CAIRS Getting Started

To start, make sure your computer is turned on and you are logged in!! On your desktop, double-click on the icon.

In most cases, after you double click on the CAIRS icon, the program opens to the main menu. This is because you have Single Sign-On enabled. However, in some cases you may need to type your user name and password.

Login (DoD message)

Depending on your site rules, a DoD message may appear, click Accept to enter the world of CAIRS.

CAIRS is a profile-based system meaning, that your System Administrator has developed profiles or a set of set access rights for you based on your job description or what you will be doing within the system. Based on your profile, you may see all the menu options or a select few. For the purposes of this document, we will discuss all items contained within the user interface as if you would have access to the entire system.

Before you can really start to manipulate items within your CAIRS, your System Administrators have certain requirements to meet. For example, creating the site levels, organizational levels, number plans, work flow setup, etc. Your System Administrators have worked closely with a Unique Communication Solutions representative to try to simulate the way you process your work today. We cannot always match your processes but we try to come close!

So, you have logged in, now what? Let us discuss what you are seeing.

Main Menu

In the lower left-hand corner is the main menu, there are nine menu options (again, you may not see all of them, the items you see are based on your profile). Here is a list of the menu items and a brief description of each:

Configured Items – manage all information relating to your set devices, circuits, and cell phones.
Orders/Troubles – open and close work orders, trouble tickets or general task relating to a set device, circuits, cell phone, circuit, subscriber, account, etc. You can also generate reports based on your open, closed, or cancelled order, troubles, or task.
Subscribers – manage all information relating to your subscribers, telephone control officer groups, resource manager groups, commanding officers and supervising managers.
Equipment/Services – manage all equipment and services offered as well as their associated vendors, service providers and manufacturers.
Accounting – manage all one-time, recurring and call charges related to your official and/or unofficial accounts. You can perform several billing task that include generating a monthly bill, accepting payments, import vendor media, etc.
Facilities – manage your sites, connection groups, buildings, terminal, and/or frames.
Switches – manage your switches and their related information. You can also create an SMA (Secure Maintenance Access) connection to allow specific users to login and out of the switch.
Directory/Organization – manage your organizational structure (we call it a tree!). You can also create operator phone books for both your standard directory and your DSN directory. For those who use Toll Tickets, this menu will become your best friend!
System Admin – this is where your system administrators create the backbone of CAIRS and determines how your system will function in certain situations.

Toolbars

Now, let’s start at the top of the window and work our way down.

The top toolbar has the following four items:

File – clicking File displays two options.
Change Connection – this option allows you to create the connection string for your database, you will need your administrative rights to set your connection string.
Exit – allows you to exit the program.
Actions – once you make a selection within the Navigation Pane, the Actions button becomes available with the actions that you can perform for your selection. For example, when you select Configured Items – Set Management, the only action you can perform is to ‘Add a Set’. If there are no actions to perform, the button s greyed out.
Tools – contains two submenu, Options and Delete Local Settings.
Options – when you click on this selection, a small popup opens with the following options:
When CAIRS starts – you can choose what menu option CAIRS goes to when you first login, there are three options available:
- Go to Home Page
- Go to the last visited page
- Go to a specific menu – click on the … to choose the location you are currently on. To change the location, exit out of Options, navigate to the proper location, and then come back into Options and click on the … button again.
Set home page – you can set your home page, click on the … button, this selects the page that you are currently on. To change the location, exit out of Options, navigate to the proper location, and then come back into Options and click on the … button again.

Once you have made you selections, click on the OK button. To cancel the operation or delete changes made click on the Cancel button. To restore CAIRS to the default locations, click on the Restore Defaults button.

