Double Clutching Customer Name field to do multi Searches

[brucef2112]

Hi Dale,
I came across this strange UI glitch while doing a search for customers to complete a transaction.

* My DHPOS is configured to collect customer information.
* The problem is consistent and can be reproduced every time.
* I have the current Version, however this same behavior exists
in previous versions too.

At the Customer Information screen, I use the down arrow key to move from the Company Name field to the Customer Name field.

I then enter the customer's name (example: Santiabo Ramón y Cajal) and then use the F1 key (or F3 key for any match) to start the search.

If "No Match Found" occurs, I'm prompted to hit [5]. I wrinkle my brow, because I know this customer has been in the store before.
Then two brain cells fire off at each other and I see that I've misspelled the name Santiago. So I hit the [5] key and expect to return to the name to fix the spelling and try the search again. However after hitting the [5] key, I see that I have
been returned to the Customer Name field, and I'm left wide-eyed to see that my hard work of entering the name was for nothing
because it has vanished and I am left to re-type the name instead of being able to arrow back to fix the typo. I often find myself screaming "THIS!" several times as I re-type the name to try the search again.

How do I keep from screaming "THIS!" and stay sane, you ask?
After entering a name I hit the [Enter] key (which moves focus to the next field) and then use the [up arrow] key to return to the customer name field to begin the search. Or I can also just use the [down arrow] key followed
by an [up arrow key] to return focus to the customer name field to begin the search.

After "double clutching" the search field I then use the F1 or F3 key to begin the search. If I get the "No Match Found" I then hit the [5] key and the program returns me to the customer name field and leaves the text in the field and I can "arrow" around to fix a typo or try a spelling variation of some sort.

This behavior is consistent when searching with other fields too.
Enter some text and don't do anything to move the active focus out of that field and then conduct the search and if you get the "Not Found" prompt; any text you had typed in the field will be cleared after you hit [5].

Enter some text AND use the [Enter] key or just arrow out and then move focus back to the field and begin a search.
If you get the "Not Found" thingy you are returned to the same field with the text in place and are allowed to see
the errors of your way and can correct it without starting over.

It would be great if the need to double clutch a field to maintain its text could be corrected and included in the next release.

Thanks again for a great piece of software,
Bruce

[Dale Harris]

brucef2112,

Actually it is a much better idea to just enter "Santiago" then hit [F3] to search the data base for a partial name entry. If the wrong "Santiago" comes up then just use the "1. Continue search" option until the correct "Santiago" appears. In the first place this will save you a lot of typing and in the second place you do not hve to worry about typing the entire name correctly including spaces, titles, accents over the letters, and punctuation.

However here is a trick. After typing in the search term press the up arrow and then the down arrow, then press [F1] / [F3] and if the name is not found it will still be in the box when you return.

Also remember that you can search by any field. I find the phone number field to be the easiest one to use to find a customer in the database.

I may change future versions so the you do not have to use the arrow key trick.

[brucef2112]

Dale,
Thank you for your consideration of including this in the next or future release.

Very appreciative of your efforts,
Bruce
<bruce greasing the Up & Down arrow keys until then>