Customising workspaces using the Workspace Designer

There are two types of panel.

• Simple

  These panels can only contain one content part. This is usually as a list.

  A simple panel acts as a parent when linking panels together.

• Information

  These panels can contain more than one content part.

  An information panel is used to display further information about a item selected from a list. Information panels must be linked to another Simple panel.

When adding information to your workspace, you choose from a pre-defined set of content parts. Each content part contains different information from Sage 200.

There are three types of content part:

• List

  List content parts display records from Sage 200 such as a list of customers, a list stock items, a list of transactions, a list of orders and so forth.

  Each database field is a column in the list.

• Details

  Details content parts display information in tables. Each database field is a row in the table.

• Chart

  Chart content parts display your information as a chart. Each database field is a bar on the chart.

   

These are used when you want to link panels on your workspace.

You create links between panels by making parent and child relationships between the panels.

• The parent panel contains the selected item.

  A parent panel must always be a Simple panel containing a List content part.

• The child panel contains information about the item selected in the parent panel.

  Links are created on the child panel. You can only create these links when the content part on the child panel and the content part on the parent panel have at least one database field containing the same data.

1. Select Change workspace layout and choose the required layout.

2. Add the required content parts.

   If you change the layout to one that contains less panels, the last panels are removed. For example if you change a three panel workspace to two panel workspace, contentpanel3 is removed.

3. Click Save to apply the changes to the workspace.

• For Information panels:
  • Click to add a content part.
  • Click to remove a content part
  • Click to change the position of the content part.
• For List panels:
  • Select the required content part from the drop-down list.
  • Amend relationships with other panels as required.

You can only delete workspaces that you have created or edited. You cannot delete a default workspace.

1. Select Delete a Workspacefrom the toolbar. A list of edited workspaces appears.
2. Select the required workspace and click Delete.

Some workspaces cannot be edited as they have special content or layout.

However, you can still make changes to the content parts used in these workspaces. To do this:

1. Choose to create a new single panel workspace.

2. Enter the name of the content part required.

   Note:

   If you do not know the name of the content part, press Enter to search the list.

   

3. Choose Edit Content Part and make the required changes.

4. To save the content part, choose Edit Content Part > Save.

5. Do not save the workspace.

The workspace is updated with the changes made to the content part.

Use this to choose the Actions that can be opened from each content part. There are two types of Action you can choose: A form action which opens a Sage 200 window and a Self Service action which opens another workspace.

Actions can only be added to List content parts.

Note: A user must have the relevant feature enabled for their role to be able to open a screen. This works in the same way as accessing an option from the menu.

1. Click Edit Content Part and select Actions.

   The actions currently applied to this content part are listed in the right pane. All available actions are listed in the left pane.

2. To add an action select the action in the left pane and click Add.

   Tip: To find the required action, use the Filter options below the Available Actions list.

3. To remove an action, select the action from the right pane and click Remove. Once removed, the action will not be available to any users and cannot be added to a workspace using the Action Selector.
4. To change the order the actions appear on the Actions list, use the Move Up and Move Down buttons.

5. To open an action from a link on the toolbar, select the action in the right hand pane and select Show on Toolbar.

   This adds the action to the toolbar at the top of the list. Actions that are not on the toolbar are accessed from the Actions menu.

6. To make an action the default for the content part, select the action in the right hand pane and select Default Action.

7. To hide an action, select the action in the right hand pane and clear the Visible checkbox.

   This means that action is not initially displayed on the Actions menu, but can be added to the workspace by a user with the Action Selector.

8. Click OK.
9. Click Save to apply the changes to the workspace.

1. Click Edit Content Part and select Columns.

   The columns currently applied to this content part are listed in the right pane. All the Available Columns are listed in the left pane.

2. To add an column, select the column from the left pane and click Add.

   Tip: To find a required column, use the Filter options below the Available Actions list.

3. To remove an column, select the column from the right pane and click Remove. Once removed, the column will not be available to any users and cannot be added to a workspace using the Column Selector.

