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What are Detail Views?

Detail views are tools for accessing, editing, adding, and deleting a specific record from a specific table of data. Users can access the detail view of a record by using such tools as list views or clicking direct links such as the Asset ID field on the work order form.

An example of the detail view:

Customize Form

'Customize Form' is a feature designed to ease the management of the detail view. It also provides a user-friendly interface for the data dictionary. To access this feature open the detail view you wish to modify, click the Options link then click Customize Form. Users must have the “Modify Form Layout” permission to see the Options link on the form.

NOTE: The detail view currently open is the detail view that will be affected by any changes you make.

Form Design Options

At the top of the form, there are options for controlling the basic layout of the page.

Form Font Settings
This option allows the administrator to choose what font will be used on this particular detail view.

Enter the font family in the „Default Form Font‟ line and the applicable size and style information in the appropriate box. For the color fields, select an HTML color value setting (hexadecimal or HTML compliant). Ex. BLUE is known by HTML and will display that color. For more specific colors add a hexadecimal color code such as #0066CC for another variation of blue. Click update for these settings to take effect.

Add a new column
While designing or changing the detail view, you may wish to use a new column. This can be achieved by clicking the Add Column link. A new column will be added to the right of any existing columns.

Remove a column
To remove the column furthest to the right, remove all fields from it and exit Design Mode.

Insert Row After
Insert a row on the form by entering the number of the row that will be above the new row, then click the INS button. For example, if you want a row between rows 5 and 6, enter “5” in the „Insert Row After‟ box and click the INS button. All rows after row 5 will be moved down and a new row will be placed into the 6th row.

Delete Row
Enter the number of the row to be deleted and click the DEL button.

Adding, Removing,&Arranging Fields

The Customize Form feature also allows you to modify the layout of your detail views. This is useful for removing default fields you may not need or adding custom fields you do need.

Adding
First decide what field needs to be added to the detail view (be sure it is not in use already). Find a row/column position which has the folder icon . This indicates and available field location. Click the folder icon to open the “Add Field to Form” screen.

The “Add Field to Form” screen has two sections. The first, “Select Existing Field”, allows you to choose from a list of pre-configured fields. The second, “Create New Field”, allows you to create your own fields.

TIP: You should always check to see if the field you need exists in the “Existing Field” section before creating a field of your own.

To use an existing field:

• Use the list in the drop-down box to find and select the required field.
• Click on the Select Field button to place your field on the detail view. You will receive a confirmation message that says: “Settings have been saved”.
• Click the Close Window link to close the window and refresh the detail view page.

To create a new field:

• Enter the 'Field Name'. This value is the name the system needs to identify the field. Once created, it cannot be changed. The name is limited to 10 characters (beginning with a letter) and cannot contain spaces. If a separation is needed, use an underscore.
• Enter a description. The 'Description' is what the user will see on the form and may be entered as normal text.
• Choose a field type. The most common type of field is text, but you can also choose Multi-Line text (memo), Numeric, Logical (True/False), Date and Date&Time. The field type cannot be changed after field creation.
• The 'Maximum # of Characters' value only needs to be entered on Text and Numeric fields (for Numeric fields, also indicate the number of decimal spaces). You can increase this number later but you cannot decrease it.
• Click the Create Field button. You will receive a confirmation message that says: “Settings have been saved”.
• Click the Close Window link. The detail screen will be refreshed to show your new field.

Removing
Locate the field you wish to remove and click the trash can icon . The field will disappear from the detail view and a folder icon will take its place. Removed fields become available in the “Select Existing Field” list and can be selected for placement elsewhere on the form.

Note: Removing fields from the detail view does not delete the field or any data it contains.

Arranging
Arranging fields on the detail view is a simple drag-and-drop process. Simply click on the text of a field's description, drag it, nd drop it in any open space (just to the left of a folder icon). Moving fields can help make the form more organized and easier to read.

Tab Order
After you have selected the fields to display, you can then assign a “tab order” when in edit mode. This allows you to use the Tab key on your keyboard to navigate around the form in the order you specify. The current tab order is indicated by a number in parenthesis next to the field properties icon . To change the order:

• Click on the Current Tab= link to reset the tab value to 1.
• Click on the number link next to the field that will be first. You will be presented with a confirmation of the tab change: “Settings have been saved.”
• Click on Close Window to refresh your changes.
• Methodically work through the form, clicking the number next to each field in the order of your tab preference. After each tab selection, you will be told that the settings have been changed.

Editing the Field Properties

Clicking on the Tools icon to the right of any field will display the “Database Field Properties” window.

                                

This window contains the current settings for the field you are viewing and can vary depending on the field. The field's name will be displayed at the top of the screen along with its system name.

All of the general settings are under the “General Properties” section. Again you will see the Field Name (system name) as well as the Table Name in which the field resides. You will also see the type of field it is: C=Text, M=Memo, N=Numeric, L=Logical, D=Date and T=Date/Time. This information cannot be changed. The options available for change in General Properties depend on the field type and the other properties in use on the field.

