FDX FOX Problems
 

Any other Fedex guys out there having problems with the new expense system? Specifically, under the credit card tab, the expense category box (ground transportation, lodging, etc.) is not active I actually watched the tutorial in hopes of finding what I might be doing wrong, but still frustrated. As you might guess, I am using Safari and wonder if that's the problem or if it's operator error.

It is your browser.. only IE seems to work correctly in windows.. Firefox shows the same problem you mention.

MacMan,
Same problem, I had to get off my mac 'cause I refuse to use I.E. on mine. The drop down boxes then worked while using I.E. on another computer.
On another thread someone posted a web site with a program or widget or something that was supposed to fool the mainframe into thinking your mac was using I.E., didn't work for me. Any mac users have any luck with that?

I remember that safari enhancing software mention, also. I was hoping someone would have some ideas along those lines. I tried Netscape and the category box was active, but there were no options when selected. Weird.
I googled IE for macs and saw that only a real early version was out there.

I've got one minor problem - I filed a discrepancy on the company issued ticket, which left only my deviation ticket in the box. When I tried to continue, it said my tickets must match my trips. Despite doing everything the FAQ/Help section said to do, I can't continue on. Is there any way to "reset" the whole thing and move my company issued tickets from the Discrepancy box on the bottom to the boxes on top where they originally were? I can't start over! This sucks. If they'd just make the expense reports look like a DD-1351 then the questions of 70% of the crew force would be answered. And we could explain it to the other 30%!:)

I found the thread, it was the Violence and the workplace one...the web site listed is www.celestialfrontiers.com/safari_enhancer.php. Sorry I'm not smart enough to make a link.

Grease,
You actually did include a link in your reply. And it worked. The Safari Enhancer itself, unfortunately, didn't. I set it up so that Safari identifies itself as IE 6, but the category window is still inactive.

Camino
 

Unfortunately I do not have any credit card expenses to test Safari Enhancer, but on occasion I have found it necessary to re-select "MSIE 6.0" on a finicky webpage that requires IE....don't know if this will help. Although Firefox is my 2nd favorite browser behind Safari, you may have better luck with Camino. I have used it successfully on some military (.mil) websites that Safari and Firefox choked on.

You can download it here: http://www.caminobrowser.org/

Another really good browser you might try is Opera. http://www.opera.com/download/?platform=mac
At version 9 point something, it is a very mature and stable browser for the Mac.

FWIW, Safari seems to handle all the other drop down menus I've tried on FOCUS just fine.



Good luck and let me know if this works.

-JB

JB,
Nice call on the Opera browser. Everything seemed to work fine. There is still a huge learning curve with the whole system. But Opera seems to take care of the browser issue. Thanks a lot.
PS: For some reason now, I'm having trouble with this forum using Safari. When I try to post, the body of the message is inactive. I can type in a message title, but no message itself. Works fine with Netscape and Opera.

Hmmmm,
Have you done a "repair permissions" lately with Disk Utility? This is a freebie with no harmful consequences that should be done every so often anyway. Sometimes this magically fixes things.


If that didn't help; in Safari you might want to "Reset Safari" and/or "Empty Cache." Be sure to read the caveats before clicking on the final "reset" and "empty" buttons to make sure you understand the ramifications....one of which might require re-installing Safari Enhancer (for example).

Glad to hear Opera did the trick on FOCUS.

-JB

JB,
Went to Disk Utility and got the dreaded "your disk is ready to die" message. It said if my hard drive hasn't failed yet to back it up in a hurry. This HD issue could have been part of the Safari problem..it's been acting a little buggy as of late.
I've had this (12" Powerbook G4) for around 4 years and it's served me well. I've wanted one of the new MacBooks but couldn't justify buying one because this one did everything I needed and did it well. I guess I can now.
Thanks for the heads up.

I had the same trouble using Firefox (ie - nothing available in the box I wanted).

What I found by messing around. Try re-selecting the Type of expense box (ie Scheduled, Deviation, whatever). If it says deviation now, select scheduled. When you do, all of your other options magically appear. Then just go back and reselect Deviation or whatever you started with in the first box. For some reason the Mozilla browsers need to "re-see" the first box to open up the options for the others.

Safari acts like this too.

I was able to use Safari also by switching from Deviation to Scheduled and then back again. One thing I was not able to do with Safari (but it worked OK with Foxfire) was to upload scanned receipts. It would always report some kind of an error. Anyone have any better luck with uploading scans?

MacGuy2

(Just out from lurking.)

I was able to scan and upload my receipts using Safari. I tried both Tiff and jpeg. They both seemed to work OK.

Thanks for the info Grease. I'll try again.

MacGuy2

Am looking into getting a Mac. Where would the best place be to get one and do we get an FDX discount on them?

Thanks,

Past........

Yes, we get a FedEx discount on them. The discount varies according to what you are buying... I think it's a 7% discount on hardware, 15% on extended warranty, and something else for software. I saved a couple hundred bucks on my new MacBook Pro + AppleCare plan!

Macs usually cost the same everywhere; strict Apple control. With the above discounts, buying directly from Apple would be the best way to go, in my opinion.

To get the discount, simply bring your ID to an Apple store. I don't want to post the online link on a public forum, but if you do a search for 'apple' on pilotswap you can find it.

