Getting Started

From PERPWiki

Contents 1 GETTING STARTED: A First Look at pERP 1.1 How to Access pERP 1.2 Security 1.3 Home Page 1.4 Navigating in pERP 1.4.1 Navigating Between Applications 1.4.2 Navigating Within an Application 1.4.3 Using the Search Bar 1.5 Selecting Columns 1.6 Entering Data 1.7 pERP Icons 1.8 Setting Your Preferences 1.9 User Reports 1.10 Exporting Files

GETTING STARTED: A First Look at pERP

How to Access pERP

1. Open your web browser (Safari, Firefox, or Internet Explorer)

2. In the location field, enter the URL for your organization:

• http://demo.projecterp.org for the demo version
  
• whatever URL your admin gives you for the live (production) version for your company

3. It would be a good idea to bookmark these URLs and put them on your favorites bar or in some other location where you can access them easily.

NOTE: WEB BROWSERS DIFFER IN HOW THEY HANDLE THE SAME SITE. If a screen does not look right, if fields aren't lined up, or something doesn't work, this is not necessarily a bug. Please be sure to tell what browser you are using when you send in a ticket. You must do this every time you send a ticket.

LOGGING IN

At the login screen, read any notes that may be on the screen.

Username - Enter your UID as assigned by the IT department. Case and spaces count - Gina Santori is not the same as gina santori or GinaSantori

Password - Carefully type in your password as assigned by the IT department.

Figure 2-1 The log-in screen for the pERP demo site. Your particular application may be modified to use your company logo.

The log-in screen may give you access to a variety of sites. Just because you have access to one does not mean you have access to any others.

Figure 2-2 Choose the domain or database to work in. Gina may have a password to Default but not to Apollo; if she is allowed access to both, she should have a different password for each.

Click the Login button to enter pERP. If your login is not successful, an error will be reported.

Figure 2-3 Gina could not log in to the Apollo site.

Wrong password? Incorrect Username? Access denied?

Check the username and password (AND THE CAPS LOCK!) and try again. After five attempts, you will be locked out for 15 minutes, as shown in Figure 2-4

Figure 2-4 Login blocked, wait and try again

If you cannot get in after several attempts, and have verified both your username and password, and have been informed that you have an account, contact your administrator or support team.

Security

pERP has some security measures that you should be aware of

1. Password protection - you need a UID and a password to get into the system
2. Level access protection -Newer, less experienced users have limited access.
3. Timeout protection - if you do not type anything for 30 minutes, pERP will automatically log you out. You will need to log in again to resume your work.

SECURITY TIP: ALWAYS LOG OUT OF PERP WHEN YOU LEAVE YOUR WORK STATION.

Figure 2-5 The log-out message.

Home Page

Once you have successfully logged in, you will be at your Home Page. At first, this will not contain much information, but as you work with pERP and depending on how your preferences are set, it could show a great deal of information.

Figure 2-6 shows a pERP DEMO home page for a user with high access level permissions. For most users, the page will be much simpler and will contain fewer sections and less information.

Here is a list of the parts of the home page. Not all these parts will be visible for all users and the screen may not look exactly like this (In the future, a labeled image will be provided). If something shown here is not on your screen, this does not mean that something is wrong or broken.

• Information Bar - a bar that is present no matter where you are in pERP. Depending on how Preferences are set, this may appear above or below the Applications bar, and it may be different colors. The info bar normally contains the following:
  • User Name - As set in Common Preferences
  • Date & Time - As set in Common Preferences
  • Current Users - the number of people using pERP at the given time (at some point in the future, the Instant Messaging feature may be implemented)
  • Add - a short cut to open a new data entry screen in the selected application; this is described in detail under Preferences.

NOTE: the following controls above may appear as text on the Info Bar or may appear as choices in a Side Menu [NEEDS LINK]

• • Home - always takes you back to your home screen
  • Preferences - allows you to set general preferences that affect all parts of pERP
  • Manual/Help - this links to the eGroupWare manual and may or may not be set by your administrator
  • Logout - when you are finished working (or go for lunch or a smoke), you should log out as a security measure.

