A video guide to some of the main 6.3 features can be found below.
Gold-Vision 6.3 New Features Video
Custom date periods allow users to define a custom "to" and "from" dates with a name as reference to be used from the standard list date-picker filter. An example use might be to create a custom date filter for "financial year 2011/12" that covered a non-January-based financial year.
How are custom date filters used in Gold-Vision?
Custom date filters are used from any of the standard date filter pickers that
appear at the top of date columns in most lists. Select "Custom Period"
from the drop down of pre-defined filters. A sub-list will appear containing the
custom date periods. Select one of the custom dates and click 'ok' to apply it.
Where do I add/remove custom date periods?
Custom date periods are administered from the Administration Console.
Open the Administration Console and select 'User Interface' > 'Custom Dates'.
Search helpers are designed to help users filter Gold-Vision lists without the need to remember and use some of Gold-Vision's powerful filtering syntax. Search helpers appear in the filter fields at the top of most lists as a small magnifier. When a user uses the a search helper it will create the Gold-Vision power-searching syntax by presenting them with meaningful search options to complete.
How are Search Helpers used?
Search helpers are activated by clicking the small magnifier icon on the right
hand side of the standard Gold-Vision filter fields that appear at the top of
most lists. For text-based searches the user is presented with options
such as "starts with..." or "ends with.." and for numeric search options such as
"greater than..." or "less than...".
Click here for more information and examples
The List Statistics Tool allows a user to quickly generate numeric statistics from almost any list. They are most useful for quickly totaling numeric columns or discovering the spread of records within a list by a drop down value (for example 'Owner'). The List Statistics Tool manifests itself as a 'sum' icon in most numeric or drop-down based list column filters.
How is the List Statistics Tool Used?
Click the "sum" (
) icon that appears to the right of numeric and drop-down type filter fields. Depending on the type of data present you will either be
displayed numeric statistics or a question regarding which data to display. If presented with a list of options, select an
appropriate option and confirm. You may also see an "Expand by" option, which
will expand the data further by an optional drop-down value. See the screen shot
below for an example.
Click here for more information about using the List Statistics Tool.
The layout of the list headers for the main Gold-Vision lists has been improved. The options have been grouped and laid out with a more verbose description and in addition there is some separation and highlighting intended to help users understand the options available to them at the top of the list. The aim of these changes is to assist users with understanding the main header options available to them from most main Gold-Vision lists.
Dormant / Favorite Tabs
The Dormant and Favorite lists have been removed as default options from the
list tabs and are now accessible from the view menu.
Report Tab
The 'Report' tab to the right of the list 'actions' has been moved to
the 'view' section in line with it's new role to provide both list report views
and report creation.
An entirely new 'View' area has been added to Gold-Vision lists that allows users to create dynamic, data-visualisation charts that render the data from the current list view. The basic function permits charts to be created or added to the 'Report' view. These charts will change depending on the data that is currently filtered in the list. The charts can also be used themselves to manipulate the data via a built-in drill-down feature. When using the Report View remember that almost all of the charts display the data that is currently visible on the list. If the filters are changed, so will the data within charts.
Opening the Report View
The report view can be opened on most main Gold-Vision lists be clicking the
"Report" tab under the "View" section.
Adding Charts/Items to the Report View
To add new items to the report view click the "Add Items to this View" link from
the toolbar on the Report View page. A list of existing charts and mini
widgets will open below the toolbar. Click on any of the items to add them to
your Report View. Items added to the Report View will appear within a control
box and will remain on the view until you remove them. Each users' Report View
is their own - i.e. you can add and remove items independently of other users;
the view is not shared.
Organising items on Report View
Report View items can be controlled in the following ways...
Remove - Click the small X icon in the top right corner of the
item (this will remove it and place it back in the "Add Items" view.
Move - Click and drag the top bar of the chart item. Drop it
where you would like to be placed. Note that the items must adhere to the grid.
Resize - Use the small arrow icons to change the size of the
chart box. The size will 'toggle' within the specified ranges.
Pop Out - Click the double-box pop-out icon to open the chart
in a new, larger window.
Print - Click the printer icon. A new pop-out window will open
and the browser will attempt to print the window.
Download/Export - Click the "download" icon that appears in the
top-right of the chart itself (note: Does not appear if the chart does not
render).
Zoom - Click and drag a box within the chart view itself to
zoom in. When doing this a "reset zoom" link appears in the top right.
Show/Hide Series Data - To toggle the visibility of a series
item click on the name of the series from within the legend. The legend will
turn grey and the data will be hidden.
Save to Homepage Dashboard - Click the 'house' icon to save the
current state to a homepage dashboard. Please see the dashboard section
regarding this feature.
Drill-Down Functionality
Most charts support the ability to drill-down to the data within a particular
point or chart range. To perform a drill-down, left click on the point or chart
area that you will like to see the data for. The screen will reload and you will
be returned to the list with an addition filter(s) in accordance with the chart
area you clicked on. The "drill down" filters are displayed in boxes in the same
colour as normal list filters.
Creating new Custom Charts on Report View
Custom charts can be added to the Report View. To create a custom report open
the Report View and click the "Create a new Chart" link. You will be shown a
mini designer from which you can select the "chart type" (bar, pie, line etc)
plus a choice of fields to select for the X, Y and Series axis. Please note that
the Series option will not be available for charts with a mono-series, like a
pie chart.
