User Manual and Installation

Introduction:Welcome RD Percussion Information System
Version 1.0.0 Production Release
[User Manual]
1 RD Percussion Information System: User Manual
Table Of Contents
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
Welcome ........................................................................................................................................... 3 System Overview ................................................................................................................................ 4 How To Use This Manual ...................................................................................................................... 5
2. Installation Instructions
Installing The Database and Components .............................................................................................. 6 Installing the Information System ....................................................................................................... 16
3. Launching The System

The Login Dialog .............................................................................................................................. 18 The Main Form ................................................................................................................................. 20
4. The Customer Data Management Form

Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 22 Form Operations ............................................................................................................................... 23 Returning to the Main Form................................................................................................................ 30
5. The Product Data Management Form

Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 31 Form Operations ............................................................................................................................... 32 Returning to the Main Form................................................................................................................ 40
6. The Sales Invoice Generator

Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 41 Selecting The Customer ..................................................................................................................... 44 Add and Remove Products ................................................................................................................. 45 Adding Discounts .............................................................................................................................. 48 Generating the Invoice ...................................................................................................................... 50
7. Removing Invoices
Removing Invoices ........................................................................................................................... 52
8. The Summary Report Generator

Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 54 Generating a Summary Report ........................................................................................................... 56 Returning to the Main Form................................................................................................................ 58
9. Database Recovery
Backing Up The Database .................................................................................................................. 59 Restoring The Database ..................................................................................................................... 61
10. The Electronic Help Document

The Electronic Help Document ............................................................................................................ 62
RD Percussion Information System: User Manual
Introduction
Welcome
I would hereby like to welcome you to the RD Percussion Information System User Manual. In this user manual, you will find everything you need to get the system up and running and learn how to efficiently use the system and all of its functionalities. If you are reading this manual for the first time after the project has been completed, please ensure that you read the section Installation Instructions carefully and that you apply that section correctly to ensure a successful installation. Although you can complete the installation by yourself, it is recommended that one of the developers of the system be present to ensure a seamless installation. Also, if you are new to using the RD Percussion Information System, or have not used a similar business system before, it is advised that you study this manual carefully to develop a clear understanding of how each of the forms work and how to properly use the system. However, don't be worried! Each of the operations described in this manual will be accompanied with screenshots from the actual system, as well as textual descriptions to clarify what must be done. In addition to functionality instructions, the user manual also includes various tips and warning labels to indicate what can be done to increase the efficiency of an operation and what you should watch out for. These elements are further illustrated in the section How To Use This Manual. In conclusion, I hope that the RD Percussion Information System satisfies the needs of the business environment and that it will both increase the efficiency of business operations and guide the business to new heights.
Introduction
System Overview
The RD Percussion Information System consists of 5 individual forms that are tightly integrated. Each form provides a specific subset of functionalities. These 5 forms are: The Main Form The Customer Data Management Form The Product Data Management Form The Sales Invoice Generator The Summary Report Generator
The Main Form acts as the launch point to access the rest of the system, and is a simple form that uses a main menu bar to launch the other forms. This is the form that you will most likely see when the system is booted. The Customer Data Management Form allows for the efficient and accurate management of customer data, through which the clerk can add new customers, update or remove existing customers, or view customer information. The Product Data Management Form allows for the efficient and accurate management of product data, through which the clerk can add new products, update or remove existing products, or view product information. This form also provides a search functionality through which product information can be viewed by matching keywords. The Sales Invoice Generator allows for the quick generation of accurate and professional sales invoices. This form requires little user input and provides a robust way to quickly handle the creation of a new order and invoice. In addition, all calculations are automated, relieving the clerk from having to calculate anything manually. The Summary Report Generator uses the business data stored in the database to generate real-time summary reports. These reports reveal the buying trends of customers and the underlying patterns of business sales, which, in turn, can then be used in decision making and marketing efforts.
Introduction
How To Use This Manual

Throughout this manual, various tips and warnings will be indicated. Tips include things such as shortcuts that apply, alternative ways of executing an operation, and any additional information that is not provided by the screenshots or textual instructions. The following symbol is used to indicate a tip:
Tips will be explained in this section
In addition to tips, warnings will also be noted. These warnings indicate the various things to watch out for when performing the operation, and should be taken into consideration while using the system. Failure to take heed of the warnings might result in unreliable data or the generation of an error. The following symbol is used to indicate a warning:
Warnings will be explained in this section
In addition to tips and warnings, each major section of the manual also includes an error table. Should you encounter an error while performing an operation, consult that sections error table to determine what went wrong and how to continue using the system. If the user manual is to be used during the day-to-day operations of the business, consult the Table of Contents first to quickly find the topic you are looking for. If you are looking for a more robust and shorter manual, consult the digital help file, which can be accessed from any of the forms through the Help menu title. This help manual is more applicable for users that have already used the RD Percussion Information System, and who just want to quickly look up something that they find confusing.
Installation Instructions
To complete the following installation instructions, please ensure that you have the RD Percussion Information System CD-ROM and that you follow the installation instructions carefully to ensure a successful installation. Installing the Database To install the MySql Database server, insert the RD Percussion Information System CD-ROM into your computer and navigate to My Computer to browse the CD contents. You will be presented with 2 folders; Open the folder titled "Database Installation" Inside the folder, double click on the file called "mysql server 5.5" to launch the MySql Server Setup Wizard, which is shown in Figure 1.
If you are running Windows 7 or Windows Vista, launch the file by Right Clicking > Run as Administrator
Figure 1: The MySql Server Setup Wizard When the wizard appears, click Next to continue to the Welcome Screen, which is shown in Figure 2 on the next page:
Figure 2: The Welcome Screen At the Welcome Screen, read the License Agreement and click on "I accept the terms in the License Agreement". Then click Next to continue to the Setup Type screen, which is shown in Figure 3:
Figure 3: The Setup Type screen At the Setup Type screen, click on Complete
Immediately when you click Complete, the Ready to install screen will appear, which is shown in Figure 4:
Figure 4: The Ready to install screen At the Ready to install screen, click Install to start the installation process. Please wait patiently while the MySql Database Server installs When the installation is complete, a promotional screen will pop up. Click Next twice to continue to the Installation Completed screen, which is shown in Figure 5:
Figure 5: The Installation Competed screen
At the Installation Completed screen, ensure that "Launch the MySql Instance Configuration Wizard" box is checked. Then, click Finish to complete the installation. After clicking Finish, the MySql server Instance Configuration Wizard will open automatically, which is shown in Figure 6:
Figure 6: The MySql Server Instance Configuration Wizard At the wizard, click Next to continue to the Configuration screen, which is shown in Figure 7:
Figure 7: The Configuration screen
At the Configuration screen, select "Standard Configuration" and click Next. On the screen that follows, leave all settings at their defaults and click Next. After clicking Next, you will be presented with the Account Security screen. In this screen, you must set the password for the root user on the MySql Server. Next to "New root password:", type root Next to "Confirm", type root Note that the password must be in all lower-case letters Your screen should now look like Figure 8
This is an extremely important step. Failure to correctly set the root password will disable certain features of the entire RD Percussion Information System
Figure 8: Setting the root password on the Account Security screen After setting the password, click Next. On the screen that follows, click Execute to commence the installation Please wait patiently while the MySQL Database server is being configured At the final screen, click Finish
Congratulations! The MySQL server is now installed and configured. Please restart your computer before continuing with the next set of installation steps.
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Installing the Add-ons Because the RD Percussion Information System must interact with a database, two additional add-ons must be installed. Complete the following steps to install the ODBC Connector add-on: If you have not done so already, please insert the RD Percussion Information System CD-ROM into your computer and navigate to My Computer to browse the CD contents. You will be presented with two folders. Open the folder titled "Database Installation" Double-click the file mysql ODBC to launch the ODBC Connector Setup Wizard, which is shown in Figure 9:
Figure 9: The ODBC Connector Setup Wizard At the wizard, click Next. After clicking Next, you will be presented with a License Agreement screen. On this screen, read through the License Agreement, and click on "I accept the terms in the license agreement". Your screen should now look like Figure 10, which is shown on the next page
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Figure 10: The ODBC Connector License Agreement screen If your screen corresponds to Figure 10, click Next After clicking Next, you will be presented by the Setup Type screen, which is shown in Figure 11:
Figure 11: The ODBC Connector Setup Type screen At this screen, ensure that "Complete" is selected. Then click Next
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After clicking Next, you will be presented with a Ready to install screen, which is shown in Figure 12:
Figure 12: The Ready to install screen At this screen, click Install to start the installation Please wait patiently until the installation is performed
When the installation is complete, you will be presented by a Wizard Completed screen. At this point, your screen should look like Figure 13. At this screen, click Finish.
Figure 13: The Wizard Completed screen
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After the successful installation of the ODBC Connector add-on, just one add-on remains: The .NET Connector Add-on. Complete the following steps to install the last add-on, the .NET Connector: If you have not done so already, please insert the RD Percussion Information System CD-ROM into your computer and navigate to My Computer to browse the CD contents. You will be presented with two folders. Open the folder titled "Database Installation" Double-click the file mysql NET to launch the Connector NET Setup Wizard, which is shown in Figure 14:
Figure 14: The Connector NET Setup Wizard At the Connector Net Setup Wizard, click Next to continue to the Setup Type screen, which is shown in Figure 15 on the next page:
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Figure 15: The Setup Type screen At the Setup Type screen, click on Complete. After clicking Complete, the Ready to install screen will be displayed. As on the previous Ready to install screens, click Install to start the installation process When the installation is complete, you will be presented by an Installation Completed screen. On this screen, click Finish to complete the installation.
Congratulations! All add-on installations are now complete, and the entire database is almost ready to be used by the Information System. To finalize the installation of the database, the tables and test data must be loaded. To create the tables and load the test data, follow these steps: If you have not done so already, please insert the RD Percussion Information System CD-ROM into your computer and navigate to My Computer to browse the CD contents. You will be presented with two folders; Open the folder titled "Database Installation" Double-click the file Setup Database.bat After executing the file, you will see a quick glimpse of a window opening and closing. This means that the database is set up correctly and that the Database Installation process is now complete!
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Installing the RD Percussion Information System

