Introduction To QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide PDF
Introduction To QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide PDF
Introduction To QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide PDF
Fig. 2.27
Screen Navigation Bar
If the program opens in .NET UI mode, a navigation bar is displayed along the top of the screen
indicating where you are as you proceed through the program screens. For example, the screen for
Purchase Order Maintenance includes a navigation bar indicating the parts of a purchase order:
Header, Tax Info, Lines, and Trailer.
The Screen Navigation Bar option in the Desktop section of the Options menu (choose Tools|
Options) specifies whether your QAD .NET UI client displays the navigation tool.
Many fields display a small magnifying glass icon. This indicates that a lookup is associated with
the field. Click the icon or use the Alt+L keyboard shortcut to display the lookup. The lookup lists
valid values for the field.
A drop-down list is displayed when only a few values apply to a field.
Logical fields represent Yes and No choices. These display as check boxes on HTML screens. A
clear check box indicates a No value; a selected box indicates a Yes value.
Dashboards
Dashboards bring together browses, web pages, business intelligence charts, and metrics within
panels. Each panel offers a quick summary; to find out more, you click on the panel. Here is an
example dashboard for a customer support manager:
You can create, edit, and delete dashboards directly in the QAD .NET UI. To create a new
dashboard, you open Create Dashboards and then add content. You can double or triple the width
of a panel. You can also copy and edit an existing dashboard. As an administrator, you can share
the dashboard with others and assign it to one or more roles.
System administrators can change the maximum number of panels allowed in a dashboard, copy
dashboards between systems, and modify access and display settings.
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44 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
Creating a Dashboard
You can start a new dashboard or copy and edit and existing dashboard.
To start a new dashboard:
1 Go to Dashboards | Create Dashboard.
(Alternatively, open a dashboard and choose Tools | New.)
2 In the Name field, enter a label (or text string).
QAD suggests that you use existing labels (if appropriate) to assure consistency and
translation of text.
3 Add content (see Adding content).
4 When done, click Save Dashboard.
When you save a dashboard, the dashboard is included under My Dashboards on the menu.
You can then share the dashboard by choosing Tools | Publish.
Once a dashboard has been published, you can associate the dashboard with one or more roles if
you are an administrator.
Note that you can also access the menu functions by right-clicking anywhere in the dashboard
grid.
Adding Content
You can add panels containing browses, web pages, business intelligence, and metrics by clicking
Add Content, which opens the Add Content to Dashboard window. By default, a dashboard can
include up to 12 panels.
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46 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
Editing Panels
To edit a panel:
1 Move the cursor to the panel.
2 Click the gear (Edit) icon near the upper-right corner.
3 You can now configure the panel. For example, you can change the Search filter on a browse
or change the date range of an operational metrics history chart.
Refreshing Panels
To refresh a panel's data display:
1 Move the cursor to the panel.
2 Click the circular arrow (Refresh) icon in the upper-right corner.
Deleting Panels
To delete a panel from a dashboard:
1 Move the cursor to the panel.
2 Click the X (Delete) icon in the upper-right corner.
Editing a Dashboard
Choose Tools | Edit to access the editing controls, including Add Content.
If a published dashboard is open (launched from under Published Dashboards on the menu), as an
administrator, you can also edit its role assignments by choosing Tools | Edit.
Renaming a Dashboard
1 Choose Tools | Rename.
2 In the Name field, enter a label (or text string).
QAD suggests that you use existing labels (if appropriate) to assure consistency and
translation of text.
Publishing a Dashboard
To share a dashboard with other users:
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48 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
4 If is a dashboard in the system with the same name, the system adds a number in parentheses
to the menu name but the dashboard title is the same.
Deleting a Dashboard
To delete a dashboard:
1 Open the dashboard.
2 Choose Tools | Delete.
QAD Messaging
QAD Messaging is a messaging and internal e-mail system within QAD applications. You use
Messaging to send messages to other users of the system. When using programs, browses,
inquiries, and process maps, the QAD Messaging sidebar is permanently available on the left side
of the application area for sending and receiving messages. You can also use Messaging to process
program or browse workflow messages, which include links to programs or browses.
Important QAD Messaging is currently available in QAD .NET UI version 2.9.1 for Standard
Edition only.
Note Workflow is described in more detail in “Workflow” on page 68.
Fig. 2.28
QAD Messaging
QAD Messaging is enabled by default and is displayed as a panel on the left of the main screen.
The feature consists of a button toolbar and Folders area.
Messaging Toolbar
The Messaging toolbar features Create Folder, Delete, and Refresh buttons.
Fig. 2.29
Messaging Toolbar
The Create Folder button is available when you select the Folders option, and lets you create
separate messages folders in which to organize messages. You can create sub-folders within
folders as required.
The Delete button is available when you select any sub-folder, and you use it to delete unwanted
folders. You cannot delete the parent Folder, or sub-folders that contain sub-folders of their own.
The Refresh button is available for all messaging features, and refreshes the current view for each
messaging folder. The Poller Frequency option in Tools|Options sets the interval in milliseconds
after which the system automatically polls the mail server. See “Options Menu” on page 20.
Filter Area
The Filter area is available for all message types, and you can use the Filter drop-down list to filter
messages by From, Date, or Subject.
Fig. 2.30
Messaging Filter Area
For example, to filter messages whose subject begins with “Sales,” select the Subject drop-down
option and enter Sales in the Filter field.
Note that the filter displays messages whose subject begins with Sales, and not messages whose
subject contains Sales. Similarly, the From filter filters on the first character entered in the Filter
field. For example, if you enter S in the Filter field, the results display all messages from users
whose system name begins with S.
When filtering by date, the filter displays messages whose date begins with the number entered.
For example. if you filter by date and enter 1 in the Filter field, the filter displays messages whose
date begins with 1, which may include 1/9, 1/19, 10/4, 10/5, 11/6, and 11/7.
Messaging Area
The Messaging area contains icons for the following folders and features:
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Inbox
Click to display the inbox of current messages. Similar to standard e-mail, the Inbox folder name
indicates the number of unread messages in brackets.
You can open messages in a separate tab by selecting the View option. In the Inbox, right-click on
the message title and select View or double-click on the message title. The View button is also
included as the first button on the Inbox’s toolbar.
The Inbox screen features an e-mail toolbar, with options to create, move, delete, and print
messages, and to reply, reply to all, and to forward selected messages.
The Hide Details button toggles the message details area on the bottom of the screen, and you can
choose to view the message list only, or the message list with details of the selected message
displayed below.
Drafts
Click to display the Drafts folder. When you click to save an unfinished message, the message is
saved to the Drafts folder for future sending. You can edit, forward, move, and delete drafts, and
you send a draft by selecting the message and clicking Send.
Deleted
Click to display the folder for deleted messages. Deleted messages are retained in this folder until
you select the message and click Delete. The Delete menu options are Restore, Delete, Refresh,
and Show Hide Details.
You restore deleted messages by selecting the message, clicking Restore, and then specifying the
folder to restore the message to. The number of days for which messages are retained in the
Deleted folder is set in the Empty Deleted Folder Frequency option in Tools|Options. Messages are
automatically deleted from the folder after this time. See “Options Menu” on page 20.
Alerts
Click to display the folder of QXtend alerts. Alerts are application messages generated by
workflow in response to QXtend events. The alerts are delivered to subscribers by standard e-mail
or by QAD Messaging, depending on how the subscription was configured.
The Alerts menu options include New, Forward, Move, Delete, Print, Refresh, and Show/Hide
Details.
Note Because alerts are system-generated, the New menu option on this screen lets you create a
new message, and not a new alert.
Workflow
Click to display the folder of workflow messages. You create workflow messages in other
applications, which are then displayed and processed in QAD Messaging. A workflow message
consists of a hyperlink to the application object (for example, a sales order browse) and optional
information and instructions.
Folders
Click Folders and then click the Folders icon on the toolbar to create separate messages folders in
which to organize messages. You can also use the right-click New Folder option when the main
folder or a sub-folder is selected.
To delete a folder and its messages, select the folder name and click the Delete button on the
Messaging toolbar, or use the right-click Delete option when the folder is selected. You cannot
delete the parent folder.
You can also enter the three-letter login initials of the recipient directly into the To field of the
message header.
The recipient fields (To, Cc, and Bcc) include a “type-ahead” (auto complete) capability, so the
system suggests user names based on the first letters you enter. Additionally, you can click on the
To, Cc, or Bcc field names to use a menu for selecting recipients. The Select Recipients window
lists all the users and allows you to filter the list of users. You can then select the user names for the
To, Cc, or Bcc fields.
Moving Messages
Click the Move button to display the existing folders into which you can move the currently
selected message:
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52 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
Fig. 2.32
Messaging Folders
You display or hide the New Message Prompt depending on the Displays Alerts option in Tools|
Options. See “Options Menu” on page 20.
Fig. 2.34
Translating Account Description
If you choose to use this feature, you must develop your own policies to ensure that the translation
of descriptions is completed for the languages that need to be supported in your organization.
Some financial data is also displayed and accessed in other operational functions. These functions
do not support multiple language-dependent descriptions. When only one description exists, it is
always used in the operational functions.
Note Unless you are using a Unicode database, some restrictions exist on which languages can be
used in a single database. See the appropriate installation guide for information on the Unicode
database deployment.
Screen Calendars
When you click the pull-down icon next to a date field, a calendar tool is displayed. You can also
use the Alt+L keyboard shortcut for this option.
Fig. 2.35
Calendar
Use the calendar to choose and insert a date into the active field. You can use the keyboard or your
mouse to navigate this calendar.
Using the keyboard, use the Tab key to move the cursor through the calendar. Tabbing begins with
the arrows at the top of the calendar.
With an arrow button selected, press the spacebar to display previous and next months and years as
shown in the figure. Press the spacebar when a date is selected to enter that date in the date field.
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54 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
Using the mouse, click the arrows for the next and previous months or years; then click the day in
the displayed month to insert it into the active field.
You can select a date on the calendars without using the mouse. To do so, launch the calender, then
use the arrows to get to the date you want. Use Enter to choose the selected date. Use Enter again
to submit the frame.
Terminal Mode
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These shortcuts apply to non-component based maintenance screens in the .NET UI.
Keystroke Action Description
Enter Same as Next button Moves cursor to next key field
Ctrl+Enter Same as Back button Moves cursor to previous key field.
CTRL+F Field Information Displays Properties dialog for the current field.
Up arrow Previous value Displays the previous value for the field.
Down arrow Next value Displays the next value for the field.
Ctrl+P Pivot Sorts data in a selection list by a different column.
Alt+B Drill down Drills down to the lookup for the current field.
Tab Next field Moves the cursor to the next key field.
Shift+Tab Previous field Moves the cursor to the previous key field.
Space bar Select field in Selects the current highlighted field in a selection list.
selection list
Page Up Previous page in For selection lists which span multiple screen pages, displays the previous
selection list page.
Page Down Next page in selection For selection lists which span multiple screen pages, displays the next page.
list
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58 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
Enterprise Financials
QAD Messaging
Browse Maintenance
Keystroke Action Description
Ctrl+N New browse Create new browse in Browse Maintenance.
Ctrl+O Open browse Open browse in Browse Maintenance.
Ctrl+S Save browse Save browse in Browse Maintenance.
Ctrl+D Delete browse Delete browse in Browse Maintenance.
Ctrl+T Add tables Add tables in Browse Maintenance.
Ctrl+R Run browse Run browse in Browse Maintenance.
Ctrl+I Import browse Import browse in Browse Maintenance.
Ctrl+E Export browse Export browse in Browse Maintenance.
Shift+Delete Delete multiple Delete multiple browses in Browse Maintenance.
browses
Browses
Keystroke Action Description
Ctrl+S Browse search panel In a browse, place cursor focus on the search panel.
focus
Enter Refresh browse with In the browse search panel, refresh the query based on the current search
current search conditions in the browse search panel.
conditions
up arrow Set browse search In the browse search field, when the field is a date, use the up arrow or down
and date arrow keys to enter the current date and then move up or down from the
down arrow current date.
Alt+up arrow First set of browse Display first set of records in a browse.
records
Alt+left arrow Previous set of Display previous set of records in a browse.
browse records
Alt+right arrow Next set of browse Display next set of records in a browse.
records
Alt+down arrow Last set of browse Display last set of records in a browse.
records
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Ctrl+Enter Note that if the cursor is in the Search panel of a browse, Ctrl+Enter opens
and closes the panel.
Ctrl+P Print browse Print the current browse.
Fig. 3.2
Component-Based Program Menu Bar
Fig. 3.3
Component-Based Program
Note Many non-component based programs can be run in both the QAD .NET UI and in the
Character UI. Component-based functions, however, are available in the QAD .NET UI only.
Both component-based and non-component based programs work within the QAD .NET UI and
use the same menu system for navigation and the standard menu bar available through the
QAD .NET UI for all programs.
QAD Enterprise Applications – Enterprise Edition uses component and non-component based
functions (programs). QAD Enterprise Applications – Standard Edition uses only non-component
based functions (programs).
Go To Menu
The Go To menu for non-component based programs such as Purchase Order Maintenance
displays the Add Link option. Use Add Link to create links to other programs using User Tool
Maintenance (36.20.4). The links you add display on the Program Links drop-down.
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64 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
Fig. 3.5
Add Link Selection
They also display when you right-click a program screen. See “Creating Custom Links” on
page 77.
Go To also displays links for component-based programs but in a different way. It displays
commonly used views and reports that apply to the record you are currently working with.
Go To behaves differently depending on whether the current field has data in it:
• If the field has a value, Go To invokes the View activity.
• If the field is blank, Go To invokes the Create activity.
Fig. 3.6
Go To Menu for Component-Based Programs
All of the related views take the record you are currently using as the base for the information. So
if you are viewing a particular customer’s record, you can simply click the Go To to see the
customer’s balance and open invoices.
Note Go Tos are enabled only when:
• The corresponding function is an activity, not a standard program.
• The user has security permission to the linked activity.
Actions
The Actions menu displays the active commands that apply to your current program context. For
non-component based programs, these commands include navigation commands such as Next,
Back, Next Record, and Previous Record. These commands let you navigate to the next or
previous frame, or display the next or previous record for the current field. You can also use the up
and down arrows on your keyboard to display next and previous records in key fields or when the
field has been defined to support next/previous processing.
Fig. 3.7
Action Pull-Down Menu
The Actions menu functions in a similar way for component-based screens, with some additional
features.
Fig. 3.8
Actions Menu for Component-Based Screens
General activities are available on this menu or as buttons on the activity screen. These include
Undo, Save, Save and Create, Save as Draft, and Properties.
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Record-Specific Activities
Record-specific activities are also available on this menu. For example, for the Customer Create
program, the Actions menu includes Create, View, Modify, Delete, and Maintain Credit Limit. You
can choose record-specific activities in multiple ways:
• By selecting from this menu
• By selecting from the main application menu
• By right-clicking on a record within a browse and selecting from the context menu, as shown
in Figure 3.9
Fig. 3.9
Right-Click Menu for Customer Browse
Create, view, modify, and delete are standard activities available for most types of records.
Note You can see only the activities to which you have access based on the set of roles associated
with your user ID.
General Activities
The Properties action is available for all records and displays technical information about the
current record, such as who last updated it, as well as details about the current build number. This
information can be useful for troubleshooting problems and may be requested by technical
support.
You can use the Dump XML button to create a file containing the XML data for the current
component. (This can be useful as a starting point for loading data with the XML daemon.)
Fig. 3.10
Object Properties
Field Descriptions
Business Component Shortname. Displays the internal Business Component code name for
the object.
Internal Object Identification. Displays the unique numeric identifier for the object.
Last Updated By. Displays the login ID of the user who last modified the object.
Last Updated On. Displays the date and time when the object was last updated.
