Product Parameters

1Purpose #

A standard item line records what, how much and at what rate. Businesses that sell made-to-measure or specified goods need more: the length of the cut, the finish of the panel, the grade of the steel. This master defines those fields once so every voucher captures them the same way.

Defining a parameter here does not put it on any voucher. That happens in the Item Parameter Template master, which picks parameters from this list and applies them to a product.

2Step by step #

A parameter is one measured property — Length, Width, Purity — that vouchers and BOMs capture values for.

1. Press Add (F3) , name the parameter, pick its group and value type/unit as the form asks.
2. Press Save (F5) and confirm.
3. Bundle parameters into templates (next master), attach templates to products, and parameter-tracking vouchers will capture values per line.

3How to use it #

1. The page opens with a blank row ready to key. Enter moves from cell to cell, and Enter off the last cell of the last row starts another.
2. Pick the Value Type early: it decides which of the remaining cells are live. A cell that does not apply is switched off rather than merely ignored.
3. Changing the value type clears the rules that no longer apply — a min/max left over from NUM cannot silently survive a change to TEXT.
4. Popup Query opens its own editor, because the value is an XML document rather than a one-liner. It is only available for the SQL types.
5. Add Parameter (F3) appends a row. The bin icon removes a row; it is deleted when you Save.
6. Save (F5) writes every changed row after a confirmation. Refresh (F2) re-reads and discards unsaved edits.
7. The grid sorts, filters and groups — drag a column header into the strip above the grid to group by it. Group and Value Type are the useful ones.

4Field details #

• Parameter Name — required and unique. What the operator sees when capturing the value.
• Value Type — required; one of TEXT, MEMO, NUM, SELECTION, SELECTION-MULTI, SQL, SQL-MULTI, DATE, TIME, DATETIME. It decides the editor the voucher shows and which rules below apply.
• Short Code — a brief code used when building an item code from the captured values.
• Print Name — the caption used on printed documents when it should differ from the parameter name.
• Description — free text for whoever maintains this list.
• Selection Values — SELECTION and SELECTION-MULTI only. A comma-separated list; each entry becomes an option. SELECTION-MULTI lets the operator tick several.
• Popup Query — SQL and SQL-MULTI only. An XML definition holding the query and the columns to show and store, so the value is picked from live data. Master-defined and admin-trusted.
• Default Value — pre-filled when the parameter first appears on a line. Optional.
• Min Value / Max Value — NUM only. The permitted range; the voucher refuses a value outside it.
• Group — the filing group, from the Item Parameter Groups master. Organisation only.
• Line Column Mapping — writes the captured value back onto a voucher line column. Choose the line column here and the value lands on the line itself, not merely in the parameter dialog.
• Fixed Item Type — tags the parameter as a well-known physical quantity (Length, Weight, MRP, Brand…), so features that look for "the length" can find it whatever it is called.
• Compulsory — the voucher refuses to commit the line until the value is given.
• Read Only — the value is shown but cannot be typed. Normal for a parameter driven by a formula.
• Use As Preset — the parameter can be pre-set for a product rather than asked for on every line.
• Inactive — retires the parameter without deleting it.

5Shortcut keys #

• F2 — Refresh: re-read the list, discarding unsaved edits.
• F3 — Add Parameter.
• F5 — Save (opens the confirmation). Inside the Popup Query editor it means OK.
• Esc — close the confirmation or the open editor.
• Enter — move to the next cell; off the last cell of the last row it starts a new row and puts the caret in it.
• Tab — move to the next cell without the new-row behaviour.

Shortcuts belong to whichever copy of the page has focus, so a second tab of this page does not steal them.

6Why is a pick-list empty? #

• Group comes from the Item Parameter Groups master. Empty means no group has been created yet — grouping is optional, so this can be left blank.
• Value Type and Fixed Item Type are fixed lists built into the application — they are never empty and cannot be extended from here.
• Selection Values is not a pick-list; it is the comma-separated text that becomes the pick-list on the voucher. Blank there means the operator gets no options.

7Rules and integrity #

• Parameter names are unique. The duplicate is refused before saving, and refused again by the server if it somehow gets through.
• Every parameter needs a value type, and it must be one the application understands.
• A SELECTION parameter needs its value list; an SQL parameter needs its popup query. Neither is optional once the type is chosen.
• A minimum above its maximum is refused.
• Variable names must not repeat — a formula addresses a parameter by that name, so a repeat would silently change what the formula meant.
• Rules that do not belong to the chosen value type are cleared on save, so a type change cannot leave a stale rule behind.
• A parameter used by any template cannot be deleted. Remove it from the templates first; the refusal says so.
• Rows are saved individually by state, so an untouched row is never rewritten — it keeps its identity and its created-by / created-on stamps.
• Adding, changing and deleting are each permission-checked by the database. A restricted user gets an explicit refusal, not a silent no-op.
• The blank row waiting at the bottom is scaffolding: it is never saved and never counts as incomplete.