Instructions for Building a Simple Inventory System in Formever

Build A Simple Inventory SystemIn this sequence of slides we’re going to take you through building a

rudimentary inventory systemWe will skip over many formatting niceties, such as titles, additional fields and

the likeThis system has four basic components:

– A form to create an Inventory Item with a code– A form to add to the count of Inventory Items– A form to subtract from the count of Inventory Items– A report to give us the current count in Inventory

Build A Simple Inventory SystemThis presentation will assume you’ve already gone through the basics of setup

in Admin Mode, that you have:– Created at least one year of fiscal calendar– Designated your home currency– Switched from admin mode to the first period

Starting Off in YSP15• Double Click on the

“Master Form” Icon to open the form designer

Creating the First Form• Unlock the Master

Form Designer by clicking on the “Locked” button (it will switch to “Unlocked”)

Creating the First Form• Open a blank master

form by clicking on the “Get Blank Master Form” button

Creating the First Form• Give the form a

name by typing it into the line marked “Form Name”

• Click on the blue text “Not Set Yet” and it will change to “Entity”

Creating the First Form• Click on the

blue text, “Click here to continue set up of master form”

Formatting the Inventory Item Form• Right Click on

the “Description” widget and drag-and-drop it onto the form, below the code field, to create a description field

Formatting the Inventory Item Form• Click on the

description field to edit it

Parts of the Description Field• The description

field has three components:– The “label”

part– The “data”

part– The grey box

which defines the visible area (things inside the box show up on the form, things outside it don’t)

Grey “Visible Area” Box

Name Part Data Part

Formatting the Description Field• Click on the

name part of the field to edit it

Formatting the Description Field• Click on the

existing name and type over it to customize the name. Let’s Call it “Inventory Item Name”

Formatting the Description Field• Click

anywhere in the white space to close the name part editor and go back to the description editor

Formatting the Description Field• The name part

and data part are now outlined in red because they are overlapping

• Fix this by right clicking on the data part and dragging it to the right until they don’t overlap anymore

Formatting the Description Field• The name field is

still outlined in red because it overlaps the grey “visible area” rectangle

• Right click on the thick blue arrow and drag it to re-size the “visible area” rectangle so there’s no overlap

Filing the Inventory Item Form• Again, click on

the white space to return to the form designer

• We won’t bother with further design, simply click on the “File” button to finalize creation of the form

Filing the Inventory Item Form• You will see a

confirmation notice

• Press the “Alt” button and the number 1 at the same time to confirm creation of the form

Selection List on the Desktop• Now that you’ve

created the form, you will see on your desktop a selection list for this form. Right now it’s empty because we haven’t filled in any forms

Creating the Next Form• Click on “Get

Blank Master Form” again

• Give it the name “Inventory Addition”

• Click on the type until it says “Transaction”

• Give it the two letter initials code “IA”

Adding Detail Lines• Right click on

the “Detail Lines” widget and drag-and-drop it onto the form, below the “Transaction Date” field

Formatting the Detail Lines• Click on the

detail lines field to begin formatting it

Formatting the Detail Lines• Give the detail

lines a custom name by over-typing on the label, change it to “Inventory Addition Details”

Formatting the Detail Lines• Click on the

detail field to open the detail editor to customize the individual lines

Formatting the Detail Lines• Right click on

the blue arrow and drag it to resize the detail line box

• Right click on the “Form Reference” widget, drag-and-drop it onto the detail line to create a reference field

Formatting the Form Reference• Click on the

reference field to edit and customize


name field to customize


name and type over it, let’s call it “Item Being Added”

Formatting the Form Reference• Right click on

the name field and drag it outside the grey box so it doesn’t show up on the detail line

• Then click on the reference part (the hash marks)


blue text to select which form we’re going to reference

Formatting the Form Reference• Since there’s

only one form we can reference, there’s only one item in the list

• Click on the blue text to select “Inventory Item”

Formatting the Form Reference• Now that we’ve

selected a form, we have to select a field from that form as an identifier

• Click on the part with green question marks to select the identifier

Formatting the Form Reference• Now that we’ve

selected a form, we have to select a field from that form as an identifier

• Click on the part with green question marks to select the identifier field

Formatting the Form Reference• Since there’s

only one valid field on the form, there is only one item in the list

• Click on the blue text to select “Inventory Item Name”

Formatting the Form Reference• Now the

refrence shows green x’s instead of question marks

• Make sure no fields are overlapping each other or the grey visible area box

• Click on the white space to return to the detail line editor

Adding a Quantity• Right click on

the Quantity widget and drag-and-drop it onto the detail line to create a Quantity field

Formatting a Quantity• Right click on

the name part and drag it outside the visible area (grey box)

