Configuring Users Managing partners

51 Figure 7.3: Partner form Tip: Partner Categories Partner Categories enable you to segment different partners according to their relation with you client, prospect, supplier, and so on. A partner can belong to several categories – for example it may be both a customer and supplier at the same time. But there are also Customer and Supplier checkboxes on the partner form, which are different. These checkboxes are designed to enable OpenERP to quickly select what should appear on some of the system drop-down selection boxes. They, too, need to be set correctly. Partner Categories You can list your partners by category using the menu Sales → Configuration → Address Book → Partners Categories . Click a category to obtain a list of partners in that category. 52 Figure 7.4: Categories of partner The administrator can define new categories. So you will create a new category and link it to a partner: 1. Use Sales → Configuration → Address Book → Partners Categories to reach the list of categories in a list view. 2. Click New to open an empty form for creating a new category 3. Enter My Prospects in the field Category Name. Then click on the Search icon to the right of the Parent Category field and select Prospect in the list that appears. 4. Then save your new category using the Save button. You may add exiting partners to this new category using the Add button in the Partners section. Tip: Required Fields Fields colored blue are required. If you try to save the form while any of these fields are empty the field turns red to indicate that there is a problem. It is impossible to save the form until you have completed every required field. You can review your new category structure using the list view. You should see the new structure of Prospects My Prospects there. Figure 7.5: Creating a new partner category 53 To create a new partner and link it to this new category open a new partner form to modify it. 1. Type New Partner into the Name field. 2. In the General tab, click the Add button under the Categories section and select your new category from the list that appears: Prospect My Prospects 3. Then save your partner by clicking Save The partner now belongs in the category Prospect My Prospects. 4. Monitor your modification in the menu Sales → Configuration → Address Book → Partners Categories. Select the category Prospect My Prospects. The list of partners opens and you will find your new partner there in that list. Tip: Searching for documents If you need to search through a long list of partners it is best to use the available search criteria rather than scroll through the whole partner list. It is a habit that will save you a lot of time in the long run as you search for all kinds of documents. Note: Example Categories of partners A partner can be assigned to several categories. These enable you to create alternative classifications as neces- sary, usually in a hierarchical form. Here are some structures that are often used: • geographical locations, • interest in certain product lines, • subscriptions to newsletters, • type of industry.

7.3 Installing new functionality

All of Open ERP’s functionality is contained in its many and various modules. Many of these, the core modules, are automatically loaded during the initial installation of the system and can be updated online later. Although they are mostly not installed in your database at the outset, they are available on your computer for immediate installation. Additional modules can also be loaded online from the official Open ERP site http:openerp.com . These modules are inactive when they are loaded into the system, and can then be installed in a separate step. You will start by checking if there are any updates available online that apply to your initial installation. Then you will install a CRM module to complete your existing database.

7.3.1 Updating the Modules list

Click Administration → Modules → Update Modules List to start the updating tool. The Module Update window opens notifying the user that Open ERP will look at the server side for adding new modules and updating existing ones. Click Update to start the update on the server side. When it is complete you will see a Module update result section indicating how many new modules were added and how many existing modules were updated. Click Open Modules to return to the updated list. Note: Modules All the modules available on your computer can be found in the addons directory of your Open ERP server. Each module there is represented by a directory carrying the name of the module or by a file with the module name and .zip appended to it. The file is in ZIP archive format and replicates the directory structure of unzipped modules. 54 Tip: Searching through the whole list The list of modules shows only the first available modules. In the web client you can search or follow the First Previous Next Last links to get to any point in the whole list, and you can change the number of entries listed by clicking the row number indicators between Previous and Next and selecting a different number from the default of 20. If you use the GTK client you can search, as you would with the web client, or use the selection field currently showing 80 to the top right of the window to change the number of entries returned by the search from its default limit of 80, or its default offset of 0 starting at the first entry in the whole list.

7.3.2 The Configuration Reconfigure wizard

One of the new features of OpenERP is the Configuration wizard. Once run, the Reconfigure shortcut will appear. This wizard provides an easy way to install modules thanks to its userfriendly and easy-to-use interface. The user may invoke this wizard at his own convenience using the shortcut Reconfigure, found just below the database and user name in the web-client or in the Shortcut menu in the GTK client. The same Configuration dialog box appears that you may have encountered at the time of installing a new database. Why did we call it the Reconfigure wizard? Indeed, because it allows the user to review installed applications and install related additional features or simply to install new applications on the fly. When you go through the various steps in the wizard, you will come across some options that are checked and greyed. These are applications already installed. In the openerp_ch02 database configuration, you may see that the Customer Relationship Management option is already checked because this Business Application has been installed in this database. Install extra applications simply by checking the corresponding options and clicking Install or click Skip to stop the configuration. You will eventually also come across the CRM Application Configuration step which you may use to add features to your CRM application. For now, select the Claims option and click Configure. This will in turn install the crm_claim module. Figure 7.6: Reconfigure wizard showing Customer Relationship Management application as installed You may continue adding features this way, skip configuration steps or simply exit from this wizard. When you feel the need to load your system with additional features, you may invoke the Reconfigure wizard again at any point. Note: You can also change the Configuration Wizard through the Administration → Configuration → Configu- ration Wizards → Configuration Wizards. 55

7.3.3 Installing an application module from the Modules list

You will now install a module named google_map, which will enable you to add a feature to the partner form to open the location directly in Google Maps. This is part of the core installation, so you do not need to load anything to make this work. Open the list of modules from Administration → Modules → Modules. Search for the module by entering the name google_map in the Name field on the search screen then clicking it in the list that appears to open it. The form that describes the module gives you useful information such as its version number, its status and a review of its functionality. Click Schedule for Installation and the status of the module changes to To be installed. Tip: From now on you can schedule and install modules from list view too. Notice the buttons on the right side and the action button to install. Figure 7.7: Installation of the Google Maps module Tip: Technical Guide If you select a module in any of the module lists by clicking on a module line and then on Technical Guide at the top right of the window, OpenERP produces a technical report on that module. It is helpful only if the module is installed. This report comprises a list of all the objects and all the fields along with their descriptions. The report adapts to your system and reflects any modifications you have made and all the other modules you have installed. Then, either use the menu Administration → Modules → Apply Scheduled Upgrades, or from the Actions section click Apply Scheduled Upgrades, then Start update on the Module Upgrade form that appears. Close the window when the operation has completed. Return to the Sales menu; you will see the new menu Products has become available. Tip: Refreshing the menu in the GTK client After an update in the GTK client you will have to open a new menu to refresh the content – otherwise you will not see the new menu item. To do that use the window menu Form → Reload Undo or use the shortcut Ctrl+R.

7.3.4 Installing a module with its dependencies

Now install the Warehouse Management module using the same process as before. Start from Administration → Modules → Modules. 1. Get the list of modules, and search for the stock module in that list. 2. Schedule the module for installation by clicking Schedule for Installation. 3. Do the same for account. 4. Click Apply Scheduled Upgrades on the action toolbar to the right. 5. Click Start update to install both modules. 6. After a few seconds, when the installation is complete, you may close this dialog box. 7. You will see details of all the features installed by the modules on a new Features tab on the module form.