Trailer VIN_Decode Program


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Version 3 Changes:

(Your version number is at the top of most screens in the program.)
When Version What
12/6/22 3.22.1206 A minor change was made to the "About" screen; no functional changes.
7/27/22 3.22.0727
  • A new column has been added to the main and batch pricing screens : the ratio of light weight to gross weight as a percentage.
  • New reports:
    1. List of trailer types
    2. Pricing charts
    3. Depreciation schedules
  • 11/23/21 3.21.1123
  • When exiting from the NHTSA screen back to editing a trailer, you can optionally have the program update the price and value based on your choice of type in the NHTSA screen.
  • You can now access the NHTSA screen from the batch pricing screen.
  • An update installation should not overwrite the user's Word documents for form letters.
  • The determination of the vehicle year has been adjusted : If the VIN is the correct length, the program will try to use the most recent year compatible with the 10th digit. If it differs from the DMV year by 1, 29, 30, or 31, it will use the DMV year. If the VIN is an incorrect length, the program will use the DMV year.
  • A performance issue : Some users have reported that it takes a long time to exit the depreciation and pricing tables. This was because the program would update the price or depreciation codes for all trailers, even if they weren't changed. Now, the program only does that if the user wants to save actual changes.
  • 10/5/21 3.21.1005
  • Bug fix in the Network Setup screen : The program might mistakenly think you are trying to install files in the truck directory. This has been fixed.
  • 9/27/21 3.21.0927
  • Bug fix, affecting both programs : If you clicked OK in the Network Setup screen, the program crashed; it has been fixed.
  • 9/21/21 3.21.0921
  • (Minor fix) If you make a make a mistake in an import, you stay in the screen to try again.
  • (Minor fix) There was a minor error in code for updating the program.
  • 6/16/21 3.21.0616
  • Added screen to see information downloaded from the NHTSA page of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
  • Corrected behavior of changes in "Price As" and "Depreciate As" : changes now propagate to trailers in the current assessment year.
  • Added safeguards to deter users from installing both the trailer and truck programs in the same network folder.
  • Some assessors had security problems accessing their data on their (default) C drive. This update attempts to address that in newer installations.
  • 8/21/20 3.20.0821
  • Added a few more trailer types : Car Hauler Semi Trailer, Drop Deck Low Boy, Flatbed Semi Trailer, Home-Made, Portable Sawmill, Semi Trailer, Tanker Semi-Trailer.
  • You can edit an invalid VIN and correct it to a valid one. A valid VIN cannot be changed and an invalid correction will not be accepted. On the next import, you can (and should) take advantage of this and use your corrections to automatically fix the imported VINs.
  • Some issues with the handling of the "xlsx" format of Excel files have been fixed.
  • You can now include some of your permanent notes in the non-vendor-specific export to Excel.
  • The "OLD_VALUE1" field in the export to Quality Data Services was left empty. It is now set to 70% of the "Last Value" field. This is for your reference only, and should be ignored by the import into the QDS database.
  • 2/10/20 3.20.0210
  • Bug fixes : Improves handling of problematic network setups.
  • 12/11/19 3.19.1211
  • Bug fix : The previous update had an error about "UpdateTypes.dbf" missing.
  • 12/9/19 3.19.1209
  • To encourage assessors to review their evaluations, the program does not provide a value if there is no "Depreciate As", even if a price has been provided.
  • The program can decode more trailers.
  • The pricing tables have been updated.
  • You can edit the min value for any type of trailer, even if it doesn't have its own depreciation schedule.
  • The main screen now allows sorting by the Gross Weight, Light Weight, and Value columns.
  • There is better support for network installation and updates.
  • The program can support more than 10,000 trailers, in case you have that many.
  • 10/16/19 3.18.1226
  • Data fix : It was brought to our attention that some pricing information was absent. The installation has been corrected to include the missing data.
  • 12/26/18 3.18.1226
  • Bug fix : By default, imported trailers would be forced to pricing by capacity, even if the pricing table for a type of trailer specifies another method, such as length or gross weight.
  • New feature : There is a checkbox in the main screen to allow you to limit the view to trailers that don't have values.
  • 11/30/18 3.18.1130
  • Bug fix : If you edit the pricing tables and change the method (e.g. from Capacity to Length), then all trailers for the current assessment years will be updated when you either edit them individually, or do a town-wide re-decode. Prior to this, only newly imported trailers would be properly updated.
  • Issue : If an import doesn't include a non-zero price for a trailer, the program would previously assign it a minimum value, as specified in the depreciation tables. Going forward, an unpriced trailer will be assigned a value of zero; the assessor is expected to correct this.
