Customising workspaces using the Workspace Designer

Use the Workspace Designer section of your Sage 200 desktop to create your own workspaces or amend existing ones. Use the Workspace Designer to customise workspaces and content parts for all users.

Open: Tools > Run Workspace Designer.

  • The workspace designer opens in a new window.

You can:

  • Create a new workspace.
  • Change the layout of a workspace.
  • Add or remove content parts.
  • Add or remove data in a content part.
  • Change how the data is displayed in a content part.

Each workspace consists of the following elements:

There are two types of panel.

  • Simple

    These panels can only contain one content part. This is usually as a list.

    A simple panel acts as a parent when linking panels together.

  • Information

    These panels can contain more than one content part.

    An information panel is used to display further information about a item selected from a list. Information panels must be linked to another Simple panel.

When adding information to your workspace, you choose from a predefined set of content parts. This will contain any content parts that you have created. Each content part contains different information from Sage 200.

There are three types of content part:

  • List

    List content parts display records from Sage 200 such as a list of customers, a list stock items, a list of transactions, a list of orders and so forth.

    Each database field is a column in the list.

  • Details

    Details content parts display information in tables. Each database field is a row in the table.

  • Chart

    Chart content parts display your information as a chart. Each database field is a bar on the chart.

These are used when you want to link panels on your workspace.

You create links between panels by making parent and child relationships between the panels.

  • The parent panel contains the selected item.

    A parent panel must always be a Simple panel containing a List content part.

  • The child panel contains information about the item selected in the parent panel.

    Links are created on the child panel. You can only create these links when the content part on the child panel and the content part on the parent panel have at least one database field containing the same data.

Create a new workspace

Click New and select the required workspace layout. This is the number and arrangement of the panels.

Click OK to load the required workspace layout.

  1. If you have chosen more than one panel for the workspace layout, choose the type of panel; Simple or Information.

    At least one panel must be a Simple one. If the workspace has only one panel, this is Simple by default.

  2. For Simple panels:

    • Enter all or part of the name of the content part, and select it from the drop-down list.

      If you have created content parts, these appear in the drop-down list.

      • Note: If this is the parent panel, you must choose a List content part.

  3. For Information panels:
    • Click the icon.

    • Enter all or part of the name of the content part and select it from the drop-down list.

      If you have created content parts, these appear in the drop-down list.

    • If you are adding several content parts and you want to display them in a drop-down list, select Display as dropdown.

  1. Select the Parent Panel that you want to link to.
  2. Select the common database field that you want to use from the Parent Field drop-down list.
  3. Select the common database field that you want to use from the Child Field drop-down list.

  1. Click Save and enter a Name, Caption and Category for your workspace.

    The caption is used as the title of the workspace in the application.

    The category is used to decide where the workspace is displayed in the drop-down list.

    Note: The Name, Caption and Category can only contain letters or numbers and cannot have more than a single space between characters.

  2. Select a Role from the drop-down list. A feature and target are automatically created for the workspace and authorised for the selected role in System Administration. Only Sage 200 users assigned to that role will be able to access this new workspace.

When you create a new workspace, you must close Sage 200 and complete an IISRESET on the Sage 200 server. This will ensure the new workspace loads as expected.

Edit existing workspaces

  1. Select Change workspace layout and choose the required layout.

  2. Add the required content parts.

    If you change the layout to one that contains less panels, the last panels are removed. For example if you change a three panel workspace to two panel workspace, contentpanel3 is removed.

  3. Click Save to apply the changes to the workspace.
  • For Simple panels:

    • Select the required content part from the drop-down list.

      Note: You can sort by name or caption to find the part you want.

    • Amend relationships with other panels as required.

    • To delete a content part, select Delete a Content part, select the Content Part in the list displayed and click Delete.

      Note: You can only remove content parts that you have created.

  • For Information panels:
    • Click to add a content part.
    • Click to remove a content part
    • Click to change the position of the content part.
Note:

You can create new content parts or edit the contents of existing content parts, using the Content Part Designer.

For more information on the Content Part Designer, see Use the Content Part Designer.

You can only delete workspaces that you have created or edited. You cannot delete a default workspace.

  1. Select Delete a Workspace from the toolbar. A list of workspaces you have created or edited appears.
  2. Select the required workspace and click Delete.

Some workspaces cannot be edited as they have special content or layout.

