Request for Information

Form ID: (PJ301000)

This form is available only if the Construction Project Management feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.

You can use this form to create, view, and edit a request for information. On this form, you track and report all activities related to the requests for information discovered during construction works. Based on a request for information, another request for information or change request may be created. For more information, see Processing Requests for Information.

Form Toolbar

The form toolbar includes standard buttons and form-specific buttons and commands. For the list of standard buttons, see Form Toolbar and More Menu. The form-specific commands can be shown as buttons on the form toolbar, as commands on the More menu, or in both places. These commands are listed in the following table in alphabetical order.


Command	Description
Close	Changes the status of the request for information to Closed. This command appears appear if the request for information has the Open status.
Convert to Change Request	Creates a change request for the request for information, and opens the Change Requests (PM308500) form with the created change request. The command also changes the status of the request for information to Closed. This command is available only if the status of the request of information is Open and the Change Requests feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
Convert to Outgoing RFI	Creates an outgoing request for information on the same form. This command is available only if the Incoming check box is selected in the Summary area and the status of the request of information is Open.
Email	Opens the Email Activity (CR306015) form in a new window, on which you can create and send an email with the request for information, and changes the status of the request for information from New to Open. The system also attaches to the created email activity the files from the request for information and the related drawing logs. This command appears if the request for information has the New or Open status.
Open	Changes the status of the request for information to Open. This command appears if the request for information has the New status. The command is available if the request for information has the Incoming check box selected in the Summary area.
Print	Opens the RFI Question and Answer (PJ661000) form with the details of the request of information, which can be printed.
Reopen	Opens the closed request for information. This command appears if the request for information has the Closed status.

Summary Area

In this area, you can specify the settings of a new request for information, or select an existing request for information to view or modify its settings. The following table summarizes the elements of this area.


Element	Description
Project	The project related to the request for information.
Project Task	The project task related to the request for information.
Business Account	The customer or vendor account related to the request for information. The list of values may be restricted based on the current user's access role. You can select a customer or vendor whose visibility is not restricted—that is, the following settings are specified on the Customers (AR303000) or Vendors (AP303000) form: The Restrict Visibility To box is empty for the customer or vendor—that is, the customer's or vendor's visibility is not restricted. A branch, company, or company group is specified in the Restrict Visibility To box for the customer or vendor, and your user account is assigned to the role specified in the Access Role box of the Configuration Settings section of one of the following: the Branch Details tab of the Branches (CS102000) form for the branch, or the Company Details tab of the Companies (CS101500) form for the company or a company within the company group.
Contact	A contact on the customer side if you are creating an outgoing request for information or an external specialist who can provide the requested information if you are creating an incoming request for information. If a business account is selected in the Business Account box, you can select a contact only from the list of contacts associated with this business account.
Class ID	The project management class that the request for information belongs to. For a new request for information, you select a class, which populates some elements with default values, easing data entry.
Summary	A brief description of the request for information.
Incoming	A check box that indicates (if selected) that the request for information is incoming. That is, the answer from a person of your company is required.
Status	The status of the request for information, which can be one of the following: New: The request for information is new and has not been opened, emailed, or closed. Open: A request for information has been opened or emailed. Closed: The request for information has been closed or a change request has been created for the request for information.
Reason	The reason of the request of information.
Priority	The priority of the request for information. The following options are available: Low, Medium, and High. The default priority is specified for the class of the request for information on the Priorities tab of the Project Management Classes (PJ201000) form.
Documentation Link	The link to the external documentation.
Specification Section	The reference number of the section related to the request for information in the specification.
Converted From	The reference number of the document from which the request for information has been created.
RFI ID	The identifier of the request for information, which the system automatically assigns according to the numbering sequence selected for requests for information on the Project Management Preferences (PJ101000) form.
Creation Date	The date and time when the request for information has been created. By default, the system inserts the current business date.
Created By	The user name of the employee that has created the request for information. By default, the currently assigned user is selected.
Owner	The user name of the employee assigned to the request for information. If a workgroup has been selected, a user name can be selected only from its list of group members; otherwise, the user name may be selected from the list of all users.
Answer Due Date	The date on which the answer for the request for information has to be received.
Workgroup	The workgroup to work on the request for information.
Schedule Impact	A check box that indicates (if selected) that this request for information has caused the project schedule to change.
Schedule Impact (days)	The number of days by which the project schedule has been delayed by the request for information. This box appears on the form only if the Schedule Impact check box is selected.
Cost Impact	A check box that indicates (if selected) that the cost of the project has been affected by the request for information.
Cost Impact	The amount by which the project budget has been increased as a result of the request for information. This box appears on the form only if the Cost Impact check box is selected.
Design Change	A check box that indicates (if selected) that the project design has been affected by the request for information.
Converted To	The reference number of the change request or outgoing request for information created for the request for information. The system fills in this box when the change request or outgoing request for information created is saved. You can click the link to open the document on the related form.