After following the process described under Installing the Database, complete the following steps to install the RD Percussion Information System:
If you have not already performed the database installation procedure, please continue to do so now. Attempting to install the RD Percussion Information System before the database is configured will result in system failure and instability
To install the RD Percussion Information System, insert the RD Percussion Information System CD-ROM into your computer and navigate to My Computer to browse the CD contents. You will be presented with 2 folders. Open the folder titled "RD Percussion Information System" Inside the folder, double-click the file setup.exe After executing setup.exe, you will be presented with the RD Percussion Setup Welcome screen, which is shown in Figure 16:
Figure 16: The RD Percussion Setup Welcome screen At this screen, click Next to continue with the setup. After clicking Next, you will be presented with the Select Installation Folder screen, as shown in Figure 17:
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Figure 17: The Select Installation Folder screen At this screen, change the folder path by replacing the "Default Company Name" section with your company name. In this implementation, replace it with RD Percussion After changing the path as appropriate, click Next to continue to the Confirm Installation screen. At the Confirm Installation screen, click Next to start the installation Please wait patiently while the system installs When the installation is completed, click Close to complete the installation process.
Congratulations! The RD Percussion Information System is now successfully installed. If you also followed the procedures under Installing the Database and Components, the entire information system is now ready to be used!
Note that a desktop shortcut titled RD Percussion Information System is also placed on your desktop. To run the system, just double click this shortcut!
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Launching The System Launching The System

After successful installation, the system is now ready to be used. To launch the system, double-click its icon on the desktop, which should be titled "RD Percussion Information System". When the system is launched, the first dialog that is displayed is the Login Dialog.
The Login Dialog

The Login Dialog is the first dialog displayed when the system is launched and controls who may or may not access the system. At this dialog, you are request to enter your Database username and password, as shown in Figure 18:
Figure 18: The Login Dialog The RD Percussion Information System comes with 3 database accounts, which are presented in the next table. For system security reasons, it is vital that this user manual, which now contains the passwords to these accounts, are stored in a safe location. Account Name root manager Password root manPass606 Privileges ALL (DBA) ALL, except for data manipulation language privileges, such as CREATE and DROP TABLE Same as manager (at time of release)
clerk clerkPass505 Table 1: Database User Accounts
It is recommended that these user accounts be used for the reason they were created. For example, when the clerk works with the system, ensure that the clerk logs in as the clerk user. The root account is reserved for the DBA and the system development personnel should they need to work directly with the back-end database components, and thus must not be used by the RD Percussion personnel.
Note that the database account passwords are case-sensitive! Ensure that the case of the characters in the password are equal to that of the above table to ensure a seamless login process
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Launching The System

To log in to the system by using the Login Dialog, follow these steps: When presented with the Login Dialog, enter the appropriate user name next to "Username:" and the password next to "Password" Click on Login If you wish to quit the system, click on Exit instead of Login
While interacting with the Login Dialog, you might come across potential error messages. The following table describes what causes each error and what you should do to correct it: Error Message Incorrect username and password combination. Please try again Cause This error will occur if you have entered an incorrect username and password combination. Fix Ensure that the username and password is correct according to the user accounts table on the previous page Ensure that the letter case matches the passwords as illustrated in the user accounts table Type a username next to the "Username:" label
This error occurs if you did not enter anything next to "Username:" Please enter a valid This error occurs if you Type a password next to the password did not enter anything "Password:" label next to "Password:" Table 2: Known errors and fixes for the Login Dialog
Please enter a valid username
On a successful login, you will be notified with an appropriate message and be presented with the Main Form, which is described next.
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The Main Form The Main Form

The Main Form acts as the access point to the rest of the system, and is shown in Figure 19:
Figure 19: The Main Form
On the figure, the numbers represent the following: 1. The Main Menu -The Main Menu is used to access the all of the different functionalities of the system. Clicking a menu title might reveal several sub-menus. 2. The Logo Pane -This pane contains the current RD Percussion business logo 3. The Progress Bar -If any operation performed on the Main Form requires a certain time to execute, the progress of the operation will be shown in this progress bar The contents of each menu title, and their meaning, are described on the next page.
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The Main Form

