Item Number Change for Sage Accpac ERP

SAGE ACCPAC Sage Accpac Options Item Number Change for Sage Accpac ERP User Guide

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Contents Chapter 1: Introduction What is Sage Accpac Item Number Change?... 1 1 Key Features... 1 1 How to Use this Manual... 1 2 Chapter 2: Installation System Requirements... 2 1 Installing Item Number Change... 2 1 Readme File... 2 2 You Must Activate Item Number Change After Installing... 2 3 Chapter 3: Tutorial Starting the Program... 3 1 About the Change List Window... 3 1 About Change List Entries... 3 2 About Individual Change List Entries... 3 3 Changing Item Number Structures... 3 7 About Change by Example... 3 8 About Importing Changes... 3 11 Editing Changes... 3 13 Deleting Changes... 3 13 Saving Changes... 3 14 Printing the Change List... 3 14 Posting Changes... 3 15 Making Backups... 3 15 Posting Changes... 3 16 Canceling a Posting... 3 16 Handling Errors During Posting... 3 17 About the Message Log... 3 17 About Viewing, Printing and Purging Message Logs... 3 18 Item Number Change iii

Appendix A: Item Number Change Terms and Tips Terms and Tips...A 1 Tips For Changing Item Numbers...A 1 Appendix B: Item Number Data Format Explaining the Item Number data format...b 1 Import File Type Requirements...B 2 Appendix C: Print Preview Window About the Print Preview Window...C 1 Using the Print Preview Icons...C 1 Appendix D: About Error Messages Error Messages... D 1 Appendix E: About Warning Log Messages Warning Log Messages... E 1 Index iv Sage Accpac Options

Chapter 1 Introduction Welcome to Item Number Change for Sage Accpac ERP. This chapter contains information on the following items: What is Item Number Change? Key Features How to Use this Manual What is Sage Accpac Item Number Change? Sage Accpac Item Number Change is a product that allows you to change Inventory Control Item numbers quickly and easily. Just type the new item number into the item number list displayed on the screen. Once changes have been entered and edited, simply post them - all of the records in your Sage Accpac data are automatically converted. After posting your changes, print the audit log report for a complete listing of the changes and their results. Key Features Change item numbers quickly. All item information, including history and transactions will be associated with the new code. Multiple changes can be generated from one entry by using the change by example feature. Item numbers are changed in Inventory Control, Order Entry, and Purchase Orders. A list of changes can be printed before they are posted. After posting, you can print an audit log of all changes. Copy and combine change options allow you to quickly create new items based on existing items or combine several current items into a single item. Item Number Change 1 1

How to Use this Manual The Change by Example feature allows you to make multiple changes from one example entry. The Item Number Structure Change feature lets you change the length of existing item number segments, padding or removing numbers to the left or right end of segments that you are changing. Import features allow you to import multiple changes, copies and combines from an external file. This feature allows you to create large change lists based on item reports. Toolbar buttons easily access multiple change features. Supports single segment item numbers shorter than the length of the segment. The Change Window Item number field automatically resizes to display long item numbers. How to Use this Manual This guide contains information about installing and setting up Item Number Change, as well as comprehensive information about using Item Number Change. 1 2 Sage Accpac Options

Chapter 2 Installation System Requirements... 2 1 Installing Item Number Change... 2 1 Readme File... 2 2 You Must Activate Item Number Change After Installing... 2 3 Item Number Change 2 i

Chapter 2 Installation This chapter explains how to install Sage Accpac Options Item Number Change on your computer. System Requirements You require 3Mb (megabytes) of free space on your hard disk drive to install Item Number Change. However, to run the program you will require further free space at least equal to the space occupied by the database you are modifying. Installing Item Number Change This section gives instructions for installing Item Number Change. 1. Start Windows. 2. Insert the Sage Accpac product DVD in your DVD drive. Or, if you are installing from a downloaded zip file, unzip the installation file, and run Setup.exe. If the Installation screen does not appear, go to the DVD drive s root directory (for example, d:\) and run INSTALL.EXE. 3. Click Next to continue. Item Number Change 2 1

Installing Item Number Change To cancel installation at any time, click the Cancel button. 4. Read the compatibility warning: You must be running compatible versions of Item Number Change and Sage Accpac ERP products (such as General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, and Order Enry). Note: Item Number Change works only with version 5.5 of Sage Accpac ERP products. Readme File When installation is complete, you will be offered an opportunity to read the Readme file. If you want to view the file, press the Yes button. Readme file is important The Readme file contains information not included in the manual, or information that has changed since the manual was completed. We suggest you print the file and follow any relevant suggested steps. If you don t want to view the Readme file now, press the No button to leave the installation program. 2 2 Sage Accpac Options