Messenger – this allows you to send a message to user who are currently logged into CAIRS.
Delete Local Settings – when selected this will delete your custom form layouts and searches that you have created. There is no undo option, when the process is complete, you will get a ‘Process Completed Successfully’ notification.
Help – Contains three submenu options.
About – when clicked, the About CAIRS pop up displays.
Version Notes – opens a web page displaying the CAIRS release notes, including information on new features, bugs, and refinements.
Check for Software Updates – when clicked the software checks for a newer version of itself. If one is available, a pop up similar to the following screenshot displays.
Keyboard Shortcuts – when clicked this will bring up a complete list of the keyboard shortcuts for each menu option, to view a complete list please see the KS Appendix
Search – you can quickly search for any piece of information in your database by typing in any portion of the record into the text box. To learn more about the Search please see the chapter on the Super Search.
Add or Remove – if you click on the drop-down arrow just to the right of the Help button the Add or Remove options becomes available. When clicked there are three options:
File Menu – this defaults to include all the options within the toolbar, to remove a menu click on it remove the checkmark. To re-add either click on the menu again or click on Reset Toolbar to display all option again.
Search Bar – There are three options within this selection:
- Results by Record Type – uncheck the box to remove the All drop-down field. This means that you will search the entire database for your information
- Global Search Box – uncheck to remove the search field in its entirety
- Hide Search Results – uncheck to remove the red ‘x’ next to the search field
Customize – This allows you to further customize CAIRS, please contact Unique if you want to use any of these options.

The lower toolbar allows you some handy ways to use CAIRS. The following options are available:

Back and Forward Arrows – these arrows allow you to navigate between the areas of the software that you have accessed since you logged in. Once you close the software, the buttons refresh and you start from scratch upon login.

New – Click the drop-down arrow to access a list of the items that you can create, it does not matter where you are in the software, and however, the menu option you are currently in appears first in the list.

Export – Click this button to export the information contained within the list pane to a excel, pdf, or tab delimited file.

Print – Click this button to print the information contained within the list pane

Delete – When you highlight a record within the list pane and click this button, you can delete that record. This option is only available in specific menus.

Refresh – Click to refresh the information within the list.

Home – Click on the button to return to the main menu list.

User Favorites – You can add your most frequently visited menu options into your favorites. To add a menu, navigate to the menu with the navigation pane, then click the User Favorites button and drag and drop the menu item into the list pane. You can add any level of sub-menu!

System Favorites – This is similar to user favorites; however, these favorites are system wide, meaning that every user (with proper access rights) can see them.

Messenger – click on this icon to send a message to users who are currently logged into CAIRS.

Navigation Pane

Directly above the main menu is the Navigation pane, it displays the menu and any sub-menus, actions, and views relating to the highlighted menu item.

Once you click on any menu item, the navigation pane displays a list of sub-menus. In some instances, the sub-menus automatically display, however, if there is a plus sign (+) next to the menu name, there are additional sub-menus. To view those menus, click on the plus sign once to open, click it again to collapse the menu.

Directly below the System Admin menu option there is a small drop-down arrow, click on the arrow to access the following options:

Show More Buttons – this button is unavailable when all Main Menu options/buttons are visible. Show More Buttons becomes available once a button(s) has been removed and is used to restore a hidden/removed button.
Show Fewer Buttons – this button removes a one button at a time starting from the bottom button from the Main Menu. The following screenshot shows the Main Menu with the System Admin button removed.
Navigation Pane Options – Clicking this option opens the Navigation Pane Options pop up. Check mark or un-checkmark the boxes next to each Main Menu option and click OK to save your selection and close the popup. The button is either added or removed from Main Menu depending on your selection.

Additionally, you can change the order the button(s) appear within the Main Menu by clicking and highlighting the button name within the list. Click the Move Up button to move the selection up one spot or click Move Down to move the selection down one spot. Click OK to save your work and close the pop up or Cancel to cancel and close the pop up.

Add or Remove Buttons – Clicking Add or Remove Buttons displays a list of available Main Menu buttons.

Mouse over to highlight the button to remove and left click. The button is immediately removed from the Main Menu and the menu item is no longer highlighted in orange within the Add or Remove Buttons list, indicating it has been removed from the list.

