Product: Personnel Manager

Version: Single/Multi User

Category: Screen Designer

Code: PM – Screen Designer FAQ007

Title: Working with Fields

Working with Fields

You can add new fields to any Personnel Manager or customised screen. However, you can only change the change information boxes, labels, and the appearance of existing Personnel Manager fields. This means you cannot remove Personnel Manager fields from Personnel Manager screens or change their basic properties.

1. Do one of the following:

• On the File toolbar, click the Fields button.

• or –

• From the View menu, select Field Chooser.

The Field Chooser dialog appears.

1. To add a new field, click the New button.

The Field Properties screen appears.

2. Provide the information about the field.

Type the name of the field. The name can contain the letters

A to Z (upper or lower case) and numerals 1 to 9, but can have no spaces.

Select the type of the field. It can be: Date, Decimal Number, Integer Number, Logical, Notes, Text, or Time.

If this is a Text field, type the maximum number of characters that users can enter.

Type the label to be displayed on the screen.

Type a description of the field.

4. When you are finished, click OK.

1. Do one of the following:

• On the File toolbar, click the Fields button.

• or –

• From the View menu, select Field Chooser.

1. Select the field to be changed and click the Edit button.

The Field Properties screen appears.

2. Update the information about the field.

Select the type of the field. It can be: Date, Decimal Number, Integer Number, Logical, Notes, Text or Time.

If this is a Text field, type the maximum number of characters that users can enter.

Type the label to be displayed on the screen.

Type a description of the field.

4. When you are finished, click OK.

You can only delete fields you previously created; you cannot delete fields delivered with Personnel Manager.

1. Do one of the following:

• On the File toolbar, click the Fields button.

• or –

• From the View menu, select Field Chooser.

1. Select the field to be deleted and click the Delete button.
2. To confirm the deletion, click OK.

After you have created the field, you can specify additional properties.

• If the field is to be used for sorting purposes, click the Sorting tab

• If the field is to appear on the Summary View tab or if you want to set the format for

data entry, click the Display tab.

• If the field is to display a calculated value or is to contain a default value, click the

Value tab.

• If the entry of this field entry is to conform to specific data entry rules, click the

Validation tab.

• If the field is to be a Pick List, either static or dynamic, click the Pick List tab.

Click the Sorting tab to specify sort criteria for the field.

Provide the following information:

Click this checkbox if the information in this record is to be sorted by this field.

Specify the default sort order.

Click this radio button if the information in this record is to be sorted by this field in ascending order (A to Z, 0 to 9).

Click this radio button if the information in this record is to be sorted by this field in descending order (Z to A, 9 to 0).

Click the Display tab to specify the display format and the summary view for

the field.

Provide the following information:

Select how this field is to be displayed and stored.

Depending on the type of field selected, the options vary. For example, if you selected a text field, you can choose Normal, Uppercase, Lowercase, or Mixed Case format; if you selected a date field, you can choose Long, Medium, Short, or windows default date formats.

Click this checkbox if you want this field to appear on the Summary View tab. If you do not want this field to appear on the Summary View tab, clear this checkbox.

If this field is to display a calculated value or if it is to contain an initial default value, click the Value tab.

Provide the following information:

Click this checkbox if this is a calculated field. To specify the calculation, click the Edit button.

The Expression Builder screen appears. Specify the calculation and click OK.

Click this checkbox if this field is to display an initial value.

Then click the Edit button.

The Initial Value screen appears.

Either type the value or select it from the drop-down list, then click OK.

If this field is to be verified, click the Validation tab to set the rules to be used.

Provide the following information:

Click this checkbox if the field is mandatory.

Click this checkbox if the field must be verified before the record is saved.

To enter a validation formula, click this checkbox then click the Edit button.

The Field Validation screen appears.

Enter the formula, then click OK.

Type the message that is to appear if the verification fails.

If the user is to select the value for this field from a Pick List, click the Pick List tab.

You can set whether or not the Pick List is static.

Provide the following information:

Click this checkbox if this field is to be a Pick List.

Click this checkbox if a value must be selected from the list; if the user is to be able to add values, clear this checkbox.

• To add a value, click the Add button. Type the new value and click OK.

• To remove a value, select the value and click the Delete button. To confirm the

deletion, click OK.

If the items in the Pick List are values in another field in Personnel Manager click the More button.

The Pick List Options screen appears.

Select one of the following types:

Standard.

Create a standard Pick List. Users can add or remove items from this Pick List if you select the A Value Must Be Selected From the Pick List checkbox on the Pick List tab.

Pick From Employee Data.

Create a Pick List from Employee data; for example, Post Names. Users cannot add or remove items from this type of Pick List.

Pick From Company Data.

Create a Pick List from Company data; for example, Currency. Users cannot add or remove items from this type of Pick List.

Select the table in which the field to be used as the Pick List is found.

Select the field to be used as the Pick List.

Use the Field Validation screen to enter a rule for the field. This rule is to be performed each time data the user enters data in this field. If the data does not

conform, the user receives an error message.

The validation rule must produce a true or false result; for example:

TotalCost > 1000 will produce a true/false result, whereas TotalCost * 1000

will not.

To create the rule:

1. Double-click the desired field from the Field list.

2. Double-click the desired function from the Functions list.

3. Type the value in the Validation Statement.

4. Check the validity of the expression by clicking the Test Expression

button.

5. Click OK.

Following are some examples of validation rules used in current Personnel Manager screens.

• To ensure that the end date of absence is greater than or equal to the start date.

EndDate >= StartDate

• To ensure that the equipment VALUE is greater than 1.

VALUE > 1

The result is updated when the user enters data in the fields used as the basis for the calculation and appears when the user displays the screen.

To create the calculation, double-click the desired folders to display and select the Fields, Functions, Operations, and Common Expressions you want.

Following are some examples of field calculations used in current Personnel Manager screens.

• To calculate the number of days between the date the employee joined the pension

plan and today, determine the number of days between the date when the

employee joined and the current date.

(Employee Details - LengthofService).

DATEDIFF([PensionSchemeJoin],Today())

• To calculate the total cost of an absence, add the cost of the absence, the

percentage of on-costs, plus the additional costs.

(Holiday and Absence - TotalCost)

[Cost] + ( ( [OnCost] / 100) * [Cost] ) + [AdditionalCost]

• To extract the year from the a date.

(Holiday and Absence - FromYear)

YEAR([StartDate])

• To calculate the difference between planned and actual structural training points.

(CPE/CPD Record - UnstructuredVariance)

[UnstructuredActual] - [UnstructuredTarget]

• To calculate double time.

(Pay History - DoubleTime)

[HourlyRate] * 2

Some useful calculations include:

Please complete this short questionnaire and return to:

Customer Support Services,

Vizual Business Tools Ltd.

Fax: 01934 418203

FAQ Sheet Code PDFAQ00: