Inquiries are similar to searches in that they enable you to look up information stored in the system. However, inquiries provide much more in-depth information than searches.
The following applies only to IC Item Inquiry, AP and PO Vendor inquiries, GL Account Inquiry, AR and SO Customer inquiries.
1. Look up the record on which you want to inquire by clicking Open to access the Search screen and then specify the value in with the Go To field.
In the Vendor Inquiry, for example, enter a vendor number, alpha lookup or beginning characters of a vendor’s name.
You do not need to press the Enter key to select your inquiry focus. Highlight the desired line item. Some inquiries offer multiple sort orders, which can be accessed from the Sort By menu option.
Click Change Filters if you want to limit the number of records that appear in the inquiry browser. You can also access filters by clicking Options>Filter Values from the menu.
Press CTRL + B or > or the horizontal scroll bar to scroll horizontally to view additional inquiry browser record information.
2. Select an inquiry view.
To select a view, press Shift + > and Shift + B to change the view to the left or right. To choose a view option from the view bar click the arrow keys on the screen or View from the menu bar and select a view from the drop down menu.
In Inquiry programs, the list of views is in the tab order; tabbing from the main selection field of any inquiry will take you to the view list, and you can use the arrow keys to navigate through the views.
The Previous/Next/Search buttons at the top right corner of the Inquiry window are also in the tab order. The buttons are accessed with a Shift-Tab from the view list.
If line detail is available, select a line and click Line Detail or double click the icon at the beginning of the line.
Filtering views: In some inquiries, such as PO Vendor Inquiry, GL Account Inquiry and IC Item Inquiry, views can be filtered by warehouse, beginning period, item type and ship-to address.
To filter views: Click Select Options>Filter views from the menu.
You may find it helpful to have inquiries open while you are working in entry programs so you can view information as you enter invoices, orders, purchase orders, etc. If you are entering purchase orders, for example, it may be beneficial to have the Vendor Inquiry program open at the same time.
Sync is a method of connecting the entry programs with information displayed in customer, item and vendor inquiries. It is a helpful feature because it enables you to get real-time information such as customer balances, vendor balances and warehouse quantities, while you are working in entry programs.
You can initiate Sync from these programs.
Inquiries are synchronized on a per user basis. In other words, if you are signed on to FACTS in one window with one name and signed on in another window with another name, it will appear as if the Sync function is not working.
To use Sync:
Technical note
While Sync mode is activated, the inquiry program will examine a file called SMUSED approximately every three seconds. This file contains the last customer number, item number and vendor number input in Sales Order Entry. If this number is different than the one currently being displayed in the inquiry, the inquiry will change its display to show information on this new customer, item or vendor.
1. Open the inquiry and entry programs you want to use.
2. In the inquiry window, click Options>Synchronized Inquiry.
3. At this point you can choose to view information from the main inquiry window, or you can open views as separate windows.
To open a view as a separate window, first select it and then click Options>Open View as Separate Window. To open additional view, repeat these steps.
4. Minimize the main inquiry window and, if necessary, arrange the separate view windows on your screen. (The next time you open this inquiry, FACTS will open the same views in the same position in which you placed them.)
To turn off the Sync feature click End Sync.
See also
Using Filters in FACTS Inquiries
Setting view preferences in FACTS Inquiries
Managing notes for AR documents, customers, items, or vendors