Link Manager
The Link Manager allows you to connect individual records in any register to each other. After linking records together, you can open them from each other quickly and easily, without needing to search for them in browse windows or in reports.
In the top right-hand corner of every record window, there is a [Link Manager] button. If a record has a link to another record, the button will have the icon on the left, otherwise it will have the icon on the right.
If you are using Mac OS X, the button has the following icons (again, the icon on the left signifies that a link is present):
Click this button when you need to work with record links. The 'Link Manager' window will be opened: this is a list of other records currently linked to the record you are looking at:
This window has its own Operations menu, which contains some functions to help you work with linked records:
Linking Records to Other Records
You can link records to other records by dragging and dropping from the browse window of one register onto the 'Link Manager' window of another. For example, to link a Contact record to an Invoice, follow these steps:
- Open the Invoice in a record window.
- Click the [Link Manager] button in the Invoice to open the 'Link Manager' window.
- Open the 'Contacts: Browse' or (Mac OS X only) the 'Paste Customer' window.
- Find the correct Contact in the list, click on the Contact Number and drag it to the 'Link Manager' window of the Invoice. The Contact record will then appear in the Invoice's Link Manager. You can also select a range of Contact records in the browse window by clicking while holding down the Shift key, and then drag them all to the 'Link Manager' window of the Invoice.
- Alternatively, if the Contact record is already open, you can drag its [Document Manager] button into the 'Link Manager' window of the Invoice.
If you are using Mac OS X, you don't need to open the 'Link Manager' window as described in step 2 above. Instead, in steps 4 and 5 you can drag directly to the [Link Manager] button in the Invoice (step 5 illustrated below).
You must save a record at least once before you can link it to another record.
Later, when viewing the Contact record in the example above, you might wish to see a list of the other records to which it has been linked. Open the Link Manager from the Contact record and select 'Show To Links' from the Operations menu. The records the Contact has been linked to will be listed below a dotted line.
If you want the link to be more obvious (i.e. you want it to be visible without needing to select 'Show To Links'), you can of course create a link going the other way, by dragging the Invoice onto the 'Link Manager' window of the Contact.
Records will often be linked to each other automatically. For example, when you create a Delivery or Invoice from a Sales Order, the Delivery or Invoice and Sales Order will be linked.
Opening Linked Records from the 'Link Manager' window
When looking at a record, you can open the records that have been linked it in one of three ways:
- By double-clicking on a record in the 'Link Manager' window;
- By clicking on a record in the 'Link Manager' window and selecting 'Save' from the Record menu; and
- By clicking on a record in the 'Link Manager' window and pressing the Shift-Enter key combination.
Whichever method you use, the linked record will be opened in its own window where you can read or edit it in the usual manner.
Linking Records to Mails
You can link records to Mails in one of two ways:
- Where the Mail already exists, you can drag the record from its browse window to the 'Link Manager' window or the [Link Manager] button of the Mail, as described in the 'Linking Records to Other Records' section above.
- Where the Mail does not exist, open the record and click its [Link Manager] button. Select 'Create Mail' from the Operations menu. A new Mail will be opened. Complete the Mail in the usual way and save. The new Mail will be linked to the record automatically, and the recipient of the Mail will be able to open the record using the 'Show To Links' Operations menu function.
Remember that Mails themselves are records. Therefore you can link Mails to other Mails or to other records. Every feature described in this chapter applies to Mails as much as to other records.
Mails are fully described here.
Web Links
You can place links to web pages ("Web Links") in the Link Manager of any record. Follow these steps:
- Open the record that is to receive the Web Link and click its [Link Manager] button.
- Choose 'Create Web Link' from the Operations menu of the 'Link Manager' window. A 'Create Web Link' window will open, where you can enter a Name for the link (this Name will identify the link in the 'Link Manager' window):
- Enter the URL (including http:// or https://), and choose "Inline" or "External" in the Open field, using 'Paste Special'. If you choose "Inline", the web page will be opened in a new window inside Standard ERP. If you enter "External", the web page will be opened in your default browser.
- When you save, the link will appear in the 'Link Manager' window. The Web Link will now be operational. Double-click it in the 'Link Manager' window to be taken to the web page.
Copying Links from one Record to Another
You can copy a link of any kind from one record to another as follows:
- Open the record with the link (the "source" record) and click its [Link Manager] button to open its 'Link Manager' window.
- Open the record that is to receive the link (the "destination" record) and (not necessary if you are using Mac OS X) click its [Link Manager] button.
- Drag the link from the source 'Link Manager' window to the destination 'Link Manager' window (or to the [Link Manager] button of the destination record (Mac OS X only)).
- Hold down the Shift key while dragging if you do not want to remove the link from the source record.
Removing Links
To remove a link from a record, highlight it in the 'Link Manager' window and either press the Backspace key on your keyboard or select 'Clear' from the Edit menu.
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