How SmartNotes Works

SmartNotes is an editorial system for creating financial reports and presentations. The functionality is shown schematically in the following diagram:

Notes on the Manual

The manual can be opened via the help menu. Prerequisite is that the manual is stored on the SmartNotes server and the storage path is specified in the configuration file [SmartNotesServerService.exe.config].

SmartNotes offers a uniform and user-friendly interface, which makes it easier for the user to operate the application by providing various notes and notification windows. For the most frequent hints and most important functions a central overview is given here.

The screenshots used in this manual are [almost] all taken from the perspective of an administrator. If, contrary to expectations, some functions are not available, it is advisable to check the authorization assignment first.

• Buttons
• Saving Hints
• Incorrect Inputs
• Deleting objects

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Buttons

The two buttons "Save" and "Close" can be found in many SmartNotes menus and wizards and form central control elements in the operation of SmartNotes.

With the help of the button "Save" changes can be saved.

The "Close" button can be used to exit a menu.

Many dialogs for creating, editing and deleting objects (e.g. chapters, documents, layout actions, validations, status levels, ...) have a similar structure to the document management described below:

The areas of this dialog have the following meaning:

• (1) Overview area: An overview of the available objects in a tree or list structure is displayed here.
• (2) Detail area: The details of the object selected above are displayed here.

On the right you will find the following Buttons:

	Button „Create new object"
	Button „Edit selected entry"	Alternatively, you can double-click on the selected object.
	Button „Delete selected object"
	Button  "Restore deleted object"	This function is not available for all objects. Currently, the restore function is only supported for documents and chapters.

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Saving Hints

If a SmartNotes menu is left by clicking the "Close" button or the window is closed although changes have been made, SmartNotes will inform you and ask whether the changes made should be saved. This can be done by clicking the "Yes" button.

If, on the other hand, the changes are to be discarded, the query can simply be answered with "No".

The "Cancel" button can be used to return to the previous menu or window.

After using the "Save" button or confirming the query "Unsaved change!" SmartNotes will confirm the successful saving with a green background to the left of the "Save" button.

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Incorrect Inputs

If incorrect or inadmissible entries are made within SmartNotes, the user is immediately notified by a corresponding message and the input field concerned is highlighted with an exclamation mark.

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Deleting objects

The deletion of an object in SmartNotes, for example a report or a chapter, usually has to be confirmed by a further security query from the user. Only after a click on the "Yes" button is the affected element really removed. The process can be aborted by clicking the "No" button.

Starting and ending SmartNotes

Start SmartNotes

To start the program, either the start file ["SmartNotes.exe" in the installation directory] or a link to it can be used.

When using Single Sign-on, the SmartNotes report selection is started automatically. If this is not the case, the SmartNotes login window opens, where a user can log in with his user name and password. After entering the corresponding data, the login is performed with the button "Login" and SmartNotes is started.

If the combination of user name and password is incorrect or unknown, a corresponding message is displayed.

If the field for the user name, the password or neither is filled in, the message "Connection error" appears. In addition, an exclamation mark is displayed next to the empty input fields in the input mask as an additional hint.

Select language and server

SmartNotes offers the user the possibility to select the interface language as well as a predefined server to which the client should connect. From version 2.5 this selection is compatible with Single Sign-on.

To get the extended view of the login dialog, double-click on the image [in the upper half of the window]. The "Options" assistant area will then appear automatically. Here you can select the language and the target server via dropdown menus.

Note: The selection of available servers is determined by the central configuration file of the SmartNotes client. For the definition of customer-specific servers, consultation with the responsible administrators may be necessary.

Ending SmartNotes

To exit SmartNotes, open the "File" menu and select the "Exit" sub-item. The security prompt that then appears must either be confirmed or the process aborted.

Alternatively, SmartNotes can be closed by clicking the "Close" button in the upper right corner of the program bar.

Available Documents Dialog

After successful login of the user with user name and password, the dialog "Available documents" is displayed. All documents available to the user are listed and grouped by year. The available documents in a folder can be displayed and hidden by double-clicking on the folder.

A double-click on a document or its selection and a subsequent click on "Select" opens the selected report.

SmartNotes notes the last loaded document and will mark it as preselected at the next login of the user.

The field "Filter" provides a search function for documents. When you start typing, only documents that match the search criterion are displayed. The button "Block filter" [to the right of the search field] deactivates this function and grays out the field. This keeps the last filter entry and automatically sets it again when logging in again.

 

After successful login and subsequent document selection, the SmartNotes Cockpit is opened with the selected document.

Alternatively, the corresponding document management, user management or workflow management for a selected document can be opened directly via the wizard button bar, provided the logged in user is authorized to do so. Only the respective administration assistant is opened, not the associated document. The general SmartNotes settings can also be opened independently of documents, but at this point they only have the globally available tabs [in contrast to opening the settings from a document].

 

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Locking documents

In the "Available documents" dialog, a user can assign a lock to entire documents if he or she has the appropriate authorization. In locked documents, only functionalities and evaluations are available that have no influence on the current status of the document. Unwanted] changes are no longer possible, e.g. data can no longer be imported and snippets can only be read.

Note: Even administrators lose their privileges within a locked document. This is therefore protected against any modifications. The Office files within the locked document are not provided with a symbolic padlock in the cockpit, but can still only be opened in read mode. All SmartNotes functionalities that entail changes are deactivated.
References to non-document report data, tables or Word files are NOT "frozen" by a document lock. Changes to the external sources thus also affect the closed document.

To lock a document, select the desired report in the overview of available documents and then right-click to open the context menu. The option "Lock document" can now be selected and the affected document is then provided with a padlock.

To unlock a document again, you can proceed in the same way.

 

The function for locking and unlocking documents is now also available under Master Data\Documents.

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Tagging Documents

So that the document selection can be sorted according to criteria other than the reporting year, it is possible to "tag" documents: It is possible to assign one or more keywords ("tags") to each document. The tag management can be opened via the context menu:

In the tag management the selected document can be assigned to already existing tags by activating the corresponding checkboxes and saving them afterwards. New tags can be created using the buttons for creating, editing and deleting objects.

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Changing the document view

When listing documents in the "Available documents" overview, you can switch between four different views: The ungrouped view, the view grouped by year, the view grouped by tag, and the view grouped by name.

The views can be accessed via the context menu of the document overview by right-clicking. To switch between the different views, the desired selection can simply be activated with the left mouse button. When leaving a document, the last display of the list is saved, so that the next time SmartNotes is started, the available documents are displayed in the same way.

Unsorted view

In the ungrouped list, the documents are displayed in chronological and alphabetical order without further structural levels.

View grouped by years

In the view grouped by year, the documents are summarised under their reference year and presented in alphabetical order. The folders can be expanded or collapsed by left-clicking on the "+" and "-" characters.

 

View grouped by name

In the view grouped by name, the documents are grouped thematically under their names and displayed in chronological order. The folders can be opened by left-clicking on the "+" and "-" characters.

 

View grouped by tag

In the view grouped by tag, the documents are grouped thematically under their tags and displayed in chronological order. The folders can be opened by left-clicking on the "+" and "-" characters. If a document has several tags, it will appear in all corresponding folders. Documents without tags are displayed in the folder "Documents without tag".

Favourites

Documents can be saved as favorites for quick and easy access. To do this, the context menu is opened with the right mouse button and the document is added to the favorites list with a left click on the "Add Favorite" entry. For visual identification, documents assigned to the favorites list are marked with a golden star.

To display the Favorites list, it can be called up via the "Show favorites" menu item in the context menu. The documents are then displayed in chronological and alphabetical order.

If you want to remove a document from the favorites list, first select it and then right-click it to open the context menu. With a left click on the entry "Remove favorite" the document is removed from the favorites list and the golden star on the name is no longer displayed.

 

SmartNotes Cockpit

The SmartNotes Cockpit represents the central SmartNotes desktop and displays the processing status of a document managed by SmartNotes "at a glance". The individual rows represent the chapters and subchapters of a document, the columns display detailed information on the individual chapters [Snippets].

Tabs

Within the cockpit it is possible to open several documents at the same time. Click on the empty tab to open the document view.

Double-click on a document name to open the selected document on the next tab.
To close a tab, click with the mouse on the X next to the document name. As soon as the mouse is in place, a red dot appears. Click on the red dot to close the document.

Cockpit Columns

The SmartNotes Cockpit provides various detailed information in the cockpit columns for the individual chapters and subchapters. The contents of the individual columns are introduced and explained in this chapter.

• Chapter name
• Filling type
• Status
• Changing the status level
• Last data change
• Validation
• Excel, Word and PowerPoint
• Last agent
• Last comment
• Attachments
• Delete attachment
• Tags

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Chapter name

In the column "Chapter name" the document structure of the opened document is displayed. All created chapters and subchapters with numbering and description are listed here.

If a chapter has one or more subchapters, a "+" or "-" sign appears to the left of the name, which can be used to show or hide the subchapters. Alternatively, the key combination "Ctrl" and "+" or  "-" can be used.

