Meeting State Requirements
Campaign ToolBox meets the state filing requirements for each state version in effect OCT 1, 2020. Some municipalities may have their own specific requirements that differ from the state requirements – Campaign ToolBox may or may not be able to meet those requirements. For example, the state of Florida, and most Florida counties are now using electronic filing. Some munitipalities are using the printed forms, including a revised version of the Other Distributions report. If you are required to use the newest version of the printed Other Distributions report, then you may need to manually create that report from a PDF file.Who Should I Call?
If you have a legal question such as “What date should I use on this transaction?” or “How should I code this transaction?”, you should check with the state. If you have a question about uploading your file to the state web site or a question about your report after it has been uploaded, you should check with the state. For any other questions please contact us directly.Creating PDF files of your printed reports
Campaign ToolBox no longer includes the capability of generating PDF format reports. If you need to generate PDF files of your printed reports, you should either get the full version of Adobe Acrobat, or a PDF utility program such as Perfect PDF Creator Essentials. This program sells for approximately $10 and can be purchased at your local Office Depot or downloaded directly from the publisher.Stay up to date
Click on the SUBSCRIBE link to make sure you are notified of program updates.Tech Support Documents
File Name Description flquickref.pdf Quick Reference Guide – Florida kyquickref.pdf Quick Reference Guide – Kentucky paquickref.pdf Quick Reference Guide – Pennsylvania ky_setup…pdf Setup Instructions – Kentucky only setup…cd.pdf Setup Instructions – CD delivery setup…web.pdf Setup Instructions – Web delivery tn_001.pdf Uninstalling Campaign ToolBox tn_003.pdf Copying program and data to a new computer tn_004.pdf Installation errors, REGEDIT.EXE tn_007.pdf Transferring a database file to another system tn_008.pdf Problem installations tn_009.pdf Database updates tn_012.pdf Record linking problems tn_013.pdf Notes on downloading software tn_014.pdf Account balancing tn_015.pdf Using Windows Explorer tn_016.pdf Creating Mail Merge documents in MS Word using Campaign ToolBox tn_017.pdf Recovering from a hard drive crash or other system disaster tn_018.pdf Importing records into Campaign ToolBox
tn_019.pdf Installer runs instead of program tn_020.pdf Amended reports – demographic information (Applies to FLORIDA ONLY) tn_021.pdf Recovering a backup copy of the database tn_022.pdf Registration Code does not match tn_023.pdf Dummy Records for correcting cumulative amounts tn_024.pdf Returning surplus contributions as pro-rata refunds tn_025.pdf Electronic filing on a CD tn_026.pdf Backing Up Your Program Data tn_027.pdf Setup and Testing CTB Importer tn_028.pdf Electronic Filing for Orange County, FL tn_029.pdf Moving Your Program to a New Computer tn_030.pdf Reports and the EFS File System tn_031.pdf Electronic Filing Through a Different Computer tn_032.pdf Update Runs but Version is Unchanged tn_033.pdf Creating a Report for a Repeating Group of Contributions tn_034.pdf Locating a “missing” database file tn_035.pdf Creating an Export File tn_036.pdf File Downloading Alternatives tn_037.pdf Broward County, FL Report Filing tn_039.pdf Error Tracking on the Florida EFS System tn_040.pdf Adding New Report Codes tn_041.pdf Database file access problems in Vista and Windows 7 tn_042.pdf OBSOLETE – See TN-058 tn_043.pdf Complete Uninstall/Reinstall tn_044.pdf PayPal, Recording Contributions (Florida) tn_045.pdf PAC End of Year and Balance Carried Forward (Kentucky) tn_046.pdf Transitioning from Primary to General Elections (Kentucky) tn_047.pdf Windows Compatibility Settings tn_048.pdf Moving From XP Mode to direct Windows 7 tn_049.pdf FLORIDA – Change from CCE to PC tn_050.pdf Creating a Tab-Delimited File for MUC Reports tn_051.pdf Fix Error-75 File/Access Error tn_052.pdf Change Report Codes – Florida program tn_053.pdf Repeat a Group of Contributions tn_054.pdf KY Amended Reports (DRAFT) tn_055.pdf Fix Error 58 – File already exists tn_056.pdf Using the web store tn_057.pdf Fix Error-76 Path Not Found tn_058.pdf Creating RED Records (Update 1) tn_059.pdf Windows OS Error 713 tn_060.pdf Updating your program tn_061.pdf Installing your program (Fresh Install) The following section applies to the Kentucky program
Installation and Setup
Tutorial (PDF) Adobe Flash Player (SWF) Windows Media Player (WMV) Initial Program Setup (.pdf – 844 KB) Initial Setup.swf Initial Setup.wmv How to Create a New Database (.pdf – 224 KB) Creating a New Database.swf Creating a New Database.wmv Reports
Maintenance
Tutorial (PDF) Adobe Flash Player (SWF) Windows Media Player (WMV) How to Apply Updates to Campaign ToolBox (.pdf – 164 KB) Applying Updates.swf Updating Campaign ToolBox.wmv How to Backup Data and Files Using Campaign ToolBox (.pdf – 77 KB) Backing up Data files.swf Backing up Campaign Toolbox Known Issues (including OS issues)
Operating System independent
NOTE:
❏ Updates to the program must be tested and approved by the applicable state agency. They strongly discourage any program updates that are not required due to changes in the law. No program updates are planned.
