ConCentRICs Web Guidelines
For people moving from ConCentRICs .Net to ConCentRICs Web
Welcome to the ConCentRICs Web version of the system. This is truly a web based application and you can access the system on any internet enabled device from your desktop, laptop, I-Pads, Tablets, Smart Phones, etc. As long as you have internet available and a device that can connect to the Internet you can access the system. There are no apps to install, you just use whatever Internet Browser that came with the device. If RIC Corp is hosting your system then just enter into your web browser. If someone else is hosting than get the address to use from your System Administrator. Once you enter that address that is it and you will be accessing the Web version.
This document will help you with the transition from the .Net version to the Web version of the system. The Web version is very similar to the .Net version, so it should be very easy for you to go from one to the other. This rest of this document will point out differences to be aware of that will help you use the Web version quickly and easily.
Login
The Web Version requires you to login each time you use the system. Since you can access the system on any device anywhere around the world, it is important to be able to identify you when you enter the system. The Web Server you are connecting to could be hosting several different facilities. The Facility Name drop down box will list all the Facilities being hosted on that Web Server. Select your Facility from the list. Enter your User Name and Password. The User Name is not case sensitive, but the Password is. If you check the Remember Me box then these fields will be filled in for you each time you access the system from the same device.
Since devices have different screen sizes, the system is set to display differently for different screen sizes. In the Screen Size drop down select the one best suited for your device. You could try different Screen Sizes with different devices until you find the one that works best on that device. Once you set the Screen Size for a device, it will remain set the same each time you use that device until you change it.
The Web Version can only show you two pages at one time, the Main Menu and one other page. If you need multiple pages open at one time, then use the Session field on the Login page. Set it to 1 initially and then increase that number for each Main Menu you are going to open, so each Main Menu you have open will have a unique number.
What to do the first time you use the System?
1)Select an Event. Several of the menu options will not populate until you have an event selected. You may just click one in the Current Events panel or you can use Find Items on the tool bar to find a specific one.
2)If you have the Change Fund/Year option on the Tool Bar, use that to select a Fund, Year and Checking Account. The Accounting Menus will not populate until you have a Fund and Year selected.
3)Go to Tools – Your System Settings and set the controls here for your personal settings and preferences.
Main Menu
The layout of the Web version Main Page is the very similar to the main menu in the .Net Main Page. The tool bar is across the top. The title bar right below that identifies you and the Facility you choose, ConCentRICs will display in the middle and your facility Logo will appear on the right.
The left hand panel will contain your Menu Options. The panel in the top middle will show the pictures or your Dashboard options. The bottom middle is the Bulletin Board will any notifications for you will appear. The panel on the far right is your Current Events.
See the Details for each of these sections below.
Tool Bar
The tool bar contains words instead of pictures now, but most of the tool bar functions you had before are available here. You have the following available:
Get Help – Use this to get to the Help file for whatever option you are working on. If you use it from the Main Screen then you will get the general help page for the system.
Switch Users – Use this to go back to the Login Page. Here you can switch to a different Facility or come in as a different person.
Log Out – If you are accessing the system from a device that other people can use, then use the Log Out option when you are done, so someone does not come back in as you when you leave the device.
Change Fund/Year– Use this to change the Accounting Fund, Year or Checking Account that you are currently set to access.
Trace Items – Use this to see all of your reminders or follow up items. Trace Items from all the applications in the system are centralized in this one place.
Calendar – Use this to see the overall calendar of the facility for one calendar year. You can click on any date to see the details on that day.
Find Items – Use this to find the major items in the system such as an Event, Name, Sales File, Food Event, Fixed Asset Item, Operations Work Order, Periodic Work Order, Incident Report, Situation Response, Chart of Account or Holiday.
Add New Item – This tool bar button will be active when you are on an option where it will allow you to add a new item and your security level is high enough to do that.
E-Mail Report – If you are setup to send E-Mail in Tools – Your System Settings then this button will be available when you have a report page displayed. When you push this button it will e-mail the report to whoever you designate.
Save to File – This button will be available when you are looking at a report that can be turned into a file that you can open in Excel or use in a Mail Merge Word Document.
Print – This button will be available when you are looking at a report. Push this button and it will reformat the report for print (removing tool bar, links etc.) and will ask you which printer you want it on. You may need to change the Print Settings in your browser to format this page correctly such as turning off the background color, web page display, page numbering, etc.
Back– Using the Back button in the browser will take you to the last page, but it may not be the last logical place in the system to go, so get into the habit of using the Back button in the ConCentRICs Web version. If the Back button is not displayed, then you are back at the beginning. If you are done with the option completely, just close the page.
Menu Options
The Menu Options are laid out very close to the way they were in the .Net menus. Instead of expanding these menus slide to save on space required. If there is an arrow to the right of the menu option then when you click on that option the menu will slide to reveal the options on the next menu. You can click the Menu link at the top or use the Back one level link to go back one menu level. If you are on a sub-sub menu then each of the menus will be listed at the top so you can go directly to any of the previous menus or back to the main menu.
Each Application is now listed separately instead of in groups. The Table Parameters option has been replaced with a Components option, but it will still let you maintain the tables in that application. Most of the other options are called the same thing and will appear in the same position on the menu as they did in the .Net version.
The first option on your menu should be your currently selected event. If you do not have this option then you do not have a selected event. Click on any event in the Current Events panel to at least get an event selected. Several of your Menu Options will not populate until you have an event selected.