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Filling type

The column "Filling type" provides information about the mode, i.e. the type, of filling of the Excel documents created for the individual chapters. The mode of an Excel spreadsheet is assigned automatically by SmartNotes on the basis of the stored programming in the Excel spreadsheet. The filling type cannot be assigned or changed by the user.

The display distinguishes between the following filling types:

• In the "Automatic" mode, the Excel table is programmed so that it is automatically filled with report values by SmartNotes. The report values correspond to the positions [accounts] of the consolidation system imported into SmartNotes or are put together by arithmetic operations of several positions. Manual changes to the individual report values should only be made in the rounding form.

• In the "semi-automatic" mode, the Excel spreadsheet is programmed so that at least one report value is entered manually in the rounding form or in the Excel spreadsheet. If possible, the manually maintained report values should be entered and edited in the rounding form. In addition, SmartNotes automatically fills the report values with items from the database.

• In manual mode, the Excel table is programmed in such a way that all report values of the Excel document must be maintained manually in the rounding form or in the Excel table. There is no automatic filling of report values via positions.

• If no programming is stored in an Excel table, nothing is entered in the "Fill type" column for this chapter. These tables are processed exclusively in Excel itself and are not managed by SmartNotes. This means that they cannot be edited via the rounding assistant and that no history is maintained for the existing values.

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Status

The "Status" column provides information about the current processing status of the respective chapter of a document with the status display it contains. This consists of the status symbol color, the status number and the time stamp [date and time] of the last change. The use of status levels is linked to the SmartNotes authorization concept and represents the workflow within report generation. For further information see "Status"management".

Here you can see an example configuration for the status display to show its possibilities. In principle, the displayed workflow with its various status levels is customer-specific and can be set up as complex as required.

• Status level 1 is displayed with the color red and the name "Changed by import". This means that at least one value of the corresponding table[s] has changed due to a data import. This level ["Import Status"] can be set automatically by SmartNotes when a value is changed by a data import.

• Status level 2 with the color yellow and the designation "In process" indicates that the Office documents of the chapter are currently still in process. This status level is assigned manually if an Office document of a chapter is still being edited or automatically set by SmartNotes after manual changes to report data have been made in a chapter with status level 1.

• Status level 3 with the color grey and the designation "QS Accounting" indicates that the Office documents of the chapter have been completely processed by the user responsible for creating the chapter and released for quality assurance by Accounting or that quality assurance is currently being carried out by Accounting.

• Status level 4 with the color black and the designation "QS Revision" is set when quality assurance has been completed by Accounting and the chapter is ready for final inspection [in this case in the Audit department] or is currently being carried out.

• Status level 5 with the color green and the designation "Chapter closed" means that the respective chapter has been completed and checked. If all chapters of a document have status level 5, the final version of a document is ready.

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Changing the status level

The status level of a chapter can be changed manually in the cockpit by an authorized user. A right click on the corresponding chapter opens the context menu. The status level can then be adjusted under the menu item "Change status"

Changing the individual status levels is linked to the SmartNotes authorization concept and the selection of the available status levels depends on the role of the logged in user. All status levels not selectable by the user are displayed in grey.Users who, for example, do not have authorization for the quality assurance of chapters cannot set these to a corresponding status level [in the example above, these would be status levels 4 and 5].

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Last data change

The column "last data modification" indicates the time [date and time] of the last data modification in the stored Excel table. The time stamp changes each time the Excel file is saved [Check In], when changes are saved in the rounding form and when a new data import is performed.

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Validation

Validations are used to detect possible deviations from the same values within a document at a glance. For example, the value of an item number from the SmartNotes database can be validated with the sum of the report values that make up the item number. Validations can be created both for values within a single Excel spreadsheet and between two different Excel spreadsheets. See "Validations" for more information.

The column "Validation" shows the number of created validations for each individual snippet [back number; e.g. 0/1] and how many of these validations will merge [front number; e.g. 0/1].

If all validations of a chapter open, this is indicated by a green tick in the validation column. If at least one validation does not open, a red exclamation mark is displayed instead of the green check mark. The report values [figures] of the affected Excel document [table] must then be checked and corrected manually if necessary.

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Excel, Word and PowerPoint 

The Office documents [Excel, Word or PowerPoint files] stored in SmartNotes for the individual chapters of a document are characterized in the cockpit by different symbols and the time of the last change and displayed in the respective columns [Excel, Word and PowerPoint].

An overview of the individual symbols can be found in the following table:

Description		Icon		Meaning
Excel 2007 Symbol				Excel document is stored in xlsx format.
Excel 2003 Symbol				Excel document is stored in xls format.
Small Excel Symbol on a white sheet of paper.				Excel document is stored, but is not managed by SmartNotes.
Word 2007 Symbol				Word document is stored in docx format.
Word 2003 Symbol				Word document is stored in doc format.
Purple Word Symbol				Word document is referenced.
Brown Word Symbol				Word document is stored in a different language.
PowerPoint 2007 Symbol				PowerPoint document is stored in pptx Format.
PowerPoint 2003 Symbol				PowerPoint document is stored in ppt format.
Red Office Symbol				Error in the stored document. The icon depends on the file type affected.
Padlock				Document is currently being edited by another user and is locked for write access.
Gray Office Symbol				No Office document is stored for the respective chapter. The icon depends on the file type concerned.The icon depends on the file type concerned.
Gray Office Symbol with question mark				Missing authorization to read or edit the Office document. The icon depends on the file type concerned.

If no Excel, Word or PowerPoint document is stored for a chapter, the respective symbol is grayed out.

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Last agent

In the "Last editor" column, the name and login name of the user who last saved [checked in] one of the associated Office documents are displayed.

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Last comment

The "Last comment" column displays the last comment stored by a user or changes to the status of a chapter.

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Attachments

SmartNotes offers the possibility to add any number of attachments to individual chapters. All file types as well as links can be stored as attachments. A size limit of up to 10 MB per file can be set in the system settings, the default value is 3MB. To store an attachment, first select the desired chapter with a left click and then open the context menu with a right click. The subitem "Show attachments" opens the wizard for attachment management. Alternatively, you can also double-click in the "Attachments" column of the desired chapter.

This opens the wizard for managing and inserting attachments. In the "Attachments" assistant area, all attachments are listed with the detailed information name and creation time. The columns can be sorted in ascending order by left-clicking on the respective column header based on the column contents. Another mouse click sorts the rows in descending order. The column to sort by and the type of sorting are indicated by a triangle at the right edge or in the middle of the respective column header.

It is generally not possible to edit attachments that have already been created. If, for example, the name of an attachment is to be changed, the attachment in question must first be deleted and then newly created. When the administration of the attachments is finished, the assistant can be left with the button "Close".

Only when the changes have been saved will all the changes made be finally accepted and confirmed by a green message to the left of the "Save" button.

To discard changes before saving, simply close the attachment management wizard and answer the security prompt with "No".

Create new attachment

The button "Create new entry" is used to create a new attachment.

In the lower assistant area "Attachment information" you can then enter a name for the attachment to be created and define a file or a link that will be stored as an attachment. If no name is assigned, SmartNotes will automatically use the name of the file or link. There are no restrictions with regard to special characters or minimum length when assigning the name. If only one name is assigned and no file or link is included, an error message appears.

Attach file

To store a [local] file for the selected chapter, the button "Load file" is used.

An Explorer window opens to select a [local] file. There are no restrictions with regard to file types, so that any file can be included as an attachment.
Once all the settings for the new attachment have been made, it can be temporarily saved using the "Add to list" button. The new attachment is then displayed in the "Attachments" overview and further functions of the wizard can be used.

The "Send" button is used to confirm the entered link or the selected file. Once all settings for the new attachment have been made, it can be temporarily saved using the "Add to list" button. The new attachment is then displayed in the "Attachments" overview and further functions of the assistant can be used.

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Delete attachment

To delete an existing attachment, it can be selected in the overview and deleted with the "Delete selected entry" button.

The deletion process must be confirmed again in the confirmation prompt that then appears.

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Tags

Must still be created!

Search Cockpit Columns

All information presented in the cockpit can be searched for user-defined terms using the search function. The search can be performed across the entire cockpit or restricted to individual columns.

The search function can be found under the menu item "Tools" and can be called up with the sub-item "Search chapter list". Alternatively, the key combination "CTRL" + "F" can also be used in the cockpit.

The desired search term can be entered in the central field. SmartNotes stores the last search terms of the user, so that the term does not have to be entered again manually for the same search. The search field can be used as a dropdown menu, which lists all previous search terms by clicking on the down arrow on the right side.

Checkbox "Search All"

The checkbox "Browse all" allows you to limit the range of the search to columns that can be selected by the user. As soon as the checkbox is deactivated, the assistant expands by a selection list of all cockpit columns.

Checkbox "Case sensitive"

The checkbox "Case sensitive" specifies the search by only displaying hits whose spelling matches the search criteria.

Start search

Three different modes are available to start the search, which are presented below:

Filter list" button

With the help of the "Filter list" button, the search result is displayed as a filtered cockpit view. Only those lines of the cockpit which correspond to the search criterion appear. To make it clear that this is a separate view, the cockpit is highlighted in yellow.