Details Tab

This tab contains the Question and Answer areas, which you can use to type the question and the answer to the question, respectively. The areas consist of the following:

The formatting toolbar, with buttons you can use to edit text, change the typographical treatment of the text, and format it. You can also use buttons to add files and insert images.
The Message text box, where you can enter a detailed description of the request for information or relevant notes. You can type the description here and edit it by using the buttons on the formatting toolbar.

Attributes Tab

On the Attributes tab, you can view, add, change, or delete attribute values for the request for information.

The table toolbar includes only standard buttons. For the list of standard buttons, see Table Toolbar.

Table 1. Table Columns
Column	Description
Attribute	The name of the attribute used for the request for information.
Required	A check box that indicates (if selected) that this attribute is defined as required.
Value	The value of the attribute for the request for information.

Activities Tab

This tab has a table with the list of activities associated with the request for information. You can associate particular tasks, emails, and other activities with the request for information. MYOB Advanced provides you with a list of predefined activity types; you can add new activity types by using the Activity Types (CR102000) form. To create an activity, email, or task, click the appropriate command and fill in the dialog box.

The tab includes, in addition to the columns described below, columns (labeled with icons) that you can use to attach notes and files to the activity, see if it is completed, check its priority level, and notice whether there are associated reminders. For descriptions of these columns, see Managing Emails and Activities.

Table 2. Table Toolbar
The table toolbar includes standard buttons and buttons that are specific to this table. For the list of standard buttons, see Table Toolbar. The table-specific buttons are listed below.
Button	Description
Create Task	Opens the Task (CR306020) form in a pop-up window, which you can use to create a new task.
Create Event	Opens the Event (CR306030) form in a pop-up window, which you can use to create a new event.
Create Email	Opens the Email Activity (CR306015) form in a pop-up window, on which you can create a new email.
Create Activity	Contains a menu with commands that correspond to the list of activity types configured on the Activity Types (CR102000) form. By clicking a menu command, you open the Activity (CR306010) form in a pop-up window, which you use to create an activity of the corresponding type. The following commands are available by default: Create Note, Create Chat, Create Escalation, Create Message, Create Phone Call, and Create Work Item. To change the list of menu commands, you can add or remove activity types by using the Activity Types form.

Table 3. Table ColumnsThe table includes, in addition to the columns described below, columns (labeled with icons) that you can use to attach notes and files to the activity, see if the activity is completed, check its priority level, and note whether there are associated reminders. For descriptions of these columns, see Emails and Activities: General Information.
Column	Description
Type	The type of the activity.
Summary	The brief description of the activity.
Final Answer	A check box that indicates (if selected) that the email contains the final answer to the request for information.
Status	The status of the activity.
Start Date	The start date and time of the activity.
Created At	The date and time when the activity was created.
Category	The category of the activity. By default, the column is hidden. For details on how to display hidden columns, see To Hide or Display Table Columns.
Workgroup	The workgroup associated with the activity.
Owner	The name of the user to whom the activity is assigned.
Created By	The name of the employee who created the activity. By default, the column is hidden. For details on how to display hidden columns, see To Hide or Display Table Columns.

The tab also has the Activity Description area below the table. The area displays the full description provided for the activity selected in the table. To edit the description, click the link in the Summary column of the activity. This opens the Activity (CR306010) form in a pop-up window; on this form, you can add a description and edit other settings corresponding to the activity.

Relations Tab

You can use this tab to indicate the one-way relations between the current request for information and the records or documents that are associated with it. The type of each relation is determined by the relational role selected in the Role column for the listed record and by the type selected in the Type column. For a one-way relation, each row that has information about the relation is shown only on this tab of the current form.

The table toolbar includes only standard buttons. For the list of standard buttons, see Table Toolbar.


