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Mind of Murph
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Intuit - QuickBooks Connection Diagnostic Tool
Connection Diagnostic Tool
Every once in a while, I just have to say what is really on my mind, and so while I have complained about this before (in other forums as well), I am going to make my thoughts on this topic perfectly clear. I WANT MY "Connection Diagnostic Tool" back, Intuit!
Fortunately those of us who downloaded the last versions of the Connection Diagnostic Tool (frequently called the 'Net Tool') before it was 'blocked from download' and replaced by the File Doctor, were able to use the tool for QuickBooks 2013 versions without a hitch. It contained the necessary data to open the appropriate 'firewall ports', and proceed with diagnosing the various networking components required to make QuickBooks work. (Figure 2) The tool never failed, and when it identified a problem it couldn't fix, it at least provided the specific 'detailed' information needed to fix the problem. "I never had a network issues I couldn't resolve with the aid of the Connection Diagnostic Tool".
Of course now, we have had no 'updated' Connection Diagnostic Tool since 2013; but I am glad to say thus far, that the 2013 version still seems to be working for even the QuickBooks 2014 product line. But I find myself wondering how much longer the tool will work as new versions are released requiring differing firewall ports since the practice has been to change at least some of the port requirements each year to deal with users hosting more than a single version of QuickBooks on their systems. I for one don't want to wait until it is too late, and the tool doesn't work any longer, I want to complain now so that perhaps Intuit will hear our voices, and do something to keep a viable Connection Diagnostic Tool operational for us, because the alternative is 'no solution at all'.
Of course we all know the alternative I am talking about, File Doctor. The Doctor either works or it doesn't work (which I have found is most of the time), and it really never tells us anything beneficial except to perhaps point us to a Technical Support KBA which all too often 'is no longer available'. In my way of thinking, File Doctor is a rather 'bad doctor', it's bed-side manner is horrible because it does not communicate; it acts like a first-year intern that hasn't got enough confidence to speak when needed; unfortunately our intern's 'supervising physician' must have fallen (or jumped) off the hospital roof because File Doctor seems to be the only help on duty.
I have waited more than 2 years now for File Doctor to be perfected, and I can't tell that it has been. Then there were those 'Network Nurses' I wrote about (after downloading them from a KBA I found on the Intuit support website) which were immediately withdrawn (they didn't really work either when I tested them) as soon as I published my article.
I don't need a Doctor or a Nurse from Intuit, I need 'tools that are meaningful' (in the same way the Connection Diagnostic Tool was). As a QuickBooks ProAdvisor I think I am smart enough to figure out what needs to be done if I am provided with the diagnostic information, and I think my colleague ProAdvisors are smart enough too. I don't want a tool that just asks questions and doesn't give answers....I wouldn't put up with a 'real-life physician' who did that, and I won't be using File Doctor any more, it's unprofessional at best, and incompetent at worst.
So Intuit, if you really want to benefit the ProAdvisor community, give us back an updated Connection Diagnostic Tool.