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Button Customization Step-by-Step

Each user has the ability to change any Actions menu command on any window as well as the Xytech Web Client menu bar, footer, and favorites bar options into a button. With this feature, individual users may save their commonly used menu items as buttons for quick access. You may also rename any custom buttons created from Actions menu commands, which can be useful if you have limited space on a layout. After you change a menu item to a button, the changes will be saved to the layout automatically.

The steps for adding custom Actions menu commands to windows differ from the steps to add them to the menu bar. The two methods are detailed below.

NOTES

In addition to creating custom buttons from Actions menu commands on windows for individual users, custom command buttons can be added to layouts so that all users see the selected commands as buttons when they use a particular layout. Refer to step 12 of the CREATE AND EDIT SCREEN LAYOUTS STEP-BY-STEP topic for details.
Keep in mind that if you create custom buttons, those buttons will be governed by the same business rules as the commands with regards to when they are available or when they display at all. For example, the Recalculate W/O Actions menu command in the BID MAINTENANCE APPLICATION'S ACTIONS BUTTON MENU only appears on approved Bid records. Similarly, the Unapprove Bid command will only show on approved Bids. If either of these commands is added as custom buttons for a given user, when that user creates a new Bid, these custom buttons will be invisible until the new Bid is approved.

ADDING CUSTOM ACTIONS BUTTON MENU BUTTONS TO WINDOWS

Open the window to which you want to add custom Actions and select the Customize Buttons command from the Layout Settings Button menu.

This will prompt the system to open the Customize Menu Window.

Select a command in the Available Items Area of the Customize Menu Window that you would like to add to the layout as a custom button and add it to the Selected Items Area.

USAGE

The Available Items Area lists the Actions menu commands that are not currently custom buttons on the layout. Commands listed in the Selected Items Area will be set as custom buttons when you save and close the Customize Menu Window. The custom buttons will display, from left to right, in the order that they appear in the area.

To add a command from the Available Items Area to the Selected Items Area, left-click and hold a command in the Available Items Area and drag the command to the Selected Items Area..

To remove a command from the Selected Items Area, left-click and hold the command and drag it to the Available Items Area..

NOTE

The Actions commands in the Available Items and Selected Items Areas will include its submenu name before the command, if applicable. The submenu name will not display on the custom button; it is shown for your reference.

(Optional) Rearrange commands in the Selected Items Area so that they display as buttons in the order that you want.

Click on a command in the Selected Items Area and move it to the desired order using the drag-and-drop technique. Repeat this until all the commands are in the order that you want them to display, from left to right, as custom buttons on the layout.

(Optional) Choose a command in the Selected Items Area and rename the button.

In the Selected Items Area, click on the command you want to change.
In the Title field, delete the existing button name and enter a new one.
Click the 'Change Title' button. The new button title will show in the Selected Items Area. Click on Save. To abandon all changes you have made to this point, click on Cancel instead of Save.
The button now appears at the bottom of the screen with the new title.
If you want to revert back to the original name, follow the steps above, entering the original name in the Title field.

TIP! Use the Rename Item feature to abbreviate custom button names so that you can save space on the layout if you have added multiple custom buttons or the layout is small.

When you have finished adding / removing, arranging, and renaming custom buttons, click the Save Button to save your work and exit the Customize Menu Window and the LAYOUT SAVE command from the Layout Settings Button menu.

When you use the Save Button your customized buttons will display on the layout. Selecting the LAYOUT SAVE command from the Layout Settings Button menu will ensure that the buttons will be shown every time you (the logged in user) open the layout.

NOTES

After adding Actions commands as custom buttons on a layout, those commands will still display in the Actions menu.
Use the Reset to Default Button to remove all user-added custom buttons and reset the layout to its original settings, which may include some custom buttons if they were added directly to the layout via the LAYOUT APPLICATION.
Using the LAYOUT RESTORE command available from the Layout Settings Button will also remove any user custom buttons (but not those added to the layout via the LAYOUT APPLICATION).

CREATING A HOT KEY FROM A CUSTOM BUTTON

A 'Hot Key" is a button that, when hit while the 'ALT' key is depressed (e.g. ALT + S), will perform a predefined function.

NOTE

The following description is aimed at creating a hot key for an individual User. The same set of steps can be performed by a System Administrator in the Layout Editor to create the hot key for anyone using the layout.

Open the window to which you want to add custom Actions and select the Customize Buttons command from the Layout Settings Button menu.

This will prompt the system to open the Customize Menu Window.

Select a command in the Selected Items Area of the Customize Menu Window to which you would like to add ‘hot key’ functionality.
Use the ‘Rename Item’ area at the bottom of this window to rename the button.

In the Title field, enter the label to display on the button, inserting an ampersand (‘&’) before the keyboard character to be used as the ‘hot key’ for this function.
Click on 'Change Title' to affect the change. When the Custom Button is displayed on the bottom of the screen, the hotkey character will be underlined

TIP!

Use the Rename Item feature to abbreviate custom button names so that you can save space on the layout if you have added multiple custom buttons or the layout is small.

When you have finished renaming the custom button to create the ‘hot key’, click the Save Button to exit the Customize Menu Window and the LAYOUT SAVE command from the Layout Settings Button menu.

When you use the Save Button your customized button will display on the layout, with the buttons supporting a ‘hot key’ having underlined the keyboard character that is the ‘hot key’ for the function. Selecting the LAYOUT SAVE command from the Layout Settings Button menu will ensure that the buttons will be shown every time you (the logged in user) open the layout.

To use the ‘hot key’ function in this window, hold down the ‘Alt’ key and then type the underlined character (e.g. ‘ALT + N’ for New Work Order).

The system will perform the function indicated by the ‘hot key’.

NOTE

Hotkeys are NOT case-sensitive. In the above example, Alt + N and Alt + n will open the New Work Order window.