Objective

The goals of this session are to demonstrate knowledge of all the navigation functionalities to be covered and to setup all Security Profiles & Employees and Users within your operation. Please take notes on the subjects that are covered, as everyone involved in this session will take a quiz upon completion.

Basic Navigation

Logging into VendMAX

VendMAX can be accessed generally by double clicking on the coins icon on your desktop. From there your will enter your user name and password that has been provided to you by your administrator.

Accessing VendMAX Functions

VendMAX is a windows based program that has drop down menus from which you can access all the functions inside of VendMAX.  The different drops down menus are File, Edit, Activities, Transactions, Master Files, Reporting, Administration, Window and Help.

All menu options from the Activities, Transactions, and Master Files can also be accessed through the Quick Links menu in the upper left hand side of the VendMAX program.

Each Master File is listed alphabetically and individually. At the bottom of the list are Activities, Group Maintenance and Transactions. For each of these listings, there is a ‘+’ button to the left of the item. If you click on the ‘+’ button, a list of all sub-menu items will appear. This technique is employed to consolidate on space requirements.

The Hot Links area of the VendMAX Client screen is used to aid in the speed and efficiency of navigating the system, and finding specific data. Different items will appear in this window, dependant on the active data screen in the main data window. The Hot Links window predicts what you might want to do next and displays appropriate options as you operate the system.

Navigating VendMAX Windows

The navigation in VendMAX is similar for every window opened. When a particular feature is opened (Activity, Master File or Transaction), the window is opened in its ‘Grid’ view. That is, as records are added, a list is formed. The first record on the list is always highlighted with an arrow. The arrow functionalities are as follows.

Entering Dates

Dates can be entered with the standard dd/mm/yyyy format. They can also be entered by accessing the drop down calendar and selecting the date that way. You can use the arrows in the upper right/left to toggle through the months or you can click on the month and a pop up menu of all 12 months will be displayed. You can then select the specific month you are looking for. The same functionality can be used for years. To ultimately select a date you just need to double click on the proper day and it will be selected or manually enter it using the format stated above.

(Example: scheduled Events Tab)

Window Tabs

File Tab, Tiled or Cascading can be selected to alter the way that multiple open tabs line up while working in VendMAX. File tab – will have all tabs vertically next to each other. Tiled – will be put horizontally on top of each other. Cascading – will stagger the tabs one on top of the other.

Searching

The search area in VendMAX is located just below the navigation buttons on the grid view of every Master File and Transaction File. The basic search options consist of the field name to be searched, and a text entry area to type the value on which to search.

The second box in the search bar contains a pull down menu listing all the field headings contained in the grid view. The Field List is unique for each Master File Table or Transaction File, and for each user of the system. Therefore, your defaults for this screen are stored as part of your login parameters. The Code and Description fields are required, all others are optional.

There is a wildcard % (percentage sign) when searching which will greatly enhance your ability to find records you’re not exactly sure how they were worded when entered. When utilizing the wildcard, type text most likely to be contained in the field you are searching for. All records that contain this specific text will be populated.

Copy Button

The Copy button on the search bar allows you to take the current grid view and copy it to the clipboard within Windows. All of the data columns, and all rows returned by VendMAX, (including those which do not fit on the current screen), will be copied to the Windows clipboard. This data can then be pasted into another Windows application such as a spreadsheet, or a word processor. In most applications, this data will be pasted as a tab delimited text, with a line feed between each record.

Excel Button

By choosing this function, the current grid view data will automatically open in Microsoft Excel, without leaving the VendMAX interface. In order to use this function, you must have previously installed a working copy of the Excel application on your computer workstation. Many of Excel’s functions will be available, within VendMAX including graphing functions.

User Defined Fields

User Defined Fields are available for most VendMAX Master Files data tables.  These data fields are reserved for users to define and maintain specific pieces of data which were not included in the VendMAX data model.

In order to activate a User Defined field, select one which says “(not used)”.    After clicking on the field name, a dialog box will open which will allow you to define the type of data that you will allow for this field.