• Applications Bar - Will show icons and/or words for each of the main sections in pERP to which you have access. Not all users will see all the icons shown in the diagrams. Hover the mouse cursor for a second over the icon, and the name of the icon will be shown. At the right of this bar, some users may see a button to open additional applications.
• Title Bar - This bar contains the title of the page--in this case, "Home". If you file a bug report or feature request, use this title to indicate where you were working.
• Main Screen Messages - The message section contains information and warnings relevant to the user on a long-term basis. This may or may not be displayed as required. For example, once the issues with Internet Explorer were resolved, the red warning shown in Fig. 2-4 was removed.
• News - An application for important messages that can be directed to specific users or groups. Not currently in use but available for the future.
• Open Notify Window - The Notify Window is not in use at this time and this link should not appear on your screen
• Watch List - the bottom of the home screen contains a Watch List. The contents of the list come from the "home page hooks" which are turned on or off in the preferences for each application (or module) in pERP. The home page "hooks" some information from the application and reels it in to display on the home screen. Fig. 2-4 shows the Accounts Payable hook. If you did not want this to display, you would go to Accounts Payable > Preferences and set the hook to "No", or you could change it from displaying a week of data to daily data. See the Preferences section of the documentation for each application.
• Hook Order - You can change the order of the hooks with the up/down arrows. You'll want the ones you check most often to be at the top, so you're not always having to scroll down to see them.

(This image not released yet) Figure 2-7 A home screen from Test as of the date shown. Your screen may be different.

Navigating in pERP

pERP is flexible and allows you many ways to move from one place to another.

• Move between applications with the Application Bar
• Move between documents with hyperlinks
• Move between applications or tasks with the side bar
• Start new documents with the Add command

Navigating Between Applications

a. APPLICATION BAR

The Application Bar at the top of the screen shows the main sections of pERP:

Clicking on one of the icons will open that particular application. The Application Bar will always remain open at the top of the screen, so you can always move from one application to another. This will probably be the most common way you will navigate in pERP.

Note that in the image above each icon has its name showing underneath. As you get used to pERP, you may want to turn the names off and give yourself a little more room for the working screen. To turn the names on and off, see the section on Preferences later in this document.

If you only have icons, without the names underneath them, hover the cursor over the icon for a couple of seconds and the name of the icon will appear.

Note: Not every user will see every icon shown above. The icons that you see - and thus the applications you can work with - are set by your manager and the IT team when they set up pERP and your account.

b. HYPERLINKS

Hyperlinks can occasionally let you move from one application to another as well as from one section to another within an application. If you have done any surfing on the Internet, you will know a hyperlink when you see one. In pERP, a hyperlink is in blue text; when you hover the cursor over it, the text will change color and be underlined.

An example of moving between applications is shown here:

Figure 2-8 This figure shows the Bill of Materials list from the Manufacturing application. However, the hyperlink at the left under Stock Code will call open the record for a particular stock item in the Inventory Application.

c. MULTIPLE TABS

Knowledgeable users may wish to work in multiple tabs. For some tasks, you may find it easier to alternate between tabs rather than jump back and forth between applications in the same screen. Or you may be working in one tab and check the other tab to see the results of some action.

This has not been completely tested in pERP and may cause occasional issues. If you do not know how to use multiple tabs in your browser, then don't worry about it.

NOTE: DO NOT USE MULTIPLE WINDOWS. Multiple windows tend to become hidden and forgotten, and windows left open can cause serious complications. Occasionally pERP will open a new window (a pop-up) that may become hidden so keep an eye out for them.

TIP: Check periodically by cycling through open windows (Alt-Tab or Apple-Tab) to see if you have extra windows. Do this whenever something seems to have disappeared.

d. USING THE BACK/FORWARD ARROWS

If you are accustomed to using the back/forward arrows in your browser, or use the Refresh button, you should know that this can sometimes cause problems in pERP.

Using one of these three controls (back, forward, refresh) will occasionally bring up a dialog saying that you are about to resend data. This may duplicate a record that you have just created, resulting in two records for the same supplier, two versions of a stock item, and so on. You can see that this will cause confusion, if not actual errors in the data.