Dump Location. Specify a directory where you want the XML description of this component
to be located. This field applies only when you click Dump XML.
Save as Draft
When enabled, this option lets you save component-based records in draft mode. You can access
them at a later stage (for example, following approval) in order to complete them. See “Saving and
Browsing Drafts” on page 76.
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Workflow
Workflow is available for both types of program and is visible as an Actions menu option for non-
component based programs and as a Tools menu option for component-based programs. When you
click Workflow in a non-component based program, the system creates an e-mail message for
another system user, with the current screen as an attached link. This e-mail is then posted to the
user’s Inbox in the QAD Messaging side-bar. Workflow for component-based programs is
described in “Workflow” on page 70.
Copy
The Copy menu is only available for non-component based programs and lets you to copy the text
of the current screen to the clipboard, or copy an image of the current screen to the clipboard.
Fig. 3.11
Actions|Copy
Print
The Print menu is common to both types of program and prints the current screen to the default
printer.
Preview
The Preview menu is also common to both types of program and gives a preview of what will print
for the current screen.
Attach
The Attach menu is available for both program types. You can also use Attachment Maintenance
to create attachments for specific fields in non-component based programs.
Attach lets you attach any type of document—such as a Microsoft Word file, graphics file, or
PDF—to a record within the application. This integration ensures that all required documentation
is immediately accessible when needed. You can attach and view any type of file if the
corresponding viewing software is available on the client.
A copy of the attached document is stored in the system database, which means that the document
will always be available and consistent with the application data. This storage facility ensures that
the feature is very secure. However, the storage facility is not suitable for very large objects of over
a gigabyte. If your system contains a large number of records with attachments, you must consider
the effect of these objects on the available database space. In other application modules, you can
link documents to objects by means of a URL or a Universal Naming Convention (UNC).
Example Use the Attach option to associate a summary of a customer’s business activities with a
customer record or attach a PDF of an invoice to a supplier invoice record.
If you have set up the Scan daemon, you can poll a directory for documents to attach to new
records and have the system send work objects to the Inboxes of designated users. For example,
the Scan daemon can create a new supplier invoice record, attach a scanned PDF to it, and send a
link to the Inboxes of all members of the AP clerk role. When a user clicks on the link, the
Supplier Invoice Create screen opens with the scanned document automatically attached.
To create a new attachment manually, choose the Attach menu option to display a dialog for
selecting the file to attach.
Fig. 3.12
Document Attach
When you click Attach, a standard Windows Open dialog displays so you can select the document
you want to attach. The number of attached documents displays in the menu. To see the
attachments, click the chevron in the top bar on the screen. Each linked document displays in this
view and can be removed if necessary.
Tools
The Tools menu is only available for component-based programs and has two options: Design
Mode and Workflow.
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Design Mode
Design mode lets you modify the screen layout and add user-defined fields to a screen. It also lets
you remove fields from the screen, to create new tabs in a tab folder, and to create different views
for grids. Design mode is enabled only if you are a member of a role with access to updating the
design at a specific level. The levels of access are:
• You can make changes just for yourself that are seen only when you execute the screen.
• You can make changes that can be shared with other users that are members of your default
role.
• You can make changes that can be used by all users in the system.
This feature can be used to streamline data entry and reduce training costs by customizing the UI
for your particular business needs. However, only knowledgeable designers that understand the
function they are modifying should be allowed to make significant screen changes.
See QAD System Administration User Guide for more information on the design mode for
Financials functions.
Workflow
This option is the equivalent of the non-component based Workflow, which is available in the
Actions menu for non-component based programs.
Workflow lets you forward final or draft work items to one or more individuals—identified by a
role—in the organization for completion or validation. You activate workflow using System and
User Settings.
Workflow can be used for most records created with component-based functions. The ad-hoc
workflow sends a link to the current record to another user’s QAD Messaging Inbox and
optionally notifies them by e-mail. The recipient can double-click to open the item and complete
the assigned task. If the Return to Sender option is included in the workflow, the record is returned
to the originator’s Inbox when the recipient saves it.
Note Return to Sender does not apply when the View activity is selected.
When workflow is initiated, the system routes the record to all users with the specified role. As
soon as one user opens the object, it is removed from the Inbox of the remaining users. The system
refreshes the Inbox by default every 5 minutes.
Note If you want to direct workflow to an individual, create a role that includes just that user. The
role does not need to have any permissions assigned and can be used just to direct the workflow.
The following are examples of processes for which workflow can be used:
• Approve supplier invoices.
• Release invoices for payment.
• Notify stakeholders of changes to accounts, GL data, and customer or supplier data.
• Escalate overdue customer invoices.
• Approve transient journal entries.
• Create supplier invoices based on scanned documents. See “Attach” on page 68.
You can optionally use e-mail notification to inform users who do not regularly log in to the QAD
application that they have activities to be performed. These users can then access the necessary
function to perform the required activity. Any instructions included in the workflow are also
included in the e-mail.
Example of Inbox
Workflow items display as a list in the QAD Messaging inbox by component name and activity.
The key fields that identify the component are displayed in parentheses. In Figure 3.13, a single
item displays in the Inbox. The customer record ID is included in the parentheses.
Fig. 3.13
Inbox
Configuring Workflow
When you select Workflow from the menu, the work flow for the component displays. You can
specify the recipient’s role and link an activity—such as approve, comment, complete. Then add
instructions and indicate whether the system should route the record back to you when the
recipient’s activity is complete. You can also specify that the recipient be notified by e-mail about
required activities.
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Fig. 3.14
Workflow Object Create
Field Descriptions
Workflow Name. Select an existing workflow from the drop-down list or enter a code
(maximum 140 characters) to define a new workflow name. If you select an existing
workflow, click Load to display its details. After configuring a new workflow, click Save to
save it for reuse.
The workflow name is optional. You can also create a one-off, ad-hoc workflow, and leave this
field blank.
Role. Select the role to receive the work item. The list contains only roles with permission to
execute activities related to the type of record you are updating. For example, if you access the
workflow from Customer Invoice Create, the list of roles includes only those with permission
to activities related to customer invoices.
The linked record is sent to all members of this role.
Required Activity. Select the activity that the recipient of the work item should perform. The
list contains all activities that can be performed on the record you are currently updating.
Note If you select the view activity, you cannot request Return to Sender. The Return to
Sender option is initiated when the recipient saves the record; this is not possible in view
mode.
Return to Sender. Select this field if you want the work object routed back to yourself when
the recipient has completed the assigned activity. When this field is selected, the record is sent
back to you when the recipient saves their changes.
Instructions. Enter any comments or instructions (maximum 200 characters) for the recipient
of the record. These can be viewed by the recipient by selecting Workflow from the linked
record. Instructions are also included in the e-mail, if that option is enabled.
E-mail Notification. Select this field if you want the members of the recipient roles to receive
an e-mail notification regarding a pending action item. To use this option, each user must have
a valid e-mail address defined in User Maintenance (36.3.1) and you must have configured the
e-mail server appropriately.
Special Characters
Fields in component-based programs do not permit the use of special characters such as the
comma (,) and pipe (|). This limitation is imposed because the comma and pipe are often used as
list separators, and may cause the input to be misinterpreted. Fields in non-component (Progress-
based) programs do not impose this limitation.
It is recommended as good practice to avoid using special characters in all QAD EE fields. For
example, it is recommended not to use asterisks (*) or periods (.) in any codes because these may
be interpreted as wild cards and hinder the behavior of browses.
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74 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
1 Launch a program.
2 Choose Actions|Export Data. An Export Data screen is displayed (minimized) on the screen
while the system is recording your user actions. Each user action is immediately listed in the
Actions grid of this screen, and you can pause, name, and save the recording in this dialog.
Fig. 3.16
Export Data
The Options menu in the Export Data dialog lets you define the data being recorded. Select Record
Changes Only to record changed values only, or Record All to record all of your actions, including
the values you select during navigation.
3 Run the program, and perform the program tasks you want to record. Recording automatically
starts, and the Export Data dialog lists the actions, frames, and fields being recorded.
An Export Data screen is displayed (minimized) on the screen while the system is recording
your user actions. Each user action is immediately listed in the Actions grid of this screen, and
you can pause, name, and save the recording in this dialog. The Options menu in the Export
Data dialog lets you define the data being recorded. Select Record Changes Only to record
changed values only, or Record All to record all of your actions, including the values you
select during navigation.
4 When you have completed the actions you want to record, choose Save in the Export Data
dialog, and save the file to a location. You can save as an .xml file or an .xls file.
1 To run the saved recording, choose Execute Document Import in the Applications Pane, under
Administration.
Fig. 3.17
Execute Document Import
2 From the External Import menu, browse to the file you have saved (the .xml or .xls file).
3 Open the file and click Go. You can also Loop the recording or Step through the actions.
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76 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
A .log file that reports the results of the actions is created when the recording is run. This file
has the same prefix as the recording file but is appended with .log.
Save as Draft
The Activity field has a value based on the activity you invoked the Save options from. You can
specify reference text to identify the draft record. The system supplies a default number, but you
should give the draft a name that will help you or others recognize it easily.
When Shared is selected, other users can update the record; otherwise, only you can complete the
record and change its draft status.
Browse Drafts
Selecting Customer Browse Drafts opens the Draft Customer Search screen. Use this screen to
select, open, and finalize draft instances that you or other users have created. Drafts created by
other users are available only if they selected the Shared field when saving the draft.
Fig. 3.19
Draft Customer Search
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3 Enter the name of the program where you want the link to display. Leave Program blank to add
the link to all programs that do not already have a user-specific record.
4 Click Next to continue.
5 In the Exec field, enter the name of the program you want to execute when you click a link.
6 In the Label field, specify a text string to appear in the link area. If you leave this field blank,
the standard menu description from Menu System Maintenance (36.4.4) is used.
7 Leave the Image field blank. Images do not apply in the QAD .NET UI.
8 For the changes to take effect, close the program you are updating and then reopen it.
Note If record locking occurs in an environment where the database is running on a Windows
server and the QAD Application Server (Tomcat) is running on a Linux server, you cannot close a
program displayed in Terminal mode by using Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Break. Instead, you must close the
program by clicking on the “x” in the program tab. For example, if you open Sales Order
Maintenance in Desktop mode and open a record named 1234, and then open Sales Order
Maintenance in Telnet mode and open a record named 1234, the Telnet mode displays an error
message telling you to use Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Break to close the program. However, to close the
program, you must click the “x” in the program tab instead.
You can use standard function keys to navigate in character programs. A status line at the bottom
of the screen displays active function keys.
Terminal mode screens automatically resize to fill the available application space. You can use the
mouse to select text on the screen to paste into another application. Otherwise, you cannot use the
mouse to navigate programs in Terminal mode screens.
You can also use the Print and Print Preview commands to send images of Terminal mode screens
to an output device.
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Introduction to Browses
Browses display selected data in the form of a table. Column headings are field labels; rows are
field values. The field values in a browse come from any table in the QAD Enterprise Applications
schema. A browse includes selected values from one table or several joined tables.
• Power Browses. A power browse can filter, graph, and print data. Any column can be sorted,
and the first ten columns can be filtered. Power browses are available as menu options in the
Applications area, for example, Sales Order Browse (7.1.2), Purchase Order Browse (5.8).
When attached to a field, power browses are called drill-downs. Drill-downs return a selected
value to the active field of a calling program.
Fig. 4.2
Example of Sales Order Browse
The New and Edit menu bar options are only available for non-component based browses. See
“Navigating in Browses” on page 93.
Component-Based Browses
Component-based browses are launched when you view, modify, or delete a record created with a
component-based activity. For example, Supplier Invoice View (28.1.1.3), Supplier Invoice
Modify (28.1.1.2), and Supplier Invoice Delete (28.1.1.9) all launch browses, in which you select
the record on which you want to perform the activity.
Fig. 4.3
Supplier Invoice Browse for Modify
Other component activities for which you want to select a record also launch browses. For
example, there are also browses for Supplier Invoice Allocate (28.1.1.7), Supplier Invoice
Approve (28.1.1.4), and Supplier Invoice Reverse (28.1.1.11).
You also launch browses from lookup fields in component-based screens.
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Fig. 4.4
Supplier Invoice, Credit Terms Lookup
The Stored Searches browse option is only available for component-based browses. See “Stored
Searches” on page 90.
Actions
The Actions menu contains export and reporting options, and for non-component browses,
additional workflow and e-mail options.
Chart
Select Actions|Chart or Actions|Grid View to toggle between viewing a chart or the grid view of a
browse. If a chart has not been created for the browse, the Chart option is not available.
Export to CSV
Export to Excel
Select Actions|Export to Excel to generate an Excel worksheet with the browse data. For details,
see “Creating Excel Output from Browses” on page 138.
Export to PDF
Select Actions|Export to PDF to generate a PDF file with the browse data.
Important When you output a report or browse to PDF, you should not attempt to create a PDF of
more than 1000 pages, as this seriously affects application performance. Use a third-party PDF
generation utility to create large PDF files.
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System administrators should also set a page limit on the Output to Page option for reports. If you
output a report of more than 1000 pages to Page, the retrieval of the data puts a burden on client
resources and can cause system instability.
Workflow
Select Actions|Workflow to send the current browse as an e-mail attachment to a current system
user. When the user double-clicks on the link in the e-mail message, the browse is displayed.
Note See “Workflow” on page 70.
Select Actions|Email to send this browse as a program link in an e-mail using the Email feature.
See “Sending Program Links by E-mail” on page 78.
Report
Auto Go
You can have a displayed browse automatically refresh the data at a specified rate.
1 To start the automatic refresh, choose Actions|Auto Go|Start.
2 To stop the automatic refresh, choose Actions|Auto Go|Stop.
3 To change the refresh rate, choose Actions|Auto Go|Rate, click and edit the value. (The default
value is 30 seconds.)
Setup
Chart Designer
For further information, see “Using Browse Chart Designer” on page 121.
Cancel
The Cancel button becomes active when a browse is running. To stop the currently running
browse, click the Cancel button.
Refresh Button
The browse toolbar includes a refresh button next to the paging buttons so you can easily refresh
the display of browse data. The refresh button is included on both drill-down and lookup browses.
Add to Favorites
Save browse search criteria for reuse in a file and then retrieve them later, or create customized
browse searches and add them to the Favorites menu area.
When you save a browse as a favorite, the QAD .NET UI will save any sort column settings. When
you launch the browse from the favorites menu, the QAD .NET UI will apply the sort conditions,
as well as all of the other saved state that you might have set, including summaries, charts, and
search conditions. If you want to save multiple versions of a browse that use different filters, you
can rename the favorite to reflect the filter (for example, an Items browse can be filtered for Site
100 and then named Items for Site 100, or for product line 1000 and then named Items for Product
Line 1000).
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When in a browse, you can double-click on a record and have the details display in a pane that
opens to the right of the browse. You can then quickly view and edit those details. For example, in
Item Browse, you can double-click on an item number, and then the details about that item display
(in Item Master Maintenance). Meanwhile, in the browse display, you can select some other item
number, and the display on the right automatically updates to show you the details of the item you
have just selected. If you want to have the screen display only the details for a particular item, you
can click on the Screen View icon along the upper right of the display. You can then return to the
hybrid view by clicking the Hybrid View icon or just have the browse display by clicking the
Browse View icon.
Stored Searches
Stored searches are available for component-based browses only.
Use this option to save your current lookup settings under a name. The stored search is then listed
for selection when you launch this browse and can be reused. The settings you save apply to this
browse only and are not listed in browses for other types of records.
Fig. 4.7
Stored Searches
Field Descriptions
Name. Enter a code (maximum of 80 characters) to identify the saved search settings. The
name must be unique to that browse.
Level. Choose an option to determine which users can access the stored search. The options
available in the Level drop-down list depend on your role permissions.