User Field Is Active – Check this box to activate the field.  To de-activate a field in the future, you can un-check this box, and the field will become inactive.  Once activated and defined, the field maintains the same definition for all records in the Master Table.  

Caption for this field – The text you enter here will replace the text on the main screen which originally said “<User Defined Field (not used)>.  This will identify the type of information you are asking users of the system to enter in that User Defined Field.   Example “Shirt Sizes”. 

Drop Down Type –“Choose from list” will put a >> button at the end of a created field and works much like the description screen throughout VendMAX. The following options are available for this type of User Defined Field:

• “Maximum length of text” – Choose a value between 1 and 25 characters.
• “You may only enter from the list” –  If un-checked, this will give the user the option of entering from the list, or by typing free-form text directly into the field.
• “Use Codes in addition to descriptions” –  If this option is selected, then all list entries will require both a Code and Description to be added.  If the code is left blank, VendMAX will auto-assign the next available code number in ascending numeric order.  This option may make the task of data entry easier because if ‘Use Code Lookups’ is set to YES in the Global Settings dialog, then the user can simply type the code of the desired list item, and VendMAX will insert the desired item.
• “Text”-  By selecting this option you are creating a field where text, integer, decimal, or date can be entered directly into the field.  The following options are available for this type of User Defined Field:  
  • “Maximum Field Length of the Text”-  Choose a value between 1 and 25 characters. 
  • “Data Type” – This settings will restrict the types of data that a user can enter in the User Defined Field.  The available options are: Text, Integer, Decimal and Date.

Logging out of VendMAX

Hit the ‘X’ in the upper right hand corner of VendMAX to exit the program or go to the “File” drop down menu and select “Exit”. Either procedure will log you out of VendMAX.

Help File

The Help File can be accessed by hitting the “F1” key or by going to the “Help” drop down menu and selecting “Help Topics F1”. Once the Help File is opened you will see four tabs. Contents, Index, Search and Glossary.      

• Contents tab will allow you to double click on each book to the left of the desired subjects to expand all sub menus.
• Index tab will allow you to look for a specific “keyword” to aide you in finding what you’re looking for.  
• Search tab will allow you to enter a “keyword” which will bring up corresponding topics related to that “keyword”.  
• Glossary tab will give you the definition of fields you may not understand what they mean.

Grid View/ Form View

Many screens in VendMAX provide a grid view. This is the case for all Master Files, Transactions Files and inside of many Activities. Any time you are presented with a list of database records, the list can be sorted and manipulated in exactly the same manner. Items in Grid view can be sorted according to any column heading by simply clicking on the heading that you want the items sorted by. All listed items will automatically sort in descending order according to the column heading selected. The sort order is indicated by the red arrow on the on the right side of the column selected. If the arrow is pointing down the sort is in descending order. To sort items in ascending order click on the column heading. The order will change to ascending, as indicated by the red arrow that points upwards.

Grid View/Form View is accessed by either hitting the button in the grid view or by double clicking an item in the grid view. The Form View shows individual record information on items in VendMAX.

You will also be automatically directed to the Form View for files where it’s available by hitting the + to add a new item.

The navigation bar and search area at the top of the Form View screen works just the same as every other area of VendMAX.

Another trick to toggling between the Grid View/From View is the F11 key.

   Grid View:  Shows summary of all records in a particular category

    Form View: Shows an individual record in a form viewx

Choose Fields

This button allows you to add the fields you would like to see when looking at the Grid view in VendMAX.

Go to Choose Fields then to ‘Add fields’ and select any field you would like to see in the grid view.

Once selected you can affect the header order it is populated by dragging and dropping the field accordingly.

Configure Search

The Configure Search dialog is used to customize the search parameters for the Grid Views of all Master File Screens and other transaction-related Grid Views. The settings entered here are stored for the current user and are applied to all Grid View screens for that user. They can be changed at any time and are stored with the login ID so that as users move from one workstation to another these settings follow them.

