Grouping is an option you can use to sort the records that populate the grid at the bottom of Find screens in [i] Merchant. Of course, even without Grouping, records in the Find screen grid can be sorted by clicking on column headings, etc. But Grouping takes sorting to the next level. With Grouping, you can sort the records in very specific ways, in layered ways (i.e., using multiple sorting criteria), you can create page breaks between the different sort groups when the list is printed, along with a few other features. Grouping is a great way, therefore, to sort your Find screen records via any criteria you choose. And by printing the list of found records, it is also a great way to use the list as a printed report. Grouping is available in most Find programs throughout [i] Merchant, but is not available in all of them.
In the Find screens where Grouping is available, you will see a Grouping icon in the toolbar near the top of the Find screen. There is an arrow at the right of this icon. If you click on it, a submenu appears, with two options--"Enabled" and "Disabled." Select the one you want. The next time you enter this specific Find screen, Grouping will be turned on or off upon entry depending on how you left it the last time you exited this Find screen. (If Grouping is active but you want it disabled during a session, simply choose "Disabled" from the Grouping arrow's submenu.)
|
Note: |
When you first enter a Find screen, Grouping will not be available, even if it's enabled. It becomes available as soon as you select a search criteria, and run the search. In other words, Grouping becomes activated only when records appear in the grid at the bottom of the Find screen. |
Okay, so let's move on. Once you run a search, and the records do appear on the Find screen grid, what happens when you enable Grouping?
If not already enabled, activate Grouping by clicking on the arrow to the right of the Grouping icon and choose "Enabled". Then, click on the Grouping icon itself. This calls up the Choose Groups and Totals window. This is where you will determine how the records back on the Find screen should be sorted.
You can create as many sets of sorting criteria (queries) as you want for each Find screen program. A particular set of sorting (i.e., Grouping) criteria is saved to your system as a query. You will name the query, and save it.
To create a sorting query:
Click on the "Manage Saved Groups" button. A menu appears. Select "Create a new Sort Selection to save". The "New Saved Group" window appears. In the "Enter the name of your new Sort Selection" field, key in the name you want this sorting query to have. Choose a name that makes sense to the criteria you will use to create the sorting methods.
Notice the checkbox field at the bottom of the window--"Save with Current Settings". This works like a Save As in Windows. If you have an existing query called up in the Choose Groups and Totals window, clicking this box will duplicate the search criteria from that query and place them into the new query you are creating. You would do this if the new query's sorting criteria are very close to the existing query in question. Then you can add whatever additional sorting features are needed for the new query.
Once you have keyed in the name of the new query and decided whether or not to check the "Save with Current Settings" field, simply click on the Apply button. This accepts the name and creates the new query. (Clicking on Cancel backs you out of this window without saving anything.)
Now that you have named your new query, you need to create its sorting criteria. How do you want this query to sort the records on the Find screen?
Look at the lower portion of the window. There are four columns--"Sort Selection." "Sort Order," "Totals," and "Page Break."
You need to create rows to place beneath these columns that will define the sorting criteria. To add a row, click on the "Add to List" button, located on the extreme left, just above the "Sort Selection" column heading.
Once you click on "Add to List," you will see the fields beneath the columns fill in. Let's look at the "Sort Selection" column first.
The field underneath "Sort Selection" is a dropdown menu field. Click on the arrow at the right of the field, then select the category that you want to use to sort the records when using this query. For example, if you select "Description," the records back on the Find screen will be sorted alphanumerically by Description (i.e., the Product name). If you choose "Onhand," the records will be sorted by onhand quantity, etc.
The field underneath "Sort Order" is where you decide how you want the sort to be arranged--in ascending or descending order. So, for example, if you sort the records by Description (Product name) and select "Ascending" here, the records will be sorted alphanumerically from the bottom up (from lowest to highest numbers, from A to Z, alphabetically). If you select "Descending," the sort will be reversed--from Z to A, and from highest to lowest numbers.