• The description, which is the field name the user sees on the form, can be changed by typing it into the 'Description' field.
• Enter a default value by typing it into 'Default Value' field. This is what the field will be populated with when a new record is created. This value can be changed.
• If you wish this field to available in the Query Builder, click the checkbox for 'Query Tool'.
• Check the box for 'Required' if this field must be populated during data entry. This will prevent users from saving the form without a value in this field.
• 'Sortable' will make this field available for sorting on the list view. Click Save after making this selection and be sure to follow the additional instructions on the screen.
• Click the 'Capitalized' checkbox to force the field to convert the value to capital letters.

Behavior
You’ll also find a field called Behavior, with a dropdown box that contains several options:

• Default: This is the standard setting that will make the field act as an ordinary field.
• Email: This designates the field as one that holds an email address or a contact ID
• Picasa: This option is used to make a field work as a Picasa picture field that can link to you Google Picasa account and display pictures. For more information of configuring this, click here: http://www.emaintuniversity.com/node/538
• File (Rackspace Cloud): This will configure a field to work with a special Rackspace document storage option that is offered. For more information click here:  http://www.emaint.com/cmms-pricing/

Email
If you select Email as the behavior, a link will appear to the right on the Behavior dropdown box. Clicking this will take you to a screen that allows you to modify the setting of an email field. If the field you’re editing is on a table, other than the work orders table, you will see a screen like this:

NOTE: workflows can be configured to automatically send email notifications, to the email address in an email field. (workflows will be covered later on in this training guide)

Under "Email Address Source," you can select “Field text” or “Contact table”

• Field text: use this setting if the field is intended to hold the email address in it.
• Contact table: Use this setting if the field is intended to hold a contact ID. The system can use the unique ID to reference a contact record and find the email address.

If the field you’re editing is on the Work Orders table (WORK), you will have a number of additional options. This is because the system can send a printed copy of the work order to the recipient.

• Type: Select the way in which the system will send the emails; directly, via the pop-up window, or by using an email client such as Outlook.
• Email Format: Choose whether the copy of the work order should be in HTML or PDF.
• Link Properties: Here, you can select the appearance of the email link/button.

Lastly, there are checkboxes that allow you to control the behavior of the email screen. (The email screen is accessed by clicking the Email option, under the Actions menu.)

Key Fields

Key fields are special fields within the system that are necessary for a record to be saved. Without a key field, a record cannot be created and a table will not function correctly. NEVER remove a key field from a form. Because of the key field's special role in the system, it has certain requirements that other fields do not have.

Each key field has a specific length which cannot be altered:
COMPID = 21, ITEM = 15, CONTACTID = 10, TASK_NO = 10

Key fields also restrict the types of characters which can be entered. Valid characters can be any combination of letters, numbers, dashes (-), underscores (_) and periods. If you enter a symbol that is invalid, you will receive a message indicating the error and a link to go back to the form to reenter the key field.

Key fields prominently display their designation on their properties page and in add mode:

or edit mode:

on any record. While in add mode you will be able to enter the ID characters. In edit mode, you will only be able to view that ID. It is strongly recommended that you do not make changes to the properties of a key field. Changing the key field may impact its key field status.

Text Properties

Click the + button to expand the “Text Properties” portion of the screen. This will enable you to view and edit such characteristics as „Maximum number of Characters‟, the 'Display Font', 'Font Size', 'Font Style', 'Background Color', and 'Foreground Color'.

Note: Please see the next section, “Verstrus” when editing the 'Maximum # of Characters'' field.

Verstrus (Verify Structures)
Anytime you change the Maximum number of characters for an existing filed, you must run a process called 'VERSTRUS' from the address line of your browser window to update the system's databases.

Enter the address http://x3.emaint.com/wc.dll?X3~verstrus in your address bar and hit enter. The process will run then a screen similar to the one below will display the verstrus results. Click the Return to Control Center link to return to the main screen.

Do NOT change the maximum number of characters for any of the key fields in the system.

Managing Related Tables

Related tables are small boxes located below the detail view's main form. They are used throughout the system to integrate information from one table to another. For example, the Parts File has the 'Item Suppliers' table which allows you to link suppliers in the contact table to you parts. Virtually every form in the system has, or can have, related tables attached to it.

Closing/Viewing tables

There are two ways to hide a table from view:


Shade/Unshade – Click the minimize  link to “shade” the table. This will leave only the title bar in view. Click it again to “un-shade” the table.

Manage Related Tables – Click the Options link at the top of the page and select Manage Related Tables. A window will appear with a list of tables available for this page. Uncheck a box to hide the table and place a check in a box to view the table. Click Save to close the window and view changes. Click Close to close the window without saving changes.

Note: Users must have the “Modify Form Layout” permission to see the Options link on the form.

Creating Related Tables

If you require a related table that doesn't exist in your system, you can create your own related table. This will create a blank template which gives you the liberty of customizing the content of the table. To create a new related table:

• Enter the detail view of the section where the table will be associated.
• Click Options then Customize Form to enter design mode.
• Enter the properties of the form's keyfield by clicking on the Properties icon.
• On the keyfield's properties window, scroll to the bottom and click the Create Related Table link.
• Enter the name of related table you are creating in the box provided and click the Create the related table button.
• You will receive a confirmation that the table was created and link to return to the keyfield's properties.
• Close the properties window and exit design mode.

Your new related table will appear below the main form. At this point, the table only has two fields; a Unique ID field and a field that shares the new table's name. To add data to this table, click Add on the new table to enter add mode for the table. From here you can enter design mode and begin designing your new table