Adding data in fields

Field types

There are several types of fields in Business NXT:

Valid field values

Every time you enter data in a field, Business NXT checks whether the value is valid. If you enter an invalid value, for example an employee number that does not exist, an error message appears in the status bar.

Completing fields

You can complete fields by directly typing valid values into the fields. If you cannot remember the valid values for the various fields, you can perform a lookup to display valid values, or you can ask Business NXT to suggest a value.

Automatically suggested values

In some fields, Business NXT automatically adds a value on the basis of information you have entered elsewhere in Business NXT.

For example, when you enter the employee number when entering a payroll transfer for an employee, the details you entered for that employee in the Employee with wage info table are copied automatically.

This means that many of the fields are completed automatically, although you are always free to overwrite the suggested values.

Getting suggestions for values

Two hotkeys can be used to get suggestions for values in some fields:

• + (the plus key) proposes a value
• / (the forward slash key) copies the value from the row above

The suggestion depends on the field type of the current field, and + (the plus key) frequently gives the same result as / (the forward slash key).

Date fields

For dates, you can either enter the date manually, or you can look up a date in the calendar. Enter the date in the format according to the regional settings on your computer.

Deleting field values

You can delete the value in the currently selected field by pressing Delete on the keyboard. If you have selected several fields, the values in all of them will be deleted. To delete the entire row, press Ctrl + Delete.

Primary keys

A primary key is a unique value identifying the record, and is unique within a table. Primary keys are not case sensitive (do not distinguish between lowercase and uppercase letters).

You cannot change a primary key once it is entered. If you make an incorrect entry, or if you want to change it for some other reason, you must select and delete the record. If you attempt to create a new row with the same primary key as an existing one, the cell is marked red and an error message is displayed.

Check boxes and radio buttons

In some fields, you make settings using check boxes and radio buttons.

1. Navigate to the field where you want to make the setting.

2. Press * on the keyboard or double-click in the field.

3. In the dialog that opens, select the check boxes and radio buttons that you want to enable.

4. Click OK and then click Save.

Repeating a value from the previous row

1. Click the field where you insert the repeated value.

2. Press / (the forward slash key) to copy the value from the row above. Pressing + (the plus key) for proposing a value frequently gives the same result as / (the forward slash key).

3. Click Save.

The value is copied from the previous row.