User <Current User ID>: Only you can access the stored search. It is not available in the stored
search list of other users. This setting is the default.
Role <Current Role>: Only users who have the same role as your default role can access the
stored search. It is not available in the stored search lists of users who do not have this role.
System: The stored search is available to all users in the system.
Note This option is available only to users who have a role assigned that lets them define a
stored search on the system level.
Entity-Dependent. Select the field if you do not want the stored search to be available across
entities.
Customer Default. The stored search settings become the initial settings for this browse for all
users. They replace the factory default initial settings.
The availability of these choices depends on the access you have been given in Role Permissions
Maintain to the stored search activities.
The system saves all the field, filter operator, and row and column information you configure in
the Lookup Settings dialog.
This option displays all the search fields possible for this type of record. You can use the Manage
Filter Fields tab to:
• Specify whether a filter field should appear on the Selection Criteria tab (Visible column).
• Specify in which order the filter fields should appear.
• Specify what operator to use when finding data to view.
• Define a persistent initial value or range of values for the filter field. The values for search
criteria entered in the actual Search Panel are not saved with the stored search. However, the
initial values entered in Manage Filter Fields are saved.
Example You can refine the default search for GL accounts to retrieve only accounts with codes
that are within a number range of 1000 to 5000.
Fig. 4.8
Manage Filter Fields
The browse is then populated with these conditions, and you click Search to conduct the search.
Ordering Fields
You can also change the order in which fields display in the filter criteria by right-clicking the field
and using one of the Move commands (Figure 4.9). If you right-click in a logical field such as the
Visible column, you can clear or select all of the Visible fields at one time.
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Fig. 4.9
Rearranging Search Fields
Change
order
of
columns
Field Descriptions
Label. This read-only field displays the field label, which is also the column heading of the
browse.
Visible. Select this field to include the field in the browse search criteria. This field does not
affect the columns displayed in the browse; use the right-click Columns menu for that. It
affects only which fields you can use for finding records.
Operator. Select an operator to apply to this field.
First Initial Value. Enter a value for this selection criterion or select a value from the drop-
down list. The list displays certain variables that are interpreted by the system, such as $Today,
which represents today’s date.
These variables let you save stored search criteria that work correctly regardless of the date.
Second Initial Value. This field is editable only when the range operator is specified. Enter the
ending value in a range for selecting records.
• The default sort order for the multiple columns in a browse can be set using Browse
Maintenance. In Browse Maintenance, the value of the Sort Order field for each column
specifies the order in which the columns are sorted relative to each other, and the Sort field
specifies whether a column is sorted in ascending order, descending order, or unspecified
order.
• Use the navigation buttons in the top left to move through the records. The buttons from left to
right move to the first set, previous set, next set, last set. See “Navigating in Browses” on
page 93 for details.
Use the Records per page drop-down to determine how many records display at one time in the
browse. The default value can be set using the Rows Per Page setting in Tools|Options.
Use caution in displaying all records, especially when the number of records is large. Attempting
to display a large number of records at once can adversely affect performance. Instead, use the
Search conditions to focus on the specific records you want to review.
Drag columns by their headings to rearrange the display.
Note As a shortcut, instead of clicking Edit, you can double-click on the row that includes the
item.
Navigating in Browses
You can use the navigation buttons to move through browse records.
Icon Keyboard Action
Alt+Up Arrow Key First set of records
You can also use Tab and Shift+Tab to move through the buttons and fields in the browse toolbar.
In this case, pressing Enter is the same as a right-mouse click. When you are in the browse search
panel, press Enter to execute the search with the current conditions. After you have selected a row,
you can use the up arrow or right arrow keys to move the row selection up one row; the down
arrow and left arrow keys move the row selection down one row.
Note You may notice slower performance during paging when a large number of records is
displayed. Paging performance may worsen as you get to the bottom of the list. To reduce this
problem, click a relevant column to reverse the sort and page through those records at the top of
the list.
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The top pane of the browse provides tools for managing the data you are viewing. You can retrieve
stored searches, filter search results, and update browse settings. The bottom pane of the browse
displays the retrieved records. Browses that return large numbers of records display a progress
indicator while the records are being retrieved.
Fig. 4.10
Browse Progress Indicator
The existing records are displayed on scrollable pages and you can set the number of records per
page. When many records exist, choosing to display all of them may take some time.
Fig. 4.11
Typical Browse
Select a stored search or
display Manage Filter Fields.
Enter filter
values
Set no. of
records
per page
Click to
display
next page
of records.
Search Criteria
The Search Criteria area displays the fields for filtering your search. If stored search criteria exist,
you can select one by name from the drop-down list at the top of the search criteria. This sets up
the filter criteria to produce preconfigured results.
Otherwise, the search fields display with a default configuration. You can refine the search using
combinations of filters and wild cards (*). Click the + and X buttons to add and remove search
filters.
Initially, one search condition displays. Choose the field that you want to search from the drop-
down list.
1 Choose a search operator from the drop-down list. The search operators include the following:
• equals
• not equals
• contains
• range
• starts at (the default)
• greater than
• less than
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• is null
• is not null
2 Enter a value in the search box or select a value from the associated lookup.
For character fields, the asterisk (*) is a wildcard character, matching any number of
characters when the search operator is equals or contains. If you want to search for the *
character, precede with a backslash ( \* ). If you want to search for the backslash character, use
two backslashes (\\).
You can enter a comma-separated list of values in the search field for browses. When the
search conditions include the equals or not equals operators and the search is against values of
the string data type, the search query will perform a logical OR on the results.
When configuring a browse, you can enter variables in search values. For example, when
browsing for sales order bills, you can select SessionID, UserID, Entity ID, or Domain from
the Search Variable drop-down list. Different components display different search variables in
the drop-down list. The Toggle Search Variable Mode button toggles this option.
You can also use database fields of the same type as filters. For example, you can filter a
browse to retrieve records for which Sold-To equals Ship-to, Date Due is greater than Date
Shipped, or Quantity Ordered is greater than Quantity Shipped. The Toggle Search Variable
Mode button also toggles this option.
Fig. 4.12
Toggle Search Variable Mode
Note When searching according to a range of values, be aware that the string comparison
method used by the .NET environment can produce a different sort order than the Progress
database sort order in certain situations. For instance, .NET treats the dash (-) character as
greater than the zero (0) character but the Progress database does not.
3 Click Search.
4 To refine your search further, click the plus (+) icon to add another search row. You can add as
many rows as needed, each with different search values and operators. If you choose the range
search operator, the second search box is enabled for the ending value of the range. When you
specify several criteria, note the following:
• Multiple criteria for the same field are treated as a logical OR condition.
• Multiple criteria for different fields are treated as a logical AND condition. The not equals
and not null criteria are always treated as a logical AND condition, even with other criteria
on the same field.
5 To remove a search criteria row, click on the delete (x) icon.
You can use the Manage Filter Fields option (see “Manage Filter Fields” on page 91) to display
more fields or other fields on component-based browses. Adding and removing Filter Fields with
+ and X or using the Manage Filter fields menu option provides the same result. However, with the
Manage Filter fields option, you can also give the fields persistent initial values if you save the
changes in the Stored Search menu.
Using Manage Filter Fields, you can also change the order of the filter fields by right-clicking and
choosing Move Up, Move Top, Move Down, or Move Bottom. You can also select a field and
move it by pressing the Alt key and then pressing the Arrow Up or Arrow Down key.
Column Options
Right-click a column heading to display a list of options.
Fig. 4.13
Browse Column Options
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position in which they appear on the screen. The position numbers range from left to right on
the screen, and you assign new numbers to columns according to where you want them to
appear.
• Use Properties to display technical information about the data in the column. This includes the
name of the current program and the database table and field where the data for the column is
stored.
Summarizing Results
The Summary right-click option lets you display summary information, depending on the column
header in which you have clicked.
Note You must be able to view all the records on the screen page to enable the Summary option.
If there are more records than can be displayed, set the Records per Page field to All.
Example By right-clicking the BC Amount column in the results grid for Supplier Invoice
Browse, you can display the following summary information:
Sum. Displays a total sum of the invoice amounts
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Fig. 4.15
Results Columns Option
Summary is also available within Financials grids. For example, if you select the Tax tab on a
supplier invoice, and right-click Columns while on a column header, you have the option to select
a Summary type for the column.
Fig. 4.16
Summary Option, Financials Grid
Grouping Results
Use the right-click Group option to group data by column type. The grid now displays a summary
of the column data, with the different elements sorted into groups.
Each group in the list can be expanded—to view the details of individual elements—using the plus
sign next to the group.
You can also add other columns to the grid to create a group hierarchy.
Figure 4.17 illustrates a GL BC Balances browse in which the GL Description, GL Account, and
System Type columns have been selected to form a hierarchy.
Fig. 4.17
Group Hierarchy
The browse data is now grouped by GL Description, GL Account, and then by System Type.
Ungroup the data by dragging the column headers back into the result list.
Note The group options that you have configured are saved automatically in your last used
settings, and can be reused when you open this browse again. You can also save these options as a
stored search.
The column header menu also has a Properties option, which shows the internal field name that, in
most cases, also matches the database field name.
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For component-based browses, there are additional drill-down and configuration options for
individual records, but not individual fields. For example, when you right-click a grid line in the
Supplier Invoice Browse for Modify browse, you can select a supplier invoice activity to apply to
this record.
Fig. 4.19
Component-Based Browse Right-Click
There are two additional component-based options: Dump XML and Force Publish.
Dump XML
The right-click Dump XML option on results grids lets you export selected lines to an XML file
for analysis.
Specify a filename and location in the Dump Location field. The XML file is stored on the server
on which the appserver is running. The option lets you specify which fields to include in the dump
file.
Fig. 4.20
Dump XML
Force Publish
The Force Publish option is used with event publishing and the Event daemon. When you have
configured event publishing, which enables changes to master data to be published and
synchronized with other external systems, the Event daemon only processes events when a change
has taken place. This option lets you publish events at any stage.
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Browse Maintenance
Browse data is defined with Browse Maintenance (36.20.13) and View Maintenance (36.20.18).
The Browse Maintenance (36.20.13) program includes a new graphical tool for creating, editing,
duplicating, and deleting browses. This tool is only available with the QAD .NET UI.
Fig. 4.23
Browse Maintenance ( .NET UI mode)
In the Desktop (Web Browser) and Terminal (Character UI, or CHUI) modes, to define a browse,
you must create both a view and a browse using View Maintenance and Browse Maintenance.
With Browse Maintenance in the .NET User Interface mode, you do not need to create a view
using View Maintenance. Rather, you can simply use Browse Maintenance to specify the
components of a browse. The system automatically stores the browse definition.
Note Although all browses created by Browse Maintenance ( .NET User Interface) can be
maintained in the Character UI, some legacy browses defined using the Character UI might not be
maintainable by Browse Maintenance ( .NET User Interface). In the Character UI, you create a
browse by entering data in two maintenance programs, View Maintenance and Browse
Maintenance. You have to enter the join data in View Maintenance’s Join Phrase field, where join
data is a clause of the form <from table>.<from field> = <to table>. <to field>.
However, more than just join data can be entered in View Maintenance’s Join Phrase field. For
example, you can include field filters of the form <field name> <operator> <value>.
Browse Maintenance ( .NET User Interface) only supports maintaining join data.
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• Organize the table order to optimize likely queries. For instance, you could have Items first
and then Orders, or Orders first and then Items. The efficiency varies depending on the data
setup, table size, and filter conditions. If necessary, create some similar browses to accomplish
different tasks. A “one size fits all” browse can perform poorly when used outside its original
intent.
• In general, avoid pre- and post-processor logic. The biggest drawback besides general
performance issues is the problem of multiple users running the same browse at the same time.
The pre- and post-processor code is executed for each browse request.
• Keep browse functions simple so that the browse is easier to understand. Complex calculations
should be done outside of the browse engine to allow for better data tracking. Avoid having
browse results which depend on other data that could change unexpectedly.
• Avoid use of OR in filter conditions.
• If using .NET UI Browse Maintenance, allow it to automatically join the tables to the domain.
This is the default and is set on the Header tab using the Join to Domain check box. This
ensures that the first table added is filtered by global_domain and any other related tables are
joined on their Domain field.
• If creating a browse to run in .NET UI only, you should use the .NET UI Browse Maintenance.
If the browse is intended only for use in the Character UI, you should use CHUI View
Maintenance and CHUI Browse Maintenance. In some cases, the result set for a browse
defined using .NET UI Browse Maintenance can vary depending on whether the browse is run
in the .NET UI versus the CHUI. When developing a browse, you should first test the browse
in both .NET UI and CHUI to verify that the results are as expected.
• Avoid filters on calculated fields. The browse is run first using the Progress query on database
fields. Then the calculated field filters are applied. Try to get the database fields to restrict the
amount of calculation required.
• The calculated fields are computed each and every time a browse is run. If the calculation is
used commonly and is something the users want to filter on, consider adding a side table with
the proper join. A menu-level program can be run to fill the table at convenient times.
• Browses on large tables with mixed data (for instance, tr_hist) can be simplified by extracting
the desired subset of data into a side table specific to the function (for instance, Item-based
transactions only). Fill a table with all the current data at scheduled times, or have a menu
program do this on demand and then browse this table. Note that using Preprocessor logic to
do this is extremely inefficient because this work is done for each browse request. Each next
page will run the calculations again.
• Limit browse table joins to accomplish what is required. A complex browse need not be used
as a look-up. Browse Maintenance makes copying browses simple. Avoid using one unwieldly
browse to meet all requirements.
red in the Index Information tab. For instance, the browse definition could result in a table scan
that could cause performance issues and you might need to modify the definition so that no whole
index scans occur. Tables with large numbers of records might negatively impact performance, so
you might need to analyze the query string to identify possible causes. To do so, open the Query
String tab to view the dynamically generated query string as determined by the Browse Engine.
The performance check is on by default, but can be changed from the Show Index Information
setting Tools | Options or from the config-session.xml file, which now includes the following:
<DotNetBrowseMaintenanceShowIndexInformation>true</DotNetBrowseMaintenan
ceShowIndexInformation>
The setting specifies whether the output of the Progress INDEX-INFORMATION attribute for a
query is displayed when there is an issue.
Note The ability to examine what the Progress Query Parser determines as the indexes for a
query is limited. The Browse Engine currently only exposes the dynamic query string prior to
appending sorts, local variables, pre and post processor commands, and so on. This performance
check will help eliminate most poorly performing browses that have been built from improperly
constructed definitions. However, this check does not cover situations where users apply search
conditions and sorts after the browse has been displayed in the user interface.
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Next, add the left and right tables you want to use.
Fig. 4.25
Select Database Tables
From the window, double-click on the name of the table you want to add as the left table, and then
double-click on the name of the table you want to add as the right table. Click Close to close the
window.
Click the Add Tables menu icon to display this screen at any time.
Note You can print the visual relationships between tables shown in Browse Maintenance by
choosing File | Print.
Field Descriptions
Filter For. A pull-down list of the columns in the table list. The value selected specifies which
column is filtered using the value entered in the Filter field.
Table. The list of tables available for use in the browse definition.
Show System Tables. When checked, the Progress database system tables (such as *_Db,
*_File, and *_Field) are displayed in the Table List. When unchecked, the system tables
are not displayed.
Add. Click to add selected tables to the metadata manager area in Browse Maintenance.
Note The tables displayed for each program are defined in the client-session.xml file. The
Browse Maintenance function reads this .XML file before populating the Select Tables screen.
You can prevent tables from being displayed by modifying this file.
