SYSTEM UTILITIES DOCUMENTATION UPDATES

Transcription

1 DOCUMENTATION UPDATES Date Description Where Changed 10/14/02 Information on how to set up an additional user and.forward file for enabling the E-Shopper software has been added for system administrators. 9/23/02 Added the Import/Export Templates screen that had been missing, and the step of pressing the [Insert] key to add a new data import/export template. 08/15/02 In the Auxiliary option of the Job Control module, the Hours value for the job control finish time can be manually entered. Prior to this feature, the Hours value was chosen from a browse. 06/18/02 In the Stock Outs Due to Material Allocation workflow event, an is sent based on the purchase class of the item s location record. If the location item purchase class is set to 0 (zero), the system checks the item purchase class on the company record for this item. Prior to this change, the was sent based on just the purchase class of the company record. 3/29/02 The new Data Import/Export feature has been added to this manual. P21 Mail chapter, in the Reading Mail section, in the Verify Available Stock from Your Other Prophet 21 Systems subsection (page 107) Data Import/Export chapter, in the Templates section, in the Template Screen subsection (page 17) JCMs and Macros chapter, in the / Beeper Notification if JCM/Macro Does Not Finish section, in the Auxiliary subsection, the Finish Time definition (page 172) Workflow chapter, in the Stock Outs Due to Material Allocation section (page 208) Data Import/Export chapter (page 14)

2 YSTEM TILITIES

3 The documentation in this publication is provided pursuant to a Sales and Licensing Contract for the Prophet 21 System entered into by and between Prophet 21 and the Purchaser to whom this documentation is provided ( License Agreement ). In addition, the licensed software to which this documentation refers may be supported in accordance with a customer support agreement by and between the same parties ( Support Agreement ). All warranties, conditions of use, transfer restrictions, and other provisions in the License Agreement or Support Agreement which are applicable to Licensed Software, are applicable to this publication. In addition, this publication may include inadvertent technical inaccuracies or typographical errors for which Prophet 21 is not responsible. Changes may be periodically made to this publication; these changes will be incorporated in new editions of the publication. Any questions about the material contained in the publication should be addressed to the Prophet 21 Customer Support Department at Nothing in this statement amends or extends the terms of your agreement with Prophet 21, including any warranties that might be included in our products. Warranties for such agreements are set forth in your agreement with Prophet 21. Improvements and/or changes to the Licensed Software described in this publication may be made by Prophet 21 at any time without notice. DOCUMENTATION CONVENTIONS The eyeglass symbol () indicates a field on which you can browse. The star ( ) indicates the default for a field. To allow for the widest possible parameters when printing a report or performing a function, accept the defaults for all of the parameter fields. To accept the defaults, either escape through all the fields, or press [Enter] without specifying any values. Generally, samples in the documentation are shown using the default values. Start and End parameters define the limits to a range of information you will print on a report. If information does not appear on a report, it may be because the information was excluded from the Start, End range. For a detailed explanation on how maintenance screens function, refer to the Tour Guide manual. Use the search tool in Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.05c or higher to find which manual describes a specific module, job, or function. 10/14/02 Prophet 21 Acclaim Version 13 The Prophet 21 system and Prophet 21 Acclaim are registered trademarks, and Prophet 21 and ScratchPad are trademarks of Prophet 21. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective companies. iii

4 Table of Contents 1 LOGON/LOGOFF 12 Logon 12 Logging into the System 12 Session Defaults 13 Logoff 13 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT 14 Overview 14 Templates 14 Interface to the Import/Export 15 Template Browse 15 Template Screen 16 Mapped/Screen Columns 19 Viewing Different Information 19 Adding Mapped Columns 22 Moving Field Positions 24 Changing Characteristics of the Fields 26 Importing/Exporting Records 27 Exporting Records from Acclaim 27 Important Export Screens 28 Acclaim Export Procedure 30 Importing Records into Acclaim 35 Important Import Screens 35 Acclaim Import Procedures 38 Reviewing the Import 41 Rows 41 Import Columns 43 Template Columns 45 Tips on Dealing with Errors 47 Import/Export File Format Types 48 dbase III 48 Delimited Text 49 Fixed-Length 50 XML 51 iv

5 3 ONLINE HELP 53 Accessing Acclaim Online Help 53 From the Toolbox 53 Pressing [F1] 54 Navigating Through Online Help 55 Search All Help 56 New Features 57 FAQs 58 FAQs by Function 59 Find Key Words 60 Search FAQs 60 Menu Help 62 Browse Help 63 Screen Help 63 4 PRINTER OPTIONS 64 System Printer Options 65 SpoolQ Entry 67 Printing to 68 Requirements Optional Packages 69 Other 69 Addresses 69 Printer Options 70 Printing from PO-Print or Invoice-Recall 70 Sample: Printing to Without Special Formatting 72 Sample: Printing to With Special Formatting 73 Printing to HTML Files 73 5 MESSAGE MODULE 77 Sending 78 Port 78 User ID 79 Group 79 Message Header Information 81 v

6 Enter Message Text 82 Insert Message Text 84 Sending Options 85 Reading 86 New/Old 86 Read Message Text 88 New/Old by User ID 90 New/Old by Port# 90 Group Entry 90 Enter a Message Group 91 Edit a Message Group 92 Delete a Message Group 92 Purge 93 Old 93 Old by User ID 94 Old by Port# 94 All Unread 95 Unread by Port# 95 Appendix 96 Messages with On-Site Users 96 6 P21 MAIL 97 Accessing P21 Mail 97 From an AIX Prompt 97 From Acclaim 98 Main Menu 98 Your P21 Mail Address 99 Internet Address 99 Internal Address 99 Attaching a Name to an AIX User ID 100 P21 Mail Navigation 100 P21 Mail PowrDrill Options 101 New 102 Preparing Mail 102 Editing Text 103 Sending Mail 104 Returned Mail 104 Reading Mail 105 vi

7 Read Options 106 Reading a Task 107 Verify Available Stock from Your Other Prophet 21 Systems 107 Pricing and Availability 108 P21 Mail 108 Replying To a Message 109 Forwarding a Message 110 Save 110 Delete 111 Messages 111 Folders 111 Multiple Messages 112 Print 112 Mail Defaults 113 Address Maintenance 113 Public Addresses 114 Private Addresses 115 Entering a New Address 115 Editing an Address 115 Deleting an Address 115 Public Group Addresses 116 Private Group Addresses 116 Creating a Mail Group 117 Mail Group options 117 Add Addresses 117 Delete Mail Group 118 Saving Changes SPOOLQ 119 Getting Started 119 SpoolQ Entry 119 Main Menu 120 Spool Queue 120 SpoolQ Edit 123 Print SpoolQ Entries 124 Print SpoolQ Troubleshooting 125 List 127 Sample: Spool Queue Entries List 127 Purge 129 vii

8 Appendix 130 Spooling File Size DAYS INSTEAD OF DATES 131 Using Days Instead of Dates JCMS AND MACROS 133 Job Control Module 133 Main Menu 134 Set Up Job Queue 136 Edit Job Queue 137 Delete Job Queue 137 Copy Job Queue 138 Create Spec 138 Edit Spec 139 Delete Spec 140 Copy Spec 140 Scan JobQs for Job 141 Scan JobQs for Spec 142 Restore JobQ Names 142 JobQ Names List 143 Sample: JobQ Name List 143 JobQ Details List 144 Sample: JobQ Detail List 144 Spec Names List 145 Sample: Spec Record Name List 145 Spec Details List 146 Sample: JobQ Detail List 147 Execute your JobQ 147 Appendices 148 Appendix 1: JCM with Timer 148 Appendix 2: Job Control Overview 150 What is Job Control? 150 What is Job Control used for? 150 How is Job Control set up? 150 How is a JobQ initialized? 151 How is a JobQ run after it is initialized? 151 Things to consider 151 Macros 151 Creating Single Macros via System-Recorded Keystrokes 152 Record the Macro 153 Stop the Macro 154 Play the Macro 154 viii

9 Modify the Macro During Playback 156 Edit the Macro 159 Key Sequence Field 160 Erasing the Macro 163 Creating Single or Queue (Multiple) Macros via Manually Entering Keystrokes 163 Macro Maintenance 165 Job Macros (Single Macros) 166 Queue Macros (Multiple Macros) 166 Copying Macros 169 /Beeper Notification if JCM/Macro Does Not Finish 169 Job 170 Auxiliary 171 Monitor 172 How It Works 174 JCM/Macro Change Report 174 Job 174 JC-CHECK Overview 175 Check 176 Restore WORKFLOW 179 Automated Workflow Management 180 Workflow Options 183 AR Payment Entry 184 Data Change 188 Edit Of PO Expected Date Past Req Date 189 LPU Orders 191 Moving Average Cost Change by Percentage 193 Other Modules 195 Item 195 Material 195 Payables 195 Work Edit 195 Pricing Service 195 Secondary Processing 196 Material 196 Material Receipt 197 New Customer at Order Entry 199 Orders Based on Profit Percentage 200 Protected Stock Quantity Allocated 202 Quantity Adjustments (Ship Edit) 204 Shipment Confirmation 205 Stock Outs Due to Material Allocation 207 Suspended Orders 208 ix

10 Unvalidated Orders 210 Create Message Group 211 Example: Creating a New Workflow Event 212 Deleting a Workflow Event 214 Print Report 214 Sample: Workflow Event Report CONTACTS 217 Contacts 217 Customer Contact Maintenance 218 Add Mode 220 View Mode 220 Edit Mode 221 Browsing 221 Vendor Contact Maintenance 224 Personal Contact Maintenance 225 Customer Contact Report 226 Vendor Contact Report 227 Personal Contact Report 227 Customer and Vendor Maintenance 228 Adding New Contacts 228 Customer and Vendor Change Modules 229 Toolbox SETTING UP WEB QUERIES 231 Requirements for Web Queries 231 Knowledge 231 Programs 232 Setup 232 Configuring Web Queries 232 Establishing the Initial Connection 232 Further AIX & Prophet 21 System Configurations 233 Customizing Web Queries 233 Appendix: Setup Required for Web Queries 237 Setup Required for Accounts Receivable Web Queries 238 Accounts Receivable Input Parameters 238 Accounts Receivable Output Parameters 238 Setup Required for Invoice Recall Web Queries 239 Invoice Recall Input Parameters 239 Invoice Recall Output Parameters 240 Setup Required for Open Orders, Open Quotes, and ScratchPad Web Queries _241 Open Orders, Open Quotes, and ScratchPad Input Parameters 241 Open Orders, Open Quotes, and ScratchPad Output Parameters 242 x

11 Setup Required for Who-Bought-What Web Queries 243 Who-Bought-What Input Parameters 243 Who-Bought-What Output Parameters 243 xi

12 OGON OGOFF LOGON Prophet 21 Acclaim has a logon hierarchy that controls the use of the system. The system is designed so that a casual user is unable to logon and use the system without a valid user ID and password. This protects the system from unauthorized use. For example, you would not want an order entry clerk at Location 2 entering orders for Location 5, or data entry personnel for Branch 2 adjusting stock for Branch 4. To ensure that the logon hierarchy is maintained, all users must logoff the system when they no longer need to use the system. This returns the terminal to the AIX prompt and locks the system from unauthorized use. Note: Autoboot ports, which boot directly into the system, return to a Job prompt and not to an AIX prompt. LOGGING INTO THE SYSTEM To safeguard the system from unauthorized use, you must logon to the system. When you logon to the system, it prompts you for a user ID. User IDs can only be assigned by authorized personnel in the User Base module of the system. For more information about assigning passwords, refer to the System Administration manual. Once you enter a valid ID, the system prompts you for a password. The system only prompts for a password if the user ID has a password assigned to it. A password is invisible as you enter it. After you type the password, press [Enter]. The system allows a maximum of three attempts to enter a correct password before it returns to the User ID prompt. If you type an invalid password for the user ID, an Invalid Password message displays, and the system prompts you again for the password. Users can change their own passwords in the Password module. To prevent ports from being left at a Logon prompt, the system automatically returns to the Job prompt if you do not type something at the User ID prompt or the Password prompt within 30 seconds. 12

13 1 LOGON/LOGOFF During Logon, the system records the date and time for the user ID. You can access the date and time of the last successful logon of this user ID in PQL. This information is located in a user table in PQL. SESSION DEFAULTS If session defaults exist for a user ID, and the user ID has the ability to change these defaults, the Sessions Defaults screen displays after you logon. All programs executed by the user ID use the session defaults. Any changes to the session defaults only affect the current session. These defaults can also be changed within each module. Authorized personnel can assign session defaults in the User Base module. If you do not need to make changes to the session defaults, press [Enter]; the system main menu appears. If the user ID does not have the ability to change the session defaults, the main menu of the system appears: LOGOFF You can logoff or exit the system from the system main menu, or by typing LOGOFF in the jump to box. When you run the job LOGOFF, the system automatically brings you to either an AIX prompt or a Job prompt. Note: Autoboot ports, which boot directly into the system, return to a Job prompt, and not to an AIX prompt. If any Progress processes exist for the port, they are removed at this time. 13

14 ATA MPORT XPORT Data from the system databases (items, customers, vendors, etc.) can now be imported to and exported from the Acclaim system. OVERVIEW Data can be imported and exported through maintenance screens. Import/Export Templates are set up for Acclaim screens to define what they are importing from and what they are exporting to. The import actually passes through the Acclaim maintenance screens. All the data receives the same validation that manual user-entry does. Any error message seen during manual data entry will also be seen during import. The files used for import/export can be of these types: XML Flat file (fixed-length or delimited) DBase III (DBF 3) TEMPLATES An import/export template is record that holds a description of the format of data you want to import or export. For example, you may have two vendor product CDs to import to Acclaim; one from Vendor A and the second from Vendor B. The two vendors probably don t store their codes in the same way, so you need to create a template for each vendor. The template for Vendor A follows these rules: Columns 1 through 26 are for item code Columns 27 through 52 are the description Columns 53 through 60 are the price The template for Vendor B follows these rules: Each field is separated by the tab character Each line is a different item record Columns 1, 2 and 5 are the code, description, and price 14

15 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT These rules are kept in the template. They are built with an interface in which you choose fields from a screen and describe their positions in the import file. INTERFACE TO THE IMPORT/EXPORT There are new browses, screens, and options for the Data Import/Export software: A template browse A template screen Import/Export option from the Utilities main menu under System Administration Import/Export option from the F7 Toolbox when on maintenance TEMPLATE BROWSE This browse lists all the templates for Import/Export. Each template corresponds to a maintenance screen, such as Item, Vendor, Customer, etc. There can be many templates for one screen. You can access the Import/Export Templates Browse by Screen by selecting System Administration on the main menu; then choose Utilities on the System Admin menu, and finally Import/Export on the Utilities menu: 15

16 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT The following screen appears: The title of each template is displayed. Change the sequence of the display by pressing the [Tab] key. The template can be shown in order of: Project: The name of the project for the import/export template Name: The name of the data import/export template Screen: The maintenance screen assigned to the template TEMPLATE SCREEN The Template Screen is the interface used to describe your set of rules for the import/export file. Fields are chosen from the Acclaim maintenance screens and are defined in how they appear in the file. The information defined can be the column in which the field resides, the character position range, or the XML tag name. 16

17 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT To see a template screen, choose a screen from the Import/Export Template Browse that appears after the Import/Export option is selected from the Utilities menu: You can also invoke the Template browse directly from a maintenance screen by pressing [F7], then Import/Export. If you do not see that option, then the screen is not enabled for Import/Export. When Customer Maintenance is selected, the Import/Export Templates screen appears: 17

18 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT To add a new template, press the [Insert] key. The Data Import/Export screen appears: Name Project... name of the data import/export template.... name of the project for the import/export template. Can be used to group many templates together for easy viewing in the browse. Screen... the maintenance screen assigned to this template. This field is informational only. General Information Scheme... describes the layout of the file. dbaseiii A file in dbase (*.dbf) format, which almost all databases and spreadsheets can convert. See page 48 for more information. XML An XML file with tag names for fields. If XML is chosen, two additional fields appear on the screen. In XML format, Entity is the name of the main screen that is linked to the template. Root holds the name of the system from which the data is sourced. Inside the XML document, Entity and Root appear as tags. See page 51 for more information. Delimited A delimited flat (*.txt) file; for example, each field is separated by a TAB character. If Delimited is selected, two additional fields appear. Col Delim defines the column delimiter (Comma, TAB, CR, LF, CRLF). Row Delim identifies the row delimiter (Comma, TAB, CR, LF, CRLF). Unix systems tend to use LF to separate records, while Macintosh systems use CR, and PCs use CRLF. See page 49 for more information. Fixed A fixed-length flat file. For example, item description is 27 characters long and is in the second column, etc. See page 50 for more information. 18

19 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT Desc... a general description of the template. Example description: Import for Vendor Acme s CD. Enable... determines if a template is enabled for import and/or export. The next two fields actually hold the values for enabling/disabling. Export... indicates whether the template is enabled for export functions. Yes The template is enabled for exporting data. No The template is not enabled for exporting. Import... defines whether the template is enabled for import functions. Yes The template is enabled for importing data. No The template is not enabled for importing. Note: Not all maintenance windows have records that can be both imported and exported. The Export and Import fields above will indicate when this is the case. Mapped/Screen Columns... fields to be used from the screen for the template. For more information on setting up these fields, refer to the next section. Col... sequence number of the column. When using dbaseiii as the scheme, note that column external names have a limit of being ten characters long. All other scheme values have a limit of twenty characters. Ext Name... external name of the field. Used to identify columns in Acclaim in import or export files, because these files are often limited to character lengths shorter than Acclaim database field names. Description... brief description of the field. MAPPED/SCREEN COLUMNS Viewing Different Information Tip! In database terminology, a column is the same as a field, and a row is the same as a record (e.g., the Description field within an item record is the same as the Description column within an item row). Different views of information are provided when you have selected a column in the Mapped/Screen Columns window. With the first column in this window highlighted, press [Tab] to bring up the Index window. Depending 19

20 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT on what view you are currently seeing, you can toggle to a different one by choosing an option from the Index window. If you are currently viewing the Mapped Columns Browse by Name window that shows the current columns that you have selected for your template, pressing [Tab] displays the following Index and its choices: Index Col... the Mapped Columns Browse by window will be sequenced by Column number. Name... the window is sequenced by column name. Alternate Screen Columns... a view of all columns that can be chosen for the template are shown. Choose the column you want by highlighting it and then press [Enter]. 20

21 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT Choose Screen Columns from the Index window to view the Screen Columns Browse by Seq screen that displays all columns that can be chosen for the template: You can choose the columns for the template by highlighting the column name and pressing [Enter]. If you want to sort the list of columns by something other than Seq, press [Tab] again and you will see the following Index menu: Index Seq... the Mapped Columns Browse by window will be sequenced by sequence number. 21

22 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT Name... the window is sequenced by column name. Desc... the window is sequenced by description. Alternate Mapped Columns... a view of all columns that can be chosen for the template are shown. Choose the column you want by highlighting it and then press [Enter]. Adding Mapped Columns Choosing columns for the template can also be accomplished by choosing them through the Mapped Columns Browse by Col window. Columns for the template are set up by pressing [Insert] after highlighting a column in this window. You will be able to choose from a list of all the available columns. If the [Insert] key has no effect when on the Template browse, you need to enable it. To enable the template browse, access the Company module and choose Options, then Acclaim Screens. Scroll down to "Data Import/Export Template". Press [Ctrl][E]. Set Browse to Enable. Press [F2]. Repeat those steps for "Data Import/Export Field. Highlight the mapped column that you see and press [Insert] to add more mapped columns. 22

23 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT When [Insert] is pressed, the following screen appears: Screen Column... name of screen column. Choose a name from the browse that is available on this field. Press [F3] when this field is active to see a selection of names. Sequence... sequence number of this new column within the template. This field is informational only. General Information Name... code name of the field. Desc... brief description of the field. Key... a field that is used to uniquely identify a record. For example, the item code is the key field in the item record. For customized items, the customer code and the item code are both key fields. For import, key fields are required, and will be mapped by default. If you unmap them, you will only be able to export using that template. Readonly... identifies key fields that cannot be edited. Information is only viewable in these fields. Data Type... identifies the type of field. Data can be either character or numeric. 23

24 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT Width... the width of the column or length of the field. For example, the item code has a length of 26 characters. Format... layout of the field. Format is mostly used for decimal values. For example, >>9.99 represents a number between 0 and 999 with two decimals. The format syntax is Progress. It corresponds to how the data is displayed on the maintenance screen, and cannot be edited. Export Info Enabled... indicates if this column is enabled for export. Yes This column can be exported from the system to a database file. No This column cannot be exported. Import Info Enabled... identifies if this column is enabled for import. Yes The column can be imported into the system from a database file. No This column cannot be imported. Moving Field Positions Column sequence can be changed by using the Move option found on the PowrDrill. For example, in the following screen the Bill-To Street Address 1 column should be before the Bill-To Street Address 2 column. 24

25 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT To reverse the positions of these two fields, choose the column you want to move by highlighting it. Press [F6] to access the PowrDrill and choose the Move option: When Move is selected, the following screen appears. Press [F3] on the To field to choose the new position from the browse: After pressing [Enter], the fields will move to their proper positions: 25