You Must Activate Item Number Change After Installing You Must Activate Item Number Change After Installing Once you activate Item Number Change, it appears on the Sage Accpac Desktop in the folder for the General Ledger module. Item Number Change 2 3

Chapter 3 Tutorial Starting the Program... 3 1 About the Change List Window... 3 1 About the Toolbar Buttons... 3 2 About Change List Entries... 3 2 About Individual Change List Entries... 3 3 To Add a New Entry to the Change List... 3 3 About the Action Box Options... 3 3 Using the Change option... 3 4 To Complete a Change Entry for a Combine Action... 3 5 To Complete an Entry for a Copy Action... 3 6 Changing Item Number Structures... 3 7 About Change by Example... 3 8 Using Wildcards... 3 8 About Change by Example Error Checking... 3 11 About Importing Changes... 3 11 Preparing External files for Import... 3 12 Editing Changes... 3 13 Deleting Changes... 3 13 Saving Changes... 3 14 Printing the Change List... 3 14 Posting Changes... 3 15 Making Backups... 3 15 Posting Changes... 3 16 Canceling a Posting... 3 16 Handling Errors During Posting... 3 17 About the Message Log... 3 17 About Viewing, Printing and Purging Message Logs... 3 18 Viewing Any Message Log... 3 18 Printing / Purging Message Logs... 3 19 Item Number Change 3 i

Chapter 3 Tutorial Starting the Program Start the program by double-clicking the Item Number Change icon (found in the Inventory Control folder). The following Change List window will appear: About the Change List Window Item Number Change only makes changes that you explicitly define in the Change List window. Each Change List entry is treated as a separate change task. These entries can be created, edited, deleted and imported. An additional function, Change by Example, allows you to make multiple changes using only one Change List entry. The basic functions for editing an individual change are located to the right of the window, namely: Function New Modify Description To add a new Change List entry, from the Change List window press the Insert key, or click the New button. The New window is displayed allowing you to create a new entry. To modify a Change List entry, highlight the entry and then click the Modify button. You will not be allowed to edit the entry s Item Number Change 3 1

About Change List Entries Function Modify (cont.) Delete Description original change option (change, combine, or copy) but you will be allowed to edit the customer number, Short Name, and Customer Name fields. To make any further alterations, delete the entry and start over. To delete a Change List entry, from the Change List window press the Delete key or click the Delete button. A dialog box is displayed asking you to confirm your decision. After you have completed your change list, choose the Post option to make the changes to your data. About the Toolbar Buttons The following Toolbar buttons are located in the upper-left corner of the Change List window: Save Import Files Clear List Change By Example Message Log Item Structure Change Saves the Change List at any time. Alternatively, you can choose Save from the File Menu. Opens the Import window. See About Importing Changes, on page 3-11 for more information. Deletes all entries from the Change List. You will be asked to confirm deletion before proceeding. Opens the Change By Example window for entering multiple changes in one easy step. Opens the Message Log window. See The Message Log for more information. Lets you change the length of each segment in your item numbers. About Change List Entries Individual Change List entries are created using the Action Box options or multiple entries are created using Change by Example or Import Changes. There are three ways of creating entries for the Change List for Item Number Change: Adding individual entries to the Change List. Adding multiple entries using the Change by Example feature. Importing changes from external files. A basic issue common to all item number changes invloves the item number structure codes used by your item numbers. The structure of inventory item number structure is established within Inventory Control module. 3 2 Sage Accpac Options

About Change List Entries Note that the examples of item numbers in this manual represent the item structures found within the Sage Accpac sample data and will not resemble your company s item number structures. About Individual Change List Entries You add individual change entries to the Item Number Change List using the New button. Are must be entered individually: If you are changing item numbers that are not in a range, If you want to change the Structure Code and Description, If you want to Combine item numbers, Or, if you want to Copy item numbers. To Add a New Entry to the Change List From the Change List window, press the Insert key or click the New button. The New window will appear. New Item Change window About the Action Box Options On the New window, the Action Box offers three different change options: Change changes an existing item number Combine combines existing item numbers Copy copies an existing item number to create a new one. These actions are intended for creating single Change List entries. Let s look at using the Change option. Item Number Change 3 3

