Frequently Asked Questions - General

The following list identifies the search criteria field and the equivalent operators and values in order to achieve the same results as selecting an option from a drop list in PFE:

Sometimes the 'search' takes so long to return results. Why is this?
In order to improve the time the system takes to return search results, you must enter a value in a minimum of one field in the Search Criteria section of the view (other than the 'Company' field). The more specific you can be with the search criteria, the quicker the system will return the results.

• In most cases, searches take a long time to complete when you leave the fields in the Search Criteria section blank.

• If no search criteria parameters are entered, the system searches the entire database and if calculations are required for some fields in the search results, the system runs multiple passes through the database in order to complete the calculation(s) and this increases the time it takes for the system to return the search results.

• SQL keeps some search information in memory, and you may find that the search time improves each time the view is searched. However, it is best to enter operators and/or values in one (or more) search criteria fields.

Why is it when I open some views, the 'search results' automatically populate as soon as I open the view, and in other views I have to click Search before the search results are populated?
A view will automatically populate with data when the number of records in the search results is less than the value entered in the 'Automatically Perform a Search When # of Records is Less Than ##' field under Personalize option of the view.

• If the number of records in the search results is greater than the value entered in this field, then you must click Search before data is populated in the view.

When using the 'Copy' function to create a new record, the key fields display the same information as the original record. For example, if I create a new Customer using the copy function in the Customer Master (SU13) view, the Customer Code from the original record displays. Shouldn't this field be blank?
This is how iTopia functions. If you try to 'Continue' creating the record, the following message displays: "The record already exists". This forces you to change the key field(s) to create a new record using the copy function.

When I am in a lookup, I cannot access the maintenance table. In PointForce Enterprise (PFE), the system allowed me to access the maintenance table from a query.
In iTopia (versions 7.7 and lower), you cannot access a maintenance table from a lookup. If you are in the Customer Master (SU13) view and you open the 'Ship Via' lookup, you can only select from the existing ship via codes. You cannot go directly from the Ship Via lookup into the Ship Via table and create a new Ship Via code. You must leave the Customer Master (SU13) view and open the Ship Via Codes (SU09) view and create the new Ship Via.

When I'm on a view and make a change and then open another view, the following message displays: "Are you sure you want to navigate away from this page? Any changes will be discarded. Click OK to continue, or Cancel to stay on the current page. OK/Cancel". In some cases, it doesn't matter how I answer this question, the new window opens up, even if I click Cancel. Is iTopia working correctly?
iTopia is designed to display this message whether the selected Related view is part of the transaction sequence (Continue sequence) or not. Views that are part of the transaction sequence react to the message response while Related views that are not part of the transaction sequence do not react to the message response. There are several Related views associated with the Customer Master (SU13) view and can be used to illustrate the scenarios that exist throughout iTopia:

1. The Related views, Customer Price Lists (SU13) and Customer Attributes (SU13), are part of the transaction sequence and open in the same window. If you make changes to the current details page and you select either of these views prior to saving the Customer Master (SU13) record, the action of clicking either "OK" or "Cancel" on the message will have an impact.

2. Any of the other Related views are not part of the transaction sequence and open in a separate window when selected, regardless of your Internet Explorer browser settings. iTopia still displays the message, however the changes to the transaction record will not be lost since the window containing the transaction view is still active. Therefore, regardless of the action you select ('OK' or 'Cancel'), the system will open the Related view.

Why are only some of the fields on the Search Criteria folder (under Personalization) available on the Search Results folder?
In most views, the fields on the Search Criteria folder are also available on the Search Results folder. In some cases, however, it is not possible to display the criteria you are searching for in the search results.

For example, in the Invoice History-Header (IN45) view, you can select the 'Product Code (Invoice History Dtl Prod)' field on the Search Criteria folder. On the Search Results folder, this field is not available for selection.

• This is because of the 'one to many' relationship set between the 'inidp' table (Invoice History Detail) and the 'inih' table (Invoice History Header). In this case, this means that if you search for information for the Product Code field from the Invoice History Detail in the Search Criteria, multiple records can be returned for each Invoice Number displayed in the Search Results. The Invoice History-Header (IN45) view is designed to return only Invoice Header information.

• In order to view the actual results of the search for the Product Code you can use one of the following 3 options:
  1. Click on the 'Product Details' link (found in the Search Results grid).

  2. Click on the 'Use Record as Criteria for Action' icon and select 'Invoice History' from the list and then select 'Products (IN45)'. This opens the Invoice History-Products (IN45) view.

  3. On the Details page, select the 'Invoice History-Products (IN45)' related link (found at the bottom of the page).

I am on the Details page of the Bank Master view (Bank Reconciliation) and I have a valid address entered for my Company/Bank Account Code record, but the Address Map field does NOT display a map. How do I fix this?
If you see "Navigation to the webpage was cancelled" instead of a map, then you need to:

• Verify that the address entered for this record is valid.

• If the address entered is valid, then you must close and reopen the Bank Master view. When the Details page initially opens, an Internet Security window opens. Your response to the message on this window determines whether or not you will be able to see the Google Map associated with a valid address. Depending on the version of Internet Explorer you have installed, one of the following messages will display:
  • If you have Internet Explorer 7.0, the following Security Information message displays: "This page contains both secure and nonsecure items. Do you want to display the nonsecure items? Yes/No/More Info". In order to view the Google Map, you must select Yes.

  • If you have Internet Explorer 8.0, the following Security Warning message displays: "Do you want to view only the webpage content that was delivered securely? This webpage contains content that will not be delivered using a secure HTTPS connection, which could compromise the security of the entire webpage. More Info/Yes/No". In order to view the Google Map, you must select No.