Financials and Commercials Modules Manufacturing

Modules
Bank SO/ DD Enquiry Estimate Dashboard
Bill of Materials Dashboard MSM Dashboard
Purchase Document Enquiry MPS and Recommendations Dashboard
Archived Purchase Document Enquiry MPS Schedule Dashboard
Purchase Document Line Enquiry MPS Dashboard
Archived Purchase Document Line Enquiry Planned WO Operations
My Purchase Requisitions Planning Dashboard
Purchase Requisition Authorisation WO Dashboard
Sales Document Enquiry Estimate Profitability
Archived Sales Document Enquiry MRP Recommendation By Action
Sales Document Line Enquiry MRP Recommendation By Status
Archived Sales Document Line Enquiry MRP Recommendation By Type
Sales Invoice and Credit Enquiry  
Sales Invoice and Credit Line Enquiry  
Stock Trading History  

However, you can still make changes to the content parts used in these workspaces in the following way.

  1. Choose to create a new single panel workspace.

  2. Enter the name of the content part required.

    For example, to make a change to the Bank SO/DD Enquiry workspace, enter SO to search the list for standing orders and direct debit.

  3. Choose Edit Content Part and make the required changes.

  4. To save the content part, choose Edit Content Part > Save.

    You do not need to save the new single panel workspace you created in order to edit this content part. The content part has been changed and this change will apply when you next view the workspace, for example, the SOs and DDs enquiry in the Cash Book.

Use the Content Part Designer

You can create and edit content parts, using the Content Part Designer.

Note: Some changes can only be made to List type content parts.

Option Description
New Create a new content part.
Open

Open an existing content part.

Alternative ways of opening a content part

  • You can also open an existing content part to edit by clicking Edit Content Part on the content part within the Workspace Designer.
  • If you have experience with XML, you can edit content parts using advanced XML Configuration. Content parts are saved in an XML format. Select Advanced XML Configuration from the Edit Content Part drop-down if you want to use the Advanced XML Configuration to edit the source XML of the content part.

    • Note: You should only do this if you have experience with editing XML.

Save

Save your content part.

Once saved, the content part changes will affect all workspaces that use that content part. All user settings for that content part are reset.

If you want to make changes for a specific workspace only, use the Save As option to save the content part with a new name and then add the content part to the specific workspace you want to add it to.
Save as

Save your content part with a new name.
Query Editor

Open the Query Editor.
Help Open this help topic.
Content Caption

Show the caption for the selected content part.

This caption displays as the heading for each content part on your workspace.
Minimise, Maximise and Close

Use these buttons to minimise, maximise and close the Content Part Designer.

 
  1. In the Content Part Designer, click New.
  2. In the New Content Part window, select the Content Part Type.

  3. Click OK.

    Depending on the content part type you select, different selections are available to you in the Content Part Designer.

  4. Select the Datasource for the content part.

    Each datasource is a query from the source of information you want to use. Each query contains a list of fields.

    When you select the datasource further selections are displayed within the content part designer.

    Note: If you know how to set up LINQ Language Integrated Query. Used to extract information from a database, which can then be used in workspaces. database queries, you can create your own datasources from any of the Sage 200 modules and from third party applications. If you are not familiar with LINQ, you should contact your Business Partner for assistance.

    For more information on the selections available, see What can you do in the Content Part Designer.

  5. Click Save.
  1. In the Content Part Designer, click Open.

  2. In the Open Content Part window, select the Content Part.

    Note: You can sort using the name or caption to find the part you want.

  3. Click OK.

    Depending on the content part type you select, different selections are available to you in the Content Part Designer.

  4. For more information on the selections available, see What can you do in the Content Part Designer.

  5. To overwrite the content part with your changes, click Save.
  6. To save the content part as a new content part, click Save as.

You can only delete a content part that you have edited and that is not being used on a workspace. You cannot delete a default content part.

  1. Click Delete Content Part from the toolbar. A list of edited content parts that are not used on a workspace is displayed.
  2. Choose the relevant content part and click Delete.

What you can do in the Content Part Designer

Depending on the content part type you have selected, you can make selections as follows

New datasource fields are visible by default

If you have set up your own database queries, you can select the New datasource fields are visible by default check box. This will allow you to see new fields in the datasource that have not been added to the content part.
Is advanced filter enabled

Select Is advance filter enabled to use the filter box at the top of a content panel on the workspace.

On the workspace, you enter the required condition for the filter in the box.
Is toolbar filter enabled

Select Is toolbar filter enabled to use the filter on the toolbar in the workspace.
List Definition

Use this to choose the items of data that are displayed on a content part. Each column in the list displays data from a field in a table.

In addition to adding and removing columns you can change the type of filter used in the quick filter bar for each column, change the label used for the column, or change the format of the data.

Display Name

Use this to change the label for the column.

For example, you might want to change Code to a more meaningful term for your business such as Client, Customer etc.

Double-click the Display Name you want to change and enter a new heading for the column to display.

Exclude

Use this if you want to hide a column from all users of a workspace.

This option excludes the columns from the column selector.

Visible

Select this to display this column on the workspace.