Actions Pane

For each menu item, there are certain actions that you can perform, for example, adding a new item, deleting an item, etc. Each action that you can perform is located within the Actions pane. There might be a few, there might be several, it all depends on the menu option! Most of the links that you see within this pane, we represent as buttons within the lower toolbar as well as selections within the Actions drop-down list within the upper toolbar.

Views Pane

The Views pane contains additional ways that you can sort the information displayed within the List. When you click on the option button next to one of the views the list changes to display the information sorted appropriately. Depending on your selection, the list may appear collapsed, to view the information beneath a heading click the plus sign (+) next to the name, to collapse the selection, click on the minus sign (-). Not all sections have a Views pane.

! Not all of the Main Menu options consistently utilize the Action and Views areas. Actions will not display until you select a Subsection so depending on the Main Menu option selected you may not see one or both of these areas. For example, if you select either Orders or Troubles, the Actions section does not populate because there are no specific Actions related to the Section. In this situation, you need to click the plus sign (+) to the left of the Section, or double click the name (Orders or Troubles) to open and view the subsection menu.

The List

Finally, the big pane to the right, it currently displays a list of the menu options. Once you access a menu, it changes to display a list of sub-menus. Click on a sub-menu to view the list of associated items. Although the list may not populate right away, you will see the line display of the fields that will populate.

There are a few ways to get the list to populate, this is where you can search for the information that you want to see. There are a few different search options available:

Show All – this is the easy way, click the link to populate the list with every record within your database. Remember, if you have a large database the list may take a long time to populate. We recommend using a search option.
Instant – this search allows you to type any portion of the record within the textbox, and then click on the magnifying glass to view the matching records.
Advanced – this search allows you to place a descriptor on your search, for example, Contains, Equal to, start date, end start, etc. By clicking the double-down arrow, next to the magnifying glass, you can view a list of fields available to search on. Next, to each field is a Contains button; click the button to access a list of all the possible search descriptors. Once you choose a descriptor, type the search criteria into the field and click the magnifying glass to view the matching records.

Here are a few helpful hints to remember while working with the list:

Sorting – you can sort the list by clicking any column header to sort it alphabetically or numerically. To sort the list in reverse order, click the column header again. With either sort order, the list shows the fields that contain no value first.
Changing Column Order – you change the location of any column within the list by clicking the column header and dragging it to the new position. The list remains this way even if you logout!
Remove Columns – you can remove columns that appear within the list by right-clicking the column to access a pop-up menu, from the menu select ‘Remove this Column’. If you want to re-add a column header, access the pop-up menu again and select ‘Show Column’ or ‘Reset Column Visibility’.
Renaming Fields – you can rename any field at any time in any location. Right column anywhere within the list pane to access a pop-up menu, from the menu select ‘Rename Field Everywhere’ or ‘Rename Field in View’, a textbox opens allowing you to type the new field name.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line of the CAIRS window displays some very helpful information. This is where you can see your last successful login and the IP address of your computer. Also, the location of your database.

Messenger

The messenger can be used to send simple messages to anyone who is currently logged in their CAIRS Client. When you click on the messenger, a popup opens with a list of the users that are currently logged into CAIRS. There are a few options when messaging:

Message to User – within the popup double click on the user you want to send a message to, another popup opens. Within the lower pane, type your message. Once complete hit the enter key on your keyboard. The messages will appear in the upper pane.
Broadcast Message – you can broadcast a message to 2 or more users at one time. Click on the Messenger at the top of the popup, a menu appears from the menu select Broadcast Message. You will be required to select 2 or more users to broadcast. On your final user, double click to open the message, within the lower pane type your message. Once complete hit the enter key on your keyboard. The messages will appear in the upper pane.