For safety, always Cancel this and find another way to navigate rather than Back or Refresh.

Navigating Within an Application

a. SECTION ICONS

When you open an application, you will go to a screen showing the sections (Fig. 2-9)

The number of sections you can access will vary with your job requirements or training level. In the figure at left, only three of a possible five sections are shown.

Clicking on a section icon will open the screen (usually a list of data) for that section. For example, clicking the Stock icon will open the Stock List.

Figure 2-9

b. USING THE SIDEBAR

Most pERP application screens have an easy-access feature called the Sidebar or Side Menu that let you easily move "sideways" to other jobs within the application.

There are two ways to display the sidebar:

1. Autohide
2. Always on.

Autohide makes the sidebar like a roll-up blind that you can click to open or close. If this is turned off, the sidebar menu is always displayed in a frame to the left of your working window. The sidebar display is controlled by Preferences > Common Preferences > Preferences for the iDot Template > Autohide Sidebox Menus (see the section on Preferences).

Figure 2-10 The figure at left shows the tab of the closed sidebar (with a blue arrow pointing into the screen). To open the sidebar, simply move the cursor over the arrow or anywhere over the tab. Depending on how your Preferences are set, the sidebar opens automatically or when you click the arrow.

Figure 2-11 At left is an image of the open sidebar. Its contents will vary dynamically, depending on the window that is open at the time. The screenshot shows the AP application, with some sections, settings, and actions available from within AP.

Any of the blue bulleted items can be accessed directly from the sidebar.

Using these direct links is preferable to using the back arrow in your browser (which could cause data to be re-entered or confused) and is usually quicker than using the applications menu and drilling down.

To close the sliding sidebar, depending on how preferences are set, either a) Click the blue "back" arrow on the open sidebar (or anywhere on the tab, for that matter) which will close the sidebar immediately b) Move the mouse cursor off the sidebar and over the main screen. The sidebar will close automatically after a fraction of a second.

Figure 2-12 Above - a sidebar with Autohide off. Although the image shows the top right corner as a sizing handle, this feature is not implemented and you cannot resize the sidebar.

If you find yourself repeatedly going from one screen to another (within the same application) and you'd like to have a direct link on the sidebar, put in a feature request. Be specific about what screen you're working on, and what screen you'd like the link to lead to. But before you do, check out the ADD BOX discussed later in this document.

c. HYPERLINKS

Hyperlinks were discussed above, and you will have noticed that the Side Bar uses them.

As another example of using hyperlinks to move within an application (Accounts Payable), consider the figure below, which shows a list of Purchase Orders that have not yet been shipped. You will several areas of blue text. The first is under the column "Order number". Clicking one of the PO numbers will open up that particular Purchase Order. The second is under the column "Supplier". Clicking one of those will take you to that particular supplier record.

Figure 2-13

Of course, any of these hyperlinks can be opened into a new tab on your browser, and experienced users may find this handy.

This has not been completely tested in pERP and may cause occasional issues. If you do not know how to use multiple tabs in your browser, then don't worry about it.

NOTE: We advise users NOT to use multiple windows. They tend to become hidden and forgotten, and windows left open can cause serious complications. DO NOT USE MULTIPLE WINDOWS. Occasionally pERP will open a new window (a pop-up) that may become hidden behind other windows. Users are advised to be aware that this may happen and search for a hidden window whenever something seems to "disappear".

Using the Search Bar

Wherever pERP deals with lists of data, a nextmatch widget (Search Bar) is used to give you convenient ways to access and display the list. The search bar allows you to page through the data in shorter chunks, and to sort or filter it in various ways.

Figure 2-14 Although this shows the PO list, the features of the Search Bar are available in most sections of pERP.

2. Search (available to all staff with read privileges) The search bar controls which records shown on the screen. From left to right, the controls and their function are: << - Jump to the first screen of records < - Go to the preceding screen [ ] - Search box. Enter letters or numbers and click the Search button. [ 5 ] - Select the number of records per screen (default is set in Preferences) > - Go to the next screen >> - Jump to the last screen

WARNING: The nextmatch (pagination) widget shown in Fig. 2-12 does not save any changes if you flip to a different page of results, or change your filters, or search for something. Any changes made to the records displayed will be discarded when the next group of records is displayed.

