This topic instructs you in the techniques required for the routine operation of the Asset Register. It explains menus and options,access priority and the Status Line, windows and the Command Line. Guidance is also provided on inputting alphanumeric characters (numbers and letters) and calendar dates to the system.
Tip: All intending users of the Asset Register should read this topic.
Selecting options from menus, operating with windows and using Command buttons, entering letters, numbers and calendar dates - these are all routine procedures which system users will need to perform. This topic shows you how to carry out these tasks.
New or occasional users should study the material explained in this topic carefully. If you are a regular user of Autoline accounts, you will find that the procedures explained below become almost second nature after a short period of time.
At various stages in using the system, you are shown on your terminal a list of the options available to you at that particular stage. Such a list is known as a menu. In effect, the system is asking: 'What do you want to do next?' It then displays the alternatives from which you may make your choice. You may select only one option from a menu at a time.
Master Menu: When you access the system, the first menu you are shown is the Master Menu. The precise appearance of this menu, which will vary from installation to installation, is determined by the Permissions & security option within the Management Menu, selected from the System Utilities Menu.
The master menu is made up of two menus side by side. One is titled Module and the other company. Each module will have one or many companies associated with them. These companies are displayed in the right hand menu when the module is highlighted.
When a menu is displayed on screen, its first option is automatically highlighted with a blue highlight bar.
To move the bar up and down the list of menu options use the up and down arrow keys.
To jump directly from one option to another click on it using the mouse.
An alternative method of selection is to type the first character (the initial letter) in the name of the desired option. The blue highlight bar then moves to the first occurrence of that initial in the list of menu options. If this is not the option you require, type the first character again.
Once the highlight bar is on the option you require, press the RETURN key, double click on it using the mouse or click the OK button. You have now selected that option.
For example, if your blue highlight bar is highlighting the Asset Register option on the Master Menu and you press RETURN, the Asset Register is selected.
Note: Selecting an option from one menu generates a second menu. Similarly selecting Reports & enquiries or System maintenance from this second menu produces further menus.
Levels of Menus: The system therefore contains various levels of menus. The first menus you encounter in using the system are known as high level menus; the subsequent ones, which are generated from the high level menus, are called low level menus.
To go from a higher level menu to a lower level one, simply select any option on that menu - except the last one. Selecting the last option on any menu returns you to the previous, higher level, menu. In short, you may move up and down the levels of menus by selecting the appropriate options.
The Asset Register may hold information on more than one company. This information is displayed on selecting the Asset Register option from the Master Menu. Use the right hand highlight bar on the master menu to select the company whose assets you wish to work with.
The Asset Register may hold information on up to ninety-nine companies.
Autoline offers a great number of menus and menu options, not all of which are of relevance to every user of the system. The method by which the range and diversity of system features is tailored to individual operator requirements is known as access priority. Your access priority as a user determines which menus and options are available to you. The higher your access priority, the more menus and options there are available.
The access priority assigned to various operators in different departments therefore reflects their usage of the system. Access priorities are set at system installation stage; if required, the access priority of one or more users may be subsequently raised or lowered by the system manager.
Asset class records can be individually be given two priority levels. One determines who can view the record and another who can edit it. Only managers can set these priority levels.
Along the bottom of Asset Register Menu screens is the Status Line. At the top of the Asset Register Menu screens is the Title Line. Both display status information. The purpose of the Status and Title Lines are to remind users of certain conditions under which the system is currently operating.
The Title Line displays the following information, in the order left to right, along the bottom of your screen:
Module: This is the name of the current module.
Current Company: The Accounts system may hold information on up to ninety-nine companies. The company name shown on the Status Line is that of the company that you are currently accessing.
The Status Line displays the following information:
Printer: This is the currently selected printer; if you select an option that generates a printout, it will output on the printer shown on the Status Line.
If you select a different module, company or printer, the Status information display will change accordingly.
In selecting menu options, you eventually arrive at the point where your selection results in a particular command.
BUTTONS
Along the right of the screen are the so-called Command buttons. These are Create, Amend and Delete.
If you just want to display an asset class you do not need to click
on a button. Just type in the class you want to see, or depress the
button search facility to search for one whose name you do
not know.
Amend/Delete: The Amend and Delete buttons do not become available until you have selected an asset class. The asset class will not be amended or deleted until you go through a further stage.