If you have a large amount of people that are currently logged into CAIRS, you can use the Select menu to perform one of the following options:

Select All – this will place a checkmark next to all users to broadcast a message to, you can then use the Broadcast Message option
Select None – this removes all checkmarks
Invert Selection – this removes the checkmarks from currently selects users and adds checkmarks to those that were not selected. Again, once selected you would use the Broadcast Message option

If you are a System Administration, there will be an additional menu selection at the top of the popup. The Admin menu will allow you to perform two functions:

Log Out Users With Warning – after you have selected the users from the list, click this option to automatically close their CAIRS after 5 minutes. The users will be sent a message that their CAIRS will close in 5 minutes and to save any unsaved work.
Log Out Users Without Warning – after you have selected the users from the list that you want to log out of CAIRS, click this option to automatically close their CAIRS. The user is not notified and their CAIRS is closed immediately.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Instead of using your mouse, you can use the keyboard to navigate to menu options within CAIRS. Next to the list name is the keystrokes you can use, for example, to access Orders in My Work Centers you would press and hold the Control button and then type MWCO. When you are typing in the letters, you must type them within 3 seconds.

To view a complete list of the keyboard shortcuts you can click on the Help drop-down menu in the top tool bar and select Keyboard Shortcuts. You can also view the complete list in the Keyboard Shortcuts Appendix of this manual.

Customizing your CAIRS

When you right-click anywhere within ‘The List’ pane a small popup opens, this popup allows you to perform various functions to customize your CAIRS. The following options are available:

Rename field everywhere – right-click on any column header or field name to rename the field everywhere in CAIRS
Rename field in view – right-click on any column header of field to rename the field in this view/menu option only
Mask on field everywhere – right-click on any column header or field to change the mask for the field everywhere in CAIRS. A mask defines allowable character types within the field. For instance, if you entered in a group of pound (#) signs as the mask, only numbers would be allowed in the field.
Mask on field in view – right-click on any column header or field to change the mask for the field in this view/menu option only. A mask defines allowable character types within the field. For instance, if you entered in a group of pound signs (#) as the mask, only numbers would be allowed in the field.
Change field required everywhere – this customization is helpful when you are in actual component, by right clicking on any field you can make that field required everywhere within the software. For example, if you are in a set and right click on Room and Jack to require everywhere, the fields are now required when you add a circuit, cell phone, etc. Anywhere that field appears it is now an entry is now required before you can save the record.
Change field required in view – this customization is helpful when you are in an actual component, you can make a field required in just that view. That means that if you are in a set and right click on the Subscriber field and make it required in this view, anytime you add or modify a set an entry in the Subscriber field is required. To remove the requirement, right click on the field again and select Change field required in view.
Update Drop-down – you can add a drop-down add or update fields into drop-down lists for fields that you want to have custom drop-down. For each selection in the drop-down, you must enter the Value. The notes and sort field are optional. If you use the sort field, all values must be assigned a sort position. This will be greyed out for fields that are designated as drop-down fields, for example, you cannot change the Site drop-down from here you must access Facilities à

! A note about custom dropdown boxes – when you create a custom dropdown there is no blank field. Once you select a value from the list, you will have to click out of the dropdown and into the field to delete the value. Alternately, you can create a blank selection in the customize area by simply pressing the space bar in the field marked with an asterisk.

Copy – this selection allows you to copy the contents of a field and paste to another.
Customize – right-click anywhere to access the Customize Display popup. This popup allows you to completely customize the appearance of the list. There are three panes within the popup: Customize For, Column Layout and Column Properties.
Remove this column – right-click on any column header to remove the field from the line display. If you remove a column, a new option appears, Show Column, when selected a list of the columns you have removed appear. Within the list select the column header to re-add to the list.
Reset Column Visibility – select this to reset the column visibility to the defaults, any removed column will re-appear within the line display.
Reset Saved Sort – when you click on any column header you can sort the list based on that field, when you select this, the list returns to the default sort.

More Customization

When you select the Customize option from the above popup, another popup opens allowing you to further customized your CAIRS. This allows you to customize the fields that appear in each menu option in CAIRS. The one pictured below corresponds to the fields within Orders.