26 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT Changing Characteristics of the Fields Column information can be changed by using the Maintenance option found on the PowrDrill. For example, if you want to make the Ext Name or the Description more descriptive of what the CustCode column represents, you would use the Maintenance option. To access the Maintenance option, select the column you want in the Mapped/Screen Columns window by highlighting it. Press [F6] to access the PowrDrill and select the Maintenance option: 26

27 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT This will open the following window: The Screen Column field in the Import/Export Column window displays the column name. You can use this field to navigate to any available screen column. You can edit the Name, Desc, and Width of the column however you like. If you change the name or width of the column, it will not change the name of the column in the Acclaim database; it will only change the name for the purposes of identifying it for import in this feature. You might change the value in Width if you are importing data that the Acclaim application did not create; the widths in this case may not match the widths assigned in Acclaim. It is not recommended that you edit this when importing a file that Acclaim has created. IMPORTING/EXPORTING RECORDS This section explains the process of importing records to and exporting records from Acclaim. See the Import/Export File Format Types section on page 48 for more information about the file types used for imports and exports. EXPORTING RECORDS FROM ACCLAIM There are two ways to get to the export process; one is via Acclaim maintenance screens, as described in the following section. The other is to use the Utilities module in the System Administration module. Press [F7] on the Utilities main menu to access the Toolbox, and select Import/Export. This will put you at Step 4 in the Acclaim Export Procedure section on page

28 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT IMPORTANT EXPORT SCREENS There are two screens not previously mentioned that are important to the export process. The first is the Data Import/Export screen. This screen appears after you have chosen your template and used the PowrDrill to select Export, and it allows you to name your export file, and determine which records will be exported. Data Import/Export Name... the name of the export. As defined when the template was set up. Project... the project name of the export. As defined when the template was set up. Screen... the maintenance screen from which data will be exported. Export Data Format... the format in which the data will be imported. This column is not editable. Export... determines if the export will run. If this is set to No, the export will not run. The current settings will be saved when you press [F2]. File... the name of the file to which the data will be exported. 28

29 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT Sort By... allows you to select which field comes first in the export file. In conjunction with the Start and End fields, this determines which records will be exported. Options include all the fields to be exported. Start... determines where the export will start exporting records based alphanumerically on the data in the column specified in the Sort By field. For example, BETH in the Start field would begin the export from the record with the first four letters matching BETH, and continue until the value in the End field. End... determines where the export will stop exporting records based alphanumerically on the data in the column specified in the Sort By field. For example, PHI in the End field would stop the export on the record PHI, or on the record directly preceding PHI, alphabetically (e.g., PHANTA). Note: Both the Start and the End fields must be populated for the export to succeed. The second important screen in the export process is the Export Status screen. It appears while the export is processing, and after it is finished. Data Import/Export Name... the name of the export. As defined when the template was set up. Project... the project name of the export. As defined when the template was set up. Screen... the maintenance screen from which data will be exported. 29

30 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT Export Status File... name of the file exporting/exported. Started... data and time that the file started exporting. Elapsed... amount of time it has taken the export to process. Ended... data and time that the file finished exporting. Status... status of the export (Exporting or Complete). Message... displays additional status (Active or Finished). Read... number of records that have exported. Skipped... number of records that have been skipped. Skip (Delim) Written... number of records skipped due to delimiter problems. If you set up a delimited text file export, and the delimiting character appears in your data, then the export program will skip that record because an import program will not know the difference between a delimiting character in the data, and one used to break columns or records.... number of records written to the export file. Sort Column... the column by which the finished export file is sorted. Primary Key... displays the primary keys of exports as they are processed. ACCLAIM EXPORT PROCEDURE Use the following instructions to export records from Acclaim. 1. Open the maintenance window that contains the fields for the data you want to export. 30

31 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT 2. Press [F7]. The following menu appears: 3. From the Toolbox menu, select Import/Export. The following screen appears (names and projects your system displays will differ from the screen capture): 31

32 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT 4. Use the arrow keys to navigate to the desired template, and select your template by pressing [Enter]. The following screen appears: 5. Press the down arrow key to get to General Information. 6. Browse the Scheme field to select the desired file format type. Review the columns you are exporting, if desired. 7. Press [F2] to confirm. 8. Press [F6] to open the Import/Export PowrDrill. 32

33 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT 9. Select Export Data. The following screen appears: 10. Ensure that Yes is selected in the Export field. If it is not, then the export will not run. 11. Name the file. Make certain that you maintain the file name extension (.dbf,.txt,.xml). 12. If you want to change the sorting of the output file, browse on Sort By. This allows you to select any column that you are exporting. 13. Select the start for the export. The system will export everything greater than or equal to the characters specified. 14. Select the end for the export. The system will stop exporting everything after the characters specified. 33

34 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT 15. Press [F2] to start the import. The following screen appears: 16. When the import finishes, press any key to return to the General Information window in Imports/Exports. 34

35 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT IMPORTING RECORDS INTO ACCLAIM This section will help you to import records into Acclaim from an external file. IMPORTANT IMPORT SCREENS There are several screens not previously mentioned that are important to the import process. The first is the Data Import/Export screen. This screen appears after you have confirmed your template, and it allows you to enter the name of your import file, and determine how your data will be imported and viewed. Data Import/Export Name... the name of the import. As defined when the template was set up. Project... the project name of the import. As defined when the template was set up. Screen... the maintenance screen from which data will be imported. Import Parameters Format... the format in from which the data will be imported. This column is not editable. Import... determines if the import will run. If this is set to No, the import will not run. The current settings will be saved when you press [F2]. 35

36 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT File... the name of the file to which the data will be imported. You can browse this field for available files by pressing [F3]. Preserve View Data... the mode of the import. Test tests the import. Does not save data; only checks for errors. New only imports new records. Update only imports records that already exist. Both imports both new and existing records.... allows the viewing of data that was imported. No do not view the data after it has been imported. Before view the data before it is imported (i.e., after it has been tested and before it has been saved). After view the data after it has been imported. Both view the data both before and after it has been imported. The second important screen in the import process is the Import Status screen. It appears while the import is processing, and after it is finished. Data Import/Export Name... the name of the import. As defined when the template was set up. Project... the project name of the import. As defined when the template was set up. Screen... the maintenance screen from which data will be imported. 36

37 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT Import Status File... name of the file importing/imported. Started... data and time that the file started importing. Elapsed... amount of time it has taken the import to process. Ended... data and time that the file finished importing. Status... status of the import. Importing the import is currently processing. Complete the import process is complete. Init Error an error occurred during import. See error text for details, described on page 42. Message... displays additional status (Active or Finished). Read... number of records that have been processed in total. Equal to Skipped + Errors + Unchanged + Modified + New. Skipped... number of records that have been skipped. Errors... number of records that have any errors. Unchanged... number of records that have not changed; they match the database. Modified... number of records that have modified some existing records in Acclaim. You can see what will be/has been modified by reviewing the data, using functionality described starting on page 41. New... number of records added to the Acclaim database. Primary Key... displays the primary keys of imports as they are processed. Data Errors... number of records with data errors. Generally occurs when data does not match the data type (e.g., if you tried to import letters into the product group field, where only numbers are allowed). The record is not imported. Key Errors... number of records with key errors. Occurs when a key is missing in a record in the import file. The record is not 37

38 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT imported. Dupl Keys... number of records with duplicate keys. Occurs when data from a key column is listed twice. One of the records goes into this category and is not imported. Validate Errors... number of records with validate errors. Occurs when you try to import data that requires an existing record (e.g., if you try to import contact information for a customer that does not yet exist in the system, and your auxiliary table is set to Validate or Both, it would generate this error). The record with the error is not imported. Update Errors... number of records with update errors. The record with the error is not imported. Updated... number of records that are new or modified in the database into which you are importing the records. ACCLAIM IMPORT PROCEDURES Use the following instructions to import records into Acclaim. 1. Follow Steps 1 8 above, starting on page 30; the process for imports up through Step 8 is identical to the process for exports. 38

39 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT 2. In the Import/Export PowrDrill, select Import Data. The following screen appears: 3. Ensure that the value in the Import field is set to Yes. 4. Type the name of the file to import in the File field. Be careful to maintain the correct file name extension (.dbf,.txt.,.xml). 5. Browse on the Preserve field and select a setting. 6. Browse on the View Data field and select a setting. 39

40 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT 7. Press the [F2] key to begin the import process. The Import Status screen appears: 8. When the import is finished, the View Import Data menu appears: 9. You can review the import now if you have elected to do so on the Import Parameters screen, or you can highlight Proceed and press [Enter] to import the data into your database. The View Import Data menu will pop up again after the import is finished if you have it set to view both before and after the import. For more information on the options in the View Import Data menu, refer to the next section, Reviewing the Import. 40

41 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT REVIEWING THE IMPORT You can view your import data, either before you conduct the database update but after the test of the data (if you selected Before or Both in the View field), or after the update (if you selected After or Both in the View field). Viewing the data can help you troubleshoot your import files if you get errors, and double-check to ensure that the import is performing properly. There are three options for viewing your data, and they are listed in the View Import Data menu, as shown above in Step 8 of the import process (note that the Proceed menu option will not be present if you have already imported your data). Rows Select the Rows option to view import information on each row of the import file. Each row contains a record, so if you are importing items, all the information imported for a single item will be contained within a single row. When you select this option, the following menu appears: Selecting one of the options opens a screen that displays the row number, status, and key column for each row. Each option represents the rows with a particular status: the New, Updated, Unchanged, and Errors menu options display a screen that shows the rows with a status of New, Updated, Unchanged, or Errors (respectively). All displays all rows, regardless of status. The sorting can be by Row or by Key; press the [Tab] key to change between them. The screen is as follows: 41

42 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT If you highlight a row and press [Enter], the following screen appears: Columns for Row Import Columns Browse... displays the row number, the data in the key column, and the row status. Col... number of the column in the import file. Status... status of the import column. Possible values are New, Updated, Unchanged, and Errors. Name... name of the column. Value... data inside the column. Note that if you selected Errors from the menu, you can see a specific description of the error on this screen by highlighting the column and pressing [Enter]. A message screen that contains a brief description of the error appears. 42

43 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT Import Columns From the View Import Data window, select Import Columns to view all columns that were a part of the import file. This will open the Import Column Header Browse: Import Column Header Browse Col... number of the column in the import file. Imp Name... name of the column in the import file. Ext Name... name of the column in the Acclaim Import/Export feature. Short for External Name. Same as Ext Name on page 19. This enables you to examine the columns that were a part of the import file. You can sort them by Column or by Imp Name by pressing the [Tab] key and selecting either Col or Name. 43

44 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT If you want to see the detail of the column for all rows, highlight the column and press [Enter]. The following screen appears: Imported Columns... displays the sorting for the screen. Import Column Header Browse Row... row number for the specific column displayed. Only rows that are a part of the import file will display. Status... status of the specific column displayed. Possible values include New, Unchanged, Updated, and Error. Value... the data in the import file. 44

45 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT Template Columns From the View Import Data window, select Template Columns to examine columns that were a part of the template. This will open the Template Column Header Browse: Template Column Header Browse Col... number of the column in the import file. Ext Name... name of the column in the Acclaim Import/Export feature. Short for External Name. Same as Ext Name on page 19. Imp Name... name of the column in the import file. This enables you to examine the columns that were a part of the template. You can sort them by Column or by Ext Name by pressing the [Tab] key and selecting either Col or Name. 45

46 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT If you want to see the detail of the column for all rows, highlight the column and press [Enter]. The following screen appears: Imported Columns... displays the sorting for the screen. Import Columns Browse Row... row number for the specific column displayed. All rows that are a part of the template will display. Status... status of the specific column displayed. Possible values include New, Unchanged, Updated, and Error. Value... the data in the import file. 46

47 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT Tips on Dealing with Errors If you get errors when you import, you will have to take steps to ensure that the data can be imported. The following are some tips on what you may want to do to correct or eliminate errors. Isolate the problem. Figure out what column is causing the problem. Then determine if the error needs to be fixed in Acclaim or in the import file. For example, if you are importing customers, and you have a customer contact listed that is not present in your system (and your auxiliary tables are set to Validate or Both), you will receive an error. The best way to fix that error may be to enter (or import) that contact into the system before you import the customers. On the other hand, if you find that the cause of your error is that you are trying to import alphabet characters instead of numbers into a price field, then it might be best to open the import file in an appropriate application to make edits. If every row fails, there may be something wrong with the general setup of the import. Check the setup of both the template and the import file. There may be a column out of order or missing. Also, make sure you have all the required key fields for your import set up in your template. Double-check your tag names/column names against the external name listed in Acclaim. This is especially true if you have massive failures. If they do not match, your records will fail. Use the Row/Errors screen on the View Import Data menu. This screen can often offer clues as to why a particular row is not importing. When saving the dbase III file in Excel, ensure your file type is dbase III. Excel often defaults to dbase IV, and this will cause errors. Always close your source file before you import. If you have your dbase III file open in Excel while trying to FTP it from your RISC system to the PC, you'll get some data connection errors, because Excel has a lock on the file. When using FTP to transfer dbase III files to a PC, you must transfer in binary mode. Type binary at the ftp> prompt before you make the transfer to activate binary mode. 47

48 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT IMPORT/EXPORT FILE FORMAT TYPES There are four file format types that you can use to import or export records: dbase III (*.dbf), delimited text (*.txt), fixed-1ength flat file (*.txt), and XML (*.xml). These file types can be chosen when you set up your template (see the Template section on page 16 for details). DBASE III In the Acclaim template-editing screen, the screen appears as follows when dbase III has been selected: dbase files can be opened and edited in practically all spreadsheet and database applications (MS Excel, Crystal Reports, MS Access, etc.). dbase III exterior names cannot be longer than ten (10) characters. The file extension for a dbase III file is *.dbf. 48

49 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT DELIMITED TEXT In the Acclaim template-editing screen, the screen appears as follows when Delimited has been selected: Delimited text files allow you to select delimiter characters that differentiate between each field (or column) of each record, and also between different records (or rows). A delimiter can be any one of the following characters: Delimiter: Description: Comma A grammatical comma; press [,] TAB CR LF CRLF A tab-space character; press [Tab] A carriage return character; press [Enter] or [Return] A line feed character; press [Shift][Enter] A carriage return, and then a line feed character; press [Enter] and then press [Shift][Enter]. Note: It is a good idea to be careful with case when importing data; if the system requires upper case characters and you use lower case, the import may fail. Generally, the character used to delimit records (the character that marks the end of a line) is LF for Unix, CR for Macintosh, and CRLF for PC. You can create or edit this kind of file in most spreadsheet applications, or you can use a plain text editor (like vi Text Editor or Microsoft Notepad). The file extension is *.txt. 49

50 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT FIXED-LENGTH In the Acclaim template editing screen, the screen appears as follows when Fixed has been selected: A fixed-length flat file allows you to set a particular number of characters for each field of each record. The Acclaim application knows the number of spaces to count for each field, and can convert data appropriately for import or export. You can create or edit this kind of file in a plain text editor (like vi Text Editor or Microsoft Notepad). The file extension is *.txt. Note: There is no way to tell the difference between a tab-delimited text file and a fixed-length flat file without opening the files and looking at them. Both end in.txt. 50

51 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT XML In the Acclaim template-editing screen, the screen appears as follows when XML has been selected: XML documents use tags to delimit each field, the same way a delimited text file uses TAB and CR characters. XML tags consist of an opening tag (e.g., <ColumnName>) and a closing tag (e.g., </ColumnName>). Together, the opening and closing tags form an element. Everything between an opening and a closing tag of the same name is considered data for that tag. Each XML tag element name should match what is in the External Name field for the column you are trying to import. There are three types of tags in the Acclaim XML documents. The first is the root tag. This tag identifies the general purpose of the XML file. For example, a root tag might start <P21Screen> and end with </P21Screen>. It would look like this: <P21Screen>YourEntitiesAndColumnsHere</P21Screen>. The root tag must be the same as the Root defined in the Acclaim Import/Export feature. The second tag is the entity tag. This tag defines what import or export the document is intended for. For example, a customer import might start with <Customer> and end with </Customer>. It would look like this: <Customer>YourColumnsHere</Customer>. The entity tag must be the same as the Entity defined in the Acclaim Import/Export feature. The third tag is a column tag. This tag defines the column to which the data between its beginning and end belongs. For example, if you wanted to import the Customer Code, your tag would begin with <CustCode> and end with </CustCode>. It would look like this: <CustCode>YourDataHere</CustCode>. There are some rules to which all XML elements must conform: Root tag names must match the root in Acclaim Entity tag names must match the entity in Acclaim Element names must match external names Element tag names cannot be longer than 20 characters 51

52 2 DATA IMPORT/EXPORT Element tag names can only start with letters or the underscore character ([Shift] and [-]) After the first character, numbers, - (hyphen), and. (period) are allowed Element tag names cannot contain spaces Element tag names cannot contain the : (colon) character Element tag names cannot start with the letters XML in upper case, lower case, or mixed case Element tag names cannot contain & or & (ampersand) characters Element tag names cannot contain < or < (less than) characters Element tag names cannot contain > or > (greater than) characters Element tag names cannot contain &apos; or (apostrophe) characters Element tag names cannot contain " or (quotation mark) characters Element tag names are case sensitive (e.g., BillToName is not the same as billtoname) Element tags cannot overlap Wrong: <Customer> <CustCode>CHAD<BillToName></CustCode>DAMAGE INC</BillToName> </Customer> Correct: <Customer> <CustCode>CHAD</CustCode><BillToName>DAMAGE INC</BillToName> </Customer> All the preceding rules are validated in the Acclaim template. For example, if you try to use ABC s as your root tag, or as an Ext Name in your template, Acclaim will not accept the name, and an error message will display. There are also rules that govern element data: When importing or exporting data, the following substitutions are made: In Acclaim: & (ampersand) In XML File: & < (less than) < > (greater than) > (apostrophe) &apos; (quotation) " For example, if your CustCode is Jason s HVAC, the exported XML would be the following: <Customer> <CustCode>Jason&apos;s HVAC</CustCode> </Customer> When imported into a system via XML, this field would come out Jason s HVAC again. You can create or edit this kind of file in a plain text editor (like vi Text Editor or Microsoft Notepad). The file extension is *.txt; Acclaim defaults to *.XML, so you will have to change the file extension either in Acclaim or on the file. 52

53 NLINE ELP Acclaim puts the answers to your questions at your fingertips with Acclaim online help. This help provides answers to the most frequently asked questions, as well as information about Acclaim menus, browses, and screens. ACCESSING ACCLAIM ONLINE HELP FROM THE TOOLBOX Press [F7] to access the Toolbox. The following screen appears: 53

54 3 ONLINE HELP Press [H] to select the Help Index option from the Toolbox. The Acclaim Online Help main menu appears: Search All Help... searches the entire Acclaim online help database. Enter a key word or phrase and any topic that contains that word or phrase appears. For more information, refer to page 54. New Features... accesses detail about the new features in Acclaim. For more information, refer to page 57. FAQs... accesses information about the most frequently asked questions. FAQs are broken down by main subject area (for example, order processing and accounting). In addition, you can search the FAQs for a key word or phrase. For more information, refer to page 58. Menus... provides specific help about Acclaim menus. For more information, refer to page 62. Browses... provides specific help about Acclaim browses. For more information, refer to page 63. Screens... provides specific help about Acclaim screens. For more information, refer to page 63. PRESSING [F1] Pressing [F1] on any screen displays help on menus, browses, or navigation. For more information, see page

55 3 ONLINE HELP NAVIGATING THROUGH ONLINE HELP [F1]... accesses help. Press [F1] to access Acclaim online help. When you press [F1]: Within the online help, the How to Use Acclaim Online Help screen appears. At any Acclaim screen, screen-level help appears. At any Acclaim menu, help about Acclaim menus appears. At any Acclaim browse, help about Acclaim browses appears. [F2] or [Enter] [Space Bar]... displays more information about a highlighted topic.... accesses the next page of a screen. For example, one screen might have five pages. You can press[space Bar] to view the next page. [F4]... exits a screen. When you are at the main Acclaim Online Help screen, [F4] exits online help. When you are viewing a help topic, [F4] exits to the previous screen. Arrow keys... navigates through the online help. Use the up and down arrow keys to move through the selections on the menu. The system highlights the topics that have more detail available. Note: On some terminal types (for example, Wyse 30, Wyse 50, Wyse 60), you cannot use the regular arrow keys. Instead, you must use the arrow keys located on the number keypad on the right side of the keyboard. [P]... prints the current screen. When you press [P] to print the current screen, the online help Printing Options menu appears. You can select to print to a file, print to an Internet address, or print to the screen. [F]... searches the current page to Find Key Words. This searching tool benefits you most when you are viewing a page that contains a lot of text and you are looking for a specific topic. For example, you might use this searching tool when you are viewing the Data Entry FAQs menu and want to find questions about customer. For more information about this option, refer to page 60. [N]... works with the Find Key Words option. When you press [N], the system moves to the next occurrence of the key word that you entered. 55

56 3 ONLINE HELP SEARCH ALL HELP The Search All Help option searches the entire Prophet 21 Acclaim help file. This includes help on FAQs, new features, menus, browses, and screens. To search the entire Acclaim help file, use the following instructions: 1. Select the Search All Help option from the Acclaim Online Help menu. The following screen appears: 2. Type the word or phrase that you want to find and press [Enter]. For example, if you wanted to search the entire help file for information about running hidden options, type HIDDEN and press [Enter]. 56

