Viewing activity attachments

When you click the Open button on the Activity Attachment window, iMIS extracts a read-only version of the file from the Activity_Attach table and copies it to a subfolder under the temporary folder iMIS creates (for example, C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Temp\iMIS attachments). The associated document viewer for the file is then opened (for example, Microsoft Excel for files with an .xls extension). If the destination file already exists, a message displays informing you that the file has already been opened on your system. You will be given the opportunity to overwrite the existing file.

Note: Once you open an activity attachment, you can use the save functionality (usually the Save As feature) in the associated application to save a local copy of the file in a location other than the temporary folder created by iMIS. However, any changes you make to this copy will not be applied to the iMIS database.

To view activity attachments

  1. From Customers, select Manage customers.
  2. Find a customer's record.
  3. Double-click the activity with the attachment you want to view. The Activity Detail window displays.
  4. Click Attachment to open the Activity Attachment window.
  5. Select the attachment you want to view.
  6. Click Open.

    7. iMIS opens the document in the appropriate application, if the application associated with the file is on your system.

    Note: If the application associated with the file is not on your system, iMIS informs you that there is no application available to open the file, and that a copy has been placed on your system. You can open the file from your Temp directory and choose an application in which to open the file. However, any changes you make to this copy will not be applied to the iMIS database. Changes are only saved to the iMIS database when you click Save on the Activity Attachment window.

To edit activity attachments

Clicking Edit on the Activity Attachment window sets the INTENT_TO_EDIT column in the Activity_Attach table to the concatenated DateTime + User ID value to indicate that an attachment has been opened for editing by a specific user. If INTENT_TO_EDIT is populated, then a second user is not allowed to open the activity attachment for editing. If you attempt to edit a record that is being edited by another user, a message displays informing you that another user is editing the file, and that you can open a read-only copy of the file. If you attempt to edit a file that you already have open for editing, a message displays informing you that you are currently editing the file and that you should save or cancel your previous edits.

Once you have an activity attachment open for editing, you can make any necessary changes, and use the save functionality in the associated application (usually the Save As feature) to save a local copy of the file in a location other than the temporary folder created by iMIS. However, any changes you make to this copy will not be applied to the iMIS database. Changes are only saved to the iMIS database when you click Save on the Activity Attachment window.

Note: When activity attachments are saved to the database, iMIS creates a folder in a Temp directory (for example, C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Temp\iMIS attachments).

Note: If more than one user logs into a terminal server installation of iMIS as MANAGER and attempts to edit an activity attachment, iMIS saves to the database and to the Temp directory, the activity attachment that is first saved on the Activity Attachment window.

  1. From Customers, select Manage customers.
  2. Find a customer's record.
  3. Double-click the activity with the attachment you want to edit. The Activity Detail window displays.
  4. Click Attachment to open the Activity Attachment window.
  5. Select the attachment you want to edit.
  6. Click Edit. iMIS opens the attachment in the appropriate application, if the application associated with the file is on your system.

    7. Note: If the application associated with the file is not on your system, iMIS displays a message informing you that an application viewer is not available and that the file cannot be edited. You can still open the file from your Temp directory and choose an application in which to open the file. However, any changes you make to this copy will not be applied to the iMIS database. Changes are only saved to the iMIS database when you click Save on the Activity Attachment window.

  7. (optional) Click Save on the Activity Attachment window to save your changes.

To delete activity attachments

An important maintenance step in working with activity attachments is deleting activity attachments that are no longer needed. You can delete activity attachments from the Activity Attachment window, or run a script to delete activity attachments that have a File Date earlier than a specific date. When an activity attachment is deleted, the Attachment(s) column on the Activities-All or Calls tab updates to reflect the deletion.

You can delete an activity attachment only when another user does not currently have the file open for editing (indicated by a dash “-”), and the file is not read-only. If you click Delete on the Activity Attachment window and another user has the file open for editing, a message displays informing you that another user is editing the document.

Warning!  

Deleting an activity attachment permanently removes the file from the iMIS database.

Note: Only system administrators can modify activity attachments marked as read-only.

  1. From Customers, select Manage customers.
  2. Find a customer's record.
  3. Select the Activities-All tab.
  4. Double-click the activity record containing the attachment you want to delete. The Activity Detail window displays.
  5. Click Attachment to open the Activity Attachment window.
  6. Select the attachment you want to delete.
  7. Click Delete. A message displays asking you to confirm the deletion.
  8. Click Yes to permanently delete the attachment from the iMIS database, or No to cancel.