Attachments

How are attachments maintained by the software?

The attachments you add to accounts and other records are maintained both in the application's SQL database and also in an entirely separate database specifically dedicated to file-based attachment data. Windows File type attachments are not stored locally or saved to disk, but are saved as "image" data in the separate Attachment's SQL database. This separate database is linked with an "attachments" table in the application's database that contains the other information about the attachments (permissions, print settings, type, original path name, etc.). Attachments that are not Windows Files, such as map links and application documents, do not need to be added to the separate database because no external file data is associated with them.

Attachment Settings

There are some choices that users can make when adding or modifying attachments. The ability to make changes to attachments may be limited by user security.

Either an "Insert" or "Update" button will be shown on the form based upon whether the current selection is a new or existing attachment. For a step-by-step walk-through on adding new attachments, please refer to the topic "Attachments Step-By-Step." Modifying an existing attachment is relatively easy. To do so, you select the attachment from the Attachments tab, make changes and then click the Update button.

Although not always required, it is a good idea to choose Process (F12) after making changes.

Reference

The Reference may be manually designated and is intended to be used as a description of the attachment. References are also used for identifying an attachment, so they should be unique. When using a "drag and drop" method to add attachments, the reference defaults to the file name and extension of a file based attachment. If the same reference already exists, a message window will ask you whether or not you want to associate the existing attachment with the document instead of creating a new one.

Attachment and Doc #

Attachment is the current path name (directory location) of the file on the user's computer or the URL address of the map link or a web site. For file based attachments, a copy of the attachment file will be made in a database table that is maintained by the server. Files are not kept individually, they are saved as image data within a SQL table. URL addresses are saved as text.

When choosing a type of "Document," the attachment field is replaced with a different control for selecting documents (labeled "Doc #").

Permissions (Public, Group, and Private)

When adding a new attachment, users may choose to make the attachment public, private, or assign it to a user group. Choices affect whether or not the attachment will be visible to a particular user.

•Private attachments are only displayed if the current user is the same user who saved the attachment.

•Group attachments are accessible to just those users who are a member of the assigned (user) group. User Groups are defined from the UserID form (Maintenance > Database > User IDs).

•Public attachments are displayed and can be selected and viewed by all users.

The ability to add, modify, and delete attachments may be restricted by general user security as well as by the status of the particular attachment (public, group, or private). Some types of attachments, such as those associated with a record (customer, vendor, or item), can only be added, modified, and deleted from a database form (including the Attachment Maintenance form), not from within a transaction. In this case, no browse option is shown and users will be unable to modify path names or save a new attachment. This does not restrict access to view or print record based attachments necessarily; however, that may be limited as well. Contact the system administrator at your company for questions regarding your security permissions.

File Types

Users can choose either windows file, map link, web site address, or document as the file type using the drop down:

Windows File

"WindowsFile" refers to any Microsoft® Windows®-compatible file type. Usually, these types of files require some other software that may or may not be provided with your Microsoft Windows operating system. These types of attachments are stored in a separate SQL database and table as "image" data, not as individual files in a directory. The same attachment may be used with many different records.

Map Link

"MapLink" refers to a URL (web site address) that initiates a 3rd party mapping service search for a specific address using your default browser. Users may use this site to generate a map to a specific address then click on "link to this page" to create a link address which may then be copied and used as an attachment to a document. Internet access and browser software are required. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy or availability of any 3rd party mapping service. Also, please see the "Add Map Link" section also in this topic.

Web Address

"WebAddress" refers to a normal web site address (URL) which may be either typed in or copied from a web browser's address bar. This option requires Internet access. Web site addresses (URL) must be manually entered or copied into the Attachment text box.

Document

"Document" refers to an application generated document ID. This allows you to enter/select any document ID and save it as an attachment. No data is saved with this attachment, just the document's internal identifier (DocIDInternal) .

Show Icon

The "show icon" check box defaults to yes (checked) and determines whether or not the (document attachment), (customer, job, or vendor attachment), or (item attachment) icon is to be shown when this particular attachment is present.

When multiple attachments are present, if any of the attachments are set to "show icon," the icon will display.

Print @ POS

This check box is intended to be used to set whether a particular attachment should be made available for printing from the Attachments tab on a transaction's Process (F12) form. It does not cause an attachment to automatically print during processing. In addition, this setting does not prevent a user from being able to open and subsequently print any attachments listed on the Info or Entry folders during a Point of Sale transaction. The permissions (public, group, or private) on the attachment are really the only thing that can potentially block access to an attachment.

As stated, even with this setting enabled, printing attachments remains a somewhat manual process. On process forms with an "attachment" tab, you can select one or more attachments and then click the Print button. Only those attachments designated as "Print @ POS" are included.

Add Map Link

Where provided, the "Add Map Link" check box can automatically create a "Map Link" type attachment that builds the URL request based upon the current account or job address (no automated map link is provided for vendors). Any maps may be optionally displayed in your default browser and require Internet access. The availability and accuracy of any 3rd party mapping service is not guaranteed.

Modifying Attachments

Modifying an existing attachment is relatively easy. First, select the attachment from the Attachments tab by clicking the ellipse (...) button.

Next, make any changes and then click the "Update" button (or "Return" to cancel).

It's important to choose Process (F12) as well after making any changes.

Removing Attachments

Attachments can be removed by deleting the attachment row from the grid. To do this, select the row by clicking the cell along the left-hand side of the row then press the Delete key or choose "Delete" from the context menu (usually a right-click). Another way to remove record based attachments is to use the Attachment Maintenance utility located under the Maintenance area.