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I just customzed a report which looks exactly what I want, but I got a problem , It seems the text box and check box did not work in PDF report, I can not type in or check the check box in the generated report, is there anyway to make this happen, I really apperciate if I can get solution for that.

Hello Ian,

I tried adding a checkbox from the 'Standard Controls' to the report and it isn't interactive on the PDF report. I'll look into it some more to see if it’s at all possible, but my hunch is that it is there so, if you were to print out the report and then would like to check the box with a pen you can. It could also be that because its PDF, it is read only. I'll look into it some more and update you if I find out anything different.

 Hi Ian,

I confirmed that it is not possible to check /uncheck the checkbox on the PDF report. Can you tell me why you want to be able to check/ uncheck that box? Are you hoping that the value from that box would go back to Method? If you outline the goal you are trying to achieve we might be able to come up with another alternative.

Hi Amanda,

Thanks for reply, what I want is that I can sent a fillable PDF sales order to customer, I am not only want the check the box but also can type word in text box. Then instead of hand writing and scan and fax back, they can just fill in the information then sent back to us. Then we can process the invoice and payment in more efficient way.

Ian

 Hello Ian,

Thanks for getting back to me.

Based on what you describe, it appears as though the customer portal would be a good solution for you. You can customize it so your customers can view their Sales Order. Perhaps add a text field and a check box to the portal where they check if they agree with what's on the Sales Order. You would then be able to view that in Method. Also with the portal, the Sales Order would automatically be filtered by customers. You can either show them the Sales Order screen and make everything read only so they can't change anything except check the 'I agree' checkbox or 'I disagree' checkbox.

Another option is to allow them to print preview the Sales Order and then when they are finish viewing it, you can probably have a text field on the screen so they can type notes and a confirmation checkbox. You would have to customize the Sales Order report so they can view it in a PDF format on the portal. The default Customer Portal shows the recent transaction for customers, you can filter it to show only Sales Order and build a Sales Order report.

If you would like to learn more about customer portal, you can view webinar 9 by using the following link: http://www.methodintegration.com/cs/blogs/methodblog/pages/Method-Community-Webinars.aspx

Hi Amanda,

Thanks for answer, this solution sounds great for me, just one more question , is it possible to customsize the sales order screen and add a button to sent email and automatcally attached  sales order pdf file then sent  to the customer??

Hello Ian,

Yes, it is possible to send emails to the customers with the attached Sales Order PDF file.

A tip for you; add a button to your Sales Order screen and you would want to ensure you save the sales order, then generate the report, after which you send the email. ;)

Hope this helps.

Hi Amanda,

Sorry I did not make it clear, what I mean is does method has the function to sent out sales order directly from method with certain template, thanks for reply.

Ian

Hello Ian,

Is it that you want to know if there is a default Sales Order template (report) in Method? If so, we do not currently have one but we are looking into adding one soon. Also, there is no default option to send out emails with the Sales Order attached. If you would like to customize your screen to send out emails with the attached Sales Orders, then please follow the steps I outlined in my previous post.

Hi Amanda,

I can send out email without problem, thanks for your reply. The problem is our company has more than method account, and each account manager want to send email from their own email address, how to set up the email from and is that possible to send email without enter user name and password. I really apperciate if I can get solution for that.

Ian

 Hello Ian,

It is possible to set up the email so that it picks up which Account Manager(user) is sending it, and uses their email address as the 'From' email. When setting up these Account Managers in Method as Users, ensure you enter a valid email address for them in Step 1 of 7 under User settings.

The next step would be to set 'Email From' to 'Value from session' - 'Email Address' when setting up the 'Send Email' action mentioned in my earlier post. This would pick up the email for the Users (Account Managers) as the 'From' email.

Keep in mind, before you can send emails from the account you would have to set up your Default Email Preferences under Customize > My Account > Default Email Preferences.

Let me know if this helps.

Hi Amanda,

Thanks for reply, it was great answer. but I set up the email signature in setting, but it did not appear in body part of email. and how do I put customer first name and last name in the email.

Hi Ian,

I'm looking into this and will get back to you.

 Hi Ian,

You'll need to set up the signature for each user under Customize > Users.

The next step is to create an email template. In the email template, you'll type in the merge fields in a TableName.FieldName format. For instance, if you wanted to see the signature it would be Users.EmailSignature or if you wanted to address Customers by their first name it would be Customer.FirstName.

Once you have created your template, you'll have to edit the Activity screen to run a Character Function for the merge fields mentioned above, with real values.

Here is a previous post that provides more information on using email templates:  http://www.methodintegration.com/cs/forums/p/544/1785.aspx#1785

Please review webinar 10 for more information on email templates: http://www.methodintegration.com/cs/blogs/methodblog/pages/Method-Community-Webinars.aspx

Hope this helps.