File menu

Wherever you are in Enterprise 6, there is a File Menu. If you are in an input or list layout, the File Menu will simply contain items enabling you to move to another volume, either going via the main menu or via the Processes window.

At the main splash screens, the File Menu is much more comprehensive and its functions are listed below. Note that some of these menu items (such as Batch Entry, Find and Entry Defaults and the screen size options) can be used to override the settings on the General page of Preferences. The Preferences settings should be used to set defaults for every machine on the network. If an individual user wishes to override these settings, they can do so via the File Menu on their own machine.

Note that, if quitting and restarting Enterprise 6, the File Menu settings will revert to those set in Preferences.

In case you forget our address or telephone number, use this to remind you. It is also possible to see this information by clicking the [?] button in the Volumes Palette.

This function makes active or, if previously closed, opens, a palette listing the Enterprise 6 processes currently running. It is one way of switching quickly between screens when using multi-processes.

When starting up, Enterprise 6 creates a palette to the top right of the screen. Because it is a palette, it always appears on top of any data windows or splash screens that are open.

As a default, the palette has a compressed format: The downward-facing arrow indicates that there is a pop-up menu available listing all the currently open user processes in the order in which they were launched. Click on the arrow and then select the desired option from the resulting list: The ‘grow box’ is used to expand the Palette to a larger size, revealing the process list. When you select from the pop-up by highlighting the required process and clicking the left-hand button, the frontmost window of the appropriate process is brought to the front. Note that the larger window is still a Palette, which means that all other windows will always appear behind it. Once you’ve finished with it you may well want to reduce it again to the small version by pressing the same ‘grow box’, or put it away using the ‘close box’. As with all Enterprise 6 palettes, the Processes palette in both forms can be moved by pressing the <Command-Control> key combination and dragging the title bar with the mouse (Macintosh only).

For a full description of the functions available from the uncompressed version of this palette, please refer to the Core Functions reference.

This feature enables you to re-enter Enterprise 6 at a different level or as a different user.

Note that if you allocate yourself access to Word Processing in Preferences, you must completely restart Enterprise 6 to register this change. It is not enough to use ‘Change Access’ and log on as a WP user. If you Change Access and select another user in the User ID window, the original settings of the person you initially logged on as will be retained, even if the Person you change to has wholly different settings.

When Enterprise 6 is operating in multi-user mode, changes made by a user are immediately ‘saved’ to disk for access by others, since any other user may require the same information.

For the sake of speed, however, if there is only a single user, the information he or she enters can be temporarily stored in the memory of the computer, and only periodically saved to disk. This period is normally set to 15 minutes, but might be shortened by the system if a lot of changes are made (and it runs out of memory). If anything happens to the computer (such as a power cut or a System Error) in the period between a change and the next save, then those changes will be lost, and will have to be re-entered.

Due understandably to its importance, a save is done immediately after any Accounts postings have been made. At other times the user may want to force this save manually by choosing ‘Flush Buffers’ from the Menu. In particular, this is recommended when you are about to switch to another application without Quitting Enterprise 6.

It is these two options that, when active, let the system ‘remember’ the last entry.

For example, you might enter or view a Company and then, either by switching volumes or using the View menu, you might enter a Sales Order. If you have Entry Defaults switched on, the Company Code in the Sales Order screen will default to the Code of the Company you have just viewed or entered. If you have Find Defaults switched on, an appropriate Code will appear in the Quick Search dialogue boxes when you select View or List from the main menu.

Continuing the example, you might, after entering the Order, want to view the Company’s Sales Invoices in the Sales Ledger to check their account. When you select ‘View Sales Ledger’, the Company Code will appear as a search default. Note that whatever the setting of Find Defaults, no default is ever placed in the comprehensive search dialogue boxes.

This is one of the file menu options whereby the individual user can override the global settings saved in Preferences.

If this option is switched on, all queries performed from the Quick Search dialogue box on files that contains one or more reference to a Person, the data displayed will be limited to just those records that are applicable to the Current User (as selected during the logging on process). These files are Companies, Diary, Sales Orders, Jobs, Applicants, and Documents.

