WORKING WITH ASSETS

Overview

A new feature added to Tour de Force is the Tour de Force Asset form, which allows users to enter and track information related to company owned assets. These assets can range anywhere from laptops to trade show materials. The Tour de Force Asset form is 100% configurable, and the usage of Asset items varies from company to company. The set up of the Tour de Force Asset form is typically done during the initial implementation of Tour de Force.

 

Asset items are linked to the Account record the Asset item was created from. Even if the Asset item was created from an Opportunity, Contact, or Support record, the Asset item is linked to the Parent Account of those records. The Account record always acts as the Parent Item for an Asset item.

 

Depending on how Asset items are used in the company typically determines what fields are located on the Tour de Force Asset form. While items and records can be created from an Asset item, the Asset item does not become the Parent item of the record or item.

 

Overview of the Tour de Force Asset Form

The Tour de Force Asset form contains the User Defined Fields that are used to enter the Asset item’s information. The UDF’s located on the Tour de Force Asset form are typically created during the initial implementation of Tour de Force, and are configured in the Screen Designer utility.

 

 

The Tour de Force Asset form is divided into five sections:

• The Tour de Force toolbar
• Breadcrumb bar
• Header Control
• Asset item’s details
• Notes

 

The Tour de Force Toolbar

 

The Tour de Force toolbar contains several functions that can be used in relation to the Asset item currently opened.

 

 

There are eight buttons located on the Tour de Force toolbar in the Tour de Force Asset form:

 

• Save – This button saves the Asset item and keeps the Tour de Force Asset form open.
• Save and Close – This button saves the Asset item and closes the Tour de Force Asset form.
• Close – This button closes the Tour de Force Asset form.
• Refresh – This button refreshes the Asset item.
• Print – This button is used to print labels using the address information in the Account record or the details of the Asset item.
• Email Details – This button is used to copy the contents of the Asset item into an email so that the information can be forwarded.
• Attachments – This button is used to add, link, or view any documents attached to the Asset item.
• Actions – This button is used to create new records or items that are associated with the Asset item.

Note: Asset items cannot be a Parent Item to another record or item. Any records or items created from the Asset item are linked to the Parent Item of the Asset item.

 

The Breadcrumb Bar

 

The breadcrumb bar is used to quickly navigate between Account Roots, Account Packages, Territories, Contacts, and Account records. The breadcrumb bar is also used as a pathway tracker to view the order in which records and items were accessed and to identify the Parent Item of the record or item currently open. Alternative methods for creating and viewing records and items can also be used with the breadcrumb bar.

 

 

 

The Header Control

 

The Header Control information such as TDF Key, Owner, Creation, Last Mod Date, and Active fields that are associated with an Asset item are located at the top of the Tour de Force Asset form.  

 

 

There are five fields located in the Header Control:

• TDF Key – This field is used to uniquely identify each Asset item in Tour de Force.   This field is automatically assigned by the system and cannot be changed.
• Owner – This field displays the name of the Tour de Force user that created the Asset item.  This field is display only and cannot be changed.
• Creation – This field displays the date the Asset item was created.  This field is display only and cannot be changed.
• Last Mod – This field displays the date the Asset item was last modified. This field changes after each save operation inside the Ticket item.
• Active – This field displays whether the Asset item is visible in the Global Search. If this field is False then the Asset item does not display in the Global Search.

 

The Asset Item’s Details

 

The fourth section of the Tour de Force Asset form contains the User Defined Fields that are used to enter specific details regarding the Asset item. Like most Tour de Force Forms the Tour de Force Asset form is configurable using the Screen Designer utility in the Tour de Force Administration Console.  

 

 

Note Section

 

The fifth section of the Tour de Force Asset form is the Notes field. The Notes field is used to record specific information related to the Asset item that cannot be captured in the UDF’s located on the Tour de Force Asset form.

 

 

Creating a New Asset Item for an Account Record using the Global Search Utility

There are several ways to create Asset items in Tour de Force. Asset items can be created from and linked to Account, Contact, and Opportunity records. However, because Asset items are typically used by companies to record company owned assets, Asset items are typically created from the company’s own Account record. Tour de Force recommends using the Global Search utility to create new Asset items.

 

Use the following procedures to create a new Asset item using the Global Search utility:

1. Click the Global Search button on the Tour de Force toolbar.

 

 

2. Type the name, or partial name of the appropriate Account record in the For field and press the Enter key on the keyboard.

