Can-do Expressions

Can-do expressions can consolidate data into a variety of groups where the coding is non-sequential and the grouping was not pre-determined.


A Can-do expression is a free-form method of specifying the data to be selected for a given report.  The use of a series of wild card and exclusion characters allows for almost limitless combinations.  A series of simple rules govern the creation of a valid Can-do expression.  A summary of the characters involved and their significance follows.

Character

Purpose
Asterisk (*)           Replaces multiple characters
Period (.)                Replaces a single character
Exclamation (!)      Excludes the character combination
Comma (,)             Separates items


Trax Distribution:Solutions entity fields develop the codes under which transactions will be recorded.  This functionality allows data to be selected using the Can-do expressions on both inquires and reports.  Consider the following example:  

 Can-do expressions example

Reporting Entity

ID Description
Company mc Merritt Lumber Canada
Branch e Edmonton
  v Vancouver
  t Toronto
Warehouse e10 Edmonton North
  e20 Edmonton South
  t10 Toronto
  v10 Vancouver
Profit Centre is Inside Sales
  os Outside Sales
  in Installations
Product ac Accessories
  bd Building Supplies
  cp Carpet
  hd hardware


Thus, an entity recorded on a transaction as "mc t10 in ac" refers to Merrit Lumber Canada, Toronto Branch, Installations profit centre, Accessories Product.  

This coding structure, combined with the Can-do expressions, selects numerous combinations of data for reporting and inquiry. 

Some examples of Can-do expressions and the data selected follow.

Can-do expression

Data Selected
mc* Company wide consolidation
*t* All operations in the Toronto branch consolidated
*e10* All transactions through the Edmonton North warehouse
*os* All Outside Sales transactions company wide
..t10is* All Inside Sales transactions in Toronto
mcv10..ac All accessories transactions in Vancouver
*ac All accessories transaction company wide
!mct10*,* All transactions not in the Toronto branch
!mct10*,*os* All Outside Sales transactions not in the Toronto branch


The above are only some of the possible Can-do expressions that can be used to select data based on the company structure defined previously. Entities can be automatically created at the location, profit centre, or product level within Sentai software. The Can-do expression expands the possibilities for reporting and coding. Even if codes are not well defined, the comma separator allows two or more completely non-related groups of data to be consolidated.

Can-do expressions are used throughout Sentai software.  Entity, Customer-ID, Supplier-ID, Product-ID, and G/L accounts are just a few of the fields that can be selected.