Great Plains Dynamics - Interface Overview



SmartList Interface Items

You can use SmartList to create customized inquiries to provide easier, faster access to information stored in Great Plains, including information about accounts, customers, vendors, transactions, and items. You can print or export the search results, as well as displaying them on the screen.

SmartList uses sets of predefined search criteria, called objects, to make searching easy. The objects are listed on the left side of the SmartList window, as shown in the following illustration. Some of the criteria within each SmartList object have been used to create a default search, or view, for each object. By modifying the view you can create a variety of customized views.

You also can add or remove criteria—which are represented in the SmartList window as columns—from any SmartList view. There are many columns available for each view. To make the views easier to read and understand, use as few columns as possible, while still providing the information you’re looking for. You can add additional columns to a view, if necessary. The only limitation is that columns you add must be included in the object. Remember that columns can be part of the object yet not be visible in the default view.

| |[pic] |

|[pic] | |

| | |

|When you add or remove | |

|columns from a SmartList | |

|view, you are manipulating | |

|only the view; not the | |

|actual object itself. | |

|SmartList objects can’t be | |

|modified. You can save | |

|modified views to make it | |

|easier to generate the same| |

|inquiry in the future. | |

SmartList Buttons

|[pic] |Search button |

| |Use the Search window to change the default view for any SmartList data list. Search criteria don’t have to be included in |

| |the view displayed in the SmartList window. For example, you could search for items by list price without displaying the |

| |List Price field in the results. For additional Search button details, please see the section of this document named |

| |“SmartList Searches.” |

|[pic] |Column button |

| |Launches the Change Column Display window to add and remove columns, rename them and change their relative positions. See |

| |the next section of this document titled “SmartList Column Customization” for additional instructions on this button. |

|[pic] |Refresh button |

| |Clears the currently displayed information (if any) and runs the query again. This will then update all the columns with |

| |the latest information. |

|[pic] |Favorites button |

| |Use the Add or Remove Favorites window to save search definitions you want to use more than once. The search criteria, |

| |columns displayed, order of columns, sorting column, and column width will be saved with your search definition. |

|[pic] |Print button |

| |Prints the data generated by SmartList. Dynamics allows you to print to either a printer, the screen or to a file on your |

| |computer. |

|[pic] |Excel button |

| |Exports the data generated by the SmartList to a Microsoft Excel document. |

|[pic] |Word button |

| |Exports the data generated by the SmartList to a Microsoft Word document. |

SmartList Column Customization

Use the Change Column Display window to add and remove columns, rename them and change their positions.

To change the columns

1. Choose Columns from the toolbar.

2. When the new column name is highlighted in black, you can enter a new display name if you want to change the name of a column.

1. Make any or all of the following changes:

• Add a column to the display by choosing Add. The Columns window will open. Select the item you want to display.

• Remove a column by choosing Remove, then selecting the column you want to remove.

• Move a column to a different position in the list by selecting the column you want to move, then using the move buttons to resposition it.

• To redisplay the default columns, choose Default in the Change Column Display window.

4. Choose OK to close the Change Column Display window. The SmartList window will reflect your changes.

SmartList Searches

Each time you click the Search button, a window will open that looks approximately like the image below. In this window you can click the Lookup button [pic] to open a list of all available columns for the search. If you wish to add columns to the search parameters, please consult the section above named “SmartList Column Customization.”

[pic]

Search Dialog Items of Note

|[pic] |Field Comparison |

| |Use the Field Comparison box to get results based on comparisons of similar types of fields. When you |

| |mark the Field Comparison check box for a definition, you also can select a comparison type, such as |

| |less than, equal to or greater than, then choose a second field to compare to. You can set up a field |

| |comparison for each of the four definitions in the Search window. |

|[pic] |Maximum Records |

| |Use the Maximum Records setting to limit the number of items your search returns. This is useful if |

| |there are too many records to look thru comfortably. Be aware that if you want a complete set of all |

| |data, you must enter a number of maximum records that is higher than the actual number of records for |

| |the search you are running. Generally, 100,000 maximum records is more than enough for most queries. |

|[pic] |Search Type |

| |Use the Search Type selections to specify whether all or some of the search definitions must be |

| |matched before a record can be displayed. For example, the Search window allows you to search data in |

| |an object using up to four criteria. If you want each element of the definition to match before |

| |displaying a record, select Match All. If you want to see a record displayed as long as it matches at |

| |least one of your search criteria, select Match 1 or More. |

|[pic] |Clear All button |

| |Clicking this button will clear every input box. Basically this is a reset button that allows you to |

| |start all over again. |

|[pic] |Columns button |

| |This opens the Columns window so you can add more data columns. Please refer to the above section |

| |entitled “Search Column Customization” for more details. |

|[pic] |Order By button |

| |See the section below named “Specifying Sort Order & Priority.” |

|[pic] |OK button |

| |This button starts the search based on the criteria specified in the Search dialog box. |

|[pic] |Cancel button |

| |This quits out of the Search window and returns you to the main SmartList window. All your inputs are |

| |lost when you click Cancel. |

Saving Favorite Searches

Use the Add or Remove Favorites window to save search definitions you want to use more than once. The search criteria, columns displayed, order of columns, sorting column, and column width will be saved with your search definition.

To save favorite searches:

1. Choose Favorites from the toolbar.

1. In the Add or Remove Favorites window, enter a name for the search.

1. Select the users you want this search to be visible to.

1. Choose the Add button to add this search to your Favorites list.

Specifying Sort Order & Priority

Use the Select Order By window to specify the order in which records are sorted. This window allows you to search for the top records according to a specific criterion. For example, you can search for your best customers by order amount, salesperson volume, or top selling items. In addition, you can choose to sort each of the columns in either ascending or descending order independently of how you chose to sort the others. The Select Order By window is available depending on your database type.

|[pic] |Clicking a column heading in the SmartList window might appear to produce the same results as the following steps for producing a |

| |“top-10” search. However, the results will be limited by the number of records you included in your search, as specified on the |

| |Maximum Records field. To produce an accurate “top-10” search of all your data, complete the following steps for using the Select |

| |Order By window. |

To set sort order & priority

1. Choose Search from the SmartList toolbar.

2. Enter search criteria.

1. Click the Order By button.

1. From the Available Columns list, select the columns that should be used to sort the records in your view. For example, to sort a view of invoices by document amount, select Document Amount from the Available Columns list, then choose Insert.

1. Choose OK to close the Select Order By window and return to the Search window.

1. Choose Columns to open the Change Column Display window.

1. Choose Add to open the Columns window. Add the Order By Sequence column, then choose OK to close the Columns window.

1. Choose OK to close the Change Column Display window.

1. Choose OK to close the Search window and display the view.

1. Click the Order By Sequence column to sort the view in the order you chose in the Select Order By window. The Order By Sequence column shows the order each item in your should be sorted in, based on the sorting method you selected in the Select Order By window.

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