Delete/Save: This involves clicking the Delete or Save button that will become available at this point.
Tip: At any point up to this stage you can click the Cancel button. Clicking the Cancel button will leave the record unchanged and change you to display mode.
At the bottom of screen is the status line. This will act as a help or prompt line, guiding you on what you should enter to the screen. Respond to the prompt by typing in the Asset Class. If you enter an invalid Asset Class, a message is displayed in a message box on the right.
Both the status line and message display error messages.
On inputting a correct Asset Class, you are then shown details of that Class
To move down through the data fields on this screen, press the TAB key; to move back up, one field at a time, press the SHIFT-TAB key. As the cursor is positioned within each field, the Status Line displays a help message guiding you on what type of information should be entered to the particular field.
To exit from the form press the ESC key or click the Exit button. If you are in Amend or Delete mode you will have to click on the Cancel button first. Use the MOUSE or TAB or SHIFT and TAB keys to select this button. Then click or press RETURN
There are three buttons that will change a record.
The Create button, which brings into being a new asset class record.
The Delete button. This removes the record but can only be done if their are no assets that are a member of that class.
The Save button, which saves your changes and updates the Register with the new details.
In short, the Command Buttons enables you manipulate the records; while the Status Line and Message prompt relay help and error messages.
When using the Asset Register, you may at various stages use a search
function. Some fields have a button search function. These are
represented on the screen as a box with three dots in it.
To use the search option:
Use the mouse to depress the
button.
A search window will appear, which has a Cancel and OK button.
Click on the Cancel button to leave the search without choosing an item.
If there are any valid records to choose they will be displayed in the window. Each record will usually have a description next to it. Double click on a record to select it or just click the OK button. The text or number will then be displayed in the field on which you performed the search.
Note: There may be more search items than can be seen on the screen. The two arrows to the right of the window are for scrolling up and down the list.
When you input alphabetic characters (letters) to the Asset Register ensure that you type them in upper-case or lower-case as appropriate. Autoline distinguishes between upper- and lower- case. Consequently, it may reject instructions and information, which, although correctly spelt, are entered in the wrong type size.
When inputting sums of money to Autoline, never enter a comma to separate thousands. For example, to input the sum of 12,814 pounds, type 12814, not 12,814; if you do type a comma, the system will not accept your entry.
In entering calendar dates, type them in the format dd/mm/yyyy.
All dates default to the current century. On inputting the year to a date field, you do not need to type in a 20 as this will be filled in automatically. Just type in the last two digits of the year. Use the BACKSPACE key to edit dates.
If either the day of the month or the month of the year is a single number, type a zero before it. For example, the third of July, 1999, would be entered as 03/07/1999. The system automatically separates the days from the months and the months from the years by a forward slash (/).
There is usually a button to
search next to dates. This will call up a
date search window. Double click on the date you wish to select. Use
the arrow keys at the bottom to move forwards or back a month
To select a menu option position the cursor alongside it using the MOUSE or up and down arrow keys and press RETURN. Select the last option on any menu to return to the previous, higher level one. The number and type of menus and menu options available to you is determined by your access priority.
Along the bottom and top of the Asset Register Menu is Status information, which displays the current the current company, module and selected printer. The Register may hold information on up to ninety-nine companies.
In Autoline the functions of the Command Line are replaced by command buttons and the status bar. The status bar is displayed along the foot of the screen. Occasionally messages are displayed in the box titled Message(if present) on the right hand side of the screen.
The command buttons and status bar together serve, at different stages, one of the following three purposes:
Command buttons provide the available options
A prompt to guide you on data entry
A conveyor of error messages
Tip: The Command Buttons are activated by clicking on them using the MOUSE or pressing RETURN after they have been highlighted using the TAB key.
Searches are available using the
button. Using the
search function you can search for and display a list of valid
entries that may be input to the particular data field. Use the Scroll
Bar on the right hand side of the window, or the North arrow and
South arrow keys, to move the cursor down and up within the window.
If required, use the Page Down and Page Up keys to move
forwards and backwards through the list of entries.
On selecting an entry by left clicking on it (blue highlight bar appears in it), press RETURN or use the OK button to close the window and insert the value to the particular data field. Alternatively depress the Cancel button to close the windows and return to the data field.
Input letters to the system in upper and lower-case as appropriate. Enter calendar dates in the format dd/mm/yyyy.