57 3 ONLINE HELP 3. Press [F2] to begin the search. The system displays all matches for the word or phrase that you entered. Any occurrence of the word appears in the search results. The search word might be in either the topic title or the topic detail. In our example, the system found nine matches of the word hidden. That is, it found every occurrence of the term hidden in the online help. 4. Highlight a topic and press [Enter] to view the detail, or press [F4] to exit. NEW FEATURES The New Features option provides a summary of all of the new features in Acclaim. You can easily browse through a list of enhancements and new functionality. 57

58 3 ONLINE HELP FAQS The FAQs option provides the answers to the most commonly asked questions. When you select the FAQs option from the Acclaim Online Help menu, the following screen appears: FAQs by Function... displays a list of the most frequently asked questions, according to system function. For more information about this option, refer to page 59. Search FAQs... searches the Frequently Asked Questions database. For more information about this option, refer to page

59 3 ONLINE HELP FAQS BY FUNCTION When you select the FAQs by Function option from the FAQs menu, the following screen appears: Select a system function to access answers to the most frequently asked questions about that area of the system. For example, if you have a question about customer maintenance, select the Data Entry option. A list of the frequently asked questions about the Data Entry modules appears: Select a topic and press [F2] or [Enter] to display more information. 59

60 3 ONLINE HELP FIND KEY WORDS The Find Key Words option is a searching tool that helps you search for key words on the current help page. For example, if you are viewing the Data Entry FAQs and you want to see questions about customer, press [F] to have the system find a key word. The system prompts you for the words you want to find in the current document: The system prompts you for the words that you want to find in the current document. Enter the word you want to find. For example, type CUSTOMER and press [Enter]. The system highlights every occurrence of the key words in the document. Press [N] to highlight the next occurrence of the words. SEARCH FAQS The Search FAQs option searches the entire Frequently Asked Question database. 60

61 3 ONLINE HELP To search the all of the FAQs, use the following instructions: 1. Select the Search FAQs option from the FAQs menu. The following screen appears: 2. Type the word or phrase that you want to find and press [Enter]. For example, if you want to search the entire help file for information about override tables, type OVERRIDE TABLES and press [Enter]. 3. Press [F2] to begin the search. The system searches the entire FAQ database and displays all matches for the word or phrase that you entered. Any occurrence of the word in the FAQs appears in the search result. 61

62 3 ONLINE HELP In our example, the system found two matches of the phrase override tables. 4. Highlight a topic and press [Enter] to view the detail, or press [F4] to exit. MENU HELP When you select the Menus option from the Acclaim Online Help menu, the following screen appears: Note: You can also access this screen by pressing [F1] at any menu. 62

63 3 ONLINE HELP BROWSE HELP When you select the Browses option from the Acclaim Online Help menu, the following screen appears: Note: You can also access this screen by pressing [F1] at any browse. SCREEN HELP When you select the Screens option from the Acclaim Online Help menu, the following screen appears: Note: You can also access this screen by pressing [F1] at any screen. 63

64 RINTER PTIONS Printer options specify the way in which to output information. You can designate Printer Options on a company-wide basis in the Company module. To designate Printer Options on a terminal-by-terminal basis, type PRINTERS at the jump to box. When you select to edit Printer information from the Company module, a screen similar to the following appears: Printer Options Print Option... determines where the system should direct the printed material. When this field is set to Slave directs the material to a slave printer. Ded directs the material to a dedicated printer. Sel displays a list of printers from which to select. Spool directs the material to SpoolQ. File directs the material to a file. Queue directs the material to a print queue. Fax directs the material to a fax. directs the material to a text message. 1 st Printer Port #... first default dedicated printer. 64

65 4 PRINTER OPTIONS 2 nd Printer Port #... second default dedicated printer. AIX File Options File Name... determines the default file name the system uses when you print to an AIX file. Overwrite... determines whether the system prompts you to overwrite an existing file with the same file name. When this field is set to Y the system prompts you to overwrite an existing file with the same filename. N the system does not prompt you to overwrite an existing file with the same filename. The system automatically overwrites the file. AIX Queue Option Queue Name 1... first default AIX printer queue. Queue Name 2... second default AIX printer queue. SYSTEM PRINTER OPTIONS Printer Options are presented at the time of printing so that you can direct output each time you print. When you access Printer Options, a screen similar to the following will appear: Viewer... displays the form or report on your screen. Slave Printer... prints the form or report to your local printer. File... saves the information from the form or report in a file. 65

66 4 PRINTER OPTIONS Queue... prints to an AIX print queue. When you select the Queue option, the system defaults to the printer that you set up in the User Base module. A screen similar to the following appears: To print to your default AIX print queue, press [P]. To browse for a list of other printers, press [.] (period). For more information about setting your default AIX print queue, refer to the System Administration manual. OS Command... directs output to an AIX command. Note: This option is available only in Acclaim systems. XL systems do not have this option. Fax... prints the form or report to a designated fax number using your faxing package. This option only appears if you have a faxing package enabled prints the form or report to a designated address using the functionality of your faxing package. This option only appears if you have a faxing package enabled. When you select the option from the Print To browse, the system merges the information with the appropriate form and sends the actual form to the designated address. Your recipient must have the ability to view graphic images. For more information on this option, refer to page 68. HTML... prints the form or report to an AIX file in HTML format. For more information on this option, refer to page 73. Text ... prints the form or report to a designated address. When you select the Text option from the Print To browse, the system sends the information in text format. Spool... prints the form or report to the spool. This option allows you to defer the actual printing. The system generates the output and temporarily stores it in a Spool file for you to print at a later time in the SpoolQ module. A SpoolQ entry screen displays. For more information about the SpoolQ entry, refer to the following SpoolQ Entry section on page 67. Forms... prints the form or report on a form generated through your forms generation package. This option only appears if you have a forms generation package enabled. 66

67 4 PRINTER OPTIONS When you access Printer Options for certain areas of the system, a screen similar to the following will appear. It functions in the same way as the Printer Option screen described previously. SPOOLQ ENTRY When you select to print a report to Spool, a Spool Queue Entry screen appears: Description... description of the print job. This field describes the SpoolQ entry. The system inserts the selected menu option as the Description. For example, if you select to choose a customer master list, the Description field defaults to Print a master customer list. To change the description, press [D] at the Field prompt. You can use up to 50 characters to describe the SpoolQ entry. Printer #... an arbitrary number to designate where the SpoolQ entry will print. This is a 4 character field and accepts numbers only. You can enter any number from 0 (zero) to

68 4 PRINTER OPTIONS Priority #... controls the order in which the system prints the SpoolQ entries. After you complete the Printer# field and the Priority# field, the system automatically completes the remaining fields in this screen. Sub Seq #... allows you to control the order of printing within Priority groups. The system automatically sets this field, beginning with 100 and increasing in increments of 100. For example, 100, 200, 300, 400, etc. Status... indicates the status of the SpoolQ entry. When this field is set to PRNT the SpoolQ entry prints when you print the SpoolQ. HOLD the SpoolQ entry is suspended until you release the entry from Hold. Align Before Printing Blank Pages to Eject # of Extra Copies... indicates whether you need to align forms before you print the entry.... specifies the number of blank pages that are printed... indicates the number of extra copies to print. You can print up to 99 addition copies of the SpoolQ entry. Pause After Printing... indicates whether the system pauses after the entry is printed. After you print to SpoolQ, the system automatically assigns a Spool ID number. The system displays this number below the Field prompt. After the Spool ID displays, press [Enter] to continue. The system displays the parameters for the report or list that you are printing. After you determine the parameters for the report that you are printing, press [Enter] to generate the output. The system temporarily stores the output in a Spool file for you to print at a later time. For more information about SpoolQ, refer to the SpoolQ section of this manual. PRINTING TO Acclaim provides the ability to send using faxing functionality. The integration allows you to use e- mail to send standard Prophet 21 data, such as reports or invoices. You can send in either a text format or a graphical format. Text is character-based only; it can be read by any recipient. Graphical sends an image of the document generated by a faxing package or forms generation package. This type of can be viewed by the recipients only if they have capabilities to view graphical . Note: This is a feature that works in conjunction with an optional faxing package. If you do not have an optional faxing package enabled, you will not be able to use this feature. 68

69 4 PRINTER OPTIONS REQUIREMENTS Proper administration of P21 Mail For more information on P21 Mail, refer to the P21 Mail chapter in this manual. For external , an Internet service set up on your RS/6000 and a connection to the Internet. OPTIONAL PACKAGES A faxing package A forms generation package This package is only a requirement if you want to forms. OTHER p21app.obj level or higher Recipients who have the ability to read text and graphical messages Faxing/Forms integration This integration is only a requirement if you want output to be generated by your forms generation package. ADDRESSES In order to send standard Prophet 21 data through , you must be sure to enter your recipients addresses in the customer and vendor records. The field appears in the first screen in both the customer and vendor records, as the following sample displays: 69

70 4 PRINTER OPTIONS address. The system uses the information in this field when you print a report or document to . is 48 characters and holds numbers, letters, and characters. PRINTER OPTIONS When you access the Printer Options, a Print to option appears: For more information on the Print To field in Printer Options, refer to page 65. PRINTING FROM PO-PRINT OR INVOICE-RECALL When you choose to print to for an order acknowledgment or from PO Print or Invoice Recall, the following prompt appears: 70

71 4 PRINTER OPTIONS If you select yes, the system automatically addresses the using the address from the field in customer or vendor maintenance. If you select no, the system does not automatically use the address from the field. An Information screen appears, as the following sample displays: * Address... recipient s address. The asterisk (*) indicates that this is a mandatory field. This field defaults to the address from the customer or vendor record. Address is 48 characters and holds numbers, letters, and characters. Recipient s Name... name of the recipient. Recipient s Name defaults to the Contact Name from the customer or vendor record. Subject... subject line of the message. Subject is 71 characters and holds both numbers and letters. Message... text of your message. Message holds up to 6 lines of message 71

72 4 PRINTER OPTIONS SAMPLE: PRINTING TO WITHOUT SPECIAL FORMATTING Text messages do not need special formatting. For example, if you select to print the customer record for customer ALLAME to , all three of the screens for this record will print, as follows. The system does not merge the information with a form. 72

73 4 PRINTER OPTIONS SAMPLE: PRINTING TO WITH SPECIAL FORMATTING Records that need to use special formatting such as your forms generation package or faxing, will print or fax using the appropriate forms. For example, if you choose to a record from Invoice Recall, the system automatically uses the appropriate format; the result is specially formatted rather than a text-only message. PRINTING TO HTML FILES Prophet 21 Acclaim provides the ability to print reports to an HTML file, which a web browser can access. This print option allows you to quickly and easily create basic web pages. The HTML files allow data from your Prophet 21 system to be accessible from your web site. Note: In order to print to HTML, your application level must be at least

74 4 PRINTER OPTIONS When you access the Printer Options, a Print to HTML File option appears: For more information on Printer Options, refer to page 65. When you select the Print to HTML File option from the Printer Options menu, the following screen appears: Filename... name of the HTML file. WWW Address... World Wide Web address to which you want to send the HTML file. The World Wide Web address must be in the form of You should use your company s web address. For example, Jones Supply, Inc. would enter Logo... location of your company logo on your web server. 74

75 4 PRINTER OPTIONS Background Image ... background color of the web page.... your company s address. Address... your company s street address. Foreground Color Background Color Description... color of the text.... foreground color of the web page.... description of the HTML page. Title... title of the HTML page. In certain Acclaim screens, there is a Print To field. When you press [F3] to access the Print To browse, an HTML option appears: For more information on Printer Options, refer to page 65. When you select the HTML option from the Print To browse, a screen similar to the following appears: WWW Address... World Wide Web address to which you want to send the HTML file. The World Wide Web address must be in the form of You should use your company s web address. For example, Jones Supply, Inc. would enter Logo... location of your company logo on your web server. Background Image... location of background image on your web server. 75

76 4 PRINTER OPTIONS ... your company s address. Address... your company s street address. Foreground Color Background Color Description... color of the text.... background color of your web page.... description of your HTML page. Title... title of your HTML page. 76

77 ESSAGE ODULE The Message module helps you send and receive messages quickly and easily. You can create messages using as many lines as necessary, with the message continuing from page to page. Each line can contain up to 75 characters. You can send messages to specific ports or specific user IDs. Messages that you send to a particular user can only be received and read by that user. You can also send messages to message groups. A message group represents a group of individual user IDs or group of ports. You can enter a single message and automatically send it to a group of ports. Message groups may be predefined or you can create a temporary message group at the time that you send the message. The system does not save a temporary group for future messages. You can receive message when you are logging on or off the system. You can also receive message by accessing the Message module. When you send a message, you specify how the recipient or recipients receive it. A recipient can print and delete messages or immediately send a reply. You can read all of your messages at one time. You can access them by port number or user ID. Your messages remain in the message file until it is deleted or purged. You can access the Message module from the Users Option menu in System Administration. When you access the Message module, the following screen appears: Sending... allows you to send messages to a specific port, specific user ID, or a message group. For more information on this option, refer to page 78. Reading... allows you to read messages. For more information on this option, refer to page 86. Group Entry... allows you to define permanent message groups. For more information on this option, refer to page 90. Purge... purges messages. For more information on this option, refer to page

78 5 MESSAGE MODULE SENDING When you select the Sending option from the Message menu, the following screen appears: Port... sends a message to a specific port number. For more information on this option, refer to page 78. User ID... sends a message to a specific user ID. For more information on this option, refer to page 79. Group... sends a message to a message group. For more information on this option, refer to page 79. PORT When you select the Port option from the Sending menu, a screen similar to the following appears: Port #... determines the port number to which you are sending a message. After you enter a valid port number, the Send Messages screen displays. For more information about the Send Messages screen, refer to page

79 5 MESSAGE MODULE USER ID When you select the User ID option from the Sending menu, a screen similar to the following appears: User ID... determines the user ID to which you are sending a message. After you enter a valid user ID, the send messages screen displays. For more information about the send messages screen, refer to page 81. GROUP When you select the User ID option from the Sending menu, a screen similar to the following appears: Message Group... prompts you to enter the Group Name of the group to which you want to send a message. If you enter T in this prompt, the system allows you to create a temporary message group. The screens that appear when you create a temporary group are similar to those screens that appear when you enter a permanent group. For more information on creating a message group, refer to page 90. After you enter a valid group name, the send messages screen appears. For more information about the send messages screen, refer to page

80 5 MESSAGE MODULE When you enter a group name in the Message Group prompt, a screen similar to the following appears: Group Type... indicates the type of group to which you are sending a message. When this field is set to PORT the message is sent to a defined group of ports. USER the message is sent to a defined group of users GROUP the message is sent to a defined group of message groups User... lists the user ID and user name of the user who compile the group. This option only appears if Group Type is set to USER. Port... lists the port number of the ports that compile the group. This option only appears if Group Type is set to PORT. Group... lists the name, description, and type of individual groups that compile the message group. This option only appears if Group Type is set to GROUP. Press [Enter] to continue. The system prompts you for the message header information. 80

81 5 MESSAGE MODULE MESSAGE HEADER INFORMATION A screen similar to the following appears: Type... indicates the type of the message that you send. When this field is set to REG the message can be read when you send it. Regular messages display an M for Message prompt to indicate that a message is waiting to be received. LOGON the message automatically displays when users logon to the system. LOGOFF the message automatically displays when users logoff the system. From... indicates who the message is from. This is a 30 character field that holds both letters and numbers. To... indicates the name of the user, port, or group receiving the message. Subject... the subject of the message. This is a 30 character field that holds both letters and numbers. Activation Date... indicates the first date that the message can be read. The Activation Date defaults to the current date. Expiration Date... indicates the last date that the message can be read. The system automatically deletes messages that have not been read prior to the expiration date. Once you have completed the message header information, press [Enter] to continue. The system prompts you to enter message text. 81

82 5 MESSAGE MODULE ENTER MESSAGE TEXT After you complete the message header information and press [Enter], a screen similar to the following appears: From... the user name of the person sending the message. User ID... the user ID of the person sending the message. At Port#... the port number of the person sending the message. To... the user, port, or group receiving the message. Date Sent... the date the message was sent. Active... the activation date of the message. Subj... the subject of the message. Time Sent... the time the message was sent. Expires... the expiration date of the message. Message ID... the ID number of the message. Page... indicates the page number of the message. Messages can take as many lines as necessary. The message simply continues from page to page. There is no maximum number of pages. 82

83 5 MESSAGE MODULE Each line contains up to 75 characters. When you reach the end of a line, the text automatically continues on the beginning of the next line. If you are on the last line of a page, the text automatically continues on the beginning of the next page. If you want to end a paragraph or enter a blank line, press [Esc]. You can also press [Space Bar] to leave a blank line between message lines. We recommend that you enter your messages in all capital letters. There might be problems printing lowercase letters on a printer. If you do not want to enter any more message lines, press [Enter]. The system automatically places a dash (-) on the line following the last actual message line. The dash indicates the end of the message. If you want to edit a line, enter the line number at the Field prompt. The original message line displays while you edit the text. Press [Esc] to advance to the next page of the message. If you want to review and edit message lines on a previous screen of the message, press [-] (dash). To insert additional lines, at the Field prompt type [I]. The system displays the following message: Type the line number of the line before which you want to insert text. For example, if you want to enter a new line in the message before line 6, type [6] at the Insert before Field prompt. You enter additional lines of text on a separate Insert Message Text screen. When you are finished typing the text to be inserted, the system displays the entire message for verification. For more information about inserting text, refer to the following Insert Message Text section. To delete existing lines of your message, at the Field prompt type [D]. The system displays the following message: Specify the range of fields that you want to delete. For example, if you want to delete lines 3 through 6, type [3] in the From Field and [6] in the To Field. The system prompts you to proceed. If you press [Y], the system deletes the lines of text that you specify. If you press [N], the system does not delete the text. 83

84 5 MESSAGE MODULE INSERT MESSAGE TEXT When you press [I] to enter additional lines of text, a separate Insert Message Text screen appears, similar to the following example: You can enter up to 15 additional lines of text. Each line can contain 75 characters. When you reach the end of a line, the text automatically continues on the next line. Press [Esc] when you want to end a paragraph or enter a blank line. When you are finished, press [Enter]. The system displays the original message for verification. 84

85 5 MESSAGE MODULE When you are finished entering your message, press [Enter] at the Field prompt. The system displays sending options. SENDING OPTIONS After you enter your message text and press [Enter] at the field prompt, the system displays a screen similar to the following: Send Message Edit Message Text Edit Message Header Information Change Recipients Print Message Cancel Message... sends the message.... returns to the message to allow you to edit it.... allows you to edit the header information of the message.... changes the recipients of the message.... prints the message.... cancels the message. When you select the Cancel Message option, the system asks you to confirm if you want to cancel the message. If you select Y, the system cancels the message. If you select N, the system returns to the Sending Options screen. If you cancel the message, the system displays Message Deleted. 85

86 5 MESSAGE MODULE READING You can receive messages when logging on, logging off, or by accessing the Message module. You can print or delete received messages. In addition, you can immediately send replies. When you select the Reading option from the Message menu, a screen similar to the following appears: New... accesses new messages. For more information, refer to page 86. Old... accesses old messages. For more information, refer to page 86. New by User ID... accesses new messages by user ID. For more information, refer to page 86. Old by User ID... accesses old messages by user ID. For more information, refer to page 86. New by Port#... accesses new messages by port number. For more information, refer to page 90. Old by Port#... accesses old messages by port number. For more information, refer to page 90. NEW/OLD When you select the New or Old options from the Reading menu, the system displays a list of messages. Messages are new if you have not read them yet. Once you receive and read a message, the system considers the message old. If there are no new messages for you to read, the system displays the following message: 86

87 5 MESSAGE MODULE If you have messages to read, a screen similar to the following appears: Seq#... indicates the sequence number of the message. From... indicates who sent the message. Date Sent... date the message was sent. Subject... subject of the message. The system displays the messages in pages of 15. Message sent to both the port and the user ID are included. The system first lists messages sent to the port, and then lists messages sent to the user. When you are reading old messages, you can type D and the Seq# of a message at the Seq# prompt to delete that message. When you do this, the system resequences the remaining messages. Press [Esc], to view more pages of message. To select a message to read, enter the Seq# of the message at the Seq# prompt. 87

88 5 MESSAGE MODULE READ MESSAGE TEXT When you enter the number of the message that you want to view, a screen similar to the following appears: From... the user name of the person who sent the message. User ID... the user ID of the person who sent the message. At Port#... the port number of the person who sent the message. To... the user, group, or port receiving the message. Date Sent... date the message was sent. Subj... subject of the message. Time Sent... time the message was sent. Message ID... identification number of the message. Page... indicates the current page of the message. Message Text... the text of the message. The message displays in pages of 15 lines. D own... pages down through the message. 88

89 5 MESSAGE MODULE U p... pages up through the message. P rint... prints the message. R eply... sends a reply to the sender. The system prompts you to delete the message. If you select Y, the system deletes the message before you exit. If you select N, the system does not delete the message before you exit. The system changes the status of the message from new to old. When you select this option, you are prompted to enter a reply. Sending a reply is similar to sending a new message. For more information about sending a message, refer to page 82. N ext... displays the next message. The system prompts you to delete the message. If you select Y, the system deletes the message before you exit. If you select N, the system does not delete the message before you exit. If the current message is your last message, the system displays a message to indicate there are no more messages. The system changes the status of the message from new to old. E xit... exits the message. The system prompts you to delete the message. If you select Y, the system deletes the message before you exit. If you select N, the system does not delete the message before you exit. The system changes the status of the message from new to old. Q uit... quits the message. The system does not prompt you to delete the message. The message remains new. F orward... forwards the message to specific ports, user IDs, or message groups. When you forward a message, the system prompts you for a port, user, or Group. You can browse for ports and user IDs. If you select to forward the message to a group, the system prompts you to enter a group name. If necessary, you can enter the following: A dot (.) to scan all of the available message groups A comma (,) to scan only those groups whose type has been set to USER A semi-colon (;) to scan only those groups whose type has been set to GROUP Once you enter a valid port, user ID, or message group, the system prompts you to proceed. If you select Y, the system forwards the message a displays a confirmation to indicate that the message was forwarded. If you select N, the system does not forward the message. 89