• Edit it to re-name it “Quantity Added”

• Then click on the $ sign to edit the units

Formatting a Quantity• Click on the

blue text, “Change to Unit” to switch from currency type to a unit type


blue text, “Change unit” to switch from the default of hours to another kind of unit


blue text, “Dimensionless”


blue text, “Dimensionless Standard”


blue text, “unit” (we’re going to work with single units for all of these items)


white space to return to the quantity editor


number signs to edit the number part


upper, green portion to increase the number

• Click on the lower, red portion to decrease the number

• Click on the blue text until you reach “No sign”

Formatting a Quantity• Set the digits to

the left of the decimal point to “6”

• Set the digits to the right of the decimal point to “0”

• Set the sign type to “no sign”

• Click on the white space to return to the quantity editor


the blue arrow to re-size the grey visible area box so that the number part is inside and the other parts are outside

• Click on the white space to return to the detail line editor


the blue arrow to re-size the grey visible area box

• Click on the white space to return to the quantity editor


“Column Header” field to format the Header Line

Formatting a Quantity• Set the column

headers “Inventory Item” and “Quantity” above the matching fields in the detail line

• Click on the white space to return to the form editor

Filing the Additions Form• Click on the

“File” button to create the form

• Press “Alt” and 1 together when prompted to confirm creation of the form

Cleaning up the Desktop a Little• There is now a

new selection list for the “Inventory Addition” form on your desktop

• Double Click on the headers of the two selection lists to turn them into icons (to de-clutter the space a little)

Creating the Inventory Pull Form• Click on the

“Get Blank Master Form” to create the third form

Creating the Inventory Pull Form• Name the form,

“Inventory Pull”• Click on the

blue text to select form type “Transaction”

• Enter a two letter form code of “IP”

Creating the Inventory Pull Form• Right click on

the “Detail Lines” widget and drag-and-drop it on the form to create a detail lines field

Formatting the Detail Lines• Customize the

name by over-typing “Inventory Pull Details”

• Click on the detail line editor to customize the detail lines

Formatting the Detail Lines• Right click on

the form reference widget and drag-and-drop it onto the detail line to create a form reference field

Formatting the Form Reference• Click on the blue

text, “Select a form”

• This time there are two items in the list – select the blue text “Inventory Item”

• Click on the white space to return to the form reference editor

Formatting the Form Reference• Set the form

reference identifier to Inventory Item Name

Formatting the Form Reference• Right click on

the blue arrow and drag to re-size the grey visible area box so that the form code and identifier are included but the name is outside the visible area

Adding a Quantity Field• Right click on

the Quantity widget and drag-and-drop it onto the detail line box to create a quantity field

Formatting the Quantity Field• Set the name

part to “Quantity Pulled”

• As before, set the units to “unit” (dimensionless) and the number of digits to 6, with no sign

Resizing the Detail Line• Right click on

the blue arrow to resize the detail line box so it fits neatly around the two fields

Adjusting the Column Headers• Click on the

Column Header Line to format the Headers

Adjusting the Column Headers• Type in the

headers “Inventory Item Pulled” and “Quantity”

• Line them up over the appropriate fields

• Click in the white space to return to the form editor

Filing the Inventory Pull Form• Click on the file

button to create the form

Minimizing the Selection List to an Icon• Double click on

the header of the “Inventory Pull” selection list to minimize it to an icon

Editing Definitions on the Master Form• From the

“Master Forms” list, click on the label “Inventory Item” to call up the Inventory Item Master Form

Editing Definitions on the Master Form• Click on the

“Edit” button


“Turn Form Over” button


blue “twiddle” beside Form Definitions


blue text “click here to add a form definition”


blue “twiddle” beside the blue text “Definition”


blue text “Not Defined Yet”

Editing Definitions on the Master Form• From the list,

select the option “Operate Over a Form Stack”


blue text “Select a Form Stack”

Editing Definitions on the Master Form• From the list

that appears, select the form, “Inventory Addition Details”


blue text “Select Field”

Editing Definitions on the Master Form• Select from the

list, “Quantity Added”

Editing Definitions on the Master Form• Using the green

half to go up, and the red half to go down, adjust the number of digits to “6” and “0”

• Click on blue text to cycle through sign type choices, to “no sign”

Editing Definitions on the Master Form• Click on the text

beside “Definition” and over-type to customize the name of the definition. Set it to “Inventory Added Total”


blue “twiddle” beside the definition to close it back up


blue “arrow down / + sign” symbol to add a new definition


blue “twiddle” beside the new definition to open the selection list

• Select “Operate over a form stack” from the list

Editing Definitions on the Master Form• Select the form

stack “Inventory Pull Details”

