Dear Colleagues,

With over 450 companies now signed up to the Extranet, the service continues to grow in popularity and usage. We are now consistently seeing over 10% of the total technical documents received at NHBC coming through the Extranet.

I am pleased to confirm that further to the functional enhancements made in October, this evening we will be releasing several additional enhancements to the 'document submission' process as outlined below.

Enhancements

• Maximum file size limit increased to 40Mb per upload (previously 20Mb). To make use of the increased 40Mb limit via the multi-file browser (applet) you will need to ensure your PC is running the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). It is likely that you already have this installed on your machine, however we recommend version 1.6 Update 11 installed as a minimum.

To download a current version of the JRE, please download these from Sun's website:
http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp 

Please note that the speed of the upload process is dependent on the size of the files you are uploading and the speed of your Internet connection. It is therefore recommended that you keep file sizes as small as possible. The Extranet enables you to make multiple uploads before submission to NHBC therefore you are not restricted to only sending 50 files or up to 40Mb per submission, you can build packages of details that far exceed these limits, with no performance impact.

• Auto file-naming process. When uploading a file through the Extranet you are required to complete four fields for each file, currently the Extranet only auto populates the four index fields if the file name follows a specific convention (if the file name has three underscores (i.e. _) then all the fields are completed).

Therefore a file named 'Plot 1_GF Plan_01234_A' populates the four fields with:

Subject:   Plot 1
Description:  GF Plan
Reference:  01234
Version:   A

The functionality within this area has now been expanded to auto populate the index fields even if the three underscore convention has not been used.
Below highlights the outcome of various naming conventions:

File name: Block 2_Site Investigation Report_Jan 08

Subject :  Block 2
Description:  Site Investigation Report
Reference:  Jan 08
Version:  -

File name: Block 2 Site Investigation Report_Jan 08

Subject :   Block 2 Site Investigation Report 
Description:  Jan 08
Reference:    (will be left blank but will require completing)
Version:  -

File name: Block 2 Site Investigation Report Jan 08

Subject :   Block 2 Site Investigation Report Jan 08 
Description:  (will be left blank but will require completing)
Reference:    (will be left blank but will require completing)
Version:  -

If the version is left blank the Extranet will automatically complete the field with a '-'.

If the file name is over 40 characters in length then the name will flow over into the Description field.

General Guidance

Over recent months there has been a marked increase in 'Architects and Consultants' signing up for access to the 'Extranet'. Please note that if you are considering granting access to an 'Architect or Consultant', it is best for them to sign their organisation up first by using the signup link: www.nhbc.co.uk/extranet/signup.
Once signed up with a 'Username' they will ask you to Link in their username, thereby providing access to the sites you choose. The benefit to following this practice is that the Architect or Consultant will have one username that will grant them access to all their clients' sites.
Further details on 'Linking Users' can be found on page 7 of the Administrator manual, link below: www.nhbc.co.uk/NHBCpublications/LiteratureLibrary/extranet/filedownload,34332,en.pdf.

Thank you for your continued support of the Extranet and I hope you are starting to see the cost and time savings this service was designed to provide.

Regards