Profile Prod is not valid

Owned by Kyle Niekamp
11 13, 2018

Issue/Symptom/Question

When attempting to bill a work order, I'm receiving the below error message:

Error:

Profile Prod is not valid


Applies To

PENTA for Windows

Service Management > Invoicing > Work Order / Maintenance Contract Billing

Resolution/Fix/Answer

PENTA for Windows (PfW) is looking for an entry in the penta.ini file (The PfW Configuration File) that is defined as the last value in the user_preferences table. The last value in the user_preferences table is the last Database the user logged into. Example, if the user selected 'Production' from the DB drop down in the PfW login screen, the users last value would be set to Production in the user_preferences table.  If the user doesn't have a last entry in the user_preferences table, then PfW will use the last value defined for the PENTA user in the user_preferences table. The last entry in the user_preferences table needs to match an entry in the penta.ini file.

You can run the following query to determine what the last value is set to for a specific user:

select * from user_preferences where key_name = 'last' and profile_id = '{PfWUsername}'

Example for PfW User PENTA: select * from user_preferences where key_name = 'last' and profile_id = 'PENTA'

If both the users last value and the PENTA users last value both match an entry in the penta.ini file, then there could be an incorrect penta.ini file on the machine running PENTA for Windows. Typically, the incorrect penta.ini file is down the C:\users directory path.

For example, if the persons Windows ID is ABC, an incorrect penta.ini file might be located in:

C:\Users\ABC\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Penta Technologies, Inc\Penta for Windows

Delete the penta.ini file found in C:\Users\ABC\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Penta Technologies, Inc\Penta for Windows.

Sometimes this error can occur because the penta.ini System Environment Variable is not set. The penta.ini System Environment Variable value is the full path to the penta.ini file.

If PENTA for Windows is installed on the C Drive of a machine, the penta.ini System Environment Variable value would be:

 C:\program files (x86)\Penta Technologies, Inc.\PENTA for Windows\penta.ini

To determine whether the penta.ini System Environment Variable is set, do the following on the PENTA for Windows machine:

Open the Command Prompt (Start Button > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt)

Type the following in the Command Prompt Windows and hit the Enter key:

set penta.ini

If the penta.ini System Environment Variable is set, you should see output similar to this:

If the penta.ini System Environment Variable is not set, you can use the PENTA Product Installer (PPI) to define the penta.ini System Environment Variable.

Start the PPI (Start Button > Penta Product Installer > Penta Product Installer)

In the Environment Variables block of the PPI, enter in the value for the PENTA.INI Environment Variable and then select the Save Environment Variable Button

Example for setting the PENTA.INI environment variable to: C:\Program Files (x86)\Penta Technologies, Inc\Penta for Windows\penta.ini

Note: Make sure the PENTA.INI Environment Variable includes the penta.ini file name.  


You can also set the PENTA.INI System Environment Variable using the Control Panel. It's recommended that someone familiar with setting Windows environment variables (Such as a System Administrator) set an environment variable on a machine

If you try the items noted above and the problem persists, please submit a Service Desk ticket and reference this article.  Please provide the following information in your Service Desk ticket:

  • Database
  • User Id
  • Steps to duplicate error message