User Manual and Installation

7/29/2019 User Manual and Installation

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Introduction:Welcome

1 RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

[User Manual]

RD Percussion Information System

Version 1.0.0

Production Release


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Table Of Contents


Table of Contents

1. Introduction

Welcome ........................................................................................................................................... 3

System Overview ................................................................................................................................ 4

How To Use This Manual ...................................................................................................................... 5

2. Installation Instructions

Installing The Database and Components .............................................................................................. 6

Installing the Information System ....................................................................................................... 16

3. Launching The System

The Login Dialog .............................................................................................................................. 18

The Main Form ................................................................................................................................. 20

4. The Customer Data Management Form

Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 22Form Operations ............................................................................................................................... 23

Returning to the Main Form ................................................................................................................ 30

5. The Product Data Management Form

Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 31

Form Operations ............................................................................................................................... 32


6. The Sales Invoice Generator

Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 41

Selecting The Customer ..................................................................................................................... 44

Add and Remove Products ................................................................................................................. 45

Adding Discounts .............................................................................................................................. 48

Generating the Invoice ...................................................................................................................... 50

7. Removing Invoices

Removing Invoices ........................................................................................................................... 52

8. The Summary Report Generator

Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 54

Generating a Summary Report ........................................................................................................... 56


9. Database Recovery

Backing Up The Database .................................................................................................................. 59

Restoring The Database ..................................................................................................................... 61

10. The Electronic Help Document

The Electronic Help Document ............................................................................................................ 62


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Introduction


Welcome

I would hereby like to welcome you to the RD Percussion Information System User Manual.

In this user manual, you will find everything you need to get the system up and running and

learn how to efficiently use the system and all of its functionalities.

If you are reading this manual for the first time after the project has been completed,

please ensure that you read the section Installation Instructions carefully and that you apply

that section correctly to ensure a successful installation. Although you can complete the

installation by yourself, it is recommended that one of the developers of the system be

present to ensure a seamless installation.

Also, if you are new to using the RD Percussion Information System, or have not used a

similar business system before, it is advised that you study this manual carefully to develop

a clear understanding of how each of the forms work and how to properly use the system.

However, don't be worried! Each of the operations described in this manual will beaccompanied with screenshots from the actual system, as well as textual descriptions to

clarify what must be done.

In addition to functionality instructions, the user manual also includes various tips and

warning labels to indicate what can be done to increase the efficiency of an operation and

what you should watch out for. These elements are further illustrated in the section How To

Use This Manual.

In conclusion, I hope that the RD Percussion Information System satisfies the needs of the

business environment and that it will both increase the efficiency of business operations and

guide the business to new heights.


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Introduction


System Overview

The RD Percussion Information System consists of 5 individual forms that are tightly

integrated. Each form provides a specific subset of functionalities.

These 5 forms are: The Main Form

The Customer Data Management Form

The Product Data Management Form

The Sales Invoice Generator

The Summary Report Generator

The Main Form acts as the launch point to access the rest of the system, and is a simple

form that uses a main menu bar to launch the other forms. This is the form that you will

most likely see when the system is booted.

The Customer Data Management Form allows for the efficient and accurate management of

customer data, through which the clerk can add new customers, update or remove existing

customers, or view customer information.

The Product Data Management Form allows for the efficient and accurate management of

product data, through which the clerk can add new products, update or remove existing

products, or view product information. This form also provides a search functionality

through which product information can be viewed by matching keywords.

The Sales Invoice Generator allows for the quick generation of accurate and professional

sales invoices. This form requires little user input and provides a robust way to quickly

handle the creation of a new order and invoice. In addition, all calculations are automated,

relieving the clerk from having to calculate anything manually.

The Summary Report Generator uses the business data stored in the database to generate

real-time summary reports. These reports reveal the buying trends of customers and the

underlying patterns of business sales, which, in turn, can then be used in decision making

and marketing efforts.


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Introduction


How To Use This Manual

Throughout this manual, various tips and warnings will be indicated.

Tips include things such as shortcuts that apply, alternative ways of executing an operation,and any additional information that is not provided by the screenshots or textual

instructions.

The following symbol is used to indicate a tip:

In addition to tips, warnings will also be noted. These warnings indicate the various things

to watch out for when performing the operation, and should be taken into considerationwhile using the system. Failure to take heed of the warnings might result in unreliable data

or the generation of an error.

The following symbol is used to indicate a warning:

In addition to tips and warnings, each major section of the manual also includes an error

table. Should you encounter an error while performing an operation, consult that sections

error table to determine what went wrong and how to continue using the system.

If the user manual is to be used during the day-to-day operations of the business, consult

the Table of Contents first to quickly find the topic you are looking for. If you are looking for

a more robust and shorter manual, consult the digital help file, which can be accessed from

any of the forms through the Help menu title. This help manual is more applicable for users

that have already used the RD Percussion Information System, and who just want to quickly

look up something that they find confusing.

Tips will be explained in this section

Warnings will be explained in this section


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Installation Instructions



To complete the following installation instructions, please ensure that you have the RD

Percussion Information System CD-ROM and that you follow the installation instructions

carefully to ensure a successful installation.

Installing the Database

To install the MySql Database server, insert the RD Percussion Information System

CD-ROM into your computer and navigate to My Computer to browse the CD

contents.

You will be presented with 2 folders; Open the folder titled "Database Installation"

Inside the folder, double click on the file called "mysql server 5.5" to launch the

MySql Server Setup Wizard, which is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: The MySql Server Setup Wizard

When the wizard appears, click Next to continue to the Welcome Screen, which is

shown in Figure 2 on the next page:

If you are running Windows 7 or Windows Vista, launch the file by

Right Clicking > Run as Administrator


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Figure 2: The Welcome Screen

At the Welcome Screen, read the License Agreement and click on "I accept the terms

in the License Agreement". Then click Next to continue to the Setup Type screen,

which is shown in Figure 3:

Figure 3: The Setup Type screen

At the Setup Type screen, click on Complete


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Immediately when you click Complete, the Ready to installscreen will appear, which

is shown in Figure 4:

Figure 4: The Ready to install screen

At the Ready to install screen, click Install to start the installation process.

Please wait patiently while the MySql Database Server installs

When the installation is complete, a promotional screen will pop up. Click Next twice

to continue to the Installation Completedscreen, which is shown in Figure 5:

Figure 5: The Installation Competed screen


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At the Installation Completed screen, ensure that "Launch the MySql Instance

Configuration Wizard" box is checked. Then, click Finish to complete the installation.

