This screen is used to track calls and relay messages.
To access the Message Screen, press F10 and then a period (.).
The codes used in the Entered By and For fields should be set up in the Salesman (S) screen. In a multi-user system, each user should enter their code in the Entered By field of the terminal that they use. This code appears on each new record until it is changed.
To send a message to another terminal in your system, enter the user's code in the For field, type the message and press F9 to save and send the message. The terminal of the user will beep if or when it is turned on.
Just to the left of the Call Is From title is a field where you can specify C for Customer, V for Vendor or N for Name. By default, the system uses the Customer screen.
When someone has taken a message for you and entered it, a special message box will pop up on your screen and the MSG box at the top right hand corner of your ABC Accounting software blinks red.
You will be notified repeatedly as you navigate from screen to screen in the Accounting program, until you have viewed your message. Once the message has been viewed on your screen, even if you haven’t attended to it yet, you will stop being alerted of it.
To get detailed help for each field on the message screen, press F1 when the cursor is on that field.
Helps Accessed From the Message (.) Screen
Edit Help (.)
Ctrl+C—Copies text. Place your cursor on the field that contains the text you wish to copy and press Ctrl+C. Then move your cursor to the field you want your information copied to and use the paste (Ctrl+V) function.
Ctrl+V—pastes text. Any text that has been copied (with Ctrl+C) or cut (with Ctrl+X) may be pasted into any other field by using the Ctrl+V function. Simply place your cursor in the field you want to copy the information to and press Ctrl+V.
Ctrl+X—cuts text. Place your cursor on the field you want the text removed from and press Ctrl+X. The text will disappear. If you want to replace this text in another field, simply move your cursor to that field and use the paste (Ctrl+V) function.
Ctrl+Z—Zap! Undoes latest changes to the line the cursor is on.
Home— places the cursor at the beginning of the field.
End—moves the cursor to the end of a field.
Shift+Up arrow—moves the cursor to the first message.
Shift+Down arrow—moves the cursor to the line just below the last message line. If the line is blank, it places the cursor on the top line.
File Help (.)
Ctrl+N—clears the screen and loads the next available reference number. This does not save or unsave any record.
F5—exits lookup.
F6—opens lookup.
F9—saves record.
Shift+F9—deletes record.
F10—Selection Screen
Esc—exits one level.
Alt+F4—exits ABC.
Load Help (.)
Alt+B—loads previous (Back) message for customer.
Alt+F—loads next (Forward) message for customer.
Alt+L—Loads first message you haven’t viewed yet.
Alt+N—loads Next customer. (This might be used for a time when you are calling through a list of customers to offer a promotional and want to notate their responses or something. After you call the first customer and enter him and his response on the Message screen, you can load a new record [Ctrl+N] and press Alt+N to load the next customer in order from the Customer screen.)
Alt+P—loads Previous customer. (The opposite function to Alt+N above.)
F7—loads previous message.
F8—loads next message.
Shift+F7—indexes backwards in alphabetical order for the field your cursor is on.
Shift+F8— indexes forwards in alphabetical order for the field your cursor is on.
Tools Help (.)
Ctrl+W—puts the currently loaded message # on a Word Processor list. To see the list, press F10, W, Ctrl+N (to clear screen), and then type .LIST. Ctrl+W
Alt+E—marks the message with a Y in the finished field.
Alt+H—runs a report that lists all messages from current company.
Alt+T—runs Report 6-36 that lists unfinished messages for user.
F11 or Alt+A allows you to page back through the messages for the user currently logged onto the screen.
F12 or Alt+Z pages forward through the messages for the user currently logged onto the screen.
Reference codes are automatically generated. If you enter a prior reference number, the message with that number is displayed. You can use F7 and F8 to page through the existing messages.
If the person who called had been entered previously on the Customer, Vendor, or Name screen; their data is displayed when you enter their code in this field.
By default the program searches the Customer screen first for a code that matches the code entered in the Code field. If it does not find a matching code in the Customer screen, it searches the Vendor screen; then the Names screen. If no matching code is found in any one of those records, the code that you typed disappears, and you have to try again or use the F6 Lookup screen to help you out.
If you do not want the program to search for codes from the Customer screen, put a V or an N in the ‘Comp’ field. Your search will then be restricted the screen you specified.
Presumably, you are the one taking the message and entering the data here in the Message screen. So enter your code in this field. If you have your own computer terminal, your code should come up here automatically after you enter it in the first time. But if another code is entered, you will need to re-enter your code again. (Codes for this field are set up on the Salesman (S) screen. If you try to enter a code that has not been set up on the Salesman screen, an error message pops up: "Not a Valid Salesman Code.")
Enter the name of the person who called.
Enter the code of the person this message is for. These codes should be previously set up on the Salesman (S) screen.
When a message is first entered, there is an N in this field. This means that the message has Not been finished or attended to.
When the message has been read by the person it is for, or otherwise taken care of, it can be marked with a Y by pressing Alt+E from anywhere on the message screen.
Simply changing the N to Y manually will not necessarily turn off the beeper. Use the Alt+E method for consistent tracking of messages.
This field can indicate Customer, Vendor or Name. By default the Customer screen is searched first for a code that matches the code entered in the Code field. If it does not find a matching code in the Customer screen, it searches the Vendor screen; then the Names screen. If no matching code is found in any one of those records, the code that you typed disappears, and you have to try again or use the F6 lookup for more help.
MSG (Message Alert Button)
When someone has taken a message for you and entered it, a special message box will pop up on your screen and the MSG box at the top right hand corner of your ABC Accounting software blinks red.
You will be notified repeatedly as you navigate from screen to screen in the Accounting program, until you have viewed your message. Once the message has been viewed on your screen, even if you haven’t attended to it yet, you will stop being alerted of it.
(Helpful Hint: Because the message alert button doesn’t blink anymore after you have viewed the message, it is quite advisable to deal with messages completely, pressing Alt+E when finished, before going on to the next thing. Of course, you can always use the Alt+L command to load messages that have not yet been dealt with, so unfinished messages aren’t really lost in the mix—just less noticeable.)