Tips and Tricks

This accounting software has been designed with the operator in mind. Many features are combined to make entry swift and convenient. Years of experience with hundreds of operators has helped us discover the easiest patterns of entry and how to cut down on keystrokes without losing flexibility. When using this software, there is the option of using the mouse to select options and press buttons. In most cases, any options selected with the mouse can also be selected using the keyboard.

List boxes can be sorted by clicking on the header of the desired sort column. For example, clicking on the Employee Name column header in the Employee Browse will sort the employees by name. The column heading will change to Employee Name[+]. If the same column header is clicked a second time, the entries will be sorted in reverse order and the column heading will change to Employee Name[-].

Complex sorts can be accomplished by clicking on the column header for the first sort, then holding down the Control key while clicking on the second desired quote column.

For example, in the Employee Browse window, click on the Classification column. The column header will now change to Classification[+]. Now Control-Click on the Employee Name column. The Classification column header will now change to Classification[+1] and the Employee Name column header will change to Employee Name[+2]. This means the list is sorted first by classification, then by name.

The space bar may be used to select options and press buttons. It has the same effect as a click with a mouse.

On the left side of the keyboard is a key marked Tab. In most Windows programs, this key is used to advance the focus from one field or option to the next. Hold the Shift key while pressing the Tab key to move to the previous field or option.

The <Enter> key is on the right side of the alphabetic keypad. This is one of the most used and most important keys on the keyboard. Any item of data typed on the terminal will appear on the screen but will not actually be entered into the system or recorded until the Enter or Tab keys are pressed. Pressing the Enter key also repositions the cursor for the next entry. In this help file, the command to ‘Press the Enter key’ or 'Press the Tab Key' will be simply condensed to <Enter>.

Pressing the <Ctrl> and <Enter> keys simultaneously is the same as pressing the highlighted button with the mouse (usually the OK button).

Pressing the <Alt> key and the key of the underlined letter allows access to the option without using the mouse. This is useful for buttons and tabs.

Pressing the <Alt> key with the <C> key is the same as pressing the Change button.

Pressing the <Alt> key with the <D> key is the same as pressing the Delete button

Pressing the <Alt>key with the <I> key is the same as pressing the Insert button.

Pressing the <Alt> key with the <P> key is the same as pressing the Print button

When a screen comes into view, usually the OK button is highlighted. To highlight a button, press the Tab key until the desired button is highlighted. Press the Enter key and the button is pressed. In the following examples the OK button is Highlighted.

	Notice the difference between the OK button and the other two buttons.
	In this example, the OK button is highlighted and has focus. (Notice the dotted lines around the OK button.). In this case the button can be pressed by pressing the space bar.

The <Shift> keys raise all characters to upper case. However, the <Caps Lock> key raises only the 26 letters of the alphabet to upper case. A Shift key must be used to procure upper case on any other key.

In general, these two keys are synonymous. Pressing either one will cause the cursor to backspace one position.

When selecting an option from a menu, the <Up Arrow> and <Down Arrow> simply move the cursor up and down to position it in front of the desired option.

This key deletes either a single letter, a space, or an entire selection. When the Delete key is pressed, it will delete whatever is at the cursor. To delete an entire paragraph or selection, highlight the selection with the cursor and press the Delete key. Whatever is highlighted will be deleted. If a list box has focus, the Delete key will remove the highlighted entry.

The numeric keypad is to the right of the regular keypad and may be used interchangeably with the numbers and period on the regular keypad. This is especially convenient when entering number-intensive data. However, in order to use the numeric keypad, turn on the ‘Numeric Mode’ by pressing the <Num Lock> key.

The numeric keyboard has one unique feature when used with the system. Each key has a double meaning which reveals itself only when appropriate.

Some entry fields, most notably drop down list fields, require the mouse to "pull down" the list of options.

In many entry screens this pull down list will include the following options.

Instead of using the mouse, any of these options may be accessed by pressing the letter key corresponding with the desired selection. For example: pressing "J" will select "Job"

To avoid jumping over to the regular keypad for one character only, each key on the numeric keypad has an alternate meaning according to the diagram below.

The system will always assume the meaning to be numeric unless it knows it is expecting a letter to be typed. In such a case, it will automatically translate the number typed to the corresponding letter.

The <Esc> key is the way to escape from any program when entering information. It will exit the program without saving and will return to the main screen. It is the same as pressing the Cancel button.

This key brings up the help file. The help topic displayed will correspond to the screen currently being viewed.

In many cases, an entry field will be followed by an lookup button like this:

When the cursor is flashing in this entry field, pressing the <F2> key will press the lookup button and display the lookup screen.

The system takes every precaution to guard against erroneous entries. When it ‘knows’ an entry should be numeric, it will not allow letters or any other inappropriate character to be entered. The systems will demand exactly 7 or 10 digits for the phone number and exactly five or nine digits for zip codes. If a mistake is made, the system will immediately beep. There are several ways to correct errors.

1. Use the <Backspace> key or <Left Arrow> to erase single letters. Use the Delete key to delete the entire entry field.

2. To correct entire previously typed entries on the screen, use <Shift><Tab> to jump back through the questions until the field that is to be corrected is reached. Simply type the correct entry and repeatedly press the <Enter> key until returned to the previous field. The system will leave all intermediate entries as they were.

3. Click on the desired field with the mouse and highlight the field. Press the Delete key on the keyboard. The entire entry field will be erased.