After clicking Finish, the MySql server Instance Configuration Wizardwill open

automatically, which is shown in Figure 6:

Figure 6: The MySql Server Instance Configuration Wizard

At the wizard, click Next to continue to the Configuration screen, which is shown in

Figure 7:

Figure 7: The Configuration screen


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At the Configuration screen, select "Standard Configuration" and click Next.

On the screen that follows, leave all settings at their defaults and click Next.

After clicking Next, you will be presented with theAccount Securityscreen. In this

screen, you must set the password for the root user on the MySql Server.

Next to "New root password:", type root

Next to "Confirm", type root

Note that the password must be in all lower-case letters

Your screen should now look like Figure 8

Figure 8: Setting the root password on the Account Security screen

After setting the password, click Next.

On the screen that follows, click Execute to commence the installation

Please wait patiently while the MySQL Database server is being configured

At the final screen, click Finish

Congratulations! The MySQL server is now installed and configured. Please restart your

computer before continuing with the next set of installation steps.

This is an extremely important step. Failure to correctly set the root password will

disable certain features of the entire RD Percussion Information System


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Installing the Add-ons

Because the RD Percussion Information System must interact with a database, two

additional add-ons must be installed.

Complete the following steps to install the ODBC Connector add-on: If you have not done so already, please insert the RD Percussion Information System


contents.

You will be presented with two folders. Open the folder titled "Database Installation"

Double-click the file mysql ODBC to launch the ODBC Connector Setup Wizard,

which is shown in Figure 9:

Figure 9: The ODBC Connector Setup Wizard

At the wizard, click Next.

After clicking Next, you will be presented with a License Agreementscreen. On this

screen, read through the License Agreement, and click on "I accept the terms in the

license agreement".

Your screen should now look like Figure 10, which is shown on the next page


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Figure 10: The ODBC Connector License Agreement screen

If your screen corresponds to Figure 10, click Next

After clicking Next, you will be presented by the Setup Type screen, which is shown

in Figure 11:

Figure 11: The ODBC Connector Setup Type screen

At this screen, ensure that "Complete" is selected. Then click Next


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After clicking Next, you will be presented with a Ready to installscreen, which is

shown in Figure 12:

Figure 12: The Ready to install screen

At this screen, click Install to start the installation

Please wait patiently until the installation is performed

When the installation is complete, you will be presented by a Wizard Completedscreen.

At this point, your screen should look like Figure 13. At this screen, click Finish.

Figure 13: The Wizard Completed screen


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After the successful installation of the ODBC Connector add-on, just one add-on remains:

The .NET Connector Add-on.

Complete the following steps to install the last add-on, the .NET Connector:

If you have not done so already, please insert the RD Percussion Information System


contents.

You will be presented with two folders. Open the folder titled "Database Installation"

Double-click the file mysql NET to launch the Connector NET Setup Wizard, which is

shown in Figure 14:

Figure 14: The Connector NET Setup Wizard

At the Connector Net Setup Wizard, click Next to continue to the Setup Type screen,

which is shown in Figure 15 on the next page:


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Figure 15: The Setup Type screen

At the Setup Type screen, click on Complete.

After clicking Complete, the Ready to installscreen will be displayed.

As on the previous Ready to install screens, click Install to start the installation

process

When the installation is complete, you will be presented by an Installation Completed

screen. On this screen, click Finish to complete the installation.

Congratulations! All add-on installations are now complete, and the entire database isalmost ready to be used by the Information System.

To finalize the installation of the database, the tables and test data must be loaded. To

create the tables and load the test data, follow these steps:

If you have not done so already, please insert the RD Percussion Information System


contents.

You will be presented with two folders; Open the folder titled "Database Installation"

Double-click the file Setup Database.bat

After executing the file, you will see a quick glimpse of a window opening and

closing. This means that the database is set up correctly and that the DatabaseInstallation process is now complete!


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Installing the RD Percussion Information System

After following the process described under Installing the Database, complete the following

steps to install the RD Percussion Information System:

To install the RD Percussion Information System, insert the RD Percussion

Information System CD-ROM into your computer and navigate to My Computer to

browse the CD contents.

You will be presented with 2 folders. Open the folder titled

"RD Percussion Information System"

Inside the folder, double-click the file setup.exe After executing setup.exe, you will be presented with the RD Percussion Setup

Welcome screen, which is shown in Figure 16:

Figure 16: The RD Percussion Setup Welcome screen

At this screen, click Next to continue with the setup.

After clicking Next, you will be presented with the Select Installation Folderscreen,

as shown in Figure 17:

If you have not already performed the database installation procedure, please

continue to do so now. Attempting to install the RD Percussion Information System

before the database is configured will result in system failure and instability


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Figure 17: The Select Installation Folder screen

At this screen, change the folder path by replacing the "Default Company Name"

section with your company name. In this implementation, replace it with RD

Percussion

After changing the path as appropriate, click Next to continue to the Confirm

Installation screen.

At the Confirm Installation screen, click Next to start the installation

Please wait patiently while the system installs When the installation is completed, click Close to complete the installation process.

Congratulations! The RD Percussion Information System is now successfully installed. If you

also followed the procedures under Installing the Database and Components, the entire

information system is now ready to be used!

Note that a desktop shortcut titled RD Percussion Information System is also placed

on your desktop. To run the system, just double click this shortcut!


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Launching The System



After successful installation, the system is now ready to be used. To launch the system,

double-click its icon on the desktop, which should be titled "RD Percussion Information

System". When the system is launched, the first dialog that is displayed is the Login Dialog.

The Login Dialog

The Login Dialog is the first dialog displayed when the system is launched and controls who

may or may not access the system. At this dialog, you are request to enter your Database

username and password, as shown in Figure 18:

Figure 18: The Login Dialog

The RD Percussion Information System comes with 3 database accounts, which are

presented in the next table. For system security reasons, it is vital that this user manual,

which now contains the passwords to these accounts, are stored in a safe location.

Account Name Password Privileges

root root ALL (DBA)manager manPass606 ALL, except for data manipulation language

privileges, such as CREATE and DROP

TABLE

clerk clerkPass505 Same as manager (at time of release)

Table 1: Database User Accounts

It is recommended that these user accounts be used for the reason they were created. For

example, when the clerk works with the system, ensure that the clerk logs in as the clerk

user. The root account is reserved for the DBA and the system development personnel

should they need to work directly with the back-end database components, and thus must

not be used by the RD Percussion personnel.

Note that the database account passwords are case-sensitive! Ensure that the case of

the characters in the password are equal to that of the above table to ensure a

seamless login process


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To log in to the system by using the Login Dialog, follow these steps:

When presented with the Login Dialog, enter the appropriate user name next to

"Username:" and the password next to "Password"

Click on Login

If you wish to quit the system, click on Exit instead ofLogin

While interacting with the Login Dialog, you might come across potential error messages.

