First Contact – SOS Resources

Creating and Maintaining a Custom Droplist in First Contact

Posted on October 6, 2011 | by SOS Blog | Leave a Comment

The following is a further elaboration of the feature documented in the First Contact User Guide, in the FCConfig – Field Selection and Options section.

In that section there is a discussion about changing text entry fields to droplists that are populated with selections you maintain from the My Lists screen in First Contact. It mentions that in some cases a field that is initially a te (text) type, can be changed to a drop or combo type, linked to a user-specified list. A drop field type is one where the user must select an option from a fixed list of choices. A combo field type is like a drop, except that it also permits the user to type in something new that does not appear in the list.

The first step is to consult with an SOS tech support rep to see if the field you would like to change to a list-linked drop or combo is eligible for such a modification. If it is, the tech will use a special program to modify the field type for you, using a remote support utility.

The next step will be to create the list containing the desired selections you want to appear for that field:

Open First Contact and click the My Lists icon at the top of the screen.
At the very bottom of the Lists window, notice a bar with small buttons. Click the plus sign to add a new list:
An empty row will appear in the My Lists window. Type in your new list name, which should be unique and contain neither spaces nor punctuation, then press the ENTER key on your keyboard:
Click the Save button at the top of the window.
Now that your list has been created, you can add the desired items to the list. Click the My Lists button to re-open the My Lists window.
Click the little plus icon just to the left of the name of your new list. A “Data Values” panel will open below it:
Make sure that the Data Values panel is selected by clicking anywhere within it, then click the little plus button at the bottom of the window:
An empty row will appear in the Data Values panel. Type the first item for your pick-list, then press ENTER on your keyboard.
Repeat steps 7 and 8 until you have entered all the desired items for your list. If it takes more than a few minutes, consider clicking the Save button at the top of the window so that your new entries are saved, then re-open My Lists and add some more. Your new items are not permanent until the Save button is executed.

Modifying and Deleting Existing Items

From time to time you may want to modify or remove items from a list. To do so:

Open My Lists as in step one above.
Click the little plus box to the left of the list you would like to maintain. The Data Values panel will open, showing the items on your list.
To change an item, just click anywhere in the item’s current text, make your changes, and press the ENTER key on your keyboard.
To remove an item, click the “>” icon just to the left of the item to select it, then click the small minus button at the bottom of the window:
When you have completed your changes to the list, be sure to click the Save button at the top of the My Lists window.

Linking Your New List to a Field in Your Screen Form

Now that you have your list, there is one more thing to do – linking it to the field that your SOS support tech converted from a plain text field to a drop or combo field.

If you have First Contact running, exit out.
Open the FCConfig utility by clicking your Windows Start button, then Programs, then the First Contact 2010.x.x (the number depending on the version installed).
Let us assume that the FC field you are converting to use your list is User_StrField1. Find that field in the Field Name column, and click it to select. (Hint: Click the column title to sort the list alphabetically.)
Click the Pencil icon in the toolbar at the top of the window to modify the field configuration.
In the Data Source field type Patient!MyNewList, replacing “MyNewList” with the name of the list you just created in First Contact. Make sure that you include the exclamation mark between “Patient” and the name of your list.
Check that it says “drop” or “combo” next to Type of Control. If not, select the correct type from the drop list, or type it in, being careful to type all lower case characters.
Click the Save_Close icon at the top of the window, then, back on the field list, click Save again to finalize your changes and close FCConfig.
You can now return to First Contact to test your new pick-list field.

Emailing Reports From First Contact

Posted on July 21, 2011 | by SOS Blog | Leave a Comment

While secure email systems are available to send documents containing Protected Health Information (PHI), most regular email transmissions can be intercepted and viewed by parties other than the intended recipient. For this reason, it is a best practice to send such documents as encrypted, password-protected, PDF files.

When viewing an intake form in First Contact, you will notice that there is an icon in the toolbar with the caption “Email Provider”.

Clicking that icon generates a report in the same format as the screen display, which displays in a report preview window. Either click File > Export Document > PDF…

… or click the Export Document icon on the toolbar.

In the Export Options window, click the field next to Password Security. Another window will open. Check the first box to Require a password to open the document and type the desired password in the indicated field. When you click OK at the bottom of that window, a confirmation box will appear. Re-type the password and click OK. That window will close and you will be back at the Export Options. Click OK there, then enter the desired location and name for the protected PDF file. Take note of this information. You will need it in order to attach the file to your email.

You will find yourself back at the report preview window. Just close that window with the X icon.

Open your email application, create your message and attach the document you just created. If you have not pre-shared the document password with the recipient, then you should send it separately via fax or phone. Do not include it in the body of email, as that would defeat the whole purpose of encrypting the document. Sending the password in a second email is almost as insecure. If you will be sending documents to this recipient on a regular basis, it is probably best to establish a standard password that you will use for that purpose and share it with the recipient beforehand.

Working with Grid Windows (Lists)

Posted on October 14, 2010 | by SOS Blog | Leave a Comment

Sorting

To sort records by a column’s values and replace existing sort conditions that are applied to the current or other column(s), click the target column’s header, until an UP or Down Arrow icon is displayed within the header. The Up and Down Arrows indicate ascending and descending sort orders, respectively.