For example, type Eastern in the For field of the Global Search window.

 

3. Right click on the Account record in the search grid to display the Quick Events menu.

For example, right click on the Account record, EASTERN PACKAGING in the search grid to display the Quick Events menu.

 

4. In the Quick Events menu, select Action.

5. In the Action menu, select New Asset.

 

6. Fill out the necessary information in the Tour de Force Asset form and click the Save button.

Note: The information entered into the Tour de Force Asset form depends entirely on what assets are being tracked in the company.

 

7. Click the Close button to close the Tour de Force Asset form.

 

Linking Existing Asset Items to an Account Record

When an Asset item is created from an Account record, the Asset item is automatically linked to that Account record and the Account record becomes the Parent Item. However, Asset items can be linked to any record type in Tour de Force regardless of what record type was used to create the Asset item. Asset items can also be linked to multiple Account records.

 

Use the following procedures to link an existing Asset item to an Account record:

1. Click the Global Search button on the Tour de Force toolbar.

2. Type the name, or partial name of the Account record in the For field and press the Enter key on the keyboard.

3. Right click on the appropriate Account record in the search grid to display the Quick Events menu.

4. In the Quick Events menu, select Action.

5. In the Action menu, select Link Asset to open the Link Asset window.

 

6. In the Link Asset window, type the information related to the Asset item in the For field and press the Enter key on the keyboard.

For example, type Dell to search for users that own Dell computers.

 

 

To view all Asset items entered in Tour de Force, leave the For field blank and click the Refresh button.

 

7. Locate the appropriate Asset item and click the Chain Link icon next to the Asset item to add the Asset item to the Selected items for linking grid.

8. Add as many Asset items as necessary and click the Link button to link the selected Asset items to the Account record.

 

Viewing Asset Items Linked to an Account Record using the Global Search Utility

 

There are several ways an Asset item can be viewed after the Asset item has been created or linked to an Account record. Tour de Force recommends using the Global Search utility to view Asset items linked to an Account record.

 

Use the following procedures to view Asset items linked to an Account record from the Global Search:

1. Click the Global Search button on the Tour de Force toolbar.

2. Type the name, or partial name of the Account record in the For field and press the Enter key on the keyboard.

3. Right click on the appropriate Account record in the search grid to display the Quick Events menu.

4. In the Quick Events menu, select Views.

5. In the Views menu, select Assets.

 

6. In the Quick View for Account window, click the Open Folder icon next to the appropriate Asset item.

 

The Tour de Force Asset form displays.

 

 

Viewing Asset Items Linked to an Account Record from the Tour de Force Account Form

An alternate way to view linked Assets items, is from the Linked Items grid on the Tour de Force Account form. The Linked Items grid allows users to quickly view records and items linked to an Account record from the Tour de Force Account form.

 

Use the following procedures to view linked Asset items from the Tour de Force Account form, from the Linked Items grid:

 

1. Click the Global Search button on the Tour de Force toolbar.

2. Type the name or partial name of the Account record in the For field and press the Enter key on the keyboard.

3. Click the Open Folder icon to open the Account record.

4. In Linked Items grid, select Account - Assets in the drop-down field.

5. Click the Open Folder icon next to the appropriate Asset item to open the Asset item.

 

Viewing Asset Items using the Manager’s Console

Asset items can also be viewed in the Manager’s Console.  Using the Manager’s Console is a quick way to view all Asset items in Tour de Force.

 

Use the following procedures to view Asset items in the Manager’s Console:

1. Click the Manager’s Console icon on the Tour de Force toolbar.

2. Click the Items button in the Manager’s Console.

3. Click the Assets button under the Items section.

 

All of the Asset items in Tour de Force display in the grid section.

 

Note: The Asset items that display is dependent on the view selected in the Views field.

 

Unlinking Asset Items Linked to an Account Record

Use the following procedures to unlink Asset items from the Tour de Force Account form, from the Linked Items grid:

1. Click the Global Search button on the Tour de Force toolbar.

2. Type the name, or partial name of the Account record in the For field and press the Enter key on the keyboard.

3. Click the Open Folder icon to open the Account record.

4. In Linked Items grid, select Account - Assets in the drop-down field.

5. Give focus to the Asset item that needs to be unlinked.

6. Click the Unlink button to unlink the Asset item.

 

The Asset item is unlinked from the Account record, and can no longer be viewed in relation to the Account record.

 

Note: Unlinking an Asset item does not delete the Asset item from Tour de Force.