General considerations

Owned by Benoît Wambergue
Last updated: Dec 15, 2022Version comment

* red asterisks identify mandatory information throughout the application.

* blue asterisks identify specificities of your business: field names that differ from what you read here, or additional fields which don't exist in the standard product.

Field types: most commonly used fields are alpha, numeric, date, text area, and dropdown list, but the system offers a large range of options.

 See all field types
  • alphanumeric (alpha): from 1 to 255 characters, you can define the size of frame you prefer (small, average, large, extra-large), you can specify whether the character should be hidden (protected, password-like), and if they should be all upper/lower cases (or not).
  • boolean (check box): true or false, yes or no, either one or the other.
  • date: as simple as that. For higher efficiency, you can type in ddmmyy and the system will convert it to the right format (dd/MM/yyyy).
  • dropdown list: defined values, the list can be expanded but the order matters in the sense that we store in the database the place in the list (e.g. 1, 2, 3, etc.) not the value that holds such place (e.g. red for 1, green for 2, blue for 3, etc.).
  • duration: typically HH:mm, you can specify whether you also want to type in seconds.
  • email: a type of alpha, to which we add a mailto shortcut.
  • image: document you can link to a record and which will be displayed as image of the record.
  • link: a type of alpha, to which we add a hyperlink shortcut.
  • numeric: as simple as that. You can specify whether you authorise negative values, as well as the number of decimals you want the system to display.
  • percentage: a special type of numeric, on top of which you can tell the system whether it ranges from 0 to 99%, from 0 to 100%, or from 0 to infinity.
  • radio button: works as a dropdown list, except it displays all options on the screen, without the need to click on the list.
  • reference to a list of entities (collection of references to another entity): dynamic list of elements you can refer to. Not commonly used as standard fields (except for a few lists such as addresses, contacts, etc.), they can prove useful to better fit your business needs (e.g. list of equivalences to a part, in the part record). You can chose to display the list among which you make your selection as a dropdown list or an autocomplete dropdown.
  • reference to an entity: either in the form of a dropdown list or that of an autocomplete dropdown, it refers to one record from another table.
  • text area: from 1 to 2000 characters, you can chose whether you want pre-formatted values to be stored.
  • time: a special type of date, which also displays the hours and minute. You can specify if you want seconds to be shown as well.

Some tables and fields support quick edit. This mechanism allows you to update the record from a list, a dashboard, a mobile screen, or the results of a query. All this without entering the entire form. When you hover your mouse over such fields, this icon appears:

 Show me some examples

In Apps, the lighter version of Fortee:

On a dashboard:

In a list:

To make your onboarding simple and efficient, some fields and advanced features may have been hidden or disabled on your environment (or can be hidden if necessary, see section Screen and tables configuration under Navigation). They appear in this user manual in a greyer tone of colour or under a dedicated sub-section.