Download | Installation Issues | Submission Problems | Updates | Problems and Fixes
This page provides instructional documents for use of the PAIF DEA software, as well as descriptions, fixes, and downloadable updates for problems that have been identified with the software. If you are experiencing a problem with the DEA software and a fix for the problem is not listed below, please contact our office for assistance at 916-327-0219.
PAIF Data Entry Assistant Software
Who Should Use the PAIF DEA
LEAs unable to certify their staffing and course data through CALPADS by the June 8, 2011 deadline, will use the PAIF Data Entry Assistant (DEA) software to submit and certify their data.
Please note that while schools can download and use the PAIF DEA software to key enter their data, all data must be submitted at the district level, except for charter schools submitting their data independently of their authorizing agency. When data are submitted by individual schools, the school's submission overwrites the district's submission and data are lost. Please refer to the instructions for School Level Use of the PAIF Software (non-networked) or School Level Use of the PAIF Software (networked) for further information on using the software at the school level.
About the PAIF DEA
The PAIF DEA is designed for electronic submission of PAIF data. The software is very user friendly and is designed to save and store data automatically. This means users can exit the software as often as needed or update (apply patches to) the software without loss of data. The software also has many user friendly features, some of which are listed below:
- Automatically loads data reported from last year.
- Has built-in edit checks to identify errors or areas of concern.
- Supports school-level use (data must be submitted at the district level).
- Supports importing data that have been formatted to meet PAIF DEA import requirements.
- Allows for accurate and timely data submission.
- Allows for data corrections and resubmission.
- Generates school and district-level reports.
The PAIF DEA software is Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP, NT, Vista, and 7 compatible. It is not compatible with Macintosh computers.
Documentation
- 2010-11 PAIF File Layout (Revised 07-Jun-2011)
This file layout is used by local educational agencies (LEAs) who create a file from their student or staff information systems for importing into the PAIF DEA software. It is not used by LEAs who manually key enter data or who create files using the software by exporting a file and then importing that file back into the software. - Instructions for Completing the PAIF Fall 2010 (Revised 14-Jul-2011; DOC; 521KB; 22pp.)
- Professional Assignment Information Form (PAIF) (DOC; 185KB; 2pp.)
- PAIF Frequently Asked Questions 2010-11
- School-level single-user non-networked use of the PAIF software
A document that explains the steps necessary to use the PAIF software at the school level in a non-networked environment. - School-level multi-user networked use of the PAIF software
A document that explains the steps necessary to use the PAIF software at the school level in a networked environment.
Software Download
Please select one of the links below to download the PAIF software. Please note, this is a large file and may take a long time to download if you use a slow modem for Internet access.
PAIF DEA Software on WWW5 Server (EXE; 80MB)
PAIF DEA Software on FTP Server (EXE; 80MB)
Software Problems, Fixes, and Workarounds
Software Installation Issues
- Problem:
Administrative rights are required under most Windows operating systems to load the PAIF software. Some districts have set up their workstations in such a manner that the user of the workstation does not have the administrative rights required to install the software on the workstation.
Fix: Staff who have administrative rights must install the PAIF software and make sure that the user has administrative rights to use the PAIF software. - Problem: An error report is generated indicating the PAIF.dbf does not exist. This indicates the installation was incomplete because administrative rights were not in place, or the program was interrupted after selecting the district.
Workaround: Work with your technical support staff to ensure that you have administrative rights to the CBEDS_PAIF_Fall2010 folder and all the sub folders. Then reload your district by going to the Utility menu and choosing the option to select a new district. - Problem: If the drive location for the program was changed from the default during installation, the icon may not be properly configured. The program will not run, usually giving a message like "File cannot be found" or "File does not exist." This error may come up if the drive location was changed during installation.
Fix: To edit the icon, right click on the icon and select "Properties." Make sure that the "Target " and the "Start in" fields are directing the program to the place that you have loaded your software. For example, if you loaded the PAIF program into C:\CBEDS10\PAIF\, the "Target" should be C:\CBEDS10\PAIF\PAIF2010.EXE and the "Start in" should be C:\CBEDS10\PAIF\.
General Use Issues
- Problem: File access denied errors may occur when performing functions that require exclusive rights if the software is being used by multiple users, or opened more than once on the same computer. Submitting data, reindexing, and backing up data are examples of functions that require exclusive rights.