The File Menu The File Menu has 3 submenus, namely: o o o Backup Database: This submenu is used for backing up the database, and will be discussed in the section Database Recovery Restore Database: This submenu item is used for restoring the database, and will be discussed in the section Database Recovery Exit: The Exit submenu is used to quit the system.
The submenu item that will be used the most under the File Menu is Exit, which is used to exit the system. To exit the system, follow these steps: Click File on the Main Menu Under the File menu, click Exit
You can also exit the system by pressing the Ctrl + X shortcut from anywhere on the Main Form
The Customer Menu The Customer Menu has only 1 submenu, titled Manage Customer Data: The Manage Customer Data submenu is used to launch the Customer Data Management Form, which is used to manage customer data stored in the database. The Product Menu The Product Menu has only 1 submenu, titled Manage Product Data: The Manage Product Data submenu is used to launch the Product Data Management Form, which is used to manage the product data stored in the database. The Sale Menu The Sale Menu has 2 submenus, namely: New Invoice: This submenu item is used to launch the Sales Invoice Generator, which generates a new sales invoice when a sale is to be made in-store Remove Invoice: This submenu item is used to remove a generated sales invoice from the database to ensure that no record of that sale exists. This menu item should be used sparingly and only if an incorrect sales invoice was generated or if a sale was not completed successfully. The Report Menu The Report Menu has only 1 submenu, titled New Report: The New Report submenu is used to launch the Summary Report Generator, which generates management summary reports in real-time using database data. The Help Menu The Help Menu has only 1 submenu, titled Show Help: The Show Help submenu is used to display the digital help file, which acts as a compact version of this manual to be referenced while using the system
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The Customer Data Management Form The Customer Data Management Form
Overview The Customer Data Management Form is the form used to manage the customer data that is stored in the database. Through this form, you can: View all customer records View a customer record by first name and last name combination Add a new customer record Delete an existing customer record Update an existing customer record
To access the Customer Data Management Form, launch it from the Main Form by executing the following steps: At the Main Form, click the Customer Main Menu title Under the Customer Main Menu title, click on the Manage Customer Data submenu. This will close the Main Form and open the Customer Data Management Form.
You can also launch the Customer Data Management Form by pressing the Ctrl + C shortcut anywhere on the Main Form
The Customer Data Management Form is shown in Figure 20:
Figure 20: The Customer Data Management Form
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The Customer Data Management Form

In the figure above, the numbers represent the following: 1. The Menu -The Menu on the Customer Data Management Form only has 2 menu titles, called File and Help. -Under the File menu, there exists only one submenu, called Go To Main. Click this submenu to return to the Main Form. -Under the Help menu, there exists only one submenu, called Show Help. Click this submenu to display the digital help document. 2. The Operations Radio Buttons -Each operation that can be performed on customer data is represented with an Operation Radio Button. 3. The Data Viewer -The Data Viewer will automatically display data if an operation returns data from the database. 4. The Execute Operation Button -After selecting an operation and providing all of the required data, click the Execute Operation Button to have the operation execute against the database. Each of the operations that can be performed on the Customer Data Management Form will now be described in detail. These instructions assume that you have the Customer Data Management Form open. If not, revise the section The Main Form to open the Customer Data Management Form now. View All Customers The View All Customers operation will display all customer records from the database in the Data Viewer on the form. To view all customers, follow these steps: Click the View All Customers radio button to ensure that it is selected Click the Execute Operation button After clicking Execute Operation, all customer records will be returned and be displayed in the Data Viewer control. The result is displayed in Figure 21, which is on the next page
Instead of clicking the Execute Operation button every time, you can also just press the Enter key every time, you can also just press the Instead of clicking the Execute Operation button Enter key
If no data is displayed, please revise the section Installation Instructions, or contact one of the administrators or developers for assistance
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Figure 21: Successful execution of the View all customers operation View a customer The View a customer operation displays only one customer record matching the first name and last name that you provide. The customer search is case-insensitive, so it does not matter in what case you provide the first name and last name. However, it is advised that you enter the values starting with an uppercase letter, and the rest in lowercase. For example, 'John'. To view a specific customer record, follow these steps: Click the View a customer radio button to ensure that it is selected When clicking the View a customer radio button, the First Name and Last Name fields will become available. Enter a customer first name next to the "First Name:" label Enter a customer last name next to the "Last Name:" label After entering both values, click the Execute Operation button After clicking Execute Operation, the appropriate customer record will be returned and displayed in the Data Viewer. The result is displayed in Figure 22, which is on the next page. In that figure, I typed 'Billy' as the first name and 'Oxford' as the last name.
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Figure 22: Successful execution of the View a customer operation When using the View a customer operation, there are potential error messages that might be displayed. The following table describes each error message, indicating what caused it and what you can do to fix it: Error Message Please enter a first name Cause This error is displayed if you did not enter anything next to the "First Name:" label This error is displayed if you did not enter anything next to the "Last Name:" label This error occurs if no record matching the provided first name and last name combination was found. Fix Enter a first name next to the "First Name:" label Enter a last name next to the "Last Name:" label
Please enter a last name
Ensure that the customer exists by executing View All Customers. Ensure that you typed the first name and last name correctly Table 3: Known errors and fixes for the View a customer operation
No customer record matches the values provided. Please try again
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Add a customer The Add a customer operation allows you to add a new customer to the database. To ensure database integrity, each value provided will be checked for correctness in terms of length and data type. To add a customer, follow these steps: Click the Add a customer radio button to ensure that it is selected When clicking the Add a customer radio button, 4 fields will become available: First Name, Last Name, Address, and Phone Enter the customer's first name next to the "First Name:" label Enter the customer's last name next to the "Last Name:" label Enter the customer's address next to the "Address:" label. Here, ensure that the Address is in the format 'number streetName' Enter the customer's phone number next to the "Phone:" label. After entering all 4 values, click the Execute Operation button to add the customer to the database. After adding the customer, all customer records will be displayed in the Data Viewer. Use this to ensure that the customer was successfully added. When a customer record is successfully added, your screen will look like Figure 23, where I added a new customer, Anthony Johnson:
Figure 23: Successful execution of the Add a customer operation
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When using the Add a Customer operation, there are potential error messages that might be displayed. The following table describes each error message, indicating what caused it and what you can do to fix it: Error Message Please enter a first name Cause This error is displayed if you did not enter anything next to the "First Name:" label This error is displayed if the first name you entered contains numeric digits Fix Enter a first name next to the "First Name:" label Ensure that the first name contains only alphabetical characters, and no numbers or special characters Enter a last name next to the "Last Name:" label
Please ensure that the first name does not contain any numbers
Ensure that the last name contains only alphabetical characters, and no numbers or special characters Please enter an address This error is displayed if you Enter a valid address did not enter anything next next to the "Address:" to the "Address:" label label Please enter a phone This error is displayed if you Enter a phone number number did not enter anything next next to the "Phone:" to the "Phone:" label label Please ensure that the This error is displayed if you Ensure that the phone phone number contains only entered letters or special number next to the numbers characters anywhere in the "Phone:" label contains phone number only numeric characters Please ensure that the This error is displayed if the Enter a phone number phone number has a length phone number you entered next to the "Phone:" of 10 digits contains less than 10 label that contains 10 numeric digits numeric digits That customer already The customer you are trying Continue without adding exists in the database to add is already in the the customer because database the record already exists Table 4: Known errors and fixes for the Add a customer operation
Please ensure that the last name does not contain any numbers
This error is displayed if you did not enter anything next to the "Last Name:" label This error is displayed if the last name you entered contains numeric digits
The customer information that you provide to the 4 fields are NOT case sensitive! The system will automatically change the case for the first name, last name, and address as appropriate. However, try to use the correct case as far as possible.
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Remove a customer The Remove a customer operation allows you to remove an existing customer record from the database. However, if there are orders associated with the customer, you will not be able to remove the customer before the order is also removed.
As a rule of thumb, do not remove any customer or order records. Removing records will cause summary data to become unreliable. Only use remove options when really needed.
To remove a customer, follow these steps: Click the Remove a customer radio button to ensure that it is selected The moment you click the radio button, all customer records will be displayed in the Data Viewer. Use the mouse to select the customer record to remove Click the Execute Operation button to remove the customer After clicking Execute Operation, you will be presented with a dialog confirming whether you want to remove the customer. Click Yes to remove the customer or No to cancel the operation After clicking Yes, the customer is removed. This is illustrated in Figure 24, in which I removed the customer I added earlier, Anthony Johnson:
Figure 24: Successful execution of the Remove a customer operation
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Update a customer The Update a customer operation allows you to update an existing customer record in the database. When updating customer information, all new values will first be evaluated for correctness. Through this operation, you can update any combination of details To update an existing customer record, follow these steps: Click the Update a customer radio button to ensure that it is selected When clicking the Update a customer radio button, 4 fields will become available Enter the customer's first name next to the "First Name:" label if you wish to update the customer's first name. Else, leave it blank Enter the customer's last name next to the "Last Name:" label if you wish to update the customer's last name. Else, leave it blank Enter the customer's address next to the "Address:" label if you wish to update the customer's address. Else, leave it blank Enter the customer's phone number next to the "Phone:" label if you wish to update the customer's phone number. Else, leave it blank After entering the required values for this update, click the Execute Operation button to update the customer record in the database. After updating the customer, all customer records will be displayed in the Data Viewer. Use this to ensure that the customer details were successfully updated. If I were to update the existing customer, Estel Perron, and change her last name to Johnson and her phone number to 0723306060, the screen would look like Figure 25:
Figure 25: Successful execution of the Update a customer operation
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When using the Update a Customer operation, there are potential error messages that might be displayed. The following table describes each error message, indicating what caused it and what you can do to fix it: Fix Provide at least a new first name, last name, address, or phone number to update the record with Please ensure that the first This error is displayed if the Ensure that the first name does not contain any first name you entered name contains only numbers contains numeric digits alphabetical characters, and no numbers or special characters Please ensure that the last This error is displayed if the Ensure that the last name does not contain any last name you entered name contains only numbers contains numeric digits alphabetical characters, and no numbers or special characters Please ensure that the This error is displayed if you Ensure that the phone phone number contains only entered letters or special number next to the numbers characters anywhere in the "Phone:" label contains phone number only numeric characters Please ensure that the This error is displayed the Enter a phone number phone number contains 10 phone number you entered next to the "Phone:" digits contains less than 10 label that contains 10 numeric digits numeric digits Table 5: Known errors and fixes for the Update a customer operation Error Message Please enter at least one new value to update the record with Cause This error is displayed if you did not provide any new values next to any of the control labels
Remember that if you do not want to update a specific value, such as the first name for example, just leave that field blank, and enter only the values you wish to update.
Returning to the Main Form When you are done using the Customer Data Management Form, return to the Main Form by following these steps: Click File in the Menu Click Go To Main
Alternatively, you can return to the Main Form by pressing the Ctrl + M shortcut anywhere on the Customer Data Management Form
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The Product Data Management Form The Product Data Management Form
Overview The Product Data Management Form is used to manage the product data that is stored in the database. Through this form, you can: View all products of a specific product category View all products that match a provided keyword Add a new product to a product category Delete a product from a product category Update a product in a product category To access the Product Data Management Form, launch it from the Main Form by executing the following steps: At the Main Form, click the Product Main Menu title Under the Product Main Menu title, click on the Manage Product Data submenu. This will close the Main Form and open the Product Data Management Form.
You can also launch the Product Data Management Form by pressing the Ctrl + P shortcut anywhere on the Main Form
The Product Data Management Form is shown in Figure 26:
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Figure 26: The Product Data Management Form
The Product Data Management Form