If it is not selected, and Exclude is also not selected, the column is hidden, but users can choose to show the column on the workspace using the column selector.

Note: To make a column available on the workspace but not visible, clear both Exclude and Visible check boxes.

Format

Use this to change the format that the data is displayed in. Select the required format from the drop-down list.

Your choice of format must be relevant to the information in the column. For example, you may want to display a particular numerical value using four decimal places.

Data Type Available Formats Data displays:
Number Percentage Format 2DP

As a number with a %.

Up to the specified number of decimal places.
  Percentage Format 3DP
  Percentage Format 4DP
  Percentage Format 5DP
  Percentage Format 6DP
  Percentage Format 7DP
  Number Format 2DP

As a number up to the specified number of decimal places.
  Number Format 3DP
  Number Format 4DP
  Number Format 5DP
  Number Format 6DP
  Number Format 7DP
  Integer As a whole number.
Currency Currency As a number to 2DP.
  Exchange Rate with 6DP The exchange rate with 6 decimal places.
Date and time Time Hours, minutes and seconds in 00:00:00 format.
  Date The date as 22 March 2010 (for example).
  Short Date The date as DD/MM/YYYY. For example, 22/09/2009.
  Date plus Time The date and time as DD/MM/YYYY HH:MM:S. For example, 22/09/2009 12:30:1.
True or False True False Format True or False.
  True Blank Format True, or a blank when false.
  Yes No Format Yes when true or No when false.
  Yes Blank Format Yes when true, or a blank when false.
  Checkbox

A selected checkbox when true.

A cleared checkbox when false.
  Graphical POP Status As a graphical representation of the % value of each purchase order at a given stage in the purchase order process.
  Graphical SOP Status As a graphical representation of % value of each sales order at a given stage in sales order process.
Address Multi Line An address across several lines. You can change the width of these lines in the workspace. This enables you to see the full address.
Text Long Text Trimmed With ... at the end of a line, when the text is longer than the width of the column.

Filter

Use this to change the filter type used on the quick filter bar for this column. Select the required type from the Filter Operator drop-down menu.

For example, you might want to change the filter for a column containing values from the default of Equals to GreaterThan.

Sort

Use this to specify the default sort order for the columns.

Scroll arrows

Use the scroll arrows to change the order in which the columns are displayed on the workspace.

Actions

Use the Actions tab to choose actions that can be used on the content part within a workspace.

All available actions are listed. Although you can't see from the list, there are two types of Action you can choose: A form action which opens a Sage 200 window and a Self Service web app action which opens another workspace.

Note: A user must have the relevant feature enabled for their role to be able to open a screen. This works in the same way as accessing an option from the menu.

To make an action available in the content part, select the Select check box for the action.

Note: To add all the actions, select the Select check box in the Select column header.

To remove an action, clear the check box for the action. Once removed the action will not be available to any users and cannot be added to a workspace, using the Action Selector.

To make an action the default for the content part, select the Default check box for the action.
Reports

Use the Reports tab to choose reports that can be run from the content part on the workspace.

The reports are filtered to display all available reports for this content part.

To make a report available to run in the content part, select the Select check box for the Target.

To remove a report, clear the check box for the report. Once removed the report will not be available to any users.
New datasource fields are visible by default

If you have set up your own database queries, you can select the New datasource fields are visible by default check box. This will allow you to see new fields in the datasource that have not been added to the content part.
List Definition

Use this to choose the items of data that are displayed on a content part. Each column in the list displays data from a field in a table.

In addition to adding and removing columns you can change the format of the data.

Display Name

Use this to change the label for the column.

For example, you might want to change Code to a more meaningful term for your business such as Client, Customer etc.

Double-click the Display Name you want to change and enter a new heading for the column to display.

Exclude

Use this if you want to hide a column from all users of a workspace.

This option excludes the columns from the column selector.

Visible

Select this to display this column on the workspace.

If it is not selected, and Exclude is also not selected, the column is hidden, but users can choose to show the column on the workspace using the column selector.

Note: To make a column available on the workspace but not visible, clear both Exclude and Visible check boxes.

Format

Use this to change the format that the data is displayed in. Select the required format from the drop-down list.

Your choice of format must be relevant to the information in the column. For example, you may want to display a particular numerical value using four decimal places.

Data Type Available Formats Data displays:
Number Percentage Format 2DP

As a number with a %.