Example If the administrator wants to restrict access to so_mstr to the users with the logins
pjt and jjp, but allowing all other users to access to the table, they add a line specifying
these logins to the <DotNetBrowseMaintenanceRestrictedTables> section of the file:
<DotNetBrowseMaintenanceRestrictedTables>
<Table name="cnt_mstr" database="qaddb" restricted="*"></Table>
<Table name="hwm_det" database="qaddb" restricted="*"></Table>
<Table name="lcap_hist" database="qaddb" restricted="*"></Table>
<Table name="lpm_mstr" database="qaddb" restricted="*"></Table>
<Table name="lpmd_det" database="qaddb" restricted="*"></Table>
<Table name="lua_det" database="qaddb" restricted="*"></Table>
<Table name="lvr_det" database="qaddb" restricted="*"></Table>
<Table name="pin_mstr" database="qaddb" restricted="*"></Table>
<Table name="pex_mstr" database="qaddb" restricted="*"></Table>
<Table name="so_mstr" database="qaddb" restricted="pjt,jjp"></Table>
</DotNetBrowseMaintenanceRestrictedTables>
You can also restrict user groups by specifying the user group name in place of the user logins.
When you restrict a user group, all users within that group are restricted.
Note that an asterisk (*) indicates no users have access, and the table is completely restricted.
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Table 4.1
Browse Table Indexes
Each table index is displayed in a separate tab with the index name as the tab caption. The primary
index is displayed as the first tab. Each tab displays the index attributes and the table fields that
make up the index. For each field the sequence, field name, and sort type is listed.
Index Name. The name of the index as defined in the database schema.
Description. The index description as defined in the database schema (this is often blank).
Primary. Whether the index is the primary index for the table. There can only be one primary
index defined for a table.
Unique. Whether the index is unique. A unique index does not allow duplicate values.
Sequence Number. The order in which the field appears in the index
You now use the Query tab to add fields to the browse.
Field Descriptions
Field. The field name from the database schema. The default value is retrieved from the
dragged field object.
Table. The table name from the database schema.
Sort. Specifies whether the column is a column used to sort the Browse results. The combo
box lists the options: Ascending, Descending, and Unspecified.
Show. Specifies whether the column is displayed (returned) in the results when the browse is
executed against the data source.
Filter Criteria. Enter up to nine filters that are processed using a logical or operation for the
filter in each row. The format of the filter criteria is: <operator> <value>, where
<operator> is =, <>, <, >,<=, matches, or begins and where <value> is a valid string for the
entered operator. Although there are nine rows per column for filter criteria, the total length of
the filter generated from this data is limited to 256 characters.
Properties. Each column includes a Properties button, which opens a Properties screen for
entering additional field information.
You can filter the fields displayed using the Select Fields screen.
Insert Calculated Field. Select to display the Field Properties screen, in which you define a
calculated field that is then inserted into a new column.
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112 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
Fig. 4.27
Select Fields
Field Descriptions
Filter For. Use this filter to filter by field name or field label.
Filter. Use this field to enter a string by which to filter the columns. For example, to view AR
columns, filter by field labels, and then enter AR in the Filter field. Do not include carriage
returns (CR or CR/LF) in the filter, because carriage returns are removed when the filter is
saved. The text before and after a carriage return will then be merged into one string.
Field List. This area displays the list of fields available for display in the Table Control.
Deselect QAD Field. Click this field to automatically deselect/select the QAD system fields;
that is, fields containing a double underscore (__).
Select All. Click to automatically select all the currently displayed fields.
If the field list is filtered by the Filter textbox, only the displayed fields are checked.
Select None. Click to automatically deselect all the currently displayed fields.
Note If the field list is filtered by the Filter textbox, only the displayed fields are unchecked.
Field Properties
Use the Field Properties screen to view and modify field properties.
Fig. 4.28
Field Properties
Table. This field displays the database schema table name to which the Field belongs.
Default Label. This field displays the default label from the database schema.
Table Description. This field the default table description from the database schema.
Label Term (Optional). This field specifies the key or label term from the label master table
which is used to retrieve the field label displayed in the column in the browse results.
The following algorithm is applied to the label term entered when saving the browse
definition:
• If the label term does not exist in the label master table, the system creates a new label
master record using the string entered (the string is set to all uppercase and spaces are
replaced with underscores).
• The new label master record’s value is the entered label term. For example, if you enter the
new term Red Book, the label master table would be queried and the term would not be
found. A new label master record would be created with the key RED_BOOK and the value
Red Book.
This field contains an associated lookup that allows the user to select an existing label term
from the label master table.
Note When creating a browse, you cannot use the following characters in a label term:
asterisk (*), ampersand (&), question mark (?), colon (:), semi-colon (;), dollar sign ($), hash
mark (#), at sign (@), plus sign (+), equals sign (=), less-than sign (<), greater-than sign (>), or
period (.).
Field Label. This field displays the value for the label term retrieved from the label master
table.
Sort Order (Optional.). This field specifies the sort order for the column as an integer from 1 to
8. For a given browse, the value of the sort order for each column specifies the order in which
the columns are sorted relative to each other. By default, this field is set to Unspecified and
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114 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
read-only until the Sort field on the query grid is set to Ascending. As you specify the Sort
field, the Sort Order is automatically set to reflect the order in which you specify the Sort field
for various columns, but you can then change the Sort Order as needed.
Expression. This field is required when Field is a local variable (that is, has the name local-
varNN, where each N is an integer from 0 to 9). When Field is a local variable, the Expression
is the Progress 4GL syntax that defines the local variable. The string entered must be valid
Progress syntax. You can enter an expression of up to 512 characters.
Data Type. This drop-down list specifies the Progress data type for the local variable. This
field is required when the Field is a local variable (that is, has the name local-varNN, where
each N is an integer from 0 to 9). Valid data types are character, date, integer, decimal, logical,
and recid. If the Field is a table field, this value should not be changed.
Format. Specifies the display format for the local variable. This field is required when the
Field is a local variable (that is, has the name local-varNN, where each N is an integer from
0 to 9). These are Progress database formats, such as NN/NN/NN for dates or x(N) for
characters. If the Data Type is logical, a label term such as Yes/No or True/False should be
entered. Note that this setting only applies to the display of browses in the Character UI; it
does not apply to browses displayed in the QAD .NET UI.
Max Length. (Optional). Specifies the maximum display length for the field. Note that this
setting only applies to the display of browses in the Character UI; it does not apply to browses
displayed in the QAD .NET UI.
This screen displays the table name and description, field name and label, and character type for
the left and right join elements.
An inner join returns the records selected for the first table combined with related records selected
from the second table. If a record does not exist in the second table, no records are returned. Only
related records selected from both sides of the relationship display in the view.
An outer join returns the records found by an inner join. However, in addition, for each value in the
first table, it returns unknown values from the second table when no related record is found. As a
result, all matching records from the first table are preserved for unmatched records in the second
table.
The default join type is inner. Using the outer join can give you more flexibility in displaying
information.
Example An inner join between customers and sales orders displays only customers with sales
orders. An outer join includes all customers, even those who do not have orders.
The fields in a join must be of the same datatype, and the Conversion drop-down list lets you
convert the left or right datatype to ensure that they match. When you attempt to create a join of
fields of differing datatypes, the system warns you of the difference, and automatically displays
the Join Properties screen to let you convert one of the datatypes.
The other options on this screen are:
Only include records where the joined fields from both tables are equal (inner join). If a record
from the left table does not have a related record in the table on the right, no row is returned.
Include all records from the left table and only those records from the right table where the
fields are equal (outer join). If a record from the left table does not have a related record in the
table on the right, return the data from the left table and null for the data for the table on the
right.
Click OK to save any changes or Cancel to exit without saving changes.
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Use the lookup to select an existing label term from the Label Master window, which
displays labels as listed in Label Master Browse for your language.
Enter a value in the Description Term field that does not yet exist as a label term. The system
will create a new label master record for your language when you save the browse.
When a new label term is created, either because you left the Description Term field blank or
because you entered a value that did yet exist as a label term, you must then enter a description
for it using Label Master Maintenance (36.4.17.1). You must enter the description in the Long
Label field. You must do this for each language you support in your system environment using
Label Master Maintenance (36.4.17.1), selecting the appropriate Language field for the label
term and entering the appropriate description in the Long Label field. If you do not do this,
Browse Master Browse (and Browse Maintenance’s Open Browse window, which is driven by
Browse Master Browse) will not list the new browses in the other language environments
because Browse Master Browse does not show browses that do not have a label master record
for a given user’s language.
Description. Displays the description text associated with the label term entered in the
Description Term field. If you leave the Description Term field blank or enter a label term that
does not yet exist, you must use Label Master Maintenance (36.4.17.1) to enter the
description.
User IDs/Groups (Optional). Specifies a user or group ID to restrict editing permissions for
this browse. Only those users authorized can edit the browse or use the generated view to
create browses. To allow access to all users, leave this field blank.
Value-Returned Column (Optional.). Specifies the column from the query grid whose value
you want returned when the user double-clicks a row in the browse or lookup.
Filter By Current Domain. Applies the global_domain filter to the primary table (parent table)
for the browse (for example, pt_mstr.pt_domain = global_domain). Joins tables on
their domain fields where appropriate (for example, so_mstr.so_domain =
sod_det.sod_domain for a browse containing so_mstr and sod_det in the definition).
These changes appear in the Join Phrase field in the vue_mstr table of the Browse
Maintenance database schema.
Current Entity Only. If the Filter by Current Domain check box in the Header Data tab is
selected, you can then select Current Entity Only to filter the browse by the current entity. If
the Company table from the Financials schema is present in the definition, the
Company.CompanyCode is filtered by the current_entity global variable (for example,
Company.CompanyCode = current_entity). The Enterprise Financials schema is highly
normalized and thorough knowledge of the schema is required to create definitions against it.
In order to create legitimate browses (that is, limiting the results to the current domain and
entity), the Company table must be included and joined (on Company_ID) appropriately.
When selected, only records for the current domain and entity will be included in the result set.
This check box is only applicable for QAD Enterprise Applications – Enterprise Edition and is
not displayed in Standard Edition.
Power Browse. Specify the browse to be a power browse. (A power browse is a browse that
can be run from the menu.)
Look-up Browse. Specify the browse to be a look-up browse. (A look-up browse is a browse
run as a look-up from a field.)
Note The Power Browse and Look-up Browse check boxes duplicate the function of the
CHUI fields, allowing a definition to only be used as a browse and/or lookup in CHUI.
However, it is important to note that in the QAD .NET UI no such distinction exists. A
definition can be used as either a Browse or a Look-up regardless of this Browse Type setting
in the database.
Right-click the Header Data tab to include the Local Variables, Pre-processor Commands, Post-
processor Commands, and History tabs.
The Pre-Processor Commands and Post-processor Commands tabs are available only for
backwards compatibility with browses defined using the Character UI. These tabs provide a way
to enter Progress 4GL code that can run either before (pre-processor) or after (post-processor) the
browse runs. You do not need to use these tabs when creating a new browse using the QAD .NET
UI.
The History tab displays revision history for this browse.
Click Save to save the browse. When you save a browse from Browse Maintenance, the system
does not save the browse source code .p files. The system only generates the .p files automatically
when you save a browse from Browse Maintenance in Terminal mode. However, you can generate
the .p files using the Browse Generation Utility (36.25.70), which allows you to generate the .p
files by entering the browse name. The system writes the files to the working directory of the
Connection Manager scripts, which is the same as for reports. In a default installation, this
directory is where the /com directory is located.
When you save a browse definition to the database, an attempt to run the browse is made to
validate the definition after the definition is saved to the database. The attempt to run the browse
can identify both definition errors and performance problems. The Save dialog box includes a
progress indicator so you can get an indication of the browse’s performance. If the performance is
poor, you can cancel the attempt to run and validate the browse by clicking the Cancel button in
the Save dialog box. After clicking Cancel, you can undo the save of the browse definition to the
database. Click Yes to remove the definition you have just saved and restore the browse definition
to the previous definition. Click No to save the new browse definition in the database even though
it was not validated.
Modifying a Browse
To modify an existing browse:
1 Launch Browse Maintenance (36.20.13).
2 Click the Open icon or enter Ctrl+O.
The Open Browse window is displayed.
3 From the Open Browse window, double-click on the browse you want to modify.
If you know the name of the browse you want to open, you can click the Browse Name or
<Unspecified> menu labels, enter the browse name, and then press Tab or Enter to display the
browse.
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Fig. 4.30
Browse Open Shortcut
You can also use the Up and Down arrow keys to scroll through browse names. For example, to
retrieve a browse whose name begins with ‘ad’, enter these letters in the Browse Name field, and
press the down arrow key to scroll through the browse names that begin with those letters. The
system prompts you if you enter an incorrect browse name, but does not attempt to load a browse
whose name does not conform with the xxNNN name format.
You can add fields and table joins to existing browses, and edit current field properties.
In the query grid area, you can view and modify the following values: Query, Header Data, Local
Variables, Pre-processor Commands, Post-processor Commands, and History.
Important Only a user specified in the UserID/Groups field can access a browse in Browse
Maintenance ( .NET UI mode). If you have not been specified in UserID/Groups, you can run the
browse but cannot open the browse in Browse Maintenance.
Deleting a Browse
Use Browse Master Browse (36.20.14) to view all the browses in your system.
To delete a browse:
1 Click the Delete icon.
2 The system prompts you to confirm. Once you delete the browse, you cannot undo the delete.
3 Click OK to delete the browse.
GoTo
Use the GoTo menu to select the following related maintenance activities:
• Browse Link Maintenance
• Browse URL Maintenance
• Drill Down/Lookup Maintenance
When you select one of the activities, the current browse is opened in the new maintenance menu.
Actions
• Export
• Delete Multiple Browses
Import
To import a browse, open Browse Maintenance and choose Actions|Import (shortcut: Ctrl+I). Use
the Input File field to specify the location and filename of the browse data you want to import. The
browses you have selected are listed in the Available pane.
From the Available pane, select a browse by clicking on it and then click right angle bracket (>)
button to move the browse to the Selected pane. Note that you can select multiple browses by
using the Ctrl key and can place all the browses in the Selected area using the double angle bracket
(>>) button.
Importing includes the browse and view data for the browse, but you can specify whether to
include associated browse data in the Associated Data pane, which includes check boxes for
including the Drill Master, Field Help, Program Information, Label Detail, Procedures, Source
Detail Data, and URL Data.
If you are importing a browse that has the same name as an existing browse, specify whether you
want the system to replace the existing browse with the one you are importing by choosing the
Overwrite Existing check box in the Options pane. Finally, click the Import button.
Click the Name, Description, or User IDs/Groups column headings to sort by that column.
Fig. 4.31
Browse Import
An imported browse includes all the labels for languages supported by the system, not just the
ones for the user’s current language. If the browse includes labels for languages that are not
defined in the system, a warning message is included in the system log file (“WARNING: The
Language language for the Label Term label term does not exist in the target language. Label not
imported for this language”).
Export
To export a browse, open Browse Maintenance and choose Actions|Export (shortcut: Ctrl+E). An
Export menu displays, listing the browses and their associated data.
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Use the Output File field to specify the location and filename of the browse data you want to
export.
By default, the location is C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application
Data\QAD\Shell\version\qad.plugin.services\ BrowseMaintenance, and the
filename is your user ID followed by a numerical string and then the .brwx extension.
From the Available pane, select a browse by clicking on it and then click right angle bracket (>)
button to move the browse to the Selected pane. Note that you can select multiple browses by
using the Ctrl key and can place all the browses in the Selected area using the double angle bracket
(>>) button.
Exporting includes the browse and view data for the browse, but you can specify whether to
include associated browse data in the Associated Data pane, which includes check boxes for
including the Drill Master, Field Help, Program Information, Label Detail, Procedures, Source
Detail Data, and URL Data. Finally, click the Export button.
Click the Name, Description, or User IDs/Groups column headings to sort by that column.