The following table describes what causes each error and what you should do to correct it:

Error Message Cause Fix

Incorrect username andpassword combination.Please try again

This error will occur ifyou have entered anincorrect username and

password combination.

Ensure that the username andpassword is correct according tothe user accounts table on the

previous page Ensure that the letter case

matches the passwords as

illustrated in the user accounts

table

Please enter a validusername

This error occurs if youdid not enter anythingnext to "Username:"

Type a username next to the"Username:" label

Please enter a validpassword

This error occurs if youdid not enter anything

next to "Password:"

Type a password next to the"Password:" label

Table 2: Known errors and fixes for the Login Dialog

On a successful login, you will be notified with an appropriate message and be presented

with the Main Form, which is described next.


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The Main Form


The Main Form

The Main Form acts as the access point to the rest of the system, and is shown in

Figure 19:

Figure 19: The Main Form

On the figure, the numbers represent the following:1. The Main Menu

-The Main Menu is used to access the all of the different functionalities of the

system. Clicking a menu title might reveal several sub-menus.

2. The Logo Pane

-This pane contains the current RD Percussion business logo

3. The Progress Bar

-If any operation performed on the Main Form requires a certain time to execute, the

progress of the operation will be shown in this progress bar

The contents of each menu title, and their meaning, are described on the next page.

1 2

3


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The Main Form


The File Menu

The File Menu has 3 submenus, namely:

o Backup Database: This submenu is used for backing up the database, and will be

discussed in the section Database Recovery

o Restore Database: This submenu item is used for restoring the database, and will be

discussed in the section Database Recoveryo Exit: The Exit submenu is used to quit the system.

The submenu item that will be used the most under the File Menu is Exit, which is used to

exit the system. To exit the system, follow these steps:

Click File on the Main Menu

Under the File menu, click Exit

The Customer Menu

The Customer Menu has only 1 submenu, titled Manage Customer Data:

The Manage Customer Data submenu is used to launch the Customer Data

Management Form, which is used to manage customer data stored in the database.

The Product Menu

The Product Menu has only 1 submenu, titled Manage Product Data:

The Manage Product Data submenu is used to launch the Product Data Management

Form, which is used to manage the product data stored in the database.

The Sale Menu

The Sale Menu has 2 submenus, namely:

New Invoice: This submenu item is used to launch the Sales Invoice Generator, which

generates a new sales invoice when a sale is to be made in-store

Remove Invoice: This submenu item is used to remove a generated sales invoice from

the database to ensure that no record of that sale exists. This menu item should be

used sparingly and only if an incorrect sales invoice was generated or if a sale was not

completed successfully.

The Report Menu

The Report Menu has only 1 submenu, titled New Report:

The New Report submenu is used to launch the Summary Report Generator, which

generates management summary reports in real-time using database data.

The Help Menu

The Help Menu has only 1 submenu, titled Show Help:

The Show Help submenu is used to display the digital help file, which acts as a

compact version of this manual to be referenced while using the system

You can also exit the system by pressing the Ctrl + X shortcut from anywhere on the

Main Form


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Overview

The Customer Data Management Form is the form used to manage the customer data that

is stored in the database. Through this form, you can:

View all customer records

View a customer record by first name and last name combination Add a new customer record

Delete an existing customer record

Update an existing customer record

To access the Customer Data Management Form, launch it from the Main Form by executing

the following steps:

At the Main Form, click the Customer Main Menu title

Under the Customer Main Menu title, click on the Manage Customer Data

submenu. This will close the Main Form and open the Customer Data Management

Form.

The Customer Data Management Form is shown in Figure 20:

Figure 20: The Customer Data Management Form

31 2

4

You can also launch the Customer Data Management Form by pressing the Ctrl + C

shortcut anywhere on the Main Form


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In the figure above, the numbers represent the following:

1. The Menu

-The Menu on the Customer Data Management Form only has 2 menu titles, called

File and Help.

-Under the File menu, there exists only one submenu, called Go To Main. Click this

submenu to return to the Main Form.-Under the Help menu, there exists only one submenu, called Show Help. Click this

submenu to display the digital help document.

2. The Operations Radio Buttons

-Each operation that can be performed on customer data is represented with an

Operation Radio Button.

3. The Data Viewer

-The Data Viewer will automatically display data if an operation returns data from

the database.

4. The Execute Operation Button

-After selecting an operation and providing all of the required data, click the Execute

Operation Button to have the operation execute against the database.

Each of the operations that can be performed on the Customer Data Management Form will

now be described in detail. These instructions assume that you have the Customer Data

Management Form open. If not, revise the section The Main Form to open the Customer

Data Management Form now.

View All Customers

The View All Customers operation will display all customer records from the database in the

Data Viewer on the form. To view all customers, follow these steps:

Click the View All Customers radio button to ensure that it is selected Click the Execute Operation button

After clicking Execute Operation, all customer records will be returned and be

displayed in the Data Viewer control. The result is displayed in Figure 21, which is

on the next page

Instead of clicking the Execute Operation button every time, you can also just press the

Enter key

Instead of clicking the Execute Operation button every time, you can also just press

the Enter key

If no data is displayed, please revise the section Installation Instructions, or contact

one of the administrators or developers for assistance


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Figure 21: Successful execution of the View all customers operation

View a customer

The View a customer operation displays only one customer record matching the first name

and last name that you provide. The customer search is case-insensitive, so it does not

matter in what case you provide the first name and last name. However, it is advised that

you enter the values starting with an uppercase letter, and the rest in lowercase. Forexample, 'John'.

To view a specific customer record, follow these steps:

Click the View a customer radio button to ensure that it is selected

When clicking the View a customer radio button, the First Name and Last Name fields

will become available.

Enter a customer first name next to the "First Name:" label

Enter a customer last name next to the "Last Name:" label

After entering both values, click the Execute Operation button

After clicking Execute Operation, the appropriate customer record will be returned

and displayed in the Data Viewer. The result is displayed in Figure 22, which is on

the next page. In that figure, I typed 'Billy' as the first name and 'Oxford' as the last

name.


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Figure 22: Successful execution of the View a customer operation

When using the View a customer operation, there are potential error messages that might

be displayed. The following table describes each error message, indicating what caused it

and what you can do to fix it:

Error Message Cause FixPlease enter a first name This error is displayed if you

did not enter anything next

to the "First Name:" label

Enter a first name nextto the "First Name:"

label

Please enter a last name This error is displayed if youdid not enter anything next

to the "Last Name:" label

Enter a last name nextto the "Last Name:" label

No customer record

matches the values

provided. Please try again

This error occurs if no record

matching the provided first

name and last namecombination was found.

