Creation of a Generic Inquiry: To Create an Inquiry Based on One DAC

In this activity, you will learn how to create a simple generic inquiry that collects data from one data access class (DAC). The activity describes the steps of designing a sample generic inquiry for testing purposes, so that you can develop a better understanding of the process.

Story

Suppose that you are a technical specialist in your company who is working on simple customizations, including the creation and modification of generic inquiry forms. An accountant of your company has requested an inquiry form that collects data about invoices and memos. You have offered the predefined Invoices and Memos (AR3010PL) generic inquiry form, but the accountant instead wants a simpler inquiry that displays columns with the document type, the reference number, and the balance of the invoice with that number. The accountant has asked you to maintain the default access rights to the inquiry.

Process Overview

The generic inquiry that you are going to create will have three columns to display the invoice reference number, the balance, and the document type. Thus, you will start by inspecting the Invoices and Memos (AR301000) form to explore which data access classes (DACs) you can use to access the needed data.

Once you obtain these details, you will create a generic inquiry on the Generic Inquiry (SM208000) form and configure its results grid.

When the inquiry has been created and all the necessary settings have been specified, you preview and then publish the inquiry.

System Preparation

Launch the MYOB Acumatica website, and sign in to a tenant with the U100 dataset preloaded as system administrator Kimberly Gibbs. You should sign in by using the gibbs username and the 123 password.

Step 1: Discovering DACs and Data Fields

To inspect the applicable user interface elements, do the following:

1. Open the Invoices and Memos (AR301000) form.
2. Point to the Reference Nbr. element, press Ctrl+Alt, and then click. The Element Properties dialog box opens. You are interested in two settings, Data Class and Data Field; these settings correspond to the data access class and data field you need, which are, respectively, ARInvoice and RefNbr.
   Tip: As an alternative, you can click Customization > Inspect Element on the form title bar and then click the Reference Nbr. element.
3. While you are pointing at the Balance element, press Ctrl+Alt and click to open the Element Properties dialog box. Notice that the Data Class box again contains ARInvoice, while the Data Field box contains CuryDocBal.
4. Inspect the Type element, and notice that the Data Field box contains DocType and that the Data Class box again contains ARInvoice.

   You have discovered that the data access class you need is ARInvoice and the data fields you need are DocType, RefNbr, and CuryDocBal.

Step 2: Creating the Generic Inquiry

To begin the process of creating the generic inquiry, do the following:

1. Open the Generic Inquiry (SM208000) form.
2. In the Summary area, in the Inquiry Title box, type the name for the inquiry: DB-SampleGenericInquiry.
3. On the Data Sources tab, do the following:
   1. On the table toolbar, click Add Row.
   2. In the Table Name column of the added row, select PX.Objects.AR.ARInvoice. (In this example, you need to add a row for only this DAC, because the fields that are going to be used are in this DAC.)
      Tip: Use the Search box (upper right) to find the DAC.
4. On the form toolbar, click Save.

   Notice that the system has filled the Alias column with the predefined short name of the DAC.

Step 3: Configuring the Results Grid

To configure the results grid (that is, the columns showing the data in the generic inquiry form), do the following:

1. On the Results Grid tab of the Generic Inquiry (SM208000) form with DB-SampleGenericInquiry selected, on the table toolbar, click Add Row to add a new row, and do the following:
   Tip: To speed up the selection of items from the list, start typing the names of the values. The system will filter the list based on what you type.
   1. In the Object column of the added row, select ARInvoice.
   2. In the Data Field column, select DocType.
2. Again click Add Row to add a new row, and do the following:
   1. In the Object column of the added row, select ARInvoice.
   2. In the Data Field column, select RefNbr.
3. Again click Add Row to add a new row, and do the following:
   1. In the Object column of the added row, select ARInvoice.
   2. In the Data Field column, select CuryDocBal.

   Notice that the Visible and Default Navigation check boxes are selected by default for all rows. That is, the system will display the added columns in the inquiry results and will display the values in these fields as links if the source code supports links for these fields.

4. On the form toolbar, click Save.

Step 4: Previewing the Generic Inquiry Form

To preview the generic inquiry form you have created, click the eye icon on the side panel of the Generic Inquiry (SM208000) form while you are viewing the generic inquiry. Once reviewed, close the side panel.

Step 5: Publishing the New Inquiry

To add the inquiry you have created to the site map, do the following:

1. While you are still working with the DB-SampleGenericInquiry generic inquiry on the Generic Inquiry (SM208000) form, on the form toolbar, click the Publish to the UI button.
2. In the Publish to the UI dialog box, which opens, review the default settings.
3. In the Access Rights section, select Copy Access Rights from Screen, and then select Invoices and Memos with the AR.30.10.00 screen ID in the box next to the option button.

   With these settings, users that have access to the Invoices and Memos (AR3010PL) list of records will also have access to the created generic inquiry.

4. Click Publish to complete publication and close the dialog box.
5. On the main menu, select the Data Views menu item, and under the Inquiries category, make sure the created inquiry is listed.