Creating an Attachment

< Previous section | Table of Contents | Index | Next section >

The first step in creating an attachment is to make sure MainBoss's Viewing Programs table contains an entry for the program(s) needed to display and print the file. For example, if the file is a document written in Microsoft Word, the Viewing Programs table should contain an entry for Microsoft Word. If the Viewing Programs table doesn't contain an appropriate entry, you should add such an entry.

For more information about examining the Viewing Programs table and adding entries to it, see Viewing Programs.

The next step in creating an attachment is to open the record for the equipment or space to which the file will be attached. Go to the Specifications section of the record and click the New Attachment button. MainBoss will open a window where you can specify the attachment file and its viewing program. This window contains the following:

Attachment: A brief code name for the attachment (10 characters maximum).
Attachment File: The full name of the file that you want to attach. To specify the file, you can type in the full name, or you can click the Select button (described below).
Viewing Program: The program that should be used for viewing the attached file. The drop-down list for this field shows your current Viewing Programs table.

Note: If you leave the "Viewing Program" field blank, MainBoss will open the attached file using the Windows software that is associated with that type of file. For example, if you attach an HTML file (indicated by the file name extension .htm or .html), MainBoss will open the file with whatever software is supposed to open that kind of file (typically a web browser). For more information about standard file associations, see the documentation for your Windows system.

Select: Opens a standard Windows file-finding dialog to let you find the file you want to attach.
View: Clicking this button invokes the appropriate viewing program to display the attached file on the screen.
New File: Creates a file with the name specified in the "Attachment File" field and then uses the given "Viewing Program" to open that file.
For example, suppose you want to create a new text file specifying notes about a piece of equipment. You could specify a file name like C:\MainBoss\Note1.txt in "Attachment File" and specify Microsoft NOTEPAD for the "Viewing Program". If you then click New File, MainBoss creates the file and opens Notepad so that you can record notes in the new file.
Print: Clicking this button invokes the appropriate viewing program to print the attached file.
Save & New: Saves the current record and clears fields in the window so you can enter a new record.
Clone: Creates a new table entry that has the same information as the current entry. The "Attachment" field in the new entry is blank, so that you can fill in a new code.
Delete: Deletes the current entry.
Save: Saves the current record, but leaves all data as is. You can then continue to edit the same record.
Cancel: Closes the window. MainBoss discards any new information or changes that you haven't explicitly saved with Save.

When you close this window, MainBoss returns to the equipment or space record. You will now see the new attachment in the specifications list.

If you ever need to change the attachment information (for example, if the location of the file changes), click on the entry for the attachment in the specifications list and then click Edit. MainBoss will open a window that lets you modify information about the attachment.

< Previous section | Table of Contents | Index | Next section >