Workaround: Exit the software and make sure other users are not using the software or that the software is not open multiple times on your computer before you restart the software and perform a function that requires exclusive rights.
Data Submission Problems
- Problem: Some users are experiencing an "OLE error" when trying to submit their data. This occurs when the user's Windows registry was not correctly updated when the software was installed. The two files that need to be registered are FTPX.dll and FTPX.ocx. These two files are copied into your C:\windows\system32 folder and registered when you install the software. If the installation was not completed successfully, these files may be missing. This problem is often caused by users copying the software from one computer to another without doing a complete installation. It may also be caused by the user not having windows 'rights' to write to the system folder.
Workaround: Send your data via an e-mail attachment to pwilburn@cde.ca.gov. The file to send is called P9999999.int (where you substitute your district county-district code for the 9's, unless you are an independently reporting charter school, then you substitute your school code for the 9's). This file is created when you attempt to submit over the Internet and is stored in the folder where the software is installed. The default location for this folder is on the local drive under the user folder in My Documents\CBEDS_PAIF_Fall2010\. If the default installation location was not used, right click on the desktop icon and select "Properties." This will show you the path to the folder where your software is installed. If, for some reason, the file is not created upon attempting to submit over the Internet, there is an option under the "File" menu in the software titled "create email data file" which will allow you to create and save the file, so you can attach it to an e-mail.
Fix: It is necessary to register the two files in your Windows Registry. There are two ways you can register these files. The first method is to Click on the Start button, and click on Run. In the space provided type: Regsvr32 FTPX.dll. There should always be one space after Regsvr32 and it is not case sensitive. If you get a confirming message that the file is registered, register the other file by typing:Regsvr32FTPX.ocx.
If the previous method does not work, you may have to add a path before the FTPX files. The command to do this would be Regsvr32 "File Path\Other\FTPX.dll" (include quotes as indicated) (where File Path is the full path location to the file. For example: C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\CBEDS_PAIF_FALL2010). Use the same command and path to register the FTPX.ocx file, except replace FTPX.dll with FTPX.ocx.
- Problem: When submitting data via the Internet you get a "File Access Denied" error message. This occurs when either you do not have administrative rights to save files to the necessary folders, or you have the software open more than once on your computer.
Workaround: If the program is open more than once, close the program out and try again. You may have to reboot your computer before trying to submit again.
Fix: If you do not have full administrative rights, you will need to have administrative rights granted so you can write to the CBEDS_PAIF_Fall2010 folder and all of its subfolders.
Software Update
An update to the PAIF DEA has been posted. Please see Software Problems and Fixes below for details on what this update addresses.
Follow the steps below to download and install the update.
- Print these instructions.
- If you have not already done so, exit the PAIF DEA software.
- Download the updated version of the software (see Software Download section above) by saving the file to your computer (desktop recommended).
- Re-downloading the software will not overwrite any existing data, unless you delete the old version first, which is not recommended.
- Once the file is saved on your computer, locate the file and double click on it to open it.
- Follow the InstallShield Wizard prompts to update the software.
- You may verify the software version by selecting the About option from the Help menu.
Software Problems and Fixes
- Problem: When “itinerant” is selected, the software requires enrollment and grade level to be reported. However, it is not required to report this data for itinerant courses.
Fix: Download and install PAIF DEA software version 10.0.21 or later. - Problem: The drop-down menu of course assignments is incomplete. For example, principal and vice principal are missing.
Workaround: Type in the appropriate code. A list of codes is available in the Instructions for Completing the PAIF.
Fix: Download and install PAIF DEA software version 10.0.21 or later. - Problem: All fields were not being cleared when an assignment code was deleted, specifically the course indicators.
Workaround: Remove course indicators and any other data from the row prior to deleting the code.
Fix: Download and install PAIF DEA software version 10.0.21 or later. - Problem: The type A section of the File Layout was missing the number four. Fields were renumbered from that point on.
Workaround: Use the revised version of the File Layout posted on the PAIF Software News 2010-11 Web page.
Fix: Download and install PAIF DEA software version 10.0.21 or later to get the new File Layout. - Problem: If you click on the button to View Layout from the Import screen, the layout doesn't open. Instead, the Help Topics opens and you have to search for the layout, which was listed under Appendix A.
Workaround: Use the File Layout posted on the PAIF Software News 2010-11 Web page or search in the Help system under Appendix A.
Fix: Download and install PAIF DEA software version 10.0.21 or later.