Up to the specified number of decimal places.
  Percentage Format 3DP
  Percentage Format 4DP
  Percentage Format 5DP
  Percentage Format 6DP
  Percentage Format 7DP
  Number Format 2DP

As a number up to the specified number of decimal places.
  Number Format 3DP
  Number Format 4DP
  Number Format 5DP
  Number Format 6DP
  Number Format 7DP
  Integer As a whole number.
Currency Currency As a number to 2DP.
  Exchange Rate with 6DP The exchange rate with 6 decimal places.
Date and time Time Hours, minutes and seconds in 00:00:00 format.
  Date The date as 22 March 2010 (for example).
  Short Date The date as DD/MM/YYYY. For example, 22/09/2009.
  Date plus Time The date and time as DD/MM/YYYY HH:MM:S. For example, 22/09/2009 12:30:1.
True or False True False Format True or False.
  True Blank Format True, or a blank when false.
  Yes No Format Yes when true or No when false.
  Yes Blank Format Yes when true, or a blank when false.
  Checkbox

A selected checkbox when true.

A cleared checkbox when false.
  Graphical POP Status As a graphical representation of the % value of each purchase order at a given stage in the purchase order process.
  Graphical SOP Status As a graphical representation of % value of each sales order at a given stage in sales order process.
Address Multi Line An address across several lines. You can change the width of these lines in the workspace. This enables you to see the full address.
Text Long Text Trimmed With ... at the end of a line, when the text is longer than the width of the column.

Scroll arrows

Use the scroll arrows to change the order in which the columns are displayed on the workspace.

If the query used for your chart returns null in a column that is included in the chart, the chart will not load. If you want to have null as one of the value fields you will need to update the query to handle the null values in the Query Editor.

Chart type

Select the type of chart you want for the content part.

Types of chart available are pie, line, area, column, bar, spline, stacked column, stacked bar and scatter.

Depending on the chart type you select, different options are available for you to select.
Label Field

Select the data field to use for the chart's X-Axis.

Max Records

Choose the maximum number of records you want to display on your x-axis. If you want to display all the data available, leave this blank.

Sort Field

Select the data field you want to sort the data on the chart area.

You can sort the data using visible data fields (those in the Series Definition Chart and Filter list), or by using data fields that are not displayed (those in the Series Definition Filter Only list).

Descending

By default, this data is sorted as ascending.

To sort the data as descending, select Descending.

Axes

Labels

Enter labels for the X Axis and Y Axis of the chart.

 

You can enter an upper limit for the Y-Axis in the Max Value box.

Additional Options

Legend

The legend shows the names and colours of the displayed data fields.

Select this to display the legend on the chart.
Series Definition

All available data fields in the datasource are displayed in this section.

Specify the data fields you want to use for the chart values from the Chart and Filter section.

You can filter data using data fields from the Filter Only section but you cannot plot this data on the chart.

Display Name

The data field name.

Exclude

Use Exclude if you want to hide a data field from all users of a workspace chart.

If you exclude a column which has Calculation set to Group, you must also set the Calculation for the excluded column back to the default setting, Sum.

The Label Field and the Sort Field must be included in the query or the chart will not work, so ensure that the Exclude check box is clear in the Series Definition lists for those fields.

Visible

Select Visible to add the data field to the chart.

Note: This is only available in the Chart and Filter list.
Calculation

Note: This is only available in the Chart and Filter list.

Use the Calculation drop-down options to group items for chart representation, using different calculations. For example, if you want to group information under one column and display the total value for the group of columns, select Group for the column you want to show on the chart, and select Sum for the columns that you want included in the group.

If you select Group, for a column, you must clear the Exclude check boxes for the Sort Field and Label Field columns (i.e. they must be included).

If you are not performing groupings, the Calculation column is redundant. In this case, you should not change the default selection of Sum.

If you have excluded a column, the grouping on the column will not be removed from the chart until you set the Calculation back to the default setting, Sum.

Filter

Select the type of filter to apply to the column.

If the filter requires it, you can enter appropriate values in the From and To boxes for the column.

For example, if you want to show the total value of sales orders for a specified period, you would select Equals from the Filter drop-down for the Document Date column and then enter the required period in the From box. The To box is not required and so is unavailable.

But if you wanted to show the total value of sales orders for a number of periods, you would select Between from the Filter drop-down for the Document Date column and then enter the earliest period you want to collect information in the From box and the latest period you want in the To box.
Apply Filter

If you are grouping the data, you must select when to apply the filter - Before or After the data is grouped. The default is After.

For example, if you are creating a chart to show the total value of sales orders for specified period, grouped by customer, you would select Before because you would want the periods to be selected before the data was grouped.

Format

If you have chosen a Marker, choose the format of the displayed values from the drop-down list.

Note: This only applies in the Chart and Filter list.

Colour

Select a colour for the displayed data from the drop-down list.

Note: This only applies in the Chart and Filter list.

Scroll arrows

To change the order the columns appear on the chart, use the arrows to move the data fields up or down the list.
See also

Steps in this task

Guidelines for designing custom workspaces

Reference

How to use the Self Service web app

Creating new datasources

Guides

Workspaces Best Practice Guide