of this problem happens on Mac OS X 10.4.x -- do you have 10.4? If so, you might strongly consider updating to 10.5 or 10.6.

Is there any other information you can provide to help me in deducing why this happened? I'm trying to document everything I can find to get to the bottom of this once and for all. Thanks!

Hi,

I opened TimeNet and all my clients are gone. My TimeNet Data folder is intact. But for some reason TimeNet is not reading the timesheet folders.

I read that I could re-add every client in my timesheet folder by hand, but that is very time consuming. I did add one client back to the client list but I notice that the invoice number and client code are not automatically inserted. I would prefer to have all this info automatically re-added.

Is this a problem with the TimeNet.plist flie? When I open that file it is just a black window.

Any other ideas on how to fix this?