VIP Integration FAQ
Document 9004
Revised 4/16/2007 LD1


Effective November 1, 2006, Apex took over responsibility for their own sales and support.

In addition to no longer being tied to one exclusive sketching company, we've actually opened up our entire product line via our new Vendor Integration Platform (VIP). Virtually any software developer or data provider can now integrate with WinTOTAL.

For more information on vendors integrating with WinTOTAL, click the Market PowerView inside WinTOTAL's Appraisal Desktop.

  
 

 

Does this mean my Apex won't work? Do I have to buy another upgrade?
You don't have to do anything at all or pay anything.  We ensured that Apex installations purchased from a la mode before November 1, 2006 will work just as they always did.

What about support and upgrades now? I paid you for Apex.
Part of having Apex be our exclusive sketch provider included handling their support calls and releasing updates. (New versions were never included.) Since Apex decided to take over their own sales and support, it wouldn't make sense for us to continue to handle calls or make updates to their products. Since we handled everything in the past, many appraisers never even knew Apex was a bundled product from a completely separate company! VIP clears up the confusion; all sketch vendors are separate from WinTOTAL, and they support and update their own product.

So, a la mode's memberships no longer apply to Apex?  
Correct. Apex has their own staff and is requesting all calls be referred to them at 888-308-2722. To help our customers during the transition, several of our resources and troubleshooting documents are still available. Practically anything our staff could do to resolve an Apex related problem is covered by one of the items below:

  • You can still manage Apex licenses purchased through a la mode by going to: http://www.alamode.com/myaccount.
  • If you're getting an Apex error 12126 or 12124, document 5076 at http://help.alamode.com/docs/5076.htm steps you through the most common solutions. It also tells you how you can recover sketches that may have been lost when getting this error upon exiting Apex.
  • In some cases, you can resolve integration related errors by reinstalling your WinTOTAL updates. For details on this process, see document 4410.
  • To integrate a sketch from a standalone edition of Apex, see document 4050 at http://help.alamode.com/docs/4050.htm.
  • For the error "A file used to launch your legacy sketcher has been altered...", document 5067 at http://help.alamode.com/docs/5067.htm takes you through the most likely solution.
  • Apex is no longer on WinTOTAL CD's.  Therefore, it won't show up as a sketch option on a fresh WinTOTAL install.  If you need Apex, instructions for downloading it are at http://help.alamode.com/docs/5116.htm.  Since we no longer troubleshoot Apex, re-downloading is often a catch-all solution when sketches don't transfer back to WinTOTAL or you receive an error message that says, "It appears you are running a version of Apex not integrated with WinTOTAL".

Everything beyond the initial sketcher registration, including integration with WinTOTAL, can now be handled by Apex.  Contact Apex technical support directly at 888-308-2722 or by calling their sales team at 800–858-9958.

Does this apply to just the new Aurora version of WinTOTAL or does VIP affect the older Athena version of WinTOTAL as well?
The new Vender Integration Platform (VIP) affects all versions of WinTOTAL.  Currently, it's available for both Aurora and Athena, but we’ll quickly begin to release VIP API’s to vendors of all types that will affect all our products, like XSites, Vault, Pocket TOTAL and InterFlood.