As well as choosing the columns to display the data for in the chart you can also select how the data is displayed. Select the options you would like to be displayed on the chart and click "OK" to create it an add it to the Report View.
Text Fields
No option / Default - Will simply group the data you select for the column
(typically used for text-based columns)
Count Number of Records - Will count the number of records of each unique type.
Numeric Fields
Sum - Sum's numeric data
Average - Mean of numeric data
Min/Max - Min or max of numeric data
Date Fields
Group by Month - Groups by Month only (NB: Across ALL YEARS until you filter by
a particular year).
Group by Month and Year - As above but includes year also.
Group by Quarter - Groups by quarter in a similar way to the "Month" grouping
above
Group by Quarter and Year - As above but includes the year
Group by Year - Groups by the year.
"Make Public" Option
The "Make Public" option makes the chart visible to all users, allowing them to
add this chart to their Report View if they choose.
Chart objects from the Report View can be "pinned" to dedicated Home Page 'Dashboards'. When charts are pinned to a home page dashboard they cease to be dynamic and instead show a fixed report view of the data you have currently filtered for the chart. The Homepage Dashboards allow users to create 'saved' versions of their dynamic charts from the Chart View.
Creating and Adding to Home Page Dashboards
Home page dashboards can be created and added to by clicking the small 'house'
icon in the top right hand corner of most chart items. A control will pop
up asking the user to enter a name of the pinned chart and whether to add the
chart to an existing home page dashboard or create a new one by name.
After creation dashboards will appear on the home page as separate 'tabs' and maintain the powerful drill-down functionality.
There are two new dedicated "Sales" lists added to the 'View' menu. The purpose of the lists is to allow for listing and reporting on the 'sales' data that is currently held in multiple different areas of the system: Opportunities with and without Quotes, Quotes themselves and confirmed Seminar Bookings.
Sales - Shows a collaborative list of Opportunities, Quotes and Bookings that are
"Closed Won". -
Forecast - As above by only "Open" items. Can be changed to show
Open & Closed Won together.
Product Sales - The existing product sales view.
Note: Only Quotes that are "Included in Opportunity" are shown and Seminar Bookings that are "Confirmed
The 'View' menu has been segmented into grouped areas to help assist navigation
with the addition of the new Sales menu.
User sales targets have been added into the system. These allow for a target to be defined by administrators on a per-user basis and are tied to a specific date period and frequency (Month, Quarter, Year).
User sales targets are split into two layers within the system:
Target Definition (parent) - This is the 'parent' layer and allows administrators to define a 'Period Type' (monthly, quarterly, annually) as well as specify a name. Multiple definitions can be created to cover different periods or for other arbitrary uses.
User Targets (child) - User targets are 'children' created underneath Target Definitions and are created per-user. Administrators can select the user, currency, target value and 'start date'. The 'start date' represents the date the target will be applied from. To create a "stop" date or to change the user target after a period of time administrators can create a new User Target with a later 'start date'.
In line with the above User Sales Targets, charts can be created that show the
targets with respect to actual sales. These charts are only available under the
'Sales' area of the system. The sales target charts fall under two distinct
visual types...
1. Target Charts
Target charts are shown in the form of 'column' charts displaying the 'actual
sales values' with an line overlaid to show the 'target'. The data that is
displayed for the 'target' will depend on the list filters. If there are no
filters on Owner or Team then the chart will display the sum of the targets for
all users. If you filter by a particular user then both the sales data and the
target will change accordingly.
2. Heat Tables
Heat tables show essentially the same data as the Target Charts only in table
format. The background of each cell will change colour according to how close or
over target the 'actual' sales value is. The background will tend to red if the
value is under target, green as it approaches target and blue when it is over
target.
The table can be viewed in "Actual" mode (showing the actual values per period) or in "Cumulative" mode that will sum both the actual and target values along each row.
Creating New Target Charts
Users with rights to do so can create new Sales Target
Charts . This can be done using a similar designer to the custom chart designer
described above. To create a new Target Sales Chart:
1) Open the "Sales" list and go to the "Report View"
2) Click the "Create a new Target Chart" link. A popup will appear (see below)
3) Enter a Name
4) Select either "Target Chart" or "Heat Table"
5) Select the "Period" you would like to report on (month, quarter, year)
6) Select the Target Definition(s) to display on the chart and click 'OK'
There are new 'access options' for the following areas that tie in with the above additions
Sales (access only) - When off users in the team cannot see
sales lists.
Dashboarding (read, edit, delete) - When off users cannot see
"Report View" and "Dashboards". When 'edit' off users can only user existing
charts.
Targets (read, edit, delete) - When off users cannot see
targets on charts. Edit/delete rights control Admin Console management of
Targets.
Some changes to Event/Seminars have been made:
1) Creating a new booking allows for a Contact to be searched as well as an
Account.
2) Copying an Event/Seminar allows a user to select a specific date.
3) Bookings now have an Estimated and Actual close date that ties in with the Open/Won/Lost state for the sales lists and reporting.
Some changes to Quotes have been made:
1) An Estimated Close date has been added to compliment the Actual Close and Open/Won/Lost state.
2) Estimated and Actual Close dates default to the Opportunity values unless specified manually at quote level.
3) The Estimated and Actual close dates and 'state' are reflected in the sales lists and reporting.