  • 10/30/18 3.18.1030
  • Bug fix : Export to R. Walsh format generated an error message and failed to apply the 70% assessment ratio. This bug and the fix do not affect exports for other administrative vendors.
  • 10/29/18 3.17.1121 (yes)
  • The original installation for this version had an error : Utility trailers defaulted to pricing by length, should have been by capacity. That has been fixed in the latest update, but only if this is your first download and installation. If you have already installed the program, then you should determine whether this issue affects you : In the main screen, click the button "Settings, Valuation, Batch Pricing", then "Pricing Schedules". Go down to Utility Trailers, and verify (upper right) that pricing is by Capacity. If not, change it. You will then have to correct the affected trailers on an individual basis: Back in the main screen, look for Utility Trailers that have a value of $300. These are probably priced incorrectly. You will need to edit each and set it to Capacity. That is, unless you have chosen to price it by length, or manually.
  • 11/21/17 3.17.1121
  • Import will default to applying the 70% assessment ratio on input. If the user changes this, that setting will be saved and used the next time.
  • The export operation can now create an XLSX format Excel file, although the Save As defaults to XLS.
  • 12/19/16 3.16.1219
  • Bug fix : The new field review feature did not work with import files having a ".txt" extension.
  • 12/9/16 3.16.1209
  • New feature : Before importing, you can review the file's field mappings.
  • New feature : After importing, you can review the records that failed to import.
  • Some "Close" buttons have more informative captions.
  • 8/30/16 3.16.0830
  • Bug fix : Update version didn't bring in the gross weight pricing.
  • Bug fix : Depreciation screen, type column was not sorted properly.
  • 7/15/16 3.16.0715
  • Option to price by gross weight.
  • Interpolated pricing options.
  • Bug fix : Changes in pricing and depreciation schedules were not automatically reflected when you edited a trailer or truck.
  • Better error messages about read-only files and tables.
  • 1/26/16 3.16.0126
  • Under rare conditions, a user or IT person mixes up data from different versions, triggering an error when the program is started. This update attempts to recover and repair the data.
  • 11/16/15 3.15.1116
  • There are some enhancements and fixes for the batch typing and pricing feature.
  • 11/2/15 3.15.1102
  • There is a screen for batch typing and pricing.
  • There are more options and a simplified screen for sending mail merge letters.
  • 12/2/14 3.14.1202
  • The vehicle type database from NHTSA has been updated.
  • The program offers to use network if it can't run locally.
  • The program politely informs the user if the import file header is invalid, instead of crashing.
  • 10/22/14 3.14.1022
  • This update addresses problems some users might have, running in Windows 7 without administrator access.
  • 10/15/14 3.14.1015
  • The installation process has undergone a major redesign to address networking and various causes of confusion. (See How to install)
  • The Export/Report selection screen has more flexibility in its filter and display options.
  • The main screen allows sorting and searching on more fields.
  • The table rebuild process is more robust (to address data and indexing problems).
  • Several minor bugs have been fixed.
  • 11/15/13 3.13.1115
  • The program will only automatically determine a vehicle year the first time it is imported. This way, the program won't be confused by a vehicle that passes 30 years old prior to a later import.
  • Formerly, if you clicked the Redecode button, the program would not recalculate values for "locked" vehicles. Now it will.
  • Bug fix: Under rare circumstances, you will get an error about "invalid file name or path". This update should fix that bug.
  • 11/6/13 3.13.1106
  • Bug fix : If you specified a purchase price for a vehicle using Price As, the program didn't save the change properly.
  • The vehicle year determination from the VIN is improved, allowing a year 2 years newer than the assessment year. The program will use the DMV value if it is different from the calculated year by 30 years. (The VIN uses one digit to specify the vehicle year, and repeats after 30 years.)
  • 10/25/13 3.13.1025
  • The export/merge selection screen has more fields.
  • You can sort the columns of that screen.
  • The program is better at flagging an improper installation.
  • 10/11/13 3.13.1011
  • The only changes are to the included merge document templates. The axles and light and gross weights are now filled in.
    These documents can also be downloaded separately.
  • 10/4/13 3.13.1004
  • Bug fix : Sometimes changing a checkbox in the report/export selection screen crashed the program.
  • The gross weight in included in the report/export selection screen.
  • 9/16/13 3.13.0916
  • The program improves mail merge user-friendliness a little.
  • 9/13/13 3.13.0913
  • The program resolves some issues in updating standalone installations.
  • Sample mail merge documents are included as an option in the update install.
  • The separate pricing update has been dropped. It is now included as a custom option in the standard update.
  • 8/28/13 3.13.0828
  • The program now has a mail merge feature. There are sample merge documents included with the full install.