About Change List Entries Using the Change option Change replaces all occurrences of the existing item number with a new item number in your Sage Accpac ERP data files. The old item number is removed from the system. See Appendix A for a list of compatible Sage Accpac modules affected by the number changes. The display format of the new Item number always reflects the Item Structure. The Item number segment accepts any numeric value and valid values for the other segments will be available through the selection boxes. The following is an example of a new Change entry: Item Number Change / Code: unchanged, A1-103/0 changed to A2-205/B, Description: unchanged. To complete a Change Entry: 1. In the Action box, click Change if it is not already selected. 2. In the Change or source box enter an item number to change or select one from the drop-down list. The selected Item s Structure Code, and Number and Description will appear in the appropriate fields below. 3. If the Structure Code is to be changed, enter one to change or select one from the drop-down list. Depending on the code selected, the number of item number segments may change. 4. In the item number segment fields, either select one from the dropdown list or type a new entry. Note: Some item number segments allow freeform entry while other segments may restrict your options to selecting pre-defined settings. To change these pre-defined settings, consult your Sage Accpac Inventory Control documentation. 5. If required, change the displayed Item Description. 3 4 Sage Accpac Options

About Change List Entries 6. Once satisfied with the changes, click the OK Button to add this entry to the Change List. Click Cancel to discard it. Using the Combine Option The Combine option allows you to transfer the transaction and historical information of one or more items to a single target item. No item attributes are transferred. In addition, the target must be an existing item. The original item number is permanently removed from the Sage Accpac system. After combining, reports will reflect that a customer purchased the target item rather than the original item. Unlike Change and Copy, the Combine function can modify a single target item number several times within the same change list. This means you can have multiple Combine entries, each with different source Items, all targeting a single destination Item in one Change List. The target item, however, cannot be the source item of any other change action within the same Change List. Several source item numbers can be combined into one new item number in one change list; but the newly combined item number cannot then become the source for any other change action in the same Change List. The following is an example of Combining item numbers: Item Number New Change dialog box showing the Combine option To Complete a Change Entry for a Combine Action: 1. In the Action box of the New window, choose Combine. 2. In the Combine or source box, select the item number to change from the drop-down list. The selected item s description will appear in the appropriate field below. 3. In the Into or target box, Item Number field, select an entry from the drop-down list or type a new entry. Item Number Change 3 5

About Change List Entries 4. If required, change the displayed item Description. 5. Once you are satisfied with the settings, click the OK button to add this entry to the Change List. Click Cancel to discard it. Using the Copy Option The Copy option allows you to quickly establish a new Item based on an existing one. Basic information about the item is copied to create a new item definition. The original item is left unchanged and no transaction or history information is copied. The following is an example of a Copy: Item Number New Change dialog box showing the Copy option To Complete an Entry for a Copy Action: 1. In the Action box, click Copy if it is not already selected. 2. In the Copy or source box, enter an item number into the Item Number field or select the one from the drop down list. The selected item s structure code, item number and description will appear in the appropriate fields below. 3. If the Structure Code is to be changed, type a structure code into the Structure Code field or select one from the drop-down list. Depending on the code selected, the number of Item Number segments may change. 4. In the Item Number segment fields, either type new entries or select them from the drop-down lists. Note: Some item number segments allow freeform entry while other segments may restrict your options to selecting pre-defined settings. To change these pre-defined settings, consult your Sage Accpac Inventory Control documentation. 3 6 Sage Accpac Options

About Change List Entries 5. If required, change the displayed Item Description. 6. Once satisfied with the changes, click the OK button to add this entry to the Change List. Click Cancel to discard it. Changing Item Number Structures In addition to changing item numbers, you can also change the length of the segments in your item numbers (such as the category segment or the series segment). If you decrease the length of the segment, you can choose to truncate the characters from the left or right side. If you increase its length, you can add the characters of your choice to the left or right of the existing segment. For example, you might choose to increase the length of your series segment from 4 to 6 by adding the numerals 10 to the front of each segment, so series segment 1234 would become 101234. To change the item number structures: 1. Click the Item Structure Change icon on the Toolbar, or choose Item Structure Change from the Tools menu. 2. Choose the item number segment that you want to change. 3. If you wish to change the length of an account code segment, enter the new length of the segment in the To <segment name> Segment Length field. If you are shortening the item number segment, choose whether you wish to delete characters from the left or right side of the segment. If you are lengthening the item number segment, choose whether you wish to add characters to the left or right side of the segment. Then, in the Pad Values With field, enter the characters that you wish to add. In the following example, the Series segment is lengthened from 4 to 6 (with the number 10 added to the front of the segment). Item Number Change 3 7