Button "Continue search".

When using the button "Find more" SmartNotes will always highlight a single line in the cockpit with a blue background that contains an entry according to the search criteria. With another click on the button SmartNotes jumps to the next result place.

Button "Search All"

When using the button "Search all" SmartNotes will highlight all lines in the cockpit with a blue background which contain an entry according to the search criteria.

Note: The different search modes can be combined. For example, it is possible to first use the "Filter list" and then refine the result within the result with the "Continue" or "Search all" functions.

Show/Hide Cockpit Columns

The column list of the cockpit can be adapted to the individual needs of a user by showing or hiding individual columns. It is therefore a user-specific setting that allows each user to design his or her own SmartNotes Cockpit according to his or her own requirements.

To change the displayed columns, right-click on the name of a column in the column header to open the context menu. A list of all columns available for the cockpit appears. Displayed columns are marked with a blue check mark, hidden columns are displayed without a check mark.

The display status of individual columns can be changed by left-clicking. Previously hidden columns are displayed and previously displayed columns are hidden. The cockpit display is updated automatically.

Changing the Sequence of Cockpit Columns

The order of the cockpit columns can be adapted by Drag & Drop to the individual needs of a user and thus any column order can be created. A mouse click "holds" the column header of the column to be moved and while the left mouse button remains pressed, the column can be moved to the left or right. When the mouse pointer has reached the point where the column can be inserted, a vertical blue bar appears between the two existing columns.

When the left mouse button is released, the selected column is moved to this position.

Sort rows within the cockpit

The rows of the cockpit can be sorted in ascending order by left-clicking on a column header based on the column contents. Another mouse click sorts the rows in descending order.

The column to be sorted by and the type of sorting are indicated by a triangle on the right-hand edge of the column header.

Highlighting Rows in the Cockpit

Categorizing Rows in the Cockpit - Using Tags

Choosing a Structure Variant

If more than one structure variant is stored for a SmartNotes document, a dropdown menu with the description "Structure variant" is displayed in the upper right area of the cockpit. This menu can be used to switch between the different structure variants. If only one structure variant [<default>] exists for a document, the selection menu is automatically hidden.

To switch to another structure variant, the dropdown menu is called by a left click. All structure variants created for a document are listed there. The desired structure variant can be selected by a further left click. The default standard structure variant is displayed at the top of the dropdown menu as <default>.

The definition of a new structure variant is done with the help of the "Structure Administration". This can be called up via the menu item "Tools" and the sub-item "Structure management". A detailed description of structure variants can be found in the chapter "Structure Management".

Selecting the document language

If more than one language is stored for a SmartNotes document, a dropdown menu with the description "Document language" is displayed in the upper right area of the cockpit. This menu can be used to switch between the different document languages. If a document is written in only one language, the selection menu is automatically hidden.
To change the language, a left click opens the drop-down menu. All languages created for a document are listed there. The desired language can be selected by a further left click.

A new language is defined in the document settings. A detailed description can be found in chapter "Create document languages".

If Word files are stored in several languages for a chapter, all language variants can be opened directly from the default cockpit.

Specifications in the cockpit footer

In the footer of the cockpit, current information about the document called up is displayed. An overview of the information is shown in the figure below.

In the first cell the symbol for calling up the SmartNotes output [Log] is displayed. This is only available if errors have occurred that have been logged. More detailed information about the logged errors can be obtained from the log. The output can be opened by left-clicking on the icon.

In the second cell, the name of the currently logged in user and his login name are displayed.

In the third cell, the time of the last data import is displayed in the format "DD.MM.YYYY" and "mm:hh:ss".

The validation percentage is displayed in the fourth cell. This indicates the current percentage of the created validations.

The fifth cell displays the version of Microsoft Office that is currently in use.

The sixth to ninth cells show the number of chapters in the business report and the number of Excel, Word, and PowerPoint documents stored.

At the right edge of the footer you will find the information whether there is currently a connection between the SmartNotes client and the associated server and whether it is encrypted. If you place the mouse pointer on the [Mouseover] symbol, an information window appears with further information on the current connection. A double click on the symbol opens the SmartNotes output [Log], which contains detailed information on server status, server configuration, caching and the current session.

This chapter describes the different settings and functionalities of SmartNotes. This includes the various customizing settings that can be made within SmartNotes as well as the various administration and evaluation options.

• Settings
• Access Management
• Authorization Administration
• SmartNotes Master Data
• Information – About SmartNotes
  

The settings in SmartNotes are divided into these areas:

• General Settings
• User settings
• Document settings 
• Document Languages
• Advanced Layout Settings
• Word Document Settings
• Excel Settings
• PowerPoint Settings
  

For individual customization and use, you can use the SmartNotes "Settings" to make a specific system customizing.

The wizard for the settings can be found under the menu item "Document" and can be called up with the sub-item "Settings". 

Alternatively, a direct call is possible via the "Settings" button in the toolbar.

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• After the desired adjustments have been made, they can be accepted by clicking the "Save" button. To confirm the saving process, a green background appears to the left of the "Save" button.  The "Save" button applies to all configuration options within the settings. I.e. also changes in submenus or assistants, which can be found in the SmartNotes settings and do not have a separate "Save" button, are saved in this way. Submenus or assistants can therefore be left without any changes being lost immediately.
• To discard changes that have not yet been saved, simply exit the settings with the "Close" button and answer the security prompt that then appears with "No".
• The wizard can be exited via the "Close" button.

Please note that some settings such as Word and PowerPoint settings depend on the document language. This means that any adjustments will only be applied to the currently used document language. Consequently, changes must be checked separately for each document language created and, if necessary, made again.

General Settings

Within the "General Settings", further system settings and settings for the use of passwords can be made.

System Settings

Within the "System settings (1)" area, settings for user identification and system settings can be made.

User Identification

The dropdown menu can be used to select various information about the user information. The user information is listed wherever a user name assigned in SmartNotes is displayed, e.g. in the history of a chapter.

Open System Preferences

Click on the "Open System Settings (2)" button to open the "Settings View" in a separate window. The system settings are displayed here in a summarized form.

Attention: Manual changes to these settings should only be made by experts or experienced users.

Reset Caches

With the button "Reset Caches (3)" caches stored on the server can be reset, i.e. emptied.

Attention: There is no separate safety inquiry! After using the button, the command is executed and a success message appears.

Delete result documents

If a document is deleted, it remains in the database after the deletion process. Click the "Delete result document (4)" button to finally remove documents marked as deleted from the database with all associated data.

Clean database

Similar to the deletion of documents, data records are also retained in the database after the deletion process. Deleted data records are finally deleted from the database via the "Clean database (5)" button and result in free storage space. The physical size of the database does not change.

Default password

In the "Default password" section, you can specify the password to be used . In addition to the total length of the password ["Minimum number of characters"], a minimum number of specific characters can be specified. This includes capital letters, special characters, letters and numbers. In addition, it is possible to determine the time rhythm of the password change ["Password expires after number of days"] and the maximum number of unsuccessful attempts to enter the password ["Max. number of connection attempts"].

Configurations can be made in the following areas within the "User settings":

• (1) Cockpit view

• (2) Factory settings (** only if factory module is enabled) 

• (3) MS Office Settings

• (4) Temp folder settings

• (5) SmartNotes Plugin Directory

• (6) XBRL Settings

Cockpit view 

The cockpit settings are divided into the following assistance areas:

1. Cockpit View Settings
2. Cockpit Highlight Settings
3. Data view colours

Assistance Area „Cockpit View Settings“ 

Checkbox "Display cockpit lines as flat list [classic view]".

The checkbox "Display cockpit lines as a flat list [classic view] (4)" allows the individual chapters of the document to be displayed in lines without having to open or close the option "Superordinate structure levels [upper chapters]".

Checkbox „Hide Chapter Numbering“

The checkbox "Hide chapter numbering (5)" allows the individual chapters of the document to be displayed in the lines without chapter numbers.

Checkbox „Chapter Display Authorization Hierarchy“

The checkbox "Show Chapter Authorization Hierarchy (6)" allows you to display the authorizations in selected chapters, in hierarchical form, bold or their subchapters in italics.

Checkbox „Status name instead of date“

The checkbox "Status name instead of date (7)" means that the cockpit column "Status" no longer displays the date but the name of the currently assigned status.

Default font

With the dropdown menu "Default Interface Font (8)" the fonts "Microsoft San Serif", "Segoe UI" or "Tahoma" can be set as default for the whole SmartNotes User Interface.

Checkbox "Show Word section break in word column".

The checkbox "Show Word section break in the word column" allows you to display section breaks in the word column of the cockpit. Next to the Word symbol, a further icon is displayed, which indicates the type of break type.

Note: If this checkbox is activated, then the two following checkboxes are enabled for more detailed determination of the highlighting.

Checkbox „Highlight Section break "Next page"

The checkbox "Highlight section change "Next page"" makes it possible to mark a section change to the next page graphically in addition to the icon. If this checkbox is activated, the color for highlighting can be determined by left-clicking in the adjacent color box.

