Deacom Interface Tips and Tricks

Navigating Deacom Working faster in Deacom Finding information faster Spell checking in text fields Using tabs more efficiently Copying and pasting information from grids Administration of the overall environment

This page is dedicated to tips and tricks as they relate to web versions of the Deacom interface and may be different when operating in the classic version of the application.

Navigating Deacom

Working faster in Deacom

• Enter the current date with one button - Use the "+" key on the keyboard while the cursor is in a date field to populate it with the current date.
• Change the date with one button - Use the "+" or "-" keys on the keyboard while the cursor is in a date field to move the populated date forward or backward.
• Skip the year in date fields - When entering a date in the current year, entering either "03152018" or "0315" will populate a date field with 03152018, assuming the current year is 2018.
• Check a flag without using the mouse - If typing in a field on a form, holding down the Shift key and pressing the Space bar will check the next available flag on the form.
• Change tabs without using the mouse - Change the focus of the current tab to the one on the left or the right by using the following keys: Ctrl + Alt and either < or >.
• Click buttons without using the mouse - From within a form, using the Atl + Shift + (that underlined letter) will perform the button's action without actually clicking the button. Note that this only applies to buttons that have a letter underlined, such as the "View" or "Modify" buttons on the Item Master pre-filter.
• Use the Page Up and Page Down keys - Instead of using the mouse, use the keyboard's Page Up and Page Down keys to quickly cycle through report entries or scan for info. Any fields that have had values entered or modified will be saved when the user clicks the Page Up or Page Down keys. In memo fields the Page Up and Page Down keys can be used to more easily scroll through information.
• Save pre-filters for faster report generation - Once desired pre-filter selections are made in a reporting or management section, they may be saved for individual or all Users via the "Settings" button available. This allows for faster generation of reports used on regular basis, such as those used for closing a month or checking for available segments of inventory.
• Simplify WMS navigation using barcodes - Anything that can be typed can be printed on a barcode. Print commonly entered data (username, dedicated staging locations, etc.) as barcodes and scan them in place of typing or selecting options from menus.

Finding information faster

• Make menu selections Favorites - For frequently used menu items that may take a while to locate, drag the menu item into the Favorites section of the left navigation panel. This will add the item as a Favorite, accessible via a single click.
• Resize all grid columns with a double-click - Double click on the left-most gray box on a grid of information to automatically resize all the grid columns. Double click on an individual column margin to automatically resize just that column.
• Use wildcards in search fields - In Deacom, % and * are both considered "wildcard" characters, and can be used in searches.
• Identify a field name and other key pieces of information- Right-click on the field in question. This will provide the exact field name, the description of the table it belongs to, the field type, the maximum number of characters the field may hold, and, beginning in version 17.04.009, the Version the field was added. This is especially useful when modifying Grid Layouts, Report Layouts, and Part Forms.
• The AI Assistant (available beginning in version 17.03.010.0002) allows users to ask questions about the Deacom product, ranging from how-to questions as well as best practice information. The AI Assistant currently uses the Deacom Online Help system as it's primary source. All users that have access to the Deacom application may use this feature.

Spell checking in text fields

• When typing in text fields and misspellings occur, uses can right-click on the line that appears under the word to bring up the spell check window.

Using tabs more efficiently

• Rename tabs in Deacom - Right click on the caption within the tab to rename it. This is helpful when working between multiple tabs.
• Close the current tab with zero clicks - Use the keyboard's Escape key to close the current tab.
• Close all tabs in two clicks - Click on the User Menu, represented by a 'person' icon on the Main Menu, and click "Close All Forms" to close all open forms and transactions simultaneously.
• Pull out a tab using the un-pin/pin button - Unpinning tabs from the main Deacom field will allow free movement of the forms and utilization of additional space to the right of the forms and pre-filters. A trick is to widen the browser window (rather than defaulting it as "maximized" to the screen) to span across multiple monitors, which creates a larger area within which to work in Deacom. This is especially helpful in versions prior to 15.02.
• View a tab in its own browser window - Available in version 15.02 and above. When selecting a form, instead of using the left button of the mouse, click with the center button and the form will open in a separate browser window. This new window can then be moved into a different monitor, etc.
• Create more space for tabs - Collapse the left navigation panel by clicking the bottom-most upward-facing arrow. Alternatively, unfold it by clicking the downward-facing arrow.

Copying and pasting information from grids

• Copy information displayed on grids in the system - Available in versions 16.00 and above. Click and drag the mouse to highlight the appropriate data, or use atl+a to select all the data in the grid. At this point, atl+c maybe used to copy the data into memory for further use.

Administration of the overall environment

• Simplify Deacom administration with naming conventions -
  • Begin user-defined fields with a "u_" to simplify finding a new UDF.
  • Begin the names of modified reports and part forms with "u_" to distinguish from system versions.
  • Keep all database names to 20 characters or fewer and avoid using special characters when possible.
  • If there is more than one database environment (ex: PROD, DEV, and TRAINING), name them so that they stay grouped when in alphabetical order. An example is below.

DiscoverCompany	vs.	DiscoverCompany	By putting a "Z" after "Discover", all DEV databases get grouped together without splitting the grouping of non-DEV databases apart.
DiscoverDEVCompany		DiscoverDocs
DiscoverDEVDocs		DiscoverSystem
DiscoverDEVSystem		DiscoverZDEVCompany
DiscoverDocs		DiscoverZDEVDocs
DiscoverSystem		DiscoverZDEVSystem

• Enable Facility Restrictions - Clean up a user's Deacom experience by restricting them to view only those transactions in a specific Facility or Facility Group. Beyond cleaning up the user experience, this is a tool for preventing all but R&D users from seeing transactions within the R&D Facility, for example.
• Make grids more readable - Color alternating grid rows and increase the font size via System > Options > Company tab.
  • Tip: Differentiate the TEST and PRODUCTION environments by giving TEST grids a loud color.
• Support a multi-lingual team - Some languages, like Spanish and French, are available out-of-the-box (with some Data Conversion team help). Others, like Portuguese or Creole, require some configuration. Any Language can be configured on a user-by-user basis.
• Log out all active users at once - Using the Logout.exe executable in the Production folder does just that. This is especially useful prior to running updates.
  • Tip: Right-click the executable and run as an Administrator.