If you're doing data entry on a page with a nextmatch, make sure you expand the screen to show all the lines you need to work with.

CAUTION: For many sections, clicking SAVE will post or close the screen. You cannot save part of a screen with the plan of coming back later.

3. Sort Any header that appears in blue can be used to sort the records. In Fig. 2-12, Order Number, Supplier, and Order Date are sortable. Clicking on any header will sort by that field. If sorted ascending (numbers followed by ABC), a little down-pointing triangle (v) will show by the header; if the sort is descending (ZYX...followed by numbers), a little up-pointing triangle (^) will show beside the header. Just click again to re-sort. The most recently sorted column will show in bold text.

4. Filter In some applications of pERP, the search bar will contain filters, such as Status in Fig. 2-12. It is not necessary to click Search to use a filter; just changing the setting will activate the filter. In the example above, you can filter the POs by Status.

Figure 2-15 A search bar with alphabet filter is available in some lists.

Some search bars (for Suppliers, Clients, Client Branches, Stock List, and Address Book) have an alphabet selector. This is a filter that pulls out only items in the list beginning with the selected letter. To turn off an alphabet selection, click the ALL button at the far right of the alphabet list.

NOTE: Sorts and filters are usually not retained when you exit pERP. That means that if you log out of pERP for lunch, then log in again, your screen settings will be returned to default (an exception is Stock List). If you close your browser, then come back and log into pERP, all settings will return to default except for those you have changed in your Preferences.

WARNING! FILTERS ARE CUMULATIVE. IN STOCK LIST, IF YOU HAVE SET THE CATEGORY AND STATUS AND THEN SELECT A LETTER BUTTON, YOU HAVE A TRIPLE FILTER ("Marketing" AND "In Production" AND "Starts with G" may not give you much!)

SO IF YOU CAN'T FIND A PARTICULAR RECORD AND YOU KNOW IT SHOULD BE THERE, TURN ALL THE FILTERS OFF AND TRY AGAIN.

If having a particular screen come filtered in a particular way would speed your job, you can often change this in your application preferences. You can arrange for the stock list to come up showing All Stock, or just Current Stock, for example.=

Selecting Columns

Some sections of pERP show a Column Select icon at the far right. Clicking this opens a menu allowing you to further customize your working screen by selecting the columns you want to show in a list.

Figure 2-16 The Select Columns icon on the search bar. Hovering the cursor over the icon has shown the name of the icon.

Figure 2-17 The example at left, taken from a supplier catalog list, indicates that three columns are not displayed.
To display a column, click the select box so it is checked.
To hide a column, click the select box to remove the check.

Selecting the "as default" box will make your settings a new default for the screen.

Click Save to retain your settings. These changes will apply only to your computer, not to everybody!

NOTES:

• The more columns you have showing on the screen, the slower the page will load. There is always a trade-off between speed of operation and amount of information displayed.

• More columns may clutter the screen and make it harder to read.

Entering Data

The user is expected to be computer literate and familiar with common features of modern software. The company may pay for or provide necessary training. Please contact the HR department.

For convenience, here is a list of the common controls used in pERP.

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Note: Fields and controls with a pale yellow background are mandatory and must be filled in or set. Attempting to save a record with a mandatory field empty will result in an error message, and the record will NOT be saved.

USING THE ADD BOX

In the top right corner of any screen in pERP, there is a bar giving the User Name, the Day and Date, and an Add drop-down menu. It's another quick access feature similar to the Side Menu.

Figure 2-17 The add box Choosing from the list will allow you to add a new record in the application selected. Exactly WHAT new record is set in your preferences for that application. The section shows how to set what you get in Accounts Receivable.

You can set what happens with the Add box in most of the application preferences. Your choices in the Accounts Payable section, for example, are shown at the left (Figure 2-18) while to the right (Figure 2-19 ) are the possibilities for Accounts Receivable.

You will find the Add Box a useful way to access a task that you do frequently.