About Change List Entries 4. Click OK. 5. To confirm the process, click Yes for each warning. All entries are added to the Change list. About Change by Example The Change by Example feature allows the creation of a series of Change List entries through a basic pattern matching function. Before adding changes to the Change List, the Change by Example dialog box searches the Inventory Control database for any Item Numbers meeting the Change field criteria. It then displays those Item Numbers changed by the To field criteria in the Matches scrolling field. The user can then review these suggested changes, and if they are acceptable, press the Done button to add them to the current Change List. Change by Example window Using Wildcards Wildcards symbols are used for matching in Change by Example. Wildcards allow you to isolate single or multiple characters or numbers for matching and/or changing, as in the example on the next page. To enter a wildcard symbol ( ) press shift + spacebar. 3 8 Sage Accpac Options

About Change List Entries Change by Example Item Structure: STD, Change: A1-3/?, To: C1-2 /? Field Seg 1 Seg 2 Seg 3 Change A1 3 No change To C1 2 No change Matching Change A1-103/0 to C1-203/0 Change A1-753/B to C1-253/B In this example, the standard (STD) item number structure has three segments. Only the first two segments are selected for change. In the Change field, only Item Numbers that start with A1 and whose segment 2 ends with a 3 will be selected for change. The Change window shows that two item numbers match these criteria, A1-103/0 and A1-753/B. However, the first item number cannot be added to the change list because we have already added a change list entry for A1-103/0. Within the To field, segment 1 changes A1 to C1 and the first character of segment 2 is changed to a 2. The unidentified characters/numbers represented by wildcard symbols will remain unchanged. Therefore, according to our example, A1-103/0 is changed to C1-203/0 and A1-753/B is changed to C1-253/0. To use Change by Example: 1. Click the change by example button on the Toolbar or choose Change by Example from the Edit menu. 2. Select a desired item structure from the drop-down list in the Item Structure field. 3. Within the Change item number segments, define the values to be changed. Depending on the segment field, you can either: Select the desired value from the drop-down list Item Number Change 3 9

About Change List Entries Or Type the Change value inserting a wildcard symbol for any character/number that doesn t require matching. Item Numbers are matched for change based on the specified characters/numbers and their position within the item number. 4. Within the To item number segments, define the changed values. Use a wildcard symbol to represent any character/number to remain unchanged. Only specified characters/numbers will be changed according to their position with the Item Number. 5. Click the Match button. A list of matches performed is displayed in the Matches box. In the example below, all Item numbers beginning with 1 will be changed to begin with 2. The example shows that 7 matches were found and one (1) was rejected, so 6 entries are ready for addition to the Change List. Change by Example / STD Item Structure 17 Matches, 2 Rejections, 15 Changes 6. Click the Done button to add the entries to the Change List. 7. If the matches are not acceptable, click the Clear List button to clear the list and try again from step 2. 3 10 Sage Accpac Options

About Change List Entries The following window shows the Change by Example entries that have been added to the Change List: Item Number Change List showing eight (8) change items. About Change by Example Error Checking Any error that can occur while creating or editing an individual change list entry can also occur using Change by Example. If an error occurs during matching, the change entry will be rejected and an error message will appear in the Matching field beside the change entry. Some of the more common reasons for rejecting a matching are: The new item number already exists in the Item Master file. A Change List entry already exists for that item number. The new item number is already assigned to an existing number in the Change List. About Importing Changes In cases where pattern matching might not readily isolate the desired changes (and the number of changes is quite large), you may wish to generate a change list based on an item number report or other listing of item numbers. Instead of entering those changes directly within Item Number Change, you can import Change List entries from an external file of the following file types: Lotus 123 MS Excel dbase III FoxPro and Clipper Item Number Change 3 11

About Change List Entries ASCII comma-separated text file Preparing External files for Import Any change available within Item Number Change can be performed by importing an external file containing a change list. In order to import changes successfully, the import file must follow the Item Number data format. A complete treatment of the data file requirements can be found in Appendix B. Note: Do not use this option to create a single change list entry. External files may only have two or more changes. Item Number s Import option validates each change list entry,and then reports whether it has been accepted or rejected, including any reasons for the rejection. The following example shows four proposed changes to be imported and the results: Item Number Change Import dialog box showing four (4) proposed, one (1) rejected and (3) changes added for import to the Change List. To import changes to the Change List: 1. Prepare your external file. Different file types require different file layouts. In general, the first line is the header line with optional headings. The second and subsequent lines contain the changes. The field names and their import order are: old item number, new item number, action type (0=change, 1=combine, 2=copy), new Item Structure and new description. For more information on exact file layouts and examples, refer Appendix C in this manual. 2. Click the import files button on the Toolbar or choose Import from the File menu on the Change List window. The Item Number Change Import window appears. 3 12 Sage Accpac Options

