Linking Rules Tab

This section includes the fields and descriptions for the Linking Rules tab.

Linking Rule Island

Field	Description
Name	In this field, you can enter the name of the linking rule. The name is used in the workspace Customer Information Card or the workspace Company Specific Customer Information Card in the island Parent Customer for assigning the current rule to the current customer in such a way that the rule is used for copying information from the parent customer to the subordinate customer. Similar functionality applies to vendors. If you create a linking rule to be used between contact companies and contact persons, the name of the linking rule is used in the island Contact Company in the workspace Contact Persons in the Marketing module for assigning the current rule to the current contact person. This means that the rule is used for copying information from the contact company specified in the island Contact Company to the current contact person. See the introduction to the workspace Contact Persons in the Contact Management module for further information about using linking rules for the creation of contact persons.
Description	In this field, you can enter a description of the linking rule.
Parent Table	In this field, you select or enter the name of one of the tables “Customer,” “Creditor” or “ContactCompany.” The field is used for assigning the relevant table to the current linking rule. By using the function “Find Database Relation” in the Find menu, you can choose between those tables which can be used in connection with linking rules in the current version of Maconomy.
External Name	This field shows the external name of the table specified in the field “Main Table” above.
Subordinate Table	In this field, you can choose between the tables “CompanyCustomer” and “Customer” or the corresponding tables for Creditor. If you want to create a linking rule to apply to contact persons, you must enter the name of the table “ContactPerson” in this field. By using the function “Find Database Relation” in the Find menu, you can choose between those tables which can be used in connection with linking rules in the current version of Maconomy. The table “CompanyCustomer” contains information about the customers created as company-specific customers in the workspace Company Specific Customer Information Card. If you specify the table “CompanyCustomer,” you therefore create a linking rule where enterprise wide customers are superior to company-specific customers, and information will thus flow from standard customers to company-specific customers in accordance with the specified linking method. For further information on creating and using company-specific customers, please see the workspace Company Specific Customer Information Card in the A/R module. The table “Customer” contains information about all customers created in the workspace Customer Information Card. If you specify the table “Customer,” you therefore create a linking rule where enterprise wide customers are arranged in a sort of hierarchy where one or several customers are superior to other customers. The information flowing to subordinate customers and the extent to which this information can be changed on the subordinate customers depends on the standard linking method and any exceptions specified for the linking rule. Similar functionality applies to vendors and company specified vendors.
External Name	This field shows the external name of the table specified in the field “Subordinate Table” above.
Standard Linking Rule	In this field, you can choose whether the current linking rule should be used as the standard linking rule. A standard linking rule is automatically used by Maconomy when no specific linking rule is specified in the island Parent Customer for “regular” or company-specific customers, but only the number of the customer from which you want to inherit information. You can thus save time using a standard linking rule, as you do not have to manually specify a linking rule on new or existing company-specific or “regular” customers. If you want new customers to inherit information from the standard customer specified in the workspace System Information or Company Information, then you have to specify that the standard customer is the parent customer in one of the two workspaces mentioned above. For information to be inherited from the standard customer to new customers, a standard linking rule must be created for this purpose in this workspace between the tables “Customer” and “Customer.” The linking rule is created using “Customer” in the main table and “Customer” in the subordinate table. Furthermore, the linking rule must specify the fields that you want to be inherited from the standard customer to the new customers. By marking this linking rule as the “Standard Linking Rule,” the linking rule can automatically be applied when creating customers, if you do not specify another linking rule when creating the customer. Similar functionality applies to linking rules created for vendors and linking rules created between contact companies and contact persons. If you do not mark the field, linking rules must be specified manually in the island Parent Customer on the information cards in the A/R and A/P modules and in the island Contact company in the workspace Contact Persons in the Contact Management module.

Standard Linking Island

Field

Description

Linking Method

In this pop-up field, you can choose between the four linking methods “Full,” “Partial,” “At Creation,” and “None.” If you select the linking method “Full,” all information and all changes from the parent customer’s information card will be copied to the information cards of the subordinate customers using the current linking rule. This applies at creation of customers as well as when changing information on the parent customer’s information card. When selecting this linking method, you cannot manually change copied values on subordinate customers’ information cards, as these values always have to be identical to the values specified on the parent customer’s information card. Similar functionality applies to linking rules created for vendors. If you select the linking method “Full” for a linking rule applying to contact companies and contact persons, all information and all changes from a contact company’s information card will be copied to the information cards of the contact persons being assigned to the contact company in question. If you select the linking method “Partial,” all information and all changes from the parent customer’s information card will be copied to the information cards of the subordinate customers using the current linking rule, unless you have actively entered values in the current fields on the subordinate customer’s information card. When creating a customer, this means that field values from the parent customer will only be copied to the subordinate customer if you have not already entered values in the current fields on the new customer’s information card. When changing a value on the parent customer’s information card, this value will only be copied to the subordinate customer’s information card if the fields had identical values on the parent customer’s information card and on the subordinate customer’s information card before the change was made. If the values were different before the change was made, the new value will not be copied to the subordinate customer’s information card. Similar functionality applies to linking rules created for vendors and contact persons. If you select the linking method “At Creation,” values will only be copied from the parent customer’s information card to the information cards of the subordinate customers using the current linking rule at the creation of customers. Upon creation, the copied values can hence be changed manually. Similar functionality applies to linking rules created for vendors and contact persons. If you select the linking method “None,” no values will be copied to subordinate customers’ information cards. Please note that when using the linking methods “Partial” and “At Creation,” the content of certain pop-up fields will not be copied to subordinate customers’ information cards. Similar information applies to linking rules created for vendors and contact persons.

User Island

See the Getting Started topic for a description of the fields in the island User.