Although the SideBar isn't especially new, it may be new to many people. Only about a centimeter long when collapsed, and possibly even hidden, you may not be aware of the useful features it provides to increase your efficiency in GrandView.
The GrandView SideBar is similar to sidebars you may have seen in other applications like Microsoft Word or Internet Explorer. It displays a small region that, when hovered with the mouse, expands to show one of a number of features. Moving the mouse out of the area causes the currently displayed feature to be hidden, and the displayed item can be pinned (so it does not collapse when the mouse is moved away) or hidden via the icons in the upper right corner of the feature bar. So far, the GrandView SideBar provides three handy features: GrandView Search, Shortcuts, and Links. The SideBar may be removed via the close (red X) button. If it has been removed, you can re-enable it via the Tools menu. Click the Tools link next to the company logo and then click the "Enable SideBar" checkbox; you will need to restart GrandView for the SideBar to be displayed.
SideBar Features
SideBar Search, available by moving the mouse over the magnifier icon on the SideBar, allows you to search for contacts, files, projects, and status logs. Each section is designed to help you quickly find the information you're looking for and provides advanced filters for more accurate searching.
The search areas differ with regard to filters and display of search results:
- Contacts search allows you find a contact by name, company, or a number of other common fields related to contacts, and also provides a "New..." button for quick contact entry.
- Files search is the quickest way to locate files, especially when you don't remember to which project a file has been uploaded. Search results show which project the file belongs to, and you can download the file with just a single click!
- Use a Projects search to find a project by project-related fields such as description and proposal name, or to find all projects where a certain person is the project manager.
- Status Logs search allows you to quickly locate a message across projects; click the project name in search results to open a project summary dialog, or click the text of the status log (also displayed in search results) to view the full conversation.
Another feature, SideBar Shortcuts, provides a handy list of links to some of the most commonly-accessed areas in GrandView like Projects, Contacts, and TimeSheet. Finally, the Links feature provides quick access to links, including custom links that you can enter via the "New Link" button.
Jeromie Walters
GrandView Business Solutions Developer