Form Designer Tutorials

BOS has a built-in form designer that allows users to customise all their templates (e.g. statements, invoices, emails.)
Users have access to the Data Tables and Fields, as well as editing tools to help them design forms.
Forms may be designed from scratch or copied from an existing template and edited.
There is also a form wizard that will guide users to create their own forms (accessed from File > New > Report Wizard).

These tutorials briefly explain how to create templates.

Navigation: Main Menu > Setup > Form Designer

How to Create a Template

• The Quotations form is used as an example. The same procedure can be used for all Transaction Types.
• You can create multiple Templates for the same Transaction Type.
• When an entry is placed, there are two fields: one that contains the label and one that contains the data. You can delete the label field by clicking it and pressing Delete. You can still see a Description of the data field by clicking the field and looking at the row directly below the icons. The name of the table and the field is displayed.

1. Create a template in BOS so that the name of the form is created.
2. Open a list of Quotations.
   • Note: You cannot create a form if there is no data because the data fields will not be available to input into the form or to preview.
   • Note: The data fields available on Form Designer are created from the view that is open on the screen in BOS.
3. Check if the Data Tree panel is open on your right. If not, add it from Main Menu > View > Data Tree. 
4. You will see a list of the available tables from BOS. When you click an entry on the Data Tree it opens a list below it that shows all the available fields. (Drag the bar that separates the two panels up or down to resize the panels.)

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How to Create the Header for Transactions

1. Entity Information:
   1. Click the entry with information about your entity, named trans_entity under the Data Tree.
   2. In the Fields section (below the Data Tree), click and drag template_masthead into the header section of the form to add the entity’s contact details.
      • Note: Click Name directly below the label Fields to alphabetise the list.
   3. Using the dots to drag and resize the entry until it is placed where you need it.
   4. Click Preview (tab) to check the layout and adjust it as necessary.
   5. Click trans_entity again and click and drag template_image from the Fields list onto the Header section to include your entity’s logo.
   6. If the Header section is too small, drag the bar with the Header label down to increase the Header’s size.
2. Customer Information:
   1. Click the Label (icon) and click the form to place the label.
   2. Double-click inside the label and type Quotation. Use the text functions above the form to make it bold or increase the font size.
   3. Click trans_header under Data Tree to access information that is in the transaction’s header.
      • Note: Additional fields are available under trans_customer if you want to add customer-related fields that are not in trans_header.
   4. Click and drag the following fields into the Header Section:
      1. company: To insert the name of the customer.
      2. contact: To insert the name of the contact person.
      3. email: To insert the email address of the contact person.
3. Document Information:
   1. Create labels for:
      1. Number (QT No.)
      2. Date
      3. Rep
   2. Click trans_header under the Data Tree.
      1. Drag trans_no from the Fields section next to the text Number. 
      2. Drag date_trans from the Fields section next to the text Date. 
   3. Click trans_rep and drag nickname from the Fields section next to the text Rep.
4. Labels:
   1. Insert labels just above the Detail line for the following fields:
      1. Item Description
      2. Qty
      3. Unit
      4. Adj % (optional, e.g. if you want to show your customer a discount)
      5. Unit Price
      6. Total (Exc)
      7. VAT
      8. Total (Inc)

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How to Create the Detail Section

1. Click the icon next to Report Tree to switch the left-side panel to Report View.
2. In the block on the left that says Data select trans_items from the dropdown list next to DataPipeline.
   • Note: The DataPipeline refers to the data that will be displayed in the detail section.
3. Click the Region (icon) and click the detail section.
4. Drag the dots on the Region block to fill the entire detail section.
   • Note: The region block helps to keep the data together (KeepTogether = Checked) and will insert a new page if there are too many transactions. (Various options for the region are available on the left.)
5. Click trans_items on the Data Tree and drag the following fields into the region block below where the headings were created:
   1. description 
   2. qty 
   3. unit
   4. disc_per (This field is the adjustment percentage: Adj %.)
   5. total_unit_cur (This field is the total unit price in the transaction’s currency.)
   6. total_cur (This field is the total due, excluding VAT in the transaction’s currency.)
   7. vat_cur  (This field is the VAT amount.) 
   8. total_cur_vat  (This field is the total due including VAT in the transaction’s currency.) 
6. You can add Sub Reports to display additional information that is not stored in the DataPipeline you chose for the Detail Section.
7. For example, if the price depends on the Quantity, you can add a sub-report to show customers the other options:
   1. Click the SubReport (icon) and click the region block to add it.
      1. From the Data block on the left, select est_description as the DataPipeline.
      2. Position the subreport beneath the other description fields.
   2. Add another Sub Report and select est_qty_inactive as the DataPipeline.
      1. Position this subreport next to the subreport placed in Step 7a.
      2. Click est_qty_inactive below trans_items on the Data Tree.
      3. Drag the same fields as mentioned in Step 5 from est_qty_inactive and place them aligned with the fields matching their names.
8. In the Layout block on the left: Adjust all the fields to be aligned (set the left margins), and to have the same width and height (where applicable).
   • Note: if the layout block is not there, you are still in Report View. Click any field on the table to switch back to Layout View.
9. In the Text block on the left: Click the field and click … (menu)next to DisplayFormat. Select an option for the number of decimals or date format to display. Check that it is consistent between all the fields.