In the figure above, the numbers represent the following: 1. The Menu -The Product Data Management Form Menu has 2 menu titles, called File and Help. -Under the File menu, there exists only one submenu, called Go To Main. Click this submenu to return to the Main Form. -Under the Help menu, there exists only one submenu, called Show Help. Click this submenu to display the digital help document. 2. The Product Type Selector -The Product Type selector is the control that should always be the first one used to perform any operation. In this control, you select the product category, or type, that you wish to manipulate. 3. The Data Viewer -The Data Viewer will automatically display data if an operation returns data from the database. 4. The Operations Radio Buttons -Each operation that can be performed on the product data is represented by an Operation Radio button. 5. The Execute Operation Button -After selecting an operation and providing all of the required data, click the Execute Operation Button to have the operation execute against the database. The operations that can be performed on the Product Data Management Form, represented as radio buttons, will now be described in detail. These instructions assume that you have the Product Data Management Form open. If not, revise the section The Main Form to open the Product Data Management Form.
Before trying to perform any operation, ALWAYS first select the product type. This ensures that the system does not make changes that you did not intend.
View all products The View all products operation retrieves all of the products that match the selected product type and displays them in the Data Viewer. To view all of the products of a specific product type, follow these steps: Select a Product Type by clicking any of the types beneath the heading "Choose a product type" After selecting a product type, the Operations Radio buttons will become active. Click the View all products radio button to ensure that it is selected Click the Execute Operation button. After clicking the Execute Operation button, all records matching the selected product type will be returned and displayed in the Data Viewer. This result is shown in Figure 27, where I display all products under the 'Electric Guitar' category:
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Figure 27: The successful execution of the View all products operation
After executing one operation, all operation controls will be disabled, and the product type will be deselected. To do another operation, start by selecting the appropriate product category before continuing
View a product by keyword The View a product by keyword operation executes similar to a search engine: you can type in any keyword that is longer than 2 letters and all product records (under the selected product category) that contain that keyword anywhere in its name, is displayed. This makes it easy to view all of the products by a specific manufacturer, for example. To view a product by keyword, follow these steps: Select a Product Type by clicking any of the types beneath the heading "Choose a product type" After selecting a product type, the Operations Radio buttons will become active. Click the View a product by keyword radio button to ensure that it is selected After clicking the radio button, a keyword field will become active. In this field, type in the keyword to search for. For example, if you selected 'Guitar Amplifier', and are looking for amplifiers manufactured by Peavey, type in 'Peavey'. After providing the keyword, click the Execute Operation button After clicking Execute Operation, all product records under the selected category containing that keyword will be displayed in the Data Viewer. See Figure 28 on the next page.
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Figure 28: The successful execution of the View a product by keyword operation When using the View a product by keyword operation, there are two potential error messages that might occur. The following table describes each error message, indicating what caused it and what you can do to fix it: Error Message Please enter a valid product keyword Cause This error is displayed if you did not enter anything below the "Keyword to search for:" label Another cause for this error is if the keyword is less than two letters This error is displayed if the keyword provided cannot be found in any records of the selected product type Fix Enter a keyword below the "Keyword to search for:" label Ensure that the keyword contains more than two consecutive letters.
Ensure that the keyword is valid Ensure that the selected product type is valid Change the keyword to make it shorter, and so have the change of matching more records Table 6: Known errors and fixes for the View a product by keyword operation
The keyword matched no product records of this type
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Add a new product The Add a new product operation allows you to add a new product to any product type, depending on which type you select at the top of the form. When adding a product, the product names are checked to ensure that the casing is correct, and prices are also checked and formatted to ensure data integrity. To add a new product, perform the following steps: Select a Product Type by clicking any of the types beneath the heading "Choose a product type" After selecting a product type, the Operations Radio buttons will become active. Click the Add a new product radio button to ensure that it is selected When clicking the Add a new product radio button, two fields will become available: Name and Price Enter the product name next to the "Name:" label. The product name refers to how the product is called, mostly by the customers, and not a low-level product identification number Enter the product price. If the price contains fractions, use a period(.) and not a comma. For example, 320.99 and not 320,99 When done providing the product values, click the Execute Operation button to add the product. After clicking the Execute Operation radio button, all product records of the selected type will be displayed. Use this to you confirm that the product was added. This is shown in Figure 29, where I add a new accessory, the Peavey Chorus Pedal:
Figure 29: The successful execution of the Add a new product operation
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When using the Add a Product operation, there are potential error messages that might be displayed. The following table describes each error message, indicating what caused it and what you can do to fix it: Error Message Please enter the name of the product Please enter the product price Please ensure that the price contains only numbers Cause This error is displayed if you did not enter anything next to the "Name:" label This error is displayed if you did not enter anything next to the "Price:" label This error is displayed if the price you entered contains letters or special characters anywhere in the price. Fix Enter a name of the product next to the "Name:" label Enter the product price next to the "Price:" label
Enter a product price that contains only numbers. Ensure that the price uses a period (.) to indicate fractions, and not a comma Ensure that you did not include a currency symbol, such as R, in the price. That product already exists This error message is The product already in the database displayed if the product you exists, so either check are trying to add already that the category is exists in the product correct or continue category you selected without adding the product. Table 7: Known errors and fixes for the Add a product operation
The product name information is NOT case sensitive! The system will automatically change the case for the name as appropriate, but try to use the correct case as far as possible.
Remember to use a period (.) to indicate a fraction in the product price and not a comma!
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Remove a product The Remove a product operation allows you to remove an existing product record from the product category you choose at the top of the form. However, if there are past orders that are associated with this product, you will not be able to remove the product before the order is also removed.
As mentioned earlier, avoid removing records, especially products. Summary reports depend on product records, and removing records will make the results less reliable. Although you will not be able to remove a product that is associated with an order, it is still in the user's best interest to understand why it is not recommended.
To remove a product, follow these steps: Select a Product Type by clicking any of the types beneath the heading "Choose a product type" After selecting a product type, the Operations Radio buttons will become active. Click the Remove a new product radio button to ensure that it is selected When clicking the Remove a new product radio button, all product records of the selected product type will be displayed in the Data Viewer. In the Data Viewer, use the mouse to select the product to remove After selecting the record, click the Execute Operation button. When clicking the Execute Operation button, you will be presented by a dialog asking you to confirm the delete operation. Click Yes to remove the record or No to cancel to operation If you clicked Yes, the record will be removed and all records of the selected product type will be displayed again. Use this to confirm that record was actually removed. See Figure 30 on the next page. Here I delete the product that I added earlier, the Peavey Chorus Pedal.
Note that I was able to remove the product successfully because this product is not associated with any past orders. This is the key to determine whether you should remove a product record or not: If the product is associated with past orders, do not remove it. Otherwise, removing a product will have no effect on the system
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Figure 30: The successful execution of the Remove a product operation Update a product The Update a product operation allows you to update either the name or price of the product, or both. The product that is updated depends on the product type that you select at the top of the form. Also, all new values will also be validated to ensure data integrity. To update a product, follow these steps: Select a Product Type by clicking any of the types beneath the heading "Choose a product type" After selecting a product type, the Operations Radio buttons will become active. Click the Update a product radio button to ensure that it is selected When clicking the Update a new product radio button, all product records of the selected product type will be displayed in the Data Viewer. In the Data Viewer, use the mouse to select the product to update To update the selected product's name, enter a new name next to the "Name:" label. Else, leave the field blank. To update the product's price, enter a new price next to the "Price:" label. Else, leave the field blank Once you have provided at least one new value, click the Execute Operation button. After clicking the Execute Operation button, the product will be updated and all product records will be displayed in the Data Viewer. Use this to confirm that the product was successfully updated
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See Figure 31, where I update the product 'Mason Grand Piano' to set its new price to 22 500:
Figure 31: The successful operation of the Update a product operation When using the Update a product operation, there are potential error messages that might be displayed. The following table describes each error message, indicating what caused it and what you can do to fix it: Error Message Please enter at least one new value to update the record with Please ensure that the price contains only numbers Cause This error is displayed if you did not provide any new values next to any of the control labels This error is displayed if the price value you entered contains letters or special characters Fix Provide at least a new product name or price to update the record with
Ensure that the price contains only numerical characters Ensure that you have used a period (.) to indicate fractions Ensure that you did not include a currency symbol, such as R Table 8: Known errors and fixes for the Update a product operation
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Remember that if you do not want to update a specific value, such as the product price for example, just leave that field blank and enter only the values you wish to update.
Returning to the Main Form When you are done using the Product Data Management Form, return to the Main Form by following these steps: Click File in the Menu Click Go To Main
Alternatively, you can return to the Main Form by pressing the Ctrl + M shortcut anywhere on the Product Data Management Form
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The Sales Invoice Generator The Sales Invoice Generator