Where there is more than one Person field (for example Company has Sales Person and Taken By, Diary has Person and Originator) the search done is on either field - ie an or search. This feature is not intended as a security measure, just as a useful time-saver for larger users, so if the search would result in no data being found purely because of the Person search, the latter search is ignored.

In other words, if you search for a particular Company, for example, whether or not you are the Sales Person for that Company, you will always find it, whereas if you search very generally (for example just typing “V” to find all Companies starting with V), the list will be reduced to just Companies starting with V with your initials as Sales Person or Taken By. The feature only applies to queries performed from the Quick Search dialogue, not those from the More Choices window. This is one of the File Menu options whereby the individual user can override the global settings saved in Preferences.

When this option is switched on, Enterprise 6 will, once you have accepted a new record, bring up a blank screen for the entry of a new record. It is useful if, for example, you are entering many Companies or Products, as it removes the need to select Enter Companies or Enter Products every time.

Note that you should have Entry Defaults switched off if you select this option, otherwise the new record will default to the code of the previous one. This is one of the File Menu options whereby the individual user can override the global settings saved in Preferences.

QuickAccess is an option available for users who value speed of access above all else. Currently it is only available in a few areas - Companies, Contacts, Diary and Enquiries/Orders.

If QuickAccess is switched on, a simplified screen is used whenever a single record is entered or viewed in these volumes. The QuickAccess versions of the entry screens are subtly different in appearance to the full versions: the coloured background box that is visible around the edge is a solid (not patterned), lighter colour. On Black & White monitor settings it appears as white. Also, the name ‘QuickAccess’ appears in the top right of the screen. Wherever the QuickAccess option is available, the Functions menu will feature a ‘Switch Access’ menu item with the <Command -,>/ keyboard shortcut. This ‘toggles’ the entry layout being used between the full and quick versions. If you were viewing an individual record having double-clicked from a list, then when you double-click on another the Access will still be set as you last toggled it. If you launch a new Process, however, the screen will always take its cue from the current File menu ‘QuickAccess’ setting.

The ‘Switch Access’ function effectively ‘stacks’ entry screens on top of one another, which means that if used repeatedly it will quickly exhaust Process memory. This could lead to an error message that locks the user. Consequently, it has been necessary to impose a limit of four switches per data Entry/Viewing. This means that if you are entering data with Batch Entry turned on, you are much more likely to come up against this limitation than if you are using a separate process for each entry. Similarly, if you are viewing from a list using the [Next] or [Previous] buttons, then you can only switch four times. In this situation, if you need switch access further, return to the list and double-click again.

Note that the ‘Switch Access’ function has to save the record on screen prior to switching layouts. This means that Mandatory fields will have to be filled in before you use it, and also that pressing the [Cancel] button on a record that has been switched will have the effect only of cancelling any changes made since the switch. For full details of how the QuickAccess screens differ from their full equivalents, please refer to the relevant reference chapter for the volume concerned. This is one of the File Menu options whereby the individual user can override the global settings saved in Preferences.

When ‘Statistics View’ is turned on, the result of any ‘View…’ menu option will change significantly, assuming that more than one record is found. After going through the Quick Query/More Choices Find windows in the usual manner, a grey window designed for quick statistical analysis, reporting and graphing appears.

Full details can be found in the Core Functions chapter.

If you are running Enterprise 6 with a full version of 4th Dimension, this option takes you to the User Environment. To return from the User Environment select Custom on the Environment menu.

If you are using 4D Runtime, you will return to the Finder.

It should be emphasised that Enterprise 6 is designed solely for use within the Runtime Environment. Access to the User Environment is restricted, and should only be used by skilled personnel for data maintenance purposes only.

Though the User Environment can sometimes be more convenient for viewing records, it can be very dangerous to modify, add or delete records or even to double-click on a single item in a list in that Environment. Doing so can leave the data in an unstable or incomplete state and can possibly lead to system crashes.

This command causes Enterprise 6 to quit, as long as there are no active windows. If there are any active windows open this command will bring up an alert telling you to close them, but has no other effect.