Ensure that the

customer exists by

executing View AllCustomers.

Ensure that you typed

the first name and lastname correctly

Table 3: Known errors and fixes for the View a customer operation


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Add a customer

The Add a customer operation allows you to add a new customer to the database. To ensure

database integrity, each value provided will be checked for correctness in terms of length

and data type.

To add a customer, follow these steps: Click the Add a customer radio button to ensure that it is selected

When clicking the Add a customer radio button, 4 fields will become available: First

Name, Last Name, Address, and Phone

Enter the customer's first name next to the "First Name:" label

Enter the customer's last name next to the "Last Name:" label

Enter the customer's address next to the "Address:" label. Here, ensure that the

Address is in the format 'number streetName'

Enter the customer's phone number next to the "Phone:" label.

After entering all 4 values, click the Execute Operation button to add the customer

to the database.

After adding the customer, all customer records will be displayed in the Data Viewer.Use this to ensure that the customer was successfully added.

When a customer record is successfully added, your screen will look like Figure 23,

where I added a new customer, Anthony Johnson:

Figure 23: Successful execution of the Add a customer operation


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When using the Add a Customer operation, there are potential error messages that might

be displayed. The following table describes each error message, indicating what caused it

and what you can do to fix it:


Please enter a first name This error is displayed if youdid not enter anything nextto the "First Name:" label

Enter a first name nextto the "First Name:"label

Please ensure that the first

name does not contain anynumbers

This error is displayed if the

first name you enteredcontains numeric digits

Ensure that the first

name contains onlyalphabetical characters,

and no numbers orspecial characters

Please enter a last name This error is displayed if you

did not enter anything nextto the "Last Name:" label

Enter a last name next


Please ensure that the last



last name you enteredcontains numeric digits

Ensure that the last



Please enter an address This error is displayed if youdid not enter anything next

to the "Address:" label

Enter a valid addressnext to the "Address:"

label

Please enter a phone

number

This error is displayed if you

did not enter anything nextto the "Phone:" label

Enter a phone number

next to the "Phone:"label

Please ensure that thephone number contains onlynumbers

This error is displayed if youentered letters or specialcharacters anywhere in the

phone number

Ensure that the phonenumber next to the"Phone:" label contains

only numeric characters

Please ensure that thephone number has a length

of 10 digits

This error is displayed if thephone number you entered

contains less than 10numeric digits

Enter a phone numbernext to the "Phone:"

label that contains 10numeric digits

That customer already

exists in the database

The customer you are trying

to add is already in thedatabase

Continue without adding

the customer becausethe record already exists

Table 4: Known errors and fixes for the Add a customer operation

The customer information that you provide to the 4 fields are NOT case sensitive!The system will automatically change the case for the first name, last name, and

address as appropriate. However, try to use the correct case as far as possible.


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Remove a customer

The Remove a customer operation allows you to remove an existing customer record from

the database. However, if there are orders associated with the customer, you will not be

able to remove the customer before the order is also removed.

To remove a customer, follow these steps:

Click the Remove a customer radio button to ensure that it is selected

The moment you click the radio button, all customer records will be displayed in the

Data Viewer.

Use the mouse to select the customer record to remove

Click the Execute Operation button to remove the customer After clicking Execute Operation, you will be presented with a dialog confirming

whether you want to remove the customer. Click Yes to remove the customer or No

to cancel the operation

After clicking Yes, the customer is removed. This is illustrated in Figure 24, in which

I removed the customer I added earlier, Anthony Johnson:

Figure 24: Successful execution of the Remove a customer operation

As a rule of thumb, do not remove any customer or order records. Removing records

will cause summary data to become unreliable. Only use remove options when really

needed.


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Update a customer

The Update a customer operation allows you to update an existing customer record in the

database. When updating customer information, all new values will first be evaluated for

correctness. Through this operation, you can update any combination of details

To update an existing customer record, follow these steps: Click the Update a customer radio button to ensure that it is selected

When clicking the Update a customer radio button, 4 fields will become available

Enter the customer's first name next to the "First Name:" label if you wish to update

the customer's first name. Else, leave it blank

Enter the customer's last name next to the "Last Name:" label if you wish to update

the customer's last name. Else, leave it blank

Enter the customer's address next to the "Address:" label if you wish to update the

customer's address. Else, leave it blank

Enter the customer's phone number next to the "Phone:" label if you wish to update

the customer's phone number. Else, leave it blank

After entering the required values for this update, click the Execute Operationbutton to update the customer record in the database.

After updating the customer, all customer records will be displayed in the Data

Viewer. Use this to ensure that the customer details were successfully updated.

If I were to update the existing customer, Estel Perron, and change her last name to

Johnson and her phone number to 0723306060, the screen would look like

Figure 25:

Figure 25: Successful execution of the Update a customer operation


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When using the Update a Customer operation, there are potential error messages that

might be displayed. The following table describes each error message, indicating what

caused it and what you can do to fix it:


Please enter at least onenew value to update therecord with

This error is displayed if youdid not provide any newvalues next to any of the

control labels

Provide at least a newfirst name, last name,address, or phone

number to update the

record with

Please ensure that the first



first name you enteredcontains numeric digits

Ensure that the first



Please ensure that the last

name does not contain any

numbers


last name you entered

contains numeric digits

Ensure that the last

name contains only

alphabetical characters,and no numbers orspecial characters

Please ensure that thephone number contains only

numbers

This error is displayed if youentered letters or special

characters anywhere in thephone number

Ensure that the phonenumber next to the

"Phone:" label containsonly numeric characters

Please ensure that thephone number contains 10

digits

This error is displayed thephone number you entered

contains less than 10

numeric digits

Enter a phone numbernext to the "Phone:"

label that contains 10

numeric digits

Table 5: Known errors and fixes for the Update a customer operation

Returning to the Main Form

When you are done using the Customer Data Management Form, return to the Main Form

by following these steps:

Click File in the Menu

Click Go To Main

Remember that if you do not want to update a specific value, such as the first name

for example, just leave that field blank, and enter only the values you wish to update.

Alternatively, you can return to the Main Form by pressing the Ctrl + M shortcut

anywhere on the Customer Data Management Form


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Overview

The Product Data Management Form is used to manage the product data that is stored in

the database. Through this form, you can:

View all products of a specific product category View all products that match a provided keyword

Add a new product to a product category

Delete a product from a product category

Update a product in a product category

To access the Product Data Management Form, launch it from the Main Form by executing

the following steps:

At the Main Form, click the Product Main Menu title

Under the Product Main Menu title, click on the Manage Product Data submenu.