Fig. 4.32
Browse Export
Note Prior to QAD .NET UI 2.9.5, when a browse was exported using Browse Maintenance, the
labels used in the browse were included for all the supported languages. However, when imported,
only the labels for the user importing the browse were included with the imported browse. Starting
with QAD .NET UI 2.9.5, an imported browse includes all the labels for languages supported by
the system, not just the ones for the user’s current language. If the browse includes labels for
languages that are not defined in the system, a warning message is included in the system log file
(“WARNING: The Language language for the Label Term label term does not exist in the target
language. Label not imported for this language”).
To delete one or more browses, open Browse Maintenance and choose Actions|Delete Multiple
Browses (shortcut: Shift+Delete). A Delete menu displays, listing the browses and their associated
data. From the Available pane, select a browse by clicking on it and then click right angle bracket
(>) button to move the browse to the Selected pane. Note that you can select multiple browses by
using the Ctrl key and can place all the browses in the Selected area using the double angle bracket
(>>) button. Finally, click the Delete button. Deleting will remove the browse and view data along
with the associated data.
Fig. 4.33
Multiple Browse Delete
Browses are stored in an XML-based file format with the .brwx file extension.
Security
The ability to export, import, and delete browses should be limited to authorized users. The
client-session.xml file (located in
TomcatInstallDir/webapps/qadhome/configurations/ SysEnv/) now includes a
setting for authorizing access to the import, export, and delete features. A new
<DotNetBrowseMaintenanceUtilities> element includes a <Utility> element whose
attributes specify authorization. The format is as follows:
<DotNetBrowseMaintenanceUtilities>
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Fig. 4.34
Example of a Browse Chart
The Browse Chart Designer lets you choose settings that define a chart:
X-Axis Label. Enter the label for the chart’s x-axis data.
X Variable. Select the variable for the x-axis data from a pull-down menu listing the available
columns in the browse.
Y-Axis Label. Enter the label for the chart’s y-axis data.
Y-Variables. Select the variables for the y-axis data from a pull-down menu listing the
available columns in the browse. You can select up to five variables, depending on the type of
chart you would like to use. For example, for a stacked bar chart you can select two or more
variables.
Group By X Values. Select Yes if you want to display all the common x-axis data together in
groups. Select No if you want to display the x-axis data individually. The x-axis data can be
grouped in the following ways:
• Count displays the number of items in an x-axis group.
• Sum displays the sum of the values in an x-axis group.
• Average displays the average value in an x-axis group.
• Minimum displays the minimum value in an x-axis group.
• Maximum displays the maximum value in an x-axis group.
Preview. Click the Preview Chart button to view the chart before you save it.
For stacked bar and column charts, the data values must be all positive or all negative.
For stacked 3D bar and column charts, you must have at least one row and one numeric column,
and the data values must be all positive or all negative.
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You can toggle between the chart view and the grid view of the browse by clicking on the Show
Grid View or the Show Chart View icons. If you are in chart view, the Show Grid View icon is
displayed, and if you are in grid view, the Show Chart View icon is displayed.
While in chart view, you can do the following:
• Rotate and Zoom 3D Charts. You can rotate 3D charts by pressing the Alt key and moving the
mouse. Similarly, you can zoom 3D charts by pressing the Alt key and moving the mouse’s
scroll wheel.
• Search Charts. The QAD .NET UI’s browse search capabilities apply to the chart view as well
as the grid view. By using the search capabilities you can interactively change the chart view
of the browse.
• Hide Titles and Legends. Chart titles and legends are shown by default. You can hide (or show)
titles by right-clicking and selecting Hide Titles (or Show Titles). Similarly, you can hide (or
show) the legend by right-clicking and selecting Hide Legend (or Show Legend).
• Launch Chart in New Window. To launch a chart in a new window, right-click on the chart and
select Launch in New Window.
• Copy Chart to Clipboard. You can copy the chart to the clipboard so you can paste it in other
applications. To copy the chart to the clipboard, right-click in the chart area and select Copy to
Clipboard.
• Edit Chart Design. To return to the chart editor, click the Edit Chart Design icon.
• Interactive Charting. For any item in the chart that has a drill-down, you can have a split-
screen view of both the chart and the drill-down browse, which can also be displayed as a
chart. When you click on an item in the first chart, the drill-down chart will automatically
change to reflect the changed data for the drill-down. Clicking on an item in the chart also
selects the associated row in the browse. Conversely, clicking on a row in a browse also selects
the associated item in the chart.
metric indicates the number of items for which the status is not Active, this number as a
percentage of the total, and the total number of items. See “Creating an Operational Metric” on
page 128.
You can design a metric collection to contain a single metric group with a number of related
metrics. For the example described above, you create a metric collection that contains a metric
group based on the parent browse Customer. You then create metrics for each site you want to
view.
Fig. 4.36
Customers by Site Operational Metric
A metric collection can also contain multiple metric groups. For example, a metric collection to
display item planning statistics can contain metric groups for Item Master, Manufactured Items,
Purchased Items, and MPS Items.
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Fig. 4.37
Operational Metrics
In the above example, note that one of the metrics used is Blank Buyer/Planner. This metric
indicates the number of items for which no buyer or planner was specified. You can use
operational metrics to monitor incomplete records in browses. Metrics are hyperlinked to the
original filtered browse, and you can drill down to the actual records to complete or correct them.
You set the thresholds for the colored slider when you create the metric. Thresholds are most
useful for setting limits on data beyond which you need to take corrective action (for example,
item inventory levels or customer credit limits). The following operational metric displays
different views of customer credit limits:
Fig. 4.38
Accounts Receivable Operational Metric
In this case, the color thresholds on the slider are set to acceptable limits for customer credit, and
the slider counter indicates immediately when the limit is exceeded.
There are three metric colors: green, red, and yellow. You customize the order in which they
appear on the slider, and the limits of each. The Total pie chart indicates the percentage of results
for the whole metric group that appear in each color band. In the above example, 75% of results
appear in the green band, and 25% in the red.
In this example, you can choose to view the browse filtered for Country Code:
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128 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
Fig. 4.40
Metric Break By Country Code
Operational Metrics is provided through Active Maintenance, and you require the Active
Maintenance license key in order to use this function. The license key is available on the QAD
Support Web site at the following URL:
https://support.qad.com/license_keys/activemaintenance
Click the Term License Key Request link to receive the Active Maintenance license. The
Support Web site requires your Support login information.
Fig. 4.41
Create Metric Collection
2 Right-click the collection title, or select Edit|Create Metric Group to create a metric group for
the collection.
You are prompted to select the parent browse for the group. Double-click the name of the
browse to select it.
Fig. 4.42
Edit, Create Metric Group
Note You can also select the parent browse by dragging a browse from the Applications area
and dropping it onto the metric group area.
3 Enter a name for the metric group (for example, Customers by Site) and click OK.
The system prompts you to create the first metric.
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Fig. 4.43
Create Metric
Title. Enter a title for the metric (for example, Customers at site 10000).
Type. The default type is Count. When you select the Count type, the browse filter drop-down
is unavailable.
Type options depend on the type of browse. For browses that produce numerical values as
results, you can also choose Sum, Average, Maximum, or Minimum as the Type option. When
you select a type other than Count, you can then select the value to which you apply the type.
For example, if the parent browse is Salespersons, you can choose to select Average as the
type, and Commission as the value. This metric displays the average commission of
Salespersons, and does not display this value as a percentage of the total.
Percent/Range. Select Percent to display the metric as a percentage of the browse total.
Select Range to display the metric as a range of figures. This option lets you increase the
granularity of the results. For example, when a metric displays results in low figures. it may be
more useful to set the metric to display results within a range 1 to 20, rather than the default
percentage range of 1 to 100.
Search. Select the browse filter, operator, and value to define the metric. For example, this
metric is based on the number of customers in Customer browse whose site code equals
10000. You therefore select the site code filter to equal 10000. You can set multiple filters for
the metric, as you do on a normal browse.
Click Search to find out how many sites meet the criteria (in this case, the number is 33). This
information is displayed as a percentage of the total (when you have selected the Percent
display option).
4 Use the slider controls on the percentage bar to set the color code for thresholds.
Fig. 4.44
Percentage Bar
The percentage bar is a visual indicator in up to three colors. There are four sets of slider
controls, and you can create up to five separate sections on the slider. In this example, the red
section indicates 0% to 33%. Drag the slider controls along the bar to set a percentage range
for the yellow section (for example, 33% to 66%), and again for the green section (66% to
100%). You can also manually set a percentage range up to four decimal places by entering the
number in the colored number field.
Click OK to view the main screen. Click Refresh to update the metric data.
Fig. 4.45
Metric Group with Totals
The main screen now indicates the total of customers (113), the metric result (33), and the
percentage of the total (29%).
Click the linked metric name to view the metric data in browse form.
Fig. 4.46
View Metric Data
5 Add additional operational metrics to this group by right-clicking the metric group name and
selecting Create Metric.
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Fig. 4.47
Operational Metric Group
You can edit metric details by right-clicking the metric name on the main screen and selecting
Edit.
6 Click on the Save button to save the operational metric to the Metrics folder, New to save the
metric for the first time, and Replace to replace an existing metric.
The metric is now available in the Metrics folder. You can also add operational metrics to
Favorites.
You can change the metric group within a collection. However, this invalidates the metrics within
a group, which are based on the initial browse you selected.
To refresh the metric information, re-run the individual browses from within their metrics.
For this, you require the metric URL and Key, which you can view by right-clicking the metric
name in the Metrics folder and selecting Properties.
Fig. 4.49
Operational Metric Properties
You can then explore the chart data further, change the time range, scroll right and left or zoom in
and out of particular areas of interest, and export the chart data to Excel for further analysis.
When you open an operational metric page, the system uses the most recent history data to display
the initial view of the metric page if the data is less than 24 hours old. This allows the page to be
displayed more quickly than if the underlying metric browses were queried to retrieve the data.
The system saves history data whenever the browse queries for the metrics are run. In addition to
the history data, a pie chart that summarizes the metric results is also saved so that the Operational
Metrics View process map can show the most recently generated results.
The system queries the metric browses (and saves history data) in the following situations:
• When you click an operational metric’s Refresh button.
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• When you open an operational metric and the history data is more than 24 hours old. (Note
that 24 hours is the default; the interval is configurable and applies to all metrics in the
system.)
• When the QAD_OpMetricsAutoRun report is run. Typically, this report is run when metrics
are scheduled for periodic running, but if a report administrator runs this report from the report
designer, it will also run the metric and its processes.
The history data is never deleted from the system.
A new “as of” label next to the metric name indicates the date and time of the metric data being
displayed. If the browse queries are currently running, “loading...” is displayed next to the metric
name; when they finish running, the “as of” time will show the current time.
Metric history data contains at most one history record per day for a given metric. If the metric’s
browses run more than once in a given day, the history reflects the most recent run.
By default, if operational metric history data is more than 24 hours old, the system updates the data
(by running the metric browses) when you launch a metric collection; otherwise, the most recent
history data is used to display the metric more quickly.
You can change the time interval by adding (and modifying) the following to the client-
session.xml configuration file:
<Metrics>
...
<StaleDataAllowedHours>24</StaleDataAllowedHours>
...
</Metrics>
Operational Metrics History uses the QAD Reporting Framework report server’s scheduled batch
mode to auto-run a special report that runs the desired metric and generates and stores metric
history data. The new QAD-supplied report, QAD_OpMetricsAutoRun, is used for auto-running
the metrics in scheduled batch mode.
Your system must be configured to run scheduled reports in scheduled batch mode (see the
Scheduled Batch Mode section in the QAD Reporting Framework User Guide Administering
Reports chapter).
Additionally, the Set Up a Scheduled Batch section in the QAD Reporting Framework User Guide
Administering Reports chapter describes how to create a parameter file to contain command line
parameters with fixed values, using a params.pf file as an example. In that file, you must add the
following line in order for the metric report to run properly:
-enable:qad.plugin.opmetrics
With the QAD Operational Metrics History, you can view changes in operational metrics over
time. The system stores the history of operational metric activity and then generates graphs of the
data for you.
For example, in the Sales Orders metric collection, open the Sales Orders Past Due metric. Notice
the thumbnail images to the right of the displays for Past Due Orders and Past Due Cost. Click the
thumbnail image for Past Due Orders:
When you click the chart thumbnail, a metric history chart displays:
Under the thumbnail image of the chart, click the icons that allow you to:
• Change the time range of the display (1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3
years).
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Although metric history gets generated whenever a user manually refreshes a metric (or opens a
metric that does not have recent history data), you can schedule metrics to be run at regular
intervals to guarantee the regular creation of history data. For example, you might want to
schedule a certain metric to be auto-run daily and a different metric to be auto-run weekly.
Operational Metrics History uses the QAD Reporting Framework report server’s scheduled batch
mode to auto-run a special report that runs the desired metric and generates and stores metric
history data.
You can schedule and edit these batch processes directly from a metric display.
From the toolbar, choose Schedule to schedule batch processes:
Note Batch IDs must first be defined by an administrator using Batch ID Maintenance. It can
be useful to name the batches according to the time interval at which the report server is
configured to run that batch. For example, you might define a batch called “daily” that is
configured to run every day and another batch called “weekly” that is configured to run once a
week. When a batch ID is specified by the user, the metric auto-running only occurs if a report
server is configured to process that batch ID.
• View Schedule — view currently scheduled batch processes in a browse. You can view further
details and modify the batch process by right-clicking on the ID and chooosing Scheduled
Report History, Parameters, and Scheduled Report Maintenance. Use Scheduled Report
Maintenance to modify batch details.
• View History — view previously run batch processes in a browse that includes their status,
such as New, Waiting, Running, Complete, or Error.
Important These two ways do not create the new favorite in the same way:
When you drag the metric from the Applications pane to the Favorites pane, the new item in the
Favorites pane points to exactly the same metric with the same history data. Clicking on the
favorite opens the same metric as clicking on the metric in the Applications pane.
When you click Add to Favorites, however, a new metric is created and the new item in the
Favorites pane points to the new metric. The reason it creates a new metric is that you are free to
make custom changes to it before saving it as a favorite. As with all favorites, the new favorite
metric is only visible to the user that saved it. Although the new favorite can have the same name
(by default) as the one on the Applications pane, clicking on the favorite opens the new metric.
Although the new metric is based on the same browses, the history data saved for the new metric is
different. Addtionally, the new metric saved as a favorite by using Add to Favorites does have the
scheduling functionality.
Note If you want the metric saved as a favorite to be the same metric (with the same history data)
as the one on the Applications pane, be sure to drag the menu item from the Applications pane to
the Favorites pane.
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The changes done in all three cases only take effect if the collection is saved using the Replace
option.
Data. This page contains the actual data columns and headings from the printed browse.
Search Conditions. This page displays any search conditions used to filter the printed data.
The conditions listed are field name, operator, value, and, for a range operation, the ending
value.
Info. This page lists details about the report generation including the ID of the user generating
the report, the date the report was generated, the name of the browse, and the browse program.
Note If you have grouped data in the browse, the grouping is preserved in Excel as a collapsible
outline.
After exporting to Excel, you can use the Excel chart features to create visual displays of your
data, such as a pie chart showing quantity on hand of various inventory items.
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• GL Account
• Journal Entry
• Journal Entry Repair
• Mirroring Daybook
• Mirroring GL Account
• Project
• Project Mask
• Reporting Daybook
• SAF Code
• SAF Concept
• SAF Structure
• State
• Sub-Account
• Sub-Account Mask
• Supplier
• Supplier Bank Number
Note You can also use Excel integration when maintaining budgets. However, the budget
integration is maintained in real time and is referred to as a hotlink.
Excel integration is also available for payment formats. However, Payment Format Excel
Integration does not include a Load option.
