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CUSTOMER SERVICE MEMO CSTP2601

for 2026 Edition of HowardSoft's Tax Preparer®

(written 2/20/2026)

How to email a copy of tax data to HowardSoft

Background. If you contact HowardSoft about a problem that involves a numerical error message (such as ER 5/LN nnnnn, ER 9/LN nnnnn, where nnnnn is a 5-digit number), you may be told to send HowardSoft a copy of your tax data so that we can diagnose the problem, which may be caused by damaged data due to a rare hardware malfunction. You may be asked to send all data for an entire tax year. This memo explains how to do so in Windows with your mouse (without having to use Command Prompt to access DOS and type lengthy commands, as we may have instructed in the past).

Assumptions. The instructions provided here assume that you accepted all of our default settings while installing Tax Preparer on your computer. This includes accepting the location for Tax Preparer program files, which follows Microsoft's standards, and accepting our default blank setting for Storage Disk spec in your Program Settings (the last item in Tax Preparer's Main Menu). These default settings will result in your program files and your tax data BOTH being stored on your C-drive (the standard main drive for hard disks) in the Windows folder named (for most computers)

C:\Program Files (x86)\HowardSoft Tax Preparer\

(For older computers that are 32-bit machines rather than the current standard of 64-bit machines, the (x86) is not used in the filename.) CAUTION: If your tax data is in a different folder (because you changed our blank entry for Storage Disk spec), you must revise the following instructions accordingly.

Step-by-Step Instructions


  •   Step 1: Enter your Windows File Explorer by typing E while holding down the Windows key (labeled Win or with Microsoft's graphic of a 4-pane window, usually in the lower left corner of your keyboard).
    Result: You should see a window showing all of your available drives and devices (typically your hard drives and USB devices, including thumb drives and DVDs).

  •   Step 2: In this window, double-click (with your mouse) the C-drive, which is usually labeled as Windows (C:).
    Result: You should see a list of folders and files in alphabetical order (folders first, then drives). If they are not in this order, or they are in reverse alphabetical order, click the Name heading at the top of the list.

  •   Step 3: Scroll down this list until you see Program Files (x86), and double-click it. (On an older 32-bit machine, click Program Files instead.)
    Result: You should now see a list of contents of the program folder, showing most software programs on your computer.

  •   Step 4: Scroll down this list until you see HowardSoft Tax Preparer, and double-click it.
    Result: You should now see a list of folders, program files, and tax data for Tax Preparer for all years that you have installed. Most of the program files have filenames starting with TP followed by the 2-digit edition year, such as TP26 for the 2026 Edition of Tax Preparer. Similarly, the tax data files have filenames starting with TS followed by the 2-digit edition year, such as TS26 for data produced by the 2026 Edition of Tax Preparer.

  •   Step 5: Before you proceed, make sure that all files are in alphabetical order by clicking the Name heading at the top of the list (and click it again if they are in reverse alphabetical order).
    Result: You should now see all data files together in order of edition year. For example, if you have only data from the 2025 and 2026 Editions of Tax Preparer, you will see all filenames starting with TS25 followed by all filenames starting with TS26.

  •   Step 6: If we ask you to send us ALL your tax data produced by a particular edition of Tax Preparer, follow our example here for data produced by the 2025 Edition of Tax Preparer 1040. In this case, scroll down to the first file with filename starting TS25IUS and single-click it so that it is highlighted. Now scroll down to the last file with filename starting TS25IUS, hold down the Shift Key, and single-click the last file.
    Result: This should result in the highlighting of ALL files starting with TS25IUS, with the file TS25IUSV.Z00 as the last highlighted file.

  •   Step 7: Now, with the files still highlighted, RIGHT-click the last file (TS25IUSV.Z00 for this example), left-click Send to from the resulting menu, then left-click Compressed (zipped) folder from the next menu that appears.
    Result: This should result in the creation of a file named TS25IUSV.zip, which is the file you would need to send to us. TIP: We STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you keep open the window that shows the filename TS25IUSV.zip so that you will be able to find it when you attach it to the email you send us.

  •   Step 8: Now open your email program, address it to support@howardsoft.com, and, in your message, remind us of the problem we are trying to solve. Once you're ready to send the message, first click in your email program Attach, which may appear anywhere within the window for your email, depending on the particular email program you use.
    Result: You should see a list of folders on your computer, from which you can browse your computer to find the zip file you created for us.

  •   Step 9: Once you find the file you created, double-click it so that it becomes a part of your email. You can now click Send and we should receive your email shortly.
    CAUTION: Your email program may have a limit on the size of file that you can send, usually 10 MB or 20 MB. If you have numerous clients for which you have tax returns for the year, you may exceed the limit by following the above procedures. In this case, you will have to send us smaller groups of files for the year in separate emails. In this case, rather than highlighting all data flies for the year, highlight smaller groups in Step 6 and create a smaller zip file by clicking, in Step 7, the last file in the smaller highlighted group. The will create zip files with unique names based on the last file in each group. You can then send us separate emails per Steps 8 and 9 to avert the limitations of your email software.