So, you open a ledger entry form and you find those annoying fields that you don’t need or you always fill in the same value each time. Also you may have a problem where in say a chart of account form doesn’t have an account analysis filled in or the forms are just too messy and you would like to simplify the layout or order of entry.

Can I default those fields that are always the same? Can I get rid of that annoying currency field when I never use multi-currency?

First of all, to customise forms, you need to be on version 5 or 6. You cannot change forms in Sun 4. You need to access the ‘Forms Designer’ in the menu. If you don’t see it, you may not have permission to access it so you need to talk to your administrator.

When you open the form designer, you will see the same form that you normally access but you have properties that you can fill in when you select the field. For instance, you can change the colour of the field or the default value. You can add a pre-set, make it mandatory to enter a value.

You can drag and drop a field to a different location. You can capture other grouped information and have them in a different tab so that you don’t get a busy looking form when you first open it.

It is also extremely useful to make it easier for end users to navigate forms and not have to fill in as much information. For instance, if you have a multi business user installation, you may find every time you open a ledger entry form, you have to enter the business unit field. What if you could create another entry form, preset the business unit field and then attach the form to a menu item – say called ‘Journal Entry – BU1’?

I would advise you get at least a small amount of training so you know how to access the forms, how to know which form is being used in your menu and at least an overview of the forms editor.

You can start by copying an existing form and then make changes. You will never get in trouble as it won’t be in production.

Mastering the Forms Designer will add a great deal to your ability to customise your Infor SunSystems.