The integration requires that you have one of the following versions of Microsoft Office installed:
• Microsoft Office 2003 International
• Microsoft Office 2003 with a MUI (Multilingual User Interface) Pack
• Microsoft Office XP International
• Microsoft Office XP with a MUI Pack
• Microsoft Office 2007
The system retrieves all supplier records from the database and loads them into the grid. The order
of columns in the grid is determined by the sequence of the fields in the original data model, and
this is the order in which they appear in the spreadsheet.
You can also make modifications directly on screen before exporting to Excel, once the business
component data is loaded. Your modifications are validated when you click Save.
Important You should not customize the display by hiding columns before export. When you
hide a column, the corresponding field is not exported to the spreadsheet. If the field is mandatory
for this business component, the system attempts to validate it before saving to the database, and
will generate validation errors. You can, however, move and resize columns.
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Business Component
ID Column
Column Label Row
Data Row
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4 Save your spreadsheet and import the data into the application, as described in Import
Modified Data from Excel on page 143.
Browses can contain links to other browses. These links are defined in Drill Down/Lookup
Maintenance (36.20.1).
Browses also can contain uniform resource locator (URL) links defined in Browse URL
Maintenance (36.20.10.11).
Two different kinds of URL links can be defined:
For example, the supplier ID field in the Supplier Browse is associated with a URL link to that
supplier’s company Web site. When you right-click the supplier ID underlined in blue text, you
can choose the URL to launch. This automatically launches a Web browser to display the
supplier’s Web site.
These links let you use browses as a means of navigating directly to maintenance programs while
passing specific data values to them. Right-clicking and selecting one of these links opens the
program from within the browse and fills in any fields that are part of the link. The program
launches in a split-screen subtab below the browse. You can use the up and down arrows on the
keyboard to select new drill items as listed in the browse if the Cancel transaction on drill change
option in Tools|Options is True (the default).
When you close the browse, the program in the split-screen subtab also closes. For example, the
supplier ID field in the Supplier Browse is associated with a link to Supplier Maintenance. Right-
clicking this supplier ID, underlined in blue text, displays available links. Selecting Supplier
Maintenance automatically launches Supplier Maintenance with the currently selected supplier ID
filled in so you can make any required updates.
While in Supplier Maintenance, you can use the down arrow to choose the next supplier ID (or use
the up arrow to choose the previous one) as listed in the browse without having to go to the browse
itself to select the next supplier ID.
More than one browse, URL, or program link can be associated with a browse field. Right-click in
a cell or column containing links to display a list of all the links associated with that cell or
column.
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This section describes how to use the run_html string URL to create a link to other programs
from a browse.
For example, you can set up links in an item browse to directly access Item Master Maintenance
(1.4.1), passing the current item number to the maintenance program, and executing the Next
command any number of times. When a user clicks the link, Item Master Maintenance displays in
a detached window. Multiple columns of data in a browse can contain links so that you can access
maintenance programs for any data related to a record. However, data for only one field can be
passed to each program.
To support this kind of URL link, use the run_html setting to indicate that you want to build a
URL for programs. The string must include the beginning and ending indicators required for other
strings in URLs:
• Enter #b# to indicate the beginning of the string.
• Enter #e# to indicate the end of the string.
You can also use the HTTP Parameters frame to automatically create the build command. To build
the URL, leave the URL and URL Script fields blank and click Next to display the HTTP
Parameters frame, in which you enter the values required:
Fig. 4.55
Browse URL Maintenance, HTTP Parameters
In this case, the system builds the URL including the run_html setting using the values you
supply.
The URL that the system builds based on these input values looks like the following example:
#b#run_html#e#?id=ppptmt.p&f1=pt_part&v1=#b#sod_part#e#&x=2
When the user clicks item 01053 in the sobr009.p browse, Item Master Maintenance is
displayed with 01053 entered in the Item Number field and the active cursor focus in the Name
field below it.
Select this field to have up/down arrow keys applied to the first field. When the program supports
this, it will allow the first frame of data to be populated on launch of the program.
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Fig. 4.56
Browse URL Maintenance
URLs can contain special strings that are automatically replaced by field values in the browse.
Selecting a link containing this type of string automatically replaces that string with the
corresponding field value in the row.
Follow these steps to define this type of special string in a URL:
1 Enter #b# to indicate the beginning of the string.
2 After the #b#, enter a field name associated with the specified browse.
3 Enter #e# to indicate the end of the string.
4 The Web site for one of your primary suppliers contains a catalog of items. Entering an item’s
identifier at this Web site accesses the catalog entry for that item, containing information such
as item cost, quantity available, and ship weight. To create links from the supplier item
numbers to their corresponding catalog entries at the supplier’s Web site, create the following
URL: http://www.generalsupplies.com/catalog/#b#vp_vend_part#e#
Note You must include http:// in the URL. For example, you must use
http://www.generalsupplies.com/ and not just www.generalsupplies.com.
5 Next, associate the URL with the Supplier Item column in the Supplier Item Browse.
6 After you establish this link, selecting a supplier item number in the Supplier Item Browse
automatically inserts the selected field value. For example, selecting supplier item 10-1005
creates this URL: http://www.generalsupplies.com/10-1005.
7 The system then launches a Web browser to display the relevant catalog information for that
item located at that URL address.
In the following example, you configure an e-mail link for fields in Purchase Order Browse. The e-
mail link automatically creates an e-mail with the message header:
Changes requested to Purchase Order order number Line line number
where the order number and line number are retrieved from the purchase order you select in the
browse results screen.
The e-mail body contains the message:
We request you to change PO order number, Line: line number, Due Date: PO due date
You must create a .JSP file that contains the message header and body, and also contains the code
that retrieves values for each of the fields in the message from the browse. The .JSP file also
invokes the mail client configured for this client instance. The .JSP file is stored on the Tomcat
appserver directory, and is called by the URL link when the link is activated.
Use the following steps:
1 Navigate to the QAD UI desktop Tomcat directory; for example,
/TomcatInstallDir/webapps/<application>/.
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Fig. 4.57
Browse URL Maintenance, Email Link
Fig. 4.60
Purchase Order Browse, Email Link
The Create and Modify buttons provide browse program links. When you click on a browse
program link Modify button, data from the currently selected row in the browse is passed to the
linked program.
For example, in Sales Order Browse, click Create to open Sales Order Maintenance to enter a new
sales order. Click Modify to open Sales Order Maintenance to modify the order for the currently
selected row in Sales Order Browse.
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The browse program link buttons are defined and maintained using the Browse Link Maintenance
program and can be browsed using Browse Link Browse (36.20.22). The columns list the browse,
the description for the button, whether to launch is the primary action, and the URL to execute.
The URL to Execute field specifies the program to run, and also any fields that should be
populated based on the current row in the browse.
To define browse program links, open Browse Link Maintenance (36.20.21).
Fig. 4.61
Browse Link Maintenance
Field Descriptions
Browse. Specify the browse to which you want to add a browse program link button.
Primary. Set the checkbox to indicate the browse program link is the primary action.
URL to Execute. Specify the URL to execute, which is the program to be run when the link is
clicked. When defining the URL to execute, use the following format:
a Enter #b# to indicate the beginning of the string.
b After the #b#, enter run_html.
c Enter #e#.
d Enter ?id=program_name. For example, ?id=sosomt.p specifies to launch Sales
Order Maintenance.
Example The following URL to Execute launches Sales Order Maintenance:
#b#run_html#e#?id=sosomt.p.
Click Next to display the HTTP Parameters screen for the URL you have defined.
Fig. 4.62
Browse Link Maintenance, HTTP Parameters
Program Name. This field displays the program you have defined to be executed by the link.
Click the lookup to select a different program, if required.
Index. The index value is the number of Go commands (or submits) that a program will
execute when launched using this link.
The index field is used to store the number of times the program will execute an Enter action
(similar to pressing the Next button). This has the effect of processing the active fields that
were enabled for input and then executing any program logic that occurs until the next prompt
for data is encountered.
In simple maintenance programs, this is set to 1 to simply enter the key field values and access
the fields that can be maintained in the linked record.
For more complex maintenance programs, there may be multiple sets of input prompts to be
processed to access the frame of maintainable data.
For example, the first prompt for data in addkmt.p requires a value for the field Shipto. The
program link record provides the value of ad_ref from the browse and executes the first
Enter action. The next prompt for data in the maintenance program requires a value for the
field ad_addr and the browse link provides the value of ad_addr from the browse and
executes a second Enter action. This advances the maintenance program to its frame of
maintainable data for the user. Each time the program asks for data to be entered, the browse
link logic offers up the fields it has and if there is a match between the field names it has data
for and the fields the program is looking for, the field value is provided and an Enter action is
executed (if there are any left to execute).
Field. Enter the name of the variables that the target program is using to prompt for data. To
find this information, execute the program, advance the cursor to the desired fields, and press
Ctrl-F. The value fields (Value[1], Value[2], and so on) are the variables names from the
browse providing the data and must be contained within #b# and #e#. The browse link logic
uses these tags to parse out the value of the field from its record buffer.
Example
Field[1]: shipto; Value[1] : #b#ad_ref#e#
Field[2]: ad_addr; Value[1] : #b#ad_addr#e#
Important Progress has a limit in the size of the data that can be stored in an index. In versions
prior to 10.1B, the limit is around 200 characters (the sum of all the data contained in the fields of
an index of a record). This limit has been increased to around 2000 characters in version 10.1B and
beyond. Within Browse Link functionality, you are restricted to the 200-character limit unless you
have upgraded your version of Progress. This limits the number of parameters that can be defined
in a browse link, usually to four or less, although a fifth parameter is possible if the names of all of
the involved fields are small.
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Browse Collections
A browse collection features a main browse displayed with related programs and browses. The
fields and records selected in the related programs and browses are based on the currently selected
record in the main browse. The QAD .NET UI displays the other browses and programs in the
lower part of a horizontal split-screen, with the main browse located in the upper part. On the
Applications pane, browse collections are located in the Browse Collections folder, located in the
Collections folder.
When you drill-down a couple of times, the screen can start to display a lot of useful information.
So that you can focus on an area of interest, buttons that can hide or show the display are available
on the left side of the toolbar for a browse or program. The buttons display as two up-arrow
symbols when a view is open and as two down-arrow symbols when a view is closed.
Additionally, on the right side of the toolbar, two icons, Tile Screen and Full Screen, allow you to
switch between the tile screen view (the default) and the full screen view. When you select the full
screen view for a program or browse driven by the main browse, the screen expands to show just
the selected program or browse. To return to view all the driven programs and browses, click on
the Tile Screen icon. Next to the Tile Screen and Full Screen icons, the browse hybrid view icons
(Browse View, Hybrid View, and Screen View) are included for controlling the main browse.
The following summarizes the browse collection display icons:
• Tile Screen (the default “split-screen” view) for the collection
• Full Screen (display the current view in full screen mode)
• Browse View (display the browse, focusing on the row for the currently selected item)
• Hybrid View (display a combination of the row for the currently selected item and the program
that can modify the item)
• Screen View (displays the program that can modify the currently selected item in a full screen)
These icons provide you with a useful way to control the display and focus on the information you
need.
Next, click any of the ovals (or, nodes) in the Supply Chain View map to go to other maps. For
example, click the Forecasting node to view the Forecasting Sales map.
Process map nodes can include tool tips that pop up when you move your cursor across a node.
To resize the display of a process map, use the resize (indicated as a percentage) slider or the Auto
Resize checkbox, both located near the upper-right corner of the viewer.
On the upper-left, the following options are available:
• Edit Process. Click this button to access menus for customizing the process map. For more
information, see “Editing Process Maps from the Process Viewer” on page 157.
• Process Label Maintenance. Click this button to get a listing of all the process map labels.
These are the labels for all the text on the process maps. For more information, see “Process
Label Maintenance” on page 176.
• Add To Favorites. Click this button to add the process map to your Favorites pane.
• Print. Click this button to print the process map.
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Fig. 5.1
Process Editor
Creating a Process
Processes are built with two basic components:
• Nodes are represented by various shapes and typically indicate a step within the process.
• Connectors are lines with arrows that indicate the direction of execution for the steps (nodes)
within the process.
To create a new process:
1 Click New at the top of the Process Editor. The grid is cleared so you can begin defining a new
process.
2 Assign the process a name and optional description and owner; then click Save. Process names
can contain letters, numbers, underscores, and hyphens; spaces are not allowed.
3 Add nodes and connectors as needed.
Opening a Process
You can modify an existing process by opening it in the Process Editor:
1 Click Open on the Process Editor Menu Bar.
2 To reorder processes, click a column heading to sort by that column. Click the same column
heading for a reverse sort. The arrow next to the primary sort column name indicates the
direction of the sort (ascending or descending).
3 Click the name of the process you want to edit. The process displays in the grid and the Open
screen is closed.
4 If you leave the index open for a period of time, click Refresh to regenerate the index based on
your latest changes.
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Previewing a Process
Previewing a process lets you see the process the way users would see it in a browser. You can also
test links to ensure they work correctly. If you are using variables defined with Process Properties,
the variables are fully expanded during preview.
To preview a process:
1 Create a new process or open a process to preview.
2 Click the Preview tab in the Process Editor.
3 The process displays in the tab window. All of the URLs that are part of the process are active.
You can click them to test the related actions. In addition, images not viewable in the editor
display in preview mode.
Use the Language drop-down list to select a language in which to preview the map. This option
allows you to edit processes in the language in which they will be saved.
The preview slide button lets you view the map at up to 200% of original size, and you can select
the Auto-Resize field to ensure that the map resizes to the screen width and height when you click
to preview it.
Saving a Process
Click Save at the top of the Process Editor to save your updates. the system displays a
confirmation prompt.
If this is a new process, you must specify a name in Process Properties before you can save your
changes.
Deleting a Process
To delete a process:
1 Click Open at the top of the Process Editor.
2 Click the check box next to the name of the process you want to delete. Click multiple check
boxes to delete multiple processes. You can sort columns to facilitate selection.
3 Click Delete All Checked.
4 You are prompted to confirm the deletion. Click OK to continue.
5 The process file or files are removed from the operating system.
• Display movies.
• Open documents in portable document format (PDF).
• Display images.
• Open Microsoft Word documents
• Open catalogs, training material, and help files.
In addition to these external resources, processes typically link to other processes and programs.
For instance, you can create nested processes that together build a more complex model.
When you specify a URL, you can enter the full path relative to your computing network.
However, if you do this, you may not be able to use the processes if your network setup changes.
You will also have problems executing them from other systems if you want to deploy them to
multiple sites.
To execute a program from a process requires knowing the application program interface (API) for
calling the program.
To simplify the use of URLs and ensure that they are portable, you can use a set of variables when
defining URLs. Values for these variables are defined in a file named process-config.xml. This file
is located in:
TomcatInstallDir/webapps/qadui/WEB-INF/conf/process-config.xml
These values can be updated if needed using the Process Admin menu. All of the processes that
use the variables are then updated automatically.
Note In addition to variable values, process-config.xml contains default values for other
process properties. These can also be modified if necessary.
Several variables are supplied with the Process Editor. These variables have a global scope since
they apply to all processes. They cannot be modified in the Process Editor.
You can also create your own variables. The scope of user variables is local. They apply only to
the current process. See “Process Properties Menu” on page 164.
Open. Opens a window from which you can choose an existing process map. Select a map by
clicking the hyperlinked name.
When you have modified a process map, and saved your changes, use the Refresh button in the
Open screen to refresh the
Save. Saves the process map currently in development
Process Label Maintenance. Use this option to define the text for the label keys in all the
available languages. See “Process Label Maintenance” on page 176.
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Rows. The number of rows in the grid. A warning displays if your change would cause nodes
or connectors to be deleted.