❏ While the program includes some basic financial functions, it is designed around state reporting requirements – it is not an accounting program. The law allows some transactions that can result in things like bank reconciliation not working correctly.
- Pennsylvania – Status: No changes planned
1) The Campaign Start Date field on the Tools>Options form is not saved. This has been like this since at least 2012, and probably since the original release in 1998. This field is typically set when going through Initial Program Setup (Step 19 of 20), so if you need to change this, please go back through Initial Program Setup to change the Campaign Start Date. As a reminder, this field tells the program to ignore all records prior to this date.
2) PA program creates printed reports using third-party software over which we have no control. On some systems (possibly printer-dependent), the Cover Page will display a non-ASCII character on about 5 of the fields in addition to what should be printed. Work-around is a bottle of White-Out.- Florida – Status: No changes planned
Some of the printed reports do not reflect the latest changes to the Florida filing requirements. Since printed reports are no longer accepted by the state, and nearly all counties have gone to electronic filing, the printed reports will remain unchanged. You may find that you need to edit (White-Out and pen) some check boxes or other items. Some of the differences are related to ECOs, and other newer types of political entities found in section 4 of the Summary Report. In addition, the Other Distributions form DS-DE 14A has been changed to add a new column – if the agency you are reporting to requires it, you may need to complete that page manually. The latest PDF forms can be found on the Division of Elections web site here.Two new report codes have been added by the state – G3A and G4A. These reports are not currently used for Candidates, so you might not need to add these codes. There are three ways to add these new report codes – use whichever method you prefer:
1) Download, unzip, and copy this updated Report Code file and replace your old report list file with this one.
2) Manually add the report codes yourself. This tech support doc shows you how to add any report code to your program: TN-040
3) Reinstall the program. Although the program version level did not change, the new codes were added on 09/27/2020.Windows XP and earlier
- No known issues.
Windows 7 and above
- Campaign ToolBox may need to have Compatibility Settings changed in order for it to run under Windows 7 or above. These settings are program-specific and do not affect other programs on your system. How to change the Compatibility Settings are shown in Tech Note 047.
- The program database file should be located in your My Documents folder rather than under the Program Files folder. With previous versions of Windows, My Documents would be the preferred location just for better organization. For Windows 7 and above, having the database file (default name is Campaign.mdb) inside the main program folder can make some operations a bit difficult and on some systems, can result in error messages. On most systems, this is not a problem and it works just fine; as a general rule though, it is always better to keep your data files under the My Documents folder.
- Some drop-down lists can only be accessed by using your Tab key (or Shift-Tab to go in reverse order). If you use your mouse key to try clicking on those fields, Windows no longer recognizes that mouse click. You should develop the habit of always using your Tab key to move through the fields on the data entry forms. This issue began with Windows Vista.
- The following Tech Notes apply mostly to Windows 10:
tn_047.pdf – Windows Compatibility Settings
tn_051.pdf – Fix Error-75 File/Access Error
tn_055.pdf – Fix Error 58 – File already exists
tn_057.pdf – Fix Error-76 Path Not Found
Florida
General Links
Current Versions
FL – 6.0.12 – Released 05/04/2018
KY – 2.6.0 – Released 12/01/2017
PA – 2.2.2 – Released 11/12/2012