TAMING LIBRA’S OPTIONS

One of Libra Signature’s strengths has always been its elaborate set of Run-Time Options and Program Defaults. In some cases however these complex sets of options have caused some users problems when they have been set incorrectly.

As a generalization Run-Time Options control what data prints on a report while program defaults control what the report looks like. Run-Time Options can be set on one report and they will carry over to another report. Program Defaults are specific to the report or procedure that you are running.

Starting with version 4.0 Libra allowed users to tame these complex options by permitting a tailoring function. By pressing <F2> you can see all of the Run-Time Options. From here you can press <F6> to toggle options to appear on the Pre-Run Screen that comes up when you run that report or procedure.

Pressing <F6> causes a * to appear beside the option in question. Pressing <F6> a second time causes the * to disappear. This can be used to display those options that you frequently change and need to be aware of.

By pressing <F3> to display Program Defaults next, you can also tailor those options that you change, such as Sort Sequence and Printer Number to also appear on the Pre-Run Screen. This way all of the major options that you use appear on a single screen and you don’t have to search for them before running the report.

At the end of the Tailoring Process you need to Save Pre-Run Settings to make the changes permanent. This needs to be repeated for each report and procedure that you run. In version 5.0 and above you can then copy the options that are saved under your name to other users to standardize.

COMMON OPTION PROBLEMS

Many of our support calls are related to problems with Run-Time Options and Program Defaults. Usually it is something as simple as a range of customers being set for one report that does not make sense in another report. If you are not getting the correct results on a report, press <F2> for Run-Time Options or <F3> for Program Defaults to check your selected options.

Another common problem occurs when a new Libra user is set up. Unless you copy the options from an established user in the database, you may find many options set to standard off the shelf defaults that may make no sense in your situation. In this case a report may not print correctly or a posting may not update the General Ledger and such. Simply select a good user profile and press <F7> to copy it to the new user. This needs to be repeated in every application and database that the new user will work in.

Make sure to review options very closely when running Year-End Closings. In this case options may easily be misinterpreted causing all sorts of problems. A common problem happens when a user does the Year-End Closing in May, effective Dec 31^st.

The options in this case would indicate to close As Of Period 12, with all other ranges set to All. Many users have input a range Last Sales Date to Dec 31^st. This simply selects customers whose last sale was on or before Dec 31^st and closes those customers only. Any customers with sales in January through May would not be closed at all. This clearly is not the desired result. If in doubt, please call since the wrong settings can cause problems that are not easily corrected a month later.

For customers on monthly support, these quick but vital questions are generally free of charge to experienced and trained users.