Overview The Sales Invoice Generator is the form that is used when a customer wants to purchase in store. By using this form, you will receive the following benefits: You do not have to manually enter any customer information! Just search for the customer and the appropriate customer record is selected and used for the sale. You do not have to manually enter product data! Just choose the product type and add the applicable product to the sale, all by just using the mouse. You do not have to manually calculate sales subtotals and grand totals! This process is now automated as well. You do not have to write out sales invoices by hand anymore! After selecting the information, the sales invoice is generated automatically and displayed in a standard format.
Remember, the Sales Invoice Generator should only be used when the customer is ready to make a purchase.
If a customer requests product information, do not use the Sales Invoice Generator; Rather use the Product Data Management Form.
If a customer requests his or her own customer information, also do not use the Sales Invoice Generator; Rather use the Customer Data Management Form.
To access the Sales Invoice Generator, launch it from the Main Form by executing the following steps: At the Main Form, click the Sale Main Menu title Under the Sale Main Menu item, click on the New Invoice submenu. This will close the Main Form and open the Sales Invoice Generator.
You can also launch the Sales Invoice Generator by pressing the Ctrl + I shortcut anywhere on the Main Form If the customer just wants information on a product, use the View a product by keyword operation of t
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The Sales Invoice Generator

The Sales Invoice Generator will then appear, which is shown Figure 32:
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Figure 32: The Sales Invoice Generator In the figure above, the numbers represent the following: 1. The Menu -The Menu on the Sales Invoice Generator only has 2 menu titles, called File and Help. -Under the File menu, there exists only one submenu, called Go To Main. Click this submenu to return to the Main Form. -Under the Help menu, there exists only one submenu, called Show Help. Click this submenu to display the digital help document. 2. The Order Number Indicator -This indicator represents the order number for this sale. This value is automatically determined by examining how many orders exist in the database and then selects the next available number for this order. 3. The Customer Data Pane -The Customer Data Pane is used to select the customer for this sale
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4. The Add Product button -The Add Product button is used to add a product to the Products Added List (9). 5. The Discounts Pane -The Discounts Pane is used to apply discounts to any of the products in the Products Added List (9). 6. The Product Type Selector -In the Product type selector, select the product type by click on the appropriate category. When clicking a product type, all products of that type are automatically displayed in the Product Data Viewer (7). 7. The Product Data Viewer -The Product Data Viewer automatically displays all products that are of the selected product type. 8. The Remove Product button -The Remove Product button is used to remove a product from the Products Added List (9). 9. The Products Added List -The Products Added List represents all of the products that the customer wants to purchase. These products are added using the Add Product button (4) and removed from the list by using the Remove Product button (8). In addition, the Products Added List also represents the quantities of each product requested. 10. The Execute Operation Button -After selecting the customer, adding the products, and applying any applicable discounts, the Execute Operation button is clicked to generate and display the invoice. To successfully generate a sales invoice, follow these steps in order: Step Step Step Step 1: 2: 3: 4: Select the customer for the order by using the Customer Data Pane Add and remove products by using the product controls Apply any applicable discounts Generate the Invoice.
Each step will now be discussed in more detail.
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Step 1: Selecting the Customer -The first step to generate the sales invoice is to select the customer. To select the customer, perform the following steps: In the Customer Data Pane, type in the customer's first name next to the "First Name:" label Then, type the customer's last name next to the "Last Name:" label. Click the Show Data button Clicking the Show Data button will search for the customer in the database. If the customer is found, the customer record will be displayed in the data viewer next to the Show Data button, and will also be automatically selected for this sale. A successful execution of this step, where I search for the customer Billy Oxford, is shown in Figure 33:
Figure 33: Successfully adding a customer to the invoice
As a rule of thumb, always first check if the customer exists in the database by using the Customer Data Management Form. If the customer does not exist, add that customer first by using the Add a customer operation on that form before continuing.
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While adding a customer to the invoice, potential error messages might be displayed when the Show Data button is clicked. The following table describes each message, what caused it, and what you can do to fix it: Error Message Please enter a first name Cause This error is displayed if you did not enter anything next to the "First Name:" label This error is displayed if you did not enter anything next to the "Last Name:" label This error occurs if no record matching the provided first name and last name combination was found. Fix Enter a first name next to the "First Name:" label Enter a last name next to the "Last Name:" label
Ensure that you typed the first name and last name correctly If the values are correct, proceed to the Customer Data Management form and add the new customer. Then, return to this form to continue with the invoice. Table 9: Known errors and fixes for adding a customer to an invoice
No customer record matches the values provided. Please try again
Searching for customers are NOT case sensitive! However, always try to use the proper case to ensure that the process is executed correctly
Step 2: Add and Remove Products This step uses the product controls, which are the Product Type Selector, the Product Data Viewer, the Add Product button, the Remove Product button, and the Products Added List. To add a product to the Products Added List, follow these steps: Under the Product Type Selector, click the appropriate product type. After clicking the product type, all products of that type are automatically displayed in the Product Data Viewer The Product Data Viewer sorts the products alphabetically, so scroll until you find the required product. Then, click that product to select it Once the product is selected, click the Add Product button, which is represented by a > sign After clicking the Add Product button, the product should now appear in the Products Added List with a quantity of x1. To increase the quantity, click the Add Product button again until the quantity reflects the required amount. Repeat the above steps to add more products A successful execution of this step can be seen in Figure 34:
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Figure 34: Successfully added products and their required quantities When adding a product, there is only 1 potential error that can occur: Fix Select the appropriate product type, then the product itself before attempting to click the Add Product button Table 10: Known errors and fixes for adding a product to an invoice If you added a product incorrectly, or added an incorrect quantity, use the Remove Product button to remove the product or to reduce the quantity. Removing products is discussed next. Error Message Please select a product type first Cause This error is displayed if you click the Add Product button without selecting a product type and a product first
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To remove a product from the Products Added List, follow these steps: In the Products Added list, select the product by clicking it If the selected product has a quantity of 1, clicking the Remove Product button will remove the product entirely from the Products Added List. If the product has a quantity of 2 or greater, clicking the Remove Product button will reduce the product quantity by 1. See Figure 35, where remove the Epiphone Guitar and reduce the Tama Hyperdrive drums quantity to 1:
Figure 35: Successfully removing of a product and reduction of quantity When removing a product or reducing the quantity from the list, there are 2 potential errors that can occur: Cause Fix This error is displayed if you Add at least 1 product to click the Remove Product the Products Added List button while the Products Added list is empty Please select a product in This error occurs if you Select a product in the the product list clicked the Remove Product Product Added List button without selecting a before clicking the product in the list Remove Product button. Table 11: Known errors and fixes for removing a product/quantity from an invoice Error Message There are no products in the product list to remove
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Step 3: Adding Discounts Once you are satisfied with the products and their quantities as represented in the Products Added List, you can continue to apply discounts to the individual products.
Note that discounts apply to the product as well as the quantity. For example, adding a discount on the product Tama Hyperdrive, and you sell a quantity of 2 in this sale, both products' selling price will be reduced by the discount!
If you wish to apply the discount to only a specific portion of a quantity, rather create two invoices: One containing the quantities that will be discounted, and another for the quantities that must be charged at full price.
To add a discount to the product, follow these steps: Click the Discounts checkbox to enable the Discounts Pane When the Discounts Pane is enabled, you will be presented with two controls The first control is a dropdown control, which contains the products that you added to the Products Added List Click on the dropdown control to display the product names, which should correspond to the products you added Select the product to which you want to apply a discount The second control, next to the "Discount:" label, will now contain a discount of 0. Enter the discount you want as a percentage. Then, click the Set Discount button. For example, if you want to discount the product selling price by 10%, enter 10.
An important note to make regarding discounts is that the value you enter MUST be a percentage. DO NOT enter the discount as a decimal value, and also do not enter the % sign.
The product drop-down control is updated dynamically. This means that you can still change the contents of the Products Added List after setting discounts because the control is automatically updated to reflect all changes
After setting the discounts, you can determine whether the discount was correctly set by just reselecting the product in the Product dropdown control. The control next to the "Discount:" label should now reflect the discount you entered. Refer to Figure 36, where I apply a discount of 10% to the Tama Hyperdrive product:
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Figure 36: Successfully applying a discount to a product
If you wish to remove a discount that you have set on a product, just reselect the product in the Product drop-down control and set its discount to back to 0.
When working with discounts, there are two potential errors that can occur: Cause Fix This error will occur if you Select a product from click the Set Discount button the Product drop-down without first selecting a control product from the Product drop-down control Ensure that the discount This error occurs if you enter Ensure that the discount percentage contains only a discount value that value only contains numeric numbers contains numbers or special numeric characters characters Table 12: Known errors and fixes when working with discounts Error Message Please select a product from the product drop-down control under the Discounts section
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Step 4: Generating the Invoice The last step in the process is to actually generate the invoice. If you have performed the previous 3 steps correctly, the form should now contain all of the required data.
Note that when you generate an invoice, the sale data is automatically recorded into the database. Therefore, ensure that the customer is ready to finalize the purchase before continuing with this step. Failure to do so will cause the data in the summary reports to be unreliable.
Once you are sure the information is correct, and the customer is ready to finalize the purchase, follow these steps to generate the invoice: Click the Generate Invoice button When you click the Generate Invoice button, you will be presented with a dialog confirming whether the sale is ready to be finalized. Click Yes if the customer is ready to finalize the purchase, or No if he or she is not. If you click Yes, you will be presented with the sales invoice in the Invoice Viewer
When you are presented with the invoice, you have 2 options: You can export the invoice to PDF or print the invoice. It is recommended that you print the invoice and supply it with the product to the customer. To print the invoice, follow these steps: In the Invoice Viewer, click the Print icon in the menu of the viewer ( ) After clicking the Print Icon, you will be presented with a Standard Windows Print Dialog Select your printer Click OK to print the Invoice
To export the invoice to PDF, follow these steps: In the Invoice Viewer, click the Export Report icon in the menu of the viewer ( ) After clicking the Export Report icon, you will be presented with a standard Windows Save Dialog Type in a name for the invoice. A good file name might be the customer name and the date on which the invoice was generated to make it easier for future reference Click the Save button After exporting the Invoice, you can view it in any standard PDF viewer. See Figure 37 on the next page, which represents the invoice I generated for the example sale used throughout this section.
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Figure 37: The generated sales invoice for the example sale
When you are done with the invoice, press the X in the top right corner of the Invoice Viewer. You will be presented with a dialog confirming whether you would like to continue to use the system. Click No to quit the system entirely or Yes to return to the Main Form
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Removing Invoices Removing Invoices

