R7 User Enhancements

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R7 User Enhancements

• Phil Joseph
• Paragon Systems International

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At-a-glance

• Quick change
• Graph cards
• Open action
• Workspaces
• Template improvements

• Presentation schemes
• Code file delete/copy
• Logical field tip text
• Auto key generation
• Other (non-user) items

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Quick change
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Imagine

• Youre looking at a list
• You see data that needs to be changed
• Could be multiple records
• You need to make a change to what you see

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Quick Change

• Click the Quick Change button
• A prompt appears with the fields from the view
• Same order as view
• Maintainable fields are in update mode
• Make the change, press Enter
• If multiple records, can auto-advance

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Quick change comparison

• New way
• Select the records
• Click Quick Change
• Make the change
• Click Update

• Old way
• Select a record
• Open the details
• Find the correct card
• Make the change
• Click Update
• Repeat

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Quick Change advantages

• Easy nothing to learn
• More intuitive work the way you think
• Productive
• Less keying, fewer mistakes
• Youll use it a lot
• Flexible
• One record or many
• Details are just a click away

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Templates
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Templates

• R6 One kind of template
• Use for Create or Copy
• R7 Three kinds of templates
• Create
• Copy
• Change

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Imagine

• Create
• Item
• Customer
• Vendor
• Operation

Departmental handoffs
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The problem

• Only the first department gets the productivity
  advantages of a template
• Subsequent departments also need templates
• Default credit limit, credit hold
• Default over limits, under limits
• Default run times, time basis code

How can they efficiently enter their data?
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The solution Change templates

• Set up stored values in a change template
• By item class
• By creditworthiness
• By tolerance level
• By product line/facility
• Apply template values to the master record

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Set EDI values for a vendor
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Change templates comparison

• Old way
• Select the first record
• Open details
• Find the card
• Change field 1
• Find next card
• Change field 2
• Click the button
• Repeat

• New way
• Select the first record
• Click Quick Change
• Click the button
• Repeat

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Graph cards
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Imagine

• You are looking at a list card
• You want to see the information graphically
• Easier to compare
• Easier to comprehend

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Graph cards

• Display data in one record
• Pie chart (Item costs)
• Display data in multiple records
• Bar charts (Open POs)
• Can limit records (Top Ten)
• Part of the architecture
• Can drill down

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Graph cards comparison

• Old way 1
• Open the object
• Export data to Excel
• Open Excel
• Import data
• Graph it

• New way
• Open the object
• Click on graph card

• Old way 2
• Open the object
• Click on user action
• Open Excel display graph
• Requires programming

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Graph cards advantages

• Quicker comprehension
• Easier than alternatives
• No programming, export/import, graphing
  application or macros required
• User-customizable
• Change data (subset, sort order)
• Change style (pie, bar)
• Integrated
• Can drill down into supporting data

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Workspaces
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Imagine

• Sometimes you work with engineered items, and
  other times purchased items
• Sometimes you work with MOs, and other times
  service orders
• Sometimes you work with customers, and other
  times distributors

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The problem

• The same object can require very different custom
  definitions
• Open the object, change the view
• Open the details, change the card file
• Start to create a record, change the template
• Defaults can be set in the User Preferences to
  the most-used definitions

Wouldnt it be nice to have different sets of
preferences?
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The solution Workspaces

• A workspace is a named set of preferences
• Preferences
• Default settings for views, cards, etc. or
• Default workspace
• Effect on objects
• Open an icon to open the object
• Create a second icon for the same object
• Different name
• Different defaults

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Using workspaces

• Use for business process
• Determine appropriate defaults
• Create an icon for each one
• Put on your own special card
• Use for departments
• Determine appropriate defaults
• Same workspace to all users in department
• User Preference Administration (Integrator)

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Open action

• New preference
• Controls what happens when you double-click a
  record in a list
• R6 open details in inquiry mode
• R7 open details or
• Available on list cards, too

navigate (any option) or maintain (any action)
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Workspaces advantages

• Saves keystrokes mouse movements
• Less changing of definitions
• Easier implementations
• Train users to use certain icons for certain
  business processes
• Easier to administer
• Assign same preferences to multiple users

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Presentation Schemes
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Presentation Scheme

• Youre looking at a list of customers.
• Which ones have poor credit?
• Youre looking at a list of MRP recommendations.
• Which ones are most urgent?
• Youre looking at a list of MOs.
• Which ones are for the critical parts?

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Presentation Schemes

• Highlight whatever is important to you
• Fields High/low numbers, urgent conditions
• Rows Big orders, late orders
• Column Cost, due date
• Normal subset rules
• Lists, ranges, floating dates

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Presentation Schemes

• Can have multiple criteria
• and/or logic
• Like subsets within subsets
• Common to all definitions in object
• Same colors criteria across views

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Presentation schemes advantages

• Quicker comprehension
• Important stuff jumps out at you
• Flexible
• User defines what is important
• User selects colors
• UI communicates more
• Definitions do double-duty
• May reduce number of views/subsets

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Automatic key generation
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Imagine

• Youre getting ready to create a new master
  record (item, customer, vendor)
• What is the next available number?
• Do you try onehit or miss?
• Consult a list?
• Run a query?

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Automatic key generation

• The system provides the next sequential number
• Today AAAAA or 000001
• Later Custom logic
• Both standard and Integrator objects

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Code file enhancements
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• Locate
• Quick change
• Delete
• Copy

R6
R7
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Logical field tip text
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Logical field tip text

• Logical fields with calculations
• The not obvious ones
• Tip text shows how value was derived
• Verbal description
• Actual values used

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Other architecture enhancements
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Link Manager

• Platform flexibility
• iSeries
• IXSs
• LPARs
• PCs

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Run everything on the iSeries
NETWORK
Application Server
MAS
server iSeries
MXS
ERP Server
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or offload to Linux LPAR(s)
NETWORK
Server
iSeries
LPAR
MXS
ERP Server
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or offload to IXS NT servers
NETWORK
IXS
Server
iSeries
IXS
IXS
MXS
IXS
ERP Server
IXS
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or offload to auxiliary machines
NETWORK
MAS
CDS
WebSphere
Sys-Link
Net-Link
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or offload to additional iSeries
NETWORK
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Integrator

• User exit program generation
• User Preference Administration
• Multi-key code files
• Enterprise definition
• More field types
• Dull items removed
• More consistent with architecture
• Integrator Enterprise Edition

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Integrator Enterprise Edition

• Multi-client
• Multi-database
• Multi-language
• Multi-user exit

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Summary

• User enhancements
• Quick change, change templates, graph cards, user
  preferences, open action, workspaces,
  presentation schemes, automatic key generation
• Platform flexibility
• Link Manager
• Integrator enhancements
• User exit program generation, user preference
  administration, multi-key code files, enterprise
  definition

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Benefits
Easier, quicker, more accurate

• Give employees the tools they need
• Improved efficiency cuts operating costs

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Lower costs

• There are two primary values we receive from
  utilizing MAPICS. The first is a low TCO by being
  able to customize MAPICS without having to modify
  applications.
• Jay Feldman
• Director of Information Systems
• Medtronic Sofamor Danek

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Improved customer service

• The Browser improved customer service by reducing
  the amount of time it takes to satisfy a
  customers request. The consolidation in
  transactions, unifying the data entry interface,
  and automation led to a reduction in labor and
  turnaround time.
• James LeLeux
• Shur-Lok
• Irvine, CA

See Shur-Lok products in the Made with Mapics
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