The best FREE server based, live action, database auction application you will find anywhere.
Application Requirements:
Introduction:This software application was not intended for over the web transactions. It has NO security features built-in to protect your data. You could probably call this a proprietory stand-alone application. However, it has many features built in for it's intended purpose. It's purpose was to monitor and record a live auction with real people all in the same room. You know the old fashioned way. I searched the net over trying to find a FREE software application which did this. I came up empty in my search, so I decided to write my own which you have graciously downloaded and are viewing now. This application requires human interaction during a live auction. As the auctioneer is selling items, someone sits at the computer and inputs the data as it is being sold. Then after the auction is over all bidders have to come by and checkout with the computer to get their receipt before they can leave with their purchased items. You know, the old fashioned way. I had a friend of mine approach me about writting a piece of software for a local charity auction to record transactions for the auction as it was going on, LIVE!. I informed him that I write web applications and software and that I would try it. I saw it as a challenge. I had never seen such an application like this done before so I pulled out my source code editor and went to work. What makes this application special is it's ability to function without all the special coding required by the end user, YOU. You do not have to know the first thing about source coding to operate this application. Just unzip it, extract it into your web folder and start the application. Simple as 1, 2, 3. So here we are. Set-Up Instructions:Find on your local hard drive, the directories or folders that can be reached with a browser through the http://127.0.0.0 address while running your server software. You can use Microsoft's Personal Web Server among others. Create a folder or directory somewhere called "auction". So you will eventually access this application by directing your browser to http://127.0.0.0/auction/default.asp. Be sure to have your web server application running before accessing this page as you will get an error if you click on the links from that page without the server running. Next, empty the contents of the "auctionalive.zip" into the folder you just created. A blank access database will be included in this folder which will store all the data neccessary to operate your auction. The database name is "auctionalive.mdb" and is included in the downloaded zip file. Be sure to access your server admin functions to allow read/write/execute/delete functionality to the database file. If you do not do this you will receive an error when you try to write or delete from the database. You do not have to create a DNS connection in your server software as I have written in DNS-less connection code already into the application. Simplicity is the key word here, I've tried to make this application as dummy-proof as possible and still try to accomplish it's intended parameters. I often refer to this simplicity outlook as the "KISS" profile which means, "Keep It Simple Stupid". Once you have done all of the preceding steps, you are now ready to start the application. Starting the Application:Open your browser and type in the url location of the "default.asp" file which you placed in the web server folders. If you named it the same as mine, then you should reach the default page from this url: http://127.0.0.0/auction/default.asp Unless of course you placed it somewhere else which you will have to type in the exact location for your own system as I do not know where you placed it. I'm here, you're there, how am I supposed to know that. REMEMBER: You HAVE to start your server software before running this application. If not, you will not be able to access the database. Once you have typed in your url and opened up the default page, you will see the "Auction aLive" banner in the top frame along with a list of links underneath the banner which will guide you through the application. DO NOT run this application without the frameset. You WILL NOT be able to navigate between sections. I tried my best to place the top frame links in chronological order as to the way a real live auction would take place from left to right. The main page link will take you back to the main area where you can receive helpful information and disclaimer statements concerning the application. You will also be presented with an e-mail address to send your technical questions to. However, I will do my best to answer them as I may not know everything, like "Why is the sky blue?". You will have to seek a higher authority than me to answer that one. Next thing you need to do is to enter all the auction items you intend to sell into the database. NOTE: Please be sure to tag each item with a different "Item Number". You may enter as many items as you like into the database as far as your memory, your operating system and Microsoft's limits on Access Databases goes. However, I will remind you that the more items you have in your database the slower the processing will be for the application. As the VB routines can get somewhat complex at times. So I would suggest that if you have more than 400-500 items for sale you may want to use a different application. Once you have tagged all your items with a "NUMERIC" number (NO ALPHA). Be sure to enter this number into the "Item Number" field along with the asking price of each item. The asking price should also be "NUMERIC" with NO dollar sign ($). Then enter a very brief description of this item. Brief, I mean as in under 75 characters. Yes you may use alpha characters in this field. But please be descriptive of each item as the description will be printed on the bidder's paid receipt at the end of the auction. The "Owner Info" field is strictly for admin only as it will show up in the database listings but not on the bidder's receipt. A good example of what this field is used for is to explain a little more detail about the item. Say for instance, you had an item for sale that had a description like this: "Full Sofa and Love Seat Living Room Set". Well you could also go into further detail with the owner category by saying: "It was once owned by Prince Charles and Princess Diana of Wales". To denote that it's value has increased for some people who may intend to bid higher now that they know where it came from. The "Owner