As it was previously mentioned, it is not recommended that you remove previously generated invoices, because doing so might make summary data less reliable. However, sometimes it might be required to remove an invoice that was generated. The following are typical scenarios in which you might need this functionality: You generate an invoice for the customer, but he or she decides not to finalize the purchase The customer returns a purchased product and wants a complete refund. The invoice should therefore not exist in the system An invoice was incorrectly generated because of incorrect products, incorrect quantities, or incorrect discount amounts.
To remove an invoice, follow these steps: Ensure that you are at the Main Form before continuing. On the Main Form, click the Sale Main Menu title. Clicking the Sale Main Menu title will display two submenus items: New Invoice and Remove Invoice Click the Remove Invoice submenu item Clicking Remove Invoice will present you with a dialog into which you must enter the invoice or order number. This dialog is represented in Figure 38:
Figure 38: Removing an invoice
You can also access the Remove Invoice Dialog by pressing the Ctrl + Shift + I shortcut anywhere on the main form.
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Removing Invoices
In the area provided, type the invoice/order number. If the order was made some time ago, go through your exported invoices to find the appropriate invoice. The invoice number is located in the top right corner After entering the invoice number, click OK to remove the invoice. When you click OK, you will be presented with a confirmation dialog. The reason for this dialog is to prevent accidental deletion. At this dialog, click Yes to remove the invoice or No to cancel the operation
When removing an invoice, you might be presented with only 2 potential error messages: Error Message Invalid order number Cause This error message is displayed if you enter letters or special characters as the order/invoice number Fix Provide a correct invoice number that only contains numerical digits, as per the exported invoices. Ensure that the order number is valid If the issue persists, then the invoice is already removed.
This error occurs when the order number you provided does not occur as an order/invoice number in the database. This can occur if the order does not exist or is already removed. Table 13: Known errors and fixes when removing past invoices.
No order matches the order number provided
Throughout the system, the terms order and sale are used interchangeably.
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The Summary Report Generator The Summary Report Generator

Overview The Summary Report Generator is the form that is typically used by the manager account, and is used to get summary information on the business activities. Through this form, the manager can generate 3 types of real-time reports, which include: Total sales by product type -This report displays the total sales that have been made for the specified time period, such as a day, week, or month. The total sales are indicated in terms of unit sold as well as the rand value of those sales, organized by product type. -This report uses the data from the order, customer, product, and product type tables to give the manager an indication which of the product types/categories are selling the most. This information might reveal to management which categories should be stocked in greater variety and quantity. Total sales made by every customer -This report displays the total rand value of sales that has been made by each active customer within a specified time period, such as a day, week, or month. -This report uses data from the orders and customers tables of the database, and allows management to determine which customers are their top customers and how much money they spend at the business. This information might then be used as a basis to direct marketing strategies, offer promotions, or implement other initiatives to keep the top customers interested. Product quantities sold to every customer -This report displays how many products, organized by product category, have been sold to every active customer for a given time period. -Through this report, management can identify the interests of the customers, which allows them to send more appropriate marketing material and promotions to each individual customer.
It is recommended that you use the RD Percussion Information System for normal business activities at least for 3-4 weeks before using the Summary Report Generator. Although it can be used before that time, it will only provide better insight once the database contains more business data.
To access the Sales Invoice Generator, launch it from the Main Form by executing the following steps: At the Main Form, click the Report Main Menu title Under the Report Main Menu title, click on the New Report submenu item. This will close the Main Form and open the Summary Report Generator.
You can also launch the Summary Report Generator by pressing the Ctrl + R shortcut anywhere on the Main Form
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The Summary Report Generator

