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6-10: Availability of Direct Loan (DL) Tools for Windows, Release 19.0

Posted Date: June 10, 2019

Author:  Federal Student Aid

Subject: Availability of Direct Loan (DL) Tools for Windows, Release 19.0

We are pleased to announce the availability of William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (DL) Tools for Windows, Release 19.0, a supplemental software product for Direct Loan participants. DL Tools is available for download on the Federal Student Aid Download (FSAdownload) website, located at https://fsadownload.ed.gov.

In addition to the software, the following DL Tools documents are available on the FSAdownload website:

  • DL Tools, Release 19.0 Cover Letter (provides information regarding enhancements available in Release 19.0)

  • DL Tools, Release 19.0 Installation Guide (provides technical guidance regarding installing and using Release 19.0)

Volume IV (DL Tools) of the 2019-2020 Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) Technical Reference, which includes external import record layouts and other information for system administrators, will be available in the next several days on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website, located at https://ifap.ed.gov.

Note: As announced in a March 28, 2019 Electronic Announcement, we will retire the FSAdownload website later this year and relocate all site content, including DL Tools software and related documentation, to the IFAP website. We recommend that you monitor the IFAP website for upcoming Electronic Announcements related to this transition. Depending on the timing of the transition, you may need to go to the IFAP website to download the DL Tools software and documentation.

DL Tools, Release 19.0 Installation – Special Notes

Note the following guidance during the installation of DL Tools, Release 19.0:

  • When you initiate the installation process, you will be prompted to install the ACE Access Database Engine. This functionality is now required to install DL Tools. Click Install to allow the process to determine if the ACE Access Database Engine is already on the workstation and install it if not; after which the installation will proceed.

  • DL Tools now requires Microsoft .NET Framework version 4.6.2. You will be prompted to install this software if the installation process determines it is not available on your workstation.

For more information on installing DL Tools, Release 19.0, see the DL Tools, Release 19.0 Installation Guide, available for download from the FSAdownload website.

DL Tools, Release 19.0 Initial Login Information

When you first access DL Tools, Release 19.0 after installation, the default User ID is SYSADMIN and the default password is $y$tem Adm1n. Be sure to include the space between $y$tem and Adm1n (the two parts of the default password).

After you enter the default user ID and password, DL Tools requires that you immediately define a new password for the SYSADMIN. New passwords must be a minimum of 12 characters and must include at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number, and one keyboard character that is not a letter or number (such as an exclamation mark or other punctuation symbol). You can adjust the minimum password length and other requirements in the Password Setup dialog box (Tools, Setup, Password Setup).

The SYSADMIN user ID only provides access to critical administrative functions in order to limit its use for routine software tasks and improve your ability to trace actions taken in the software to specific users. DL Tools administrators at your school should create unique user IDs in Security Users setup with the necessary access and log into the software under those IDs for most software tasks they perform.

For more information on security setup, see DL Tools Help in the software and the DL Tools, Release 19.0 Installation Guide, available for download from the FSAdownload website.

Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding downloading, installing, or using DL Tools, contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at 1-800-330-5947 (TDD/TTY 1-800-511-5806) or by email at [email protected].

You can also post questions regarding EDExpress on FSATech. FSATech is an
electronic mailing list for technical questions about Federal Student Aid systems, software, and mainframe products. For more information on subscribing to FSATech, go to https://ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/services/fsatechsubscribe.html.

 

Publication Date: 6/10/2019

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