Note: The new record opens in a smaller dialog window that cannot be resized. Once you have your new record started and saved you might find it easier to close the dialog, find the new record in your main window, and work there. Others find it okay to work in the dialog window. Your choice.

TEXT FIELDS

Before you begin to use pERP, you should set up some standards for formatting your data and communicate them to the data-entry team.

When entering new data for names of customers, shippers, suppliers, dealers, or individuals, please capitalize each word in the name or as indicated on the company's business card, stationery etc.: Camden-Freemont Industrial Suppliers Ltd. Nelson de Vries Freight Inc. Jason Hillier Stained Glass BRTK Transport Gerome des Montagnards Pty. Nelson Peterson

The reason for this is that these fields are used or will be used on envelopes, cheques, and a wide variety of forms. We want them to look good and be consistent with postal standards

ONLY THE FOLLOWING ARE TO BE ALL IN UPPER CASE:

• THE PREFIX LETTERS IN A PRODUCT CODE (SKU) SUCH AS JET-107701
• PREFIX LETTERS IN A CUSTOMER CODE SUCH AS APU005
• LETTERS IN A CANADIAN POSTAL CODE SUCH AS T8E 4K7

(There may be others and the list will be updated as required)

In most cases, entries that require upper case will be set by the system. USERS SHOULD NOT EDIT OR CHANGE system-generated codes. This resulted in 0ZZ (zero-zed-zed) being typed instead of OZZ (oh-zed-zed). The resulting code was not sorted properly, could not be found by a search for what should have been the part number, and was a bugger to fix. Even if you can, DON'T MESS WITH THE STUFF THE SYSTEM ENTERS.

ADDRESS FIELDS

In order to meet Canada Post addressing standards, certain requirements must be met.

You must use the correct province or state code - AB rather than Alta. In most instances, pERP will only allow you a choice from among correct possibilities.

For international addresses, the country name must be correctly spelled. pERP will allow you to choose from a list, so you can't make a typo.

USING THE SELECT WIDGET

Many pERP screens contain a drop-down search (it's called the Ajax Select Widget). It's used for stock items, clients, suppliers, accounts etc. and is usually marked with an icon to the left that tells you the content of the box. This discussion deals with the stock select box, but remember that the same steps apply to any select box in pERP.

Figure 2-20 A stock select box

Figure 2-21 A supplier select box

This is a powerful search box that can be used in several ways.

USING THE KEYBOARD: 1) Use the tab key to move the focus to the select field 2) To see a quick drop-down list, type the Backspace or Down Arrow key (this will show only the top few items from a long list, but will be quick and easy for a short list) a) Use the down arrow key to go to the item in the list that you want b) Use the Tab key to select that item and set it into the field.

DO NOT PRESS ENTER - DOING SO WILL HAVE AN UNPREDICTABLE (AND PROBABLY UNDESIRABLE OR EVEN NASTY) EFFECT.

3) To locate an item more easily in the long list, type a few characters from the item code or name. As you type, the drop-down shows a list of items that match your search. This allows those who know their stock numbers by heart to just type them in, but also allows those who don't to type a part of the stock description in, then choose from the list. To get a shorter list, enter more letters. a) Use the down arrow key to go to the item in the list that you want b) Use the Tab key to select that item and set it into the field.

USING THE MOUSE: 1) Click in the select field to put the insert cursor there. 2) To see a quick drop-down list, press the Backspace key on your keyboard. The list will show a short list of items. If the item you want is not in the list, go to step 3; otherwise, go to step 4. 3) Type a few characters from the item code or name. As you type, it shows a list of items that match your search. This allows those who know their stock numbers by heart to just type them in, but also allows those who don't to type a part of the stock description in, then choose from the list. To get a shorter list, enter more letters. 4) When you see the item you want in the list, click on it to select it and set it into the field.

If you want to exit from a list without making a choice, press the ESC key.

NOTE: THE SEARCH FIELDS FOR SUPPLIERS, CLIENTS, and DEALERS WORK THE SAME WAY

MORE ON REQUIRED FIELDS

Note: Fields and controls with a pale yellow background are mandatory and must be filled in or set. Attempting to save a record with a mandatory field empty will result in an error message, and the record will NOT be saved.