90 5 MESSAGE MODULE NEW/OLD BY USER ID When you select the New by User ID or the Old by User ID options, the system prompts you for a user ID. You can browse at the prompt. A screen similar to the following appears: When you enter a valid user ID, the system prompts you for a password, if the user ID has a password assigned. The password is specified in the User Base module. The password is invisible as you type it. Once you type the password, press [Enter]. The system displays messages for the user ID. For more information about reading messages, refer to page 86. NEW/OLD BY PORT# When you select the New by Port# or the Old by Port# options, the system prompts you for a port number; you can browse at the prompt. A screen similar to the following appears: When you enter a valid port number, the system displays messages for the port. For more information about reading messages, refer to page 86. GROUP ENTRY A message group represents multiple ports, user IDs, or message groups. You can enter a single message and automatically send it to a group. To accomplish this, you have to define the group by specifying a group name and entering the related port numbers, users, or groups. You can define message groups two different ways: You can create a temporary message group at the time that you send the message. The temporary group is not saved to use for future messages. You can define permanent message groups using the Group Entry option. When you select the Group Entry option from the Message menu, the following screen appears: Enter... enters a new message group. For more information, refer to page

91 5 MESSAGE MODULE Edit... edits an existing message group. For more information, refer to page 92. Delete... deletes existing message groups. For more information, refer to page 92. ENTER A MESSAGE GROUP When you select the Enter option from the Group Entry menu, a screen similar to the following appears: Group Type... type of message group. When you set this field to PORT the group specifies a list of ports USER the group specifies a list of user IDs GROUP the group specifies a list of message groups Group Name... name of the message group. Description... description of the message group. Port/User/ Group... indicates the port number, user ID, or group name that define the group. 91

92 5 MESSAGE MODULE EDIT A MESSAGE GROUP When you select the Edit option from the Group Entry screen, the system prompts you to select a message group. After you select a message group, a screen similar to the following appears: For more information about the fields that appear in the previous screen, refer to page 91. DELETE A MESSAGE GROUP When you select the Delete option from the Group Entry menu, the system prompts you to select a message group. After you select a message group, a screen similar to the following appears: The system prompts you to proceed with the deletion. If you select Y, the system deletes the message group. If you select N, the system does not delete the message group. 92

93 5 MESSAGE MODULE PURGE The Purge option allows you to purge old messages by user ID or by port number. In addition, you can purge all unread messages, or unread messages by port number. When you select the Purge option from the Message menu, the following screen appears: Old... purges old messages sent before a specific date. For more information on this option, refer to page 93. Old by User ID... purges old messages by user ID. For more information on this option, refer to page 94. Old by Port#... purges old messages by port number. For more information on this option, refer to page 94. All Unread... purges all unread expired messages. For more information on this option, refer to page 95. Unread by Port#... purges all unread messages by port number. For more information on this option, refer to page 95. OLD When you select the Old option from the Purge menu, a screen similar to the following appears: Purge Messages Sent Before Purge Messages?... specifies the date up until which messages are purged. Messages that were sent on the date that you specify here are not deleted.... determines whether messages are purged. If you select Y, the system purges messages with a date up to but not including the date that you specify in the previous field. If you select N, the system does not purge the messages. 93

94 5 MESSAGE MODULE OLD BY USER ID You must have Q-Mode enabled to select the Old by User ID option from the Purge menu. If you select this option and Q-Mode is not enabled, the system displays the following message: When you select the Old by User ID option from the Purge menu and you have Q-Mode enabled, a screen similar to the following appears: User ID Password... prompts you to select a user ID for which to purge messages.... prompts you for the password for the user ID. The password is set in the User Base module. Once you specify a user ID, the system proceeds to purge messages as described for the Old option. For more information, refer to page 93. OLD BY PORT# You must have Q-Mode enabled to select the Old by Port# option from the Purge menu. If you select this option and Q-Mode is not enabled, the system displays the following message: When you select the Old by Port# option from the Purge menu and you have Q-Mode enabled, a screen similar to the following appears: Port#... prompts you for a port number for which to purge messages. Once you specify a port number, the system proceeds to purge messages as described for the Old option. For more information, refer to page

95 5 MESSAGE MODULE ALL UNREAD You must have Q-Mode enabled to select the All Unread option from the Purge menu. If you select this option and Q-Mode is not enabled, the system displays the following message: When you select the All Unread option from the Purge menu and you have Q-Mode enabled, a screen similar to the following appears: Purge All Unread Expired Messages...purges all unread expired messages. If you select Y, the system purges all unread expired messages. If you select N, the system does not purge the messages. If you select Y, the system displays the following message: UNREAD BY PORT# You must have Q-Mode enabled to select the Unread by Port# option from the Purge menu. If you select this option and Q-Mode is not enabled, the system displays the following message: When you select the Unread by Port# option from the Purge menu and you have Q-Mode enabled, a screen similar to the following appears: Port#... prompts you for a port number for which to purge messages. Once you specify a port number, the system proceeds to purge messages as described for the Old option. For more information, refer to page

96 5 MESSAGE MODULE APPENDIX MESSAGES WITH ON-SITE USERS On-Site users can use the Note facility in the On-Site module or the Message module. The Note facility in the On- Site module allows your On-Site customers to send notes to you or to receive notes from you. Notes can take as many lines as necessary, with the note continuing from page to page. Each line contains up to 65 characters. The advantages to using the Note facility in the On-Site module are as follows: It is easier to train your On-Site customer to use one program (On-Site) and its features. Notes in the On-Site module are sent to a particular customer rather than to a user ID or port. If you want to use the Message module for your On-Site customers, you need to install T commands in the Message job stream. You must place Terminal Restrictions in the Message job stream to prevent your On-Site customers from accessing other jobs from their On-Site terminals. Terminal Restrictions safeguard your data and provide maximum system security. Once you place Terminal Restrictions in the Message job stream, you must teach your On-Site customers how to use the Message module. 96

97 AIL P21 Mail, also called SmartMail, is one of the Prophet 21 Acclaim SmartAgents. You can use this package to send and receive messages quickly and easily. P21 Mail is a full-featured mail package that runs on AIX. This package includes features such as mail lists, public and private mail groups, message forwarding, message editing, personalized message folders, and a new mail indicator. In addition to providing a complete internal messaging system, P21 Mail allows you to read messages from AIX mail, P21 Mail, and the Internet. If you have set up an Internet service on your RS/6000 and you provide a connection to the Internet, P21 Mail sends and receives Internet mail. The Message module exists independently of P21 Mail. Any message sent through the Message module must be read in the Message module. You can use this package to send mail to a specific user ID. The message you send to a specific user can only be received and read by that user. You can also send messages to a message group, or a group of individual user IDs. If you predefine a message group, you can prepare one single message and send it to every user in a message group at one time. You can even set an activation date for the message to specify when the recipient will receive the message. ACCESSING P21 MAIL FROM AN AIX PROMPT If the system is stopped, you can access P21 Mail by typing p21mail [Enter] at the AIX prompt. If the system does not invoke P21 Mail from an AIX prompt, check your application level by typing lslpp -ah p21app.obj [Enter] at the AIX prompt. If the system lists a level that is not greater than or equal to , contact the Prophet 21 Technical Services Department. 97

98 6 P21 MAIL FROM ACCLAIM If you are already logged into the system, you can access P21 Mail through the toolbox. Press [F7] to access the Toolbox. A screen similar to the following will appear. Select the Mail option from the Toolbox. MAIN MENU When you first access P21 Mail from AIX or Acclaim, a screen similar to the following displays. Sender ID... the identification of the person who sent the message. An asterisk (*) to the left of the Sender ID indicates that the message has not yet been read. Name... the name of the person who sent the message. ** Unknown ID! ** indicates a message you sent was returned to you because of an unknown address. For more information on returned mail, refer to page 104. Subject... the subject line of the message. 98

99 6 P21 MAIL Receipt Date... the date you received the message. Folder ID... folder identification. P21 Mail allows you to organize the messages you send and receive in folders. There are four default folders: Inbox, Log, Pending, and Trash. Inbox - holds all new incoming messages. This folder is the default folder in P21 Mail. Log - holds a copy of all the messages you have sent. Pending - holds pending messages to be sent later. This folder holds the messages for which you have set an activation date. During PROSTARTUP, the system searches the contents of the Pending folder for messages with a current activation date. When the system finds messages with a current activation date, it proceeds to send these messages. The messages move to the Log folder when they reach their activation dates, and the system sends them to their recipients. For more information on a message with an activation date, refer to page 103. Trash - holds a copy of all the messages you have deleted. The system will delete the messages from your trash and message logs based on the setting of the Mail Defaults option. For more information on this option, refer to page 113. You can create personalized folders to organize and store your messages. For more information on creating folders, refer to page 111. Folder Name... descriptive name of the folder. Total #... total number of messages in a folder. YOUR P21 MAIL ADDRESS INTERNET ADDRESS If you have set up an Internet service on your RS/6000 and you are connected to the Internet, you can receive Internet mail. Your Internet Service Provider will assign you your address. INTERNAL ADDRESS Your internal P21 Mail address is the same as your AIX user ID. Note: You must set up AIX IDs for every user. All users should have their own AIX ID and a name attached to the AIX ID. Acclaim uses the AIX user IDs to build a public mail directory automatically during installation or an update. Autoboot ports should not be set up; if they are, users will not get their own mail. If you create any new AIX IDs after the initial installation, the system will not automatically populate the P21 Mail address database. 99

100 6 P21 MAIL ATTACHING A NAME TO AN AIX USER ID To verify that a name is attached to the AIX user ID, use the following steps: 1. Logon to AIX as root. 2. At an AIX prompt, type smit user [Enter]. 3. Arrow down and choose Change/Show Characteristics of a User. 4. Type the name of an AIX ID and press [Enter]. 5. Arrow down to the User Information field. A name must appear in this field for s to be addressed correctly. For s to be addressed correctly, a user s name must be entered in the User Information field. 6. Press [Enter] to accept. 7. Press [F10] to exit. 8. In order for these changes to take affect, you must run the job PROUPDATE. Insert your most recent update tape, stop the system, and type PROUPDATE at the Job prompt. P21 MAIL NAVIGATION The P21 Mail screen is divided into two windows. The top window displays all messages for the current folder that you are viewing. The bottom window displays a list of all folders, and indicates the number of messages in each folder. The following keys are used to move within P21 Mail. [ ], [ ]... allows you to move up and down within a screen. [Tab]... moves between windows. 100

101 6 P21 MAIL [F2]... accepts a command or sends a message. [F4]... exits a screen without saving. [F6]... displays a P21 Mail PowrDrill menu of options. [Enter]... moves between fields. P21 MAIL POWRDRILL OPTIONS You can prepare, read, print, reply to, forward, store, and delete messages. When you press [F6] in the top window of the Current Folder screen, a list of P21 Mail options appears. New... allows you to create and send a new message. For more information on this option, refer to page 102. Read... allows you to read your current messages. For more information on this option, refer to page 105. Delete... deletes the current message. For more information on this option, refer to page 111. Mark Del... marks several messages to delete at the same time. For more information on this option, refer to page 112. Save... saves your current message in a folder. For more information on this option, refer to page 110. Print... prints the current message. For more information on this option, refer to page 112. Folder Del... deletes the current folder. For more information on this option, refer to page

102 6 P21 MAIL Mail Def... sets mail default options. For more information on this option, refer to page 113. Address... accesses P21 Mail address maintenance. For more information on this option, refer to page 113. NEW PREPARING MAIL P21 Mail allows you to easily prepare and send to a person or group of persons. From the P21 Mail main menu, press [F6]. Select the New option from the P21 Mail options menu. A screen similar to the following appears: Sender... the sender of the message. You cannot edit the Sender field. The system automatically defaults to your AIX ID. Sent... the date and time the message was created. The system defaults to the current day and time. Received... the date the message is scheduled to be received. 102

103 6 P21 MAIL Subject... the subject of the message. Note: The subject line cannot start with a question mark (?). If your subject line is simply a question mark, or starts with a question mark, the system has trouble sending the message. Activation Date... indicates a future date on which a pending message will be sent. The activation date allows you to send a message and determine the date of its receipt. For example, you need to remind your department to attend an 8 am meeting on Friday, but you will be out of the office on Wednesday and Thursday. You can write the message on Tuesday and set the Activation Date to Thursday s date. This way, your department will receive the message on Thursday even though you wrote and sent it on Tuesday. If you do not enter an Activation Date, it will automatically default to the current system date. If the Activation Date is the same as the current date, the message will be sent immediately. To... indicates to whom the message will be sent. You may send mail to one or more persons or groups. To address mail, type the address of the person or persons to whom you want to send the message. This field is not case sensitive. When you type the address of the recipient, the name will appear in the Recipient field. If you want to send the message to a group, type the name of the address group in this field. For more information on address groups, refer to the Address Maintenance section on page 113. P21 Mail also allows you to send to Internet addresses if you are connected to the Internet. To send Internet mail, simply type the Internet addresses in the To field. Note: You must have an Internet service set up on your RS/6000 box to send and receive Internet mail. Recipients... displays a list of all of the recipients of this message. To omit a name from the Recipient list, type the address again in the To field. When you type the recipient s address twice in the To field, it deletes their name from the Recipient list. Text... displays the text of the message. Use the Text area to type your message. Your message can be as long as necessary; there is no maximum number of lines. Each line of text holds 69 characters. When you reach the end of the line, the text is automatically moved to the beginning of the next line. If you are on the last line of the page, the text is automatically moved to the next page. To end a paragraph or enter a blank line, press [Enter]. EDITING TEXT P21 Mail allows you to edit inline text. You can delete words and characters without deleting an entire line of text. To delete a word or character, simply use the arrow keys to move the cursor to a word or character and press [Backspace] or [Delete]. Or, you can simply begin typing over the text. 103

104 6 P21 MAIL SENDING MAIL After preparing a message, you will want to send it. Press [F2] to send your mail. When you press [F2], the system will display a message to indicate that it is sending your mail. RETURNED MAIL If you send a message to an unknown address, the system will return it to you. The message will appear in your Inbox indicating that it is returned mail, and the address is unknown. If you open the message, a screen similar to the following appears: 104

105 6 P21 MAIL READING MAIL When you select the Read option from the P21 Mail options menu, P21 Mail opens the highlighted message. You can also access the message you would like to read by highlighting it and pressing [Return]. A screen similar to the following appears: Note: The options New and Read both utilize the same P21 Mail screen. Sender... displays the AIX ID of the sender of the message. Sent... indicates the date the message was sent. Received... indicates the date you received the message. Subject... displays the subject line of the message. Activation Date To... indicates the Activation Date of the message.... indicates the recipients of the message. If you choose to forward or reply to a message, enter the recipient addresses in this field. Recipients... displays all the recipients of the message. If you choose to forward or reply to a message, all of the recipients of the message will display here. 105

106 6 P21 MAIL Text... displays the text of the message. If you reply to or forward the message, enter the text of your message here. You can add and delete text to the current message before replying to or forwarding it. READ OPTIONS When you press [F6] while reading a message, the following screen appears: Save... saves the current message. For more information on this option, refer to page 110. Delete... deletes the current message. For more information on this option, refer to page 111. Reply... replies to the current message. For more information on this option, refer to page 107. Forward... forwards the current message to other recipients. For more information on this option, refer to page 110. Print... prints the current message. For more information on this option, refer to page 112. Next... opens the next message in your Inbox. Last... opens the previous message in your Inbox. Address... accesses address maintenance. For more information on this option, refer to page

107 6 P21 MAIL READING A TASK The P21 Scheduler allows you to create, edit, and delete tasks for yourself and other users. It also gives you the ability to send reminder notices when tasks are due. If you create a task for another user, the system automatically sends an message via P21 Mail. When you create a task for another user, the system automatically notifies the assignee through P21 Mail. For example, your user ID is lfm, and you create a task for user ID mg. When user ID mg opens their P21 Mail, a message from lfm with the subject, Task Assignment, appears in their Inbox, similar to the following screen: When you open this message, the topic, due date and time, and the person who created the task appears, similar to the following screen: The sender, topic, due date and time displays in the Text field. For more information on tasks, refer to the Tour Guide manual. VERIFY AVAILABLE STOCK FROM YOUR OTHER PROPHET 21 SYSTEMS E-Shopper, an Item PowrDrill option, allows you to access stock availability information from other Prophet 21 systems via . This is especially helpful if you want to verify stock quantities at other branches and locations in your company. Note: For System Administrators Only: To enable this feature, you need to set up a new user ID to receive mail at the AIX prompt. We suggest calling the user getstock with a home directory of /u/getstock. In the home directory of the new user ID, you need to create an AIX file called:.forward In that file, enter a backslash followed by the user ID, then on the next line enter: /usr/lpp/p21pro/bin/p21eshopper So, for the user getstock, the two lines that make up the.forward file appear as: \getstock /usr/lpp/p21pro/bin/p21eshopper 107

108 6 P21 MAIL Note that the is the pipe symbol. PRICING AND AVAILABILITY After you set up your mail group first in the Company module, access Pricing & Availability in either the Order or Front Counter module. When [F6] for the PowrDrill is pressed on the Item prompt, the E-Shopper option appears: The E-Shopper option appears. E-Shopper... sends an stock availability inquiry to the selected Mail Group. When this option is selected, the system automatically s the recipients in the Mail Group to verify the available stock of the selected item in their Prophet 21 systems. When you activate E-Shopper and the system sends the message, the Prophet 21 systems included in the Mail Group automatically send an in return, indicating the stock quantity of the specific item. For example, your Mail Group is called Admin, and includes the addresses of the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh branches in your company. The item you select in Pricing & Availability is Rotary Screw. When you PowrDrill on this item and select E-Shopper, the system automatically sends an e- mail to the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh branches to inquire about their stock availability of the Rotary Screw. P21 MAIL The Prophet 21 systems in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh branches automatically send an in response, stating the quantity of the Rotary Screw. If the Philadelphia branch has 374 Rotary Screws, the message from the Philadelphia branch is: Rotary Screw 374. If the Pittsburgh branch has 150 Rotary Screws, the message from the Pittsburgh branch is: Rotary Screw 150. In the message you receive from the systems included in the Mail Group, GETSTOCK appears in the Subject field, and the name and quantity of the item appears in the Text field. 108

109 6 P21 MAIL The message looks similar to the following: GETSTOCK appears in the subject line. The name and quantity of the item appear in the text field. For more information on the E-Shopper company options that you need to set up first before this process will work successfully, refer to the Company Set Up manual. REPLYING TO A MESSAGE When you select the Reply option from the Read P21 Mail PowrDrill menu, the system displays the following screen: If you want to reply to all of the people to whom the original message was sent, press [Y] and then press [Enter]. If you press [N], your reply will be sent to the original sender of the message only. P21 Mail allows you to retain the original message in your reply. After you determine whether the reply will be sent to all addressees, the following screen appears: If you want to include the original message text in your reply, press [Y] then press [Enter]. If you select [N], your reply will not include any of the text in the original message. The Recipients field displays all of the addressees of the reply message. You can include other recipients by typing the additional addresses in the To field. 109

110 6 P21 MAIL Tip! Adding Text to a Reply or Forwarded Message If you are adding comments to a reply or forwarding message, one option is to type your message above the previous message. This way, the next recipients can read the entire exchange beginning with the most recent reply. P21 Mail automatically positions the cursor at the beginning of the text box when you choose to reply to or forward a message. FORWARDING A MESSAGE You can forward a message to one or more persons or groups. To forward a message, select the Forward option from the Read P21 Mail PowrDrill menu. When you select the Forward option, P21 Mail adds a forwarding header to the current message: The system prompts you for addresses for the forwarded message. You can address a forwarded message in the same way you address a new message. For more information on addressing a message, refer to page 102. SAVE You can save messages in a user-defined folder indefinitely. When you select the Save option from the P21 Mail PowrDrill options menu, the following screen appears: 110

111 6 P21 MAIL Folder ID... folder identification. You can save messages in a current folder, or you can choose to create a new folder. To save a message in a new folder, enter a unique folder ID and name. The system will display a message to confirm the new folder. To create the new folder, select Yes. The system will create the folder and save the current message in that folder. To save a message into a current folder, type the ID and name of an existing folder. Name... descriptive name of the folder. DELETE MESSAGES When you select the Delete option from the P21 Mail PowrDrill options menu, the following screen appears: To delete the message, select Yes. If you select No, the message will not delete. FOLDERS The Folder Del option allows you to delete the folder you are currently accessing. When you select the Folder Del option from the P21 Mail PowrDrill options menu, the following screen appears: To delete the folder, select Yes. The system will delete the folder and all its messages and return you to the Inbox. If you select No, you will not delete the folder. Note: You cannot delete the system default folders. If you try to delete the Inbox, Log, Pending, or Trash folders, the following message appears: 111