   See a demo

   This demo shows you how to remove the Cost Centre and Department columns from the Nominal Account Enquiry.

   Most columns are displayed on a workspace 'out of the box'. You can use the Workspace Designer to remove columns that you do not require. For example, if you do not use cost centres or departments with your nominal accounts, you can remove them from the relevant workspaces.

4. Use the panel below the right hand pane to change how the data is displayed in the selected column:

   1. Display Name:

      Use this to change the label for the column. Enter a new name in the Display Name box.

      For example, you might want to change A/C Ref to a more meaningful term for your business such as Code, Client, Customer etc.

   2. Filter Operator:

      Use this to change the filter type used on the quick filter bar for this column. Select the required type from the Filter Operator drop-down menu.

      For example, you might want to change the filter for a column containing values from the default of Equals to GreaterThan.

      See a demo

      This demo shows you how to change the filter operator on a column from Equals to Greater Than.

      For example, if you want to filter your customer accounts to show those customers that have a balance of more than a certain value, rather than using the Advanced Filter, you could change the filter operator on the quick filter bar.

   3. Format:

      Use this to change the format that the data is displayed in. Select the required format from the drop-down list.

      For example, you may want to display a particular numerical value using four decimal places.

   4. Always Hidden:

      Use this if you want to hide a column from all users of a workspace.

      This option excludes the columns from the column selector.

   5. Visible:

      Select this to display this column on the workspace.

      If it is not selected, the column is hidden, but users can choose to show the column on the workspace using the column selector.

5. Click OK.
6. Click Save to apply the changes to the workspace.

Use this choose the reports that can be run from this content part.

1. Click Edit Content Part and select Reports.

   The reports currently applied to this content part are listed in the right pane. All available reports are listed in the left pane.

2. To add a report, select the report from the left pane and click Add .

   Tip: To find a report, use the Filter options below the Available Reports list.

3. To remove a report, select the report from the right pane and click Remove. Once removed, the report will not be available to any users.
4. Click OK.
5. Click Save to apply the changes to the workspace.

The order that data is displayed on a content part by default is controlled using a default sort. Use this to change the default sort. You can change the column and the order that the data is sorted.

For example, the list of transactions on the Bank Transaction Enquiry is sorted by transaction date. You might want to change this to sort the list by bank account by default, or by bank account and transaction date.

1. Click Edit Content Part and select Sorts.

   The column currently used to sort the data in this content part is listed in the right pane. All available columns are listed in the left pane.

2. To add a column, select the column from the left pane and click Add .

   Choose whether to a sort the data ascending (Asc) or descending (Desc).

3. To remove a column, select the column from the right pane and click Remove.
4. Click OK.
5. Click Save to apply the changes to the workspace.

Select this to add or remove the toolbar filter for the content part. The toolbar filter is displayed at the top of list content parts and allows you to quickly filter a column.

1. Click Edit Content Part and select Toolbar Filter. This adds or removes the tick for this option, indicating whether the toolbar filter is displayed.

2. Click Save to apply the changes to the workspace.

Select this to add or remove the Advanced Filter for the content part.

The Advanced Filter allows you to create filters for content parts that are saved and can be used by all users.

Use this to create new content parts based on the existing ones. This allows you make changes to content parts for specific workspaces.

Changes to the default content parts will affect all workspaces containing that content part.

1. Click Edit Content Part and select Save As.

2. Enter a name for the new content part and click Save. This is the name that is displayed on the workspace.

   The content part will now be available from the ContentPanel drop-down list and can be added to a workspace.

You can only delete a content part that you have edited and that is not being used on a workspace. You cannot delete a default content part.

1. Click Delete Content Part from the toolbar. A list of edited content parts that are not used on a workspace is displayed.
2. Choose the relevant content part and click Delete.

Content parts are saved in an XML format. Use the Advanced XML Configuration to edit the source XML of the content part. You should only use this if you have experience with editing XML.

Access to the Advanced XML Editor is controlled by a feature in Sage 200 System Administration.