“Show out of service records” –  This parameter will establish whether records marked as ‘Out of Service’ will appear in the result set. This would normally be un-checked. If you need to mark a record back into service which was previously marked as out of service, you would turn this check ON, search for the effected record, make the modification, and then turn this parameter back OFF.

Administration

Security Profiles

Security Profiles are like Templates for setting up permissions in the VendMAX/DeliveryMAX client.

Each User in the Employees/Users table is assigned a Security Profile.

The Profile establishes which screens and functions of VendMAX the users can see, edit or actions they can perform.

There are over 200 different security settings available to help precisely control the areas of exposure that you wish to provide different employees. Because it takes some time to define the correct security settings, VendMAX uses security profiles.

A profile may be named after a specific function in your company, like “Administrator”, “Finance” or “Driver”. Each of these functions can be set up with their own permissions.

Then each of these Profiles can be assigned to all of the Users for which they apply, on the Employees/Users tab. Simply highlight the specific permissions from the “Available” section and hit the arrows between the two boxes < to send them to the “Selected” permissions section.

Go through examples & recommendations for Driver, Rt Supervisor, Data Entry and Money Room profile on their database.

Employees and Users

The Employees and Users master file is used to set up users for the VendMAX software as well as record information on these Users and other Employees.

This table also maintains all security and access information for the VendMAX system including Site access for multi-site operations.

An administrator would use Employees/Users to set user privileges, record employee address information, and create and maintain login and password information. All users should have their own login account which is set up in the Employees and Users Master Table. By maintaining separate login accounts for all users, you can more carefully restrict access using Security Profiles.

When records or transactions are created or edited in VendMAX, the database will store the login ID of the user who created them. This will provide a good audit trail if there are any data problems in the future.

The ‘Employee and User’ tab contains the following buttons and fields: 

• Title – Mr., Mrs, Ms etc   
• First – The employees first name  
• Last – The employees last name  
• Login Name – Name by which employee can login to VendMAX system. This field is not active on this screen, and can therefore not be changed. The login name is established when this record was created. If the login name must be changed, the record can be deleted or marked out of service, and a new record must be created with the appropriate login name. In VendMAX, most Master File records, including Employees and Users, can not simply be deleted because other table records in the VendMAX database refer to them. If this user has created any Master File records or Transactions in VendMAX, the system will not allow the Employee record to be deleted. This will require the ‘Out of Service’ solution. 
• Security Profile – This field gives ability to assign predefined security profile to Employee. Security Profiles are created to control access to each screen and many sub-screen areas in VendMAX.
• Add Login – This button will cause VendMAX to create a login account for the current Employee record, effectively making this employee a VendMAX user. A dialog box will appear asking for a Password to use for the new account. When this process is complete, the new user can login using the “Login Name” and “Password” now established.
• Drop Login – This button is used to remove the current Employee’s login name from the authorized users list in VendMAX. If you no longer wish to provide access to a User, choose this option, and that user login and password will no longer provide access. If you want to reverse this decision at a later time, simply choosing “Add Login” will again provide access. 
• Change Password – Used to change the password the Employee uses to log into VendMAX system. This function can be used to change any User’s password; therefore, access should be limited to administrators using the Security Profile settings.
• Handheld User – Check box if the Employee is to be designated as a hand held user. This will add the user’s login name to the list of employees in the handheld configuration list. In order to make an Employee into a Handheld User, they must first be a VendMAX user by adding a login, as described above. 
• Handheld Password – If the current Employee Record has been assigned as a Handheld User, this field will allow you to establish a password for that user on the handheld. This password does not need to be the same as the Login password for the VendMAX client and in fact can be left blank if you prefer not to password protect the handheld login.
• Copy This User – This will create a duplicate of the existing user. After choosing this option, VendMAX will ask for the Login Name, First Name, Last Name, Password, and Confirm Password. It will then create a file identical to the original and save time when creating multiple records of a similar type (Drivers, for example) 
• *Site Information – Site Information only appears when the database is Multi-Sited. This data would not make sense for a single sited database.  User is part of this site – When the Employee Record is created, the Site Identity is established using the “Site Creation” rules from the login record of the User who created this new Employee Record. If the user who created the record is not a multi-sited user, then the new record adopts the same Site Identity as this user. If the user is multi-sited, then the site identity is set by the Sites to View for This Session settings.   Multi Site Logon – If the current Employee and User record should only have access to data for the site to which the employee themselves belong, then this box should not be checked. To provide access to more than one site, check this box, and then establish which sites the user will have access to using the Employees/User-Sites tab.
• Date of Employment – Date Employee started with company.
• Out of Service Date – In VendMAX, most Master File records, including Employees and Users, can not simply be deleted, because other table records in the VendMAX database refer to them. If this user has created any Master File records or Transactions in VendMAX, the system will not allow the Employee record to be deleted. This will require the ‘Out of Service’ solution. Therefore, there needs to be a way to leave the record in the database and still make it disappear from all reports and lists within the system. That is accomplished by entering a date into this field. This date will establish when this record is no longer to appear in these reports and other lists. This record can be brought back into service simply by erasing the date from this field. In order to view this record, for reference, research, or to bring it back into service, see the Configure Search portion of the Help File for more information. 
• Birthday – Birth date of Employee.