112 6 P21 MAIL MULTIPLE MESSAGES You can mark multiple messages to delete at one time. You can mark a message for deletion when you are browsing in any folder. To mark a message for deletion, press [M]. If you want to unmark the message, press [M] again. When you press [M] to mark a message for deletion, the system displays greater-than and less-than symbols (< and >) around the message to indicate that it is marked for deletion: You can mark messages for deletion. To delete the messages that you marked for deletion, select the Mark Del option from the PowrDrill menu. When you select the Mark Del option, the system displays the following message: If you select No, the system does not delete the marked messages. If you select Yes, the marked messages in the Trash and Log folders are deleted and are unrecoverable. Please note that the system permanently deletes the messages that you mark for deletion in the Trash and Message Log folders. Any time that you delete a message from the Trash or Log folders, the system completely removes the message from the system. All other marked messages from your other folders are moved to the Trash folder. If you exit P21 Mail without selecting the Mark Del option, the messages do not remain marked for deletion. The system simply removes the marks and the messages remain in their folders. PRINT If you select the Print option from the P21 Mail PowrDrill option menu, the following screen will appear: 112

113 6 P21 MAIL For more information about the Printer Options screen, refer to the Tour Guide manual. MAIL DEFAULTS The Mail Defaults option allows you to determine how long you want messages to sit in your Trash and Log folders. When you select the Mail Defaults option from the P21 Mail PowrDrill option menu, the following screen appears: Lifespan... indicates the number of days you want to keep your messages in your message log and trash. The Message Log Lifespan and Trash Lifespan indicate the amount of time, in days, that you want to store your messages. The default for these fields is 0 (zero) days. This means that the mail in your message log and trash folders will be deleted daily. You may store your messages in your message log and trash folders for up to seven days from the date of the message. When you access a P21 Mail session, the system automatically deletes messages according to the Lifespan setting. Lifespan is one character and holds numbers from 0 (zero) to 7. ADDRESS MAINTENANCE P21 Mail allows you to keep a directory of names and addresses. You can use the Address Maintenance option to maintain lists of the people to whom you send mail. When you select the Address Maintenance option from the P21 Mail PowrDrill options menu, the following screen appears: Addr... access public address maintenance. For more information on this option, refer to page

114 6 P21 MAIL Group... access public group address maintenance. For more information on this option, refer to page 116. Priv-Addr... accesses private address maintenance. For more information on this option, refer to page 115. Priv-Grp... accesses private group address maintenance. For more information on this option, refer to page 116. PUBLIC ADDRESSES You can enter, edit, add, or delete addresses to the public mail directory. The public mail directory is one address list that is accessible to all users. The changes you make to this directory will affect everyone who uses P21 Mail. For example, when you enter an address into this directory, every user will be able to access the address. When you delete an address from this directory, other users will no longer be able to access that address. When you select the Addr option from the Address Maintenance menu, the Address Maintenance screen appears: Address... address. P21 Mail compiles a default address list from your AIX user IDs. You can enter, edit, or delete addresses from the public address list. Note: If you delete an AIX user ID, the system will not automatically delete that ID from the address list. You would need to delete the address from the public address list. In addition, if you add a user ID in AIX, P21 Mail will not automatically create an ID in the public address maintenance. You would need to add the address to the public address list. Address is 30 characters and holds both numbers and letters. 114

115 6 P21 MAIL Name... name of the addressee. Name is 30 characters and holds both numbers and letters. PRIVATE ADDRESSES You can enter, edit, add, or delete addresses in your private mail directory. Your private mail directory is not accessible to any other user. The changes you make to this directory will only affect your AIX ID. Other users of P21 Mail do not have access to your private mail list. Note:If a user logs into AIX using the same AIX ID you are using, that user will also be able to access the private mail directory you create. When you select the Priv-Addr option from the Address Maintenance menu, the Address Maintenance screen appears. Only the addresses you add to this directory appear on the screen. ENTERING A NEW ADDRESS To enter a new address, type the new address ID and press [Enter]. The system will display the following message: If you do not want to add the new address to the address list, select No. If you want to add the address to the public list, select Yes. The system will then prompt you for a Name. Enter the name of the addressee, and press [Enter]. The system will add this address to the public address list. Note: Creating this new mail address will not automatically create a new AIX ID. EDITING AN ADDRESS To edit an address, type the address in the Address field. The system will display the address and name in the Address and Name fields. The system will prompt you to edit the Name field. If you have any changes to the Name field, type your changes and press [Enter]. The system accepts your changes and displays them in the public address list at the bottom of the screen. DELETING AN ADDRESS To delete a current address from the public address list, select an address from the list and press [F6]. The following screen appears: 115

116 6 P21 MAIL To delete an address, press [F2]. When you press [F2] to delete an address, the following screen appears: If you do not want to delete the address from the public address list, select No. If you want to delete the address from the public address list, select Yes. Tip! Selecting an Address to Edit or Delete If you do not know the address you wish to edit, press [Tab] to toggle to the address list. Use the up and down arrows to move through the list. Highlight your selection and press [Enter]. The address and name you selected will appear in the Address and Name fields at the top of the screen. PUBLIC GROUP ADDRESSES When you select the Group option from the Address Maintenance menu, the Mail Group Maintenance screen appears: Mail Group Description... mail group address.... descriptive name of the mail group. PRIVATE GROUP ADDRESSES You can enter, edit, add, or delete addresses in your private mail group directory. The changes you make to this directory will only affect you. Other users of P21 Mail do not have access to your private mail group directory. 116

117 6 P21 MAIL Note: If a user logs into AIX using the same AIX ID you are using, that user will also be able to access the private mail directory you create. When you select the Priv-Grp option from the Address Maintenance menu, the Mail Group Maintenance screen will appear. Only the groups you add to this directory will appear on the screen. CREATING A MAIL GROUP To create a public mail group, enter the name and description of the new mail group and press [Enter]. The following message appears: If you do not want to add the mail group to the public mail group list, select No. If you want to add the mail group to the group list, select Yes. When you select Yes, the system creates the new mail group. MAIL GROUP OPTIONS You can add addresses to a current mail group, or delete a mail group. When you have a mail group selected, press [F6]. The following screen appears: Add Addresses Delete mail group... adds addresses to the mail group.... deletes mail group from the public mail group list. ADD ADDRESSES When you select the Add Address option from the mail group Options menu, the following screen appears: Type an address you want to add to the mail group. If the address is an existing address, the system will automatically display the name of the addressee in the Name field. If the Address and Name are the ones you want to add to the mail group, press [Enter]. If the address you selected is not in the public address list, the following screen will appear: 117

118 6 P21 MAIL If you do not want to add this address to the system address list, select No. If you want to add this address to the system address list, select Yes. The system will create the address in the system address list and add the address to your mail group. Tip! Adding or Removing an Address to a Mail Group There are several ways to add or remove an address to and from a mail group. You can add and remove addresses to and from a mail group using arrow keys. In the Mail Group Maintenance screen, press [Tab] to move to the System Address section. Highlight an address and press the left arrow key to move the address to the Group Address frame. If you want to remove an address from the Group Address frame, select the address you want to move and press the right arrow key. You can also add an address to a mail group by highlighting the name in the System Addresses frame and pressing [Return]. You can remove a name from a mail group by highlighting the name in the Group Addresses frame and pressing [Return]. DELETE MAIL GROUP When you select the Delete Mail Group option from the mail group Options menu, the following screen appears: If you do not want to delete the public mail group, select No. If you want to delete the public mail group, select Yes. When you select Yes, the system will delete the mail group from the public mail group list. SAVING CHANGES When you make changes in address maintenance, be sure to press [F2] to accept these changes. If you press [F4] to exit the maintenance screen, and you have not saved your changes, the following screen will appear: If you do not want to save the changes you have made to the addresses, select OK. If you want to save your changes, select Cancel. The system will return you to the maintenance screen. Press [F2] to save your changes before you press [F4] to exit. 118

119 POOL Spooling allows you to defer printing reports, lists, forms, etc. The system generates output and temporarily stores it in a SpoolQ to print at a later time through the SpoolQ module. Generation time is separated from printing time, which gives you the opportunity to maximize the use of your printers. Spool queues are displayed by printer. Spool queue entries can be selectively displayed for editing. The system provides options to print the SpoolQ entries, view the next printer that has SpoolQ entries, view the SpoolQ entries for another printer, release any SpoolQ entries on hold, and delete done entries. The system uses priority numbers to arrange entries into groups that should be printed together. The system prints entries in priority order, beginning with the entry having the lowest priority. Sub sequence numbers control the order in which entries print within priority groups. Entries that have the same priority are printed in subsequence order, beginning with the entry that has the lowest subsequence number. You can purge all entries that have been printed and have a status of DONE. You can only purge if you have Q-Mode enabled. You can print a list of all SpoolQ entries. Each printer starts a new page. Caution! The system must be in a GO state for you to generate certain reports to the SpoolQ. These reports include those found in all Progress-based modules. GETTING STARTED SPOOLQ ENTRY When you select to print something and the Printer Options screen appears, there is an option to print to Spool. This allows you to defer the printing. The system generates the output and temporarily stores it in a spool file you can print it at a later time using the SpoolQ module. When you select the Spool option from the Printer Option screen, the system displays the SpoolQ Entry screen. For more information about printer options, refer to the Printer Options section of this manual. 119

120 7 SPOOLQ MAIN MENU You can access the SpoolQ module from the Utilities menu via the System Administration option. When you access the SpoolQ module, the following menu appears: Spool Queue... maintenance area where the SpoolQ entries are stored. For more information on this option, refer to the next section. List... prints a list of existing SpoolQ entries. For more information on this option, refer to page 124. Purge... deletes one or more SpoolQ entries. For more information on this option, refer to page 129. SPOOL QUEUE When you select the Spool Queue option from the Spool Queue Functions menu, a screen similar to the following appears: Printer #... printer number of the printer associated with the SpoolQ. 120

121 7 SPOOLQ Seq#... sequence number of the SpoolQ entry. The system lists the SpoolQ entries for a specific printer in pages of 10. To select a SpoolQ entry, specify the Seq#. The entry that you select displays in the edit window. You may then edit any numbered field displayed. For more information about editing a SpoolQ entry, refer to page 123. ID... SpoolQ identification number. Description... description of the SpoolQ entry. Prior... the priority number of the SpoolQ entry. The system uses the priority number to arrange entries into groups to be printed together. The system prints SpoolQ entries in priority order, beginning with the entry having the lowest priority. When this field is set to HOLD printing this entry is suspended until you release it from HOLD DONE indicates that the SpoolQ entry has been printed Sub Sq... subsequence number of the SpoolQ entry. The subsequence number controls the order of printing within priority groups. The system prints entries in subsequence order, beginning with the entry with the lowest subsequence number. Size... block size of the SpoolQ entry. This indicates the relative size of the SpoolQ entry. One block represents a record approximately 1135 characters. *More*... indicates that more entries for this printer exist. P to Print... prints the contents of the SpoolQ for a specific printer. The system prints the entries in priority order, beginning with the entry that has the lowest priority. Entries that have the same priority are printed in sub sequence order. When you select P to print, the Printer Options screen appears. For more information about the Printer Options screen, refer to the Printer Options section of this manual. For more information about printing SpoolQ entries, refer to page 124. M to See More N to View Next Printer... displays more entries for the SpoolQ if more entries exist.... displays the SpoolQ entries for the next printer. 121

122 7 SPOOLQ S to Specify a Printer Option R to Release Entries on Hold... allows you to specify another printer. When you specify a printer, the system displays SpoolQ entries for the printer that you select. If no SpoolQ entries exist for that printer, a SPOOL QUEUE EMPTY message displays.... releases all entries on Hold. When you select R to release entries on hold, the system displays the following prompt: If you want to release a specific SpoolQ entry for a specific printer, enter the Seq# or ID to release it. If you want to release all entries on Hold, enter A. If you enter A to release all entries on Hold, the system displays the following message: If you enter Y, the system releases all entries on Hold in the SpoolQ for the specified printer. The SpoolQ Edit window updates to reflect the release. If you select N, the system does not release all entries that are on Hold. D to Delete Done Entries... deletes entries that have been printed. This option only appears when you have Q-Mode enabled. When you select D to delete done entries, the system deletes all the entries in the SpoolQ for the specified printer that have been printed and are considered DONE. The deletion parameter screen appears: After you specify the range of Priority numbers and Subsequence numbers that you want to delete, the system displays the following message: If you select Y, the system deletes all DONE entries that fall in the range that you specify. If you select N, the system does not delete the DONE entries. Q to Quit... exits the SpoolQ Edit screen and returns to the Spool Queue Functions menu. 122

123 7 SPOOLQ SPOOLQ EDIT When you select a Seq# of a SpoolQ entry to edit it, a screen similar to the following appears: The fields at the top portion of the screen are similar to the previous Spool Queue Edit screen. For more information about these fields, refer to page 120. Seq#... sequence number of the SpoolQ entry. Spool ID... identification number of the SpoolQ entry. Date & Time Spooled Date Last Printed...the date and time the SpoolQ entry was spooled.... date and time the SpoolQ entry was last printed. If the entry has not yet been printed, the system displays 00/00/00 00:00:00. User ID... user ID of the person who created the SpoolQ entry. Printer #... an arbitrary number to designate where the SpoolQ entry will print. This is a 4 character field and accepts numbers only. You can enter any number from 0 (zero) to Priority #... controls the order in which the system prints the SpoolQ entries. Sub Seq #... allows you to control the order of printing within Priority groups. 123

124 7 SPOOLQ Status... indicates the status of the SpoolQ entry. When this field is set to PRNT the SpoolQ entry prints when you print the SpoolQ. HOLD the SpoolQ entry is suspended until you release the entry from Hold. DONE the SpoolQ entry has been completed. Align Before Printing Blank Pages to Eject # of Extra Copies... indicates whether you need to align forms before you print the entry.... specifies the number of blank pages that are printed... indicates the number of extra copies to print. You can print up to 99 addition copies of the SpoolQ entry. Pause After Printing D to Change Description... indicates whether the system pauses after the entry is printed.... changes the description of the SpoolQ entry. You can use up to 50 characters to describe the SpoolQ entry. The description defaults to the selected Menu option. After you finish editing the SpoolQ entry, the system redisplays the fields. The Spool Queue Edit window is updated to reflect any changes. PRINT SPOOLQ ENTRIES When you print a SpoolQ entry, the system displays the following parameters: Priority Start, End Subsequence # Start, End... determines the range of priority numbers to print.... determines the range of subsequence numbers to print. The spool queue print status window displays the current print status of the spool queue. Displayed are the spool ID, status, number of blocks, number of copies requested, number of blocks printed, and number of copies printed. A counter displays the number of blocks and the # of copies as they are being printed. You are reminded that an Operator Halt ("?") can be used to interrupt the printing of the entry. Before printing begins, SEARCHING appears in the Status field in the spool queue print status window while the system looks for the first entry to be printed. 124

125 7 SPOOLQ As each entry is printed, PRINTING appears in the Status field and the # of Blocks Printed and the # of Copies Printed is updated in the spool queue print status window. When printing is complete, the spool queue entry is displayed in the spool queue view window. DONE is displayed in the PRIOR field. If printing of the entry is interrupted with an Operator Halt ("?"), INTERRUPTED appears in the Status field and additional options display. If an alignment is required before the entry is printed, ALIGNMENT REQUIRED appears in the Status field and additional options display. If a pause is required after the entry is printed, PAUSED appears in the Status field and additional options display. When the printing of the entry is complete, FINISHED appears in the Status field and an additional option display. ONE is displayed in the PRIOR field in the spool queue view window. After all entries in the spool queue are printed, a message is displayed indicating that no more entries remain. The Spool Queue Edit screen is redisplayed. Print SpoolQ Troubleshooting If you try to print to SpoolQ and the files SPQUED and SPQUEX are full, the system displays a message asking you to purge SpoolQ reports or expand the files that are full. A message similar to the following appears: If you try to print to SpoolQ and the files PRSPOD AND PRSPOX are full, the system displays a message asking you to purge SpoolQ reports or expand the files that are full. A message similar to the following appears: If you receive either of the previous two messages, purge SpoolQ reports or expand the files that are full. For more information about purging SpoolQ, refer to page 129. For more information about expanding files, refer to the System Administration manual. Interrupted SpoolQ Printing If the Status of the SpoolQ Print screen reads Interrupted, three options appear: C to Continue S to Skip this ID... resumes the printing from the point of interruption.... ignores the SpoolQ entry and prints the next entry in the queue. An **OPERATOR HALT** message displays on the report, and the system terminates printing. 125

126 7 SPOOLQ Q to Quit... quits printing and returns you to the Spool Queue Edit screen. An **OPERATOR HALT** message displays on the report, and the system terminates printing. Alignment Needed If the Status of the SpoolQ Print screen reads Alignment needed, two options appear: C to Continue O for Options... resumes the printing from the point of interruption.... displays the Interrupted options. For more information, refer to the previous Interrupted section. Paused If the Status of the SpoolQ Print screen reads Paused, two options appear: C to Continue O for Options... resumes the printing from the point of interruption.... displays the Interrupted options. For more information, refer to the previous Interrupted section. Finished If the Status of the SpoolQ Print screen reads Finished, the system displays a message, No more Spool Entries to Print, hit any key to continue. Press any key to return to the Spool Queue Edit screen. 126

127 7 SPOOLQ LIST When you select the List option from the Spool Queue Functions menu, a screen similar to the following appears: Printer # Start, End Priority Start, End Subsequenc e# Start, End... determines the range of printer numbers to include on the list.... determines the range of priority numbers to include on the list.... determines the range of subsequence numbers to include on the list. Sample: Spool Queue Entries List After you determine the parameters, press [Enter] to continue. The system prints the Spool Queue Entries List, similar to the following example: Printer #... indicates the printer number. Prior... priority number. Sub-Seq... subsequence number. Spool ID... identification number of the SpoolQ entry. 127

128 7 SPOOLQ Size... block size of the SpoolQ entry. Description... description of the SpoolQ entry. Hold/Rel... indicates if the SpoolQ entry is on hold or can be released. Stat... status of the SpoolQ entry. Align Forms... indicates whether you need to align forms before you print the entry. Blank Pages... the number of blank pages that are printed Extra Copy... the number of extra copies to print. Pause After... indicates whether the system pauses after the entry is printed. Date Spooled Date Last Printed User ID... the date the SpoolQ entry was created.... the date the SpoolQ entry was last printed.... user ID of the person who created the SpoolQ entry. Port... port number from which the SpoolQ entry was created. 128

129 7 SPOOLQ PURGE Note: You must enable Q-Mode to purge SpoolQ entries. When you select the Purge option from the Spool Queue Functions menu, a screen similar to the following appears: Printer # Start, End Priority Start, End Subsequence # Start, End... determines the range of printer numbers to be purged.... determines the range of priority numbers to be purged.... determines the range of subsequence numbers to be purged. After you complete the parameters, press [Enter] to continue. The screen displays the following message: If you select Y, the system deletes all SpoolQ entries within the parameters that you specify. If you select N, the system does not purge the SpoolQ entries. When you select Y, the system displays a message to indicate that it is purging the Spool file. 129

130 7 SPOOLQ APPENDIX SPOOLING FILE SIZE Report spooling sends a report to a file instead of a printer. The system stores report pages in the spool file. You can then print the reports at a more convenient time. The number of report pages that you can spool before you have to print is determined by the MB capacity of your system. 100 pages for 80 MB 400 pages for 155 MB 800 pages for 300 MB 1000 pages maximum for over 300 MB 130

131 AYS NSTEAD OF ATES USING DAYS INSTEAD OF DATES Many fields in the Prophet 21 system require you to enter dates. Many of these fields are equipped with an automatic formatting feature, where the system recognizes and formats the dates that you enter without slashes. For example, a date field that has the automatic formatting feature recognizes the date as September 12, 1999, and it will change it to 09/12/99 when you press [Enter]. The system is designed so that automatic formatting is enabled wherever possible. Days Instead of Dates Wherever automatic formatting is available for dates, the system allows you to enter a number of days instead of a specific date. Use the plus (+) and minus (-) characters to indicate the direction of time, and enter a specific number of days from the current date. Based on input in terms of days, the system calculates a date and inserts it in the field. For example, today is February 12, 2000 and you are entering a customer order in the Order module. The customer says that she needs the material in ten days. You enter +10 in the Required Date field and press [Enter]. The system calculates the date that is ten days from the current date and automatically enters 02/22/00 in the Required Date field. This feature saves valuable time, eliminating the need to check calendars and count up days manually. The example above explained what happens when the date that you enter is after the current date. The system functions similarly if the date that you need to enter has already passed. The parameters for the Unconfirmed Shipments List in Ship Edit include starting and ending dates. Today is March 20, 2000 and you want to see all unconfirmed shipments for the last five days. In the Starting Date field, enter 5 and press [Enter]. The system automatically enters 3/15/00 in the Starting Date field. You can also use this type of input in JCMs. You can modify JCM spec records so that you enter a specific number of days as a reply, rather than a specific date. In this way, you can ensure accurate reporting and system maintenance. For example, you have a JCM that purges inactive purchase orders at the end of the quarter. With this feature, you can edit the spec that purges inactive purchase orders with a last activity date of at least 90 days so that the Date of Last Activity field is set to 90. The system purges POs that have a Date of Last Activity of at least 90 days earlier than the current date. You no longer need to edit the JCM each quarter to change the date. There might be times when you want the system to use the current date, not a past or future date. To have the system calculate the current date, enter +0 at the date prompt. 131

