Easily add many fields to a tab

[acrosser]

Okay I know I have been requesting a lot of features lately... so bear with me!

We want to use CommitCRM as a storage location for all of our customers' network info (IP addresses, server info, usernames, passwords, remote access info, etc.).

The way we started to go about doing it was to create a Client Network Tab in the main window, using the Tab Management tool. I was going to start adding custom Fields to this tab, when I realized I have many (over 75). Is the "Add New Field to Database" wizard the only way to create and add new fields? Using this wizard would probably take me a couple hours to add all of these fields.

If there is no simpler way, then I'd like to request some way to batch-add fields. Thanks,

~Tony

[acrosser]

Re: Easily add many fields to a tab

ALSO:

The Tab/Field Editor feature seems a little buggy. I know when you go to add a Field to a Tab it warns you "We strongly recommend you contact us before doing so..." so maybe the developers are aware that it's not complete yet?

I have added a couple Fields and then when I go to place them in a Tab, they disappear. When I try to re-add them, the editor says they already exist on the Field. But I can't see them anywhere, so I can't delete them or move them into place. (Also it would be nice if Fields snapped to a grid so I don't have to try to manually line them up!).

Is there an easier way to modify fields in a tab? Is there an XML file somewhere I can manually edit? (Otherwise we will probably just use a spreadsheet or document for all Client Network Info and attach it in the Documents section).

[Support Team]

Re: Easily add many fields to a tab

Hi acrosser,

Thanks for your questions and suggestions!

Adding new tabs and fields to the RangerMSP database is a powerful tool which lets you customize the system and make it fit your specific needs.

Some notes about this feature:

1. Adding new fields to the database requires going through the fields creation wizard. There is no trivial way for performing a batch-add for new database fields. I understand that this may take a while to add all the fields, however, note that this is just an initial setup which is required only once, and from this point you can go on using these fields as long as you need.

2. A nice capability which may be helpful - if some of the fields should contain the same values list (for fields which allow selecting values from a pull-down list), you only need to define the values list once and then use if for multiple fields.

3. Regarding the problem you were facing when adding the fields - I'm not sure what exactly went wrong there. Usually this works smoothly, and it sounds like the fields were added in a location you couldn't see in the tab. i suggest that you close the RangerMSP application window and restart it. Then go to the tab and see which fields are actually displayed there already. Then right-click the tab area, and select Add Field to Tab. Make sure you do not add fields which already exist in the tab, since each field can exist only once for each tab. You can find more information regarding this process here.

4. On another note, for keeping remote access info, you may consider keeping the RDP file with the connection parameters as a document in the Docs folder, rather than create special fields for this information. This allows you to easily activate RDP from within RangerMSP and have all the credentials saved as part of the RDP fle. You can read more about this in this forum thread.


I hope this helps to make this process clearer. Let me know if you have further questions on this.

Sherry

[cforger]

Re: Easily add many fields to a tab

Acrosser: I'd recommend you keep this in a text document attached to the client - It's what we're doing, and it's not that bad. If it's a small client and you don't want the hassle, just dump the text into the notes field.

I think you're trying to extend Commit's fields too far for what it was designed.

[acrosser]

Re: Easily add many fields to a tab

I agree with cforger. I don't think the Field/Tab editor interface is quite up to production status yet! We will just attach a text file to the Documents section for now.

I closed and re-opened Commit, and the field I added was still hidden/missing. But when I tried to add it, it said it was already on the page. When I hit Finish & Add Tab (originally, when I was trying to add the field in the first place), it put me in drag&drop mode (showing the "ghost" image of the field about to be added). I clicked near the top of the tab to add the field, and the tab then automatically resized itself. I was no longer in drag&drop mode, the Field had already been "placed," but it was missing. This happened to me twice with 2 different fields. I'm using WinXP Pro SP3, with CommitCRM maximized and the Accounts window maximized (in 1280x1024 resolution).

Also please submit my request to the developers to have fields snap to a grid... otherwise it is very difficult to line up fields!

Thanks.

[Support Team]

Re: Easily add many fields to a tab

Hi acrosser,

I'm not sure what went wrong during your customizations process. A look at your log files may help us understand. I know of users who've added a lot of new tabs with many new data field and all is working well (actually we were amazed with the level of customizations we've seen).

Thanks for the feedback regarding the "snap to a grid" feature. This would be very useful indeed especially when adding a lot of new database fields. I passed it on to the team.

Sherry