The Attachment Maintenance form is available from the Maintenance area's Utilities menu. This feature provides the ability to add, modify, and remove attachments for the various record types capable of maintaining attachments.

Attachments can be any Windows® compatible file. They can be associated with either a database record (item, customer, job, vendor, etc.) document, or memo. Common attachments are document files, images, or web site addresses. It's important to point out that attached files often rely upon other software for them to be accessible. For example, users will need Internet access and a web browser to go to a web site link or Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® software to view PDF documents. It is the user's responsibility to obtain any required licenses, install any required software/hardware, and provide or obtain 3rd party support for any applications necessary for or required by attachments. For more information about how attachments are accessed and used throughout the application, click here.

This utility is provided as a way to (a) associate new or existing attachments with records, (b) remove attachments from records, or (c) make changes to existing attachments. For example, if there is a product data sheet that applies to an entire line of chemicals, a user could use this utility to quickly associate that document with the items in question instead of bringing up each item individually using a database function.

Attachment Types

Users can add, modify, or delete attachments based on either record type or the properties associated with the attachment. Begin by selecting a record type (inventory, customer, job, vendor, or document) or choose an attachment look-up method (reference, user ID, attachment, or folder) in the upper left-hand corner. Although, it's possible to have attachments linked with General Ledger accounts, we don't allow maintenance on them from this area since the content of any attachments may contain sensitive material.

The selection area to the right of the button choices (shown above) changes based on your choice. When choosing a record type (item, customer, or vendor), the appropriate selection tools will appear.

Inventory

The inventory selection is used for attachment maintenance on items. Use the selection options, displayed on the right-hand panel, to build (create) a list of accounts. From this list, you can view which accounts have attachments and make changes or add new attachments to the customers listed. The selection methods offered are similar to those used with reports. For more specific information regarding Inventory (Item) selection options, please click here.

Choose Process (F12) to populate the middle grid with any records matching the selected criteria.

Customer

This option is provided for maintenance on attachments associated with (customer) accounts. Use the selection options, displayed on the right-hand panel, to build (create) a list of accounts. From this list, you can view which accounts have attachments and make changes or add new attachments to the customers listed. The selection methods offered are the same as those used with reports. For more specific information regarding Account (Customer) selection options, please click here.

Choose Process (F12) to populate the middle grid with any records matching the selected criteria.

Job

The job selection is used for maintenance on attachments for the jobs associated with a given account. This involves selecting an individual account using the "account" drop down control. Since job selection only offers and requires a single parameter, the grid (middle) is immediately populated with all of the jobs for the selected customer.

Choose Process (F12) to populate the middle grid with any records matching the selected criteria.

Vendor

This selection is used for maintenance of attachments associated with vendors. Selection options are the same as those used with many reports. To display more specific information regarding Vendor selection options, please click here.

Choose Process (F12) to populate the middle grid with any records matching the selected criteria.

Document

Document selection can be done for all documents or by document type. A date range can be specified or selected using the preset date options found by clicking on the icon. Specifying a date range (or other criteria) is strongly suggested because the application database will maintain a very large library of documents the longer the application is actively used. Users can also designate a specific user ID or reference (part of the document description) to narrow down the selection even more. Existing document attachments can originate from either this form, transaction processing (using the Document tab in Folders to associate attachments), or the Document form (used for viewing documents).

Type

All documents are assigned a type. In some cases, such as with Point of Sale payments and payouts, a single document type may represent variations on the same transaction (received on account vs. order deposits, for example). In these cases the "reference" can sometimes be used to retrieve the particular document variation you want (if needed).

Starting Date

The beginning date in the range. Dates can be set manually by using the calendar control or by choosing a preset from the context marker . When preset dates are chosen, the date selection will be listed in green text and the date will be read-only. To change the date in this case, you must deselect any preset date selections previously made.

Ending Date

The ending date in the range. Dates can be set manually by using the calendar control or by choosing a preset from the context marker . When preset dates are chosen, the date selection will be listed in green text and the date will be read-only. To change the date in this case, you must deselect any preset date selections previously made.

User ID

Documents have at least one user associated with them. This user identifies who created or last modified the particular document. In many cases, the same or additional users are linked with the data "behind" the document (invoice data, for example). For attachments, we are only considering users who are associated with the document data and not those associated with data linked to the document.

Reference (Document)

The reference assigned to documents will vary based on the type of document. References are automatically set when a document is created. References may include a document, customer's account, vendor code or other information, for example. The reference text you enter will produce matches regardless of where in the reference it appears. For example, to find documents including a reference to customer order 1412-C19999, you could put the text C19999 in the reference text area. Below are some common "wild card" search patterns for various document types:

*These document reference "wild cards" can be typed using either upper or lower-case letters.

The references on most other Point of Sale documents include the customer's account code (ID), so this could be used for wild card selection. Purchasing documents typically use the vendor's code as the reference.

Choose Process (F12) to populate the middle grid with any records matching the selected criteria.

Reference

This "reference" refers to the reference assigned to the attachment. References are initially set when the attachment is added, but can be modified later. How well "reference" will work for attachment selection will depend upon how descriptive and consistent users are when creating a reference. For example, you could use this to find attachments with references including the word "directions" or any other text. Only valid attachments are returned... meaning that attachments which are no longer linked to valid data (items, jobs, vendors, etc.) are not included in the selection.

 

Reference Contains

This indicates the text to search attachment references for. The search is not case sensitive; however, if you enter multiple words, they are considered as an entire phrase, so each word is not independently matched.