This will close the Main Form and open the Product Data Management Form.

The Product Data Management Form is shown in Figure 26:

Figure 26: The Product Data Management Form

You can also launch the Product Data Management Form by pressing the Ctrl + P

shortcut anywhere on the Main Form

1 2 3

54


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1. The Menu

-The Product Data Management Form Menu has 2 menu titles, called File and Help.


submenu to return to the Main Form.

-Under the Help menu, there exists only one submenu, called Show Help. Click thissubmenu to display the digital help document.

2. The Product Type Selector

-The Product Type selector is the control that should always be the first one used to

perform any operation. In this control, you select the product category, or type, that

you wish to manipulate.

3. The Data Viewer

-The Data Viewer will automatically display data if an operation returns data from

the database.

4. The Operations Radio Buttons

-Each operation that can be performed on the product data is represented by an

Operation Radio button.


-After selecting an operation and providing all of the required data, click the Execute

Operation Button to have the operation execute against the database.

The operations that can be performed on the Product Data Management Form, represented

as radio buttons, will now be described in detail. These instructions assume that you have

the Product Data Management Form open. If not, revise the section The Main Form to open

the Product Data Management Form.

View all products

The View all products operation retrieves all of the products that match the selected product

type and displays them in the Data Viewer. To view all of the products of a specific product

type, follow these steps:

Select a Product Type by clicking any of the types beneath the heading "Choose a

product type"

After selecting a product type, the Operations Radio buttons will become active.

Click the View all products radio button to ensure that it is selected

Click the Execute Operation button.

After clicking the Execute Operation button, all records matching the selected

product type will be returned and displayed in the Data Viewer. This result is shown

in Figure 27, where I display all products under the 'Electric Guitar' category:

Before trying to perform any operation, ALWAYS first select the product type. This

ensures that the system does not make changes that you did not intend.


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Figure 27: The successful execution of the View all products operation

View a product by keyword

The View a product by keyword operation executes similar to a search engine: you can type

in any keyword that is longer than 2 letters and all product records (under the selected

product category) that contain that keyword anywhere in its name, is displayed. This makes

it easy to view all of the products by a specific manufacturer, for example.

To view a product by keyword, follow these steps:


product type"


Click the View a product by keyword radio button to ensure that it is selected

After clicking the radio button, a keyword field will become active.

In this field, type in the keyword to search for. For example, if you selected 'Guitar

Amplifier', and are looking for amplifiers manufactured by Peavey, type in 'Peavey'.

After providing the keyword, click the Execute Operation button

After clicking Execute Operation, all product records under the selected category

containing that keyword will be displayed in the Data Viewer. See Figure 28 on the

next page.

After executing one operation, all operation controls will be disabled, and the

product type will be deselected. To do another operation, start by selecting the

a ro riate roduct cate or before continuin


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Figure 28: The successful execution of the View a product by keyword operation

When using the View a product by keyword operation, there are two potential error

messages that might occur. The following table describes each error message, indicating

what caused it and what you can do to fix it:

Error Message Cause FixPlease enter a valid product

keyword


did not enter anything belowthe "Keyword to search for:"

label

Another cause for this error

is if the keyword is less thantwo letters

Enter a keyword below

the "Keyword to searchfor:" label

Ensure that the keywordcontains more than two

consecutive letters.

The keyword matched noproduct records of this type

This error is displayed if thekeyword provided cannot be

found in any records of theselected product type

Ensure that the keywordis valid

Ensure that the selectedproduct type is valid

Change the keyword to

make it shorter, and sohave the change of

matching more records

Table 6: Known errors and fixes for the View a product by keyword operation


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Add a new product

The Add a new product operation allows you to add a new product to any product type,

depending on which type you select at the top of the form. When adding a product, the

product names are checked to ensure that the casing is correct, and prices are also checked

and formatted to ensure data integrity.

To add a new product, perform the following steps:


product type"


Click the Add a new product radio button to ensure that it is selected

When clicking the Add a new product radio button, two fields will become available:

Name and Price

Enter the product name next to the "Name:" label. The product name refers to how

the product is called, mostly by the customers, and not a low-level product

identification number

Enter the product price. If the price contains fractions, use a period(.) and not acomma. For example, 320.99 and not 320,99

When done providing the product values, click the Execute Operation button to add

the product.

After clicking the Execute Operation radio button, all product records of the selected

type will be displayed. Use this to you confirm that the product was added.

This is shown in Figure 29, where I add a new accessory, the Peavey Chorus Pedal:

Figure 29: The successful execution of the Add a new product operation


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When using the Add a Product operation, there are potential error messages that might be

displayed. The following table describes each error message, indicating what caused it and

what you can do to fix it:


Please enter the name ofthe product

This error is displayed if youdid not enter anything nextto the "Name:" label

Enter a name of theproduct next to the"Name:" label

Please enter the product

price


did not enter anything nextto the "Price:" label

Enter the product price

next to the "Price:" label

Please ensure that the pricecontains only numbers

This error is displayed if theprice you entered contains

letters or special characters

anywhere in the price.

Enter a product pricethat contains only

numbers.

Ensure that the priceuses a period (.) to

indicate fractions, and

not a comma Ensure that you did not

include a currency

symbol, such as R, in the

price.

That product already existsin the database

This error message isdisplayed if the product youare trying to add already

exists in the product

category you selected

The product alreadyexists, so either checkthat the category is

correct or continue

without adding theproduct.

Table 7: Known errors and fixes for the Add a product operation

The product name information is NOT case sensitive! The system will automatically

change the case for the name as appropriate, but try to use the correct case as far as

possible.

Remember to use a period (.) to indicate a fraction in the product price and not a

comma!


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Remove a product

The Remove a product operation allows you to remove an existing product record from the

product category you choose at the top of the form. However, if there are past orders that

are associated with this product, you will not be able to remove the product before the

order is also removed.

To remove a product, follow these steps:


product type"


Click the Remove a new product radio button to ensure that it is selected

When clicking the Remove a new product radio button, all product records of the

selected product type will be displayed in the Data Viewer.

In the Data Viewer, use the mouse to select the product to remove

After selecting the record, click the Execute Operation button.

When clicking the Execute Operation button, you will be presented by a dialog asking

you to confirm the delete operation. Click Yes to remove the record or No to cancel

to operation

If you clicked Yes, the record will be removed and all records of the selected product

type will be displayed again. Use this to confirm that record was actually removed.

See Figure 30 on the next page. Here I delete the product that I added earlier, thePeavey Chorus Pedal.

As mentioned earlier, avoid removing records, especially products. Summary reports

depend on product records, and removing records will make the results less reliable.