Checkbox „Highlight "Continuous" section break“

The checkbox "Highlight section change "Continuous"" makes it possible to mark a continuous section change graphically in addition to the icon. If this checkbox is activated, the color for highlighting can be determined by left-clicking in the adjacent color box.

Chapter Highlight Color

To highlight chapters in the cockpit, they can be marked with three different colors. The colors can be defined individually in the "Cockpit Highlight Settings" area. With a left click in one of the color boxes either a predefined basic color or a user-defined color can be selected.

Assistance area "Data view colours"

 „Data view colours“ 

In the assistant area "Rounding View Colors" you can define the respective standard colors for the Manual Value, Automatic Value, Overridden Automatic Value, Overrounded Value and Changed Exact Value in the rounding form. This is done by left-clicking in the color box.

Factory Settings

The factory settings refer to the MS Office files. Selecting the option "Do not automatically pass master check ins to sub-documents" (1) prevents the system from asking whether the changes should be passed on to the sub-document when checking in a file in the master document.

The selection of the option "Autom. transfer d. Disable import mapping positions to sub-documents" (2) prevents virtual positions from the master from being inherited by the sub-document.

MS Office settings

The checkbox... 

...  "Word: Send external files to new instance" causes external Word files not to be opened within the SmartNotes runtime environment but in a separate Word instance.

... "Word: Disable Addin and Load Normal.dot" prevents add-ins from being active within Word and prevents the default template Normal.dot from being loaded.

... "Excel: Send External Files to New Instance" causes external Excel files not to be opened within the SmartNotes runtime environment but in a separate Excel instance.

... "Excel: Disable Load Add-in" starts Excel in Safe Mode and prevents third-party add-ins from being loaded.

... "Excel: Check UsedRange at CheckIn" allows SmartNotes to check the UsedRange of an Excel file. In case of problems, a corresponding message is displayed and the possibility of automatic correction by SmartNotes is offered.

... "Allow End of Program with Office Files Open" allows you to set the reaction to Office documents that are still open when exiting SmartNotes. If the checkbox is activated, SmartNotes asks if it should still be closed when Office documents are open. If the checkbox is not activated, an indication is given that Office documents are still open. These have to be closed before SmartNotes can be closed.

... "Allow compatibility mode for Word 2007 files" allows to open Word files in compatibility mode. This means that word snippets from older versions of SmartNotes do not have to be checked in individually when updating to the new version.

... "Prevent initial loading of applications" prevents Word, PowerPoint and Excel from being loaded automatically after a document has been selected.

... "Disable SmartNotes Office Ribbons" switches off the ribbons and provides the add-ins instead. 

... "Number Font Sizes in the Rounding Wizard" offers a selection of font sizes for display in the Rounding Wizard.

Temp folder settings

It may make sense to select the path of the temp folder yourself, for example if the user has no access rights to the drive on which the default temp folder is stored.

Snippets, files and backup copies are stored in the Temp folder, should one of the Office programs or SmartNotes no longer react and require a restart of the program.

Under Document<Settings<User Settings you can select the path yourself by clicking the button "Select Temp Folder Path". The temp folder path can be reset by selecting "Reset temp folder path". In the future, the data will be saved again in the default folder. Under "Open Temp Folder in Explorer" the Temp folder can be opened in Explorer.

SmartNotes Plug-In Directory

The functions in this assistant area are valid for all created document languages.

Button "Select Plug-In Directory"

In the assistant area "SmartNotes Plug-In Directory" the file path to the plug-in directory of SmartNotes is displayed. This can be changed by left-clicking on the button "Select Plug-In Directory", if the plug-ins for SmartNotes [e.g. the SEC Plug-In] are not stored in the default installation directory.

Note on the SEC Plug-In:  In order to generate a SEC compliant, HTML based preview, the "SEC Edgar Previewer" must be stored in SmartNotes.            
This can be downloaded at the URL http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/xbrl/renderingenginelicense.htm ["Personal Renderer with selfextracting installer"]. The contained, packed file will be unpacked and completely inserted into the SmartNotes installation folder, subfolder Plug-Ins via Copy & Paste.
If desired, the "SEC Previewer Personal Renderer" can be configured via the "SmartNotes.config" file. All you have to do is copy the desired documented parameters from the renderer documentation. However, these settings should be made by IT system administrators.         
Further steps [e.g. an installation] are not necessary, a corresponding result document can be generated directly.

Button "Register Office Ribbons"

The button "Register Office Ribbons" is usually grayed out, because the ribbons for the different Office applications are already registered with the delivery. If this is not the case, you can register using this button.

Button "Manage Office Add-ins"

With the button "Manage Office Add-ins" SmartNotes compatible Office Add-ins can be managed.

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XBRL Settings

Note: These settings are global settings for all AMANA products, i.e. if this configuration has already been made in the SmartTaxBalance installation on the same client, for example, it is not necessary to make adjustments in SmartNotes.

Checkbox "Show enumeration elements in evaluation".

The checkbox "Show enumeration elements in evaluation" displays the corresponding label [textual description] instead of the technical XBRL name when exporting enumeration elements to Excel.

Checkbox "Show edit dialog for text values".

The checkbox "Show edit dialog for text values" automatically opens an edit dialog when clicking on a cell with text values, which has additional space for editing the text.

Button "XBRL File Cace and Proxy Settings".

The button "XBRL File Cache and Proxy Settings" opens the wizard "XBRL Settings". During the import of XBRL taxonomies via the XBRL Taxonomy Administration, it can happen that the imported taxonomies contain references that require a download of further data. For this purpose, SmartNotes offers several setting options, which are described below:

Internet access is required to download the "remote" XBRL files. A proxy server can also be used for this purpose [see below].

XBRL File Cache Settings

The XBRL cache stores linked and referenced "remote" XBRL files between XBRL taxonomies. These are usually the official XBRL instance schema files such as http://www.xbrl.org/2003/xbrl-instance-2003-12-31.xsd.

The location of the storage can be determined using the "Select folder" button.

Checkbox "Cache downloads

The "Cache Downloads" checkbox determines whether a local XBRL cache is used. This makes it possible to reload already loaded XBRL taxonomies without requiring an Internet connection.

If no Internet connection is available, SmartNotes automatically detects this and asks if the "offline mode" should be activated.

Re-Download and Override Cache Files" checkbox

If possible, downloads files already in the cache from the Internet again.

Checkbox "Force offline cache usage".

The "Force offline cache usage" checkbox specifies that SmartNotes will only use the XBRL downloads stored locally in the cache. This is useful, for example, if a client will not have Internet access for a long time, or to shorten loading times in the short term.

Attention: New XBRL taxonomies that have not yet been cached cannot be loaded.

Button "Open Client Cache Folder".

The button "Open Client Cache Folder" calls the assigned cache folder with the cached XBRL files with the Windows Explorer.

Proxy Settings

Under the menu item "Proxy settings" you can define whether a proxy is used as communication interface and which proxy settings are to be used for this case. The radio button "Use System Proxy [Internet Explorer]" can be used to use the proxy settings of the browser or the radio button "Use your own proxy" can be used to store a separate proxy. If the details are not known, the responsible administrators should be consulted.

The setting "Use System Proxy [Internet Explorer]" is recommended.

Test Connection can be used to check whether the specified proxy settings are correct.

In the document settings, you can set up a comment requirement for status changes and chapter deletions. In addition, the hiding settings in Excel can be set for all chapters of the SmartNotes chapter at the same time.

In the document settings, two types of comment duties can be set.

Checkbox "Status change requires user comment".

The "Status change requires user comment" checkbox prompts the user to comment on each status change. The comment is displayed in the comment column of the cockpit as well as in the chapter history.

Checkbox "Delete Chapter Requires User Comment".

The checkbox "Delete chapter requires user comment" requests a comment for each chapter deletion. This is displayed in the "Chapter History".

Hide Settings

The setting for rule-based row hiding in Excel files can be adjusted for the entire SmartNotes document via the drop-down field "Hide all ReportData".

Even if a global hide setting has been set, the hide setting for each Excel document can be adjusted individually via the rounding wizard.

The following values are available for selection:

• No value [empty field]: The row does not have a view option.
• r: The line is automatically hidden if all user values contained in it [values overwritten by the user] OR the commercially rounded values correspond to 0.
• a: The line is automatically hidden if all exact [before rounding] values contained in it are equal to 0 or automatically displayed if the values are greater than or less than 0.
• A: The line is always hidden.
• E: The line is always displayed.

The meaning of the individual configuration options is explained in chapter "The Data View" under "Showing and hiding rows in Excel [automatically]".

Import Mapping Positions

The function "Import Mapping Positions" is responsible for generating virtual positions. Virtual positions are programming variables that can be assigned to centrally manage programming that is used more frequently. This is useful, for example, if several tables with the same structure are used. For this purpose, an Excel table must first be created in which the name of the virtual position, a description of the virtual position and the actual programming are stored.