The ‘Address/Info’ tab contains the following fields:

• Address – Address of Employee/User
• Phone Numbers – The Main Number is the place to store the main number used to contact this Employee. The user defined phone fields can be used to define and store alternate numbers, like mobile, home, or pager numbers. 
• Internet Info – Enter internet and email information for this Employee. These are text fields, and are optional. If you are using the Service Call module of VendMAX, and will be using Electronic dispatch, the Email address set here will be the one used to send service calls to this employee. 
• Service Call Email Options – This area is used in the event that the current employee is responsible for service. There are a number of devices used to contact this employee including beepers and cell phone and text capabilities. However, many of these devices have limitations as to how much text can be displayed. The check boxes below give the ability to limit the length of a service call message. Simply check the box of the item you want included in the service call message. If employee has standard email you would want all boxes checked in most cases. If employee is not service related this area can be disregarded all together.

The ‘Misc Info’ tab contains the following fields:

• User Defined Fields – The Miscellaneous tab allows you to setup and maintain 10 User Defined data fields for Employees and Users. Most Master Tables in VendMAX provide a place to create and maintain 10 User Defined data fields. The use of these fields is optional.

The ‘Sites’ tab contains the following fields and buttons: 

• Current Sites – The current sites list shows the sites to which the current Employee/User has access. 
• Available Sites – The available sites list shows a list of sites to which the Employee/User does not yet have access.

The ‘User Settings’ tab contains the following fields and buttons

The settings contained in the User Setting list will control the applicable functions for the current user only. Once set, these will remain for all future sessions for this user, until they are changed.

Reference VendMAX help file for a more detailed explanation of each option.

Sites To View For This Session

In a Multi-Sited database, users can be assigned to a single site or to multiple sites.

There are several settings in VendMAX which control a user’s data access to multiple sites.

As with all Master Files, each entry in the Employees and Users table is assigned a Site ID.

Each Employee record added to this table will adopt the Site ID of the user who creates the record. This will then establish the “Site ID” information contained on the Employees\Users tab.

The data from this site will always be available to the User. If the user is allowed to access data from any additional sites, the “Multi-Site logon” checkbox should be selected.

Once this has been done, you can visit the Employees\Users – Sites tab, and add the sites for which the user shall have access.

Users who have been granted multi-site access through this process may want to control this access, or further limit it on occasion. The Sites to View for This Session function provides this control. The following dialog box is presented for this function:

                                                                                         

Site – This area of the screen will list each of the sites which have been authorized on the Employees\Users – Sites tab.

Show – Each box which is checked here will include the associated site’s data in all results sets in VendMAX for the current session.

Select All – All sites will be selected

Select None – No Sites will be selected

Set To Current Row In Grid – This button will cause the site selected from the list above to become the “Creation Site”. This means that all records and transactions added during the following session will be created with a Site ID adopted from this selected site. The Site chosen must be selected for viewing also.