About Change List Entries 3. Select the Import File by typing the DOS path and filename or by clicking the Browse button to use the Open file dialog box. 4. Once the Import file has been selected, click the Import button. A list of item numbers and their proposed changes are displayed in the Matches box. Error checking is also performed for each proposed Change List entry, which is either accepted or rejected. You can use the scroll bars to view the entries in the list. 5. Click the Done button to add the entries to the Change List. If the matches are not acceptable, click the Clear List button to clear the list. Re-edit your import file before trying to import again. Editing Changes Prior to posting, any Change List entry can be edited or revised except that the original Change Action (i.e.: Change, Combine, or Copy) cannot be changed. You can edit the Item Number, Description fields. To make any further alterations, delete the entry and start over. To edit an entry in the Change List: 1. Highlight the desired entry. 2. Either double-click the entry or click the Modify button. The Modify window is similar to the Add window. Edit the item number, Description fields. 3. After the changes have been made, clicking the OK button updates the Change List. Deleting Changes You can delete either individual entries or the entire change list. Entries are permanently deleted, so use these functions carefully. To delete an individual entry from the Change List: 1. Highlight the desired entry 2. Click either the Delete button or the Delete key You will be asked to confirm the deletion before proceeding. To delete all entries from the Change List: Click the clear list button on the Toolbar or choose Clear List from the Edit menu. Item Number Change 3 13

About Change List Entries You will be asked to confirm the deletion before proceeding. Saving Changes Click the save button on the Toolbar or choose Save from the File menu. When closing the Item Number Change program you will also be prompted to save the Change List. Choose Yes to save the Change List. Choose No to discard the current Change List or if editing an existing Change List, choose No to discard any additions, deletions, or revisions made since the last save was performed. Printing the Change List The Change List can be printed in one of two ways. It can be sent directly to the printer or it can be reviewed using the Print Preview option, as shown below, and then sent to the printer. The print preview can be visually reviewed by scanning the list, using the scroll bars if necessary. A full discussion of print preview s review options is found in the About the Print Preview section. Example of a Change List Print Preview Window 3 14 Sage Accpac Options

Posting Changes To preview the Change List: 1. From the File menu in either Item Number Change window or the Message Log window, select Print Preview. A popup menu listing all the lists and logs containing entries will appear. 2. From the popup menu, choose Change List. A Print Preview window appears showing the Change List report. To print the Change List: 1. From the Change List window, select Print from the File menu. A popup menu listing all the lists and logs containing entries will appear. 2. From the popup menu, choose Change List. The Print dialog box appears allowing you to specify the printer, page range, print quality, etc. Unless you choose otherwise, the Change List is sent to the Sage Accpac default printer. 3. Click OK to proceed or click Cancel to stop printing. Posting Changes Once the Change List is complete, you are ready to post the changes that will update your Sage Accpac files. Making Backups Back up your data before posting! Because you are going to make changes throughout your database, Item Number Change always prompts you to confirm that you have backed up before proceeding with a posting. When starting a posting, the following message appears: Backup Confirmation dialog box The importance of ensuring your Sage Accpac ERP data is safely backed up prior to posting changes cannot be overemphasized. When backing up your data, back up the whole data directory, including the *.ddf and *.dat files. Performing a Data Integrity Check before backing up your data is also strongly recommended. Knowing that your backup data is sound provides Item Number Change 3 15

Posting Changes a solid working foundation for resolving any future data integrity problems. Posting Changes From Change List window, start posting by clicking the Post button in the lower right corner of the Change List window. Alternatively, you can choose Post Changes from the File menu. To proceed with a posting: If you are prepared to post the changes, click the Yes button. To cancel the posting, click the No button. If you choose to proceed with the posting the following Progress window is displayed: Posting Progress dialog box After successfully completing the posting, you can print the Audit Log. See About the Message Log for more information. Canceling a Posting Canceling a posting in the middle of the process means that only some of the files will have been updated with the new customer numbers. This situation poses a significant data integrity problem and you are advised to restore the company data before beginning any other operations. To cancel the posting at any time: 1. From the Progress dialog box, click the Cancel button. The following confirmation dialog box is displayed: Cancel Posting Confirmation 3 16 Sage Accpac Options