Click on the "Import Mapping Positions" button to open a window. The file can be imported by a further click on the selection field. The columns of the Excel file must then be assigned using the SmartNotes drop-down menu. To do this, first specify the worksheet under which the table is located, the name column, the description column and the programming column.

A virtual position is then assigned in the corresponding Excel files by double-clicking in the value column. This opens a window where the virtual positions are highlighted in green and can be selected.

In addition, an additional column can be inserted to display the actual programming.

To do this, right-click on the column to open the SmartNotes selection menu and select the "resolvedMapping" column.

It may be necessary to update the database using the SmartNotes tab.

If the programming is to be changed, the stored Excel file must be adapted and re-imported. If the virtual position has the same name, SmartNotes recognizes the modification and changes it in every Excel table in which the virtual position was used.

Document Languages

In the document settings, different languages can be created for the documents managed by SmartNotes.

All languages already created for a document and their abbreviations are displayed in the language overview. After selection, the respective details for the language are displayed in the lower assistant area under Language Details.

You can exit the wizard by clicking the "Close" button.

Create a new language - the name for the language must be specified in the language details.

Edit an existing entry  

Note: The abbreviation for the new language is inserted automatically when saving and depends on the selected formatting [Example: Formatting = "Spanish [Spain]"; Abbreviation = "it"] and cannot be adapted later. In addition, once a language has been created, it cannot be deleted again.

The dropdown menu "Format [Culture]" can be used to select culture-specific formatting. This applies, for example, to decimal and thousand separators. If the mouse pointer is placed on the adjacent question mark symbol [Mouseover], a preview or explanation of the selected formatting appears.

The "Edit selected entry" button can be used to change the name and formatting of an existing language, but not the corresponding abbreviation.

Checkbox "Overwrite culture defaults".

The checkbox "Overwrite culture defaults" allows you to adapt the defaults to the selected language. Both the group separator and the decimal separator can be freely defined. This can be particularly useful if a different number format is to be used despite the correct language. The adjustments are also displayed as a preview when you mouse over the question mark symbol.

Changes must be saved before leaving the document settings via the "Save" button. If this is not done, a corresponding message appears when exiting the wizard. If changes made are to be discarded, this dialog can be answered with "No". The successful saving is confirmed by a green background to the left of the "Save" button.

If more than one language is stored for a SmartNotes document, the dropdown menu "Document language" is displayed in the upper right area of the cockpit. This menu can be used to switch between the different document languages. If a document is written in only one language, the selection menu is automatically hidden.

To adjust a Word file layout, SmartNotes offers custom [and client-specific] configuration possibilities. The assistant for these settings can be found in the “Document” menu under “Settings”. Alternatively, the assistant can be called up directly by clicking the “Settings” button in the toolbar. The customising options can be found in the “Advanced Layout Settings” tab.

Add Custom Layout Action DLL

To incorporate the custom layout action library [the so-called “layout robot”], use the “Add Custom Layout Action DLL” button [1]. This will open an Explorer window in which the required file can be selected. Only files of the “*.dll” type can be chosen. The selected file incorporated by clicking the “Open” button. The operation can be cancelled at any time by clicking the “Cancel” button or by closing the window.

Language -Invariant Settings

“Fit table automatically to page width” checkbox

This checkbox allows the size of the tables in Word to be matched to the page width [2]. This function is provided for the integration of tables as metafiles [image] and should not be used in combination with the “autofit” column.

“Apply layout macros on each table insertion” checkbox

This checkbox allows the automatic application of the available Layout Actions when inserting a table in Word [3].

“Mark tables without layout optimisation” checkbox

If this checkbox is activated, a comment is shown when the table from Excel is inserted anew, and there is no Layout Actions available [4].

“Automatically correct first column indents” checkbox

This checkbox allows the automatic correction of the first column indents set in Excel, so that the same first column indent is always used within a row [5].

“Clear table paddings” checkbox

When this checkbox is activated, the table paddings within each cell of a table in Word are set to zero [6].

“Clear space before and after paragraphs in tables” checkbox

This checkbox allows paragraph spaces before and after a table in Word to be set to zero [7].

“Set row heights in tables to zero” checkbox

This checkbox allows row heights in tables in Word to be set to zero [8].

General Word File Settings

TIP: Settings for Word are applied document-wide, i.e. they are valid for the current SmartNotes document only. If the user switches to another SmartNotes document, the settings must be applied separately for this document.

The assistant for the document settings can be found in the “Document” menu under “Settings”. Alternatively, the assistant can be called up using the “Settings” button in the toolbar. Word document settings can be found in the “Word Settings” tab.

The corresponding Word settings are shown under „Language-Dependent Settings“ [1]. Various settings in this group are described in detail in the following.

Language-Dependent Settings

To the right of the heading “Language-Dependent Settings” is shown the current language specification in brackets [e.g. “[English]”]. This is the language version currently used in the SmartNotes Cockpit and is assigned correspondingly to the document language currently in use. The language-dependent settings are applied individually for each document language. If the user wants to apply changes to another language, the current document language must first be changed.

Word Layout Master

The settings for the Word format are language-dependent. A format template must be defined for each language. If no style template has been stored yet, only the button "Add Word Layout Master" is available. The "Delete Word Layout Master (2)" and "Edit Word Layout Master (3)" buttons are available if a style sheet has already been saved.

“Word Check In requires user comment” checkbox

The “Word Check In requires user comment (4)” checkbox ensures that a comment is provided when the Word file is checked in.

Checkbox “Allow comments to write-protected Word files”

When closing read-only Office files, an optional comment can now be entered. When the “Allow comments to write-protected Word files (5)” checkbox is activated, the comment window pops up when closing the write-protected Word snippet. After clicking on the “Yes” button, a Check In window is opened and the comment can be entered into the input field.

This comment the same as the Check In comment is shown in History.

Checkbox “Word delete requires user comment”

When deleting a Word file the user must leave a comment.

 “Excel table format” dropdown menu

Excel tables linked to Word files can be inserted into the Word file as “RTF Table”, “Metafile [as image]”, “Bitmap”, “HTML table”, or “Excel table [OLE-object]” [7].

Bitmaps and metafiles [as images] represent the Output Area [table] as an image. An advantage is that the formatting of the cells is copied 1:1 via the image to the result document. The disadvantage is that the images can no longer be changed, and therefore cannot be compared. In addition, the print image of the tables is of low quality. Changes in two tables have to be analysed manually.

An advantage of the Excel table format HTML is that the tables can be edited and automatically compared with each other even after they have been inserted. Thus, the changes are easier to identify. Furthermore, the print image is of a very high quality using this setting.

“Copy styles to all chapters” checkbox

This checkbox allows the user to roll out the defined format templates to all Word files, i.e. in all chapters, and thus apply them document-wide [8].

“Enable SmartNotes controlled headers” checkbox

This checkbox ensures that the headers and footers are inherited across a section break [i.e. forwarded] to the next snippet when this defines no own header or footer [9].

Text Value Settings

By clicking the “Text Value Settings” button, the “Word Text Value Settings” assistant is opened [10]. Here, it is possible to define language-specific prefixes and postfixes for the percentage values, currency, currency in thousands, currency in millions, and currency in billions, used in the text. These values are then automatically extended with the corresponding prefix or postfix in the text.

All existing texts are updated automatically when text values settings are changed.

Prefered Table Refresh Behavior

The radio button "Insert table on each Check Out (12)" allows Excel tables linked to Word files to be inserted again at every checkout. The new insertion is also carried out if no changes are made to the inserted table.

The radio button "Insert table on data change (13)" allows Excel tables linked to Word files to be inserted during a checkout only if the last time the Excel file was changed is later than the last time the Word file was changed. The table remains untouched in Word until the source file changes again.

The Excel document settings can be found under the "Excel Settings" tab.

The corresponding Excel settings are divided into two areas, the "Language-independent settings(1)" and the "Language-dependent settings(2)". The individual setting options of the two subject areas are explained in more detail in the following chapters.

Distinguish exact from rounded zeroes

The checkbox "Distinguish exact from rounded zero values" allows to distinguish a "false zero", i.e. a number that is rounded zero, from a "true zero" (0). To do this, a tiny value (10^-6) is added to a "false zero" and real zeros remain zero. Thus, for example, a "#.##0;-#.##0;-" formatting will display a "0" for the false zeros and a dash "-" for the real zeros.

Language-independent settings

Language-independent settings are not language-specific, but are made independently of the current document language and applied to all languages of a SmartNotes document.

Add Excel format template / Edit Excel format template

With the language-independent settings, an Excel format template can be stored for the Excel files used in the SmartNotes document via the "Add Excel format template" button (3). Using the button "Edit Excel style sheet", a stored Excel style sheet can be edited directly (4).

Checkbox "Force Excel CheckIn comment

The checkbox "Force Excel CheckIn Comment" ensures that a comment must be entered when checking in an Excel file (5).

Checkbox "Allow comments for write-protected Excel files".

By activating the checkbox "Allow comments for write-protected Excel files", Office documents can be commented on despite a read permission (6). When closing a write-protected document, a window similar to the CheckIn window appears in which the user has the possibility to write a comment. This is displayed in the chapter History.