Although you will not be able to remove a product that is associated with an order, it

is still in the user's best interest to understand why it is not recommended.

Note that I was able to remove the product successfully because this product is not

associated with any past orders. This is the key to determine whether you should

remove a product record or not: If the product is associated with past orders, do not

remove it. Otherwise, removing a product will have no effect on the system


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Figure 30: The successful execution of the Remove a product operation

Update a product

The Update a product operation allows you to update either the name or price of the

product, or both. The product that is updated depends on the product type that you select

at the top of the form. Also, all new values will also be validated to ensure data integrity.

To update a product, follow these steps:


product type"


Click the Update a product radio button to ensure that it is selected

When clicking the Update a new product radio button, all product records of the

selected product type will be displayed in the Data Viewer.

In the Data Viewer, use the mouse to select the product to update

To update the selected product's name, enter a new name next to the "Name:" label.

Else, leave the field blank.

To update the product's price, enter a new price next to the "Price:" label. Else, leavethe field blank

Once you have provided at least one new value, click the Execute Operation

button.

After clicking the Execute Operation button, the product will be updated and all

product records will be displayed in the Data Viewer. Use this to confirm that the

product was successfully updated


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See Figure 31, where I update the product 'Mason Grand Piano' to set its new price

to 22 500:

Figure 31: The successful operation of the Update a product operation

When using the Update a product operation, there are potential error messages that might

be displayed. The following table describes each error message, indicating what caused itand what you can do to fix it:


Please enter at least one

new value to update the

record with


did not provide any new

values next to any of thecontrol labels

Provide at least a new

product name or price to

update the record with

Please ensure that the price

contains only numbers


price value you enteredcontains letters or special

characters

Ensure that the price

contains only numericalcharacters

Ensure that you have

used a period (.) toindicate fractions

Ensure that you did not

include a currency

symbol, such as R

Table 8: Known errors and fixes for the Update a product operation


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Returning to the Main Form

When you are done using the Product Data Management Form, return to the Main Form by

following these steps:

Click File in the Menu

Click Go To Main

Remember that if you do not want to update a specific value, such as the product

price for example, just leave that field blank and enter only the values you wish to

update.

Alternatively, you can return to the Main Form by pressing the Ctrl + M shortcut

anywhere on the Product Data Management Form


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Overview

The Sales Invoice Generator is the form that is used when a customer wants to purchase in

store. By using this form, you will receive the following benefits:

You do not have to manually enter any customer information! Just search for thecustomer and the appropriate customer record is selected and used for the sale.

You do not have to manually enter product data! Just choose the product type and

add the applicable product to the sale, all by just using the mouse.

You do not have to manually calculate sales subtotals and grand totals! This process

is now automated as well.

You do not have to write out sales invoices by hand anymore! After selecting the

information, the sales invoice is generated automatically and displayed in a standard

format.

To access the Sales Invoice Generator, launch it from the Main Form by executing the

following steps:

At the Main Form, click the Sale Main Menu title

Under the Sale Main Menu item, click on the New Invoice submenu. This will close

the Main Form and open the Sales Invoice Generator.

If the customer just wants information on a product, use the View a product by keyword operation of t

Remember, the Sales Invoice Generator should only be used when the customer is

ready to make a purchase.

You can also launch the Sales Invoice Generator by pressing the Ctrl + I shortcut

anywhere on the Main Form

If a customer requests product information, do not use the Sales Invoice Generator;

Rather use the Product Data Management Form.

If a customer requests his or her own customer information, also do not use the Sales

Invoice Generator; Rather use the Customer Data Management Form.


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The Sales Invoice Generator will then appear, which is shown Figure 32:

Figure 32: The Sales Invoice Generator


1. The Menu

-The Menu on the Sales Invoice Generator only has 2 menu titles, called File and

Help.



-Under the Help menu, there exists only one submenu, called Show Help. Click this


2. The Order Number Indicator

-This indicator represents the order number for this sale. This value is automatically

determined by examining how many orders exist in the database and then

selects the next available number for this order.

3. The Customer Data Pane

-The Customer Data Pane is used to select the customer for this sale

1 2 3 4

5 6 8 9 107


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4. The Add Product button

-The Add Product button is used to add a product to the Products Added List(9).

5. The Discounts Pane

-The Discounts Pane is used to apply discounts to any of the products in the Products

Added List(9).

6. The Product Type Selector-In the Product type selector, select the product type by click on the appropriate

category. When clicking a product type, all products of that type are automatically

displayed in the Product Data Viewer (7).

7. The Product Data Viewer

-The Product Data Viewer automatically displays all products that are of the selected

product type.

8. The Remove Product button

-The Remove Product button is used to remove a product from the Products Added

List(9).

9. The Products Added List

-The Products Added List represents all of the products that the customer wants to

purchase. These products are added using the Add Product button(4) and

removed from the list by using the Remove Product button(8). In addition, the

Products Added List also represents the quantities of each product requested.


-After selecting the customer, adding the products, and applying any applicable

discounts, the Execute Operation button is clicked to generate and display the

invoice.

To successfully generate a sales invoice, follow these steps in order:

Step 1: Select the customer for the order by using the Customer Data Pane Step 2: Add and remove products by using the product controls

Step 3: Apply any applicable discounts

Step 4: Generate the Invoice.

Each step will now be discussed in more detail.


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Step 1: Selecting the Customer

-The first step to generate the sales invoice is to select the customer. To select the

customer, perform the following steps:

In the Customer Data Pane, type in the customer's first name next to the "First

Name:" label

Then, type the customer's last name next to the "Last Name:" label. Click the Show Data button

Clicking the Show Data button will search for the customer in the database. If the

customer is found, the customer record will be displayed in the data viewer next to

the Show Data button, and will also be automatically selected for this sale.

A successful execution of this step, where I search for the customer Billy Oxford, is

shown in Figure 33:

Figure 33: Successfully adding a customer to the invoice

As a rule of thumb, always first check if the customer exists in the database by using

the Customer Data Management Form. If the customer does not exist, add that

customer first by using the Add a customer operation on that form before continuing.


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While adding a customer to the invoice, potential error messages might be displayed when

the Show Data button is clicked. The following table describes each message, what caused

it, and what you can do to fix it:


Please enter a first name This error is displayed if youdid not enter anything nextto the "First Name:" label

Enter a first name nextto the "First Name:"label

Please enter a last name This error is displayed if you

did not enter anything nextto the "Last Name:" label

Enter a last name next


No customer recordmatches the values

provided. Please try again

This error occurs if no recordmatching the provided first

name and last name

combination was found.

