The Column Designer allows you to set the default display for the grid in the Product Find program, To Be Ordered (TBO) program, and To Be Returned (TBR) program. The grid in the three programs will default to the way you set them here for every user on the system. Individual users can then alter the display grid any way they choose.
To access the Column Designer:
Select Tools from the [i] Merchant Desktop. A submenu appears.
From this submenu, select Administration-Designers-Column Designer. The Column Designer window appears.
Inside this window, select File-Open from Database, then either Product Find, To Be Ordered, or To Be Returned (whichever one you want to work with). Upon selecting one of the choices, the Column Designer window is filled in with the appropriate information and the Palette appears. The instructions that follow apply to any of the choices (Product Find, TBO, TBR). The same principles apply to each.
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When you first enter the Column Designer window, for either Product Find, TBO, or TBR, it will be filled in with default settings created by Computac. Simply change the settings the way you want them or leave them as they are if you don't want to alter them. |
The Palette contains a list of all the headings you can choose to put into the Column Designer window. To select a heading from the Palette and move it into the Column Designer window:
Click on the desired heading within the Palette.
Drag the heading into the Column Designer window and drop it in the display row (the row of headings that appears inside the Column Designer window). The newly selected heading will appear at the end of the row, and it will have an asterisk directly to the left of it.
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An asterisk to the left of a heading within the Column Designer window means that the heading is selected. For example, if you click on a heading inside the window, it is selected. Therefore, an asterisk appears to the left of it. When you add a heading to the row of headings, it is automatically selected; therefore, it has an asterisk to the left of it. |
Either leave the newly selected heading at the end of the row or drag it anywhere you want within the row.
Repeat this process as many times as you want. You can add as many headings to the Column Designer window as you desire.
Please take note of two kinds of options in the Palette: PD_Code/Prod_Code and PD_Field/Prod_Field options. There are several of these. For example, PD_Code6, PD_Code7, PD_Field6, PD_Field7, and so on. These are user-definable options. You can drag them into the Column Designer window and then rename them to whatever you want. This gives you increased flexibility. For example, let's say you want to create a heading called "Super Special Merchandise" and move it into the grid in the Product Find program. Simply drag one of the PD_Fields into the Column Designer window, right click on the field, select Properties, and rename the Caption to "Super Special Merchandise."
There is an important distinction between PD_Code and PD_Field options. They are both designed for you to rename them, but one is attached to codes and one is free-form. The PD_Code fields are code-driven. The selections within these fields must be attached to a valid code. For example, Book Class would be code-driven. The description of a Book Class might be Bound Copy, and the code might be BC.
PD_Field options are free-form. They have no codes attached. When creating a free-form field, simply name it what you want. You will not need to attach it to any existing valid codes.
To delete a heading from the Column Designer row of headings:
Select the heading you want to delete by clicking on it. You will know it has been selected when an asterisk appears to the left of it.
With the heading selected, click on the Delete button at the bottom left of the Column Designer window. The heading is deleted from the row of headings.
To view or alter the properties of any individual heading:
Select the heading for which you wish to view properties by clicking on it. You will know it has been selected when an asterisk appears to the left of it.
With the heading selected, right click on it. A submenu appears with just "Properties" listed. Select Properties from this submenu. The Properties window opens for the selected heading.
The Caption dictates how the heading will display. For example, if the caption reads "Retail Price," the heading will display as "Retail Price."
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When you set or change a caption, you change it throughout the [i] Merchant system. If you set the caption for a heading as "Retail Price," it will display as "Retail Price" throughout the system, not just in the Column Designer and the Product Find or To Be Ordered or To Be Returned grid.
The Short Caption is optional. You can key in an abbreviated version of the Caption here. For example, for the Caption "Retail Price," the Short Caption might be "Retails." As with Caption, the Short Caption you choose for a heading is system-wide.
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Though the Short Caption line is optional, we highly recommend that you fill it in, even if you do not plan to use it here. Not all forms and programs are user-definable in [i] Merchant. Some of the ones that are not will automatically display the Short Caption for fields.
The Use Short Caption box can be checked or unchecked. If unchecked, the heading will display as set in the Caption line. If checked, the heading will display in its Short Caption form. Choose whichever version you want.
The Display Code Only option only displays in the Properties window for code-driven headings. Checking the Display Code Only box causes the grid to display the code, rather than the description, for the code-driven heading. For example, if you set Store Number to Display Code Only, just the code will display. In the grid, under Store Number, the code (probably "1" if it is Store Number 1) displays. If you leave the Display Code Only box unchecked, the description ("Store Number 1" or, more likely, the name of the store--"Merchandise Heaven," for example) will display.
The Displayed Width tells you the displayed width of the field. Generally, you will never need to adjust this.
Once you are finished setting the Column Designer window to your liking, save the settings.