Checkbox "Delete Excel requires user comment".

The "Delete Excel" checkbox requires user comments that a comment must be entered when deleting an Excel file (7).

Output format

The "output format" of the Excel tables of a document can be defined centrally [e.g. to million (8). Deviations from the central output format can be set when checking in an Excel file. Excel files that were formatted before the central number format was set retain their original format.

Number formatting

The "Number Formatting" is used to define the default formatting for values in Excel spreadsheets and the number of decimal places SmartNotes uses to calculate (9). A left click in the input field opens the wizard for number formatting, which also offers a preview function. The format of the entry corresponds to the manual format adjustment in Excel:

• #,0 Number with thousands separator and without decimal place
• #,0.# number with thousands separator and one decimal place
• #,0.## Number with thousands separator and two decimal places

The user-defined output and number formats can be flexibly reset for the desired chapters at any time. To do this, the chapter is selected in the cockpit in which the output and number formats are to be reset and the context menu is called with a right click in the selected chapter. This does not reset the output and number format of the Excel file, but only individually defined output and number formats on report data level, if these differ from the formatting of the Excel file.

In addition to the possibility of resetting the output and number formats at the chapter level, it is also possible to reset the whole at the document level for the entire document. The wizard for resetting output and number formats can be found under the menu item ,, Document'' and can be accessed with the sub item ,,Settings''. The global settings for Excel can be found under the "Excel settings" tab. The "Reset Output and Number Format for Report Data" button can then be used to reset all output and number formats for the document.

The settings for Excel are applied document wide, i.e. they only apply to the current SmartNotes document. If changes are desired in another SmartNotes document, these settings must be adjusted again in the next document.

% rounding subject to annotation

A value can be determined from which a rounding percentage must be commented on.

Abs rounding requiring comments

A value can be determined from which an absolute rounding must be commented.
In the current SmartNotes version, non-integer values are also allowed for the mandatory commenting of absolute rounding.

Checkbox "Apply layout areas at checkout".

The checkbox "Apply layout areas to checkout" ensures that the layout areas [Layout Actions] defined in the style sheet are automatically applied to the Excel documents in which they are to be used at each checkout. It should be noted that the use of Layout Actions can be performance-intensive each time Excel files are checked out.

Checkbox "Distinguish exact from rounded zero values".

The checkbox "Distinguish exact from rounded zero values" ensures that zero values are not displayed as "0" but with their exact value in Excel when activated.

Checkbox "Allow extended Excel programming".

The checkbox "Allow extended Excel programming" provides the following functions in the programming column [the list is made with the help of example accounts]:

• Debit(4711;4712): The values of accounts 4711+4712 are included in the total if they are positive.
• Have(4711): The value column only contains a value if it is negative.

Checkbox "Automatically apply Excel formats with LAR".

With the checkbox "Apply Excel formats automatically with LAR" the layout action can be linked to a certain cell format template. A layout action can be inserted in Excel via the SmartNotes tab.

To create the link, the style sheet and layout action must have the same name.

Five different layout action names are given by SmartNotes: For the sum, the layout action name is "total"; "subtotal" stands for the subtotal; "header" denotes the header; "footer" describes a footer and "highlight" denotes the highlight.

The style sheets must be named according to these names so that they can be applied automatically. The style for Sum must therefore be "total". The style can be defined via the "Start" tab, where the Cell Style field is located and a new style can be inserted.

Input field "Number formats for percentage column".

With the input field "Number formats for percentage column" the format for the percentage column can be defined. Click on the input field to open the window "Percentage column settings". Here you can define how many integers [numbers before the decimal point], decimal places [numbers after the decimal point] and truncated zeros [zeros after the decimal point] are to be displayed. In addition, thousands separators and the percent symbol can be added.

Setting for the calculation of percentages

In the "Setting for the calculation of the percentage values" you can set whether the percentage values are to be calculated on the basis of the rounded or the exact values. You can also specify which text should be displayed for values greater than or less than a certain threshold value or for a division by Zero. [Define exact column]

The exact column is an optional column. It represents the exact value of the desired imported value. It can be set flexibly after selecting the desired column via the SmartNotes Ribbon.

In terms of content, it reflects the exact value of the corresponding data record. In the given example, the exact value of Value 1 for the current period.

To make the Exact column visible in the rounding wizard as well, the detail information must first be displayed. The exact column then appears right in the rounding wizard. Both the exact imported values and the exact totals are displayed. Since these values are imported values from the previous systems, manual adjustments and changes in this column are not possible.

After loading data of the same positions from the previous system again, the change of the values compared to the first import can be viewed in the column "Old value" in the rounding assistant. The file information for the Exact column can be hidden flexibly in the rounding form via the button ,, Show/hide details".
Further SmartNotes columns are executed, how a column for the percentage deviation can be inserted into Excel files.

Language-dependent settings

The heading "Language-dependent settings" is provided with a language supplement written in brackets [e.g. "[English]"]. This represents the language version currently used in the SmartNotes Cockpit and is assigned depending on the document language used. The language-dependent settings can therefore be made individually for each document language. If settings are to be made for another language, the current document language must first be changed.

Button "Excel Processing Settings

This can be used to manage Excel macros. Excel macros are functions stored in Excel that are executed during certain events. The input fields can be used to address them according to their name. Three events are predefined in SmartNotes:

"OnProcessing" means that the function is executed after the list entry "Execute Excel Editing" has been made.

"OnOpen" means that the function is executed after the Excel file has been opened [here in the example].

"OnCheckin" means that the function will be executed after the Excel file has been checked in.

Which function is to be executed must be defined in the input line.

In Excel, macro settings can be made using the Visual Basic button.

The function can now be defined here. The name of the function must be identical to the name stored in the input field.

Abbreviation settings

With the language-dependent settings, abbreviations for units can be defined for the Excel files used in the SmartNotes document via the "Abbreviation settings" button. A wizard opens in which the abbreviations can be freely defined.

Format templates for Excel files

Most tables within a report can be derived from four to five different basic structures. Therefore, SmartNotes provides an easy way to layout these basic structures within a style sheet and then make them available within a report. This additionally ensures that all tables of a report follow a uniform format and layout.

Once you have created a format The template is also available within a document when the document is updated.

We recommend that you define the following properties centrally in the template tables:

• Background Colors
• Font type, size and color
• number formatting
• table frame
• Character Style [e.g. bold, italic]
• column widths
• row heights

Add a style

To create or add an Excel style sheet, use the button "Add Excel Style Sheet" in the SmartNotes document settings for Excel. This opens a Windows Explorer window with which an existing Excel style sheet [e.g. an Excel document with the desired corporate design] or a previously saved Excel document, which is to be adapted and used as a [future] template, can be saved as a style sheet.

General PowerPoint File Settings

General guidelines and settings for the PowerPoint files in SmartNotes can be specified in the Document Settings.

Tip: Settings for PowerPoint are applied document-wide, i.e. they are relevant only for the current SmartNotes document. If the user switches to another SmartNotes document, the settings for this document have to be made separately.

The assistant for document settings can be found in the “Document” menu under “Settings”. Alternatively, the “Settings” button in the toolbar can be used. The PowerPoint document settings are in “PowerPoint Settings” tab.

Leave the assistant by clicking the “Close” button.

The PowerPoint settings are language-dependent, i.e. they must be applied individually for every language [Figure 745 [1]]. The name of the language [for example, “[Deutsch]”] is added to the “Language-Dependent Settings” header. This represents the language version currently used in SmartNotes and depends on the document language. If the user wants to apply the settings for another language, the current document language has to be changed.

Add PowerPoint Format Master/Edit PowerPoint Format Master

A PowerPoint format template can be specified for the PowerPoint files used in the SmartNotes document by clicking the “Add PowerPoint Format Master” button [Figure 745 [2]]. By clicking the “Edit PowerPoint Format Master” button, it is possible to edit a PowerPoint format template that has been saved [Figure 745 [3]].

“PowerPoint Check In requires user comment” checkbox

This checkbox ensures that a comment is added when Checking In the PowerPoint file [Figure 745 [4]].

“Allow comments to write-protected PowerPoint files” checkbox

When closing read-only Office files, an optional comment can now be entered. When the “Allow comments to write-protected PowerPoint files” checkbox is activated [Figure 745 [5]], the comment window pops up when closing the write-protected PowerPoint snippet. After clicking on the “Yes” button, a Check In window is opened and the comment can be entered into the input field [Figure 658].

This comment the same as the Check In comment is shown in “History”.

Checkbox “PowerPoint delete requires user comment”

When deleting a PowerPoint file the user must leave a comment.

Excel table format

Excel tables, embedded in the PowerPoint files, can be inserted there as metafiles [images], bitmaps or Excel tables [OLE object] [Figure 745 [7]].

“Save scaling of inserted tables” checkbox

This checkbox allows changes in the size and positioning of tables in PowerPoint to be preserved when the tables are updated [Figure 745 [8]].

“Copy master slides to all chapters” checkbox

This checkbox allows automatic use of the slide master for all chapters of a SmartNotes document [Figure 745 [9]].

