Notes

Often times users make small changes or adjustments to records that do not warrant creating a work order or trouble ticket.  To keep an accurate history, it is a good idea to place a note on the record.  Notes can be added, modified or deleted.

There are two different note types within CAIRS.  First, are basic notes that you can add through the Notes button in the ribbon. These notes are only viewable from within the record and are only available from within Set Management à Configured Sets.

The more detailed notes and the more widely used throughout CAIRS, have their own pane within the record.  These notes allow for a subject, category, formatting, etc.  In certain sections, these notes can be searched on from the navigation pane of the associated menu option.  For example, within Work Orders there is a view specifically for Notes associated to any work order.

For this section of the manual we will cover how to add, modify and delete both type of notes.

Basic Notes

The basis notes as stated before are only with Set Management à Configured Items.

Adding/Deleting a Note

1. When you are viewing a record in CAIRS, there is always the ribbon at the top of the window. Within the Notes ribbon group, click the lower half of the Notes button to access a drop-down menu.

Adding a Note

2. From the menu, click Add Note.
3. A box opens, type the text in the box.
4. When finished, click the X in the upper right-hand corner of the box to save and close. A small yellow icon now appears on the notes button to indicate the record has existing notes.

Viewing the Note Details

5. To view your new note, click on the upper portion of the Notes button, the screen changes to display a list of the notes associated to the record. New notes populate at the top of the list.
6. Double click on the note to view the complete text

Deleting a Note from a Set Record

7. All notes associated to the record appear below the ribbon. Click on the note to highlight, within the Notes ribbon group, click the lower half of the Notes button to access a drop-down menu.
8. From the menu, click Delete Note.
9. Once you click Delete, a message box displays verifying that you really want to delete the note. Click Yes within the box to continue or No to cancel the operation. There is no undo action, once you click yes the note is deleted from the system.

Detailed Notes

The Detail Notes in CAIRS allow you to provide more information for a note that includes such things as templates, categories, formatting option, etc.  Before starting to add notes to records, you should first create your categories and templates.  A category helps to group the notes based on a common characteristic.  For example, if work orders a few note categories are Update Order, Remove Component, Update Description, etc.  Templates allow you to create a standard text guideline for each of the categories that you have created.

Note Categories

Note categories allow you to group your notes based on a common characteristic.  As stated earlier, most menu options that have the detailed notes pane also have a specific view for the notes associated to a record.  When viewing the list, you can sort it alpha-numerically based on category name.

Each menu option will have their own specific note categories, they are not shared from menu option to menu option.

Add/Modify/Delete a Note Category

1. Within the notes pane of any record, there is a menu bar at the top, to add/modify/delete note categories click on the Manage Categories link.
2. The Manage Note Categories popup opens.
3. To add a new category, click on the field marked with an asterisk (*) and start typing the category name. As you type a new row appear at the top of the list marked with an asterisk to allow you to add multiple categories at once.
4. To modify a category, click in the row and make any necessary modifications.
5. To delete a category, right click on the record selector next to the category name, a dropdown menu opens. From the menu, select Delete.  When asked if you really want to delete the category click Yes to continue or No to cancel the operation.
6. When you have finished working with the categories, click on the Save & Close button within the Actions ribbon group.

Category Document Templates

For each category you create, you can also create a document template.  The template allows you to create the title, body and formatting of each note within the category.  Once you select a note template, the note text automatically populates in the note editor.  This is a handy time saving tool to allow you to quickly add notes to records.

1. Within the Notes pane, click on the Manage Categories link
2. The Manage Note Categories popup opens. Within the list, select the category to associate a template with
3. Within the Note Template ribbon group, click the Edit Note Template button. The Note Template Editor opens.

Alternatively, from the main notes window, next to the Category dropdown box there are 3 buttons; Load, Modify and Create.  To Create a new template from here, first select the Category then click on the Create button.

4. Type the text of the note into the editor. You can add formatting to the text by using the buttons with the menu bar.
5. Once finished, click on the Save button in the lower right-hand corner.
6. To use a template, select the associated category from the Category dropdown list. Once selected click on the Load button.
7. Whenever you select the particular category, your template automatically populates in the Notes Editor.

Adding a Note to a Record

1. Within the Notes pane, click on the Add Note link. The Note Editor popup opens.
2. You can simply start typing the text of the note into the Editor; however, you have several options while creating your note:

Note Category

3. In the Category drop-down, click on the arrow to access a list of the categories and from the list select the associated category. This category simply groups your notes based on a common characteristic.
4. If the category has a template, the template text automatically populates in the note editor. You can modify the template by clicking in the note editor to change any necessary information.
5. Next to the Category drop-down are a few options:

• • Load – if you have already created the note and want to use the template instead, click on the Load button. You will be notified that loading the template will overwrite any existing information.  Click Yes to continue or No to cancel the operation.
  • Modify – You can modify the template by clicking on the Modify link, the Note Template Editor opens allowing you to make changes. Once complete, remember to click Save!
  • Create – You can create a new template by clicking on the Create button, the Note Template Editor opens; within the body type the text and once complete click Save

Changing the Note Font

6. At the top of the Notes Editor are several options available to modify the look of the note. You have the following options available:

• • Bold/Italic/Underline
  • Bullet
  • Numbering
  • Font Color
  • Font Highlight
  • Font Type and Size

7. Click on any button and start typing the text of your note.
8. To change any text within your note, highlight the text and click on the appropriate button.

Adding a Note Subject

9. You can add a subject to a note by clicking in the Subject field and typing in the subject line.

Undo/Redo

10. If at any time during the creation of your note you make a mistake, we have taken care of you with the undo and redo buttons. These buttons will only work if you have not clicked the Save button.

Status Bar

11. At the bottom of the note editor, there is a status bar that displays the following information:

• • Created By
  • Creation Date
  • Last Modified Date
  • Modified By

12. When you have completed your note, click on the Save button in the lower right-hand corner. The note is saved and you are returned to the Work Order.

Viewing All Notes Added to a Record

1. All notes that you have created display within the Notes pane, the most recent note appears at the top of the list.
2. There are two viewing options:

• • Standard – this view displays the note in its entirety
  • Condensed – this view displays only the top portion of the note

3. You can further condense the list by clicking the minus sign next to Created By for each note, this only displays the subject of the note. To view the complete note details, click on the plus sign.
4. There is one more viewing option, when you are in any sub-menu of Work Orders there is an option in the Views panes to see all notes related to an order or trouble. To view the note details, double click on the row to open the Work Order.

Editing a Note

To edit a note, find the note within the list and click on the Edit link on the far-right side of the pane.  The popup opens allowing you to edit and save the note.  The position of the note does not change within the list because the list is based on date and time created.

Deleting a Note from a Record

1. All notes that you have created display within the Notes pane, the most recent note appears at the top of the list.
2. Within the note header, click on the Delete link on the far-right hand side of the header.
3. The note is removed from the list.