• From the list of fields, select “Quantity Pulled”

Editing Definitions on the Master Form• Adjust the digits

before and digits after the decimal point to be “6” and “0”

• Adjust the unit position by clicking on the blue text until the selection reads “no sign”

Editing Definitions on the Master Form• Customize the

definition name by over-typing the name field to “Inventory Pulled Total”

Editing Definitions on the Master Form• Add another

definition (as before, click on the “arrow down / + sign” symbol)

• As before click on the blue twiddle to drop down the list of operations

• Select “Add/Subtract”



Editing Definitions on the Master Form• From the list,

click on the blue text “Inventory Added Total”


“down arrow / + sign” symbol to add another term to the addition



Editing Definitions on the Master Form• From the list

that appears, select “Inventory Pulled Total”


blue text “PLUS” so that it changes to “MINUS” – now the second field will be subtracted from the first field

Editing Definitions on the Master Form• Customize the

definition name to “Inventory on Hand”

This means that “Inventory on Hand” is defined as Inventory Added minus Inventory Pulled• Click on the

“Turn Form Over” Button

Filing the Revised Form• Click on the

“File” button, and press “Alt” and “1” to confirm

Creating a Report• Double click on

the “Report Design” icon

Creating a Report• Click on the

“locked” button to change it to “Unlocked”


“Create Report” button

Creating a Report• Give the report

a name by typing over the name field – call it “Inventory Tally Report”


blue text “select form stack”

Creating a Report• From the list

select “Inventory Item”

Creating a Report• On the display

type line, click on the blue “twiddle” beside Detail

Creating a Report• The pink area is

the print block• Click on the

print block

Creating a Report• A question mark

appears• This marks the

spot where the field or text will start

• Click on the blue text “Select a field”


select “Inventory Item Name”

Creating a Report• The line of x’s in

the print block indicate how much space is reserved for the Inventory Item Name field

• Click on the print block again to add another field

Creating a Report• Click on “Select

a field”


select “Inventory on Hand”


blue text “Unit Behind” and cycle through the options until you reach “no unit”


“File” button to create the report

Creating a Report• Confirm the

filing by pressing “Alt” and “1”

Report Requestor Now Active• You’ll now see a

new widget on your desktop – “Report Requests”

• Double click on it to open it

Change Fiscal Periods• In order to run a

report, we’ll need to enter some data

• For data entry in the transaction forms, switch to a regular fiscal period

• Double click on the “Change Period” widget to open it

Change Fiscal Period• Click on the “+”

symbol beside the Target Accounting Period Display, so that it changes from YSP 15 to Jan15

Change Fiscal Period• Click on the

“Move to Target Period” to actually switch fiscal periods

Data Entry• Notice the

watermark on the background now says “Jan15”, showing we’ve moved to the correct fiscal period

• Double click on the “Inventory Item” icon to open selection list

Data Entry• Click on the

“Get Blank Form” button (you can also press F4 for the same result)

Data Entry• Type in a 4 digit

code. Let’s start with “1000”

Data Entry• Press Tab, or

click on the Inventory Item Name field

• Give the Item a name – let’s use “Widgets, large steel polished”

• Click on the “File” button to create the entry

Data Entry• Double-click on

the “Inventory Addition” icon

• Click on the “Get Blank Form” button

Data Entry• Enter a date.

Since this is a January transaction let’s enter “15/01/21”

• Next, click on the “+” button on the details section to add a new detail line

Data Entry• Enter a valid

code for Inventory Item (in this case there is only one, “1000”)

Data Entry• Tab or click over

to the quantity field – let’s enter “2500”

Data Entry• Click on the

“File” button• We have now

entered 2500 widgets into inventory

Data Entry• The Inventory

Addition now shows up in the selection list(we can format the display of the selection list to give us more information, but that’s a topic for later)

Data Entry• Double click on

the Inventory Pull icon to open up the selection list

• Click on the “Get Blank Form” button (or press F4)

Data Entry• Enter a

Transaction Date – let’s use 15/01/23

• Click on the “+” button to add a new detail line

Data Entry• Enter a valid

Inventory Item code (again, there’s only one right now, 1000)

Data Entry• Tab or click over

to the quantity field and enter an amount – let’s use 1,000

• Click on the “File” button to enter the form

Running a Report• Now we can run

a report• Go to the Report

Requester and click on the box beside our report, “Inventory Tally Report”

• Click on the “Generate Selected Report” button

Running a Report• Here is our

report, and we can see that we have 1,500 widgets on hand (which is the net of 2,500 added minus 1,00 pulled)

Running a Report• As we add more

data, we get more lines in our report, each one using the same formatting

Thank You!

Business

Instructions for Building a Simple Inventory System in Formever