Customize For – click the drop-down arrow to access of list, from the list select who you want to customize the list for:
Myself – this selection allows you to customize the list for your login only
Selected Profile – when selected an additional pane appears below with a list of all the profiles within your system. At the top is a dropdown, you can use that to select a single profile to change or you can select multiple profiles by placing a checkmark next to each profile name.

Profiles may already have customization, to view their customization, click the dropdown arrow to select the profile name, then click on the Load Display button. This will change the fields that are already customized.

Entire System – this selection customizes the layout for all users.
Column Layout – within this pane, you can change the order of the columns as they appear in the list. To change the line, click and hold the column header. Drag the column header to the new position within the line display. Two red arrows appear on each side of the header when it is available to be dropped into place.
Column Properties – within this pane, you can determine field visibility, field column width, and whether fields appear in search results.
Caption – displays the field name, this is a read-only field.
Read Only – when you have selected a profile, this column displays allowing you to change the field to read only access. A checkmark in the column means the field is read only for the selected profile.
Visible – this defaults to contain a checkmark to indicate that the field is visible in the display, click the field to remove the checkmark to remove it from the display
Column Width – this field determines the width of the column, click on the field and type the new length, the higher the number the wider the column.
Hidden in Search – click the field to insert a checkmark to hide this field in the Advanced Search

When you completed customizing the list, click on the Save and Close button to close. Your customizations will not take effect right away, you will need to exit the list and re-enter to see your changes.

Collapsing the Panes

Collapse the Navigation and Main Menu panes when you need to provide more room within the CAIRS window for list results or panes.

Clicking the double arrow next to the selected Main Menu option name collapses the Navigation and Main Menu panes.

The screenshot below shows the collapsed Main Menu and Navigation pane.

The double arrow now points to the right. To maximize the panes, click the double arrow.

Searching the List

There are two types of searches, Instant and Advanced. We will overview both of these.

Instant Search

Instant searches are performed from the Instant Search field located in the upper right-hand corner of the Main Form and allow you to search for alpha, numeric, or alphanumeric information.

Once the search term is entered, click the magnifying glass icon located next to the Instant Search field to initiate the search. The results matching your criteria display.
When clicked, the drop-down arrow next to the Instant Search field displays four additional options.

Advanced Search

The Advanced Search allows you to place a descriptor on your search, for example, Contains, Equal to, start date, end start, etc.

Click the double drop-down arrow next to the magnifying glass.
The Advanced Search field opens displaying search fields corresponding to the selected Band.
Next to each search field is a search criteria descriptor such as Contains, Equal to, Contains etc. This descriptor tells the system how to look for the information within the fields. A different descriptor can be selected by clicking the field’s descriptor button.
Choose the new descriptor and type the search criteria into the field. Press Enter. Results matching your search criteria display.

Search Options

Last Search – When you click on this link, CAIRS performs your previous search and displays the results.

Choosing a Band to Search – When searching the Primary Band, you are only searching the highest level of the tree. If you have only a Primary Band you will never be able to uncheck that band as the check boxes are more like radio buttons, where one must always be selected.

Where you will see more than one band within Band to Search is on a screen where data can be expanded. In that case you will see additional bands corresponding to the number of levels of expanded data. Band 2, includes the fields underneath the Primary Band while Band 3 includes the fields underneath Band 2.

To search the fields within a secondary Band (Band 2, 3, 4, etc.) click to checkmark the desired Band within the Band to Search menu.

My Recent Searches – Displays recent searches. Keep in mind; this only displays your searches.

Other Recent Searches – Displays the recent searches from all users.

Detail Record

When you double-click on any record within The List or add a new record, the General window opens. (The title at the top of the screen changes depending on what detail record you are in!)

Quick Access Toolbar

At the top of every detail record, there are always going to be three buttons: print, excel, pdf and text. These allow you to export the information within the window to the appropriate program.