  • To support the mail merge feature, the program now allows the import of mailing address information.
  • There is a new field to flag whether the taxpayer should be asked for more information.
  • Lists for printing, exporting, and merging, can now be filtered by vehicle class and other flags.
  • The Year Code wrap-around is now automatic, and based on the assessment year.
  • The main screen list includes a column for the Light Weight field.
  • 4/2/13 3.13.0402
  • Bug fix : the minimum value was not always honored when editing.
  • Columns have been added to the list : Body, Gross Weight, Brand, Previous Year value.
  • You can click on headers to sort either by VIN or by Type+brand+year(descending by year).
  • The Redecode can optionally include a recalculation of prices and values.
  • There is a new M-65 depreciation schedule.
  • The program highlights the last record you edited, even if you have exited the program.
  • The program will not try to decode the vehicle year if the VIN has the wrong number of digits, and will instead use the year provided by the DMV.
  • The program will not try to decode the VIN if there are fewer than 12 digits.
  • In the list of vehicles, invalid VINs are flagged in red.
  • 1/22/13 3.13.0122
  • The program better supports importing and exporting data for Vision Government Solutions.
  • 12/26/12 3.12.1226
  • Bug Fix : The program can now run locally on a 64-bit Windows 7 or 10 computer, as well as on older systems and networks.
  • 12/21/12 3.12.1221
  • Bug Fix : Some Excel files did not import correctly.
  • Bug Fix : Last year's data may not have been properly brought forward for some trailers.
  • Bug Fix : CT "CTTRL" prefix was not being recognized as home made.
  • 12/12/12 3.12.1212
  • The program now supports importing data from Vision Government Solutions.
  • 12/7/12 3.12.1205
  • Some recent downloads may not have the horse trailer price chart. The Full and Pricing installations now have that problem fixed.
  • 12/5/12 3.12.1205
  • Bug fix : Automatic pricing of trailers on import did not always work.
  • 11/21/12 3.12.1121
  • Bug fix : Value wasn't imported at 70% when requested (Price was).
  • 11/19/12 3.12.1119
  • Price and Depreciation linking allows you to use a price chart or depreciation schedule for multiple types.
  • Moving data forward from previous years has been improved.
  • Bug fix : Supplemental data was not showing in the main list, even if it was newest.
  • Bug fix : (Rare) The program would crash with an error message mentioning "Update08".
  • 11/06/12 3.12.1106
  • Multiple users should be able to work in the program at the same time.
  • Updated and added some trailer types.
  • 10/24/12 3.12.1024
  • Bug fix : Program crashed sometimes when importing : "Function argument value, type, or count is invalid"
  • 10/23/12 3.12.1023
  • Bug fix : Program crashed on startup : "c:\program files\vin_decode\models.dbf does not exist"
  • Bug fix : Program crashed sometimes when importing : "Property LENGTH is not found"
  • 10/8/12 3.12.1008
  • More decoding rules are added
  • 8/29/12 3.12.0829
  • The import now supports the Munis "Sequence" number.
  • Year Code wrap-around : The code for 1983 is now for 2013.
  • 3/27/12 3.12.0327
  • You can now print the help file.
  • 3/2/12 3.12.0302
  • New fields : Multiplier, Last Year's Value
  • New import fields : Value, Last Year's Value
  • Values, if present, imported at 100% or 70%
  • Trailer list on main screen flags year conflict with red text
  • Fixed an Excel import bug.
  • 2/8/12 3.12.0208
  • Improved the import process.
  • Importing text files no longer requires Excel.
  • 1/4/12 3.12.0104
  • Fixed a bug that prevented assigning to blank VINs.
  • 11/16/11 3.11.1116
  • Fixed a bug "unable to update the data directory".
  • Utility trailers default pricing set to capacity. (User changeable)
  • 10/28/11 3.11.1028
  • Fixed a bug in saving a file in Excel 2007,2010.
  • Program remembers file import/export folder.
  • 10/24/11 3.11.1024
  • Fixed report crash bug.
  • 10/21/11 3.11.1021
  • The program runs under Windows 7 and 10
  • The program works with Excel 2007 and 2010
  • 10/17/11 3.11.1017
  • Allow "TXT" extension for CSV files
  • Some bug fixes
  • 10/3/11 3.11.1003
  • Version 3 introduced
  • A better installer is provided.
  • The data import from Excel should be faster for large lists.
  • Year Code wrap-around : The code for 1982 is now for 2012.
  • 1/26/11 2.11.0126
  • Last revision of Version 2.
  • Review History

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    Last Reviewed or Updated: December 6, 2022