Configurator and new look
The configurator has been complementing the extensive functionality of our ERP system for many years. It was part of the previous generation and is of course also built into OR-SYSTEM Open.
Enhanced configurator functions
The specific functionality that customers used for their needs in the previous generation is gradually being added, while further general development is taking place. In the title of this article we write about the new look, but we also mention a number of other features that have been added to the configurator. First, let's take a look at the new look of the configuration window. The configuration window, as you know it, is divided into 4 parts.
- The first is the top toolbar with icons that allow you to control functionality (translations, display hidden properties...).
- The second is the main part for custom configuration. Here the property names, sets (if it is a configurator without macro support) and values that the operator selects during configuration are displayed in a fixed format.
- The third part displays the build strings (stock item identification, name, label) that are taken into the created stock item.
- The last part contains buttons to confirm the configuration, the possibility to display the price analysis, etc.
The main change concerns the part for custom configuration, where the static layout of individual columns has been given new dynamics.
It has been changed to a table allowing the operator to dynamically set the width of individual columns according to their content. However, with this change, this section is also ready for other extensions to display data that can help the operator with custom configuration. It can be, for example, displaying descriptions for individual values, properties, translations into the selected language and so on.
Another change related to the appearance of the configuration window is the possibility to hide data related to the build strings taken into the emerging stock item. This will increase the space for custom configuration. This hiding is controlled by the icon at the top. For those users who need to have this section displayed, nothing changes of course. The same applies to the new appearance of the configuration window - again it is controlled parametrically and the user can choose whether to stay with the original view or switch to the new variant.
In addition to the changes in the visualization, functionality related to the use of the configurator to define the characteristics of other entities tied to the catalog item is built in, as it was in the previous generation of our ERP system. With this addition, it will be possible to define characteristics for a sales order line, a purchase order line, a production order line, for the item's inventory and for the piece inventory. Just as it is possible to define characteristics for these other objects, it is also possible to perform searches against them. This functionality is controlled by building a custom configurator for the stock item, which can contain properties for these other objects in addition to the properties related to the stock item.
The last novelty we will mention today is related to the use of the configurator for defining the characteristics of melt. This is a specific functionality where it is possible to classify melts according to arbitrary characteristics. This makes it possible to define the values of these characteristics, as supplied by the supplier, directly in OR-SYSTEM Open and to work with them further. The created melt is then attached to the corresponding piece inventory.
