General Information
Help Text:
The help system is always active in every module of the Integrated Business System. Press the F1 key or Help button at any time to activate the Help System, which consists of a Help window with context-sensitive information relating the active window. Each pull-down menu and window in every module has its own help Section.
Keyboard Controls:
In the windows environment, the mouse is the primary tool of navigation. However, in most cases, you can also use the Tab keys (®½ & ½¬), Arrow keys (¬®¯), and Hot Letters to move around a window and to activate Pull-Down Menus, Menu Options, Push Buttons, etc. The following basic keyboard control information applies to all of the IBS Windows Programs.
Every Data Entry field, Push Button, Pull-Down menu, etc. has its own standard way of acting. There are certain keyboard control keys which work uniformly for each type of window entity. This section describes the various keyboard control keys used in each different type of window or data entry option. These keystroke sequences and keyboard controls are identical for each type of window or data-entry entity in every module in the Integrated Business System. Once they are learned, they will universally apply thereafter.
Mouse Operation:
As a Windows application, the programs are mouse aware. As stated above, the mouse is the primary input device which should be used to locate an option on the screen rapidly and to activate Fields, Buttons, Scroll Bars, List Box selections, Check Boxes and Radio Buttons.
Mouse Cursor:
Our programs use a smooth Mouse Cursor. This is an arrow on the screen which moves smoothly across the screen. This mouse cursor is activated by moving the mouse itself on the mouse pad or by moving the Track Ball, based on your computer's equipment.
Mouse Buttons:
The standard mouse is equipped with two buttons, the Left and Right Buttons. Some also have a center button. The Right mouse button and Center mouse button (if available) are not used by our programs. The Left mouse button is used to select a Menu, Menu Option, Data Field, Hot Prompt, Push Button, Scroll Bar, Check Box or Radio Button. This is done by moving the Mouse Cursor to the selected field on the screen and pressing the Left button once. You may see this referred to as Single-Click or Left-Click in the help text. In List Boxes, the highlighted entry can be selected by double-clicking the Left mouse button on the highlighted item or by single-clicking the [Select] button.
To activate a pop-up description window for any data field in our system, simply move your mouse cursor to the data field and hold the cursor in the field for a few seconds. If available, a pop-up window will be displayed which contains a brief description of what information is required in that field.
Tab Keys:
The Forward Tab (®½) moves to the next data entry field, push button, or list box. The Backward Tab (½¬) moves to the previous data entry field, push button, or list box. Most of us are accustomed to using the Enter Key to move to the next field, but this is not the case with CUA screens. Get used to the Tab keys since they can be used in these programs.
Hot Letters:
Hot letters enable you to rapidly navigate even the most complex of screens without the use of the mouse. A Hot Letter is the letter in the name of a Pull-Down Menu, a Menu Option, or Push Button that is underlined. This letter is Hot because that Pull-Down Menu, Menu Option, or Push Button containing this letter can be quickly activated by pressing the Hot Letter or by pressing Alt key and the Hot Letter at the same time. To activate a Pull-Down Menu or a Push Button, you must press the Alt key and the Hot Letter at the same time. To activate a Menu Option, you only need to press the Hot Letter. Various buttons may be referred to by their Hot Key by using Alt + the Hot Letter. For example, Insert is Alt+I, Change is Alt+C, Add is Alt+A, Save is Alt+S, etc.
Pull-Down Menu:
The second line on the main window of each module is the Main Pull-Down Menu for the module. The first pull-down menu is always "File" and the last pull-down menu is always "Help". The menus that fall between "File" and "Help" are various other program actions and functions specific to that module.
Each of the pull-down menus has a Hot Letter which is underlined. There are two ways to activate a pull-down menu. You can press the Alt key in conjunction with the menu name's Hot Letter or you can point your mouse arrow at the desired pull-down menu and Left-Click the mouse once. Once a pull-down menu has been activated (opened), you can then use the left or right arrow keys to move between the various pull-down menus.
Pull-down menus are boxes of program functions that extend downward from each of the menu options on this Main Menu. Pull-down menus can contain Menu Options as well as Separator Lines and Toggle Selections. Menu options that have an arrow-head pointer at the end of its line lead to other menu boxes which will form just to the right of the arrow.
The Menu Options on a pull-down menu can be selected in one of three ways. You can press that Menu Option's Hot Letter*, you can use the up or down arrow keys to highlight the menu option and press the Enter Key to select it, or you can point your mouse cursor at the desired option and Left-Click the mouse once.