The "Totals" column is simply a checkbox. If you check this, totals will be shown underneath each sort grouping in the list of records. For example, let's say you sort the query by Description (Product name). Each unique Description grouping back on the Find screen will have a Totals line beneath it. For example, let's say three items appear on the Find screen with a Description of "Bag of Bones." Beneath this grouping, a totals line will appear, totalling the onhand amount, Retail amount, etc. of the records with this Description. Underneath every unique Description on the list (even if there is only one item), totals will appear. If you don't want to see totals after each unique sort grouping (in this case, Description), simply leave the "Totals" box unchecked.
The "Page Break" column is also a checkbox field. If you check this, page breaks will be inserted when you print the list of records. Page breaks will be inserted between the different sorting groups. Taking the above example (Description) . . . a page break will be inserted between "Bag of Bones" and the next Description on the list (say, "Behind Closed Doors"). Then a page break will be inserted between "Behind Closed Doors" and the next item, and so on. On the list itself, in [i] Merchant, the page breaks will be "shown" by a blank line of white space. If you leave this box unchecked, page breaks will not be inserted between different sort groupings.
There are two more checkbox fields to be aware of. Both are located in the upper right corner of the Choose Groups and Totals window: "Final Totals" and "Totals Only." "Final Totals" does just what it says. At the very end of the records list (and at the bottom of the printed report, if you print the list), final totals for all of the records on the list will be noted. "Totals Only" prints only select information for each sorting group, without giving you line item detail. If you want to see a broad summary, checking "Totals Only" may make sense. To activate either (or both) of these fields, check the box to the left of them. To deactivate them, leave the checkboxes blank.
When you are finished filling in the fields, click on "Apply" at the top of the window. This will take you back to the Find screen, and the records will now be sorted according to what you just defined here in the Choose Groups and Totals window. (If you click on "Cancel," you will be taken to the Find screen, but nothing will have been applied.)
However . . . what if you want to create more than one sort for your query? For example, what if you want the records to be sorted by 1) Description (Product name) and 2) Onhand quantity. In other words, the records should be sorted first by Description. But if multiple records have the same Description (i.e., three items with a Description of "Bag of Bones"), then, among those records, they should be further sorted by Onhand quantity.
To do something like this, once your first row's fields are filled in, click on the "Add to List" button again. A second row appears, beneath the first. Simply repeat the process described above--filling in the "Sort Selection," "Sort Order," "Totals," and "Page Break" fields, along with the "Final Totals" and "Totals Only" field. You now have a layered Sorting criteria--first by Description, second by Onhand.
At this point, click on "Apply" to accept these search criteria, or if you want to create a third sorting layer, click on the "Add to List" button again, and repeat.
If you need to delete a row, highlight it, and click on the "Remove from List" button, located directly to the right of the "Add to List" button.
That's all there is to creating a sorting query. When you click on "Apply," [i] Merchant will prompt you to save the changes you made if you haven't already. To save the changes before Applying:
Click on the "Manage Saved Groups" button. From the submenu that appears, choose "Save the current Sort Selection." Your new query is now saved.
To delete a query:
Click on the "Manage Saved Groups" button. From the submenu that appears, choose "Delete the current Sort Selection." The query is deleted from the system.
To find an existing saved query:
Click on the arrow at the right of the "Select Saved Group Options" field. A submenu appears, with a list of already-existing queries displays. Simply select the one you want, and its sorting criteria will display in the window. You can either alter its criteria, or you can apply this query to the records on the Find screen by clicking on "Apply."
You can have all existing queries display on the submenu (ones created by all users), or you can have only the queries you yourself saved be displayed. To determine whether you want all queries, or just the ones you created and saved, to be displayed, do the following:
Click on the "Manage Saved Groups" button. If you want all saved queries to display, select "Include Sort Selections saved by all users." If you want just the queries you saved to display, select "Include Sort Selections saved by [your name]." A checkmark will appear just to the left of the selection you made, and you can toggle back and forth between the two as desired.
|
Note: |
Keep in mind, when you are creating and saving sort queries, you are doing this for each applicable Find program separately. For example, the sort queries you create for the Inventory Change Log Inquiry are unique to that program. They will not be saved for the Buying Manager program, etc. You must set up and maintain Grouping separately and uniquely for each applicable Find program where you wish to have Grouping activated. |
When you use Grouping, the Quick Report's setup screen in [i] Merchant is enhanced. Click here for additional information on working with the Quick Report when using Grouping.