Any field with a pale yellow background is a required field. If you take some action on a form with information missing from a required field, you will get an error line telling you what is missing.

Figure 2-22 The stock code has been auto-entered by pERP, but the Description field is empty. Suppose you have clicked New Stock Item and got to the screen shown above. If you click any of the action buttons at the bottom left, you will get an error message. You can't Save, Clone, or even Cancel without something in the Stock Code and Description Fields (the others are okay because they already have a default, so they are not empty).

So to cancel the new Stock Item, you must type a letter or two (hit a couple of keys at random) before you click Cancel.

Yes, it is odd, but that's the way it works. Required fields are not required before you go on to the next step, they are required before anything else happens. That includes cancel.

pERP Icons

Throughout pERP, icons (little pictures) are used to represent sections of the system or actions that can be done on a record (client record, purchase order, sales order etc.).

The Application Bar at the top of the screen shows the main sections of pERP:

Not every user will see every section. For most users, the two at the right (eTemplate and Translation Tools) and the one furthest left (Admin) will not be visible. The icons that you see - and thus the sections you can work with - are set by your manager and the IT team when they set up your account.

If you only have icons, without the names underneath them, hover the cursor over the icon for a couple of seconds and the name of the icon will appear. You can also turn the names on and off with Preferences, which you'll find in the top left corner of the screen.

In each section, the action icons will vary. Here is a list of those most commonly used. If you find one that's missing from this printed list, please let us know. http://www.projecterp.org/mediawiki/index.php/How_to_report_bugs_or_request_features

Note that NOT ALL THE ICONS WILL BE SHOWN FOR ALL USERS. You might not have the ability to approve a PO or delete a customer, in which case you won't have those icons on your screen. Or at least, you shouldn't have them.

Delete (not available to all users)

Cancel a shipment or order (not available to all users)

Override (visible to all, though not all will be able to open the override.)

Payment - pay this invoice (not available to all users)

Select Columns (found on the search bar)

Pack, load (found on outgoing shipment screens)

Ship (found on outgoing shipment screens)

Again, if you forget what an icon means, hover the cursor over it and the name should show (since this has to be done individually for each icon, some may have been missed. If you find one, report it.

Setting Your Preferences

You can set some preferences that apply throughout pERP, and some preferences that apply to each specific module. The module-specific preferences deal mostly with setting how material from the module is displayed on the home page.

For more information, see User Preferences

• SCREENS SHOTS SHOWN IN THE DOCUMENTATION MAY BE FROM VARIOUS DRAFTS
• WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN MAY DIFFER FROM THE FIGURES GIVEN.
• DIFFERENT BROWSERS MAY HAVE DIFFERENT SHAPED BUTTONS, LAYOUTS, AND COLORS, DEPENDING ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL SETTINGS.

THESE ARE NOT BUGS OR ERRORS AND DO NOT NEED TO BE REPORTED TO THE IT TEAM.

User Reports

Throughout pERP, user reports follow the same format. Depending on how you have set your User Preferences, you can print reports immediately using Open Office, or if you prefer Adobe Reader or MS Word you can schedule a .PDF or .DOC file.

For details, see User Reports.

Exporting Files

Some sections of pERP show a little disk icon, the Export CSV Control. Clicking this icon will download a complete copy of the data you're looking at, not just what's showing on the screen. For example, you may have only five suppliers showing in the Supplier List, but you will download the entire list of suppliers.

1101;AL-TECH COMMUNICATIONS INC.;103;CAD;2006-08-31;1;;;;0;1;ALT002;

Above is a sample line from the data export.

This file may not be immediately useful in other software such as Excel because it uses semicolons as separators (so it is not really a Comma Separated Values file but a SSV). A CSV file gets really fouled up in countries that use a comma as a decimal separator; the SSV format is more universal.

The semicolon separated file can readily be imported into Excel or other spreadsheet software. Directions for doing this are in your Excel documentation. Basically, it's File > Import and follow the directions. Once you have imported the file, you can use Excel to manipulate (sort, filter etc.) the data.

User Documentation