Format Templates for PowerPoint Files

In SmartNotes it is possible to specify a PowerPoint format template in a document for every language in order to have a consistent format for presentations. The PowerPoint slide master enables this. There are no particular restrictions to observe.

Add format template

To create or add a PowerPoint format template use the “Add PowerPoint Format Master” button in the SmartNotes document settings for PowerPoint.

This opens an Explorer window, in which a PowerPoint format template [for example, a PowerPoint file with the required corporate design] or an existing PowerPoint file [adjusted for use as a format template] can be saved.

The successful addition of the format template is confirmed by the “Success” dialogue.

In order to use the format template for all PowerPoint files of a SmartNotes document, the “Copy master slides to all chapters” option has to be activated in the SmartNotes settings for PowerPoint.

Edit format template

To edit a PowerPoint format template, use the “Edit PowerPoint Format Master” button in the SmartNotes document settings for PowerPoint. This opens a saved format template for editing in PowerPoint.

The pre-settings for the PowerPoint styles are created in the PowerPoint slide master; there are no special limitations when creating the format template. All functions of the PowerPoint master are supported by SmartNotes.

Delete format template

The successful addition of the style is confirmed with the dialog "Success".

Edit style sheet

To edit an Excel style sheet, the button "Edit Excel Style Sheet" in the SmartNotes document settings for Excel is used. This opens the stored style sheet in Excel and it can then be edited.

Delete style sheet

To delete an Excel style sheet, use the button "Delete Excel style sheet" in the document settings. This only appears if an Excel style sheet has already been saved and thus replaces the original "Add Excel Style Sheet" button.

In the following subchapters, the various options in user administration are explained. 

• User Center
• Group Administration
• Role Concept 
• Password Administration
  

User Center

Within SmartNotes, any number of users can be created, managed and assigned permissions, depending on the license selected. The assistant for the SmartNotes user administration can be found under the menu item "User" and can be called up with the sub-item "User administration". Alternatively the button "User Administration" in the toolbar can be used. The user administration can also be accessed from the report overview, which opens automatically when SmartNotes is started. See chapter „Available Documents Dialog“.

The user administration can be found in the wizard under the tab "User center".

The wizard can be used to create new users and to edit and delete existing users. All SmartNotes users created so far are displayed with their names in the user overview. After selecting a user, the overview "Group Member of ..." shows the groups in which the user is a member. In addition, further detailed information on the selected user is displayed under "User Information" in the lower assistant area.

The "Save" button is used to finally save the changes made. Temporary list entries then appear black in the overviews and the saving is additionally confirmed by a note.

When the user administration has been completed, the assistant can be closed by clicking the "Close" button.

Create a new user 

The button "Create a new user" is used to create a new user.

In the assistant area "Assigned Users ..." a checkbox appears to the left of the names of the existing user groups. This can be used to select which user groups the new user should belong to.

In the lower assistant area "User details" you can enter the user name, the e-mail address, the department and the first and last name of the new user. The user name is a mandatory entry, if it is not assigned, a corresponding message appears next to the text field. When assigning the name, the apostrophe ['] must not be the only character. In addition, the name must consist of at least three characters.

Checkbox "Create SSO user [without password]"

The checkbox "Create SSO user [without password]" enables the creation of the user as a single sign-on user. This means that when SmartNotes is started, a separate login with user name and password is not necessary, but the login takes place automatically with the Windows ID. In order to use the SSO login, it must be explicitly activated on the server.

Note: When creating an SSO user, the domain name and Windows identifier must be part of the user name and separated by "\". Example: "Domain\Max.Mustermann".

Checkbox "Access disabled"

The "Access disabled" checkbox allows you to [temporarily] disable a user account. The affected user can no longer log in to SmartNotes.

Note: The deactivation of user access has an influence on the number of licenses used. Only an active user account is considered a license.

To temporarily add the new user to the user overview, click on the user overview and confirm the "Save" dialog that then appears. Alternatively, the button "Add to list" can be used directly. The new user then appears as a new entry in the user overview.

Copy a User

An existing user can be used as a template for creating a new user. The user to be used as a template is marked with the left mouse button and the properties and permissions are copied using the "Copy selection" button. Then proceed as described in the chapter "Creating a new user".

Edit a User

To edit the properties of an already created user, mark this user in the user overview with a left click and switch to the edit mode via the "Edit selected entry" button. Alternatively, the desired user can also be put into edit mode by double-clicking.

Afterwards, the group assignments can be changed in the "Group Member of ..." area using the checkboxes that appear. In the "User Information" assistant area, you can also change the e-mail address as well as the first and last name of the user. For security reasons, it is only possible to change the user name in combination with the change, i.e. reset, of the password. The text field is therefore still grayed out at this time.

Button „Reset Password“

The "Reset password (1)" button resets the user's password, which must be confirmed by another security prompt. In addition, the text field for the user name is activated and can then be changed. The affected user will then be prompted to assign a new password the next time he logs in.

Button „Copy User Permissions“

To simplify the assignment of authorizations, the "Copy Permissions (2)" button can be used to copy the authorizations of another user who has already been created.

After selecting the user to whom the authorizations are to be transferred in the user overview and left-clicking the "Copy authorizations" button, the "Copy user authorizations" dialog opens. This dialog contains a list of all users already created in SmartNotes, from which the permissions can be copied. After selecting the desired user with a left click, the permissions can be copied with the button "Copy permissions". A confirmation prompt will appear asking whether the current permissions of the user to be edited should be deleted before the copy process. If the original authorizations are not deleted, the current authorizations of the user are supplemented by the new authorizations to be copied. This is particularly important if the user currently has more authorizations than the user whose rights are to be copied. For further information see chapter Authorization Management

To apply the changes temporarily, you can then click in the user overview. The user is then displayed as a blue entry in the overview.

Taking Users from ActiveDirectory

SmartNotes allows SmartNotes users to take over from the AcitveDirectory. A corresponding SSO SmartNotes user is created for each domain user. This is done by connecting the user groups to the ActiveDirectory groups. See chapter „Gruppe an Active Directory-Gruppe anknüpfen“.

Delete a User

To delete an existing user, this user can be selected in the user overview using left clicks and deleted using the "Delete selected entry" button.

In the security prompt "Delete user" that then appears, the deletion process must be confirmed once again. Further confirmation or saving via the "Save" button of the user administration wizard is not necessary, as the change is automatically transferred to the "User overview".

Any number of groups can be created and managed within SmartNotes. Furthermore, users can be assigned to each group. 

Groups serve to combine tasks and the associated authorizations and thus simplify the administration of authorizations within SmartNotes.

The group administration can be found in the wizard under the tab "Group administration".

The wizard can be used to create new groups, edit and delete existing groups, and assign users to individual groups. In the "Group Overview (1)" all groups created so far are displayed with their name and a description. After clicking on a group, the assigned users are displayed in the overview "Assigned users (2)". In addition, further detailed information on the selected group is displayed in the lower assistant area under "Group details (3)".

The "Save" button is used to finally save the changes made. Grey list entries then appear black in the overviews and the saving is additionally confirmed by a note.

When the administration of the groups has been completed, the assistant can be left by clicking the "Close" button.

Create a New Group

The button "Create new entry (4)" is used to create a new group.

In the assistant area "Assigned users" a checkbox appears to the left of the names of the created users. This can be used to select which users will be assigned to the new group.

In the lower assistant area, the group name and a description of the group can be created in the "Group details". If the group name is not specified, a corresponding message appears next to the text field. When assigning the name, the apostrophe ['] must not be the only character. In addition, the name must consist of at least three characters.

To temporarily transfer the new group to the group overview, click on the group overview and confirm the "Save" dialog that then appears. Alternatively, the button "Add to list" can be used directly. The new group then appears as a blue entry in the group overview.

Copy a Group

To copy a group that has already been created, you can click the "Copy selection (5)" button after selecting it in the group overview with a left click.

It should be noted that this function largely corresponds to the creation of a new group, except that the newly created group is additionally assigned the rights of the copied user group. The selected group is not actually copied, but only used as a template. This means that no users assigned to the group to be copied are copied. The further procedure corresponds to the description in the chapter "Creating a new group".

Edit a Group

To edit a group that has already been created, after selecting it with a left click in the group overview, use the "Edit selected entry" button to switch to edit mode. Alternatively, the desired group can also be put into edit mode by double-clicking on the group name.

The members of the group can then be edited in the "Assigned users" area. In the assistant area "Group details" the group name and the group description can also be adapted.

Button „Copy Group Permission“

After selecting a group in the group overview, it is possible to transfer the authorisations of an already created group to it via the "Copy Group Permission" button. An overview appears which lists all groups created in SmartNotes. After selecting the desired group with a left click, the permissions can be copied with the button "Copy group permissions". You will be prompted to confirm whether the current permissions of the group to be edited should be removed first. If the original permissions are not deleted, the new permissions to be copied are added to the current permissions of the group. This is particularly important if the group currently has more permissions than the group whose permissions are to be copied. For further information see chapter "Authorization management".