- When selecting an option from a pull-down menu, you only have to press the Hot Letter, you do not have to press the Alt key also. The Alt key plus the Hot Letter is used to activate (open) a Pull-Down Menu or to activate a Push Button within a window.
Push Buttons:
Push Buttons are used to perform a function or to branch to another window or process. Push Buttons can be activated by pressing the Alt Key in conjunction with the Button's Hot Letter, by pressing the Tab Key until the button is highlighted (outlined by dashes) and then press the Enter Key, or by moving the mouse arrow to the button and Left-Clicking once.
Some of the commonly used Push Buttons are as follows:
[ Insert ] This button is used to add a new record to a file. The Hot Key for the Insert button is Alt+I.
[ Add ] This button is used to save the information for a new record in a file. The Hot Key for the Add button is Alt+A.
[ Change ] This button is used to change information for a record in a file. The Hot Key for the Change button is Alt+C.
[ Save ] This button is used to save the changes/updates made to an existing record. The Hot Key for the Save button is Alt+S.
[ Delete ] This button is used to Delete a record from a file. NOTE: This button will only be available in those instances where a deletion is permitted by the program---you may not delete records in some files (e.g. General Ledger Account Name File). The Hot Key for the Delete button is Alt+D.
[ Cancel ] This button is used to ignore any changes that may have been made in the active window and to return to the previous window. The Esc (escape) Key will also function as a Cancel request. NOTE: If you add any information to an active window, and then press the [Cancel] button or the Esc (escape) Key to exit the window, a window titled Save Record will open. For additional information, see Save Record.
In general, Push Buttons will perform the function that is stated on the button itself. Each Push Button will be described within the Help text that pertains to that window.
View Buttons:
View Buttons (which may also be called look-up buttons) are represented by a question mark [?] next to a Data Entry field. They are used to View the possible selections associated with a Data Entry field. These View Buttons have no Hot Letter. They can only be selected by left-clicking the mouse once on the [?].
List Boxes:
List Boxes are scrolling areas in a window in which data is displayed. This data can be records from a file, possible selection options, or text to be viewed. There is a reverse-colored selector bar in a list box. If this is an Active List Box, then pressing the Enter Key will select the record which is highlighted by this Selector Bar. You can also Select an item in a List Box by highlighting the item and pressing the [Select] button or by moving the mouse cursor to the desired item and double-clicking the left mouse button. NOTE: In a Passive List Box (Display Only), the selector bar will have no useful function.
List Boxes may be bounded on the bottom and on the right by Scroll Bars. These Scroll Bars have arrows at each end with a Thumb Slide between the arrows and they work like any standard windows scroll bar. The information displayed in the window will move up/down or left/right by placing the mouse arrow on the Thumb Slide, pressing and holding the Left Mouse button, and dragging the Thumb Slide up/down or left/right. The arrows on the Scroll Bars are always active. Placing the Mouse arrow on one of these arrows and pressing and holding the left Mouse button will move the contents of the List Box in the direction of the arrow.
The Up and Down arrow keys will move the Selector Bar one line at a time. The PageUp and PageDown keys will scroll the contents of the List Box one page at a time. Ctrl-PageUp will display the first page of the contents of the List Box and Ctrl-PageDown will display the last page in the List Box.
Data Entry Fields:
Data Entry fields are used to input data or control commands into the program. Each data entry screen will have a certain number of data fields that are "required" and those "required" fields will be marked with an asterisk ( * ) .
There are four types of Data Entry fields: Strings, Numbers, Check Boxes and Radio Buttons.
Strings:
Strings are Alpha/Numeric fields. They will accept any printable character which can be entered from the keyboard. These fields are used for Names, Addresses, and other text based information. The following cursor control keys usually work in string fields:
Left Arrow Key (¬) - Moves the cursor one space to the Left.
Right Arrow Key (®) - Moves the cursor one space to the right.
Home Key - Moves the cursor to the beginning of the field.
End Key - Moves the cursor to the end of the field.
Delete (Del) Key - Deletes the character at the position of the cursor.
Backspace Key (¬) Deletes the character to the left of the cursor.
Esc Key - Functions in a similar fashion as the [Cancel] button. You may use the Esc Key to quickly close windows. Please note that any changes made in a window will not be saved if you close the window by using the Esc Key.