The Summary Report Generator will then appear, which is shown Figure 39:
Figure 39: The Summary Report Generator
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On the figure above, the numbers represent the following: 1. The Menu
-The Menu on the Sales Invoice Generator has only 2 menu titles, called File and Help. -Under the File menu, there exists only one submenu, called Go To Main. Click this submenu to return to the Main Form. -Under the Help menu, there exists only one submenu, called Show Help. Click this submenu to display the digital help document. 2. The Report Type Selector -The Report Type Selector is a dropdown control from which you can choose the report to generate. The control offers 3 options, which represent the 3 report types described in the Overview section 3. The Start Date Selector -The Start Date Selector presents a calendar when clicked. Use this calendar to choose the start date of the period that the summary report should cover The End Date Selector -The End Date Selector also presents a calendar when clicked. Use this calendar to choose the end date of the period that the summary report should cover
4.
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5. The Summary Report Viewer -The Summary Report Viewer is the area in which the actual summary report will be displayed. 6. The Generate Report button -The Generate Report button is the button that is clicked to actually generate the report after the report type, start date, and end date has been selected
Note that the dates you choose as the start date and end date are also included in the result. For example, if you choose the start date to be 7 October 2012 and the end date to be 9 October 2012, orders that occurred on those days are also included in the results.
Generating a Summary Report: To generate a summary report, follow these steps: From the Report Type Selector, choose the report to generate Click on the Start Date Selector to bring up the start date calendar. Choose the start date of the period that the report should cover. Click the End Date Selector to bring up the end date calendar. Choose the end date of the period that the report should cover Click the Generate Report button After clicking the Generate Report button, the report will be generated and displayed in the Summary Report Viewer See Figure 40, in which I generate a summary report of total sales by product type for the period 15 October to 19 October:
Figure 40: Successful generation of a summary report
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The Summary Report Generator After generating one summary report, you do not have to reload the form to generate another! Just select a different report or a different period, and click the Generate Report button to display the new report.
When generating summary reports, one potential error might occur: Cause Fix This error message is Select a different date displayed if no orders period, or increase the occurred between the start range to include more date and end date values data. selected. Table 14: Known errors and fixes when generating summary reports The following are examples of how to select the start date and end dates to get the most commonly used report date periods: To generate a summary report for only a specific day, choose the start date and end date for that day so that they are the same. For example, to display summary information for only 19 October, select the start date as 19 October and the end date as 19 October as well. To generate a summary report for a week, select the start date as a Monday and the end date as a Friday/Sunday, depending on the operating hours of the business. To generate a summary report for a month, select the start date as the first of the month and the end date as the last day of the month. Error Message No data matches the date values selected.
As you can see, the possibilities regarding the period that the report must cover are endless. You can generate a summary report that covers any date period you wish, as long as the date period does not start before the business existence!
Once the report is generated, you can choose to print the report or the save it as PDF: To print the report, follow these steps: In the Summary Report Viewer, click the Print icon in the menu of the viewer ( ) After clicking the Print Icon, you will be presented with a Standard Windows Print Dialog Select your printer Click OK to print the Invoice
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To export the report as PDF, follow these steps: In the Summary Report Viewer, click the Export Report icon in the menu of the viewer ( ) After clicking the Export Report icon, you will be presented with a standard Windows Save Dialog Type in a name for the report. A good file name might be the report type, followed by the date period it covers. Click the Save button After exporting the report, you can view it in any standard PDF viewer.
Returning to the Main Form When you are done using the Summary Report Generator, return to the Main Form by following these steps: Click File in the Menu Click Go To Main
Alternatively, you can return to the Main Form by pressing the Ctrl + M shortcut anywhere on the Summary Report Generator
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Database Recovery Database Recovery

Backing up the database Although the responsibility of backing up the database resides with the DBA, the user should also be able to create backups of the back-end database data to ensure disaster recovery. The RD Percussion Information System supports backups to 2 types of storage media: the hard drive and compact disc (CD). To create backups, you must be at the Main Form. To back up the current state of the database to the hard drive, follow these steps: On the Main Form, click the File Main Menu title After clicking the File Main Menu title, click the Backup Database submenu item Clicking the Backup Database submenu item will provide you with two options: To Hard Drive and To Compact Disc Click the To Hard Drive option See Figure 41 for the layout of this menu:
Figure 41: Backing up to the hard drive After clicking the To Hard Drive option, the progress bar at the bottom of the window will indicate the progress, and you will receive a message when the backup is completed.
All manual backups are stored in the C:\Manual Backups\ directory. You can create a new backup every 1 minute.
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Database Recovery
To back up the current state of the database to the Compact Disc (CD), follow these steps: Insert a new blank CD into the DVD-writer of the laptop On the Main Form, click the File Main Menu title After clicking the File Main Menu title, click the Backup Database submenu item Clicking the Backup Database submenu item will provide you with two options: To Hard Drive and To Compact Disc Click the To Compact Disc option See Figure 42 for the layout of this menu:
Figure 42: Backing up to CD After clicking the To Compact Disc option, the system will load for 3-5 seconds before presenting you with a Burn to Disc screen, which is shown in Figure 43:
Figure 43: The Burn to Disc screen
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Database Recovery
At the Burn to Disc screen, click Next to start the writing process After writing is completed, click Finish
The Windows Vista Operating System automatically writes the disc as multi-session, which means that you can continue to write backups to the disc until it becomes full.
The RD Percussion Information System also makes automatic backups of the database. These backups are created at 09:00 AM every morning for each day of the entire week, and are stored in the C:\Automatic Backups directory.
For an automatic backup to made, the laptop must be turned on. This is not a problem because the RD Percussion shop opens at 08:00 AM every morning, where the backup takes place at 09:00 AM. If an automatic backup is missed, produce a backup manually by using any of the two above methods.
Restoring the Database The RD Percussion Information System allows you to restore the system to a previous point by using the automatic backups of the manual backups from the hard drive or a backup CD. To restore the database to a previous point, follow these steps (you must be at the Main Form): On the Main Form, click the File Main Menu title After clicking the File Main Menu title, click the Restore Database submenu item Clicking the Restore Database item will display a standard windows file selection dialog. If you wish to restore a manual backup from the hard drive, navigate to C:/Manual Backups/ and select the appropriate backup file If you wish to restore an automatic backup from the hard drive, navigate to C:/Automatic Backups/ and select the appropriate backup file If you wish to restore from a CD, insert the CD and select the appropriate backup file from the CD. Click Open on the dialog Clicking Open will start the restore process. You will see the progress bar indicating the progress of the restore operation, and when completed, you will receive a message indicating a successful restore.
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The Electronic Help Document The Electronic Help Document

The Electronic Help Documents acts as a quick reference to the user working with the system. This document is in the standard Windows Help format, and can be accessed from any form of the system. To access the document, click on the form's Help menu title, and select Show Help. This will display the Electronic Help Document, as shown in Figure 44:
Figure 44: The Electronic Help Document From this document, select the appropriate topic in the left pane to get complete instructions on how to perform each operation on the system. These instructions are similar to those presented in this manual, but they are much shorter and do not contain any screenshots. Their purpose is to act as a quick reference for a relatively experienced user just to solve a quick problem or to clear a minor confusion. Also, the user can access the Index tab to examine topics more quickly, or use the Search tab to search for help documentation on a specific keyword.
On any form, the Electronic Help Document can be accessed by using the Ctrl + H shortcut.
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Introduction:Welcome RD Percussion Information System

Version 1.0.0 Production Release

3. Launching The System

4. The Customer Data Management Form

5. The Product Data Management Form

6. The Sales Invoice Generator

8. The Summary Report Generator

10. The Electronic Help Document

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

How To Use This Manual

Tips will be explained in this section

Warnings will be explained in this section

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

Figure 5: The Installation Competed screen

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

Figure 7: The Configuration screen

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

Figure 13: The Wizard Completed screen

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

Installing the RD Percussion Information System

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

Launching The System Launching The System

The Login Dialog

clerk clerkPass505 Table 1: Database User Accounts

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

Launching The System

Please enter a valid username

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

The Main Form The Main Form

Figure 19: The Main Form

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

The Main Form

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

The Customer Data Management Form is shown in Figure 20:

Figure 20: The Customer Data Management Form

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

The Customer Data Management Form

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

The Customer Data Management Form

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

The Customer Data Management Form

Please enter a last name

No customer record matches the values provided. Please try again

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

The Customer Data Management Form

Figure 23: Successful execution of the Add a customer operation

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

The Customer Data Management Form

Please enter a last name

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

The Customer Data Management Form

Figure 24: Successful execution of the Remove a customer operation

RD Percussion Information System: User Manual

The Customer Data Management Form