132 8 DAYS INSTEAD OF DATES Note: For example, today is March 20, 2000 and you are printing the Open Item Report in Expedite Order. You only want to see orders entered for the current week. For the Start and End Order Date parameters, enter 7 and +0. In this way, the Open Item Report displays orders from March 13, 2000 through March 20, You can use a value up to four digits in length, not including the plus or minus characters. For example, the largest number that you can enter is Number of Hours after Midnight You can use another parameter in the date fields, Wnn where nn represents the hours after midnight that are considered part of the previous day. In other words, the system subtracts one day from the calculated date if the system records the date after midnight but before the next day has officially begun. For example, your system runs all its reports through the GOODBYE JCM, which runs at 10pm every day. Today s system date is February 10, The following table shows how the system interprets your input at a date field. Input Before Midnight Midnight to 5am After 5am +5 2/15/00 2/16/00 2/16/00 +5W5 2/15/00 2/15/00 2/16/00-2 2/8/00 2/9/00 2/9/00-2W5 2/8/00 2/8/00 2/9/00 This is especially useful at the end of the month, because it allows you to customize the way the system calculates dates, based on the time of day that you run the GOODBYE JCM. 132

133 S AND ACROS JCMs and Macros allow the system to automatically act on a set of tasks without your assistance. For example, the system could print all the reports available in the Item List module. It would not require user input once you started the process. The system could run the Daily Registers for Order Entry, Shipping, Ship Edit, and Invoicing. Again, user input would not be required once the process was started. JOB CONTROL MODULE The Job Control module (JCM) allows you to create a short set of instructions that you teach the system. The system can then automatically run these instructions without your help. There are several benefits to using a JCM. They save time because they minimize keystrokes. In addition, they allow the system to perform multiple tasks unattended or print long reports after business hours. JCMs are easier to teach new employees, because it might be easier to learn one command than several commands. There are three components of a JCM. There is the JobQ name, the Job Stream, and the Spec name. The JobQ name is the name of your JCM, or the quick job that you want to run. This must be a unique name. The Job stream is a list of the modules or jobs that the system needs to run. The Job Stream must be an existing job stream or existing job queue name (JCM). The Spec name is the Specification record. These are the tasks that the system runs within the job. This name must also be unique. Before the system can run a JCM, you need to tell it two things. First, you need to give the system a list of the Jobs to run. Second, you need to provide a list of tasks to run within a given job. In the Job Control module, the list of Jobs that the system automatically runs is called a Job Queue or JobQ for short. A JobQ tells the system what Jobs to automatically run. In a JobQ, all of the jobs are executed sequentially. That is, the first Job listed is the first Job that the system executes. The tasks to be run within a Job are called a Parameter Specification Record, or Spec for short. A Spec tells the system what tasks to run within a Job. The normal operation of a Job includes a series of system questions and operator answers that culminate in the execution of some task. It is these system questions (Prompts) and your answers (Replies) that are contained in the Specs. Therefore, a Spec is just a series of Prompts and Replies that specify the tasks that the system runs within a Job. Different Specs specify different tasks within Jobs. The purpose of Job Control is for the system to perform tasks automatically without your assistance. Therefore, every Job in a JobQ should also reference a Spec. By reading the associated Spec, the system knows what tasks to perform within any Job on the list. The JobQ data, however, does not functionally require the association of a Spec to each listed Job. Without a Spec, the system does not know what tasks to perform in a Job, and would thus require your assistance. 133

134 9 JCMS AND MACROS The system is set up to automatically initialize a Spec so you do not have to manually enter the series of Prompts and Replies. All that is required is that the Spec associated with each Job exist. The system initialization of Spec details requires each Spec to be empty, with all Prompts and Replies blank. To initialize each of the Specs associated with a JobQ, type the JobQ name at the Job prompt. The system executes the JobQ. It first runs the job listed in the JobQ. Because the Spec of that job is empty, the system waits for you to answer all of its questions, deciding not only what tasks are run, but how the tasks are to be run. During this question/answer sequence, the system records the first 15 characters of all Prompts and Replies. It stores, or logs, this data in the Spec of the Job being run. Each Job in the JobQ has its Spec similarly initialized. The next time that you type the JobQ name at the Job prompt, the system knows what task to execute within a job. Thus, it automatically sequentially executes all jobs in the JobQ along with their specified tasks. When the last task of the last job listed has finished, the system returns to the Job prompt. A JobQ may contain as many as 32 jobs to execute. A Spec may contain up to 64 Prompt-Reply entries. The Job Control module is designed primarily to run jobs involving printouts, such as Registers, Journals, and Lists. MAIN MENU You can access the Job Control module from the Utilities menu in System Administration. When you select the JCM option from the Utilities menu, the following menu appears: Set Up a Job Queue... set up a job that runs automatically. For more information on this option, refer to page 136. Edit Job Queue... edit a job that runs automatically. For more information on this option, refer to page 137. Delete Job Queue... delete a JobQ. For more information on this option, refer to page 137. Copy Job Queue... use an existing JobQ to create another JobQ. For more information on this option, refer to page

135 9 JCMS AND MACROS Create Spec... create a Spec record. For more information on this option, refer to page 138. Edit Spec... edit a Spec record. For more information on this option, refer to page 139. Delete Spec... delete a Spec record. For more information on this option, refer to page 140. Copy Spec... use an existing Spec to create another Spec. For more information on this option, refer to page 140. Scan JobQs for Job... scan all JobQs for a selected Job. For more information on this option, refer to page 141. Scan JobQs for Spec... scan all JobQs for a selected Spec. For more information on this option, refer to page 142. Restore JobQ Names... restore original JobQ names following JCM-CHECK. For more information on this option, refer to page 142. JobQ Names List... print a list of JobQ names. For more information on this option, refer to page 143. JobQ Details List... print a list of JobQ details. For more information on this option, refer to page 144. Spec Names List... print a list of Spec names. For more information on this option, refer to page 145. Spec Details List... print a list of Spec details. For more information on this option, refer to page

136 9 JCMS AND MACROS SET UP JOB QUEUE When you select the Set Up Job Queue option from the Job Control Module menu, a screen similar to the following appears: JobQ Name... how you name your JCM. The JobQ Name is a reference name that the system uses to automatically run a particular group of Jobs. JobQ Name can be 10 characters. It cannot be the name of an existing job. Caution! You must make the name of your JobQ at least two characters. You cannot use only one character to name your JobQ or JCM. Job Stream... jobs that automatically run under the JobQ name. You can enter up to 31 jobs and 1 JobQ that the system automatically runs under the JobQ name. The JobQ should be the final entry. Spec Name... reference name of the group of system prompts and your replies that are encountered when running a job in the list. Spec Name is 10 characters, and holds both letters and numbers. It cannot be an exiting job or JobQ name. IXX... inserts lines between existing lines. XX should represent the number before which you want to insert a new line. For example, if you want to insert a line before line 7, type I7 at the Field prompt. DXX... deletes a line. XX represent the number of the line that you want to delete. For example, if you want to delete line 15, type D15 at the Field prompt. 136

137 9 JCMS AND MACROS You can run jobs in a JobQ even if there is no Spec name and Spec associated with the job. The system runs each job, but waits for you to respond to the prompts associated with that job. EDIT JOB QUEUE The Edit Job Queue option allows you to edit a JobQ. When you select the Edit Job Queue option from the Job Control Module menu, a screen similar to the following appears: For more information about the fields that appear in the previous screen, refer to page 136. DELETE JOB QUEUE Use the Delete Job Queue option to delete a JobQ from the system. When you select the Delete Queue option from the Job Control Module menu, a screen similar to the following appears: 137

138 9 JCMS AND MACROS Proceed with Deletion... prompts you to delete the JobQ. If you select Y, the system deletes the JobQ. If you select N, the system does not delete the JobQ. For more information about the other fields that appear in the previous screen, refer to page 136. COPY JOB QUEUE To use an existing JobQ to create another JobQ, use the Copy Job Queue option. When you select the Copy Job Queue option from the menu, a screen similar to the following appears: Source Name... the name of the JobQ that you want to copy. The system checks the Source name to make sure that the JobQ exists. Dest Name... the JobQ name of the duplicate JobQ. This name must be new and unique. The system checks to ensure that the entry is unique. The destination name cannot be an existing JobQ, Spec, or Job. CREATE SPEC To create a Spec record and record Prompts and Replies for Jobs, use the Create Spec option. When you select the Create Spec option from the menu, a screen similar to the following appears: 138

139 9 JCMS AND MACROS Spec Name... reference name for the Parameter Specification Record. The Spec is an exact log of all of the system Prompts and your Replies that occur when you execute a Job. The system uses these records to execute the Jobs in a JobQ. These records eliminate the need for your assistance when you run a JobQ. Spec Name can be 10 characters. It holds both letters and numbers. It cannot be an existing Job or JobQ name. Prompt... the system prompt that appears when you execute a job. Reply... your reply to the system prompt when you execute a job. E... edits the first screen. A Spec can contain up to 64 Prompt-Reply entries. The first screen contains Prompt-Reply entries 1 through 32. The second screen contains Prompt-Reply entries 33 through 64. The E to Edit option allows you to edit replies on the first screen when you are on the second screen. The first time that you use a Spec, you should create a blank Spec record, rather than manually creating a log of Prompts and Replies. The system provides an easy way to initialize a blank Spec record. The system initializes a Spec record the first time you run a JobQ. If a Spec record is empty, the system displays a series of questions on the screen and the system waits for you to respond to each one. It then records each Prompt and Reply in the Spec associated with that job. For more information about the other fields that appear in the previous screen, refer to page 136. EDIT SPEC To edit a Spec, use the Edit Spec option. When you select the Edit Spec option from the menu, a screen similar to the following appears: 139

140 9 JCMS AND MACROS For more information about the other fields that appear in the previous screen, refer to page 138. You can edit both Prompts and Replies. If you blank a Prompt, the system allows you to manually enter a response when you execute the Job that references this Spec. The system then records both the prompt and the new reply. If you enter a NULL response and the previous value was blank, the system inserts NULL as the reply. If you enter a TERMINATE response and the previous value was blank, the system inserts a TERMINATE as the reply. DELETE SPEC Use the Delete Spec option to delete a Spec. When you select the Delete Spec option from the menu, a screen similar to the following appears: Proceed with Deletion... prompts you to delete the Spec. If you select Y, the system deletes the Spec. If you select N, the system does not delete the Spec. COPY SPEC You can use an existing Spec to create another Spec with the Copy Spec option. When you select the Copy Spec option from the menu, a screen similar to the following appears: 140

141 9 JCMS AND MACROS Source Name... name of the Spec that you want to copy. The system checks the Source name to make sure that the Spec exists. Dest Name... the Spec name of the duplicate Spec. This name must be unique. The system checks to ensure that the entry is unique. The destination name cannot be an existing JobQ, Spec, or Job. SCAN JOBQS FOR JOB You can scan all JobQs for a selected Job. When you select the Scan JobQs for Job option from the menu, a screen similar to the following appears: Job Name JobQ Name... Job name of the Job that you want to find.... name of the JobQ that runs the Job you specified. Field... field in the JobQ that the Job is used. Spec Name... name of the spec associated with the job. 141

142 9 JCMS AND MACROS SCAN JOBQS FOR SPEC You can scan all JobQs for a specific Spec. When you select the Scan JobQs for Spec option from the menu, a screen similar to the following appears: Spec Name JobQ Name... name of the Spec that you want to find.... name of the JobQ associated with the Spec. Field... field number in which the Spec appears. Job Stream... Job Stream associated with the Spec. RESTORE JOBQ NAMES During a Library Update, JCM-CHECK checks all existing JCMs and reports those that might be affected by changes to menus or parameter screens. The system automatically renames these JCMs to prevent them from being run accidentally before you can review them for possible modification. The system reports both the original and the new JobQ names. After you review the JCMs, you can restore the original names by running the Restore JobQ Names option. When you select the Restore JobQ Names option from the menu, a screen similar to the following appears: 142

143 9 JCMS AND MACROS Proceed?... prompts you to restore original JobQ names. If you select Y, the system restores the JobQ names to their original names. If you select N, the system does not restore the JobQ names. JOBQ NAMES LIST You can print a list of JobQ Names. When you select the JobQ Names List option from the menu and select a printer option, a screen similar to the following appears: Start, End... range of JobQ names to print in the list. OK... prints the report. RPT... changes the values in the Start and End fields. QUIT... exits the JobQ Name List without printing. SAMPLE: JOBQ NAME LIST When you type OK you print a JobQ Name List, similar to the following example: This is a list of all the JobQ names. 143

144 9 JCMS AND MACROS JOBQ DETAILS LIST You can print a more detailed list of the JobQ names. When you select the JobQ Details List option from the menu and specify a printer option, a screen similar to the following appears: Start, End... range of JobQ information to print in the list. OK... prints the report. RPT... changes the values in the Start and End fields. QUIT... exits the JobQ Detail List without printing. SAMPLE: JOBQ DETAIL LIST When you type OK you print a JobQ Detail List, similar to the following example: JobQ Name... JobQ name. Job Stream... job stream name. Spec Name... Spec name 144

145 9 JCMS AND MACROS SPEC NAMES LIST You can print a list of Spec names. When you select the Spec Names List option from the menu and specify a printer option, a screen similar to the following appears: Start, End... range of Spec names to print in the list. OK... prints the report. RPT... changes the values in the Start and End fields. QUIT... exits the Spec Record Name List without printing. SAMPLE: SPEC RECORD NAME LIST When you type OK you print a Spec Record Name List, similar to the following example: 145

146 9 JCMS AND MACROS SPEC DETAILS LIST You can print a more detailed list of the Spec names. When you select the Spec Details List option from the menu and specify a printer option, a screen similar to the following appears: Start, End... range of Spec information to print in the list. OK... prints the report. RPT... changes the values in the Start and End fields. QUIT... exits the Spec Record Detail List without printing. 146

147 9 JCMS AND MACROS SAMPLE: JOBQ DETAIL LIST When you type OK you print a Spec Detail List, similar to the following example: Spec Name... Spec name. Prompt... system prompt. Reply... your reply. EXECUTE YOUR JOBQ To execute a JobQ or the list of jobs for the system to run, enter the JobQ name at the Job prompt or jump to box. If the name that you type is in the Job Control file, the system runs the list of Jobs. After it has completed running all of the Jobs on the list, it returns to the Job prompt. Whenever the system executes a Job in the JobQ, it expects a particular series of prompts. These are the prompts that are entered in the Spec. If the Spec prompt entry is blank, the system records both the prompt and the reply in the Spec. If the Spec prompt does not match the actual prompt, the system pauses after displaying the actual prompt and waits for you to reply. You must manually enter a reply before the system continues the Job. 147

148 9 JCMS AND MACROS APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: JCM WITH TIMER The following procedure serves as a guideline for setting up a JCM called ORDREGQ in the Job Control module. This handles the printing of the Order Register after business hours at 7:00 pm. 1. Access the Job Control module 2. Select the option to enter a JobQ. The JobQ Entry screen displays. ENTER JOBQ-NAME...ORDREGQ JOB STREAM SPEC-NAME JOB STREAM SPEC-NAME 1 TIMER ORD Q-MODE ORD ORDER ORD FIELD: "IXX" for Insert "DXX" for Delete 3. Enter ORDREGQ as the JobQ Name. 4. Enter ORD1, ORD2, and ORD3 as the Spec Name. 5. Enter ORDREGQ at the jump to box. The system executes ORDREGQ and waits for you to answer all of its questions as you set the time and print the Order Register. It stores the system questions (Prompts) and your answers (Replies) in the associated Specs. When you are prompted for the time, enter a time that is within a minute or two of the current time, because the system will wait until that time before continuing. The current time is HH:MM XX. Set TIMER... (HH:MM XX) When ORDREGQ has finished, edit the Spec associated with the Job TIMER and change the time to 7:00 pm. The next time that you enter ORDREGQ at the Job prompt or jump to box, the system knows which tasks to execute and, as a result, automatically prints the Order Register at 7:00 pm. 148

149 9 JCMS AND MACROS 6. Access the Job Control module. Select the option to edit a Spec. Enter ORD1 as the Spec name. EDIT SPEC-NAME...ORD1 PROMPT REPLY PROMPT REPLY 7:00 PM 17 Y FIELD: "IXX" for insert "DXX" for delete Fields 1 and 2 are displayed, and the Prompts and Replies were recorded by the system. Change Field 1 as shown. 7. Select the option to edit a spec. Enter ORD2 as the Spec name. EDIT SPEC-NAME...ORD2 PROMPT REPLY PROMPT REPLY Y 17 2 Q-MODE has been terminate FIELD: "IXX" for insert "DXX" for delete Fields 1 and 2 are displayed, and the Prompts and Replies were recorded by the system. 149

150 9 JCMS AND MACROS 8. Select the option to edit a spec. Enter ORD3 as the Spec name. EDIT SPEC-NAME...ORD3 PROMPT REPLY PROMPT REPLY PROFIT % SCREEN YES 19 4 HIGH PROFIT% LOW PROFIT% "OK" "RPT" "QUI OK 22 7 USE DUE CAUTION terminate 23 terminate FIELD: "IXX" for insert "DXX" for delete Fields 1 through 8 are displayed, and the Prompts and Replies were recorded by the system. APPENDIX 2: JOB CONTROL OVERVIEW What is Job Control? The Job Control module allows you to set up a series of Jobs and options to run in a particular sequence without operator assistance. What is Job Control used for? You can use Job Control to print all daily registers and reports after everyone has gone home for the evening. Reports can be run without operator assistance. Job Control can be used to print purchase requirement reports that might take some time to print. You can also use Job Control to quickly access Expedite Order View, Receivables View, and Pricing & Availability. These are just some suggestions. Be creative. How is Job Control set up? The system must know what jobs to run. Within each job, the system needs to know what options you have chosen and what parameters you want to use. The first step is to create a JobQ. The name of the JobQ should relate to the purpose of the JobQ, which makes it easier to remember. The second step is to list the Job Streams to run. In a JobQ, all of the Jobs are executed sequentially. That is, the first Job listed is the first Job executed. 150

151 9 JCMS AND MACROS The third step is to list the Spec Names associated with the job streams to be run. The Spec contains the Prompts and Replies that specify the options and parameters for the system to use when it runs a Job. There is no need to create the Specs by manually entering a series of Prompts and Replies for each Job. The system automatically completes this for you the first time you run the JobQ. How is a JobQ initialized? Type the JobQ name at the Job prompt or jump to box. The system executes the JobQ and runs the first job listed in the JobQ. The first time that you run a JobQ, the Spec is empty, so the system waits for you to answer all of its questions. During the question/answer sequence, the system records the first 15 characters of all Prompts and Replies in the Spec of the Job that is being run. Each Job in the JobQ has its Spec similarly initialized. How is a JobQ run after it is initialized? The second time you type the JobQ name at the Job prompt or jump to box, the system knows what tasks to enter within the Job. It sequentially executes all Jobs in the JobQ, along with their specified tasks. When the last task of the last Job that is listed has finished, the system returns to the Job prompt. Things to consider JobQ names and Spec names cannot duplicate any Job name that is already in the system. JCMs should not be used to print forms. JCMs should not be used to clear reports, unless they have been printed and checked. You might want to set up a JCM to print reports, and set up another JCM to clear the report the next day. A JCM should run from start to finish. Do not attempt to break out of a JCM using an Operator Halt. You will not be able to restart the JCM from the point of interruption. Before you start a JCM to run overnight, check your paper supply and see that the reports are stacking properly. You can print to your SpoolQ and then from your SpoolQ to paper. Make sure that you have enough room in the SpoolQ to handle the reports that you send. MACROS JCMs allow you to record keystrokes and play them back for the automation of various tasks only in some parts of the system. Macros allow you to perform JCM-like functions in all areas of the system, including in the Accounting modules. You can create macros in two different ways in the system: 1. You can create a single macro associated with one job or module via system-recorded keystrokes. For more information on this procedure, refer to Creating Single Macros via System-Recorded Keystrokes on page You can create single or multiple linked macros via manually entering keystrokes in the system. For more information on this procedure, refer to Creating Single or Queue (Multiple) Macros via Manually Entering Keystrokes on page

152 9 JCMS AND MACROS CREATING SINGLE MACROS VIA SYSTEM-RECORDED KEYSTROKES Using the Key Macros option from the Toolbox menu, you can record, play back, and edit single macros associated with one job or module. When you press [F7] to access the Toolbox, the new option, Key Macros appears, similar to the following screen: The option, Key Macros appears. Key Macros... accesses options that allow you to play, record, stop and edit your macros. When you select Key Macros, the four options, Play, Record, Stop, and Edit appear. Macro options appear. Play... plays back an existing job or queue macro. For more information on this option, refer to the section, Play the Macro on page 154. Record... records keystrokes of a specific task in the system. You cannot name your macro after an existing Job, JCM, or queue macro, but you can overwrite an existing macro. When you record a macro, an R appears next to Mode: at the top of the screen. For more information on this option, refer to the section, Record the Macro on page

