Ctrl + Views button

As described in the previous section, holding down the Ctrl key while clicking on the Views button of a "parent" to the data that you are working on, this will display the parent on the appropriate screen in "editing" mode." When you save (or cancel) changes to the parent, the parent will close and you will be taken back to the screen you were on.

Alt+key

Pressing the Alt key plus the underlined letter on any button title will execute that command. In the same way, pressing the Alt key plus the underlined letter on the title to a screen section will move to the first editable field beneath the title.

[Tab]
[Shift-Tab]

The [Tab] key is used to move from one field (or control) to another. You should use tabbing (and it's opposite direction sibling) as much as possible instead of using the mouse to move to fields that are reasonably close to the one you are on — keeping your hands on the keyboard is usually faster.

Note: When you "tab" into a field, the entire contents of the field is highlighted, meaning that you can immediately type a new entry and it will replace the existing one. This is true for all text and numeric fields except free-form description and notes fields, since it would be too easy to accidentally replace everything in it.  To remove the highlight without reaching for your mouse, simply press either the Home or the End key on the keyboard.

With one specific exception, the movement of Tab is from top to bottom and left to right within the major screen groups that you see. The exception is that the tab order on the Specifications screen moves from the topmost "General" fields to the topmost "Source" fields to allow you to easily create placeholder specs with just the minimum information needed, after which tabbing behaves normally.

[Ctrl-A]

Select all text in the current field

[Ctrl-X]

Cut highlighted text

[Ctrl-C]        

Copy highlighted text

[Ctrl-V]

Paste highlighted text

[Ctrl-Z]

Undo last text change (but this must be used before leaving field, otherwise Cancel must be used to cancel all changes). Can be used repetitively in a long description field to undo several changes.

FF&EZ does not use Ctrl-Z to "undo" a deletion, due to the complex relationships of databases. However, each main editing form in the Design system has an Undelete function. See Undeleting Data for more information. 

Double-click

FF&E Worksheet: FF&E Summary and Objects Screen: Component List: Double-clicking either the parent to the current record or the components of the current object will display the editing screen for that item, then return you to the previous screen when you finish editing. See "Special Functions" above and the FF&E Worksheet and Object List sections.

Example: You can double-click any of the circled spots on the FF&E Worksheet to edit that item on the appropriate screen, then be returned to where you started when you save the changes.

Double-click

FF&E Worksheet, while using Add or Edit:  If you double-click an object on the Object pick list, the system will immediately select and save that object with the current quantity (which defaults to 1 when adding).  If Auto-Add is enabled, you can continue by picking another object to add (if not or if you were editing, you'll return to the main Worksheet screen as you would if you clicked on Save).

Double-click  

Date fields: When you are in "editing" mode, brings up a calendar tool that can be used to select a date entry. Be sure to select (click on) the field first. Note: if you double-click in "browsing" mode, editing mode is started instead (see "Double-click" under "General Shortcuts" above).

[+] [-] [á] [â]

Date fields: While editing a date field (including those that are part of report options), pressing the plus or minus keys or the up or down arrow  keys advances or lowers the date in the field. Exception: In all cases, if the date is blank, these keys enter the current date first.

[PgDn] [PgUp]

Date fields: While editing a date field, pressing the "page down" key will change the date to the beginning of the month, then that of the previous month with each succeeding press. The "page up" key advances to the end of the month and then each succeeding month end. As with other date shortcuts, the current date is inserted if the date is blank. To quickly enter the start of the current month in a blank date field, press [PgDn] twice (unless the current date is the start date).

Tip: If you are trying to set the date to the end of a past month, press [PgDn] (start of month) until you see the start of the desired month, then press [PgUp] once. Do the opposite to quickly find the beginning of a future month. In the same way, you can go to the start or end of a month, then use the other keys to advance or roll back the date one day at a time.

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Orders List, Processing Reconciliation functions: When entry fields are present that might need corrections for rounding differences, pressing these keyboard keys will increase or decrease the amount in the field by one cent (or other unit as appropriate). This only applies to systems with the purchasing module, and specifically when reconciling vendor invoices.

[Enter]

FF&E Worksheet, while using Add or Edit: Selects the highlighted item on the active pick list and moves to the most logical “next” list or field. For instance, if you move the highlight onto an object and press Enter, the cursor will move directly to the "Quantity" field, skipping the Add New Object button.

[Ctrl-Enter]

Immediately saves the record you are editing (after normal data checking) and returns to "browsing" mode. This is the same as clicking on the Save button or using Alt+S, but is much faster for data entry.

[Ctrl-PgDn], [Ctrl-PgUp]

As with Ctrl-Enter, this saves the record you are editing, but then either moves to the next item on the list (PgDn) or the previous (PgUp)and then edits that item. This can be extremely useful if you have used a Query to display a list of items (such as specs) that need to be edited (such as adding missing costs or prices or pasting specific notes into them).

Note that, depending on the sort order, a change you make can change the order in which a record appears in the list—changing the meaning of "next" and "previous." If a query is in effect, a change might make it drop out of the eligible records and "disappear" until the query is cleared. Keep this in mind when you use these two shortcuts so as to avoid confusion about where the "next" record is.

The New button appears next to many fields where you select a "parent" for the current (or new) record, such as selecting a vendor for a specification or an object to place in a room. This button instantly displays the parent editing form in "add" mode so that you can create a new item of that type (such as a new vendor) that you need to complete the current item that you are editing. (Note: when adding or editing occurrences of objects on the FF&E Worksheet, the button is labeled "Create new object" (or room or area).

When you use a New button, FF&EZ will return you to your starting place after you save the new "parent" item.

The "calc" button activates a special calculation or other routine that is associated with the field next to it, such as generating a sequential ID value (e.g., a project or specification ID) or showing a pop-up used to calculate a single value from several other values (e.g, adjustments to a vendor cost).