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FrontAccounting forum → Accounts Receivable → Long List of Customers
Our firm has a long list of clients, around 300. When you want to process a transaction of one client, you have to drag the bar and find out this client from the long list.
Is there any way to do it easier? Like a selection function?
Thank you
In the Company Setup, on Setup tab, you can mark the checkbox 'Search Customer List'. Then you can use the space bar to start the search (inside the combobox).
/Joe
Thank you so much Joe!
Hi Joe,
Our company also has many customers in our list. >65K.
We do have the search turned on and when we search for smith (common name in US), we get over 350 in the result list.
How is this usually handled? Scrolling down sure takes a long time when we have to do this many times a day.
Thanks,
Ed
Well, this is a classical problem. I guess you will have to enter a little more than 'smith' in the search box.
/Joe
Is it possible to have include a search on another field? For example, name and postal code? It seems that would be a bit more elegant and cleaner. I know when I call many companies and they can't find my records by name they ask for zip code or phone number.
An associated problem is how to detect duplicate records by name. Most of our business is via our shopping card and often we get an order from someone who is with a large company and then don't spell the company name the same, perhaps they abbreviate the name, what is a good way to distinguish such duplicates? These customers can well be at the same branch and not even know others have ordered from that branch.
How are other users handling these searches?
Thanks
Ed
To your first question, yes, why not.
We will try to implement this in 2.3.2. As you suggest we will try to also search in address info and phone number.
The second issue is rather difficult, due we have no relevant key on name.
/Joe
Thanks Joe, searching on those fields will be a big help to narrow down the search results.
As to duplicate name situation, we have tried to solve that problem for a couple of years, both on our end and on the shopping cart end. It seems no matter how we try to solve the problem, customers can come up with a new inventive way to thwart our best efforts. We are sure open to any suggestion. 
Thanks you guy are so helpful.
Having experience some with Identifying people in large systems, I think the key to solving this problem is to enforce strong customer short name coding standards. Staff easily pick this up.
This may imply one more tick in Company setup that says search on short name.
I have used a couple of variants over the years depending on the short name field length. For example, lets use a 5,4 standard which would work as follows.
Rodney Smith - SMITHRODN
Roderick Smith - SMITHRODE
Roderrick Smith - SMITHRODE1
Where you get a duplicate short name, you just add a number to the end in order the conflicts occur.
In Company Names you end up with
Vehicle Modifications Network = VEHICMODI
Vehicle Modifications Nursery = VEHICMODI1
Some companies like to end all Companies with PL
Currently, I am using this standard for business shortnames and
for customers Smith, Rodney
You'll be surprised how few duplicates arise from your Smiths with this standard and it could be extended to a 6,4 or larger within the field length but remember to retain at last the last 2 characters of the field for the number codes at the end.
Thanks, RodW:
You can do the short naming automatically from a shopping cart?
Ed
Thanks, RodW:
You can do the short naming automatically from a shopping cart?
Ed
Sorry, not been here for a few days. I can't see why you could not come up with an automated process to construct the short name from the full name once you establish the rules for your system. I think you'd have to check if the name already exists and increment the number if it does.
from last year, ed10: Is it possible to have include a search on another field? For example, name and postal code?
Joe's reply: We will try to implement this in 2.3.2. As you suggest we will try to also search in address info and phone number.
Was this implemented? If so, where can I find it?
Thanks, Ed10
No, I guess not. But a new field, short name, was added, to use as a special search name.
I am not at the code just now, but I guess it should work that way.
Joe
from last year, ed10: Is it possible to have include a search on another field? For example, name and postal code?
I have a similar problem. I supply hat shops, and they all had the brilliant idea to call their shop 'Hat box'. So I add the beginning of the Postal code in the shortname 'Hat box Ca' for hat box cambrige etc .. (I guess you can write a SQL query to update the shortname in the database).
Joe:
The short name field was there when we orginally started this thread.
The problems are the same now as a year ago.
I think the search needs to be expanded to include at the least phone number, email address(isn't it unique), and zipcode.
What would really be great would be a function key that can be hit that pops up the search fields.
BTW, what function keys are used in FA? I could find no listing of them.
Thanks for continuing to improve FA. Better than it was a year ago.
ed10
I think you are right, the search should be expanded somehow. I guess the best you can do now is just to set wishlist report on FA mantis. This way such small but very useful ideas has a chance to find their place in developers timetable 
. NB Mantis unfortunately seems to be underrated in FA users community.
Regarding function keys - those are displayed at the footer of any page where they can be used. For now those are F2-F4 for suppliers/customers, customer branches and stock items respectively.
Janusz
Maybe Mantis is not underrated, but unavailable. I have tried 3 different time to register and have yet to receive any confirming email from Mantis. That as have over several months time.
On the search, an F-key available from any page that has text boxes for various fields for several table would be nice. Search for customers, vendors, branches, items and perhaps other things would easily go on one page.
While on searches, when I search for a customer,(for example to write a sales order) and the result set is only one customer, the text box displays New customer". It should show the results of the search ordered by what ever, not "ew customer". That just adds to the keystrokes necessary to enter the SO. It is all actually a bit disconcerting to do a search and not see a result. That is not the way most search work.
I have some questions about version 2.4, but can't figure out what forum to start the thread.
Thanks for you help on this.
Yes, the issue with unselected item after unambiguous search is annoying. Will be fixed.
I guess the best place for posts related to future release is Wish List (no irony intended), but if you feel any new section in FA forum would be handy, we can start it on demand.
Regarding Mantis registration, I have tested it a couple of times and all seems to be right. I would advice to check your spam filter, probably this is source of problem. I have looked into mantis users list, and I can see multiply accounts open on your mailbix indeed. I will send you new password to 'ed10' account by PM and will remove the duplicate accounts. Sorry for inconvenience.
Janusz
The search in Items and inventory has the same situtation. Probably others as well. I have not looked but can they all be fixed in the same manner? It would also be nice if the search results for customer included the debtor_no. Wondering if instead of the query populating a dropdown, maybe it could open a new small window similiar to F2 key, then select from that window. Give the advantage to show more fields and even being able to sort on a column. I do this on some searches on my website. Idea is make it very easy to find the info you need when an unhappy customer is on the phone waiting for you to come up with info about his account and anything to speed up the entry of data into database.
On Mantis, I can guess what is happening on Mantis, too long to discuss in forum.
I appreciate you looking into it.
Again thanks for the quick answers and concern to improve FA
The search in Items and Inventory uses another approach. It will serch in the categories, items id's and item names.
/Joe
@ed10
Regarding main issue (focus on the only found item) - yes, list selector behaviour is defined in common function, so fixing the issue for customers will fix it for suppliers, items etc.
We would like to avoid complicating user interface here, so I believe including more fields in search (instead of adding another screen for search criteria selection) is better solution.
Janusz
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