Tab Key (®½) - Accepts the field and moves the cursor to the next field.
Shift-Tab Key (½¬) - accepts the field and moves the cursor to the previous field.
Numbers:
Numbers are fields which accept only the Numbers 0 - 9 and the Decimal Point. Positive numbers are accepted by the Tab Keys. Negative Numbers are entered by pressing a Minus (-) Key either before or after the actual number is entered. Most keyboards have two minus keys. One is usually located on the top row of the keyboard to the right of the number zero. The other minus key is usually to the right of the numeric keypad on the keyboard and it is usually gray in color as opposed to white. The Decimal Point is not automatic. Numbers entered before the Decimal Point has been entered will appear to the left of the Decimal Point.
Check Boxes:
Check Boxes are True or False fields. They are represented by a square box to the left of the text of the prompt. An empty Check Box represents False and a Check Box with a check mark (Ö) in it represents True. Single-clicking the Left Mouse button will toggle the check mark (Ö) on and off. The Space Bar can also be used to toggle this check mark (Ö) on or off.
Radio Buttons:
Radio Buttons are used to select one of multiple options for a given field. Radio Buttons are represented by circles preceding the text of the option. All of the circles will be empty except for the selected option which will have a dot in the center of the circle. An option can be selected by single-clicking the left mouse button on that option. The Arrow Keys (¬ ® ¯) can also be used to select an option.
Design Considerations:
In order to accomplish a completely Integrated Business System, there were certain universal design considerations which all of the modules in this system will share.
Company As A Unit:
The Company is viewed as a unit or as a whole and not merely a collection of independent parts. This system is designed with the benefit of the entire company in mind, as opposed to just meeting the isolated, independent function of a particular unit of the company.
There are basically three functionally determined sections of our Company---Sales, Operations/Warehouse, and Accounting.
Sales:
The Sales/Lead Tracker module handles the sales function. This sales function is responsible for producing and managing prospective clients for the company. Its ultimate job is to bring the Prospect to Operations as a closed sale. The Sales/Lead Tracker module will then transfer all of the data accumulated on the Prospect to the Customer Service/Dispatch Manager module.
Operations/Warehouse:
The Customer Service/Dispatch Manager module will handle all of the requirements necessary to process any shipment. This includes paperwork, shipment registration, assigning personnel and equipment to jobs, billing functions, and final transfer of this information to the Accounts Receivable module.
The Move/Task Manager module provides complete control to the three primary phases of any move: Sales, Move Coordination, and Post Move/Claims. This module works in conjunction with the Sales/Lead Tracker and Customer Service/Dispatch Manager modules to provide a convenient, seamless, single-entry system.
The Warehouse Locator module is a warehouse management tool designed to manage the three basic elements of any warehouse: Locations, Storage Vaults, and the Shipments contained and located therein.
The Commercial Records Storage module will provide off-site management and storage of a company's business records (e.g., paper files, magnetic media, microfilms, x-rays, etc.).
Accounting:
The rest of the modules will handle the accounting needs. These modules include General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Bank Account Manager, Payroll Manager, Accounts Receivable, Storage Manager, Commissions Manager, Job Cost & Vehicle Profitability Manager.
Centralized Data:
The processing of the data is designed to be centralized in order to fully ensure that this common data is properly maintained and 100% accurate and up-to-date at all times. This means that the data actually resides in one physical location only. This could be the central network server's hard disk or the hard disk of the console in a multi-user operating system.
Common System Data Files:
There are certain data files that are common to the entire system. These are maintained by every module in the Integrated Business System that requires access to these files. It is the presence of these common data files that makes our Integrated Business System different from other business systems, which are merely collections of unrelated parts. None of our common data files are duplicated, no matter how many modules are added to the system.
The Common Data Files maintained are:
- Company Branch Name File
- Printer Control File
- System Configuration File
- Job Cost Files
- Commission Agent Files
- Vehicle Profitability Manager Files
- General Ledger Name File
Real-Time Processing:
All Data Processing is done in real-time. This means that any and all related data files in the system are updated immediately when each window is processed. This includes the local data for the given module, as well as the system data maintained by other modules. This ensures that everyone on the network has access to the most up-to-date information possible. We feel that the value of 100% up-to-date information is of such a benefit to the Company as a whole that it overrides any other data concerns.
