Chapter
11
VisualEstiTrack-Chapter 11 Utilities
Visual EstiTrack’s utilities aid in optimizing your business processes.
VisualEstiTrack-Chapter 11 Utilities
UTILITIESMENU
TheUtilitiesMenuallowsyoumanageyourDatabase.
Useyouradd-onReportWriter.
Managedocuments.
DeleterangesofyoursupportingVisualEstiTrackdatabaserecordsforInvoices,Shop
Orders,PurchaseOrders,Quotes,Runs(Scheduling),andShipping.
Optimize(re-index)yourDatabase.
FixCorrupteddata.
Exportdataforaccounting.
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VISUALESTITRACKREPORTWRITER
FOXFIRE!
REPORTWRITER INTRODUCTION
TheinformationprovidedonthesepagesareasupplementtotheFOXFIREUsersguideprovided withthereportwriter. Thissupplementhasbeendesignedtoprovideyouadditionalguidanceon VisualEstiTrackspecificissuesrelatedtousingthereportwriter. Youshouldprimarilyrelyonthe FOXFIRE! Users guide for report writer documentation reference once you have successfully installedthereportwriter.
TheVisualEstiTrackReportWriterisanoptionaladd-onproducttoVisualEstiTrack. Itisdesigned toallowyoutoquicklygenerateAD-HOCreports. Everyefforthasbeenmadetomakethereport writereasy-to-use. ButsinceVisualEstiTrackisacomplexrelationaldatabasesystemmadeupof over 1300 database fields, it will take time for you to become intimately familiar with Visual EstiTrack’sdatabasestructure. Pleasebepatient. Thebestwaytoapproachyourreportwriting effortsistostartwithsomesimplereports (e.g.,listoutallyourworkcenters),andthenmoveinto morecomplexreportswhereyouarebringingtogether fields from multiple database files.
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REPORTWRITER DATABASEITEM(FIELDS)
DATABASEITEMS
Eachofthedataitemswithinthereportwriterhasbeenprefixedwiththelogical database table name. ForexampleallShopOrderfieldswillhaveanORDERSprefixbeforethefieldname. Soto printtheCUSTOMERCODEfromtheORDERStableyouwouldselecttheORDERSCUSTOMER CODEfieldfromthedataitemslist. Allfieldnameshavebeendescribedinasimplefulltextformat to make the data item more recognizable.
REPORTWRITER TABLERELATIONSHIPS
Visual EstiTrack isbasedonVisualFoxPro’srelationaldatabase. Itiscomposedofoversixty interrelateddatabasetables. Forexample,customerinformationiscontainedintheCUSTOMERS table. Thisincludescustomer name, address, etc. Shoporderinformationiscontainedinthe ORDERStable. This includes shop order number, customer code, part number, etc. A relationship existsbetweenshopordersandcustomers. Thatis,eachshoporderisassociatedwithacustomer. VisualEstiTrackrelatesthesetwotablesbyCUSTOMERCODE. Asanend-useryoumaynotbe awareofthisrelationship,yourconcernistocreateareportthatcontainsbothORDERinformation andCUSTOMERinformation. Inmostcases,thisiseasilyaccomplishedinthisreportwriter. The onlyconcernyouwillhaveisselectingthecorrectdataitems(fields)youwishtohaveinthereport. Forexample,ifyouwanttohaveareportthatlistsoutallyourshopordersandcustomernamesyou wouldsimplycreateaNEWreportrequestthatcontainstheORDERSSHOPORDERNUMBERfield and the CUSTOMERS COMPANY NAME field. The reportwriterwillknowhowtoconnectthesetwo tablestogetherbecauseithasbeenpre-configuredtounderstandtherelationshipthesetwotables have in order to satisfy your request.
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REPORTWRITER DATABASEVIEWS
Inordertocorrectlysupportthedifferenttypesofdatabase relationships it is important that you select thecorrectdatabaseVIEWwhencreatingyourreport. Thisisespecially important when you are selectingfieldsfrommultipledatabasetables. Databaseviewshavebeenpre-configuredforyour use. Itisimportantthatyouselecttheproperdatabaseviewforthereportyouaregenerating. Each databaseVIEWhasbeenlogicallynamedtohelpyouintheVIEWselectionprocess.
To selectaVIEWyouneedtothinkaboutthe reportrequestyouareabouttogeneratepriorto selectingaVIEW. Itisimportantthatyouselectthedatabasetablethat“drives”thereportrequest. Thiswillhelpyoudeterminetheproperviewnametoselect. Forexample,ifyouaregeneratinga reportthatfocusesprimarilyonShopOrdersyoushouldselecttheORDERview. Ifyouarecreating areportthatfocusesprimarilyonInventorythen you should select the INVENTORY view.