To sort rows by a column’s values preserving existing sort conditions, do one of the following:

Click a column’s header holding the SHIFT key down, until an UP or Down Arrow icon is displayed within the header.
Right-click a column’s header and select Sort Ascending or Sort Descending from the context menu.

To remove sorting by a column, click a column header while holding the CTRL key down.

Grouping

Group Data

To group by a column, do one of the following:

Drag a column header from the column header panel to the Group Panel.
Right-click a column header and select Group By This Column from the context menu:

Ungroup Data

To ungroup data by a grouping column, do one of the following:

Drag a column header from the group panel to the column header panel.
Right-click a grouping column’s header and select UnGroup from the context menu.

To remove grouping by all columns, right click the group panel and select Clear Grouping from the context menu:

Change Group Order

To change the group order, move a grouping column header to another position within the group panel:

Customizing Summaries

End-users can display and/or hide total and group summaries using the Runtime Summary Editor.

Customizing Total Summaries

If the Summary Panel is displayed within a View, right-click it to invoke its context menu, and select ‘Customize…’.

This invokes the Total Summary Editor, allowing an end-user to manage total summaries.

Customizing Group Summaries

If data grouping is applied, right-click the grouping column’s header to invoke its context menu, and select ‘Group Summary Editor…’.

This invokes the Group Summary Editor, allowing an end-user to manage group summaries.

Sorting Group Rows By Summary

Sort Group Rows By Summary

To sort group rows by summary values (if any), an end-user should do the following:

Invoke the grouping column’s context menu by right-clicking the column’s header.
Select the required summary item (if any), by whose values group rows should be sorted, and the sort order within the ‘Sort By Summary’ submenu, as shown in the image below:

Unsort Group Rows By Summary

Do one of the following:

Click a column’s header.
Invoke a column’s context menu and select Clear Summary Sorting.

Filtering

Invoke the Filter Dropdown List

In Table Views, hover over the column header. Click the filter button that appears within the column header.

Create a Filter Condition

To select records that contain a specific value in a specific column/card field, do the following:

Invoke the filter dropdown list containing available filter values.
Select the required filter value in the filter dropdown list:
The filter dropdown list will be closed immediately, and the control will display the records which contain the specified value in the specified column/card field.

If the filter dropdown list provides check boxes to the left of the filter values, multiple values can be selected (checked) simultaneously. In this mode, click Ok to close the filter dropdown list and apply the filter.

You can sequentially filter data against multiple columns.

Clear the Filter

To clear the filter applied to a column, do one of the following:

Invoke the filter dropdown list and click (All).
Right-click a column’s header and select Clear Filter.
To clear the grid’s filter, click the Close Filter button within the Filter Panel:

Disable/Enable the Filter

Toggle the checked state of the Enable Filter box displayed within the Filter Panel:

Using the Automatic Filter Row

The automatic filter row (if shown) allows end-users to filter data on the fly. To filter data, type text directly into the row. When you input text within the row, a filter condition is automatically created based upon the values entered, and applied to the column.

Showing and Hiding Columns

Hide Columns

To hide a column, drag its header and drop it onto the Column Chooser if it’s open:

Show Columns

Open the Column Chooser, drag the required column’s header from the Column Chooser and drop it onto the column header panel.

Navigating Through Rows and Cells

To move focus between cells and rows, use the ARROW, TAB, HOME, END, PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys. Note that the ARROW, HOME and END keys are used for navigation between rows/cards only when the focused cell is not being edited. Otherwise, these keys affect focus movement within the currently edited cell.

To focus the next cell, do one of the following:

Press TAB.
In Table Views, press RIGHT ARROW. In Card Views, press DOWN ARROW. If a cell editor is active, pressing RIGHT ARROW moves focus to the next cell if the caret is positioned at the end of the current cell’s text or if the cell’s text is selected in its entirety.

To focus the previous cell, do one of the following:

Press SHIFT+TAB.
In Table Views, press LEFT ARROW. In Card Views, press UP ARROW. If a cell editor is active, pressing LEFT ARROW moves focus to the previous cell if the caret is positioned at the beginning of the current cell’s text or if the cell’s text is selected in its entirety.

To focus the first cell within the focused row, press HOME (in Table Views).

To focus the last cell within the focused row, press END (in Table Views).

To focus the first row/card:

Press CTRL+HOME in Table Views.
Press HOME or CTRL+Home in Card Views.

To focus the last row/card:

Press CTRL+END in Table Views.
Press END or CTRL+END in Card Views.

To move focus to the Automatic Filter Row displayed at the top of a Table View, do one of the following:

Click this row.
If the top data row is focused, press CTRL+UP ARROW.

Selecting Rows

Select Individual Rows

To select a row and clear the existing selection, click its data cell or select the row using the ARROW keys.

To select a row and preserve the current selection, click its data cell holding the CTRL key down.

To toggle the focused row’s selected state, do one of the following:

Press CTRL+SPACE.
Click the row while holding the CTRL key down.

Select a Range Rows

To select all rows, press CTRL+A. Before pressing this shortcut, ensure that the focused cell is not being edited.

To select a continuous range of rows, you can do the following:

Use ARROW, PAGE UP, PAGE DOWN keys while holding the SHIFT key down.
To selects all rows between the currently focused row and another one, click the target row while holding the SHIFT key down.

Resizing Columns

To change a column’s width, drag the right edge of its header:

Category: First Contact