One of our most frequent support requests is people saying others are in the system even though they say they aren’t.
Often, this is a result of certain events — switching the computer off while the programme is still open, an automatic update which requires a restart while the programme is open, someone accidentally logging in twice. Any of these can cause problems with the database, which is much more serious than the reason for the request (too many licences in use or not being able to back up).
Users should always use the Exit button on the Log in/out page to close the programme down when they’ve finished using Blue Tuesday. Not doing so risks backup failure. Microsoft have designed their systems so an open file (of any sort) may not be backed up by anyone, whoever tries to do it. That will include you, your IT team, and an automatic backup.
* A computer shut down or restart while a programme is open risks corrupting the database, which isn’t always able to be recovered so sometimes you’ll need to restore to a backup point. If the programme has been left open, even by just one user, how long ago did you get a clean (valid) backup?
* If someone passes by while you have Blue Tuesday open, they can see what you see on screen. Shouldn’t that be confidential?
* If someone else can do anything on your computer when you’ve stepped away from your desk, how secure is your data?
* And if you leave a computer on and Blue Tuesday open, does that mean someone can get into your client and financial data? Does that comply with ethics and/or GDPR?
And finally, another benefit of closing the programme is that, when the last user exits, the database will compact itself, making it quicker to use and to backup.