ThestandardVisualEstiTrackViewsfound inthereportwriterarelistedbelow:
ORDERShopOrderbasedrequests
POPurchaseOrderbasedrequests INVOICEInvoicebasedrequests INVENTORY Inventorybasedrequests QUOTE Quote based requests SALES_ORD SalesOrderbasedrequests SHIPPING Shippingbasedrequests JOB_CARD JobCardbasedrequests
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TIME_CARDTimeCardbasedrequests
SCHEDULESchedulingbasedrequests
Itiscriticalthatyouselect the correct VIEWnamewhencreatingyourreportrequestinorderto activatethecorrecttablerelationshiplogic. Youwillgetimproperrelationalresultsifyouselectthe wrongVIEW. Forexample,ifyouaregeneratingalistofShopOrdersbycustomerbutselectthe INVENTORYviewinsteadoftheproperORDER viewwhengeneratingyourrequest,youwillget errormessagesstatingthatthereportwriterdoesnotunderstandtherelationshipORDERShasto CUSTOMERS.
REPORTWRITER TECHNICALSUPPORT
Thirtydaysfreetechnicalsupportwillbeprovidedforallnewreportwriterpurchases. This30days supportshouldbeusedtogettheReportWriterproperlyinstalledandtogaininitialexperiencein generatingsimpleADHOCreports.
Alladditionalphonesupportafterthefirstthirtydayswillbechargedatarateof$30.00perhourwith aminimumcallcostof$30.00US. YoumaychargethissupportcalltoyourAmericanExpresscard orwewillbillyouNET10afterprovidingyouthesupport.
Additionalreportwritersupportwillnotbeprovidedtoanycustomerwithanoverduesupportaccount balance.
PLEASE NOTE: Report Writer support isnotconsideredapartofthenormalVisualEstiTracksupport contract. WemustsupportthereportwriterinthisseparatemannerbecauseofthecomplexityofAD HOCreportwritingtechnicalsupport. ADHOCreportsbytheirverynatureoftenleadtolongsupport calls. Thisfeestructurehasbeenconstructedtoensurethatoursupportstaffwillbeappropriately compensatedfortheunpredictablequestions/problems that may arise from usingthereportwriter.
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DOCUMENTMANAGERUTILITY
DOCUMENTMANAGERPURPOSE
Scan document and save in any fileoutsideofVisualEstiTrack.
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DOCUMENTMANAGER SEARCHCRITERIATAB
PARTNUMBER
DefinePartNumbertonarrowsearch.
REVISION NUMBER
DefineRevisionNumbertonarrowsearch.
CUSTOMER
DefineCustomertonarrowsearch.
QUOTENUMBER
DefineQuoteNumbertonarrowsearch.
ORDERNUMBER
DefineShopOrderNumbertonarrowsearch.
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DOCUMENTMANAGER DOCUMENTDEFINITIONTAB
GENERALINFORMATION
TYPE
DefinedocumentTypefrompre-defineddropdownlistprovided. Required NO
DESCRIPTION
DefineDocumentDescription. FieldLength29Characters
CLICK HERE TO VIEW
Viewdocumenthere.
SpecialYES, Click to Zoom
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INDEX KEYS
Part Number
DefinePartNumberassociated with document.
Required NO
REVISION
Define RevisionNumber associatedwithdocument. Required NO
CUSTOMERCODE
Define Customer Code associatedwithdocument. Required NO
QUOTENUMBER
Define QuoteNumber associatedwithdocument. Required NO
FILENAME
Define file location of document by typing or clickingontheFileFolderIcontosearchforfile. Required YES
SpecialYES – BMP file only.
LASTUPDATE
ThedatethattheDocumentwaslastupdated. FieldLength8Characters
Required YES
SpecialYES, The system will automaticallypopulatethisarea. Thisareaisfrozen.
ORDERNUMBER
Define Shop Order Number associated with document.
Required NO
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DOCUMENTMANAGER ADDMODE
TOADDADOCUMENTCLICK<ADD> BUTTON
1.DocumentDefinition,DefineDocumentManagerType
2.DefineDescription,PartNumber/RevisionNumber/CustomerCode/QuoteNumber/Order
Number
3.Define Filename (BMP file)
4. Save
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TIMECATEGORYREPORT
TIME CATEGORIES REPORT PURPOSE
This report is used for Remote Time Entry / Bar-Code Users Only. Thisis a Time SaverforRemoteTime
Entry Users.
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TERMINALTIMECATEGORYREPORT
TIME CATEGORIES REPORT PURPOSE
Used for LCD PanelTimeEntry/BarCodeUsersOnly. TimeSaverforLCDPanelTimeEntry
Users. This is a Time Saver for LCD Panel - Remote Time Entry –Users.