Ensure that you typedthe first name and last

name correctly

If the values are correct,proceed to the Customer

Data Management form

and add the newcustomer. Then, returnto this form to continue

with the invoice.

Table 9: Known errors and fixes for adding a customer to an invoice

Step 2: Add and Remove ProductsThis step uses the product controls, which are the Product Type Selector, the Product Data

Viewer, the Add Product button, the Remove Product button, and the Products Added List.

To add a product to the Products Added List, follow these steps:

Under the Product Type Selector, click the appropriate product type.

After clicking the product type, all products of that type are automatically displayed

in the Product Data Viewer

The Product Data Viewer sorts the products alphabetically, so scroll until you find the

required product. Then, click that product to select it

Once the product is selected, click the Add Product button, which is represented by a

> sign After clicking the Add Product button, the product should now appear in the Products

Added List with a quantity of x1.

To increase the quantity, click the Add Product button again until the quantity

reflects the required amount.

Repeat the above steps to add more products

A successful execution of this step can be seen in Figure 34:

Searching for customers are NOT case sensitive! However, always try to use the proper

case to ensure that the process is executed correctly


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Figure 34: Successfully added products and their required quantities

When adding a product, there is only 1 potential error that can occur:


Please select a product typefirst

This error is displayed if youclick the Add Product buttonwithout selecting a product

type and a product first

Select the appropriateproduct type, then theproduct itself before

attempting to click theAdd Product button

Table 10: Known errors and fixes for adding a product to an invoice

If you added a product incorrectly, or added an incorrect quantity, use the Remove Product

button to remove the product or to reduce the quantity. Removing products is discussed

next.


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To remove a product from the Products Added List, follow these steps:

In the Products Added list, select the product by clicking it

If the selected product has a quantity of 1, clicking the Remove Product button will

remove the product entirely from the Products Added List.

If the product has a quantity of 2 or greater, clicking the Remove Product button will

reduce the product quantity by 1. See Figure 35, where remove the Epiphone Guitar and reduce the Tama Hyperdrive

drums quantity to 1:

Figure 35: Successfully removing of a product and reduction of quantity

When removing a product or reducing the quantity from the list, there are 2 potential errors

that can occur:


There are no products inthe product list to remove This error is displayed if youclick the Remove Productbutton while the Products

Added list is empty

Add at least 1 product tothe Products Added List

Please select a product in

the product list

This error occurs if you

clicked the Remove Product

button without selecting aproduct in the list

Select a product in the

Product Added List

before clicking theRemove Product button.

Table 11: Known errors and fixes for removing a product/quantity from an invoice


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Step 3: Adding Discounts

Once you are satisfied with the products and their quantities as represented in the Products

Added List, you can continue to apply discounts to the individual products.

To add a discount to the product, follow these steps:

Click the Discounts checkbox to enable the Discounts Pane

When the Discounts Pane is enabled, you will be presented with two controls

The first control is a dropdown control, which contains the products that you added

to the Products Added List

Click on the dropdown control to display the product names, which should

correspond to the products you added

Select the product to which you want to apply a discount

The second control, next to the "Discount:" label, will now contain a discount of 0.

Enter the discount you want as a percentage. Then, click the Set Discount button.

For example, if you want to discount the product selling price by 10%, enter 10.

After setting the discounts, you can determine whether the discount was correctly

set by just reselecting the product in the Product dropdown control. The control next

to the "Discount:" label should now reflect the discount you entered.

Refer to Figure 36, where I apply a discount of 10% to the Tama Hyperdrive

product:

Note that discounts apply to the product as well as the quantity. For example, adding

a discount on the product Tama Hyperdrive, and you sell a quantity of 2 in this sale,

both products' selling price will be reduced by the discount!

If you wish to apply the discount to only a specific portion of a quantity, rather create

two invoices: One containing the quantities that will be discounted, and another for

the quantities that must be charged at full price.

An important note to make regarding discounts is that the value you enter MUST be

a percentage. DO NOT enter the discount as a decimal value, and also do not enter

the % sign.

The product drop-down control is updated dynamically. This means that you can still

change the contents of the Products Added List after setting discounts because the

control is automatically updated to reflect all changes


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Figure 36: Successfully applying a discount to a product

When working with discounts, there are two potential errors that can occur:


Please select a product from

the product drop-down

control under the Discountssection

This error will occur if you

click the Set Discount button

without first selecting aproduct from the Product

drop-down control

Select a product from

the Product drop-down

control

Ensure that the discountpercentage contains only

numeric numbers

This error occurs if you entera discount value that

contains numbers or specialcharacters

Ensure that the discountvalue only contains

numeric characters

Table 12: Known errors and fixes when working with discounts

If you wish to remove a discount that you have set on a product, just reselect the

product in the Product drop-down control and set its discount to back to 0.


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Step 4: Generating the Invoice

The last step in the process is to actually generate the invoice. If you have performed the

previous 3 steps correctly, the form should now contain all of the required data.

Once you are sure the information is correct, and the customer is ready to finalize the

purchase, follow these steps to generate the invoice:

Click the Generate Invoice button

When you click the Generate Invoice button, you will be presented with a dialog

confirming whether the sale is ready to be finalized.

Click Yes if the customer is ready to finalize the purchase, or No if he or she is not.

If you click Yes, you will be presented with the sales invoice in the Invoice Viewer

When you are presented with the invoice, you have 2 options: You can export the invoice to

PDF or print the invoice. It is recommended that you print the invoice and supply it with the

product to the customer.

To print the invoice, follow these steps:

In the Invoice Viewer, click the Print icon in the menu of the viewer ( )

After clicking the Print Icon, you will be presented with a Standard Windows Print

Dialog

Select your printer Click OK to print the Invoice

To export the invoice to PDF, follow these steps:

In the Invoice Viewer, click the Export Report icon in the menu of the viewer ( )

After clicking the Export Report icon, you will be presented with a standard Windows

Save Dialog

Type in a name for the invoice. A good file name might be the customer name and

the date on which the invoice was generated to make it easier for future reference

Click the Save button

After exporting the Invoice, you can view it in any standard PDF viewer.

See Figure 37 on the next page, which represents the invoice I generated for the

example sale used throughout this section.

Note that when you generate an invoice, the sale data is automatically recorded into

the database. Therefore, ensure that the customer is ready to finalize the purchase

before continuing with this step. Failure to do so will cause the data in the summary

reports to be unreliable.


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Figure 37: The generated sales invoice for the example sale

When you are done with the invoice, press the X in the top right corner of the

Invoice Viewer.

You will be presented with a dialog confirming whether you would like to continue to

use the system.

