This article explains how to set up and make the best practical use of the Contacts Module.

Housekeeping

Before working with the Contacts module, you should create all needed Contact Types in the General Codes > Contacts > Contact Types.

The following types you may need, for example, Agents, Ship Chandlers, Bunkering, Towage, Repair, Training and Private.
1. Click button and enter:

Open

Contents

• 1 Housekeeping
  • 1.1 User Interface
    • 1.1.1 Overview tab
    • 1.1.2 Manage Menu
    • 1.1.3 Contact Details
  • 1.2 Grid Customization
    • 1.2.1 Columns Sorting
    • 1.2.2 Columns Hiding
    • 1.2.3 Columns Filtering
    • 1.2.4 Changing Columns Width
    • 1.2.5 Columns Grouping
    • 1.2.6 Creating Instant Filters
• 2 Functionality
  • 2.1 Adding Contact
  • 2.2 Dial, Sending E-mails
  • 2.3 Additional Payroll tab

• Code is a unique Adonis code.

• Text is the descriptive name.

• Sort is sorting of the code in the drop-down list. The codes with the smallest number will be shown first, the ones with the biggest number will be shown last. '0' means the very first.

• Is Passive: set to make this contact type passive (not shown in the drop-down).
  Then, please select which type of group your record will belong to.
  In our example, we added the Training Course Contact type to use in the Course Scheduler module.

2. Click OK to save the code.

User Interface

To access the Contacts module, go on Modules ribbon > icon or press Ctrl+Alt+B hotkeys.

Let's look at an example screen.

By default, you are at Views page > Overview tab to see all registered contacts:

Open

Overview tab

The Contacts Overview Grid displays the following information: Contact Name, Category (contact type), country, city, port, nearest airport, etc.

Note that if the contact data contains 2 of the same communication types (e.g.: 2 mobile phone numbers) the Overview Grid displays only the telecommunication with the highest priority.

Manage Menu

Under the Manage tab, you can find the following commands: to open, add or delete a contact record.
If the contact list is too long, you can use Find Panel for a quick search by clicking the Find icon. Just begin typing and the system will prompt for variants.

Dock functionality allows you to dock the module on the left/right/top/bottom. The remaining part can then be used to display the other screens (modules, data groups) according to your needs without overwriting the Contacts module. So, the result can be as below:

To reset the Dock functionality back, click “the below button under the Manage menu.

By clicking icon, you will be switched to The Contacts Module help manual.

Contact Details

To view contact details, select the needed record and click the Open button under the Manage menu or use double-click. Let's consider some example records:

Details page consists of two tabs:

• Common;

• Contact Persons.

1. The common tab displays the main contact information.
   For example name, contact type, post and visiting address, website, telephones/fax numbers, e-mails, etc.

2. Contact person tab can display an unlimited list of contact persons under each company along with a list of their telephone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses, etc

If you need to remove the record, click button under the Manage menu.

Grid Customization

You can customize your Grid layout as you wish. The available options are the following:
Columns Ordering

You can move a column to a grid place you like. For that you need just drag and drop the column header to the required place:

Columns Sorting

To sort the order of the records, right-click the column header, and select Sort type:

Or you can just click the header:

• 1st click - ascending sorting;

• 2nd click - descending sorting.

Columns Hiding

It is possible to hide a column that you don't want to see for some time, and this will not have an impact on the other users.

For that click the button in the left upper corner and remove a tick near the column name that you want to hide:

In the example, we have removed the ID and Area columns.

Columns Filtering

It is also possible to filter data. It can be convenient if there is a long list of records and a user wants to see only some of them.

For that: click the filter button that appears when you move the cursor on the column header.

You will find a filter drop-down list containing available filter checkboxes:

In our example, we selected the Training Course check-box in the Category column.
Then only records with Category (Contact Type) = Training Course are shown:

• Select (All) item in the drop-down list when you want to see all the records again.

• Clear filter check-box to re-set.