Sharing

Typically, within a Details Record there is a Sharing tab next to the Ribbon Tab.

Clicking the Sharing tab displays the following Ribbon Groups.

The Ribbon

The Ribbon, located at the top of each record, allows you to quickly navigate to actions you can perform for the record. We have organized all the actions into groups. Each ribbon group allows you to perform a task, view information, obtain details, etc.

Within each ribbon group are button, there are three different kinds of buttons: Standard, Segmented and Combination.

Standard Button

The screenshot below shows an example of a standard button. Standard buttons have only one function and unlike Segmented Buttons, they are not segmented so that the upper and lower portions have separate functions.

Segmented Button

The Segmented button provides two different functions. When clicked, the top part of the button acts as a Standard Button with a single function, and the bottom part of the button provides a menu containing one or more additional options.

Combination Button

A Combination Button is a button containing a Standard button and a drop-down arrow on the side. The Standard Button has a single function and when clicked, the drop-down arrow displays one or more additional options.

Auto Hide

Sections within a Detail Record can be hidden by clicking the auto-hide button located within the upper right-hand corner of each section. The screenshot below shows the button icon.
After clicking the icon, the section collapses and becomes hidden. The screenshot below shows the Work Order Info section after clicking Auto Hide. Notice that the pushpin icon no longer points down but now points to the left.
To unhide the section, re-click the icon. The section expands and is no longer hidden.

Popup Window

Clicking certain buttons provides a Popup window allowing the user to choose specific items required to complete a particular task.

For example, from a Telephone Work Order Detail Record clicking the Add File element within the Attach Ribbon Group opens the Select the file to attach Popup. This popup allows the user to attach various types of files to the work order.

Drop-downs

Each drop-down is searchable! When you click on a drop-down arrow there is a textbox at the top of the list that allows you to perform a search. Within the textbox, type in the record or any portion of the record and the results appear in the lower portion of the popup.

Form Layout

Within Form Layout you can customize the location and visibility panes that you see on the main form. You will be able to reposition pane, show/hid panes, create personal layouts, create shared layouts, etc.

Before you can start to customize any form, there a few behind the scenes settings that need to be determined by your administrator. First let’s take care of the system settings, there are two that deal with form layout, they are:

Default Form Layout To Admin Layout – If set to true, when User opens any form, it will be set up the way your System Admin had theirs setup. If set to False, then the form will open to the default setup.
Require Permissions For Form Layout – If set to true, User must has permission in their profile to change their layout. This defaults to False meaning anyone can change their form layout.

Second, all profiles need to make sure they have the proper permissions to change the form layout.

Click the System Admin menu.
In the Navigation pane, click the plus sign (+) next to Security to access the sub-menus.
Click Profiles.
In the Profiles list, double click the profile name.
The General-Profile window opens. From the Show Ribbon Group, click Menus and Actions.
At the top of the Actions Privileges pane, click on the radio button next to ‘All Actions’
A list of all system actions appears, within the list find the ‘Form Layout’ and ‘Form Shared Layout’
In the ‘Allows Update’ column click to add a checkmark.
Within the Actions ribbon group, click on the ‘Save & Close’ button.

Positioning Panes

When you click and drag a pane (from its blue title bar) to another area of the work space, a docking “compass” displays to guide you. The compass has 8 arrows: 4 in the center of the window, and 4 at the outer edges.

The outer arrows assist you to easily position the pane to the top-most, bottom-most, far-left, and far-right areas of the work space. The center arrows assist you in positioning the pane to a specific area (of your choosing) within the work space. A shaded outline shows you the general area where the pane will be docked.

Docking a Pane
To dock a pane within the work space:

Double-click on the blue title bar of the docked pane. The pane is now positioned on top of the work space (“floating”).
From the blue title bar, click and drag the pane until the compass displays.
When the pane you are dragging reaches the area where you want to dock it, the designated area is shaded.
Position your cursor over the arrow and release the mouse.
Your pane is now docked.
You can resize a docked pane by clicking on or between two panes.

