This is a Level 4 and higher feature.

If desired, you can design and add your own fields to the Main Invoice Screen.  These fields, which are called "User Defined Fields," are set-up by selecting FILE >> ACTIVATE USER DEFINED FIELDS.  The follow screen appears:

Note that for this discussion, User Defined Fields will occasionally be abbreviated as UDF.

User Defined Fields are just like any other field on AnyOrder's Main Invoice Screen.  You can search for UDF fields (with Advanced Search).  You can filter on UDF fields.  You can export UDF fields, and you can import to User Defined fields.

User Defined Fields may also be utilized to add an extra address line to customer invoices and billings.  More information below.

Activating and Setting-up User Defined Fields.

To prepare your own UDF fields select FILE >> ACTIVATE SHIPMENT & USER DEFINED FIELDS from the Menu Bar.  A dialog box will appear (shown above) which allows you to set-up the fields.  To turn on User Defined Fields place a checkmark in the box beside "YES, I'd like to include one or more user defined fields."

You can create up to 13 fields.  Most of the fields are character fields, but you can also create two checkmark fields, two number fields and one date field.  Once you've turned on User Defined Fields, type-in the labels you would like to use for each of the fields.  The labels can be up to 16 characters in length.

At the bottom of the dialog box are three UDF fields which will appear on the printed invoice.  If you want one or more of your fields to appear on the printed invoice (to be seen by the customer), then type-in labels for these.  If you don't want your fields to be seen by the customer, leave these blank.

The character fields can be used for a variety of purposes.  They can even hold numbers and dates, though if you're planning to use them for importing or exporting, it's best to utilize the fields specially set up for numbers and dates.  Most of the character fields have room for 40 letters or numbers.  You may not utilize nearly that much space, but it's available should you need it.

The two number fields are designed for use with monetary amounts and are formatted with two decimal places.  If desired, however, they can be used for whole numbers by leaving the decimals unused.

Once you've typed in your labels, click on "OK" to save the information.  Note that if at a later time you want to change the names of the labels - or if you want to add more fields - you can do so by returning to the Activate User Defined Fields dialog box.  The changes will not have an effect on your data.  (The data is placed in the User Defined Fields database (UserDef.dbf) by location of the field and not by the name you give the field.)

Extra Address Fields Option

Two of the User Defined Fields can be used for extra address lines for your customers.  AnyOrder in its normal configuration has the following fields for the customer's address:  Name, Address1, Address2, City, State or Province, Postal Code and Country.  Most businesses will find this sufficient.  However, if you commonly work with long addresses, then this option enables you to include an additional address field (Address3) to both billing and shipping addresses.  The extra address line will appear on printed invoices and billings.  You can copy a customer's address including the Address3 line from one invoice and paste it to another.  Selecting this option will also configure the Customer Database with an Address3 line.  And the extra address line will be included in the data files created in the Mailing List part of the program.

To turn it on, place a checkmark beside "Turn ON Extra Address Fields"

The extra address fields will appear with the other User Defined Fields either on the overlap window or the UDF attachment on the bottom of the Main Invoice Screen (see "Accessing User Defined Fields" below).

Note that the Address3 field will not appear directly below the Address2 field.  It will be located along with the other User Defined Fields.  But if you use the UDF Attachment Option, you can easily move from one to the other.  For example, if your cursor is on the Address2 field at the top of the screen, when you press TAB, the cursor will move to Address3 at the UDF attachment at the bottom of the screen.  Then when you press TAB again, the cursor will move to the City field on top of the screen.

You can search for contents of the Address3 field.  To do so, select GO TO >> ADVANCED SEARCH.  You'll find the Billing and Shipping Address3 field in the User Defined Fields section.  A filter can be set on the Address3 field.  You can also import to, and export from, the Address3 field.

When you configure AnyOrder in this way, the Customer Database and Primary Contact Manager will also include the third address options.

Utilizing User Defined Fields for an ATTENTION Field

There are two ways to create an "Attention" field on the printed invoice.  If the person in the Attention field is always the same, then the best method is to add the customer to the Customer Database and use the "Attention" field found there.

If, however, the person in the Attention field differs with each order, then you can use a User Defined Field.  To do that use one of the 16-character.  The 16-character fields are found near the bottom of the dialog box, shown below:

Let's look at this in more detail.

You might find this handy if you primarily ship to stores or distributors.  In such cases, you normally don't need an individual's name on the invoice.  The business name is sufficient.  But if you often get special orders from a particular person at the business and the person can vary from order to order, the "ATTENTION" field is helpful.  The 16 character User Defined Field appears on the printed invoice, and businesses can quickly identify who placed the order.  (Note that it does not appear in the main address block, but it does appear just below the Customer Number or Order Date near the top of the printed invoice.)  Here's an example of what the printed invoice would look like:

There's another advantage of the "Attention" field.  If you use AnyOrder's on-line shipment processing features (or export to UPS Worldship) to create shipping labels, you can create a default whereby the "Contact" name on the shipping label is the same as the "Attention" field.  To create the default, start at the Shipment Form.  Click on the "Defaults" button.  On the dialog box that appears, select the UDF field that you are using for "Attention" field.  Then when ever you load in the shipper's default values to the Shipment Form, the "Contact" name will pick up the contents of the "Attention" field.

It's certainly not necessary to use an UDF in this way, particularly if it's a rare situation.  The name can also be included along with the PO number or on an invoice note, but if special orders from your customers are common, you may want to consider it.

Accessing User Defined Fields.

Once you've activated User Defined Fields, you can access them by selecting WINDOW and USER DEFINED FIELDS WINDOW from the menu.  Two access options are available.

Overlap. The first option is to have a window overlap the Main Invoice Screen.  If you select this option, a window appears over the invoice screen.  You can type information in the appropriate field blanks.  When you return to the Main Invoice Screen, the Window will disappear.  The easiest way to regain access to the UDF Window is to click on the small blue "UDF" button on the Main Invoice Screen (located near the bottom of the screen).  You can also re-gain access to it by selecting WINDOW and USER DEFINED FIELDS WINDOW.   The Overlay Option is shown below:

UDF Attachment Option. The second option is to attach the user defined window to the bottom of the Main Invoice Screen.  The UDF attachment option is only available monitors on which the resolution has been set to 1024 by 768 pixels or greater.  When the User Defined Window is attached, you access the fields the same way you access any other fields on the Main Invoice Screen: by clicking on them or using TAB to move through the fields.  The Attachment Option is shown below: