Start the Advanced lookup engine by selecting the magnifying glass from any MAS 90 screen. This is the Standard View for the Employee Number lookup in Payroll. Clicking on the headers of any column will sort that column in ascending or descending order. Each field listed is available for additional search criteria. Additional filters may be set by selecting the Filter command in the lower left corner of the lookup screen. Page 1 of 6
Using Lookup Filters On the Filters screen you can designate one or more selection criteria to narrow your search. This example gives me a list of all employees in department 11 with the last name of Jenkins. The Save Filters will retain this filter until you select the Reset. This is a good way to narrow your search when more than one lookup may be required. If you choose the save filters button, notice the Filters command will stay Red until the Reset button is selected. Page 2 of 6
Using Custom Views A custom view allows the user to select additional fields to display in your list. Select the Custom button to get started. Give a descriptive name to your new lookup. If you want this lookup to be your default view, then check the Default View check box. Select the Next Button to continue. Next choose the columns that you want to appear in your lookup. Select the item from the list on the left side and then click the single arrow pointing right. The double arrows move everything. To control the sequence of the columns, select an item in the right column and then click on the up or down arrows to reposition the selected item. The only field that cannot be moved or deleted is the column marked with an *. Page 3 of 6
The modify button will allow you to rename the heading and set the column width. The next step is to insert selection logic into your lookup. Use the same process as outlined in the earlier exercise to limit the search results of this lookup, if desired. This selection logic is always on when you select the lookup hereafter. On the final screen of the ALE wizard. Make sure the title describes the lookup clearly. You may also change the default search column and default search option to correspond with the search requirements you expect to use most often. The Initial Display check box can speed up a search by prompting the user before the lookup begins to display data. This is more useful on large files where there may be a waiting period before the data appears in the lookup window. After you finish the ALE Wizard the details of your search are saved and the View List is added to your original lookup screen. Click on the down arrow to view all of your saved views. Page 4 of 6
Additional Features New with MAS 90 version 4.0 there is a new command button that will send your lookup results to Excel. Select the command in the lower right corner of your screen and watch. You may also print the lookup results by clicking on the printer icon and selecting the desired printer destination. Begin any ALE process by selecting the magnifying glass on the screen next to the item you want to lookup. You may also type any value into the field window and press the F2 key to begin the lookup. During the process of selecting columns for your custom lookup, you may choose the New Field command box and define a custom data field. You must assign the new field a unique column ID. The print mask will determine the format of the printed date. At the present time only numeric fields can be added to the lookup. You may use a calculation formula to arrive at a calculated result. NOTE The lookup you create from the magnifying glass only applies to the user login where the ALE specifications are keyed. Page 5 of 6
Designing a Universal ALE Lookup From the Library Master Main menu, select User Lookup Maintenance. ALE specifications made from this menu can apply to one or more users and one or more companies. NOTE Only one master lookup can be defined for all uses. The master lookup defined here replaces the ALE that comes with MAS 90 as your default. Choose the company(s) and user(s) that will use this lookup. On the final screen of the User Lookup Wizard, there is another feature to lock this lookup as the one and only lookup for the specified users and or companies. If this ALE is locked, then the user may not make any custom changes during the actual data lookup process. Page 6 of 6