Contact Management > Contact Query > Contact Query Preferences

Contact Query Preferences

You use this program to configure options that will determine the level of detail you want to view within the Contact Query and My Organization Query queries. You access this program by selecting the Preferences option from the Options menu of these programs.

Organization View

The options on this tab enable you to indicate your preferences for viewing information on the Organization View tab.

Field Description
Organization list Indicate the order in which organizations must be displayed in the Organization List pane.

The Organization Search uses the node selection and sequence you select at this option.

These options only apply when you are viewing All Organizations. For Organizations lists, you define your own hierarchies.

First organization type Select the organization type to display in the first node of the tree.
Second organization type Select the organization type to display in the second node of the tree.
Third organization type Select the organization type to display in the last node of the tree.
Show Organization View as a treeview Display all organizations in a treeview structure.
Use Master/Sub account structure for Customer node Display customer sub accounts under their master account in the treeview.
Expand all rows by default View all entries in the treeview by default. This option only applies when you are viewing All Organizations.
Show organizations a page at a time Display all organizations in the Organization List listview a page at a time.

This preference is only enabled when you deselect the preference: Show Organization View as a treeview.

When you select this preference, a navigation toolbar is displayed at the top of the Organization List listview pane, enabling you to page through the listed entries. Organizations are listed in sequence according to your selections at the Organization list preference.
Organizations per page Indicate the number of organizations to display on each page.
Organization type - Start At Indicate the organization type to navigate to by default when using the Start option in the Organization List listview.
Show icon against 'on hold' Organization name Highlight organizations that are on hold. When you select this option, the organization name and code are highlighted in red and a warning icon is displayed against the organization name.
Initially selected organization Indicate the organization which must initially be selected when you first access the Contact Query program.
OptionDescription
Let the system decideThis is the default setting.
My organization (Account 9999998)Display details of your current company. This automatically pre-selects you (i.e. your operator code), allowing you to quickly view your tasks, appointments, meetings and other activities.
Lowest alphabetic account nameSet focus on the first account in alphabetical order.
Lowest alphabetic customer nameSet focus on the first customer in alphabetical order.
Lowest alphabetic supplier nameSet focus on the first supplier in alphabetical order.
Specified accountSet focus on a specific account.
Specified customerSet focus on a specific customer.
Specified supplierSet focus on a specific supplier.
Specified organizationIndicate the specific account, customer or supplier which must initially be selected when you first access the Contact Query program.

This field is only enabled if you selected Specific account or Specific customer or Specific supplier.

Custom Activity Filter

The options on this tab page enable you to define your preferences for the details displayed in the Activities listview on the Contact View tab.

Field Description
Max activities Indicate the number of activities to display in the listview.
Max activity age Indicate the activities to display, based on the age of the activity. The age of the activity is determined by the dates defined against the activity.
Activity type Select the activity type to display in the listview.
Follow up flag Select the activities to display, based on the Follow up flag defined against the activity.
Priority Select the activities to display, based on the Priority assigned to the activity.
Regarding Select the activities to display, based on the category against which the activity was recorded.
Result Select the activities to display, based on the outcome of the activity.
Location Select the activities to display, based on the location in which the activity took place.
Source Select the source of activities to display in the listview.
Set to All Set all the options to the default (i.e. display all activities, regardless of other criteria).

Search Options

The options on this tab enable you to define your preferences when using the search facility on the Search View tab.

Field Description
Search string These options determine additional criteria when entering the text in the Search string field.
Match case Select this if you want the string entered at the Search string field to be case sensitive.
Exact match Select this if you want the string entered at the Search string field to be the exact string that must be searched for.
Search results
Option Description
Return all results together (fastest) Return all items found that match the search string. The items are displayed in the listview on the Search View tab of the Contact Query program.
Return search results every n matched items Return n number of items found that match the search string. The default number of items to return (n) is 50, but can be changed.

Organization Search

The options on this tab enable you to define your preferences when searching on Organizations from the Search View tab.

Field Description
Search on fields Specify the organization fields to include in searches performed on organizations. This enables you to refine your search.

By default, all fields are included when performing the search.

Organization name Search for the string you specify in the organization's name.
Email Search for the string you specify in the organization's email address.
Telephone number (and Additional telephone) Search for the string you specify in the organization's telephone number and additional telephone number.
User fields Search for the string you specify in the user defined fields 1-5 against the organization.
Short name Search for the string you specify in the organization's short name.

Contact Search

The options on this tab enable you to define your preferences when searching on Contacts from the Search View tab.

Field Description
Search on fields Specify the contact fields to include in searches performed on contacts. This enables you to refine your search.

By default, all fields are included when performing the search.

Contact name Search for the string you specify in the contact's name.
Preferred name Search for the string you specify in the contact's preferred name.
ID number Search for the string you specify in the contact's identity number.
Job title Search for the string you specify in the contact's job title.
Work telephone and Mobile/Cell Search for the string you specify in the contact's work telephone number or the Contact's Mobile/Cell number.
Work email Search for the string you specify in the contact's work email address.

Activity Search

The options on this tab enable you to define your preferences when searching on Activities from the Search View tab.

Field Description
Search on fields Specify the activity fields to include in searches performed on activities. This enables you to refine your search.

By default, all fields are included when performing the search.

Subject Search for the string you specify in the subject field of the activity.
Body text (first 255 characters) Search for the string you specify in the first 255 characters of the body text field of the activity.
Location Search for the string you specify in the location field of the activity.
Regarding Search for the string you specify in the regarding field of the activity.
Result Search for the string you specify in the result field of the activity.
User field 1 - 3 Search for the string you specify in the user fields 1-3 of the activity.

Notes and warnings

Advantages of the Show Organization View as a treeview preference

  • The structure of organizations is easier to view.

  • If you do not select this option, then the organizations are displayed in a 'flat' listview format. The advantages of this are that you can sort across organization types, you can group by a field such as the Salesperson or Branch and you can use the Filter (Find) to show selected organizations.

Disadvantages of the Show Organization View as a treeview preference

  • If you have a large number of organizations then the treeview is slow to load, you cannot easily sort a treeview and the 'start at' functionality is not available.

Advantages of the Show organizations a page at a time preference

  • Only the number of organizations indicated in the Organizations per page field is initially loaded. Therefore, if you have a large number of organizations, the information in the query is displayed more quickly.

Hints and tips

Improving your search performance

  • If you select the Exact Match search string option, then only results that exactly match the search string entered are returned. This is generally the quickest way of retrieving a large number of items.

  • Increasing the number in the Return search results every n matched items search results option can improve the performance of the search when returning a large number of items. However, returning a smaller number of items enables you to stop the search before it has completed.