Changing Columns Width

You can extend/reduce the column width by dragging the column border.
Or, not to do this manually, you can choose option Best Fit/Best Fit (all columns) from the right-click menu:

The program will remember this change if you switch to another crew member or even if you log off then log in again later.

Columns Grouping

There is a possibility to sort the Grid by columns. Right-click the column header and select Group By This Field option:

If you want to reset the settings, right-click any column and select Reset Grid Layout command.

Creating Instant Filters

Grids used in applications now provide easy & user-friendly possibilities to create instant filters, containing various conditions.
An end-user can filter results by any field:

A filter row is a simpler alternative to filter dropdowns. It is displayed directly under column headers =
If a field contains string data, a filter row uses a LIKE operator. You can specify wildcard operators for a LIKE-match.

The default operators are a percent sign (%) for a substring comparison and an underscore (_) for a single-character comparison.

Functionality

The Contacts module is like a 'dictionary' that contains clients, agents, and private contacts information.
It allows you to collect all your contacts in one simple, extensive and flexible register.
This information is used almost everywhere in APM, for example, in Ports, Crew Change, Course Scheduler modules, various reports.
You can choose between different types of contacts like Agents, Ship Chandlers, Bunkering, Towage, Repair, and Private contacts. Each contact can have its post and visiting address information along with a range of information on the contact.
You can also build up a list of contact telephone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail, and home page addresses together with a description of each in Contact Details.

To access the Contacts module, go on Modules ribbon > icon or press Ctrl+Alt+B hotkeys.
By default, you are at the Overview tab where you can see all registered contacts.

Adding Contact

To add new company contact (with contact persons), click the New button.

To modify/extend existing contact information, click the Open button.

The following window will appear:

1. At Common tab: 

   Enter Company Name, select the Contact Type from the drop-down list.

   Contact Types Codes should be previously added in General Codes (see Housekeeping section).
   Fill Post and Visit address, web site (if exists).
   Select Nearest Airport by clicking 3 dots.
   
   

2. Telecommunication section: 

   To add a company telephone/fax/e-mail, choose New from right-click menu or small icons to the right.
   Enter data, set Priority.

   You can add as many emails and phones as you need setting different Priority.

   But note that if the contact data contains 2 the same communication types
   (e.g.: 2 mobile phone numbers) the Overview Grid displays only the telecommunication with the highest priority.
   If you need, leave some descriptions/comments.
   Click OK to save the information.

   communication type.
   By default, the number of entries is not limited:
   

To add contact person(s) for this company, switch to Contact person tab and click the New button under Manage menu OR select Add command from right-click menu:

1. Enter Name, Title, Department. Leave comments if needed.

2. Telecommunication section: 

   To add a person's mobile telephone/home tel./e-mail, choose New from right-click menu.
   Enter data, set Priority.

   You can add as many emails and phones as you need setting different Priority.

   But note that the Overview grid displays only the telecommunication with the highest priority.
   If you need, leave some descriptions/comments.
   Click OK to save the information.

After you are finished, click button.
By clicking icon, you will be switched to The Contacts Module help manual.

Dial, Sending E-mails

It is possible to send a mail to contact, either using the Adonis built-in client or your default e-mail client.
This is defined by the option Use SMTP Mail Client in the Setup > Global Options > General tab:

When the option is selected, the Adonis client is used:
To send an e-mail, click button under the Manage menu.
It is also possible to call from here. Select needed telephone record, right-click, select Dial command:

To leave some comments, click the icon under the Manage menu. If there are some notes already, the icon looks like this:

Additional Payroll tab

When a Contact Type for this record is defined as Common Payment Receiver in General Codes (see Housekeeping section), the Payroll tab additionally appears for input at Details page:

From ver. 2017.1., as far as Entry Code setup refers to Payment Receiver from Contacts module, we added the possibility to define payment details for Contacts under the Payroll tab.

After you are finished, click button.