Welcome to the cult!

If you are in or passing through MEM the Apple store in Germantown will definetly give you a FDX discount. Don't know how you would do it online. You can also get an education discount for any student or teacher in the family.
Another realllllllly good deal is buying a refurbished mac product from the web site. (store.apple.com or just apple.com then click on the store tab) From that screen go down the right hand column to good deals and click on that to see what they have to offer. I just checked and they have computers for $400 off list. Way better than any discount, and yes I bought one a few years ago. Came out of the box and could not tell it was not a brand spankin (gotta be careful using that word on this forum) new machine. Works like a champ and never had a problem.

Apple Store for Military

www.apple.com/eppstore/militarycity.com

The Germantown store used to have a cute blonde named Whitney working there whose dad is a Fedex pilot.

She fixed some stuff on mine and asked me for my system password. I had forgotten it long ago. She said, "Well, you have a hint listed here. What's your favorite number twice?"

I turned about 5 shades of red as I meekly mumbled, "Oh yeah ... 6969...."

Bid for a Portland layover and get the discount at the Apple store in the mall, plus no Sales Tax!
That should be appropriate advice for all those cheap pilot types.:D

If you have any students in the house you can also get a student discount and I think that one is at least 10%. That can be done through Apple's web site.

I have a question about the upload feature. Can you upload mulitple files on the same period.? For example one file for each receipt or does it have to be one file with all the receipts in it. The reason I ask is I have scanned all my receipts but each one is it's own JPG file.

I had the same thing....i reselected everything and it started working fine..

I would think so. I'm sure they would have told us if it had to be one large file with all receipts. Give it a shot....you can always go back and change it.

ain't technology great,,
 

just finished my apr expense report,,all I can say is Grrrrrrrr. More info is requested now,,,even down to the deviation flight # you took 2 months ago,,also justification for charging internet fees,, like don't these folks know what hotels charge and which don't. These fdx programers need to spend some time at aol/yahoo and find out how to create a user friendly, simple interactive reporting system. damn they make it hard...I'm ready to go to a new/old paper system.

From the upload page:

Thanks for the best laugh I've had in a long time. Let me guess, you're still on dialup using WinBlows 95....:eek:

How about a person?
 

I have watched the tutorial twice and still cannot get the screens to slide trip deviations and validate discrepancies correctly. I also noted that I must continually interface with H.A.L. - does anyone know a person I can call on the phone to help me slash through this? (Now I know why they made us take the violence in the workplace test a month or so ago...:D )

ax the bus driver
 

LG,,just ask FdxBusdriver,,,if he can quit laughing for a minute. He must be the resident IT expert,,,,

She's now a Genius.

Several of my Corp. credit card expenses don't show up and it's been over 2 weeks since I made some of those charges. Some were around 25 MAY. Anyone know how long it takes for a charge to post? I thought this new system was going to allow us to reconcile each charge "real time" as they came in vs. having to wait until the middle of the following month and try to recall what you did. Same with airline tickets. Very slow to show up in the system. :confused:

Sorry if I offended but I wasn't laughing at you, just at your examples.:D And far from an expert, I understand the difference in how software/web interfaces are written. Also I recognize that just because what the user sees is purty doesn't mean that the code underneath is written well - or encompasses all the options needed by the users. You probably haven't read http://netcooties.blogspot.com/2007/...ites-care.html
about yahoo (and that only represents one example at yahoo) and AOL ....well, let's just say it's the USA Today of the computing world - looks OK but low on substance (AOL also changes settings on your computer so as to disable other things which you might actually need while not on AOL). So, they need to fix the underlying code, not necessarily fix the interface. In their defense, it's very difficult to take into consideration and code for every permutation of what crewmembers do with their deviation expenses. But like many software engineers, they never talk to the end user and they only code to the specs given to them by their managers - who are rarely end users. :rolleyes:

Same here. Not sure how long. I had some APR hotel internet charges put on the co. card that were on my T-mobile invoice and co. credit card statement but were not in FOX. I put in a missing charge entry and audit said that they didn't see the charge anywhere (it was on both statements sent to me!?) and to wait to see if it shows up. Three weeks later it finally popped in. Not sure why since the other 4 or 5 internet charges were already in there. Still waiting for a May charge to show up so I can get my expense report payment to me. It's a lot slower than the previous system.:confused:

Does anybody know if we can upload receipts before the expense rpt window opens? Sorta store them on line.

Not at home to ops check it, but there is an upload link for all expense reports on the "Travel Rpts" tab. That should allow you to upload a receipt for any expense period shown, because they don't have to be matched to anything in the database. Then click on the link in the "View Report" column and scroll to the very bottom to 'check your math' using the "Show Receipts" link.

Got One Done!
 

After several weeks, 5 emails, help from one ACP, my auditor and the FOX tutor in the hub, and more than a few emails to JL, I successfully submitted an expense report.

It still had alot of problems, such as, a note in red stating documentation had to be provided for the $9.95 internet charge at a hotel, stating internet wasn't free, and a date conflict between coming of of sick and taking a deadhead...

I'm glad someone got an MBO for this system...it obviously saves time and money with it's ease of use.