Designing a Form - Forms Manager

Choose a starting point

The first step in designing a form through any of the Forms Manager Features is deciding where to start. Sometimes, the obvious starting point is not necessarily the best option.

For example, an A/R Age Analysis form is usually generated through the A/R Balance forms. However a similar form may also be produced through the Name/Address forms. Since there may be several possible starting points (Forms to choose from as default), selecting the most efficient source of information may be confusing.

Choosing a starting point determines the data fields that may be specified for sorting the file, range selection, subtotals, etc. A form may include almost any field from the primary file on which the form is based, plus certain other fields from related files. The basic questions to ask are:

What fields do I want to include on the form?

• For example, if you need to print the line items from the invoices, you should use the Inventory Activity forms; or if you need to print just the amount of each invoice, you should use the A/R Invoices forms.

How do I want the data sorted (grouped)?

• For example, by location code, by product category, or by item number.

What fields do I use for range selection in order to limit the records to include in the form?

Forms created through the Forms Manager Features module are called user-defined forms. When selecting a form to print, the user-defined form listing is displayed separately from the standard form listing.

You may select form standard or user-defined forms, when selecting a form to use as a starting point in designing a form.

It is not permitted to create a form totally from scratch. You must select an existing user-defined or standard form to use as the source for the form you are designing. The parameters and settings from the form that you select are automatically copied into the new form that you are designing.

A user-defined form may be edited (permanently changed) or deleted through the Forms Manager Features module. Standard forms may not be permanently changed or deleted. However, a standard form or an exiting user-defined form may be used as a template for a new user-defined form. For example, a standard form that is defined as a daily form may be duplicated in a user-defined form where the date range may be permanently set as a monthly form. (You probably also should change the title to indicates that it is a monthly form).

The Forms Manager Features includes a series of screens that are standard among forms. For example: Calculation Field Definitions, Sort Selection, Range Selection, Value Selection Criteria, Subtotal and Page Break Routines, Legend Line, Grand Total Calculations, etc. These standard features work the same way although you may see different Field Titles.