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Xytech Basics

The following information details the Xytech basic layout and functionality as well as general navigation information.

IMPORTANT! The screenshots of Xytech windows that appear in this Help file are from the Xytech Standard layouts. Since you’ll most likely be customizing your screens using the it is probable that the windows you use throughout the system will look different that the ones show in this Help file and fields may possibly have different names (prompts). The screenshots are for reference only.

Navigator Tabs

The navigator tabs on the left of the Xytech window present six panes that expand when you select them:

Favorites – This area allows you to create and maintain a list of the applications or individual records that you use the most. Add items by opening the window you want to save as a favorite, clicking on the Action Panel icon in the upper right-hand corner of the web page and clicking on the ‘Save as Favorite’ icon.

Alternatively, you can drag and drop a record into the 'Favorites' area to add it to the list.

To delete a favorite, highlight it and click the Delete icon (trash can) next to the item in the Favorites area.

Dashboards – This area displays all of the dashboards that are available for you to open as defined in the Other Available Views Area of the

A dashboard is comprised of panels, which themselves contain layouts. A layout can be a search list, an application window, a Web gadget, or a chart.

Autostart Dashboards

You can create your own Dashboards with windows you commonly use already assigned and in a layout that is best suited to your needs. Then click the Dashboard Icon and select 'Save Dashboard'. The 'Save Dashboard' popup window will be displayed.

Enter a name for this Dashboard. Use a name that will make its layout clear when seen in the list of available Dashboards (e.g. name it 'Jobs and Media Orders' instead of 'Dashboard 1').

If you want this Dashboard to be shown at startup time, enter a value from 1 to 10 in the 'Position' field. Leaving this field blank or entering '0' will have the system not launch the Dashboard automatically.

Click 'Save' to save the Dashboard under the assigned name and to activate the Autolaunch feature. Click 'Cancel' to abandon these entries.

Modules

This area displays a collection of links that open every Module’s search lists, applications, and setup items.

The Filter Modules field is displayed on top of the Navigator panes, and allows you to search for any item in the Navigator Tab. Type in any part of the name of the item you want to access and the system will automatically filter what displays in the area.

Module Field Notes

Every document opened in the Modules section is populated with the various fields that provide the information required by Xytech to perform its tasks. These fields are of various types, each of which requires information to be entered in a particular way. These fields are:

Dropdown Menu: This field type comes in two styles, Single Select or Multiselect, and allows a user to select one (or more in the case of Multiselect) predefined value(s) to populate the field.

Click the dropdown icon to expose the dropdown menu or click in the field and type a few letters of the selection you want to make. The current selection will be highlighted. Use the up and down arrows or use the slider bar or the mouse’s scroll wheel to navigate through the menu to find the value(s) you need to put into this field.

Single Select: Click the value required for the field or use the up and down arrows to highlight the value and hit the Enter key to select the value. Use the Tab key to navigate out of the field.
Multiselect: Click the dropdown icon to expose the dropdown menu and the ‘select’ field. Click a value you want in the field and Xytech will put that value in the field. Once you have selected all the values you want, click the checkmark on the ‘select’ field. The selections will be entered into the field and the cursor will move to the next field in the document.
Lookup: Click the field and enter the value you want, or click the Lookup icon to open a search list. Find the value you want in the search list and click ‘Apply’ or ‘Apply and Close’ to select the value and exit the field.
Date/Time: Click the field and enter the date and time you want in the format MM-DD-YYYY HH:MM (AM or PM). The field has a mask applied that allows you to enter the values without worrying about formatting.

You can also click the Calendar and/or Clock icon(s) to open a selection menu that will allow you to click the appropriate date and time to enter into the field.

Telephone #: Enter a Telephone number into this field in the standard format.
Text: Click in the field and enter text directly using alphanumerics, punctuation and symbols as required.
Notes: Notes fields can be either plain or rich text. Click the note icon to open the note window and enter alphanumerics, punctuation and symbols as required. Click OK when the note is complete.

Schedule Book Note

The Schedule Book Application displays every available scheduling view in the Modules Area. Click a view to open the Schedule Book using that view’s settings.

