A Frequently-Asked KINNEXUS Question

In recent weeks some users of the WCMLS Kinnexus system have experienced the following problem or a variation: After running a search, getting a list of results, and opening one listing in a report, attempting to return to the list of results using the back button (the yellow arrow pointing left, near the top right of the Kinnexus window) leads either back to the Kinnexus home page or, more commonly, to a single listing in a report -- not to the list of search results.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE PROBLEM

This problem seems to have begun after a set of new reports, commissioned by WCMLS and created by a third party, was installed in the system several weeks ago. However, the third party has extensive Kinnexus experience and expertise and appears to have done everything properly, and therefore is not at fault. The Kinnexus program itself has not been updated recently, so it is not a matter of new bugs being introduced into the code.

The majority of Kinnexus users at WCMLS appear to be unaffected. Moreover, this problem is unique to WCMLS; it is not occuring in other MLS systems which use the same version of Kinnexus. Nor has it been reproduced successfully by Kinnexus's programmers -- which is generally an essential step to fixing a bug (or multiple bugs)..

The problem appears much more frequently, though not exclusively, after a search entered using a search form, not just a search wizard. It appears likely that part of the problem is that the use of a search form somehow interferes with the logic of the back button, or that the back button logic itself (which is necessarily rather complex) itself is flawed, or both. The default Kinnexus configuration used by most WCMLS users, or each user's individual configuration information, may also be subtly corrupt.

There is also a known flaw in the program which sometimes prevents the successful clearing of the local database (which appears to eliminate the problem in most cases, at least temporarily. This sometimes interferes with attempts to resolve the problem through database clearing and cold starts.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU EXPERIENCE THE PROBLEM

The following steps are recommended. Doing them in the proper order increases the likelihood of success.

1. Check the version number of Kinnexus installed on your PC. This is visible in white text on the splash screen, near the bottom left, before login. After login, go to "Help" in the menu across the top, choose "About," and look for the version number in the top line of text.
2. If the version number is less than 3.2.1.285, uninstall Kinnexus (using "Add or Remove Programs" in Windows XP's Control Panel or "Programs and Features" in Windows Vista's Control Panel). Reinstall Kinnexus from Kinnexus.com, by following this link. Be sure that Kinnexus is not running when you attempt the installation. (For extra safety, either reboot your computer and uninstall Kinnexus before running it after reboot, or verify that no Kinnexus.exe processes before uninstalling, by going to the "Processes" tab of the Windows Task Manager and killing any orphaned processes.) When this installation is finished, you should have version 3.2.1.285, the current version available for download from the Web. (A later version is in development and testing but has not yet been released.)
3. When you have version 3.2.1.285, clear your local database. To do this, first ensure that Kinnexus is not running, including orphaned, invisible processes, but rebooting the PC or by using the Windows Task Manager as described in the previous step. Start Kinnexus but do not log in. Instead, click the "Systems" button of the login dialog, then click "Clear" in the Available Kinnexus Systems dialog and confirm in the subsequent dialog that you do indeed want to clear the database. (None of your data will be lost; it is all stored on the server.)
4. After the database has been cleared, close the dialog box to return to the login dialog. Log in with your username and password. You will be required to do a cold start the first time you log in, after clearning the local database.

In many cases, these steps are sufficient to prevent the problem from recurring. However, it appears that this remedy is sometimes temporary and sometimes altogether ineffective. If the problem recurs on the same PC, you may wish to try the above steps (at least 3 and 4) again, but there is little point in making a third attempt if the first two fail.

We continue to test possible solutions and to attempt to isolate the problems. Meanwhile, there are two useful workarounds, if the problem persists.

WORKAROUNDS: AVOIDING THE PROBLEM AND ESCAPING IT

Because the problem appears to involve the back button logic, using a different method to return from a single search result to the list of search results is recommended. Whenever you are looking at a single search result in a report, there is a button at the bottom right which will return you to the list view or report list containing the list of search results. Its caption will the be name of the search, either a name you have given to a saved search (at least as much of the name as space allows) , or something on the order of "Temporary Residential Search." (One of the clues that we are looking at multiple bugs is that this usually works, but not always. It tends to work much more reliably than the back button, on PCs where the problem has occurred.)

Anytime you are taken to a single listing in a report, when you should have been returned to a list view of search results (or a report list), you should be able to change the view back to the list view manually. To do this, click on the name of the current report (perhaps "Residential (Search)" in the blue button bar, near the top of the window and to the right of center. This will display a menu of folders and views. Hover your mouse cursor over the "List Views" folder, and a submenu will appear, showing the views in the List Views folder that can be used in this context. For residential listings, choose the list view entitled "Residential Listings." (It and the folder will be similarly and appropriately named for other property types.) This should return you to the list view. This setting should stick next time you log in on the same PC, but part of the current problem is that it appears to fail sometimes.

IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTIES WITH THE WORKAROUNDS

Kinnexus support personnel will be happy to walk you through these processes, if you have difficulties. (Board staff also have some experience addressing this problem.) Call during regular business hours, using the toll-free phone number on the Kinnexus software's home page. If you experience an unusual variation of the problem, support personnel may want to observe it first hand by connecting in a remote support session, in order temporarily to see your screen and control your PC.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Possibile solutions are currently being devised and tested. Further instructions and information will appear here as they become available.

Users for whom the problem is especially persistent may be invited to test possible solutions.

CONTACT ABOUT THIS PAGE

Contact:

David Rodeback
Kinnexus Systems Administrator
Howard and Friends, Inc.
david@kinnexus.com