Column	Description
Role	The relational role of the associated record or document, which describes the way it relates to the request for information. You can select any of the following roles: Owner, Approver, General Contractor, Subcontractor, Vendor, Customer, or Technical Expert: These roles all represent contacts that are related to the request for information selected on the form; your organization determines how to use these informational roles. When you select any of these roles, Contact is inserted in the Type column of this row. You need to select an existing business account (which causes the name to be inserted), a specific contact, or both; other columns are filled in automatically. Related Entity: This role indicates that the record in the row is related to the current request for information in some way that does not fit the other roles. When you select this role, you need to select its type and then select a particular record of the type in the Document column; the specified elements for the record are inserted in the row.
Primary	A check box that indicates (if selected) that the current row is considered the primary relation of the selected role. This check box can be selected for multiple listed relations, but only one relation can be primary for each role.
Type	The type of the entity that is related to the request for information. For lines with the Owner, Approver, General Contractor, Subcontractor, Vendor, Customer, or Technical Expert role, only the Contact type is available. For the Related Entity type, the following options (each specifying the type of the attached entity or document) are available: Project, Project Task, Purchase Order, Subcontract, Bill, AR Invoice, and RFI.
Document	The unique identifier of the document that is relevant for the request for information. This column is available for editing only if Related Entity is selected in the Role column. If the selected type is Customer or Vendor, the list of customers or vendors available for selection may be limited based on the role or roles assigned to the user account to which you are signed in if the Customer and Vendor Visibility Restriction feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form. For details, see Visibility of Customer Records and Visibility of Vendor Records.
Account	The identifier of the business account associated with the selected record (if the record has the associated business account).
Name	The name of the business account. The name is inserted by the system if a business account is selected for the row.
Contact	The contact associated with the role (if the Type is Contact) or the contact associated with the record selected in the Document column.
Email	The email address of the contact person.
Add to CC	A check box that indicates (if selected) that the contact should receive a copy of emails.

Drawings Tab

On this tab, you can link a drawing log to the request for information, review the details of the linked drawing logs, or unlink drawing logs.

Table 4. Table Toolbar
The table toolbar includes standard buttons and buttons that are specific to this table. For the list of standard buttons, see Table Toolbar. The table-specific buttons are listed below.
Button	Description
Link Drawing	Opens the Link Drawing dialog box, in which you can select the drawing log or logs you want to attach to the request for information. Only the drawing logs for the project related to the request for information are shown.
Unlink Drawing	Deletes the drawing logs selected in the table from the request for information. This button is available if the Included check box is selected for at least one drawing log in the table.
View Attachments	Opens the Drawing Log Document Attachments dialog box, in which you can review the files that have been attached to the request for information for the selected drawing logs. This button is available if the Included check box is selected for at least one drawing log in the table.

Table 5. Link Drawing Dialog BoxThe system opens this dialog box when you select the Included check box for at least one drawing log in the table and click Link Drawing on the table toolbar. By using this dialog box, you can link drawing logs to the request for information. In the Drawing Logs table, you can view and select the drawing logs related to the project that is specified in the request for information. The table toolbar includes only the standard buttons. For the list of standard buttons, see Table Toolbar.
Element	Description
The Drawing Logs table consists of the following columns.
Included	A check box that indicates (if selected) that the drawing log will be linked to the request for information if you click the Link to Issue or Link & Close button.
Drawing Log ID	The identifier of the drawing log.
Project	The project related to the drawing log.
Project Task	The project task related to the drawing log.
Discipline	The discipline of the drawing log.
Drawing Number	The drawing number.
Revision	The revision number of the drawing log.
Sketch	The identifier of the sketch.
Title	The title of the drawing log.
Description	The description of the drawing log.
Status	The status of the drawing log.
Drawing Date	The business date when the drawing log was created.
Received Date	The business date when the drawing log was received.
Original Drawing	The identifier of the preceding version of the drawing log.
Owner	The owner of the drawing log.
The dialog box contains the following buttons.
Link to Issue	Links the selected drawing logs to this request for information.
Link & Close	Links the selected drawing logs to this request for information and closes the dialog box.
Cancel	Closes the dialog box without linking any drawing logs to the request for information.

Table 6. Drawing Log Document Attachments Dialog BoxThe system opens this dialog box when you select the Included check box for at least one drawing log in the table and click View Attachments on the table toolbar. By using this dialog box, you can view the files attached to the selected drawing logs; you can download any of the files. This dialog box consists of a table, whose columns are listed below, listing the files of the selected drawing logs. The table toolbar includes only the standard buttons. For the list of standard buttons, see Table Toolbar.
Element	Description
File Name	The name of the file attached to the drawing log. You can click the link to download the file.
Drawing Log ID	The identifier of the drawing log.
Comment	The comment provided for the file.

Table 7. Table ColumnsThe table contains rows corresponding to all the drawing logs that have been linked to the request for information, and that the system fills in all columns with the settings that have been specified for the drawing log on the Drawing Log (PJ303000) form.
Column	Description
Included	An unlabeled check box that you select to include this drawing log for processing if you click Unlink Drawing or View Attachments on the table toolbar.
Drawing Log ID	The identifier of the drawing log.
Project	The project related to the drawing log.
Project Task	The project task related to the drawing log.
Discipline	The discipline of the drawing log.
Drawing Number	The drawing number.
Revision	The revision number of the drawing log.
Sketch	The identifier of the sketch.
Title	The title of the drawing log.
Description	The description of the drawing log.
Status	The status of the drawing log.
Drawing Date	The business date when the drawing log was created.
Received Date	The business date when the drawing log was received.
Original Drawing	The identifier of the preceding version of the drawing log.