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What
is new in the Marsoft Decision Support System (MDSS)?
The dry bulk fleet breakdown tables were added as part of the
October 1998 release. Specifically,
dry bulk fleet development including figures for new orders, orderbook,
deliveries and scrapping are available for four size classes:
Handy:
10-35,000 dwt
Handymax: 35-50,000 dwt
Panamax: 50-80,000 dwt
Cape: 80,000
+ dwt
These tables can be accessed via the Dry Bulk fleet development
menu. Edits must be made on the individual tables rather then the
total dry bulk fleet.
How Accurate Are Marsofts Forecasts?
To see the performance of the Marsoft Base Case forecast please turn
to the Marsoft Forecast Accuracy tables at this site.
How can I setup the system to run multiple
sessions?
The MDSS is capable of running multiple sessions at one time; however,
the resulting increase in system resources and RAM (physical memory)
may reduce the efficiency of your system. To run multiple sessions
of the MDSS, you will need to change the MDSS icon property setting
on your computer:
Warning
If, after reading the following instructions, it is not entirely clear
to you on how to proceed, please consult with someone from your technical
staff or call Marsoft technical support (617-369-7807). If you do
not properly follow the instructions below, you can accidentally disable
MDSS and be prevented from running it.
1. Select the icon that you use to run MDSS and right click on it
using the mouse right click button (this will bring up a pop-up context
menu). The icon that you use to run MDSS may be in one or more places
on your computer, depending on your computer's setup -- any one of
the following will do:
the MDSS icon on your computer's desktop (root screen/background
window);
the MDSS icon located under the Start Menu/Programs Group;
to find this icon, right click the Start menu button on your computer
(usually located in the lower left-hand corner), and click on "Open"
in the resulting pop-up context menu. Then double-click on the "Programs"
icon, and finally, double-click on the "Marsoft Executive"
icon. You should now be able to see the MDSS icon. Right click on
it.
3. Select "Properties" from the pop-up context menu, after
right-clicking on the MDSS icon. In the resulting Properties dialog
window, click on the "Shortcut" tab.
4. In the "Target" text box, you should see a line of text
that is similar to this: "C:\Marsoft\BDSS\BDSSMAIN.XLS"
(this path may differ, depending on where you installed MDSS on your
computer). This is the command that is executed when you double-click
the MDSS icon on your computer.
5. You will need to prepend an additional command to the existing
command in the Target text box, in order to load a separate Excel
97 session each time you run the MDSS. To do this, select the first
character space in the textbox with your mouse pointer, thereby UNhighlighting
what's already in the textbox, and type the following, in front of
the text already in the box: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Office\Office\Excel.exe" (includethe quotes). Then, surround
the pre-existing command with its own set of quotes, also. Please
keep in mind that this assumes that Excel 97 is setup in this particular
directory (C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office). If this is not
true then consult with your systems administrator for the exact location
of this file. When you are done, the Target text box should read:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Excel.exe" "C:\Marsoft\BDSS\BDSSMAIN.XLS"
(the quotes are necessary). Your path to BDSSMAIN.XLS may differ from
this example.
6. Click "OK" to close the Properties window.
How do I move the system from one directory
to another (or to a new drive)?
The Marsoft Decision Support System is designed to be setup on your
system with pointer files. These pointer files (INI files) allow the
system to locate the MDSS program and data files. Also, the system
uses Excel in a manner in which links are formed to other worksheets
-- moving them can cause problems. If you do need to move the system,
you will need to re-install the system using the original system CD-ROM.
Once you have installed the system in the new directory, you will
need to copy the existing scenario files from the old directory to
the new directory. If you opted to use the system's default directory
structure, these files will be located in the following directory:
"C:\Marsoft\Bdss\Data". You must copy all these files and
paste them to your designated new directory. If you fail to copy these
files you will lose all your old scenarios that you created. After
you have copied the appropriate files, you can delete all files under
your old directories.
Important
Do not delete the old directories until you have copied and pasted
your own scenario files.
Note
If you have both the Marsoft Decision Support System and the Ship
Credit Manager (SCM) system then re-install the MDSS first and then
SCM. If you move one system you have to move the other.
How do I perform the quarterly update procedure?
Every quarter Marsoft sends out new data and updated features to our
clients. Generally, these new files need to be updated every quarter.
First, insert the installation CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive and make
sure no other applications are running during this procedure. Double-click
on your "My Computer" icon on your desktop, and then on
the drive letter icon representing your CD-ROM drive (often "D",
"E", or "F"). Double-click on the file "MDSS_Install.exe".
The setup program will then start to run. When you get to the dialog
prompt window asking your for "First Time Install", "Quarterly
Update Install", or "Program Group/Icon install only",
select "Quarterly Update". Then, in the "Select Destination"
directory dialog window, select the same directory that you installed
MDSS in the previous quarter. The install script attempts to find
your previous installation, and presents this directory as the default
one, for "Quarterly Update" installs. For more details on
the selected options within the setup procedure, consult your User
Guide.
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