Contents

Overview
Menu & Toolbar
About Windows and Tabs
Selecting & Lists
The TDOC Browse
Entering Information
Attaching Documents, etc
Preview, Print, Export, & Email Buttons

Overview

TDOC has a Multi Document Interface [MDI], which enables multiple windows to be open at the same time. Thus different actions can be carried out without the need to close one activity in order to carry out another. Some windows do however operate on their own, and once launched, the activity must be completed or cancelled before anything else is done.

The Name of the Module in use, the Name of the Licencee, and the Path to the Database in use are displayed at the very top of the screen above the menu and toolbar (if any).

TDOC is driven from a menu, and user configurable toolbars. All the normal windows functionality is supported.

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Menu & Toolbar

The TDOC menu is split into four sections:

The operational modules have up to four toolbars, one for each of the main operational sections. The toolbars may be configured to suit the user. Please see Setting to Work: User Configuration.

Hot keys are available by using the ALT key and the underlined letter within the menu item.

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About Windows and Tabs

When a window is opened, it is added to the list of open windows and may be accessed from the Window item on the main menu. The selected window may also be moved around the screen quickly with function keys as follows:

In the screen shot below, the same window has been opened four times, and all four can be seen under the Window item of the main menu.

Windows

Tabs are a convenient way of displaying of related information where it cannot be seen all at once.

Typical Tabs

When information is being entered, and before it has been saved (as in the screen above), to assist in preventing the information being lost the following happens:

Once the information has been saved, the text on the tab returns to black, and the other tabs are enabled.

The ALT key may be used in conjunction with the underlined letter in the tab's title to select it.

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Selecting & Lists

Within TDOC there are several process's which involve selecting items from a list of available items. Generally the selected items are shown on the left side, and the list (browse) of items available for selection is on the right. Where appropriate, the list of available items may be filtered by using context menu.

Between the two lists (browses), there are a number of buttons with standard indicators as follows:

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The TDOC Browse

Uses

The TDOC browse is used extensively for presenting information on screen. Browses are used in four different situations:

Context Menu

When a browse has a context menu available (accessed by the F5 key or by right mouse click), then a small icon is shown on the left side of the browse title. The browse title (if any) describes the content of the browse including any filtering where appropriate. The context menu also shows any selections which have been applied.

Context Menu - Icon, Title, Menu

Column Status

The status of a column is indicated by its color. Colors may be set: see Setting to Work, User Configuration. Each column title The following are indicated:

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In the above screen shot, the columns have indicated status as follows:

The search and index status of a column may also be set by using its context menu as seen below.

Column Menu

Searching

The columns in a browse may be used to both to set the order the in which the information is shown, and to be searched into. To search a column, simply select the column, and start typing. There are two types of search:

Information about a search is displayed in the title bar of the window on which the browse is located. Searching is generally extremely fast, but if possible the search may be cancelled before it is completed by either pressing the ESCape key, or simply clicking on the browse. The message given in the screen shot below is that "ZAK" has been found within the word "Byzak". Although the column is indexed, it is not controlling the order of the information and so the second mode of searching is used.

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Global Search

To use the global search use the F8 or CTRL + S keys. The availability of Global Search can be determined by and accessed from the Column context menu. It is only available when browsing the Names Register, and then only in limited places.

One word (or phrase) must be entered, and optionally a second one if the selection is set to "AND second word" or "OR second word". During the search a progress bar is displayed. Pressing the Cancel button stops the search if started, otherwise it closes the search screen.

Global Search

Once the search has been completed, the results are displayed depending on which of the three options was selected:

If the search has been used and applied to the originating browse, then it must be used again and the "Clear" button applied.

Hot Keys

This summarises the Hot Keys which operate on the browse to assist with locating information on the browse, as follows:

Navigation

Within a browse, the "focus" is set by using the Tab Key until a cell is selected, or click the browse with the mouse. The selected cell has a dotted outline around it. The following keys operate within the browse:

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Entering Information

Overview

TDOC has a sophisticated yet simple to use mechanism to indicate to the user when data has been entered but not saved. It helps to make sure that the information cannot be lost if something else needs to be done whilst in the middle of a task. When information is entered, and before it is saved, the screen becomes "Dirty".

When entering information on a screen, the following ways allow the user to end the entry of information in one box and proceed to the next one:

To go backwards, use either:

TDOC's Dirty Mechanism

When any information is entered on a screen which is part of that to be saved, then the following things happen (illustrated on the screen shot below):

Screen Dirty - Tabs and Button

Where possible the information being entered is validated. If it fails to be validated, then (as illustrated on the screen shot below):

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Getting Valid Information

Beside some fields are various symbols which are accessed by the F4 Key, or clicking with the mouse. The following are used:

Save, Cancel, and Exit

Once a screen is "dirty" then the Save and Cancel buttons can be used as follows:

In both cases, the following things happen:

Where the information is deemed important, then a warning message may be displayed when the Exit button is used.

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Attaching Documents, etc

There are two main activities:

Attaching a document (or any file) to a record in TDOV may be accomplished by:

Removing an attachment is done by launching the standard windows dialog, and using the cancel button.

Once an attachment is made, then a Button with an Icon appears. This operates a follows:

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Preview, Print, Export & Email Buttons

Overview

There are two general things for which the printing mechanism in TDOC is used:

Both operations are similar and simply involve putting information from the database into a report. The only difference is that for generated documents, the recipient(s) are defined, whereas for a report this is not the case.

There are four different ways in which a document or report can be generated, and each is supported by the appropriate button:

Emailing Reports

When a report is emailed, then the recipients must be selected, and the decision as to whether to keep the report has to be made. If a report has been exported, then it may be emailed selecting Help; Spool Files from the Main Menu.

The report with a default message and when available the JobNo are passed to the Email facilty which is found from the Main Menu under Work Package, Contacts, Send Email.

Error Logs etc are emailed directly to TDOC Support.

For more information see Work Package Management; Contact Notes.

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