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FIXCORRUPTDATABASESUTILITY
FIXCORRUPTDATABASESPURPOSE
TobeusedwhenyourPChasbeenshutdownwithoutClosingVisualEstiTrack. (Power outage)
Click <FixCorruptDatabases> button
Highlight <Data> file
Click <Select> button
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DATABASEOPTIMIZATION
DATABASE OPTIMIZATION PURPOSE
TheDatabaseOptimizationutilityallowsyoutoreducethesizesofyourdatabasefilesandkeepyour databaserunningatitsoptimallevel.Tobeused atleastonceaweek&/orwhenyoureceive"file cannotbefound"error.
DatabaseOptimizationMUSTberunafterupdatingtonewversions!
HOWTORUNDATABASEOPTIMIZATION
Click <OptimizeDatabase>Button
PackDatabasecheckboxisonlytobeusedtodeleteItemsthathavebeenFlaggedasDeleted
PACKDATABASECHECKBOXOPTION
PackDatabaseisonlytobeusedtodeleteItemsthathavebeenFlaggedasDeleted.Forexample whenyoudeleterecordswithintheVisualEstiTracksystem,theyareonlytaggedfordeletebutare notphysicallyremovedfromthe database files. Thisisdonebecausephysicallydeletingrecords fromyourdatabasefilestakestime,whichadverselyimpactson-linesystemperformance.
TheDatabaseOptimizationutilityisdesignedtophysicallyremovethoserecordstaggedfordeletion andrebuildallyourdatabaseindexrecords.
CORRUPTDATABASE
TheDatabaseOptimizationutilityshouldalsoberananytimeyoucorruptadatabaseindex. Index corruptioncanoccuranytimeyouinadvertentlyrunoutofdiskspaceorifyourhardwarefails. The DatabaseOptimizationutilityisdesignedtoautomaticallyrebuildalldamageddatabaseindexfiles.
HOWLONGDOESITTAKETORUNDATABASEOPTIMIZATION?
TheDatabaseOptimizationutilitytakesapproximately2to60minutestorundependingonthesize of your database files.
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DELETEUTILITIES
DELETE UTILITIES PURPOSE
TheDeleterecordsutilitiesaredesignedtoDELETEallrecords foraspecificrangeoftimeand/orrecords.DeleteInvoicesOrders PurchaseOrders Quotes Runs Shipping
BACKUPBEFOREDELETING!
BeforerunningtheDeleteUtilities,besureyouhavebacked up your database files and have printed out any needed reports.Example:Allinformationrelatedtoa“Closed”Shop Orderthathasbeendeletedwillbelost.
HOWTOMANAGEDATABASE
TheseutilitiesplayanimportantpartintheVisualEstiTrack databasemanagementprocess. Itisdesignedtokeepyour database files small and manageable. Every time you complete a ShopOrderyoushouldchangetheshoporder statusto“CLOSED”.
) IMPORTANT NOTE:
If you allowyour database files to grow to large, disk space requirements can become
excessive and system performance will suffer.
WHENTODELETERECORDS?
Periodicallyduringtheyear,(orataminimumonanannualbasis),youshouldrunthisutilitytopurge thedatabaseofallClosedShopOrders SalesOrders PurchaseOrders,etc.
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DELETEINVOICESUTILITY
DELETE INVOICES PURPOSE
ADateRangecanbedefiedforDeletion.Thisis used to delete old records that are no longer needed
WHATWILLBEDELETED?
ALLInvoiceswiththeStatusfielddefinedas“CLOSED”thatarewithintheInvoiceDateRangeas definedinthisscreen.
DATERANGEFIELDS
This refers to the Invoice Date fieldlocatedinInvoiceMaintenance.
BACKUPBEFOREDELETING!
BeforerunningtheDeleteUtilities,besureyouhavebackedupyourdatabasefilesandhaveprinted outanyneededreports.
DELETERECORDSBUTTON
ClicktheDeleteRecordsbuttontoactivatetheDeleteUtility.
EXIT BUTTON
Click the Exit Button to Cancel &/or Exit the Delete Utility.
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DELETESHOPORDERSUTILITY
DELETE SHOP ORDERS
UTILITY PURPOSE
It is designed to keep your database files smalland manageable.Every time you complete a Shop Order you should change the shop order status to“CLOSED”.Thisutility isusedtodeleteoldrecordsthat arenolongerneeded.
DATERANGEFIELDS
This refers to the Shop Order DatefieldlocatedinShopOrder Maintenance GeneralScreen.
QUERY SHOP ORDERS
BUTTON
After definingtheDateRange, click the Query Shop Orders
Button to list ALL “CLOSED” status Shop OrderswithintheDateRangedefined.
REMOVEORDERFROMLISTBUTTON
ToremoveaShopOrderfromthelistfordeletion,simplyhighlighttheitemthenclicktheRemove
Order from List Button.
BACKUPBEFOREDELETING!