Click No to quit the system entirely or Yes to return to the Main Form


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Removing Invoices


Removing Invoices

As it was previously mentioned, it is not recommended that you remove previously

generated invoices, because doing so might make summary data less reliable.

However, sometimes it might be required to remove an invoice that was generated. The

following are typical scenarios in which you might need this functionality: You generate an invoice for the customer, but he or she decides not to finalize the

purchase

The customer returns a purchased product and wants a complete refund. The invoice

should therefore not exist in the system

An invoice was incorrectly generated because of incorrect products, incorrect

quantities, or incorrect discount amounts.

To remove an invoice, follow these steps:

Ensure that you are at the Main Form before continuing.

On the Main Form, click the Sale Main Menu title.

Clicking the Sale Main Menu title will display two submenus items: New Invoice and

Remove Invoice

Click the Remove Invoice submenu item

Clicking Remove Invoice will present you with a dialog into which you must enter the

invoice or order number. This dialog is represented in Figure 38:

Figure 38: Removing an invoice

You can also access the Remove Invoice Dialog by pressing the Ctrl + Shift + I shortcut

anywhere on the main form.


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Removing Invoices


In the area provided, type the invoice/order number. If the order was made some

time ago, go through your exported invoices to find the appropriate invoice. The

invoice number is located in the top right corner

After entering the invoice number, click OK to remove the invoice.

When you click OK, you will be presented with a confirmation dialog. The reason for

this dialog is to prevent accidental deletion. At this dialog, click Yes to remove the invoice or No to cancel the operation

When removing an invoice, you might be presented with only 2 potential error messages:


Invalid order number This error message is

displayed if you enter letters

or special characters as theorder/invoice number

Provide a correct invoice

number that only

contains numericaldigits, as per the

exported invoices.

No order matches the order

number provided

This error occurs when the

order number you provideddoes not occur as an

order/invoice number in thedatabase. This can occur if

the order does not exist or is

already removed.

Ensure that the order

number is valid If the issue persists,

then the invoice isalready removed.

Table 13: Known errors and fixes when removing past invoices.

Throughout the system, the terms order and sale are used interchangeably.


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Overview

The Summary Report Generator is the form that is typically used by the manager account,

and is used to get summary information on the business activities. Through this form, the

manager can generate 3 types of real-time reports, which include:

Total sales by product type-This report displays the total sales that have been made for the specified time

period, such as a day, week, or month. The total sales are indicated in terms of unit

sold as well as the rand value of those sales, organized by product type.

-This report uses the data from the order, customer, product, and product type

tables to give the manager an indication which of the product types/categories

are selling the most. This information might reveal to management which categories

should be stocked in greater variety and quantity.

Total sales made by every customer

-This report displays the total rand value of sales that has been made by each active

customer within a specified time period, such as a day, week, or month.

-This report uses data from the orders and customers tables of the database, and

allows management to determine which customers are their top customers and how

much money they spend at the business. This information might then be used as a

basis to direct marketing strategies, offer promotions, or implement other initiatives

to keep the top customers interested.

Product quantities sold to every customer

-This report displays how many products, organized by product category, have been

sold to every active customer for a given time period.

-Through this report, management can identify the interests of the customers, which

allows them to send more appropriate marketing material and promotions to each

individual customer.

To access the Sales Invoice Generator, launch it from the Main Form by executing the

following steps:

At the Main Form, click the Report Main Menu title

Under the Report Main Menu title, click on the New Report submenu item. This will

close the Main Form and open the Summary Report Generator.

It is recommended that you use the RD Percussion Information System for normal

business activities at least for 3-4 weeks before using the Summary Report

Generator. Although it can be used before that time, it will only provide better

insight once the database contains more business data.

You can also launch the Summary Report Generator by pressing the Ctrl + R shortcut

anywhere on the Main Form


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The Summary Report Generator will then appear, which is shown Figure 39:

Figure 39: The Summary Report Generator

On the figure above, the numbers represent the following:

1. The Menu

-The Menu on the Sales Invoice Generator has only 2 menu titles, called File and

Help.



-Under the Help menu, there exists only one submenu, called Show Help. Click this


2. The Report Type Selector

-The Report Type Selector is a dropdown control from which you can choose the

report to generate. The control offers 3 options, which represent the 3 report types

described in the Overviewsection3. The Start Date Selector

-The Start Date Selector presents a calendar when clicked. Use this calendar to

choose the start date of the period that the summary report should cover

4. The End Date Selector

-The End Date Selector also presents a calendar when clicked. Use this calendar to

choose the end date of the period that the summary report should cover

1 2 3 4

5 6


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5. The Summary Report Viewer

-The Summary Report Viewer is the area in which the actual summary report will be

displayed.

6. The Generate Report button

-The Generate Report button is the button that is clicked to actually generate the

report after the report type, start date, and end date has been selected

Generating a Summary Report:

To generate a summary report, follow these steps:

From the Report Type Selector, choose the report to generate

Click on the Start Date Selector to bring up the start date calendar. Choose the

start date of the period that the report should cover.

Click the End Date Selector to bring up the end date calendar. Choose the end date

of the period that the report should cover

Click the Generate Report button

After clicking the Generate Report button, the report will be generated and displayed

in the Summary Report Viewer

See Figure 40, in which I generate a summary report of total sales by product type

for the period 15 October to 19 October:

Figure 40: Successful generation of a summary report

Note that the dates you choose as the start date and end date are also included in

the result. For example, if you choose the start date to be 7 October 2012 and the

end date to be 9 October 2012, orders that occurred on those days are also included

in the results.


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When generating summary reports, one potential error might occur:


No data matches the datevalues selected.

This error message isdisplayed if no ordersoccurred between the start

date and end date values

selected.

Select a different dateperiod, or increase therange to include more

data.

Table 14: Known errors and fixes when generating summary reports

The following are examples of how to select the start date and end dates to get the most

commonly used report date periods: To generate a summary report for only a specific day, choose the start date and end

date for that day so that they are the same. For example, to display summary

information for only 19 October, select the start date as 19 October and the end date

as 19 October as well.

To generate a summary report for a week, select the start date as a Monday and the

end date as a Friday/Sunday, depending on the operating hours of the business.

To generate a summary report for a month, select the start date as the first of the

month and the end date as the last day of the month.

Once the report is generated, you can choose to print the report or the save it as PDF:

To print the report, follow these steps:

In the Summary Report Viewer, click the Print icon in the menu of the viewer ( )

After clicking the Print Icon, you will be presented with a Standard Windows Print

Dialog

Select your printer

Click OK to print the Invoice

After generating one summary report, you do not have to reload the form to

generate another! Just select a different report or a different

User Manual and Installation

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