Attaching Documents
What do 8 Track cassettes, telex machines and typewriters all have in common? They are now obsolete. Here’s another thing to add to that list – filing cabinets. Just like MP3s replaced 8 Tracks, ESC can replace your filing cabinets. Why waste time and space with paper when you can store everything electronically? After all, going electronic is the way to go. Just look at the benefits you get by storing your documents in ESC:
- Documents are stored as data. This makes updating them quick & easy.
- Documents are available immediately on your desktop.
- Documents are well organized and searchable.
- Documents are backed up every day. You are making backups of ESC, right?
If this sounds good to you, keep reading to learn how to take advantage of this powerful feature in ESC.
Adding Documents
Documents can be attached to customers, dispatches, invoices, service agreements and equipment. To add a document to any of these areas simply click the Documents tab on the appropriate screen. Once there you can add documents using any of the following methods:
- Click the Add New button. This will allow you to browse to the file you want to attach. To select multiple files at the same time hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard as you click the files.
Note: if you do this on the Customer Entry screen you will have to select Add New followed by Add File.
- Right click a blank area on the Documents tab and select Add File.
- Drag files from anywhere and drop them on the Documents tab. If ESC is covered by other programs, drag the files over the ESC icon on your taskbar to make it visible then drag the files onto the Documents tab and drop them.
- Copy any number of files by selecting them and pressing Ctrl+C. Click anywhere in the Documents tab then press Ctrl+V to paste.
When you add the document you will be given a chance to rename it. If the existing file name is not descriptive enough, take this opportunity to fix it. You will also have the ability to remove the file from its original location. We recommend doing this to prevent confusion. If the original file is not removed it is always possible that the person that attached the document will later modify the one on their hard drive instead of the one in ESC. This can cause different versions of the same file and should be avoided.
The most important part of adding a document is making sure you save the record you attached it to when you are done. Forget this step and the document will not be attached.
Viewing & Modifying Documents
Now that you have added documents everyone has access to them. To view all attached documents for a particular customer click on the Documents tab of the Qualification screen. This will show you the name of all documents for that customer, the date they were added, the name of the person that last modified the document and – most importantly – the record they were attached to.
To view a document in read only mode you can double click the attachment directly on the Qualification screen. If you need to modify the document, note the record the document is attached to and recall it. Then go to the Documents tab and double click the document from there. Be sure to save both the document and the record it is attached to in order to commit the changes.
If you remember the name of the document but not the customer you can find the customer using the Search Attached Documents screen (under the Customer Info pull-down menu). Enter the name of the document (partial names are OK) and select module where the attachment was made. Select the Customer module if you are unsure which module was used to attach the document, as it will show all documents regardless of where they were attached. Click Find to display the list.
Right click one of the found records and select Open Document to view the attachment. To modify one of the found records right click it and select Recall Source Record. Then go to the Documents tab and double click the attachment from there. As mentioned before, be sure to save both the document and the record or your changes will vanish.
Other Cool Tricks
It is also possible to copy the file from the database onto your computer. This can be useful if you have to send the file to someone. Right click the attachment on the Documents tab and select Extract to make this happen. This will keep the file in the database but also make a copy on your hard drive in the location you specify.
Other options in the right-click menu include Rename, which can be handy if you substantially modify the document and want to note that, and Delete, which will remove the document from the database permanently.
So there it is – everything you need to know about saving your documents into ESC. Get started now and you’ll never have to buy another filing cabinet again. |
