In the system, it is possible to define attachment, that is to add different files, e.g., images or text files, to particular objects. This way, the user can attach a product image to item form, personal documents to employee form, scanned documents to invoice etc.

Types of attachments which can be added to objects:

• archives (.zip, .rar)
• log (.log)
• spreadsheet (.xls, .xlsx)
• text document (.doc, .docx)
• image (.bmp, .png, .jpg, .dib, .gif)
• other (without a specified extension)

Objects to which an attachment can be added are the following

• customer/vendor group
• customer/vendor form
• item group
• item form
• employee form
• institution form
• bank form
• warehouse form
• selected documents

List of all attachments is available from the level of Configuration → General → Attachments.

List of attachments is composed of the following columns:

• Code
• Name
• Type
• Size – dimensions expressed in bytes
• Language – language in which an attachment was defined
• Location – file path
• Owner – company in the system for which the attachment will be available (column hidden by default)

Below the list of attachments, there is the filter panel used for displaying only desired attachments. Attachments can be filtered by size, saving method and the amount of free space. The size of attachments saved in the database can be reduced by checking the parameter Limit the size for attachments in a database to, available from the level of System -> Configuration -> Computer. Field Free Space is provided for information purposes and indicates the amount of free space used for storing saved attachment.

In the panel on the right side of the attachment list, attachment preview is displayed. The system is equipped with built-in editors for attachments in PDF, Word and Excel formats. Owing to that, it is possible to display a file directly in the attachment preview window in the system, without the need to install external programs for previewing, e.g., a user can display Word and Excel files without having Microsoft Office package installed and PDF files without PDF Viewer program.

In the menu, there are standard buttons for adding/editing/deleting given object from the list as well as refreshing the list. Moreover, there are also buttons allowing for performing operations on attachments in a single batch. To be able to perform batch operations on attachments, a user must be assigned to an operator group with the permission Batch operations on attachments, which is available from the level of operator group (menu Configuration → Company Structure → Operator Group), in tab Other Permissions.

[Add] – allows for adding one or more attachments

• to a database
• to an attachment folder
• as URL

[Copy] – allows for copying one or more attachment

• to a database
• to an attachment folder

[Move] – allows for moving one or more attachments

• to a database
• to an attachment folder

[Determine Owner] – a user logged-in to the main company can select one of the following options:

• All – selected attachment will be available in all the companies defined in the system
• Selected – an attachment will be available in a particular company indicated by the user and in its child centers

From the level of the other center, only the option All is available.

Determining of the owner affects the visibility of attachments on the list. On the list of attachments in the parent company, all attachments will be displayed. On the list of attachments in other centers, on the other hand, only those attachments will be displayed, whose owner is the company to which a user is logged in as well as those whose owner is set to All.

A new attachment can be added by selecting [Add] button from the List button group

In the menu, standard buttons allowing for saving and closing form, are available. The Attachments group of buttons contains the following options:

[Load From File] – loads an attachment file to from a selected location on a computer. Upon selecting a file, part of the information on the attachment form will be completed automatically

[Scan] – loads the scanned file directly to an attachment

[Preview File] – previews an attachment in an external program which is responsible for reading a file of a given type in the operating system

[Save To File] – saves attachment to a file in the selected location on a computer, for instance, in case attachment was added through scanning

An attachment form is composed of tabs: General, Objects and Attributes

 Tab General

The tab contains the following elements defining an attachment:

• Code – mandatory field, unique value. If this field is not completed, it will receive an attachment name without extension after loading the file.
• Name – mandatory field, the value does not have to be unique. If this field is not completed, it will receive an attachment name without extension after loading the file.
• Active – parameter checked by default. If the parameter is unchecked, it is not possible to attach a file to an object.
• Language – drop-down list allowing for selection of the language in which the name of an attachment is being defined. The list of language versions handled in the system is retrieved from the generic directory
• Owner – field for determining the owner of an attachment
  • From the parent company level, a parent company will be set as owner. A parent company can, however, be changed to a center of Company type with the option All. Depending on the selected values, attachment availability is specified in the company structure. After selecting a particular company, attachment will be available in its other child centers.
  • From another center level, a company, to which operator is logged in, will be set in the field Owner. Owner in this case can be changed only to the option All.

If the above data is not specified, it will be completed automatically upon loading an attachment with the help of the button [Load From File]:

• Type – drop-down list allowing for selection of one of file types defines in the generic directory called Attachment Types
• Size – indicates attachment size expressed in bytes
• Data Format – indicates data extension, e.g., *.bmp for a bit map
• Location – indicates a place where attachment is saved. The value is by default retrieved from the attachment type definition (generic directory Attachment Types).
  • File in database – if the size of the loaded file exceeds the value specified in bytes for that attachment, the system will block saving the attachment and will display a relevant message.
  • File in attachment folder
  • URL
• URL – field indicating a path to a file on a disk

In Availability section, it is possible to share an attachment in particular modules/applications cooperating with Comarch ERP Standard system:

• B2B
• Mobile
• e-Shop
• eBay Listing
• BI
• Retail
• WMS Management and WMS Warehouseman – visible only after the installation of Comarch WMS Management and Comarch WMS Warehouseman

In Translations panel, it is possible to add an attachment in a different language than the currently defined one.

To add a new translation, click on [Add] button in the Translations button group, mark an appropriate attachment on the list and confirm your selection by clicking [Select].

Removing a translation removes it from also other attachments it was added to.

 Tab Objects

In Objects tab, there is a list of objects a given attachment was assigned to. An object can be edited by selecting [Edit] button. Assigning of attachment to objects is described in article Assigning attachment to an object.

 Tab Attributes

In this tab, it is possible to attach an attribute to attachment. This functionality has been described in article Assinging attribute value to an object.

Attachments are assigned to objects when adding or modifying a given object, for example, a new item. In the tab Attachments, it is necessary to click on the button [Add], which opens the list of available attachments. Here, the user can select files which will be assigned to an object or load them from a file saved on a computer or scan them.

When assigning more attachments t to an object, it is possible to specify which of the added attachments is default by selecting a checkbox in the column Default.

Moreover, attachment can also be shared and marked as default for particular modules/applications cooperating  with Comarch ERP Standard system. WMS Management and WMS Warehouseman are visible only after the installation of WMS. Availability of attachment is set by selecting a checkbox in particular columns (double clicking in the checkbox),  whereas default attachment is set by clicking in the checkbox three times – the checkbox will then be selected  and bordered.