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How to Create the Footer

1. Create a label: Terms & Conditions.
2. Click trans_header on the Data Tree and drag credit_term from the fields below the label you created in Step 1. Resize the field to allow for a block of text if you have complicated terms.
3. Create labels for:
   1. Subtotal
   2. VAT
   3. Total
4. Click trans_header on the Data Tree:
   1. Drag the field total next to the text Subtotal.
   2. Drag the field vat next to the text VAT.
   3. Drag the field total_vat next to the field Total.
5. Click the icon System Variables:
   1. Click the form to place it.
   2. Select one of the options (e.g. date, time, page number) on the dropdown list, which will appear just below the row of icons and will show Date at first.
   3. Add more System Variables if needed.
6. In the Layout block on the left: Adjust all the fields to be aligned and where applicable have the same width and height.
   • Note: If the layout block is not there, you are still in Report View. Click any field on the table to switch back to Layout View.
7. In the Text block on the left: Click the field and click… (menu) next to DisplayFormat. Select an option for the number of decimals to display. Check that it is consistent between all the fields.
8. Click Main Menu > File > Save.

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How to Copy a Template

• Copying a template is easier than creating a new template from scratch because most of the fields are already there; you only need to edit them.
• Copying forms will also ensure consistency because all the layouts will follow the same pattern (e.g. logo on the left, address on the right).

1. Create a template for the form in BOS so that the name of the form is created.
2. Open a Transaction list (e.g. Main Menu > Workflow > Quotations).
   • Note: You cannot create a form if there is no data because the data fields will not be available to input into the form or to preview.
   • Note: The data fields available on Form Designer are created from the view that is open on screen.
3. Click Main Menu > File > Open and select a template from the list. (Or Main Menu > File > Load From File to open a report created elsewhere.)
4. Click Open (button).
5. If you receive the message Error Reading Template, click Ignore All and relink the template once it is loaded.
6. Save the template before changing it: Click Main Menu > File > Save As, and select an option on the list (the name you created in Step 1), and click Save (button).
7. Make any changes as needed:
   1. Add fields as required.
   2. Click a field and press Delete on your keyboard to remove it.
   3. Click a field and drag it to reposition it.
   4. Click a field and use the dots to resize it.
   5. Double click a text field to change the text.
8. Remember to save your work often because there is no auto-save feature (use Ctrl + S).
9. Click Main Menu > File > Save when you are finished.

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How to Relink a Template

• When you receive a message Error Reading Template, it often means that the template is looking for data fields that are not in your current version of QuickEasy BOS. This will happen if you are importing a template from another source.
• In that case, you just need to relink the fields to your current data fields.

1. Click the field you want to change.
2. At the top (below the icon row), the list of fields will open.
   1. From the dropdown list in the first block, select the Data Table.
   2. From the dropdown list in the second block, select the Field.
3. Repeat Steps 1-2 until all the fields are relinked.
4. Save the form. (Main Menu > File > Save).

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How to Change the Print Setup

1. Click the icon next to Report Tree to switch the left-side panel to Report View.
2. In the Layout (tab) on the left, click the + next to PrinterSetup to expand the view.
3. Select the printer next to PrinterName from the dropdown list of all the printers you have installed.
4. Change any of the other settings as necessary.
5. Click Main Menu > File > Save.

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Data Pipelines

• All the data is in DtmdlOutput.
• Each field under DtmdlOutput consists of multiple sub-fields.
• If you click a field, the sub-fields are displayed in an expanded tree view or in the block below (depending on your settings).
• Each sub-field is linked to its parent field.
  • You cannot use a sub-field without including the parent field because the form must know where to fetch the data from (it needs the link).
  • This rule also applies to sub-fields of sub-fields.
  • For example, if you want to display quantities, you need to include the header (trans_header) to indicate where the quantities source from (e.g. Quotation) and the sub-field that contains the quantity (e.g. est_qty) before you can display the quantity (qty).
  • The information must be inserted into the form using DBText or DBMemo fields. (Do not use rich-text fields to access these pipelines because rich-text fields do not create the necessary links).

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