153 9 JCMS AND MACROS Stop... stops recording the current macro you are recording. Important! There are two ways to stop recording your macro: select the Stop option from the Key Macros menu, or press [F4] to exit the module and stop the macro. If you want to put the macro in a Queue Macro, you must stop the macro by pressing [F4]. Otherwise, you can choose either option to stop the macro. For more information on Queue Macros, refer to the section, Queue Macros (Multiple Macros) on page 166. The R next to Mode: at the top of the screen disappears because you ve stopped recording. For more information on this option, refer to the section, Stop the Macro on page 154. Edit... edits an existing job or queue macro. For more information on this option, refer to the section, Edit the Macro on page 159. RECORD THE MACRO Important! To record a Macro, you must be in the module for which you wish the module to run. For example, if you wish to record a Macro to print an Aged Receivables report, you must be on the Receivables menu before you press [F7] to begin recording the Macro. When you select Record from the Key Macros menu, the Record New Macro screen appears. Enter a name and description for the macro you want to record. A screen similar to the following appears: Macro... a 10-character field that specifies the name of the macro you want to record. For example, if want to record running the Unallocated Payments Report, you can enter UNALLOC in the Macro field. 153

154 9 JCMS AND MACROS Desc... a 40-character field that describes the macro you want to record. For example, if want to record running the Unallocated Payments Report, you can enter UNALLOCATED PAYMENTS REPORT in the Desc field. After you name and describe the macro, press [Enter] to start recording it. For example, if you want to record the Unallocated Payments Report, run the report accordingly. An R appears next to the Mode: field, similar to the following screen: R Mode appears when you record a macro. STOP THE MACRO After you have finished the task for the macro or you just want to stop recording it, exit the module in which you are recording the macro, or select the Stop option from the Key Macros menu. Important! If you want to put this macro in a Queue Macro, you must press [F4] to stop the macro you are recording. Otherwise, you can either press [F4] or select Stop to stop the macro. For more information on Queue Macros, refer to the section, Queue Macros (Multiple Macros) on page 166. When you stop a macro, the system prompts you with a message similar to the following: The macro includes all keystrokes you entered up until you stopped recording it. Note: After you stop the macro, R Mode disappears on the top right side of the screen. PLAY THE MACRO After you ve recorded the macro, you can play it back by typing the name of the macro at the jump to box, or by selecting the Play option on the Key Macros menu. 154

155 9 JCMS AND MACROS When you select Play, the Macro Browse screen appears, similar to the following screen: Name... name of the macro. Type... type of the macro. There are two types of macros, Job and Queue. Job a single macro associated with a job or module. Queue multiple macros that run in sequence. To create queue macros, use the Macros module. For more information on creating queue macros, refer to the section, Queue Macros (Multiple Macros) on page 166. Job... job or module that the macros affect. If the macro is a job macro, this field lists the job or module in which the macro was created. For example, if your macro runs the Unallocated Payments Report, Receivables appears in the Job field because this report is run in the Receivables module. If the macro is a queue macro, this field remains blank, because a queue macro can consist of multiple jobs and/or modules. Desc... description of the macro. When you select [Tab] to reindex the browse, a screen similar to the following appears: You can reindex the browse in the following ways: 155

156 9 JCMS AND MACROS Name... by name. Job... by job. This option reindexes the browse by the job or module that each macro affects. For example, if 5 macros affect the Company module, Company is listed 5 separate times (next to each respective macro). Type... by type. Job... by each unique job. This option only lists the unique names of the jobs or modules that the macros affect. For example, if 5 macros affect the Company module, Company is only listed once. You can also access the Macro Maintenance screen from the Macro Browse by pressing [F6] to PowrDrill on a macro. For more information on Macro Maintenance, refer to the section, Macro Maintenance on page 165. From the Macro Browse, select the macro you want to play back. The system automatically repeats the keystrokes you set up in the macro. MODIFY THE MACRO DURING PLAYBACK You can also modify your macros when you play them back. This allows you to easily and efficiently change the content of your macros on the fly. The token, <INPUT>, allows you to stop the macro temporarily during playback, enter the information you want, and then resume playing the macro. In Macro Maintenance, insert the <INPUT> token in the macro where you want to enter information during playback. 156

157 9 JCMS AND MACROS For example, the following macro currently prints the Aged Receivables Report in Customer sequence, from customer ABRTOO through customer CONAWA: The content of the Start Customer field. The content of the End Customer field. You want to change this macro during playback to enter a different range of customers. Therefore, replace ABRTOO and CONAWA with the <INPUT> token. You can either manually type this token, or press [F3] and select it from the browse: Select the new <INPUT> token. 157

158 9 JCMS AND MACROS After you replace the customers names with the <INPUT> token, the key sequence appears as follows: Replace the customer names with the <INPUT> token. Press [F2] to save your changes. Play back your macro by selecting it from the jump to box, or by selecting Play from the Key Macros menu and then selecting the macro you want. When you play back your macro, the system stops at the Start Customer field, where you inserted your first <INPUT> token: The system stops at the Start Customer field. In the Start Customer field, enter the customer for whom you want to begin the customer range. After you ve entered the customer, press [Ctrl] [R] to resume playing the macro. Important! You must press [Ctrl] [R] while the cursor is still in the field to resume playing the macro. 158

159 9 JCMS AND MACROS After you press [Ctrl] [R], the system resumes playing the macro. It stops again on the End Customer field, where you inserted the second <INPUT> token in Macro Maintenance: The system stops on the End Customer field. Enter the customer for whom you want to end the customer range, and press [Ctrl] [R] to resume playing the macro again. The system continues playing the macro until the next <INPUT> token indicates it to stop again. Because the End Customer field was the last place you entered an <INPUT> token, the system plays the rest of the macro without stopping. EDIT THE MACRO To edit the macro, select the Edit option from the Key Macros menu. When you select Edit, the Macro Browse screen appears. For more information on the Macro browse, refer to the section, Play the Macro on page 154. From the Macro Browse, select the macro you want to edit. The Macro screen appears, similar to the following: 159

160 9 JCMS AND MACROS Macro Name... name of macro. Type... type of macro. Macro Information Desc... description of the macro. Created... date that the macro was created. Modified... date that the macro was modified. Key Sequence... keystrokes that define the macro. The left side of the Key Sequence field displays the actual keystrokes that make up the macro. The right side displays any comments you insert about the corresponding keystrokes. You can browse on this field to select token keys, or special keys like F2, ESC, or RETURN. For more information on this option, refer to the section, Key Sequence Field on page 160. KEY SEQUENCE FIELD The Key Sequence field on the Macro screen displays the keystrokes that define the macro and any comments you insert about those keystrokes. Special keys, (e.g. F2, ESCAPE, RETURN) are referred to as tokens, and are surrounded by the greater than and less than signs <>. For example, if your macro describes printing the Aged Receivables Report, the first keystroke could be pressing [M] from the Receivables module to select Management Reporting. Therefore, M appears as the first keystroke on the left side of the Key Sequence field. On the right side, your comment could be Management Reporting. 160

161 9 JCMS AND MACROS The first line of the Key Sequence field would appear as follows: M <COMMENT> MANAGEMENT REPORTING Because Aged Receivables Report is the first option on the Management Reporting menu, your next keystroke is pressing [Return] to select this option. Therefore, <RETURN> appears as the next keystroke on the left side of Key Sequence. On the right side, your comment could be Aged Receivables Report. The second line of the Key Sequence field would appear as follows: <RETURN> <COMMENT> AGED RECEIVABLES REPORT In the Key Sequence field, you can type and delete text as needed. When you type the name of a token, the system completes its name after you enter one or two characters. For example, after you type the following: <D, the system automatically enters <DOWN>. Note: If you manually type the keystrokes, be sure to include the greater than and less than signs <> around the token keys. For example, if you want to type Return as a keystroke, type the following: <RETURN>. You can also browse for a list of tokens by pressing [F3]. When you press [F3] to browse, a screen similar to the following appears: Function Keys <F1>... inserts the F1 key token in the key sequence. 161

162 9 JCMS AND MACROS <F2>... inserts the F2 key token in the key sequence. <F3>... inserts the F3 key token in the key sequence. <F4>... inserts the F4 key token in the key sequence. <F6>... inserts the F6 key token in the key sequence. <F7>... inserts the F7 key token in the key sequence. <F8>... inserts the F8 key token in the key sequence. <ESCAPE>... inserts the Escape key token in the key sequence. Navigation <UP>... inserts the up arrow key token in the key sequence. <DOWN>... inserts the down arrow key token in the key sequence. <LEFT>... inserts the left arrow key token in the key sequence. <RIGHT>... inserts the right arrow key token in the key sequence. <HOME>... inserts the Home key token in the key sequence. <END>... inserts the End key token in the key sequence. <PGUP>... inserts the Page Up key token in the key sequence. <PGDOWN>... inserts the Page Dn key token in the key sequence. Edit <INSERT>... inserts the Insert key token in the key sequence. <DELETE>... inserts the Delete key token in the key sequence. <BACKSPACE>... inserts the Backspace key token in the key sequence. <TAB>... inserts the Tab key token in the key sequence. 162

163 9 JCMS AND MACROS <BACKTAB>... inserts the token that represents pressing the Shift and Tab keys to enter a backwards Tab in the key sequence. <RETURN>... inserts the Return, or Enter key token in the key sequence. <SPACE>... inserts the Space Bar key token in the key sequence. Comments <COMMENT>... inserts the <COMMENT> token. Insert the <COMMENT> token before any comments, or description of the corresponding keystroke. For example, if the keystroke is <RETURN> for selecting the Aged Receivables Report, the comment could be Aged Receivables Report. The comments should appear on the right side of the corresponding keystroke. <ENDCOMMENT>... inserts the <ENDCOMMENT> token. Insert the <ENDCOMMENT> token after comments that take up more than one text line. ERASING THE MACRO If you want to stop and erase the macro completely in the middle of recording it, you can use the hidden option, Reset Mode. This can be used, for example, if the AIX s /tmp directory becomes full while you re recording. Activate Q-Mode and H-Mode. Access the Macros module by typing MACRO at the jump to box. From the Macros module, select Reset Mode. Reset Mode When you select Reset Mode, the following message appears: CREATING SINGLE OR QUEUE (MULTIPLE) MACROS VIA MANUALLY ENTERING KEYSTROKES Instead of having the system record your keystrokes to create the macro, you can use the Macros module to create Job (single) or Queue macros (multiple macros that run in sequence one after another) by manually entering keystrokes in the system. 163

164 9 JCMS AND MACROS To access the Macros module, type MACRO at the jump to box, or select Utilities from the System Administration menu, and Macro from the Utilities menu. Select Macro from the Utilities menu. Macro... accesses the Macros module. The Macros module appears, similar to the following screen: The Macros menu appears. Macros Macro Maintenance... accesses the Macros screen. On the Macros screen, you can view, edit, add, and delete macros. You can also set up queue macros and manually enter the keystrokes for both your job or queue macros. For more information on this option, refer to page

165 9 JCMS AND MACROS Copy... accesses the Copy Macro screen. On the Copy Macro screen, you can copy an existing macro to a new macro. This allows you to create similar macros quickly. For more information on this option, refer to page 169. MACRO MAINTENANCE The Macro screen that appears when you select the Macro Maintenance option is the same screen that appears via the Edit option on the Key Macros menu. However, when you access this screen via the Macros module, you can view, add, edit, and delete macros, like the other maintenance screens throughout the system. You can also create queue macros, and manually enter, instead of record the keystrokes for the macro. The Macro screen appears in View mode, similar to the following: View mode appears. Like other maintenance screens, press [Ctrl] [E] or the down arrow key to access Edit mode. Access Edit mode. 165

166 9 JCMS AND MACROS When you press [Delete] to delete a macro, the system prompts you with the following message: From View mode, Press [Insert] to enter a new macro and access Add Mode. Access Add mode. JOB MACROS (SINGLE MACROS) Complete the parameters on the Macro screen as you did via the Edit option from the Key Macros menu. Verify that Job is entered in the Type field. On the line next to the Type field, enter the job or module in which you are creating the macro. In the Key Sequence field, type the keystrokes of your macro. To browse for tokens, press [F3]. After you create your macro, you can play it back and edit it as needed. QUEUE MACROS (MULTIPLE MACROS) Similar to JCMs, you can link one macro after another by creating a queue macro. In the Type field on the Macro screen, press [F3] and select Queue. 166

167 9 JCMS AND MACROS Select Queue. The Queue field appears, replacing the Key Sequence field, similar to the following screen: The Queue field appears. Queue... defines the macros that are included in the queue. In the Queue field, enter the names of the macros you want to include in the queue. The name of the macro and its description appear in the Queue field, similar to the following screen: 167

168 9 JCMS AND MACROS Name and description of macros appear. When you run the queue macro, the single macros you have included in the queue run in sequence. This is especially helpful for end of day procedures. Important! Make sure that when you created the macros in the queue, you stopped them by pressing [F4], not by selecting the Stop option from the Key Macros menu. The [F4] keystroke at the end of each macro indicates to the system to continue to the next macro in the queue. If you did not press [F4] at the end of a macro in the queue, the Queue Macro will stop after that macro. If you selected the Stop option for any of these macros, edit the macro in Macro Maintenance and add an [F4] at the end of the macro job. 168

169 9 JCMS AND MACROS COPYING MACROS If you want to create similar macros, you can copy an existing macro to a new one. You can then easily edit the new macro as needed. When you select the Copy option from the Macros menu, a screen similar to the following appears: The Copy Macro screen appears. From:... the name of the existing macro you want to copy. To:... the name of the new macro to which you want to copy the existing macro. When you press [Enter] to copy the macro, the following message appears: Note: To use macros with JCMs, set the Job Stream to JCMMACRO, and the Spec Name to the name of the macro. To run multiple macros in a JCM, you can either enter the single macros one after another, or enter a queue macro, which includes the single macros. /BEEPER NOTIFICATION IF JCM/MACRO DOES NOT FINISH The system automatically dials a beeper number or sends an if a JCM or macro does not finish. 169

170 9 JCMS AND MACROS JOB When an end-of-day JCM fails, a code/message will be sent to an administrator s beeper or address. This gives the system administrator time to examine the system before the next workday begins. Previously, you would only find out the next morning if a dayend JCM failed. The result would be downtime while everyone waited for the system to be backed up. Acclaim will now have the capability of monitoring JCMs and macros (also known as JCs or job controls) while they are running. If the JC doesn t finish, Acclaim can page/ the system administrator. A prime use for this is to monitor the GOODBYE JCM. For example, if this JCM doesn t finish by 6am, the system administrator would be paged. They can then get a head start in troubleshooting the system before employees arrive to use it. To access this new software, choose the Job Control option on the main menu of the Job Stream module. The Auxiliary and Monitor options are new selections on this menu: Auxiliary... maintain auxiliary information related to the Job Control (JC). Monitor... establish system - wide information related to monitoring. 170

171 9 JCMS AND MACROS AUXILIARY When you choose the Auxiliary option from the Job Control menu, the following screen appears. (Sample information is shown.) Job Control... identifies the Job Control (JCM or macro) that is to be monitored. While in Add Mode, browse to see all Job Controls that exist in the system. In Navigation Mode (the mode you are in when you first access the screen), the browse on the Job Control field only shows Job Controls that have auxiliary information already set up. Notification Contact... identifies the person to be notified if the JC fails. Enter a personal contact from the browse in this field. This contact s pager and address is used for any notification. By choosing a personal contact, changes only need to be made by editing the pager or address for this contact on the Personal Contacts Maintenance screen. Note: Personal contacts are entered by using the Personal Contact Maintenance option on the main menu of the Contact module. To use this JC monitoring feature, enter a P21 personal contact called SYSTEM ADMIN. Notify Pager... determines if the contact is to be notified by pager if the JC fails. Yes The contact is notified by pager if the JCM or macro fails. No The contact is not notified by pager. Code... the numeric code sent to the pager. Notify ... determines if the contact is to be notified by if the JC fails. 171

172 9 JCMS AND MACROS Yes The contact is notified by if the JCM or macro failed. No The contact is not notified. Monitoring Mode... sets how the system monitors your JC. Off No monitoring takes place of the job control. Finish The mode is set to a finish time. The JC is considered failed if it is still running at the finish time. When set to Finish, the Mode field is linked to the following Finish Time field. Runtime When the mode is set to Runtime, the JC is considered failed if takes longer than the set runtime to complete. The Mode field is linked to the following Running Time field. Finish Time... the deadline for the JC to finish. Set values in these three fields if the Mode field is set to Finish. The first value is the hour, where a value between and including 1 to 12 can be entered. The second value is the minutes, where a value between and including 0 to 60 (in increments of 5) can be entered. The third value is to identify AM or PM. All values are to be manually entered. Running Time... the maximum time the JC can run before it is considered failed. Enter a numeric value in this field. Unit... unit of time. This field is connected to the Running Time and should be chosen from the browse. S The unit of time is set to seconds. M The running time is set to minutes. H The running time is in hours. MONITOR The Job Control Monitor section tracks company-wide information related to JC monitoring. It contains the information on the modem you want to use to page the contact. 172

173 9 JCMS AND MACROS To access the Job Control Monitor screen, choose the Monitor option from the Job Control menu: A screen similar to the following appears: Modem Type... identifies the modem type. For example, you would enter hayes for a Hayes modem. Device... physical port of the modem. Speed... speed that the modem can handle for a page. Normally, 2400 works for all modems. Prefix... what must be dialed first to reach an outside line. For example, 9w is entered on this screen. The 9 retrieves the outside line and the w waits for the dial tone. 173

174 9 JCMS AND MACROS HOW IT WORKS Any JCM or macro that has the Mode field enabled from the Auxiliary screen is monitored when it runs. If it fails and the Notify Pager field on the Auxiliary screen is enabled, then the personal contact is paged with the pager code. If the Notify field on the Auxiliary screen is enabled for this JC, and Mode is set to Runtime, the personal contact receives an similar to the following if the JC is taking too long to run: If the Notify field is enabled, and Mode is set to Finish, the personal contact receives an similar to the following if the JC is still running past the deadline: JCM/MACRO CHANGE REPORT JCMs and macros that may need changes due to system updates, menu and parameter changes are now reported and optionally disabled. JOB During the Acclaim update process, the system can now determine which JCMs and macros may not work when they are compared to new changes made to any screen or menu. To access the new options that are used to check and report on the JCMs and macros that may have changed because of a system update, select the System Administration option from the system main menu; choose Utilities from the System Administration menu, and then select the Job option from the Utilities menu. 174

175 9 JCMS AND MACROS The Job Stream Module main menu appears. Select the Job Control option. A new sub-menu has been created: Check... reports on and (optionally) disables all JCMs and macros that may have been affected by recent changes to menu and/or parameter screens. For more information on this option, refer to the next section. Restore... reenables JCMs and macros if they have been disabled by running the Check option. For more information on this choice, refer to page 178. Auxiliary... monitors JCMs and macros so that you can be notified if they fail. More information on this feature is found in the section entitled, " /Beeper Notification if JCM/Macro Does Not Finish" on page 171. Monitor... company-wide information related to job control monitoring. The modem to be used to page the contact is defined in this section. For more information on this option, refer to the section entitled, " /Beeper Notification if JCM/Macro Does Not Finish" on page 172. Important! From this point on, JCMs and macros will be called JCs, or job controls. This is a more generic term to include both facilities. JC-CHECK OVERVIEW Whenever an update is installed on the system, the new job, JC-CHECK, is run automatically after the LIB- UPDATE job. It checks the jobs, menus and parameters to see what has changed since the last update. Whenever a screen or menu changes, it is possible that an existing JC (job control) may no longer work. For example, if a menu choice moves from the third to the fourth option on the screen, job controls that exist based on this choice being the third option will not work. The new job JC-CHECK searches all job controls (JCMs and macros) to determine which ones may need to be updated due to menu and parameter changes. JC-CHECK looks for the following kinds of changes: Any menu choices that: are new are deleted have moved position 175

176 9 JCMS AND MACROS have had the first character change (because of key resolution) Any screen fields that: are new are deleted have moved position If JC-CHECK finds any job control that is affected by the prior changes, it can optionally disable that job control and lists it on the JC-CHECK Report. The job control can then be analyzed to determine if it needs to be changed so as not to lose its functionality. Once repaired, the job control can be reenabled by using the Restore option on the Job Control menu. CHECK Use the new Check option on the Job Control menu to run the JC-CHECK job. When you choose the Check option, the following screen appears: Automatically disable JCMs/Macros?... determines whether job controls are disabled while the JC-CHECK job searches for those job controls that could be affected by menu or parameter changes. Yes JCMs and macros (job controls or JCs) are disabled and reported, and cannot be run in the system until they are restored. No Job controls are reported but are not disabled. They can be run in the system. Cancel Exits from running the Job Control Check procedure. 176

177 9 JCMS AND MACROS After answering this parameter with Yes or No and selecting a printer, a report similar to the following is displayed: Changed Job... name of the job stream that has had a change that could affect job controls. Type... kind of change that possibly affects job controls. Menu or Scrn (Screen) are the possible values that display. Description... explanation of the change. Note: For example, the report could display COMPANY under the Changed Job column, Menu under the Type column, and Sequence 4 - The company options menu choices for order processing, inventory control, accounting, system, and user ID based options have been condensed into one company options menu under the Description column. The sequence number is just an internal number used within the system. The full description shown will tell the user which menu/screen has changed. You should then inspect the menu of the Company module. JC Name... name of the job control (JC). The JC Name is either a JCM or macro name. JC Type... kind of job control. The JC Type is either JCM or macro. Spec Name... name of the spec file within the JCM that could possibly be affected by the 177