Type

This drop down control can be used to limit the attachment selection to a particular type. Types include: windows file, map link, and web address. Type selection is not required and no selection indicates that the selection will include all types.

Not in Use

When checked, the selection will include file type attachments that have an invalid image ID (linking to the attachment's database). It would not necessarily include stranded attachments that are linked with application data records (items, jobs, etc.) that no longer exist.

Choose Process (F12) to populate the middle grid with any records matching the selected criteria.

User ID

Users, and sometimes user groups, are associated with attachments. The user is either the user who created the attachment, or if you are choosing a user group, the user group assigned to the attachment. In this case, users linked to the data (document, customer, job, vendor, etc.) is not being considered. Only valid attachments are returned... meaning that attachments which are no longer linked to valid data (items, jobs, vendors, etc.) are not included in the selection. Selection is permitted by either User ID or User Group, not both.

UserID

Type the user ID, if known, or use the drop down to select a user. Alternate selection can be done by "last name" if needed.

User Group

Type in the user group name, if known, or use the drop down to select a group. User Groups (aka. Message Group) can be defined from the Messages feature found on the Office menu .

Not in Use

When checked, the selection will include file type attachments that have an invalid image ID (linking to the attachment's database). It would not necessarily include stranded attachments that are linked with application data records (items, jobs, etc.) that no longer exist.

Attachment

This option allows the selection of an attachment by the ID (identity) of the record. The ID is a unique integer (numeric) value assigned when the attachment was initially added to the database table. This can easily be confused with the "ID" column shown in the middle grid when certain types of attachment selections include a variety of data types (a mix of attachments, some for items, some for customers, etc.). The numeric attachment ID is listed when viewing the list of attachments (bottom grid) after you select a record with attachments from the middle grid. Only valid attachments (attachments currently linked with valid data) are returned.

Folder

The folder option is a bit different from the other selection options. The Folder radio button allows you to quickly add attachments from files that are all located in the same folder. The files are typically scanned documents. The file names must match actual records for your selected record type (document, item, bar code, account, or vendor code). Processing adds the files as attachments if records matching the file names are located.

Here is a specific and step-by-step explanation of how you would add scanned documents as attachments:

1.Create or designate an existing folder on the PC or a network share location for saving scanned documents.

2.Add scanned images of documents to the folder. The file names must match with an existing application document ID (see the examples below):
 
1101-C40152.JPG
1012-015842.TIF
 
The file extensions can be any valid Windows® file type (images, documents, etc.).*
 
*Remember, for a user to be able to access attachments locally (on their PC, station, etc.), their device must have the software required to open the particular file type. For example, users who don't have Microsoft® Excel® software installed, may not be able to open an Excel spreadsheet.

3.After adding some files to the folder, go to Maintenance, choose Utilities and select Attachment Maintenance.

4.Click the Folder radio button.

5.Use the browse button (...) to choose the Folder on your PC or network share containing the scanned images.

6.Make sure that "Document #" appears in the "Interpret as" drop down control (document is the default).

7.Choose whether the attachments should be public, assigned to a group, or private (same user only).

8.If desired, modify the Show Icon or Print @ POS check boxes.

9.The "Type" should be left as WindowsFile.

10. Choose Process (F12) to populate the grid with any files that match an existing document.

11. To add the files as attachments, check the check boxes for each row you want to add as a new attachment. The menu marker may be used to "select all."
 

12.        Press the Insert button.

13.        The files should now appear as attachments for the related documents.

Some Points about Folder Attachments

✓Attachments are maintained as image data in a separate SQL database... not the folder you designate. The folder location is not saved nor is it used to retrieve the attachments once they've been added.

✓Adding the same file as an attachment does not replace any prior attachment (even if the file name matches), it creates a new one. Any given document (or other record) may have an unlimited number of attachments... the folder option does not have a way of distinguishing between one or the other.

✓Files are not removed from the designated folder location (you may want to either remove or move the files elsewhere after attaching to avoid duplicates in case the folder location is used again).

✓References (attachment descriptions) default to the reference associated with the document (or description of the item, customer, etc. when linking folder-based files to other types of records), but can be modified before adding the attachments.

Viewing and Modifying Attachments

Once selections have been made, use the Process (F12) function to populate the grid with matching records, documents, or attachments. The grid can be used to select the records, documents, or attachments for updating. When updating attachments, the user is really modifying the attachment, not the records associated with the attachment. This might be done to update an exist product safety sheet or customer directions, for example. With a record, such as an item, customer account, or vendor, the user can associate a new or existing attachment with items in the grid or modify an existing attachment.

When attachments list in the grid, users double click on the record with an attachment to move the attachment to the lower grid where changes may be made. Note: checking the "select" check box in the grid is not considered the same as row selection in some cases and will not display attachments in the lower grid area.

Use the "New Attachment" button to select a new Windows file for use as an attachment. Use the "Attachment" button to make changes to an existing attachment (one that's already been selected in the lower grid). When either button is used, some changes to the form occur:

Change any attachment settings as needed then click Update to save the modifications. The Cancel button can be used to leave the attachment unchanged.

When attachments are added or modified and the changes should be applied to records in the grid, use the Attachment Update area of the form. If an existing attachment is just being modified and no changes are being made to which items the attachment is associated with, there is no need to use these functions. Choose either Insert or Delete to associate (add) or remove the selected attachment for the selected records.