| With MIP Fund Accounting Version
5.0, you have the ability to create powerful and flexible user-defined
fields (UDFs). UDFs allow you to create custom fields to track
and report information specific to your organization. Advantage
and Pro users may create UDFs that apply to segment codes, vendors,
customers, purchase orders, transaction documents or transaction
lines. Intro users may create UDFs that apply to segment codes,
vendors, customers and purchase orders.
After creating the UDF in the Administration module (Administration>Organization>Set
Up User Defined Fields), you can manually enter UDF values
with other record information, or if you own the Data Import
/Export Module you can import the UDF values with their associated
records. For example, if you create a Vendor UDF called HUB
you may manually enter HUB information via Accounting>Maintain>Vendors
or import HUB values when importing other vendor information.
To import UDF values you will need to modify the definition
file and include the appropriate values in the data file.
Definition File—The definition file contains
the [Context Type]_[Field Name] (referred to as the
FieldID) of each field that will be imported into the application.
For example the FieldID for importing a vendor ID is VENDOR_ID.
Prior to importing UDF values, the FieldID for the UDF must
be added to the definition file. The FieldID for segment,
vendor, purchase order and customer UDFs should be added to
the header context section of the definition file. The FieldID
for transaction documents and transaction lines should be
added to the related section of the definition file. As with
importing other types of data, the FieldID in the definition
file should indicate the location of the data in the data
file.
To determine the FieldID for a UDF, print a User-Defined
Field List report (Administration>Reports>Lists>User
Defined Fields) including "Context ID" in the
report body. For example, the context ID for the HUB UDF is
Vendors:Vendors:HUB. The format should appear in the definition
file exactly as it shows in the report, including punctuation.
Data File—You may include UDF values in the data
file or default them in the definition file, just as you may
when importing other types of data.
When importing UDF values it is important to keep in mind
that field attributes, defined when creating the UDF, determine
the editing used in the import process, as well as the data
file requirements. Carefully reviewing UDF setup information
prior to importing will reduce the likelihood of errors. Also,
you should always make a backup of your database prior to
importing records.
For more information on how to use the Data Import/Export
module or how to create and use UDFs see our Web site, www.mip.com,
or contact Training Services at 800-647-3863 for information
regarding training options.
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