178 9 JCMS AND MACROS update changes. Macros do not list a spec name. Fld... identifies the field where the spec name appears. The Field number indicates the position of the spec within the JCM. The Job Control Change Report can be used to zero in on the job controls that need to be reviewed before the next time of their running. Repairing any JCM or macro now can avoid any future problem of halting job controls and down time while you fix the job control. After repairing the job controls, and if you have disabled them, restore them to their functionality by running the Restore option described in the next section. RESTORE The Restore option enables all JCMs and macros that were disabled with the running of the JC-CHECK job. To enable the disabled job controls, choose the Restore option from the Job Control menu. The following screen appears: Enable all JCMs and Macros?... determines whether JCMs and macros (job controls) should be reenabled from being disabled by the running of the JC-CHECK job. Yes Job controls are reenabled and regain their functionality. No Job controls are left disabled and cannot be used. Once the prompt is answered, the system displays a blank screen during processing and then returns to the Job Control main menu. If repairs were made and Yes was entered, disabled job controls are now functioning again. 178

179 ORKFLOW Workflow allows the system to automatically send an AIX to alert people when a certain action occurs. The message can be sent internally, or it can be sent externally provided you have established an Internet connection on your RS/6000. The notifications allow personnel to know immediately when a related transaction is generated within the system. The system will send a notification via for the following transactions: Entry of a customer payment in Accounts Receivable Changes made in the Data Change module Edit of the purchase order date is past the required date Generation of an order with an LPU status Receipt of material Creation of a new customer record when entering an order Creation of an order with a profit percent outside of a specified range Adjustment of stock that causes a protected quantity to be penetrated Adjustment of quantity in Ship Edit Confirmation of shipments Material allocation causes an item to be out of stock Suspension of a customer order Creation of a customer order that requires credit validation Order to be shipped that is placed on hold because it is past its credit card authorization date (You must have the Credit Card optional package enabled to use this credit card authorization workflow event.) A message is triggered when an item s moving average cost has changed by a specific percentage A warning message displays in Material Receiving when an item s cost is 0.00 Workflow provides an easy-to-use interface so you can quickly determine the conditions that must occur within the system before an is sent. You may create mailing groups to have a notification for a specific transaction sent to multiple people, or you can send the message to a single recipient. Once you specify these conditions, and enter the user address into the system, you have created a workflow event. In addition, you can determine the conditions of the notifications based on customers, vendors, and items. You can also specify minimum and maximum amounts and profit percentages, and class ranges. Following are a few examples of how you can utilize Workflow. Create a workflow event that sends a message to Kevin Dickerson, Sales Manager, every time an order below 14% profit is entered for customer ABCPLU. Create a workflow event that sends a message to Sally Blackstone, Purchasing Manager, every time protected stock is penetrated for any item. 179

180 10 WORKFLOW Create a workflow event that sends a message to Tina Jones, Credit Manager, when an order that requires credit validation is accepted. AUTOMATED WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT You can access Automated Workflow Management one of two ways: you can select the Workflow option from the System Administration menu, or you can type WORKFLOW at the jump to box. When you first access the Workflow module, a screen similar to the following appears: The bottom window indicates the events and conditions you have already created. The top window displays all of the events for which you can activate workflow notification. This screen is divided into two windows. The top window displays the different types of Workflow events for which you can activate notification. The bottom window displays the conditions under which the system is currently sending workflow notifications. Use the arrow keys to scroll through the workflow areas displayed in the top window. As you scroll through the list of workflow areas, the bottom window displays all the workflow events that you have already set up for that area. For example, if you highlight the Material Receipt option in the top window, the bottom window will display all workflow events that will occur when material is received. Press [Tab] to toggle between the top window and the bottom window. Use the arrow keys to scroll through the workflow events displayed in the bottom window. When you highlight a workflow event in the bottom window and press [Enter], the system will display the workflow edit screen for the selected event. Types of Workflow Events (Top Window) AR Payment Entry... accesses payment entry workflow entry screen. This type of workflow event activates notification when you enter a customer payment in the Receivables module. For more information about this option, refer to page

181 10 WORKFLOW Data Change... accesses the Data Change workflow entry screen. This type of workflow event activates notification when you use the Data Change module. For more information about this option, refer to page 188. Edit of PO Expected Date Past Req Date... accesses the Edit of PO Expected Date Past Req Date workflow entry screen. This type of workflow event activates notification when you change the expected date of any purchase order, and the new expected date is after the required date. For more information about this option, refer to page 189. LPU Orders... accesses LPU order creation workflow entry screen. This type of workflow event activates notification when you generate an order with a LPU (local pickup) disposition. For more information about this option, refer to page 191. Moving Average Cost Change by Percentage... accesses the Moving Average Cost Change by Percentage entry screen. When an item s moving average cost has been changed by a specified percentage, the Moving Average Cost Change by a Percentage workflow event sends an message to the user identified in the workflow event record, notifying them of the change. For more information about this option, refer to page 193. Material Receipt... accesses material receipt workflow entry screen. This type of workflow event activates notification when you receive material in the Material Received module. For more information about this option, refer to page 193. New Customer at Order Entry... accesses the New Customer at Order Entry workflow entry screen. This type of workflow event activates notification when you create a new customer at the Customer prompt when entering an order. For more information about this option, refer to page 199. Orders Based on Profit Percentage... accesses orders based on profit percentage workflow entry screen. This type of workflow event activates notification when you create an order with a profit percent outside of a specified range. For more information about this option, refer to page 200. Protected Stock Quantity Allocated... accesses protected stock quantity allocated workflow entry screen. This type of workflow event activates notification when you adjust stock that causes a protected quantity to be penetrated. For more information about this option, refer to page

182 10 WORKFLOW Quantity Adjustments (Ship Edit)... accesses the Quantity Adjustments (Ship Edit) workflow entry screen. This type of workflow event activates notification when you make a quantity adjustment in the Ship Edit module. For more information about this option, refer to page 204. Shipment Confirmation... accesses shipment confirmation workflow entry screen. This type of workflow event activates notification when you confirm customer orders. For more information about this option, refer to page 205. Stock Outs Due to Material Allocation... accesses the Stock Outs Due to Material Allocation workflow entry screen. This type of workflow event activates notification when an item is out of stock. For more information about this option, refer to page 207. Suspended Orders... accesses the Suspended Order workflow entry screen. This type of workflow event activates notification when you suspend a customer order. For more information about this option, refer to page 208. Unvalidated Orders... accesses unvalidated orders workflow entry screen. This type of workflow event activates notification when you create a customer order that requires credit validation. For more information about this option, refer to page 210. Note: On the Automated Workflow Management screen, use your down arrow to scroll down and view the following workflow events: Protected Stock Quantity Allocated, Quantity Adjustments (Ship Edit), Shipment Confirmation, Stock Outs Due to Material Allocation, Suspended Orders, and Unvalidated Orders. Current Conditions of Workflow Notifications (Bottom Window) Act... indicates whether the workflow event is active. Type... object type for which the workflow message will be sent. Object... object code for which the workflow message will be sent. Trans#... transaction number for which the workflow message will be sent. Subject... subject of the message. To... address of the recipient. 182

183 10 WORKFLOW WORKFLOW OPTIONS When you press [F6] in the Automated Workflow Management screen, the following screen appears: New Workflow Event Edit Workflow Event Delete Workflow Event Address Maintenance... allows you to enter a new workflow event of the highlighted transaction type. For more information on this option, refer to page allows you to edit an existing workflow event for the highlighted transaction type. For more information on this option, refer to page allows you to delete an existing workflow event for the highlighted transaction type. For more information on this option, refer to page accesses the public address maintenance screen. For more information on this option, refer to the P21 Mail chapter of this manual. Print Report... prints a Workflow Event Report. For more information on this option, refer to page

184 10 WORKFLOW AR PAYMENT ENTRY When you select AR Payment Entry from the Automated Workflow Management screen and select to enter or edit an event, a screen similar to the following appears: Active... indicates whether mail should be sent when a transaction occurs. When this field is set to Yes - the workflow event is active. The system will automatically send notification if the conditions you specify for the workflow event are met. No - the workflow event is inactive. The system will not send an , even if the conditions specified for the workflow event are met. Object Type... indicates the object type of the event (e.g. customer or all transactions), and whether the event will be limited by code or class fields. When this field is set to ALL - the system generates mail for all transactions, and messages are not limited by class or code. CUSTOMER - the system generates mail for only those transactions that meet the specifications of the customer code and class restrictions. Code Start, End... specifies a range of selected object code classes for which the system will generate messages. Start Code and End Code allow you to generate messages for a range of customers. For example, you set Object Type to CUST. When you specify customer ABCPLU in Start Code and customer CASSUP in End Code, the system will only generate this workflow event for customers ABCPLU-CASSUP. If Object Type is set to ALL, Start Code and End Code will not be available. 184

185 10 WORKFLOW Class, Start, End... specifies a range of classes for which to generate messages. If you choose not to limit the generation of this workflow event by object code, you may specify a range of classes for which the system will generate messages. For example, if you set Object Type to CUSTOMER and do not specify a customer code, you can set a range of classes to which you want to limit the generation of messages. You may set Start Class to 10 and End Class to 20. In this way, the system will only generate messages for customers within class Note: If Object Type is set to Customer, you must specify either an object code or a range of classes. If you specify an object code, make sure you allow for the widest possible range of classes. If Object Type is set to ALL, Start Class and End Class will not be available. Start Class and End Class are 2 characters and hold numbers only. Transaction #... transaction number of the event for which you want to trigger notification. You can determine a specific transaction number for which the system will trigger a workflow event. For example, you are waiting a payment against a specific invoice. Select the AR Payment Entry option from the Automated Workflow Management screen. In the Transaction # field, enter the order number for which you are waiting for a payment. When the payment is applied to this invoice, the workflow event triggers a message, and you would receive notification of the payment. Transaction # is 8 characters and holds numbers only. Minimum Amt, Maximum Amt... minimum and maximum amounts of a transaction required to trigger a message. You can determine a required minimum and maximum amount of a transaction needed to trigger an event. For example, if you set Minimum Amt to , and set Maximum Amt to 999,999.00, the system will only trigger a workflow event message for transactions that are larger than $100 and smaller than $999,999. Minimum Amt and Maximum Amt are 11 characters and hold numbers only. 185

186 10 WORKFLOW To... the address to which the workflow event message will be sent. You can send a workflow event message to a single recipient or to a group of recipients. Public addresses will appear here, but private ones will not appear. The mail addresses are not case sensitive; however, if you enter an invalid address (an address that is not in the system), the following message will display: The system allows you to enter a new message group while you are entering or editing a Workflow event. This allows you to easily set up new groups without leaving the Workflow module. For more information about creating a new message group in Workflow, refer to the Create Message Group section on page 211. For more information on Mail Group Maintenance, mail addresses, and address maintenance, refer to the P21 Mail chapter of this manual. To is 62 characters and holds numbers, letters, and characters. Subject... subject of the message. Subject is 62 characters and holds numbers and letters. 186

187 10 WORKFLOW Text... text of the message. Use the Text area to type your message. Your message can be as long as necessary; there is no maximum number of lines. Each line of text holds 69 characters. When you reach the end of a line, the text is automatically moved to the beginning of the next line. If you are on the last line of the page, the text is automatically moved to the next page. To end a paragraph or enter a blank line, press [Enter]. In addition to writing a normal text message, you can include tokens. A token is used as a marker by the system. When the workflow event is triggered, and the message is sent, the system will automatically replace the token with the appropriate text. For example, you create a message text that should include the customer s phone number. Enter the token <Phone> in the message text. When the message is sent, the system will automatically replace the token with the appropriate phone number. To see a list of the tokens, press [F3] while you are entering your text message. The following screen will appear: Select the token you wish to insert. You can either use the arrow keys to move up and down the token browse, or you can use key resolution. The text message will display the token name, and the system will insert the appropriate information before sending the message. You may also insert a token into the text area by typing the appropriate field name with the < and > (greater than, less than brackets) around it. 187

188 10 WORKFLOW DATA CHANGE When you select Data Change from the Automated Workflow Management screen and select to enter or edit an event, a screen similar to the following appears: Active... indicates whether mail should be sent when a transaction occurs. For more information about this field, refer to page 184. Object Type... indicates the object type of the event (e.g. customer, vendor, item, vendor #, or all transactions), and whether the event will be limited by code or class fields. When this field is set to ALL - the system generates mail for all transactions, and messages are not limited by class or code. CUSTOMER - the system generates mail for only those transactions that meet the specifications of the customer code and class restrictions. VENDOR - the system generates mail for only those transactions that meet the specifications of the vendor code and class restrictions. ITEM - the system generates mail for only those transactions that meet the specifications of the item code and class restrictions. VENDOR # - the system generates mail for only those transactions that meet the specifications of the vendor number code and class restrictions. Code Start, End... specifies a range of selected object code classes for which the system will generate messages. For more information about this field, refer to page 184. Class, Start, End... specifies a range of classes for which to generate messages. For more information about this field, refer to page

189 10 WORKFLOW To... the address to which the workflow event message will be sent. For more information about this field, refer to page 186. Subject... subject of the message. For more information about this field, refer to page 186. Text... text of the message. For more information about this field, refer to page 187. EDIT OF PO EXPECTED DATE PAST REQ DATE When you select Edit of PO Expected Date Past Req Date from the Automated Workflow Management screen and select to enter or edit an event, a screen similar to the following appears: Active... indicates whether mail should be sent when a transaction occurs. For more information about this field, refer to page

190 10 WORKFLOW Object Type... indicates the object type of the event (e.g. customer, vendor, item, or all transactions), and whether the event will be limited by code or class fields. When this field is set to ALL - the system generates mail for all transactions, and messages are not limited by class or code. CUSTOMER - the system generates mail for only those transactions that meet the specifications of the customer code and class restrictions. VENDOR the system generates mail for only those transactions that meet the specifications of the vendor code and class restrictions. ITEM the system generates mail for only those transactions that meet the specifications of the item code and class restrictions. Code Start, End... specifies a range of selected object code classes for which the system will generate messages. For more information about this field, refer to page 184. Class, Start, End... specifies a range of classes for which to generate messages. For more information about this field, refer to page 185. Sales Rep... specifies a sales rep for which to generate messages. If you select a sales rep, the system will only generate a workflow message for transactions involving this sales rep. Sales Rep is four characters and holds numbers only. Transaction #... transaction number of the event for which you want to trigger notification. You can determine a specific transaction number for which the system triggers a workflow event. For example, you want to know if the expected date of a purchase order is changed. Select the Edit of PO Expected Date Past Req Date option from the Automated Workflow Management screen. In the Transaction # field, enter the purchase order number for which you are concerned. If the Expected Date is edited to a date past the required date, the workflow event triggers a message, and you would receive notification. Minimum Amt, Maximum Amt... minimum and maximum amounts of a transaction required to trigger a message. You can determine a required minimum and maximum amount of a transaction needed to trigger an event. For example, if you set Minimum Amt to , and set Maximum Amt to 999,999.00, the system will only trigger a workflow event message if the PO has a value larger than $100 and smaller than $999,999. Minimum Amt and Maximum Amt are 11 characters and hold numbers only. Min Branch, Max Branch... determines the range of branches for which the system activates notification of the workflow event. 190

191 10 WORKFLOW To... the address to which the workflow event message will be sent. For more information about this field, refer to page 186. Subject... subject of the message. For more information about this field, refer to page 186. Text... text of the message. For more information about this field, refer to page 187. LPU ORDERS When you select LPU Orders from the Automated Workflow Management screen and select to enter or edit an event, a screen similar to the following appears: Active... indicates whether mail should be sent when a transaction occurs. For more information about this option, refer to page

192 10 WORKFLOW Object Type... indicates the object type of the event (e.g. customer, vendor, item, or all transactions), and whether the event will be limited by code or class fields. When this field is set to ALL - the system generates mail for all transactions, and messages are not limited by class or code. CUSTOMER - the system generates mail for only those transactions that meet the specifications of the customer code and class restrictions. VENDOR the system generates mail for only those transactions that meet the specifications of the vendor code and class restrictions. ITEM the system generates mail for only those transactions that meet the specifications of the item code and class restrictions. Code Start, End... specifies a range of selected object code classes for which the system will generate messages. For more information about this field, refer to page 184. Class, Start, End... specifies a range of classes for which to generate messages. For more information about this field, refer to page 185. Sales Rep... specifies a sales rep for which to generate messages. For more information about this option, refer to page 190. Minimum Amt, Maximum Amt To... minimum and maximum amounts of a transaction required to trigger a message. For more information about this field, refer to page the address to which the workflow event message will be sent. For more information about this field, refer to page 186. Subject... subject of the message. For more information about this field, refer to page 186. Text... text of the message. For more information about this option, refer to page

193 10 WORKFLOW MOVING AVERAGE COST CHANGE BY PERCENTAGE When you select Moving Average Cost Change by Percentage from the Automated Workflow Management screen and select to enter or edit an event, a screen similar to the following appears: Active... indicates whether the workflow event is active. Yes The workflow event is activated. No The workflow event is dormant. Object Type... type of information for which the message is sent. All The message is sent regardless of the Object Type. All customers, vendors, and items are included. When set to ALL, the following Start/End Code parameters cannot be accessed. Customer The message is sent for customers specified in the range. Note: If Customer is selected as the Object Type but there is no customer associated with the event (i.e. manually editing the moving average cost in the Item record), a workflow message is not sent. Vendor Send a message for vendors specified in the range. Item A message is sent for items specified in the range. Code Start/End... range of customer, vendor, or item codes, depending on the setting of the Object Type field. When the Object Type field is set to ALL, the Start and End Code fields are not accessible. Class Start/End... range of customer, vendor, or item classes, depending on the setting of the Object Type field. When the Object Type field is set to ALL, the Start and End Class fields cannot be 193

194 10 WORKFLOW accessed. When Object Type is ITEM, the Start/End Class values apply to either the sales class or purchase class, depending on the transaction. (It is sales class if there is no specific transaction associated with the event; i.e. manually editing Moving Average Cost in the Item module.) Transaction #... the number of the transaction for which this message is sent. The type of transaction is a purchase order, material receipt, or payable. If a transaction number is specified but one occurs that is not associated with the event (i.e. manually editing the moving average cost in the Item module), a workflow message is not sent. Min % Change... the percentage change of the moving average cost of the item. If the moving average cost percentage change is above the specified percentage, an message is sent. No message is sent if the moving average cost percentage change is below the specified percentage. Branch Min/Max... applies to either the branch associated with the transaction (if one exists), or the branch to which the user is logged in. Include 0.00 Costs To Subject... determines whether an item updated from a 0.00 moving average cost triggers the workflow event message. Y An message is sent if the moving average cost is updated from a 0 (zero) cost, regardless of the percentage change. N No is sent for an item whose moving average cost was updated from zero.... the address to which the is sent.... topic of the message. Text... the actual message of the . New tokens have been added for use in text messages for items with changed moving average costs. <Source> - States where in the system the moving average cost was affected <Old MAC> - The value of the original moving average cost of the item. <New MAC> - The value of the updated moving average cost. <MAC Loc> - The location (single location or company-wide) that was affected. 194

195 10 WORKFLOW OTHER MODULES Item Workflow messages are sent when the moving average cost is modified in either Item Maintenance, Location Price/Cost Maintenance, Multiply (set costs from a source field), Edit Size (sales unit or size change; purchase unit or size change), and Fast Edit. Notes: Newly-created items and items whose moving average cost is affected by a hidden option do not send workflow event messages. Items with moving average costs changed through a fast edit process do send workflow event messages. Material A workflow message is sent when an item s moving average cost is changed in Material Receipt for both purchase orders and transfers. Payables Workflow event messages are sent for item moving average costs changed in Material Receipt Reconciliation. Work Edit When an item s moving average cost is changed in the Edit Assembly for Stock Work Order option, a workflow event message is sent to the user indicated in the workflow event record. Pricing Service A workflow message is sent for items whose moving average cost has been modified in the Perform Update option of the Pricing Service module. 195

196 10 WORKFLOW Secondary Processing When an item s moving average cost is modified in the View/Process (a transaction) option/section, a workflow event message is triggered and sent to the user on the workflow event record. Material When material is received for a purchase order and an item s cost is 0.00, a message is displayed that the item has no cost. Purchase orders and transfers will show these messages for their stock items. A warning message displays for items with zero moving average cost. If the Material Receiving Review screen is enabled, a warning message is also shown on this screen. 196

197 10 WORKFLOW If the Material Receiving Review screen is not enabled, and the material received is automatically allocated, no message is displayed. The workflow event message serves as your notice. MATERIAL RECEIPT When you select Material Receipt from the Automated Workflow Management screen and select to enter or edit an event, a screen similar to the following appears: Active... indicates whether mail should be sent when a transaction occurs. For more information about this field, refer to page 184. Object Type... indicates the object type of the event (e.g. customer, vendor, item, or all transactions), and whether the event will be limited by code or class fields. When this field is set to ALL - the system generates mail for all transactions, and messages are not limited by class or code. CUSTOMER - the system generates mail for only those transactions that meet the specifications of the customer code and class restrictions. VENDOR the system generates mail for only those transactions that meet the specifications of the vendor code and class restrictions. ITEM the system generates mail for only those transactions that meet the specifications of the item code and class restrictions. Code Start, End... specifies a range of selected object code classes for which the system will generate messages. For more information about this field, refer to page