Floating Panes
A floating pane is one that is not docked to any side and “floats” above the work space. You can work in a pane while it is floating within the work space, or from its floating position, you can drag it to be docked within your work space.
Show / Hide Panes Ribbon Group
Depending on how you work, you sometimes may want more (or need less) work space within a record. Using Show/Hide Panes, you can free more space by hiding certain panes that you do not routinely work with. When needed, you can show hidden panes by “un-hiding” from the work space.
Panes that are docked within the work space are shown here as white with black text. Panes that are hidden from the work space, are shown as gray with white text and display (Hidden).

Hiding a Pane

There are several ways to hide a pane:

Click the ‘X’ in the upper-right corner of the pane.
Right-click the blue title bar of the docked pane and select Hide from the drop-down menu.
Within the Show / Hide Ribbon Group, single-click on the name of the pane you wish to hide.

With any of these options, the name of the pane within the Show/Hide Ribbon Group will change from black to white, and will display (Hidden).

Retrieving a Pane

To retrieve a pane (or multiple panes) that you have hidden:

Within the Show/Hide Ribbon Group, single-click on the name of the hidden pane.
The pane is now re-docked to its previous position prior to being hidden.

Form Layout Ribbon Group

Set From Last – (default) sets the panes within the work space to the last layout that was used.
Save Preferred Layout – saves the current layout as preferred.
Set From Preferred – brings up current saved preferred layout.
Set From Default – reverts to default layout.
Save Admin Layout – saves layout for Admin (*must have Admin permission).
Set From Admin – sets to saved Admin layout (*must have Admin permission).
Initial Layout – sets the layout that is used when record is opened. Options for Initial Layout are:
- Layout from Default
- Layout from Last
- Layout from Preferred
- Layout from Admin
Import – allows you to import a layout.
Export – allows you to export a layout.

Saving/Sending/Sharing Layouts

Personal Layouts

You can save a layout that you created within your own work space. When you right click on a saved layout, a small menu opens with the following options:

Delete – deletes your personal layout.
Rename – renames your personal layout.
Overwrite layout with current data – allows you to save the current layout as a Personal Layout

Exporting a Layout
You can export a saved layout for sharing (Ex. To share with another User or to share to a website).

From the Form Layout Ribbon Group, click
From the Save Layout As. . . window, browse to the location to save, create a File name for your layout. Once you click Save the file is saved in the specified location.

Importing a Layout
You can import a layout from another User.

From the Form Layout Ribbon Group, click
Browse to the location of the saved layout, click on the name to highlight.
Click the ‘Open’ button

Data Fill

Data Fill acts as a productivity-increasing template by allowing you to complete multiple forms without having to enter the same information repeatedly. The Data Fill tab is available in two places, Configured Items – Set Management and Configured Items – Circuits.

It is helpful to know a few design features before using Data Fill to its full capacity.

The Data Fill tab only becomes active when the feature can be used within the software and is designed to disappear when you cannot use the template.
Templates are user specific, stored locally on the user’s machine and therefore, only the user who created the template can use the template.
Data Fill is designed to exclude some fields within the template. Generally, excluded fields are specific to the component you are adding for example; you cannot include the Directory Number in the template.
A warning appears when you switch to the template in the middle of a form. If you have completed a field that is within the template, you have the option of keeping your existing information or replacing it with the information from the template. If the field is blank within the template but complete on your form, the template will not overwrite your entry.
The Data Fill tab is only available for new components.