About the Message Log 2. Clicking Yes confirms your decision to cancel the posting. Clicking No allows the posting to continue. Handling Errors During Posting In general, because of how tightly Item Number Change controls potential errors, if your data is in good working order, you will very rarely encounter errors during posting. Because Item Number Change directly accesses and checks the data structures in numerous Sage Accpac modules, it tends to uncover lurking problems. If errors do occur, they will appear in the Progress dialog box s Error box and after the Posting process ends the following warning will appear indicating the exact number of errors: Error during posting message Note: If errors have occurred, print the Error Log, restore your backup of the company data, and re-post your Change List. If the problem persists, print the Error Log and, if eligible, call Technical Support for assistance. Before posting another Change List, you must purge the Error Log. If the Error Log has not been purged, and you attempt a posting, the following error message is displayed: Purge Error Log Warning Message. This message appears if you haven t purged the Error Log and attempt another posting. Although we do not recommend it, you can purge the Error Log without printing it first; however, you will lose any record of potentially critical data errors. About the Message Log Another addition to Item Number Change is the Message Log window that displays the following logs: Item Number Change 3 17

About the Message Log Audit Log contains the successfully posted Change List entries. Retaining a printed copy of this log helps you keep track of changes to your database. Entries remain in this log until they are purged. Error Log contains the Change List entries that were not successfully posted and a brief explanation of the reason. Retaining a printed copy of this log helps you resolve current errors and avoid future ones as well. Entries remain in this log until they are purged. For more detailed information, see Appendix C. Warning Log whether or not a posting is successful, Item Number Change relates warnings of potential database problems that were detected during a posting. Entries remain in this log until they are purged. For more detailed information, see Appendix C. To open the Message Log window: Click the Message Log icon on the Toolbar or, from the View menu, choose Message Log. The following window appears. Message Log Window showing the Audit Tab To switch between log views: Simply click the appropriate log tab. From the Message Log window, the various logs can be viewed in a Print Preview window, sent to a printer, or purged. About Viewing, Printing and Purging Message Logs The Messages Logs Audit, Error and Warning can all be viewed, printed, and purged using the following procedures. Viewing Any Message Log The following procedure can be used to view any of the Message Logs. 3 18 Sage Accpac Options

About the Message Log To View a Message Log: 1. Click the message log button on the Toolbar or from the Change List window; select Message Log from the View menu. The Message Log window will appear. 2. Choose the desired Log Tab from the Message Log window. The desired log will appear will appear in the Message Log window. 3. Use the scroll bars, if necessary, to view the entire log. To Display Any Message Log in a Print Preview Window: 1. From the Change List window, select Print Preview from the File menu. A popup menu listing all the logs containing entries will appear. Or From the Message Log window, select the desired log tab. The contents of the selected log are displayed. 2. From the popup menu, choose the desired log to preview. Or From the Message Log window, select Print Preview from the File menu. The Print Preview window appears displaying the desired log. 3. Use the navigation controls to display additional pages. Printing / Purging Message Logs Purging clears message logs of their entries. Entries remain in any Message Log until it is purged. Message logs must be printed before being purged so the purge utility is part of the printing process. Before posting another Change List, the Error Log must be purged in order to continue. If you do not purge the Error Log and attempt a posting, the following error message is displayed: Purge Error Log warning message The following procedure can be used to both print and purge any of the Message Logs. You can also review a log before printing using Print Preview. A full discussion of print preview s review options is found in the The Print Preview section. Item Number Change 3 19

About the Message Log To print / purge any Message Log: 1. Select the Change List window s File menu Print / Purge choice and choose the log that you want to print. Or Select the appropriate tab in the Message Log window, and then choose Print / Purge from the File menu. The Print dialog box is displayed. 2. If desired, specify the printer options, page range, print quality, and so forth. Unless otherwise specified, the log is sent to the default printer as designated in Windows. 3. Choose OK to proceed or choose Cancel to stop printing. After printing is complete, the Log Purge dialog box is displayed. 4. Choose Yes to proceed with the purge or choose No to cancel the process. Check to make sure the log is properly printed before proceeding with the purge. 3 20 Sage Accpac Options