Info" field is used for this purpose. However, you may leave it blank if you wish. But the other 3 input fields are required to operate the database properly. Once you have entered your required fields then click the "Enter Item" button. Once you click the button you should see your item listed in the table listing below. Please note that the "Bidder Number" and "Sell Price are empty. As these will remain empty until the item is sold. You will also see the Item Number, Asking Price, Description and Owner Info listed. Once you start entering data, I have included a last 3 scroll listing which will help you remember where you are in entering your items so you do not have to go to another screen to find out what was the last thing you entered. This is done by writing a time signature from your operating system into a separate column for each item. Then it is sorted from the SQL Query by the time signature. So if you want to skip around items you may do so. You do not have to enter items in numerical order. Once you entered all the items in your auction, then click on the view all link which will show a listing in Item Number Sequence. You can also use this link to visually check to see if you have left any items out of the auction. If your auction coordinator needs a complete listing of their auction this is the perfect place to get it. If you are unhappy with some entries in the item listing or you have entered the data wrong, you have an opportunity to delete that entry by clicking the "Delete Item" from any page where it is displayed. Clicking the admin link gives you the opportunity to delete all items or bidders or both as desired. But be careful using thes procedure as they will delete your entire database if not used correctly. Back in the view all screen Scan the list down until you find the item number you want to delete. Then click the "Delete" button to delete it from the database. You may delete more than one if you wish, however remember to keep track of which ones you delete for you have to re-input those item numbers once again in the Item Info section. If you do not your database will have numerical holes in sequence. Once you visually checked out each item and concluded the item listing as satisfactory then you are ready to move on to the bidders info link in the top frame. Click on the "Bidder Info" link and start inputting data into the bidders section just like you entered into the item section. The bidder numbers do not have to be in numerical order. Say for instance you have "Fred" who comes to every auction you have and he always uses the same bidder number, 149 which stands for his birthday of January of 1949. Well you can assign that bidder number to him and nobody else can use it. It might be a good time to mention that bidder paper forms should be filled out by each bidder before the auction starts. These bidder forms contain the data which you will need to add them to the database. So you are pre populating the bidder database before the bidding starts. If a bidder comes in late, you have the option to click the bidder info link in the top frame and add them in just a few seconds. Once again enter the bidder number as "NUMERIC" NOT "ALPHA". These Item numbers and bidder numbers can be up to 12 digits each. The bidder's phone number, name and address IS REQUIRED as well as the bidder number. Just in case you have someone skip out on you after the auction, you will have the information neccessary to give to the proper authorities. After you have entered at least one bidder, the bottom half of you browser should show a listing of the last 3 bidders you entered. If you want to see a numerical listing, click on the "View All" link and see all bidders listed in the database. This normally is done when you have finished inputting all the bidders for your auction. Then you can tell how many people will be bidding from the detailed listing. Probably 99% of the time you will wait until the day of the auction to enter this information about the bidders. As you will probably not know who is going to show up until right before your auction starts. If you have made any human errors in typing or bidder numbers, you need to fix it before the auction starts. As when the auction starts you will be busy inputting data into the database as each item is sold. Once you are satisfied with your bidder info, it is time to get your auctioneer in motion. When you are ready to start click on the "Auction" link in the top frame. You will see your input data fields for each item selling in your auction. As the auctioneer sells each item, quickly enter the item number, the price and the bidder number of the bidder who bid the highest for that item. Once that item is sold then click the "Item Sold" button and that info is sent to the database for bidder checkout at a later time. If you have breaks in your auction, you may click on the "Auction Status" link in the top frame to keep an eye on stats of how many items are left to sell and how well you are doing. Once your auction starts again then click back to the "Auction" link and continue to input data as each item is sold. WARNING: I cannot be responsible if you enter the wrong data. "To err is human" If you enter the wrong data during the auction, a listing of the last 2 items is listed in this window just for that purpose. Each time you input a transaction item, look below to see if what you typed in is what is written to the database. If not then you need to correct this problem. This is simply done by clicking the "Delete Sale" link and retyping the info over again with the correct data this time. Javascript and VB Script error handling will not allow you to enter the same item number or bidder number twice. But it is best if you DON'T MAKE ERRORS DURING THE AUCTION. Take your time, nobody is going anywhere. Normally an auctioneer will take 2-3 minutesor more for each item. A normal person can enter each item in 20 seconds. So time is on your side. But just in case you need it, ask the auctioneer to momentarily pause to adjust your entries. Then continue on. Once your last item sells on the auction you are now ready for checkouts. Click the "Bidder Checkout" link in the top frame and as each bidder gives you their number type it in and you will be able to see a complete listing of everything they purchased in the auction including the totals. If they just want to see their bill, you may print this frame for that purpose and move on to the next bidder. If they are ready to checkout then tell them what they owe you for the purchases