Columns. The number of columns in the grid. A warning displays if your change would cause
nodes or connectors to be deleted.
Note You can specify from 1 to 12 rows and columns in the grid. The default is 6. If you
specify a larger number, you may need to reduce the size of the cells in the grid or reduce the
zoom percentage so that you can see the entire process definition as you work with it.
Note If you are displaying header rows, you can also add and remove columns and rows
directly within the grid. When your cursor hovers over the header row, a plus (+) and minus (-
) sign appear. Click the plus to add a row or column; click the minus to remove it.
Show Gridlines. Specify whether to show the lines of the grid.
Padding. The distance in pixels from the edge of a cell to the node in a cell. The padding
defines the space around a node within a cell.
Background Color. The background color of the grid. Use the color selector adjacent to the
field to click on a color.
Show Headers. Specify whether to show the row (1, 2, 3, ...) and column (A, B, C, ...) headers.
These are the rows with numbers and letters that can be used to identify grid blocks.
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Font. Use the pull-down menu to choose from a variety of fonts. When you select the default
option, the system selects the most appropriate font for the language in which you are
working.
Font Style. Use the pull-down menu to choose a normal or italic font style.
Font Size. Use the pull-down menu to choose the font size.
Font Weight. Use the pull-down menu to choose bold, bolder, lighter, or normal.
Text Color. The text color of the node. Use the color selector adjacent to the field to click on a
color.
Stroke Color. The stroke color, which is the color of the node border line. Use the color
selector adjacent to the field to click on a color.
Fill Color. The fill color, which is the background color inside the node. Use the color selector
adjacent to the field to click on a color.
Opacity. The opacity of the fill color. Use the pull-down menu to select from .1 (nearly
transparent) to 1 (opaque).
Stroke Width. The width in pixels of the border line of the node (or the connector between two
nodes, if the style applies to connectors).
A system administrator can add additional styles or modify the default attributes of the system-
defined styles.
Styles and their attributes are defined in the TomcatInstallDir/webapps/qadui/WEB-
INF/conf/process-config.xml file. Any changes you make to this file are reflected in the
Style Properties editor.
However, if you modify styles, be aware that the style attributes are embedded in the XML used to
define a process. If you change a style that has already been used, existing processes are not
affected.
To change the style in an existing process, you must open it and change the style attributes in the
Style Properties editor.
Fig. 5.4
Process Properties
Value. The value of the variable. For example, the value for the QAD_SHELL global variable is
qadsh://menu/invoke?menuitem-key=, which invokes the QAD Shell URL.
Scope. The scope of the variable, which can be either global or local.
URL Parameter. This check box indicates if the variable is added automatically to every URL
in the process.
New. Click this button to create a new local variable. For more information, see “Creating
Process Properties Local Variable” on page 179.
Delete. Click this button to delete a local variable. You cannot delete QAD-reserved variables,
which are global.
Use Process Properties to create your own variables for use with individual processes. These
variables have local scope. You can see the value of global variables, but you cannot modify them
with this editor.
To create a local variable, follow these steps:
1 Click New. You are prompted to specify the name of the new variable.
2 Enter a name and click OK. The new variable is added to the drop-down list in the Process
Properties.
3 Choose the new variable from the list. Scope automatically defaults to local and cannot be
changed.
4 Enter a value for the variable.
5 Click the URL Parameter check box if you want the new variable to be added automatically to
every URL in this process.
You can use the Delete button to delete a local variable. You cannot delete QAD-reserved variables
(global scope).
See “Process Properties Menu” on page 164
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Fig. 5.5
Connector Properties
Label. A text string that specifies a label for the connector. The label uses the font attributes
associated with the style. While you can specify a long label, you typically want to constrain
the label to the size of its connector.
Link. A URL associated with the connector. When a user clicks on the connector, the URL is
launched in a new or current window, based on the value of Target. You can use variables with
URLs so that your processes are not confined to one computing environment.
Target. The target window to use when the URL specified in the Link field is activated.
Choose the following from the pull-down menu:
• New Window. The URL opens in a new window. The process window remains open.
• Current Window. The URL replaces the contents of the current window.
Shape. The shape of the connector. Choose one of the following shapes from the pull-down
menu:
Straight Line
Straight Arrow
Top Elbow Line
Top Elbow Arrow
Bottom Elbow Line
Bottom Elbow Arrow
Style. The style of the connector. The style determines the color, line width, and font attributes
of the connector’s label. The available styles are defined in the Style Properties menu. For
more information, see “Style Properties Menu” on page 163.
Fig. 5.6
Node Properties
Label. A text string that specifies a label for the node. The label uses the font attributes
associated with the style. While you can specify a long label, you typically want to constrain
the label to the size of its associated node. To specify line breaks, you can include the <br> tag
in the text. Use the up and down arrow keys to select from the existing label definitions.
Tooltip. A text string that specifies a tool tip for the node. To specify line breaks, you can
include the <br> tag in the text. You can have up to four lines. The title for the tool tip is the
node label, as specified in the Label field.
Link. Enter a URL or select from the pull-down menu options, which include the following:
Choose File. Use this option to browse to and select a file, such as an MS Word document.
Menu Lookup. Use this option to select a program.
Process List Lookup. Use this option to select a process map.
Target. The target window to use when the URL is executed. Choose the following from the
pull-down menu:
New Window. The URL is opened in a new window. The process window remains open.
Current Window. The URL replaces the contents of the current window. You must use this
setting whenever the destination URL is a program.
Image. The full path or URL for an image to be associated with this node. This image is used
instead of any shape specified in the Shape field. This image displays in the Process Editor
only when you specify a literal path. If you use the QAD_DT_IMG variable, you must click
Preview to expand the variable and view the graphic. The system sizes the image to fit into the
cell height and width. Ensure that the image is correctly proportioned for the cell size or it may
be distorted.
Icon. The full path or URL for an image of an icon to be associated with this node. The icon
displays in the lower right corner of the node when viewed in the Process Viewer. To view the
icon included in the node while using the Process Editor, click the Preview button.
Shape. The shape of the node. Choose the following shapes from the pull-down menu:
Rectangle. (If your grid height and width are the same, the Rectangle setting displays as a
square.)
Ellipse. (If your grid height and width are the same, the Ellipse setting displays as a
circle.)
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168 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
Diamond
Report
Manual Operation
Manual Input
Style. Choose a style from the pull-down menu. The style determines font attributes, color,
line width, and filter. Style attributes are immediately visible in the grid area. The available
styles are defined in the Style Properties menu. For more information, see “Style Properties
Menu” on page 163.
Background Color. The background color of the node. Use the color selector adjacent to the
field to click on a color.
Dash Width. The length in pixels of dashed lines and the spaces between dashed lines for the
node border (or the connector between two nodes, if the style applies to connectors). If set to
zero (0) or left blank, the line is a solid line. You can enter two values separated by a space to
specify the length in pixels of each dash and the space in pixels separating each dash. For
example, 2 5 specifies that each dash has a length of two pixels and that the space between
each dash is five pixels.
Add More Links. You can add up to eight URLs as links on a process map node. Enter text in
the Label field for the label text of the link. Enter the URL in the Link field.
Fig. 5.7
Add More Links
Cell Borders. You can specify the color, width, and dash width of the top, bottom, left, and
right borders of the cell in which the node is located.
Fig. 5.8
Cell Borders
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170 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
Fig. 5.9
Operational Metric Image Properties
The properties dialog identifies the metric URL and the metric image name.
The metric URL consists of a QAD Shell command followed by the name of the metric image,
for example:
qadsh://menu/invoke?menu-key=MetricsMenu&menuitem-key=a23618a2-e86b-
4360-80ee-67668e6b2baa
The identifying keys for metrics are typically long random strings; for example:
a23618a2-e86b-4360-80ee-67668e6b2baa
5 Run Process Editor, and open an existing process map or create a new one.
6 Select a Node Cell.
7 In the Node Properties, Link field, enter the metric URL. For example:
qadsh://menu/invoke?menu-key=MetricsMenu&menuitem-key=0e52091e-5820-
46e8-a06c-c8b3bc91a152
8 In the Node Properties, Image field, enter the identifying key for the metric.
You must include the metric variable prefix and the .PNG file extension in the metric key.
For example, to include the Manufacturing Diagnostics metric displayed in Figure 5.9, enter
the following in the Image field:
{QAD_METRICS_IMAGES} 0e52091e-5820-46e8-a06c-c8b3bc91a152.png
Click Preview to view the metric image in the map. The metric image is now displayed in the
process map cell, and you can click the metric image to display the operational metric.
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172 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
Note Double-check any changes you make to the settings. A mistake that is easy to make but
difficult to notice is a blank space at the end of a value. The value appears to be correct but is really
incorrect because of the blank space at the end.
1 Choose Process Admin|Context Parameters and edit the Context Parameters page. For more
information, see “Context Parameters Screen” on page 172.
2 The page displays with defaults for all context parameters. Some of these are derived from
values specified during the build process. Typically, most of these parameters do not need to
be changed.
3 Click Save when you are done making any changes.
Refresh
When you modify a Process Map context parameter, click Save to save the change, and then
Refresh to update the process map function configuration. The screen now displays a refresh
status, and indicates when the refresh is complete.
Note Deleting the browser history also has the effect of refreshing the configuration. You can use
Tools, Delete History to delete the Internet Explorer history cache.
Use the Process Admin’s Context Parameters page to set administration parameters. Typically,
these parameters are set for you during the QDT-based installation process for QAD Enterprise
Applications — Enterprise Edition, but are described here for your reference.
Menu Lookup Result Size. Enter a value that determines the number of records returned when
a user displays the Program Lookup associated with the URL field in Node Properties and
Connector Properties. The default is 100.
Menu Lookup Timeout. Enter the number of minutes the system should retain menu
information in memory. When a user uses the Program Lookup, the system connects to the
active database using the URL specified in Menu Lookup URL and reads the menu
information from the database. This information is held in memory for the number of minutes
specified in this parameter. The default is 30.
Menu Lookup URL. Enter the full URL the system should use to connect to a database when it
reads menu records to display in the Program Lookup. The URL is the WebSpeed Workshop
path, except instead of /workshop at the end of the URL you have the string for the
WebSpeed API menu lookup: /com/qad/nav/xmenu.p?Action=MenuLookup.
For example, if the WebSpeed Workshop path is:
http://host:port/environment/cgi-bin/wspd_cgi.sh/WService=
QADMFG_WS/workshop
The Menu Lookup URL would be:
http://host:port/environment/cgi-bin/wspd_cgi.sh/WService=
QADMFG_WS/com/qad/nav/xmenu.p?Action=MenuLookup
If the home server and port is http://example.qad.com:17170 and the environment
is production-1, the Menu Lookup URL would be as follows:
http://example.qad.com:17170/production-1/cgi-
bin/wspd_cgi.sh/WService=QADMFG_WS/com/qad/nav/xmenu.p?Action=
MenuLookup
Note that you can verify the Menu Lookup URL by entering it in a web browser; if the URL is
valid, an XML listing of menu items is displayed.
Properties Directory. Specifies the directory path where the language properties files are
located (such as WEB-INF/pronav/properties).
SVG Directory. Specifies the directory path where the SVG files created with the Process
Editor are stored. The path is relative to the TomcatInstallDir/webapps directory.
URL Lookup. Specifies the file to use for generating the listing of programs associated with the
URL field in Connector and Node Properties. By default, this is MenuLookup.jsp.
XML Directory. Specifies the path to the directory where the XML files created with the
Process Editor are stored. A file created with the Process Editor is initially saved in XML
format and then converted to SVG using a stylesheet built with the Extensible Stylesheet
Language (XSL). The path is relative to the TomcatInstallDir/webapps directory. For
Enterprise Edition, process maps are stored in the TomcatInstallDir/webapps/WEB-
INF/pronav/xml/eB3 directory, so the default setting is /WEB-INF/pronav/xml/eB3.
SVG XSL Path. Specifies the path to the XSL file used to convert process files from XML to
SVG format, typically WEB-INF/pronav/xsl/process.xsl. The path is relative to the
TomcatInstallDir/webapps directory. This file was installed during installation.
Silverlight XSL Path. Specifies the path to the XSL file used to convert process files from
XML to Silverlight format, typically WEB-INF/pronav/xsl/process_sl.xsl. The path
is relative to the TomcatInstallDir/webapps directory. This file was installed during
installation.
Use Silverlight Viewer. Use this option to set the default process map viewer. Default is Yes.
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174 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
3 The process properties variables also display in the Process Properties Menu, but cannot be
changed there. The default values can only be changed using Process Admin|Process
Properties. The only variable you may need to change is QAD_DT_DOC_ROOT. The values
of other properties are determined by QAD.
4 After making any changes, click Apply to save the new values.
5 Click New to insert a new row for defining a variable. When you create variables with the
Process Properties editor, you can create local variables only. You can define new global
variables using Process Admin | Process Properties, and delete existing variables.
Warning If you delete any of the QAD-supplied variables, the sample processes no longer work
properly.
These variables display in the Process Properties Menu, but cannot be changed there. The default
values can only be changed using Process Admin | Process Properties. The only variable you may
need to change is QAD_DT_DOC_ROOT.
Attachments. Specifies a full URL or a directory path for locating attachments for easy on-
boarding (EOB) process maps. If just a directory path is specified, the link to the attachment
will be relative to the URL to the process map (pronav) environment. Note that the pronav
URL is shown in the Help | View Configuration menu (search for the “processmapbaseurl”
setting).
QAD_CONTENT. Specifies a URL for locating content in a directory under
QAD_DT_DOCROOT, such as:
{QAD_DT_DOCROOT}/content/
QAD_CONTENT_IMG. Specifies the directory name for locating content (typically images)
such as:
/content/
QAD_DT. Invokes a menu item based on the program name. Set to {QAD_SH}. (Previously
set up the API between a process and the Desktop.)
QAD_DT_DOC_ROOT. This directory is unique to each installation. It specifies the root
directory where Desktop is installed on the Web server.
You can append other directories to this variable to locate specific resource files.
QAD_DT_IMG. This variable points to the images directory below the Desktop installation
directory defined in QAD_DT_DOC_ROOT.
QAD_HOMESERVER. This variable is a URL that points to the root directory for the
QAD .NET UI application home server. The home server URL is shown in the Help | View
Configuration menu (search for the “homeserver” setting). Note that the
QAD_HOMESERVER setting typically requires a backslash at the end of the URL (example:
http://localhost:8080/qadhome/) because this variable is used to define URLs in
other variables such as QAD_METRICS_IMAGES.
QAD_IMG. This variable points to the images directory in the process map installation
directory defined in QAD_PMAP_ROOT.
Note If you want to store your images in some other location, you can create a new variable
such as QAD_IMAGES and specify its value as the full path (for example,
http://path/images/) to where you are storing the images. The path value must be
explicitly specified or you can use the {QAD_PMAP_ROOT} or {QAD_HOMESERVER} variables
as part of the path.
QAD_IMG_DOCUMENT. This variable points to the image file used as the icon in a node
when in the Process Editor you select the Choose Document option from the Link pull-down
in Node Properties. The image file is located in the directory set by the {QAD_IMG} variable.
QAD_IMG_MENUITEM. This variable points to the image file used as the icon in a node when
in the Process Editor you select the Menu Lookup option from the Link pull-down in Node
Properties. The image file is located in the directory set by the {QAD_IMG} variable.
QAD_IMG_PROCESS. This variable points to the image file used as the icon in a node when
in the Process Editor you select the Process List Lookup option from the Link pull-down in
Node Properties. The image file is located in the directory set by the QAD_IMG variable.
QAD_METRICS_IMAGES. This variable uses a JSP page to retrieve operational metrics
images from the home server.
