Reporter 4 Support
I use Internet Explorer 8 as my Web browser.  When I click the button to e-file my report, I do not get a receipt.  Instead, I get a blank screen with the "#" symbol on it.  What's wrong?
You are receiving a "Cross-Site Scripting" or "XSS" error.  This happens to Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) users because IE8 installs with an "XSS" filter enabled by default.  To correct this error, please follow these steps:
  • Open Internet Explorer 8.
    (Not sure if you have Internet Explorer 8?  Click on the help button and select "About Internet Explorer."  This will tell you what version you have.)

  • Click on the "Tools" button located in the upper right corner of the page.

  • Select the "Internet Options" menu option.

  • Select the "Security" tab.

  • Select the "Trusted Sites" icon (the green checkmark) from the "Select a zone..." options bar.

  • Click the "Sites" button.

  • You will neet to add the EFS as a trusted website by typing the EFS URL, "http://www.efs.cpf.state.ma.us", into the "Add this website to the zone:" text box.  Make sure the box labeled "Require sever verification (https:) for all sites in this zone" is unchecked.  Click the "Add" button.  Click the "Close" button to close this window, but do not close the Internet Options window.

  • Under the "Security level for this zone" section, click the "Custom level..." button.  Scroll down to the bottom of the list.  Locate the "Enable XSS filter" header and click the "Disable" radio button.  Click the "OK" button to close this window.  Click the "OK" button to close the Internet Options window.

  • Open Reporter 4 and e-file your report.  You should now get a receipt.

    In some cases, you may receive an error message telling you that the report was not accepted because there was a duplicate report found.  This just means that the report did e-file on your first attempt, you just did not receive a receipt.  To print a copy of your e-filing receipt for your committee's records, go to the Electronic Filing System website (www.efs.cpf.state.ma.us) and click on the "Log-In" link.  It is located on the navigation menu (the gray shaded box on the left).  Enter your CPF ID and password.  Click on the 'E-Filing Receipts' link on the navigation menu.  You will see a listing of all your e-filing receipts.  Locate the receipt you wish to print and click on the "E-Filing Receipt" link to print the receipt.
I have the Windows Vista operating system.  Is Reporter 4 compatible?
Yes.  Reporter 4 has been tested on the Vista operating system and is compatible.  However, you do need to ensure that you have the administrative rights necessary to download and install files to your computer and to save files to your C:\ drive.  You may need to edit your User Account Controls (UAC).
I have the Windows Vista operating system.  Every time Reporter 4 tries to update its supporting files, the update fails and I have trouble opening Reporter again.  What is wrong?
The Vista operating system has increased security for all files in the Program Files folder.  If you install or move the Reporter 4 application to your desktop or Documents folder, it should run correctly.

To install Reporter 4 to an alternate location:
Download Reporter 4 to your desktop.  Double-click the installation file to start the installation wizard.  When you get to this screen:



Use the "Browse" button to change the address to the folder where you want the Reporter 4 software to install.

To move Reporter 4 to an alternate location:
Go to the C:\ drive.  Open the Program Files folder and right-click on the Reporter4 folder.  Select "Cut" from the menu.  Go to the folder where you want to place Reporter 4 (either the desktop or the Documents folder).  Right-click anywhere in the blank part of the page and select "Paste" from the menu.  After you have moved the Reporter 4 folder, open Reporter 4 and click on the Tools button on the toolbar.  Select Options.  On the Options page, select File Locations.  You will need to edit the file locations to point to the folder in which you placed Reporter 4.  Use the browse buttons to the right of each field to navigate to the new file locations.
I have a Macintosh computer.  Is Reporter 4 compatible?
No.  Reporter 4 was designed to operate on PC-based computer systems only.  However, you do have options:
  • You can use the web-based filing system, Web Reporter, instead; or

  • You can purchase and install PC emulation software to run Reproter 4 on your Mac.
When I try to open Reporter 4, using my desktop icon I get the error message,
"The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable."
What's wrong?
During the installation process, Windows saves the Reporter4.msi file information to the Windows Installer cache.  If you try to open Reporter 4 when your Internet access is not available, the automatic update feature cannot find the OCPF server so Windows redirects it to this cached .msi file instead.  Unfortunately, once redirected, the update file will continue to point to the cached .msi file instead of the Internet.

WORKAROUND - The simplest way to resolve this issue is to delete the Reporter 4 icon from your desktop and create a new one.

To delete the icon:
Click on the icon file using your right mouse button and select delete from the menu options.  A message will pop-up confirming that you are deleting the icon for the file but the program will not be uninstalled.  You can confirm this message by clicking the Delete Shortcut button.

To create a new icon:
Double-click on your My Computer icon.  Double-click on the C:\ drive.  Double-click on the Program Files folder.  Double-click on the Reporter4 folder.  Use your right mouse button to click on the Reporter.exe file.  Select Send To Desktop (Create Shortcut) from the menu options.
I have the Windows Vista operating system.  When I opened Reporter 4, it tried to update itself and failed.  Now, Reporter 4 won't open.  What's wrong?
Windows Vista may not recognize your rights to run the Reporter 4 program as an administrator, which Reporter 4 needs to access the web and download update files.  To resolve this issue:

Go to C:\Program Files\Reporter4\Reporter4.exe and right-click on the Reporter.exe file.  Choose "Properties" from the menu.  The Properties dialog box will open.  Select the "Compatibility" tab.  The window will look like this:



Under the "Privilege Level" section, Click on the checkbox labeled "Run this program as an administrator" and click "OK."  This should resolve the issue.
I need to e-mail my Reporter 4 data file to someone.  Where is the data file located?
Windows XP users:

The data file is located in the following folder:

C:\Program Files\Reporter4\1

To get to this folder:
  • Double-click on the My Computer icon on your desktop;
  • Double-click on the C: drive (it may be labeled "Local Disk C:";
  • Double-click on the Program Files folder;
  • Double-click on the Reporter4 folder;
  • Double-click on the "1" folder;
  • The data.xml file is in this folder.
Windows Vista users:

Although Reporter 4 resides in the same location (C:\Program Files\Reporter4) Windows Vista does not allow most users to write to the Program Files folder.  Instead, Vista redirects IO operations (file writing operations) to another folder:

C:\Users\[your setup name]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Reporter4\1

To get to this folder:
  • You cannot use Windows Explorer to reach your folder.  Instead, you need to type in the address of the folder you need.

  • You can start in the C:\Users folder and then type the rest of the address from there.
Reporter 4 Downloads
Download the Reporter 4 installation package.
Download the Reporter 4 executable file.