Appendix A Item Number Change Terms and Tips Terms and Tips The following definitions and tips may be useful in planning your Item Number changes: Item number. An item number can be up to 24 characters long, composed of up to 10 Item number segments. Included in these characters are separator characters, and a prefix character. Item Number Change doesn t change separator or prefix characters. Item number segment. An item number s segments are determined entirely by your settings in Inventory Control / I/C Setup / Item Structure. Segments are often defined to isolate an item s product range, physical characteristic, or vendor. Item Number Change doesn t alter the number or ordering of segments. In addition, some segments allow a freeform entry while other segments may restrict your options to selecting predefined settings. To change these options, consult your ACCPAC Inventory Control documentation. Item number structure. Structure describes the number and order of item segments in an item number, including the position and type of separator and prefix characters. Item Number changes the contents of the segments within that structure. Tips For Changing Item Numbers While renumbering items, consider: Assigning large, evenly spaced item numbers to allow room for future items. For example, increment numbers by 100s such as 1100, 1200, and 1300 instead of 1s such as 1100, 1101, and 1102. This allows you group similar new items with similarly numbered products. The larger the increments, the more flexibility you have for future expansion. Item Number Change A 1

Appendix B Item Number Data Format Explaining the Item Number data format The Item Number data format has the following common features, regardless of what application is used to create the import file: Do not use this option for creating single entry changes. You must have at least two records to use this import facility. Each row or line represents one (1) Item record. Each record contains five (5) fields in the following order: Old Item Number 1 2 3 4 5 New Item Number Action Type New Structure Fields One and Two contain the old and new item numbers, respectively. Description Field Three, Action Type, has three (3) predefined values, as follows: To take this action Change 0 Combine 1 Copy 2 Input Field Four New Structure: An item structure must be defined even if it is just the old or unchanged item structure. Field Five: The old item number description will be used if the fifth field is blank. The following table shows your field entry options and their results: Field Contents Original data Changed data Single blank space (no quotes required) Change Result The original data replaces itself (useful for correcting typos, etc.). The changed data replaces the original data. The original data is left untouched. Item Number Change B 1

Import File Type Requirements Import File Type Requirements Each file type has its own unique requirements. ASCII Delimited Text File The first row is the title row; no other information except the title should appear in this row. If you don't want to include titles, include the row but leave it blank. Commas separate the fields and each field s contents must be enclosed within quotes. The following is an example of an ASCII text file (edited using Windows Notepad): Ms Excel files The first row is the title row; no other information except the title should appear in this row. If you don t want to include titles, leave it blank. Columns separate the fields and each field s contents must be enclosed in its own spreadsheet cell. Lotus 123 files File layout is the same as Ms Excel file dbase III and higher files File Import only recognizes three dbase data types: String, Numeric, and Date. Others such as memo fields are ignored. Consequently, fields must observe the following formats: Field Old item number New item number Action type New structure New description Must be formatted as a string field a string field either a string or an integer field a string field a string field FoxPro and Clipper files File layout is the same as DBASE III B 2 Sage Accpac Options

Appendix C Print Preview Window About the Print Preview Window The Print Preview window provides you with several tools for reviewing the print document prior to printing. Menu File Menu Navigation Menu Description Allows the user to define the Printer Setup, send the previewed report to the printer, or exit Print Preview. Allows the user to see the first, previous, next, and last pages of a report. Using the Print Preview Icons Button Print Button Stop Generating Report Button Navigation Buttons Description Clicking this button automatically prints the entire report. (Grayed out when processing a report.) Clicking this button stops report processing. (Grayed out when not processing a report.) Delays in previewing can occur when processing a large report, so this button stops the printing process. After stopping printing, Print Preview displays the processed portion of the report. Clicking the respective button shows the report s first page, previous page, next page, and last page. Zoom Buttons The Zoom In and Out buttons and Zoom In/Out field allow page views between 10% and 200% of the document s original size. Additionally, Fit Height, Fit Width, and Fit Page adjust your page view to fit the window s current dimensions. Item Number Change C 1

Appendix D About Error Messages Error Messages Error messages can appear when adding entries to the change list or while posting the change list. The following listing of common error messages indicates when you may encounter them and what they mean. New Item number cannot be the same as the current one. You are attempting to add or modify a change item with the new Item number the same as the old one. New Item number already exists in the Item file. You are attempting to add or modify a change item with a new Item number that already exists in the Item file. New Item number has already been assigned in another change item in the change list. You are attempting to add or modify a change item with a new Item number that has already been assigned to another change item. There is already a change item for this Current Item number. You are attempting to add or modify a change item for an Item number that already has a change item specified. Item number cannot be blank. You are attempting to add or modify a change item with a blank Item number. Item number cannot have spaces. You are attempting to add or modify a change item with an Item number that contains spaces. X is not a valid code for this segment. You are attempting to specify an Item Segment Code for a validated segment for which the code is not set up in Inventory Control. Item Number Change D 1

