Creating Documents

Creating documents from SMART

You can create documents from SMART which include information (e.g. Customer, Location, or Job Details) from the current SMART window. The primary use is to automatically create quotes from the Job Details window, but you can also create documents from other places in SMART where you are permitted to link documents, e.g. the Location Details or Key Details windows.

You must have Microsoft Word for Windows installed on the PC you are using.

Creating a document is very straightforward, simply press the Create button next to a list of documents.

Storing documents

Documents must be stored in a location which is accessible to the PCs of other SMART users, or they will not be able to view them. Usually this means that they will be stored on the SMART server or another server.

If a suitable location has not been configured you will be asked to configure one the first time you create a document. You can also configure the document storage location by doing one of the following:

Select \Maintenance \Smart Setup \General Configuration from the Main Menu, then go to the System tab and set the 'Shared Data Directory'.
If you have multiple control rooms you can select \Maintenance \Control Rooms from the Main Menu, then double click on a Control Room to set a different data directory for each Control Room.

If you move documents from this directory, you will not be able to open them from within Smart unless you change these settings to match the new locations.

You cannot delete a document from within Smart. Instead you must use Windows Explorer to find and delete the document.

Templates

A Word Template is just a Word document which you can use as a starting point to create a new document. Templates names end in .dot.

You can create or modify a Word Template which uses placeholders to put the Smart information where it belongs every time. Otherwise SMART will copy the information into the document and you can cut and paste it where you choose.

A sample template called SmartQuote is included with your SMART installation and can be found in your Smart4 directory. We recommend that you make a copy of this template and then modify it so that it looks like your company stationery. You should save this copy in the WorkGroup Templates folder (see below).

Use these special symbols in a template to position information from SMART. Only information which is displayed in the window where you created the document will be included. It will not be displayed if you create the document in Word without using SMART.

Special symbols
<Date> Today's date

<Customer> Customer name and address (multiple lines)

<Location> Location name and address (single line)

<LocationMulti> Location name and address (multiple lines)

<ServiceDetails> Details of service to be provided, includes any text in the 'Initial Status/Request' field plus details of any patrols, time and/or materials

<ServicePrice> The price to be charged to the customer (includes GST)

<Outcome> The information in the 'Service Details' field

Template locations

When you create a document from Smart you will be presented with a list of templates (this list may take a few seconds to appear as it requires Microsoft Word to load). Templates will appear in this list if they are stored in one of the following locations:

The SMART program directory (usually c:\Smart4), or
The User Templates or Workgroup Templates folders as set up in your copy of Microsoft Word (choose \Tools \Options \File Locations from the Word main menu).

You can select a template from another location by pressing the lookup button [...] at the top right of the SMART 'Creating a new document' window.

Information to include

You can control the information to be included in the new document by using the checkboxes below the list of templates in the 'Creating a new document' window.

Include Details applies only to documents which do not include any special symbols. It will include whatever information is available from the SMART window so that you can cut and paste it in your document.
Include Outcome is only available when creating a document from the Job Details window. It includes the information entered in the Service Details field (if any) at the bottom of the document. If selected it applies whether special symbols are used or not.
Quote is only available when creating a document from the Job Details window and special symbols are not involved. It creates a simple 'Quotation' letter without the need for special symbols.

Once the document has been created the information from SMART will not be updated by SMART; e.g. if you change the price in SMART this will have no effect in a document you have previously created.