CrimeStar provides you with an easy way to control some of the program’s behavior via the Crimestar.ini file. This is a simple text file that can be edited with a basic text editor such as Microsoft Notepad. The following are entries in the [CONFIGURATION] section of the INI file and their respective description. Each entry is shown with its default value.
[CONFIGURATION]
CLOSEFORMONSAVE=OFF
DATABASEMODE=DBF / SQL
SQL_NAME_IP=192.168.1.1
SQL_PACKETSIZE=4096
AUTOSETCAPS=ON / OFF
ACC_RPT_STATE='NH'
BLANK_REC_TAG=’ON"
CFS_AN_APPEND=
DEFAULTAGENCY=1234
DEFAULTAREACODE=456
DEFAULTCITY=SAN JOSE
DEFAULTSTATE=CA
DEFAULTZIPCODE=95123-4567
HOURS24PREF=ON / OFF
IGNOREREPAIR=ON / OFF
INC_AN_APPEND=
INC_PRINT_BOOKING_CFS = ON / OFF
JUVENILE_WARNING=ON / OFF
MULTISESSION=OFF / ON
NSS_INTERVAL=10
DISPLAYCOUNT=0
WARNDISKSPACE=ON / OFF
WARNRESOLUTION=ON / OFF
TESTEXCLUSIVE=ON / OFF
SCREENBACKGROUNDCOLOR=255,255,255
LOGOPATH=
AUTOSENDERRORLOG=OFF
When CLOSEFORMONSAVE=ON CrimeStar Module forms will be closed immediately after the user clicks the save button and the form data passes all edit checks and is saved to the database. Otherwise the form will stay open for additional modification. This entry is set via the User Preferences page from within the CrimeStar program and need not be modified directly from the INI file.
DATABASEMODE=DBF indicates that CrimeStar is running in Professional Edition (DBF Mode) vs. SQL (Microsoft SQL Server Mode). This setting is used in conjunction with the product license key to control how CrimeStar handles data internally and makes calls to databases for the entry or retrieval of data. (The MS SQL Database, must be provided by Crimestar Corporation as part of the Enterprise version of the product).
The SQL_NAME_IP= setting is used to specify the Machine Name or IP address for the Host machine running the CrimeStar SQL Server Database.
The SQL_PACKETSIZE=4096 setting is used to control the default data packet size used by CrimeStar when communicating with SQL Server via TCP/IP. On a Local area network this setting should be 4096. When running over the Internet this setting should be reduced to the default packet size for the Internet (512) so that packets will not be corrupted or dropped by machines and routers that are configured for a 512 packet size. On a private WAN this setting should be adjusted based on the optimal packet size for the WAN.
The AUTOSETCAPS= setting is used to automatically turn the keyboard CAPS Lock setting ON when you enter a form. This helps to ensure that data entered and search criteria entered are all in UPPER CASE.
The ACC_RPT_STATE= setting is used to indicated the two character state code used to control which Accident Report Form CrimeStar prints. If your particular state Accident Report Form has not been developed and included in the program CrimeStar will default to its own internal Generic Accident Form.
The BLANK_REC_TAG= setting determines if a tag input such as <NONE> is automatically inserted into new records to help visually indicate to the user that a new BLANK record exists. This value is ON by default.
CFS_AN_APPEND = setting to automatically append a static letter to an auto generated (Ctrl-F5) Event number as a means to keep numbers unique after a database synchronization when numbers are being generated via the Auto Numbering scheme from different disconnected systems. Thus setting this to a value of "A" will cause an "A" to be appended to the end of the auto-generated number. To not append anything to auto-generated numbers just leave this setting blank.
The DEFAULTAGENCY= setting holds the default Agency code to use when a new form is opened. This entry is set via the User Preferences page from within the CrimeStar program and need not be modified directly from the INI file.
The DEFAULTAREACODE= setting holds the default Area Code to use when a new form is opened. This entry is set via the User Preferences page from within the CrimeStar program and need not be modified directly from the INI file.
The DEFAULTCITY= setting holds the default City Name to use when a new form is opened. This entry is set via the User Preferences page from within the CrimeStar program and need not be modified directly from the INI file.
The DEFAULTSTATE= setting holds the default State Code to use when a new form is opened. This entry is set via the User Preferences page from within the CrimeStar program and need not be modified directly from the INI file.
The DEFAULTZIPCODE= setting holds the default Zip Code to use when a new form is opened. This entry is set via the User Preferences page from within the CrimeStar program and need not be modified directly from the INI file.
The HOURS24PREF=ON indicates that time values should whenever possible be referenced in 24 Hr. Military time.
The IGNOREREPAIR=OFF option instruct CrimeStar not to attempt to detect if the workstation was improperly shutdown the last time CrimeStar was run. If this detection determines that CrimeStar was terminated via any means other than properly closing the program, CrimeStar will prompt you to run the repair process against the database. When MULTISESSION=ON the IGNOREREPAIR option is always considered ON regardless of its setting.
INC_AN_APPEND = setting to automatically append a static letter to an auto generated (Ctrl-F5) Incident number as a means to keep numbers unique after a database synchronization when numbers are being generated via the Auto Numbering scheme from different disconnected systems. Thus setting this to a value of "A" will cause an "A" to be appended to the end of the auto-generated number. To not append anything to auto-generated numbers just leave this setting blank.
When printing an Incident report Crimestar will automatically check to determine if associated Bookings, Calls For Service or Citations exist. If these related documents exist the user is prompted or asked they these related documents should be printed. When the INI setting INC_PRINT_BOOKING_CFS=OFF Printing of these related documents is suppressed.
When MULTISESSION=OFF it restricts or prevents more than one copy of CrimeStar from being run on the same workstation computer. Each copy running will consume a concurrent user license.
NSS_INTERVAL=10 setting indicates that the Narrative Safety Safe feature should be activated every 10 minutes. On slower computers this feature may cause an interruption to the users typing. Setting this value to zero (0) disables the narrative safety safe.
The DISPLAYCOUNT=10 setting controls the number of items shown in a drop-down scrollable list without scrolling. Setting this value to 0 causes it to use the default of 7.
The WARNDISKSPACE=ON instructs CrimeStar to perform a quick check of available disk space and warn the user if the amount of available space falls below 80 Megabytes. Because CrimeStar builds temporary tables a considerable amount of free disk space should be maintained on each workstation.
The WARNRESOLUTION=ON option instructs CrimeStar to check the screen resolution setting being used and warn the user that resolution below 800x600 is not recommended.
The TESTEXCLUSIVE=ON option causes CrimeStar to attempt to determine if the master database can be opened exclusively before performing any version update processing.
The SCREENBACKGROUNDCOLOR=255,255,255 setting determines the color of the main CrimeStar window background. Colors are defined as a set of 3 numbers separated by commas that correspond to the level of RED, GREEN, BLUE (RGB) color to be used. Each number can range from a minimum of 0 (none), to a maximum of 255 (full). For example:
255,0,0 = RED
0,255,0 = GREEN
0,0,255 = BLUE
0,0,0 = BLACK
255,255,255 = WHITE
128,128,128 = LT. GREY
The LOGOPATH setting allows you to optionally specify a path that should be followed when attempting to locate the LOGO.BMP file used to customize the workstation screen. See screen logo for more details.
The AUTOSENDERRORLOG=OFF setting is used to control if CrimeStar attempts to automatically send error log and diagnostic information back to CrimeStar Corporation each time you log-on. For privacy and security reasons this setting is disabled/OFF by default. Even when this setting is ON the automatic sending of data will only occur when your computer is connected either directly or indirectly to the Internet.