Gadgets

This area allows you to view your schedule, create new charts and embed Web gadgets.

Search Library

The Gadgets Area includes a Search Library field. This field is used to perform Asset searches. Entering a value in this field and clicking on it will open the MetaVault Library search window with the results of the search for this item in the MetaVault Library.

My Schedule

One standard Gadget is My Schedule, which allows users logged into the application to see their current schedule in a calendar format that can be set in the application to a daily, weekly, or monthly mode, and a mode that displays a list of bookings for users as an agenda. Selecting the Gadget opens a new dashboard pane set to the daily mode, but if you change the view mode and save the dashboard, that mode will also save.

While this Gadget is intended to give users a quick glance at their schedule, it includes many of the features of the Schedule Book, such as: being able to open and edit bookings / rosters, booking bar text, and many default settings (ones defined in the Scheduling View assigned to this field, system date and time settings, Phase booking colors, etc.). You may not, however, move or create bookings directly from the Gadget.

The 'My Schedule' application has been developed for Xytech Web Client Mobile. This allows it to run natively on either an iPhone or an Android device.

Create Chart

Charts are special dashboards that allow you view information – from the application or other sources – graphically. Dash includes a powerful charting feature that allows you to quickly review data in a variety of common charting methods. Like any dashboard, these charts can be saved for quick access.

IMPORTANT!

Users who are not assigned a role that has been granted access to the Create Xytech Web Client Charts rights code will not be allowed to create charts or save edits of existing charts.

When you click the Create Chart item in the Gadgets Area of the Navigation Panel, the Options Window will first open. This window allows you to establish the parameters that determine how and what your charts display.

You can choose the chart type, the application from which you want to draw data for your chart (Data Source field), the particular application layout to use to search for data, time parameters (Grouping), and the data elements you wish to chart.

Recent Documents

A list of all of the recent “documents” (records, applications, setup items) that you have viewed. Clicking on one of these documents opens it up.

Recent Reports

A list of all of the recent reports that you have viewed. Clicking on one of these reports opens it up.

Once you select a navigation tab, the associated pane will open. You can minimize an open pane by clicking the Collapse Icon at the top of the pane. Click it again to expand the collapsed pane. Collapsed panes can also be accessed temporarily by clicking on it. It will stay open as long as your cursor is in the area.

TIP!

The width of all of the Navigator panes can be resized. Hover your mouse over the right edge of the pane until your cursor turns into the standard Microsoft resize tool and then click and drag the pane to the width that best suits your needs.

Modules Pane

The Pane gives you access to all of the Xytech applications, reports, utilities, and setup items that you have been given rights to see (i.e., you will only see the items you work with).

Initially, you will see a list of the available modules. By clicking the Arrow Icon to the left of a module, you will expand the line to reveal the available applications as well as submenus for the module’s items, and , and (if applicable). (For more on running reports, see below.)

Clicking on one of the application links opens a so you can locate existing records or create a new one. There is also a submenu that, when expanded, allows you to create new records directly, bypassing the search list window.

If you have created more than one layout of a particular application’s search list window, the system will initially open a with the 'Always Use the Selected Layout' field checked. If you do not uncheck the field, the system will automatically use the chosen layout the next time you open that window from the Modules Pane. (The system will remember whether or not this field was checked or unchecked the last time you accessed the window and will default to that status the next time you open it.) You can open the Choose Layout Window again by clicking the Tools icon in the lower right-hand corner of the screen and clicking on 'Layout Select'. This allows you to select a different layout.

You can collapse any submenu item by clicking the Arrow Icon.

