Method Community

Please advise if this issue is already addressed somewhere.

When we create estimates in QB, we often create custom group items which contain a bunch of underlying items.  The description of what we are selling is put in the description for the group and the underlying items are only for internal costing use.  We do not want to have that detail print on our customer documents.  In QB, the underlying items in the group can be set to not print which works great.  In Method, the reports print the underlying group items in addition to the group item.  I'd like to learn how to get rid or suppress those line items from printing.

Same issue with Sales Orders.  My sales order only needs to have item descriptions as we attach to a contract as the "work order"  I've eliminated almost everything on the Sales Order so only the item descriptions print out along with the header stuff.  However, the underlying group item descriptions are printing out and I only want the group description to print (plus descriptions of any other items not part of a group. 

I suspect I will have the same issue when I get to customizing the invoice.

If this makes sense and someone knows how to achieve the suppression of group items (like QB's does), please let me know.  I'm finding the report writer to be only a bit easier than brain surgery.

Thanks, Gary 

Hi Gary,

You can use conditional formatting to get the results you want.

General Info:

• Formatting is set by clicking on an object and in the property grid (bottom right) editing the Formatting property (It will say (Collection) and if you click on collection you should see the ... to edit).
• Clicking Edit Rule Sheet will allow you to create new rules.
• Once a new rule is created click > to move it to the Rules applied to a control section.
• Newly created rules can be applied to the Formatting of most objects in the report designer.

The Good Stuff:  

When using conditional formatting if the condition is met then the formatting is applied so in this case you could use something like [IsPrintItemsInGroup] == False And [InvoiceLineGroupRecordID] != ? (This is what the condition for invoices would look like) and if that condition is met set Visible = False.

If you don't see the fields you are looking for when trying to create the condition makes sure you have the proper Data Member selected and this should be applied to the detail section of the report.

I am going to add this as a suggestion to have our templates have this formatting by default.

-Michael                                 

 Thanks.  I think I figured out how to do the invoice but I don't see the [IsPrintItemsInGroup] field in the sales order field list.  Do I have to select another table of fields before I start working on the template? Which one(s).

Thanks, Gary

Gary,

I am going to have to look into this for Sales Orders the field isn't there and it doesn't look like it can be linked. I will get back to you on this.

-Michael

 Ok, thanks.  I found some rules that Method has apparently created for Estimates.  These rules appear to allow items in groups to "not print" (as well as the amounts).  They look similar but not exact in terms of the conditional statemements but there are probably many ways to write those to accomplish the same things.  If you could add similar rules into Sales Order and Invoice templates I'm sure they would be welcomed by others.

Gary