Error Messages Invalid Item Structure code. You are attempting to specify an Item Structure Code that is not set up in Inventory Control. There were entries in the Error Log, which indicate problems in a previous posting. Examine the Error Log, correct the problem and purge the log before proceeding. Errors occurred during the last posting. You must purge the error log first before you can redo the posting. X error(s) occurred during posting. Review the Error Log for details. To ensure data integrity, restore backup of company data and redo the posting again. Errors occurred during posting. You should examine the error log to locate the problem and restore backup of company data before redoing the posting. You do not have authority to run this program. Contact your System Administrator. You do not have access rights to use Item Number Change. You must start this application from within ACCPAC System Manager. Item Number Change must be started from within ACCPAC. Multiple changes for the same Item Number is not allowed. You are attempting to make multiply changes such as change, combine and copy for the same Item number. D 2 Sage Accpac Options

Appendix E About Warning Log Messages Warning Log Messages Warning Log messages can occur during both successful and failed postings. At the time of writing, there are only four possible and very rare warning messages that Item Number Change might report during a posting. There is a potential index problem in this file. This warning means that Item Number Change has detected a corruption in your ACCPAC data that is unrelated to any changes made by the Item Number program. If this message occurs, it indicates significant data corruption issues. Restoring your data might not correct the problem. In fact, the nature of the error indicates that your backup data may already be corrupted. To resolve this issue, run the ACCPAC Data Integrity program on the current data and post a small change to verify the problem has been corrected. If the error persists, contact Softline Systems Technical Support. Sort Information is not updated. I/C Inventory worksheet (headers / details). This warning means that Item Number Change modified your I/C Inventory Worksheet but was unable to update the index. If this message appears, you must manually sort the I/C Inventory Worksheet before producing a report. Please check for invalid BOM component (component of itself) You ll only receive this message when the Combine function adds a new Bill of Materials (BOM) to the Master Item that identifies the master item as a component of itself. Let s examine how this might happen. A Master Item (A) can become a component of another item s (B) BOM. If you then combine item B with item A, B s BOM is attached to A. Now, Master item s (A) new BOM shows A as being a component of itself. To correct this problem, manually locate the Master Item s new BOM and remove the Master Item s name from that list. Item Number Change E 1

Warning Log Messages Failure to resolve this circuitous problem could corrupt your I/C database. For more information regarding Bill of Materials and Master Items, consult your Inventory Control documentation. New BOM # has been generated to avoid duplication. File I/C Bill of Material This message occurs when both the source and target items have identical Bill of Materials (BOM) numbers. In such a case, Item Number Change automatically changes the last character of the new BOM number to a 1. Any additional duplicate BOM numbers will be similarly incremented (that is, 2, 3, 4, etc.). E 2 Sage Accpac Options

Index A D action data change, 3 4 backing up, 3 15 combine, 3 5 delete, 3 13 copy, 3 6 Delete, 3 2 audit log, 3 18 B backups, 3 15 C E edit, 3 13 entries. See change entries error log, 3 17, 3 18 external files, 3 11 change, 3 4 change by example wildcards, 3 9 file formats, 3 11 Change by Example Error Checking, 3 11 change entries I creating, 3 2 deleting, 3 13 editing, 3 13 importing importing, 3 11 file types, 3 11 posting, 3 15 importing changes, 3 11 saving, 3 14 Installation, 2 1 change list README file, 2 2 printing, 3 14 System requirements, 2 1 Change List Window, 3 1 item number structures, 3 7 Delete, 3 2 Modify, 3 1 New, 3 1 L changes creating, 3 2 logs deleting, 3 13 audit, 3 18 editing, 3 13 error, 3 18 importing, 3 11 warning, 3 18 posting, 3 15, 3 16 saving, 3 14 combine, 3 5 copy, 3 6 F Item Number Change Index 1

M message log, 3 17 Modify, 3 1 Multiple Change options Importing Changes, 3 11 N New, 3 1 P post, 3 15, 3 16 posting canceling, 3 16 errors, 3 17 printing change list, 3 14 purging warning log, 3 18, 3 19 R S save, 3 14 Single Change Entry options Change, 3 4 Combine, 3 5 Copy, 3 6 T Toolbar Buttons, 3 2 V Vendor Number Change Installing, 2 1 W warning log, 3 18 purging, 3 18, 3 19 wildcards, 3 9 README file, 2 2 restore, 3 16 Index 2 Sage Accpac Options