To apply the changes temporarily, you can click in the group overview, the group is then displayed as a blue entry in the overview.

Connect group to Active Directory group 

SmartNotes allows user groups to be connected to the centrally controlled domain groups. This has the following advantages:

• Same organizational structure at domain and SmartNotes level
• Automatic adoption of domain users as SSO SmartNotes users
• Automatic updating of group members from ActiveDirectory

AD synchronization should be activated and configured by the administrator.

A new group can directly obtain all properties as well as memberships from AD. This is achieved by pressing the button "From ActiveDirectory".

This button becomes visible after switching to the "Create Group" mode. The following dialog shows all found ActiveDirectory groups for selection. Here the group to be linked can be selected and confirmed by clicking on "Select".

The users from the selected AD group can either be taken over completely or the corresponding SmartNotes group can only be assigned the users that existed in SmartNotes before. This selection can be made in the following dialog with the buttons "Yes" and "No".

The assigned users can be proactively updated from the Group Management dialog in ActiveDirectory. Otherwise this happens automatically after every restart of the SmartNotes server. A manual update can be initiated with the button "Update affiliations".

A SmartNotes group linked to AD automatically takes over the name of the ActiveDirecory group, which can no longer be adjusted manually. Likewise, the group memberships can no longer be adjusted manually.

The connection to AD can be interrupted individually for each group using the button "Decouple ActiveDirectory". All users remain assigned to this group, but can now be added or removed manually.

It is also possible to connect an existing group to the ActiveDirectory. This group must be set to "in progress" and the button "Connect to ActiveDirectory" must be pressed.

Delete a Group

To delete an existing group, it can be selected in the group overview and deleted with the "Delete selected entry" button.

In the security prompt "Delete user group" that then appears, the deletion process must be confirmed again. Further confirmation or saving via the "Save" button is not necessary, as the change is automatically transferred to the group overview.

Role Concept

As well as groups, SmartNotes also offers the option of creating any number of roles. Unlike groups to which users can be assigned and then assigned permissions, the role reflects a bundle of permissions. Groups therefore bundle users, whereas roles bundle authorizations. The advantages of roles over groups are particularly apparent when roles are changed later and reports are created. Roles are used to group authorizations together and thus simplify authorization administration within SmartNotes.

With the help of the assistant new roles can be created, existing roles can be copied, edited or deleted.

In the "Role assignment", all roles created so far are displayed with their name and a description. In the "Role administration", the desired authorizations are assigned to the created roles.

The "Save" button is used to finally save the changes made. Grey list entries then appear black in the overviews and the saving is additionally confirmed by a note.

When the management of the roles has been completed, the assistant can be left by clicking the "Close" button.

Create a New Role

The button "Create a new Role (2)" is used to create a new role.

A new window opens with the role properties. The role name and the role description can be entered here. If you do not enter a role name, a corresponding message appears next to the text field. The apostrophe ['] must not be the only character in the name assignment. In addition, the name must consist of at least three characters.

Click "OK" to transfer the new role to the role overview. Click on "Save" to save the role.

The system displays an error message if the name is shorter than 3 characters or longer than 100 characters.

Copy a Role

To copy a role that has already been created, you can use the "Copying a Role (3)" button after selecting it with a left click in the role overview.

Edit a Role

To edit a role that has already been created, after selecting it with a left click in the role overview, use the "Edit selected entry (4)" button to switch to edit mode.

You can then edit the name and description of the role.

Delete a Role

To delete a role that has already been created, select it with a left click in the role overview and click the "Delete (5)" button.

Assignment of authorizations to roles

In the "Role administration" the "Available Permissions (1)" are listed. Also here the view of the permissions can be changed between a "Grouped list" and a "Hierarchical list" as desired.

A left click on the respective permissions at the bottom of the "Role overview (2)" displays which role has which permission for the respective item in the list.

The Reader, Writer and Admin authorizations can be assigned here, as in the authorization administration.

Assignment of roles at the various levels

Roles can be assigned at global level, at document level, and at chapter level.

The assignment of the role on global level is done by the "Role assignment" in the "User administration".

Roles are assigned at document level in "Document Management".

To assign a specific role to a user, the document must be edited (1). A click on the key (2) opens authorization management at document level.

Finally, it is possible to assign different roles to the users at chapter level. The assignment of roles at chapter level is done by right-clicking on the respective chapter (several chapters can be selected and edited at the same time) and opening the authorization administration.

The assignment of roles is also done here via the "Role assignment" tab.

Password Administration

SmartNotes contains a comprehensive and fine-grained authorization system, which allows both a comprehensive and cross-document assignment of authorizations, as well as the detailed assignment of chapter- or status-related rights.

Thus, for example, the restriction to certain authorization categories, such as an exclusive reading right, or the combination of all previously mentioned points is possible. A detailed explanation of the authorization concept will be given in the following chapters.

SmartNotes uses an improved authorization concept in the current version, which entails some changes in the way the authorization is maintained.

For example, status-wide authorizations are no longer administered in status management, but together with global authorizations in system-wide authorization management [or document-wide authorizations in document management].

• Introduction to Authorization Management
• Consideration of the Authorization Category
• Authorization Categories
• Available Permissions
• Authorization Levels
• Permission Incarnation
  

Introduction to Authorization Management

The levels differ in

• System-wide Rights
• Document-wide Rights
• Chapterwide Rights

which build cascadingly on each other.

On the other hand, there are status-wide (-dependent) authorizations that refer to the statuses used in the document.

In addition, there are authorizations that stand alone and can be assigned independently of the previously mentioned authorization levels.

Due to the fine granularity of the authorization settings, the interaction of authorizations [e.g. with regard to the visibility of menus via dialog authorizations] must be taken into account, as described above.

A granted authorization cannot be used if the corresponding menu is not displayed or it cannot be called due to a lower authorization category in another area [see below Authorization based on lowest common denominator].

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System-wide Rights - Example 1:

Permissions set:

• Documents Reader
• Dialog: Document Administration

The "Document Reader" permission grants basic read access to all SmartNotes documents.

The "Dialog: Document Administration" grants access to the document management in which the SmartNotes documents can be administered [menu item Master data - submenu item Documents].

Result:

Since at the global level only the read permission for documents has been assigned, the buttons for creating, editing or deleting documents are grayed out.

To be able to use these functions, the user must at least have write permission [Documents Writer] for documents.

Read Permission

A Read permission in the document management means e.g. you get the existing documents displayed for opening, but you cannot create a new document or edit or delete an existing one.

Write Permission

Admin Permission

• ADMIN  – Grants the permission to read, write and delete Category Tags
• READER – Grants the permission to read Category Tags
• WRITER – Grants the permission to read and write Category Tags

• Documents READER 
• Chapters READER
• Dialog: Category Tags Administration

• System-wide Rights
• Document-wide Rights
• Chapterwide Rights
  

Existing authorization categories::

• ADMIN  – Grants the permission to read, write and delete Chapters
• READER – Grants the permission to read Chapters
• WRITER – Grants the permission to read and write Chapters

Notwendige sonstige Mindestberechtigung:

• Documents READER 

Available in the following authorization levels:

• System-wide Rights
• Document-wide Rights
• Chapterwide Rights

Chapter Unlocking

Available in the following authorization levels:

• SystemWideRights
• DocumentWideRights
  

Chapter Administration Dialog

System-wide Rights - Example 2:

Permissions set:

• Documents Admin
• Dialog: Document Administration 

In contrast to the previous example, the "Documents Admin" permission grants read, edit and delete rights within the document management. The related buttons are now displayed.

Result:
Since an administration right has been assigned for the document level, the user can switch to the editing mode of a document. Here the document details can be edited and the authorizations for the respective document can be maintained.

In general, the Document Writer authorization would have been sufficient at this point to switch to the editing mode for the documents. [see Chapter „Authorization Categories“].

In principle, all functions that are not directly related to a chapter to which a particular status level can be assigned are status-independent. See "Status Administration".

System-wide Rights - Example 3:

• Report: Validation

Result: 
The submenu item "Validation Report" is displayed under the menu item "Reports". This is used to call up the report on the validations currently created in the document.

Status-dependent authorizations are those authorizations that are influenced by status-wide authorizations.

This can happen either exclusively via the status or also in combination of the status-wide authorization with the chapter-, document- or system-wide authorization.

System-wide Rights - Example 4:

Purely status-dependent authorizations are authorizations that must only be granted status-wide.

The following overview shows all authorizations for which only a status-wide authorization must be assigned.

Status

• Status Change [From]
• Status Change [To]

Not purely status-dependent authorizations are authorizations that must be granted chapter-, document-, or systemwide, but are still bound to status levels. These include, for example, Office documents.

System-wide Rights - Example 5:

• Documents Reader
• Chapter Reader

System-wide authorization for the status "Report Completed" with the status color green:

• Excel Reader
• Word Reader
• PowerPoint Reader

Result: 
In the cockpit, all chapters are displayed regardless of their status; for chapters with the status "Report Completed" [green], all Office documents are additionally displayed in read-only mode [the icon of the Office documents is padlocked].

Consideration of the Administration Category