BeforerunningtheDeleteUtilities,besureyouhavebackedupyourdatabasefilesandhaveprinted outanyneededreports.Example:Allinformation relatedtoaClosedShop Order that has been deletedwillbelost.
DELETE LISTED RECORDS BUTTON
AfteryouhavemodifiedthelistofShopOrderstobedeleted,clickontheDELETEListedRecords buttontoremovetherecordsfromthedatabase.
EXIT BUTTON
Click the Exit Button to Cancel &/or Exit the Delete Utility.
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DELETEPURCHASEORDERSUTILITY
DELETE PURCHASE ORDERS UTILITY PURPOSE
Itisdesignedtokeepyourdatabasefilessmallandmanageable.Everytimeyoucompletea PurchaseOrderyoushouldchangethePurchaseOrderstatusto“CLOSED”.Thisutilityisusedto deleteoldrecordsthatarenolongerneeded.
DATERANGEFIELDS
ThisreferstothePurchaseOrderDate fieldlocatedinPurchase Order Maintenance General
Screen.
BACKUPBEFOREDELETING!
BeforerunningtheDeleteUtilities,besureyouhavebackedupyourdatabasefilesandhaveprinted outanyneededreports.
DELETERECORDSBUTTON
ClicktheDeleteRecordsbuttontoactivatetheDeleteUtility.
EXIT BUTTON
Click the Exit Button to Cancel &/or Exit the Delete Utility.
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DELETEJOBCARDSUTILITY
DELETE JOB CARDS UTILITY PURPOSE
Itisdesignedtokeepyourdatabasefilessmall andmanageable.Thisutilityisusedtodeleteold recordsthatarenolongerneeded.
DATERANGEFIELDS
ThisreferstotheJobCardDatefieldlocatedinJobCardMaintenanceGeneralScreen.
BACKUPBEFOREDELETING!
BeforerunningtheDeleteUtilities,besureyouhavebackedupyourdatabasefilesandhaveprinted out any needed reports. Shop Order Recap Report &/or Shop Order Work In Process Report will print EstimatedCosts vs ActualCosts.
DELETERECORDSBUTTON
ClicktheDeleteRecordsbuttontoactivatetheDeleteUtility.
EXIT BUTTON
Click the Exit Button to Cancel &/or Exit the Delete Utility.
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DELETEQUOTESUTILITY
DELETE QUOTES UTILITY
PURPOSE
It is designed to keep your database files smalland manageable. Every time you complete a Quote you should change the Quote status to
“CLOSED”.Thisutility is used todeleteoldrecordsthatareno longerneeded.
DATERANGEFIELDS
This refers totheQuoteDate field located inQuotation Maintenance GeneralScreen.
QUERY SHOP ORDERS
BUTTON
After definingtheDateRange, clicktheQueryQuotesButton
tolistALL“CLOSED”statusQuotes within the Date Range defined.
REMOVEORDERFROMLISTBUTTON
ToremoveaShopOrderfromthelistfordeletion,simplyhighlighttheitemthenclicktheRemove
Order from List Button.
BACKUPBEFOREDELETING!
BeforerunningtheDeleteUtilities,besureyouhavebackedupyourdatabasefilesandhaveprinted outanyneededreports.
DELETE LISTED RECORDS BUTTON
AfteryouhavemodifiedthelistofQuotestobedeleted,clickontheDELETEListedRecordsbutton toremovetherecordsfromthedatabase.
EXIT BUTTON
Click the Exit Button to Cancel &/or Exit the Delete Utility.
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VIEWERRORLOG
VIEWERRORLOGPURPOSE
Thisutilityisessentialforour supportdepartmenttoreviewiferrorshappentooccur within your system.
ERRORS
Errorsmaybecausedbynotinstallingupdatesproperlyoradatabasepathmaybeincorrectand thereforeyoumayreceiveanerrormessage.
PRINTERRORREPORTBUTTON
Print<Summary>OnlywhenAskedtoPrint & Fax to Henning Industrial Software.
CLEARERRORRECORDSBUTTON
AfterPrintingErrorLogClick<ClearErrorRecords>thiswillkeepyourErrorLoguptodate.
EXIT BUTTON
Click the Exit Button to exit out oftheViewErrorLogScreen.
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ACCOUNTINGINTERFACES
INTERFACESAVAILABLE
PeachTreeAccountingInterface PeachTreeforWindowsInterface ACCPAC for DOS Interface ACCPACforWindowsInterface BPI Interface
QuickBooks Interface
QuickBooksProInterface
DacEasyInterface/includingCanadianVersion
CustomApplications
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EDITMENU
Undo Redo Cut Copy Paste
ShowToolBar
HideToolBar
HELPMENU
SearchforHelpon
User'sGuideisintheHelpfile. About Visual EstiTrackSplashscreenappearswith currentversion.
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