Hi Debbie,

Thanks for using Sage City

This can sometimes be a case of unfortunate mouse placement and how auto-completion drop down selections work in general (this is not Sage 50 specific, other applications - i.e. web browsers - can behave in a similar fashion).

A couple of workarounds to try: 

1) Avoid having the mouse cursor within the details field as you type as this is what is causing the issue.

2) You can delete the cached history within the details field by going into your registry (Seek IT advice if required) and delete the History folder under >> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sage\Line 50\ (Note this will remove all drop down entries within the details field) 

Sage 50 also has an inbuilt spell checker to make sure everything is spelt correctly. You can press SHIFT + F5 when in the batch invoice (or any screen) to check.

I know this isn't a fix but hope this helps, this is an issue we're aware of but currently don't have plans to fix at the moment.

Regards,

Ian - Sage 50 Development Team

Sage UKI

Hi Ian

Thanks for your response and I understand what you're saying about unfortunate mouse placement causing auto-completion drop down. However, that really isn't the issue.  Auto-completion drop down selects an entire entry for input and can be very helpful when inputting batches.

My issue isn't that an entire entry is being erroneously selected.  My issue is that I type the word Apple but the word Japple appears or whatever else it might be (not because Japple has been entered previously and it's picking it up).  I've watched myself type.  I am definitely hitting the letter A but J is typed it then picks up the correct letters typed after that pple. 

I am only using the word Apple as an example it could literally be anything.  It doesn't have to be the letter A being swapped for J it could literally be anything.  It is only ever the first letter that comes out wrong.  The rest of the typing is correct.  I am definitely typing the correct letters.

It doesn't just happen on one computer, or one keyboard or one Sage.  I am an accountant and have access to many different versions of Sage on many different computers using many different keyboards - it happens on a lot of them.

Hi Debbi,

Is it possible to record this as a video and upload it in a reply so I can see the problem? 

When replying click Insert > Select Insert Image / Video

This will let me see if it diffs from the bug we currently have logged. If it does I can log the steps for this one as well and have it investigated.

Regards,

Ian - Sage 50 Development Team

Sage UKI

Gosh - it would take a bit of doing - it's an intermittent problem and can't be created at will.  It will also need more than just me to be involved.  I do have a large batch of inputting that needs doing though so I'll see what I can do.

However I'm surprised you say that my issue might differ from the issue you have logged, because my issue is EXACTLY the same as "Typing Anomalies" posted by Julie Stacey over two years ago.  There were loads of people saying they had exactly the same issue then.  

If you read their descriptions it's not to do with auto-complete.  It's to do with Sage not picking up the correct first letter that IS being typed.

Leave it with me and I'll try and figure out how to video it.

Thanks Debbi.

If it's easier you can use something like a screen recorder which can record your screen as you work. (How to do this external link)

I'll take a look at the post for Typing Anomalies to see if it has any clues to get us some re-creatable steps.

Regards,

Ian - Sage 50 Development Team

Sage UKI

That won't record what I'm actually typing though will it.  I was thinking I'd have to video my hands typing and then show the results on the screen - so that when it does it you can watch the typing over again to make sure I'm hitting the right keys.

Whichever you find easiest. If I can get a video of both that would be useful otherwise the screen will be okay to start with.

Regards,

Ian - Sage 50 Development Team

Sage UKI

I completely agree, it’s maddening, really slows you down when you have to go back and correct something and makes you look a right idiot if you don’t notice at the time. And it only happens with Sage.

OK it took some doing but I finally manged to get a video of me typing and then showing the screen to see what turned out.  You will have to watch the video really, really hard but you can see that I am typing the correct letters.  Unfortunately when I turn the camera round to show the screen it is upside down, but it is the right way up in the second video.  The photo is a bit grainy but shows where I am posting my entries to on Sage.

I am posting bank receipts to the bank current account.  It is a part of a very big batch of entries that I was posting.  I have trimmed the video down to just show the part where it went wrong.  Which was probably about 100 entries into the batch.

Each entry starts with F6.  I then type the date, press enter; an invoice reference number (sometimes with cc after it), press enter twice, the nominal ledger code number, press enter twice, then I type the name in the "Details" section, press enter and then the amount followed by a couple of enters.  Then it repeats with F6.

It is only ever the first letter of the name that I type in "Details" that is wrong.  If you watch it over and over again you will see that I am typing the correct letters.  The first name is PJM, then Prime, Lewis, Donahue, Asif, Graham and Wally.

They come out as KJM, Krime, Lewis, Conahue, Csif, Graham and Wally.  Don't read too much into it being a K twice and C twice - having suffered this problem for years there is absolutely no rhyme or reason that I can see as to what letter it decides to substitute with.

I messed around with different camera setups to get this video.  The first time I had a small tripod between my hands whilst I was typing, but I wasn't getting the error then as my typing was a little hesitant because my vision of the keyboard was slightly restricted.  My point in telling you that is when you are trying to recreate it at your end you really need to be typing fast and not concentrating too much on hitting that correct first letter - just trusting that your typing is good enough to do so.  As soon as you slow down and make an absolute point of getting that first key right it won't make the error.  It is something that only happens at speed, It's as if Sage can't keep up.  (Maybe it's something to do with the shift key as well as the first letter is always a capital - just a thought). 

I know the obvious answer is to slow down and make a point of always hitting the correct first key, but believe me when you've got a thousand entries to post and you know you're a good typist, you get into a rhythm that flows.  It's really annoying to have to go back and correct the first letters of what you know you've typed correctly, and even worse if you press save without noticing.

By the way I'm not on Windows 10 so I couldn't do a screen record.

Hope that helps

Debbi

Edit - just resumed my batch of postings and came across an invoice where I couldn't read the name so hesitated before I typed it into "Details"  I typed Allaf.  It came out as Jllaf.  So it's not necessarily a speed issue.

It's not letting me upload the video - am I able to email it to you?