Picture Viewer
These will be the same pictures that were displayed in the .Net version. Only pictures can be shown here, so any web page views in the old system were removed, but you could still add those to the Bulletin Board if you still want them available. From the Picture Viewer you can switch this view to your Dashboard by using the Dashboard link at the bottom of the pictures. You can add your own pictures to this view in Tools – Your Pictures.
Dashboard
The Dashboard can be displayed on your Main Page instead of the Picture Viewer. The Dashboard will contain all of your short cuts through the system. The first option will show how many outstanding Trace Items you have. Click this line to get to these Trace Items so you can respond to them. This would be the same as clicking on Trace Items on the Tool Bar.
You can then pick up to 12 Menu Options that you use the most from any application to put on your Bulletin Board. This way you can run those options instantly at any time without having to drill down into the application menu to find it. You can also add reports from the Report Wizard here that you run all the time.
The last line in the Dashboard lets you add, change or remove items on your Dashboard. Click the left side of this line to get to your Dashboard Maintenance. Click the right side of that line to switch to the Picture Viewer.
Bulletin Board
The Bulletin Board is where messages are posted that need your attention. They could be system generated, come from the Facility, your Department or individual staff members. This could show the number of outstanding Trace Items you have (if Picture Viewer is on), your Activity Schedule, the Hours you are Scheduled to Work, the Latest ConCentRICs Newsletter and a link to the ConCentRICs User Community.
The Facility could post notices and even the Employee Handbook in this section or anything you need access to from time to time when you need it. The Department could post reports here that you need all the time and this pre- generates them so you do not have to wait for them to run. Other Staff Members could post things that they want you to know or be aware of such as the forming of a company baseball team.
Current Events
The Current Events panel will show all the recent events that are in the Facility or will be in soon. What is shown for the events, the colors used, and what happens when you click on an event is all set by you in Tools – Your System Settings
Tools
The Tools application are your controls for the system. The things you set here only affect you and how the system behaves for you. You have the following options here:
ConCentRICs Help Index– This allows you to access any Help File in the system at any time.
Report a Problem / Ask a Question – This is your connection to the RIC Corp Support Team. If you have a question about the system, want to report a problem where something is not working right, or you just want to request a new feature that the system does not currently do then use this option to fill out a Help Ticket that will go directly to the RIC Corp support staff.
Import Names from Clipboard – This is a very handy tool for quickly and easily entering names and addresses into the system. Highlight the name and address anywhere you can find it. It could be from an e-mail, a website or other sources. Highlight it and save it to your clipboard by pushing Copy, but if there is no copy then just use Ctrl V. Then run this option and the system will interrupt that address into something it can use.
Your System Settings – This is where you setup your E-Mail settings, what to do when you are out of the office, Current Event Settings, Event Profile Sections, Activity Schedule to display on the Bulletin Board, Your Yearly Calendar Controls and your Chart and Graph Settings. Set each of these, the way you want to see them.
Your Dashboard – This will control the options you see on your Dashboard panel.
Your Pictures – This lets you insert your own pictures that will be displayed in the Picture Viewer. The pictures you add will be interspersed with pictures from RIC Corp and the Facility. The View will take turns picking pictures from each group, first an RIC Corp picture, then a Facility Picture and then one of your pictures until all the pictures are displayed and then they will start again from the beginning.
Your Bulletin Board Messages –This allows you to add your own messages to the Bulletin Board panel.
Change Your Password – Change your Login Password at any time with this option.
Identify New Device – If you are using an Internet Enable device that is not working well with the system, then use this option and contact RIC Corp. They will be able to use this information to find out more about the device and what the possible problem may be.
Contact Information – This will give you all the information to contact RIC Corp.
About –General Information and Statistics about the ConCentRICs System and the ConCentRICs Community.
Common Web Controls
There are several field controls that are unique to the Web version or behalf different than they did in a Windows environment.
Date Fields– When you click on a Date Field a pop up calendar will be displayed. You can ignore the pop up calendar and just manually enter a date in the box. You can still use + and – numbers here so a +0 will give you todays day, +1 for tomorrow, -1 for yesterday, etc. If you do use the pop up calendar then just pick the date you want. You can move forward or backwards in the months by using the arrows or you can immediately change months by click on the name of the month or year by clicking on the year.
Object Fields – Objects are major components of an application, such as an Event, a Name, a Fixed Asset etc. These fields will show the currently select object in a read only text box. You will then have three icons next to that. A Magnify Glass to search for a new one, a Book to edit the existing object and a red X to delete it.
List Boxes – All list boxes are multiple selection and allows you to select more than one at a time. Anyone highlighted is selected. You can turn the highlight off and on by clicking on the line in the list box. If you have others highlighted then you must hold down CTRL when you do that or you will lose the other selections. If you are selecting a series of options, you can click on the first one and hold the mouse button down and drag to the other ones. You can also click on the first one, hold down Shift and Click on the last one. Once you have at least one selected there is no way to turn them all off unless you use the Rest button next to the list box. Web enabled devices such as I-Pads, Tablets and Smart Phones have their own way of implementing Multiple Selection List boxes. In most cases instead of showing all the options at one time, they will show in a drop down box and you click on each of the ones you want to select. If you already have some selected the box will probably only show the number you have selected and you must open the drop down to see which ones are selected.
Major Differences
All Authorization and Approval options are gone and these have become Trace Items instead.
All Table Parameter options have been turned into an <Application> Component option at the bottom of the Application menu.
The Calendar Application is gone, but all of the options have been added to Event Reporting.
Features in .Net not Implemented in the Web Version
Scheduling Administration – Fast Book
Rate Type – Hourly Day of Week
Rate Type – Square Footage Group Rate
Labor Administration – Overall Schedule of Time Block