For example,
{QAD_HOMESERVER}GetMetricImage.jsp?config=env-1&key=
For the config= setting, enter the environment name (for example, env-1). The key
element of the variable is used to import operational metric images into process maps. See
“Creating Browse Operational Metrics” on page 124.
QAD_PMAP_ROOT. Specifies the URL to where the process map environment (pronav) is
installed. (The default setting is http://localhost:8080/pronav/). The URL is shown
in the Help | View Configuration menu (search for the “processmapbaseurl” setting). Note that
the QAD_HOMESERVER setting typically requires a backslash at the end of the URL
(example: http://localhost:8080/qadhome/) because it can be used to define other
variables, such as QAD_IMG.
QAD_PV. This variable opens the Process Viewer (default is
ProcessViewer.jsp?ProcessName=).
QAD_SEARCH_LBL. This variable specifies the text of the link on process maps for searching
the QAD Document Library (default is Documentation Search).
QAD_SEARCH_LOCALE. This variable specifies the language code for searching the QAD
Document Library (default is en).
QAD_SH. This variable is the QAD Shell URL for invoking a menu item based on the
program name (qadsh://menu/invoke?menuitem-alias=). For example, for Sales
Order Maintenance, you would use sosomt.p as the program name.
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176 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
QAD_SH_MENU_KEY. This variable is the QAD Shell URL for invoking a menu item based
on the program key (qadsh://menu/invoke?menuitem-key=). For example, for Sales
Order Maintenance, you would use 7.1.1 as the program key.
QAD_SH_REPORT. This variable is the QAD Shell URL for invoking a report based on the
report code (qadsh://report/invoke?report-code=).
From the Language pull-down, select a language; the text for each label is displayed in the selected
language. You can search on any label key from the Search field. From the Records per page field,
specify the number of records displayed on a page, and use the First Page, Prev Page, Next Page,
and Last Page icons to view each page.
You can edit the label text simply by placing the cursor in the text area and modifying the existing
text. Fields with modified text display a yellow exclamation mark (!) next to them to show they
have been modified. If you want to save the modifications, click the Save button in the lower right
corner of the screen.
To add a new label key and text, click the New button in the lower right corner of the screen. In the
Process Label Maintenance pop-up window, enter the label key in the Key field and the label text
in the Text field. The label key format should be in uppercase with no spaces (for example,
ADD_ASSETS). Finally, click Save to add the new label key and text. Note that if the label key you
enter is the same as an existing label key, the existing key will be replaced by the new one.
To delete a label key, select the check box next to the label key and then click the Delete button in
the lower right corner of the screen. Do not delete a label key unless you are sure you will no
longer need it.
Note A button to access the Process Label Maintenance program is also available from the
Process Viewer. The button is located in the upper left corner, next to the button for accessing the
Process Editor from the Process Viewer.
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178 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
Component-based functions are accessible only through the QAD .NET UI. You cannot access any
of these functions from the Character UI.
This chapter describes the appearance and use of programs from the character user interface.
Starting in Character Mode 180
Describes how to access the system using the character user interface.
Program Interface Elements 180
Describes program features in the character user interface.
Using Browses in Character UI 184
Describes how to use browses in the character user interface.
Output Devices 189
Describes how you can send the output from reports, inquiries, and browses to a number of
devices.
Character-Mode Keyboard Commands 190
Lists the keyboard shortcuts for the character user interface.
180 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
Menu System
MFG/PRO has locations for 36 modules on the character-based Main Menu. In turn, each module
has one or more menus attached to it. Menus are lists of programs you use to look up or input data.
The menus that you will see depend on the security access that has been granted to your role. Only
menus with programs that you have access to display.
Fig. 6.2
Main Menu in Character Mode
When you enter a menu number on the command line, the system either executes a program or
displays a lower-level menu. You can keep drilling down through the menus until you reach the
appropriate level. Alternatively, you can access a program directly by entering its Progress name—
such as ppptmt.p for Item Master Maintenance—or number at the command prompt.
Note You can only run Progress programs that are on the menu this way.
To run a program from the current submenu, enter just its number on that menu; for example, 1. If
it is on a different submenu, you must enter its full menu number preceded by a period.
Example If the current menu displayed is System Admin (36), you can enter 24.1 to access
Database Control (36.24.1). However, you must enter .1.4.1 to run Item Master
Maintenance (1.1.4) because it is on a different submenu.
You can also use the arrow keys to move around the menu, then press Enter to execute the
highlighted selection.
Menu Substitutions
Menu substitution lets you toggle between displaying browses and inquiries on the menu. You can
also use it to switch between customized and noncustomized versions of a program. The system
administrator can use Menu Substitution Maintenance (36.4.4.7) to specify which programs are
substituted for others when you select this option.
By default menu substitution is disabled. It can be enabled for individual users in User
Maintenance (36.3.1).
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182 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
Program window
Data frame
Progress
status bar
Elements of the character user interface are explained in the following sections:
• “Title Bar” on page 182
• “Program Window” on page 183
• “Progress Status Bar” on page 183
• “User Menu” on page 183
Title Bar
The title bar identifies the program currently running. What displays in the title bar depends on the
Header Display Mode setting in Security Control (36.3.24). Based on that setting, you may see any
of the following elements:
• The title bar includes—from left to right—the program name, the version of the program, the
menu number and title, and the current date.
• The Progress program name, such as sosomt.p
• The program version, such as 99
• The menu number and title, such as 7.1.1 Sales Order Maintenance
• The current date
• The title bar is the same as previous except that the login ID of the current user replaces the
current date.
• The title bar includes—from left to right—the short name and currency of the current working
domain, the menu number and title, and the current date.
• The title bar is the same as previous except that the login ID of the current user replaces the
current date.
Some regulatory environments may require the name associated with the ID of the logged-in user
to be available from any program. In the character interface, you can use the Ctrl+F key
combination to review this information and other context details.
Header Display Mode also affects what you see in the menu titles, which is either:
• The name associated with the current domain followed by the current database name defined
in Database Connection Maintenance (36.6.1).
• Only the current database name.
Program Window
The program window displays the frames and fields of the current program.
Getting Help
Two help tools that are accessible from any program window:
• Lookup browses
• Online help
In the character user interface, access help by pressing F2 successively. Up to three help windows
display:
• The first time you press F2, a lookup browse displays if one is attached. If not, field help
displays first.
Use lookup browses to view records available to specified fields. You then choose a record to
enter in the field.
If you enter a value and press Enter, the list in the bottom of the browse frame scrolls to the
first record that matches that value. Use the arrow keys to scroll through the list, then select the
record by pressing Enter.
• Press F2 again to display field help. It describes a specific field and how it is used in the
program. Most updateable fields have field help. Display-only fields do not.
• Press F2 again to display procedure help. It describes the program and how it is used in the
module. Procedure help is not generally provided for reports, inquiries, browses, or control
programs.
Press F4 successively to exit all levels of help and return to the program window.
The status bar shows the basic commands needed to navigate through the specific program
currently displayed in the program window. See “Character-Mode Keyboard Commands” on
page 190 for a complete list.
User Menu
The User Menu saves time by letting you access a set of predefined programs directly, without
entering menu numbers or program names at the command prompt. This way, you can execute a
program without having to remember its menu number or Progress name.
Although the menu bar is available only with browses, you can access a User Menu from any
program or menu by pressing F6. This listing includes programs specified in User Function
Maintenance (36.4.10).
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184 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
User Function Maintenance lets you assign programs to individual users or to all users. Use the
following steps to navigate through the User Menu:
• Press F6 to open a pop-up window listing the programs assigned specifically to your user ID.
If no programs are assigned, the list includes programs assigned to the blank user ID (all
users).
• Press F4. If you have both user-specific and blank-ID programs assigned, the list updates to
display programs assigned to all users. Otherwise, the pop-up window closes.
• Press Tab to move the cursor between the menu number and the program label. The system
sorts lexically; for example, 28.13 is listed before 3.18. When you move the cursor to the
program label column, the system re-sorts the list alphabetically.
• To run a program from the user menu, use the up and down arrows to select the program. Then
press Enter.
The field values in the browse can come from a table or a view. A view is a table that has selected
values from one table or several joined tables.
Fig. 6.4
Character Browse
Browses display several records at a time. To scroll through the records, use the Up and Down
arrows.
Menu Bar
In character mode, browses have a menu bar that you can use to perform various tasks.
Fig. 6.5
Browse Menu Bar
To access the menu bar, press Esc-M while a browse is running. You can then select a menu item
with one of the following methods:
• Use the left and right arrows to move across to the menu you want. Then use the up and down
arrows to highlight an item on the menu. Press Enter to select the item.
• Press the underlined letter for the menu you want to select. The cursor moves to that menu and
displays the menu items. Use one of these methods to select an item:
• Use the up and down arrows to highlight the item you want and press Enter.
• Press the underlined letter for the item you want.
Note You can use the mouse from Windows character clients.
The following sections describe the items available on each menu in browses.
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User Menu
The User Menu in the browse menu bar differs from the User Menu accessed by pressing F6. The
User Menu in the browse menu bar provides access to:
• User Menu Items
• Print Options
• Run Program
• Exit
Note You can only run programs that are defined in the menu system.
User Menu items are user defined; you can use them to jump to other programs. When you exit the
second program, the system returns you to the program that was running when you accessed the
User Menu.
Programs displayed on the User Menu are defined in User Function Maintenance (36.4.10). This
list is always the same, regardless of which program you are running.
Fig. 6.6
User Menu in Character Mode
Defined in
User Function
Maintenance
Standard
menu options
Use this command to display the Printer Options dialog box. You can use this dialog to specify the
print destination; for example, a server printer or your terminal. You can also indicate that the
output should be placed in a file.
After you select an output device, the Browse Print Configuration window lets you specify the
fields to be output. When you select fields, the system displays the number of characters in each
line of the output.
Run Program
Run Progress programs with this option. You can run any menu-level program without having to
exit the current program.
Fig. 6.7
Run Program Dialog Box
1 Press Esc-M to access the drop-down User Menu and select Run Program (or use the keyboard
shortcut Ctrl+R).
2 In the pop-up window, enter one of the following:
• The Progress program name, such as ppptmt. You do not have to enter the file extension
of .p.
• A menu number. To run a program from the same submenu as the current program, enter
just its number on that menu; for example, enter 1. If it is on a different submenu, you
must enter its full menu number preceded by a period; for example, enter .1.4.1 to run Item
Master Maintenance.
3 Press Go.
When you exit the second program, the system returns to the program that was running when you
accessed the User Menu.
Exit
You can exit the current program through the User Menu. You can also exit programs by either of
the following methods:
• Press F4.
• Press Ctrl+E.
Edit Menu
Cutting text deletes it from its current location and copies it to the clipboard. Copying is similar,
but it leaves the original text in place. In both cases, you can paste the text to another location, such
as a field.
1 Choose the text to cut or copy.
2 Display the Edit menu. This menu choice is available only when text is selected.
3 Choose Cut or Copy.
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Options Menu
To turn an option on or off, access the menu, scroll to the option, and press Enter, or type the
underlined letter.
Fig. 6.9
Options Menu in Character Mode
Browse Options
Use this option to set up filter criteria for browses. The filter criteria limit the viewable records
according to your specifications. For example, you can filter out product numbers or statuses that
you do not want to view.
Toggle Filter
Use the toggle filter setting to turn on and off the filter criteria set up in the browse filter options.
Help Menu
Use this menu to access help on fields, as well as display drill downs and lookup browses on
selected fields.
Field Help
The fastest way to get help for the current field is by pressing F2 twice (press F2 once and, if
available, a lookup browse displays), but you can also bring it up with the Help menu. With the
cursor in the field, drop down the Help menu and choose Field Help.
Procedure Help
Procedure help is not included for browses. Choosing this option displays an error message.
Drill-Down
Drill-downs are browses accessed by choosing Drill-Down on the menu. You use drill downs to
view records associated with specified fields and programs.
With the cursor in the field, drop down the Help menu and choose Drill-Down.
Lookup Browse
This is the same browse that displays the first time you press F2, if it is attached to the field.
About...
When you reach either the top or the bottom of the stack, the appropriate command button is
disabled.
Fig. 6.10
Character About Screen
Output Devices
You can send the output from reports, inquiries, and browses to a number of devices, including
the following:
• Your terminal
• A server printer
• An e-mail message
However, the character user interface does not offer as many options as the QAD .NET UI.
• You can send output to Terminal or page, but not to Window. If you select Window, the
system displays an error message.
• The Winprint option is designed only for Windows clients. If you select this option, the
system displays an error message.
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190 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
Otherwise, the output options are the same in both interfaces. If you select a printer as the output
device, be sure to use one that has been defined with a Destination Type of Default in Printer Setup
Maintenance (36.13.2).
Just as in the QAD .NET UI, you cannot use e-mail unless it has been set up properly.
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*Log-in required
194 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
translating 52 I
design importing browses 119
Configurable Screens option 29 Inbox 71
Design Mode inbox
for component-based screens 70 QAD Messaging 50
design mode 70 indexes
desktop options 21 table 109
display alerts option 50 information grids 36
displaying field help in Character UI 183 inner joins 115
documents, attaching 68 inquiries 4
Drill Down/Lookup Maintenance 144, 145 Item Master Maintenance 146
drill-down browses 5, 84
in character interface 188 K
Dump XML 67, 102 keyboard commands
in Character UI 190
E keyboard commands in Character UI 190
Edit menu keyboard shortcuts 36, 41, 53, 55, 93, 182
in character interface 187
email 88 L
sending from within browses 148 Label Master Maintenance 116
email function 78 Language drop-down
empty deleted folder frequency option 50 in Process Editor 160
error prompt 41 language support
Excel integration 139 for process maps 176
avoiding Sort option 143 Line Utilization Maintenance 65
hiding columns 141 local variable
list of business components 139 browse field as 114
prerequisites 140 Local Variables tab 117
Execute Document Import 74 Log file data 18
exiting programs logging in
in character interface 187 Character UI 180
expand and contract button 39 lookup 93
Export Data function 74 lookup browses 5
Export to CSV 87 in character interface 188
exporting browses 119 lookupreturnfields.xml 185
to PDF 87
M
F maintenance programs 4
Favorites 92 Manage Filter Fields 91, 96
field display in browses 91 Menu Substitution Maintenance 181
field help menu substitutions
in character interface 188 in character interface 181
field types 8 Menu System Maintenance 78
fields 8 menus
filtering messages 49 in character interface 185
filters, managing 91 overview 8
Fixed Asset Maintenance 74 message prompt 52
Force Publish 103 messaging options 22
frames 9 metric collection 124
metric group 124
G metrics licensing 128
general options 21 metrics options 22
global variables metrics percentage bar 131
and process maps 165
grids, using 36 N
Group By function 97 non-component based programs 63
Guide Me non-component based screens 41
enabling and disabling 27
O
H operational metrics 124
help and process maps 169
in character interface 188 Options menu
History tab 117 in character interface 188
home page options 21 outer joins 115
Index 197
Q U
QAD Messaging 48 Unicode database 53
QAD.Applications.log 18, 24 URLs and process maps 160
User Function Maintenance 186
R user interface
Records per page 93 browses 93
related views 64 grids 36
Report function 88 search
reports 4 filters 91
Reset to Factory Settings 97 User Maintenance 181
Return to Sender option 70 User Menu
role in character interface 183, 186
and workflow 72 user name
stored searches 90 viewing 182
role activities 66 User preferences 18
Role Permissions Maintain 91 utility programs 6
Rows Per Page 93
run_html string URL 146 V
running programs variables
from character interface 181 process map 173
from User Menu View Configuration 20, 24
in character interface 186 View Maintenance 104
viewing metrics by field 127
S
Sales Order Print 73
198 Introduction to QAD Enterprise Applications User Guide
W configuration 71
Windows character client 191 workspaces 18, 21
Workflow 70, 88 activation 23