MS POS = RMS? Also, SQL Connectivity...

First, yes this is the correct group.

MSPOS is NOT the same as MS RMS. MS Point of Sale is a separate product. It has a much nicer interface and wizards to help you set it up, but has no 'advanced' features or customization ability as found in RMS.

MS RMS (Retail Management System) is a more powerful, feature rich product; but it has a 'dated' interface and is very easy to set up incorrectly - which is one reason that MS only sells it through a partner channel. RMS DOES include a sub-system called POS, which is the point that is causing your confusion.

I haven't installed POS since it was in Beta, so I'm not going to say much about how it connects or how it creates Windows user accounts. I

*think* that the POS installer asks you to enter a database name and sa password during setup, but it may actually use Windows authentication mode. I know for sure that POS creates a named instance of MSDE, which is probably why you are having trouble connecting to it. search you system for sqlmangr.exe - it's probably already running in your task tray anyway. run sqlmangr and you should see a drop down box for "Server" - drop this down and see what is available - there is probably one that says "computername\POS_Instance" or something like that... That is the "server" you need to connect to from your external connection - note the "computerName\instanceName" syntax. If you log into the server as a windows administrator, you should be able to use windows authentication to do whatever you need...

Glenn Adams Tiber Creek C> I'm new to MS Dynamics software, and I may be posting this in the wrong

Hello Glen and Tim, Microsoft POS does use Windows authentication. The Database connection information is in the program folder, default location is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Point of Sale. Open the file rmssecured.config in notepad to find the instance and DB name. The default name is MSPOSInstance. As Glen stated the server would be computername\MSPOSInstance. The default DB name is MSPOS.

Jeff Faul Merchants Solutions Microsoft Certified partner

"Glenn Adams [MVP - Retail Mgmt]" wrote:

Tim,

You might want to look at this to see the differences between the programs;