Action Menu Commands

Each window you open (Search, Maintenance, Report) will have an associated Action Menu that can be accessed by clicking the Action Menu button. Each window will have its own set of unique Actions that can be taken, but all Action Menus will have access to one or more functions on the top bar. These functions include:

Save as Favorite: Click this icon to include the associated window in the Navigator’s ‘Favorite’ section. Clicking on the ‘Favorite’ will take you immediately to this window.
View Report: Click this icon to generate a report based on the associated window.
Refresh: Click this icon to have Xytech Web Client refresh all of the information in the window.
Delete: Click this icon to have Xytech Web Client delete the current window from the system.
Duplicate: Click this icon to have Xytech Web Client duplicate the associated document.
Hyperlink: Click this icon to have Xytech Web Client put the hyperlink to this document onto your device’s clipboard. That hyperlink can then be shared with other interested parties to take them directly to the document.
Export to Excel: This icon is only available for Search windows. Click this icon to have Xytech Web Client recreate the associated Search window as an Excel spreadsheet and download it to your device.

Running Reports

A wide range of standard reports are included with Xytech. Using the built-in REPORT EDITOR, these standard reports can be customized and completely custom reports can be built to fit unique business requirements. All reports are available from the Modules pane for easy access.

The report preview window provides several features to use on the report. There are buttons to:

Refresh: If the source data used to create the report is changed in Xytech, click this button to have the report update to reflect the new information.
Filter: Click this button to create a filter to limit the size of the report or the information found in it.
Create Schedule: Reports can be created to run automatically on a schedule that you determine. The report can then be sent to a list of recipients you specify when creating the Scheduled Report.
Send: Click this button to have Xytech send the report to a list of recipients you specify.
Edit Report Schedule: If there is a schedule for this report, click this button to alter the schedule as you require
Send Now: Clicking this button will immediately send the report to the recipients listed in the schedule.
Download/Open: Clicking this button will have Xytech download the report to the device on which you are working.

NOTE: In Xytech Web Client, when a Report is downloaded, the filename for the downloaded file will be the name of the feature being reported on. (Example: if a Report is run on the Jobs Search List, the filename of the download will be “Job List Report”). Reports can be printed, e-mailed in PDF form, or exported in a variety of file formats, such as, Excel. Reports can be set up to RUN AUTOMATICALLY and be e-mailed automatically.

Advanced – Edit the Report Filename When Exporting

Report Layouts have the ability to execute scripts. Setting the 'DisplayName' property in the "xtraReport1.AfterPrint" event handler allows the site to control the content of the export filename including using values from the report itself.

The following example is from PoPurchaseOrderForm and results in a default name of

'PurchaseOrder_12345_31-01-2019.pdf' if the PO No has a value of 12345 -or-
'PurchaseOrder_PCN4444_31-01-2019.pdf' if the PO No is blank and the PCN is 4444:

In the report layout editor, go to the 'Scripts' and add the following:

private void xtraReport1_AfterPrint(object sender, System.EventArgs e)

{

var poNo = GetCurrentColumnValue("po_no").ToString(); //Get po_no

if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(poNo)) //Use PCN if no po_no

poNo = "PCN" + GetCurrentColumnValue("pcn_no").ToString();

this.DisplayName = "PurchaseOrder_" + poNo

+ "_" + String.Format("{0:dd-MM-yyyy•",GetCurrentColumnValue("order_date"));

//+ "_" + GetCurrentColumnValue("po_desc"); //comment out to skip description.

//be sure to end with ';'

IMPORTANT!

Be sure you understand SQL scripting before using the sample script shown above, or when generating your own script to perform this function.

Help File

You can access this Help file by selecting the Help option from the Tools menu.

The Contents Tab Page of this Help file uses the same hierarchy structure as the actual Xytech software. Selecting the plus sign in the contents page expands the topic to reveals subtopics information pages. So, to find information on a particular feature, first select a particular topic (e.g., Common Xytech Windows) and then either a subtopic (e.g., Search List Window) or just the topic you are looking for. Multiple levels of topics can be nested with each other.

Once you find a specific topic, click the topic icon to reveal the information in the Display area to the right.

Topics may include to other topics for quick and easy access to related information.
Easily print out any documents by activating the Print Button found at the top of the screen.
Use the Search Page to quickly find topics that contain key words and phrases.
The Glossary Page includes definitions for many of the terms you will encounter using Xytech and the Help file. Terms are listed in alphabetical order. Selecting a term reveals the definition in the Definition Area.