and receive the money, check or other and enter the amount paid into the "Payment Amount" field. If they are paying by check, then list the check number for reference and accounting purposes later just in case that check does not clear the bank. Once you have entered this data then click the "Post Payment" button. This application also allows for a partial payment. Say for instance, Fred overshoot his wallet when he bought that Deer Head mounted on the hat rack. And Fred wants to pay you some now and then come back and pay the rest tomorrow or the next day. This application allows you to post his payment while still showing an outstanding balance on his receipt. Once you click the post payment button then this page is the page you print in the frameset to give to him so he can show that he did partially pay for his Deer Head. If he did pay his entire balance then the receipt will show a Zero $0 balance. Then Fred can leave with his merchandise. Continue this until all bidders have checked out. Once all bidders have checked out then click on the "Auction Status" link and then the Outstanding Receivables by Bidder to see which bidders have purchased items but not checked out yet. Each bidder who has not checked out yet will have a Zero $0 balance in the "Amount Paid" column. If a bidder did not purchase anything, they wil be left out of this report. If there is a zero there then they purchased something but have not paid for it yet. Once you checked out all your bidders and completely satisfied all bidders have taken care of their purchases then you can relax and click the "Auction Status" link in the top frame to get a more detailed accounting view of your auction. Who knows you may have made a little money. But in my neck of the woods, I don't see how! Once your auction is completed and all bidders have paid out their accounts. Now would be a good time to back up your database to an archive for future reference. I'm sure you know how to copy a file from windows explorer and rename it to an archive. Once you have archived your database file. Then come back the to browser application and click the "Admin" link in the top frame and click each category "Items" and Bidders" and click "Delete All" from the listing and you will clean out your database for your next auction. This will erase every entry in the database so BE CAREFUL to back up your database file before doing your delete. Now you can go help Fred load his Deer Head into the back of his rusty pick-up truck cause the auction is over. If you later wish to restore this auction database then retrieve the archived database file and place it back into the auction folder and rename it back to "auctionalive.mdb" and return to the default.asp page and all your data can be retrived including all status reports. But nothing can be recovered if you delete any information before backing up or archiving your database file. Technical Support:Please send all technical support questions to admin@knightzone.com. Or if you have any suggestions on how to make this application more user friendly or with more added features, I'm all ears. I may not have thought of everything, I get real bogged down when I'm working 3-4 projects at the same time. So send me your comments including reporting bugs....If I have left something out it may be due to the applications intended parameters set before development. About the Programmer:Everything you want to know about Jeff Knight can be found here: http://www.knightzone.com, that is as simple as I know how to say it. Application Customization:If you feel the need to change certain portions of this app, feel free to do so. But if you take my work and tell everyone you did it, I hope you stand real tall in front of God one day. One thing I do not want you to change is the "Auction aLive" KnightZone.com Banner in the top frame or the knightzone.com link in the footer on each page. Please leave this as is. The only way I get any recognition from this application is the advertisement in the top frame. So please do not remove it as I hope to get future work projects from it's display. Auction aLive is under copyright protection as it has been applied for. Copyright © 2002 KnightZone.com, Jeff Knight. Registration:There is no registration for this application. It is a freeware application and freely downloadable from fine web resources web sites. However, if you use the program and feel guilty because you didn't pay for it, I'll gladly accept contributions in any amount (U.S. Dollars of course). Send any contributions to: Jeff Knight Beta Testing and Bugs:This application was cross browser tested in IE 6 and Netscape 4.7 with default browser settings. Other browsers were not tested. If you know of any browser bugs in this application, please send me your comments and I'll try to correct them before the next version's release date. If you have another OS other than a Microsoft product and have problems running this app, let me know. As it was not tested with multiple Operating Systems or different server software platforms. I cannot say what may happen if you do not use and implement the application as instructed in this set-up guide. Like I said, right now I do not know of any bugs in this version, but I'm sure someone somewhere will find some. This application WILL NOT RUN on Windows XP Home Edition. Because XP Home Edition does not have server software support. If you are running XP you will need to upgrade to the XP Professional OS or a version of Windows that has server software support. This application can also be run on top of all known versions of Microsoft IIS, ver. 3+ with service pack. Disclaimer:This is freeware and does not have any warranties either written, stated or implied. We are not responsible for it's use and deployment by you or any third parties whether it be loss of data or hardware or mental illness. This product is an "AS IS" product and should be used as such. What do you want from me? It's FREE! I didn't charge you a dime for it. Benediction:I would like to take just a moment to Thank You personally for downloading this application and I hope it serves both of us well. As I know of no other FREE product which was designed with this applications parameters. Once again this is not an Internet Application it is made for a stand alone PC running server software during a live auction with real people. It is NOT an online application like E-Bay. Feel free to pass any work projects on my way. I need to buy some things for the kids. Enjoy!
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