Using Browsers

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The picture below shows a typical MainBoss browser (the Equipment browser):

A Windows Example

This window contains a lot of elements. The following list explains what those elements are and how you can use them:

Lists: A browser shows you a list of records. To make it easier for you to find a particular record, the records are sometimes listed in several different ways.
For example, the above window shows a list of equipment in a set of rental buildings. You will notice the window has three different lists: one showing buildings, one showing short equipment identification codes, and one showing longer descriptions. This can make it easier for you to find the record for a particular piece of equipment—for example, if you know that the equipment is in a particular building but don't know the exact identification code or description, you can go to the appropriate building in the building list, and then start going through equipment records until you find the piece you want.
When you select an item in one list, MainBoss automatically highlights where that record appears in the other lists. For example, in the picture above, the user selected BOILER 1 in the "Equipment" column; MainBoss automatically highlights the corresponding entry in the "Building" column (320) and the corresponding entry in the "Description" column (HOT WATER HEATING BOILER). These all represent the same equipment record: a record describing a boiler named BOILER 1 in building 320.
Even though the list entries are for the same piece of equipment, the entries do not necessarily line up. The reason should be obvious from the example given: the name BOILER 1 is sorted among the B's in the "Equipment" column but its corresponding description, HOT WATER HEATING BOILER, is sorted among the H's. Therefore, it is not surprising that the two entries do not line up side by side, even though they refer to the same record.

Note: Double-clicking any entry in any browser list opens a window that lets you edit that entry. For more about editor windows, see Using Editors.

List controls: Each list has a scroll bar on the right, and each scroll bar contains a number of arrow buttons. These buttons let you move through the entries in the list. The arrows are:
- Go to the first entry in the list
- Scroll back one "page" (16 lines)
- Go up one line
- Go down one line
- Scroll forward one "page"
- Go to the last entry in the list
Using these buttons, you can move through any list to find entries you want. MainBoss also has a facility that lets you search through the list for a specific entry; this facility is described later in this section.
Note that the buttons may be disabled, depending on your current position in the list. For example, if you are already at the beginning of a particular list, the three buttons for moving backwards in the list are all disabled.
Buttons: Below the three lists are buttons labeled Edit, New, Clone, Delete, and Print. There may be different buttons in different browsers, but these five are the most common.
- Edit: Lets you change the information in an existing record. Click the record you want to change (in any of the lists), then click the Edit button. MainBoss opens an editor window to let you change the information.
- New: Lets you create a new record. Click the New button, and MainBoss will open an editor window to let you enter information for the new entry.
- Clone: Creates a new record starting with information taken from an old one. For example, suppose your organization already has several forklift trucks and then obtains a new one. To create a record for the new truck, you can clone the information from one of the existing trucks; this saves you the effort of typing in a lot of identical information for the new truck.
  To clone an existing record, click the entry you want to clone and then click Clone. MainBoss opens an editor window with most of the information fields filled in with information from the old record. You can then edit this information and fill in any blank fields to describe the new piece of equipment.
  In some cases, MainBoss asks you to specify what information you want to clone. For example, when you clone an existing work order, MainBoss asks you what types of information you want to copy from the old work order to the new one.
- Delete: Deletes a record from the list. Click the record you want to delete, then click Delete. MainBoss asks if you really want to delete the record; if you say yes, the record is deleted.
- Print: Opens a window that lets you print one or more records from the list. This print window lets you specify which records you want to print; it also lets you preview the output on your screen before actually creating a paper print-out.
- Search: Lets you tell MainBoss to search through the list of records for a particular record. For more information, see Searching for a Particular Record.
Information Area: On the right hand side of the browser window, MainBoss displays information from the currently selected record. If possible, MainBoss displays all the information in the record; for records that contain too much information to fit in the available space, MainBoss displays a subset of the information.
Done: In the bottom right hand corner of the browser window is the Done button. Clicking this closes the browser and returns to the previous window (usually the MainBoss menu window).