Getting Started

Several choices within the Data Fill tab determine where the template information is pulled from. Choose the information source by clicking one of the following options:

Fill Last Values – fills out the component with the last saved information. For example, if you just completed a new set install, it fills the appropriate fields with the same information as the newly installed set.
Save Default Template and Fill Default Values– this allows you create a template to use when adding new components into the database, you populate the fields and then click on this button to save the template. To use the template, click the Fill Default Values button.
Automatic Fill – the following choices tell caris.net how you want to use the Data Fill tab. Each time you open a new component CAIRS can perform one of the following:
Automatic from Default – this selection requires you to build the template. Once built, each time you add a new component the fields are automatically populated with the information.
Automatic from Last – this selection populates the field with the same information as the last saved component. Automatic from Last differs from Fill Last Values by filling out each new component opened.
Turn off Automatic – when selected auto fill is turned off. The Fill Last Value and Fill Default Values are still available but you are required to make a selection.

! The Data Fill option is only available on new records, whether a set device or a circuit, with that in mind, we will start the following how to direction after you have entered the new record.

Creating a Default Template

You can create several different templates to use within CAIRS. Keep in mind only you can access the templates created and saved on your local machine.

Before you create the actual template, you need to populate the fields you want included within the template. Within each of the panes, complete the appropriate information.

! Keep in mind that some fields are not allowed within the template. Generally, these fields are component specific, for example, directory number, port, etc.

Once the fields are populated, click the Data Fill tab within the toolbar.
Click Save Default Template within the Data Fill Options ribbon group.

Choosing an Automatic Fill

Once you have created your default template, you have really chosen to have CAIRS automatically use the default template whenever you open a new record.

Click the Data Fill tab and then the Automatic Fill There are three selections to choose from:

- Automatic from Default – once you have created the template, you can select this option. Once selected it becomes grayed out verifying that you have chosen to use the default template.
- Automatic from Last – when you highlight and click this selection, the new record populates with the same information you previously saved. This selection is helpful when creating a few of the same components.
- Turn off Automatic Fill – when you select this, you are completely turning off automatic fill.

Click the Set Device Within the Actions ribbon group, click the Save & Close button.

Fill From Last Saved

Our one-time fill options allow you to populate fields automatically based on the last saved information. This means that when you are adding a new component, you save and close then add another new component and select the Fill from Last option, the fields you completed in the first component copy and populate the fields in the second component.

Click the Data Fill tab and then the Fill from Last Values
Click the Set Device Within the Actions ribbon group, click the Save & Close button.

Fill Default Values

Click the Data Fill tab and then the Fill Default Values
Click the Set Device Within the Actions ribbon group, click the Save & Close button.

Clear Values

Click the Data Fill tab and then the Clear Values
Depending on your auto fill selection, you can either click the Fill Default Values or Fill from Last Values
Alternatively, click the Set Device tab to enter in information.
Within the Actions ribbon group, click the Save & Close

Creating a Custom Template

Before you create the actual template, you need to populate the fields you want to include within the template. Within each of the panes, complete the appropriate information.

! Keep in mind that some fields are not allowed within the template. Generally, these fields are component specific, for example, directory number, port, etc.

Once the fields are populated, click the Data Fill tab within the toolbar.
Click the green plus (+) sign. You will be asked to name your template. Type-in the name and click the OK or Cancel Your template name now appears as a button within the ribbon group.

Using a Custom Template

Within the Data Fill Options ribbon group, click the name of the custom template.
When asked if you wish to overwrite existing information, click yes to overwrite or no to keep the information.
Click the Set Device tab, within the Actions ribbon group and click the Save & Close

Deleting a Custom Template

Within the Data Fill Options ribbon group, right click the name of the custom template to access a drop-down list.
From the list, select Delete Template. The template name is removed from the ribbon group.

Renaming a Custom Template

Within the Data Fill Options ribbon group, right click the name of the custom template to access a drop-down list.
From the list, select Rename Template within the Save Custom Data Fill popup and type-in the new name of the template.
Click the OK button to save your changes or click Cancel to return to the previous screen.

Overwriting the Custom Template

You have two options:

- Create a new template by populating the fields on the first tab and overwrite the existing template.
- Select the template, add/remove populated fields from the template and then overwrite.

With either option, right click the template name to access a drop-down list and from the list, select Overwrite template with current data. The template is now saved with the current information.