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?

Further edit - In continuing to enter my massive batch of invoices I noticed that it had done three incorrect entries in a row John, Sherman and Race, became Cohn, Hherman and Hace.  I managed to catch the next entry whilst videoing the screen. I was typing Dean and the D momentarily appears only to be immediately replaced by A and Aean is entered. 

Once again I am unable to attach this video.  Please let me have an alternative method of getting these videos to you.

Hi Debbi,

Thanks for looking into this and providing us with so much detail, it will be really useful to use.

Can you email me the video.

I think some email clients block videos over 25mb so we may need to use a different method if the video is to big.

In the mean time i will try and follow the steps you've given to see if i can recreate it too.

Kind Regards,

Ian

Sage 50 Development Team

Hi Debbi,

Thanks for looking into this and providing us with so much detail, it will be really useful to use.

Can you email me the video.

I think some email clients block videos over 25mb so we may need to use a different method if the video is to big.

In the mean time i will try and follow the steps you've given to see if i can recreate it too.

Kind Regards,

Ian

Sage 50 Development Team

Hello Ian,

I just stumbled across this thread from a while back as I am having the exact same issue as Debbie and because it is so annoying I started googling it. 

Like Debbie, this is only happening in the Details field and I am getting tired of correcting all mistakes once saved. It sometimes takes me 2 or 3 attempts to get the word in correct, i.e. I tried typing in Shipping and it repeatedly went to Phipping and Vhipping, PO is changed to OO, CO or 1O and so on. The mouse is not placed in the details field.

This is really annoying in a fast paced work environment. I wonder was there ever a fix for it as it is so long back but the thread just ended?

Thank you,

Kerstin

Hi,

I think from memory we found out that Debbi had her cursor in the details box and as a result, it was then selecting items as she typed.

As a workaround, it's a case of making sure the mouse cursor isn't on the grid whilst you type.

Ian

Whoa - Debbi here.  That is definitely not what we found.  That's what you initially thought was happening.  I went to all the trouble of videoing my hands when I was typing and then showing you the screen.  Sage does not pick up the letters that you absolutely, definitely do type on an intermittent basis.  I never heard back from you with a fix.  It's still an issue for me and obviously for other people too.

Must be honest it was that long ago, i can't remember yesterday!

Managed to find your last email to me it looked like turning off "Display Active Search Popup" fixed it

"Ok, so I’ve just spent nearly 6 hours entering just shy of 1200 invoices with the “Display Active Search Popup” setting turned off – and it didn’t make the error once.  So I think it’s safe to say it is something to do with that setting"

Yes that does fix it - but that is a really useful setting to have turned on in Sage.  If you're typing loads of lines where the details are the same it is very handy and a huge saving in time to be able to type D and enter knowing it's populated the word Diamond or whatever.  Even though I know that stops it happening I have taken the decision not to turn off that setting because that means I would have the extra time cost of typing every singly word out in full for every single entry, when in actual fact it helps to prevent an intermittent problem.  If you've identified exactly where the issue lies, have had it explained in full and seen a video to prove it happening - surely you should be able to provide a fix.

Hi Ian, 

That's why I said that my mouse (curser) is NOT in the Details field. When entering most users would probably - like me - just work on keyboards and move forward there without even touching the mouse, except for the initial entry (or if you went too far and have to go back as the back arrows on the keyboard will not bring you back to the previous field either. But this might be a topic for another thread )

It seems that after 2 years (or 5, taken in account the other thread "typing anomalies") there is no fix for this. 

Turning AutoSearch off is no solution as it will disable it for other fields like Suppliers as well. I don't think it is a fix when you have to disable a useful feature to get rid of errors created by the software itself.

Since I can see there are quite a few users having this issue (+ a lot of users who probably are not reporting it as they - like me for the past months - probably thought it is their typing, slow hand etc. or who don't have the time to go online and search, sign up and post in a forum, wait for replies and discuss etc.) - would there be a chance to bring this to the attention of your software engineers again please?

Thank you,

Kerstin

I'll certainly raise it again.

Sadly this issue isn't new, as part of my initial investigation with Debbi I was able to prove the issue goes back all the way to version 16 (2010), I didn't try and go back any further than that but suspect this may have been here as far back as v9. 

The problem looks to be in the grids, the grid code is shared between all desktop Sage products. So you'd also see this in other Sage products such as Sage Payroll.

The long-term plan is to move away from these "grids" and move to the new UI style you may have noticed us starting to use on things like "select company" since v27.

Ian

Thank You, Ian :-)

I have only been working with Sage Cloud since early 2021, using a 2012 version (not cloud) in a different company before. There are a few features in that old version which were quite handy (such as a "running balance" on the right hand side of the window when you are checking the supplier balance - very useful when checking balances and allocate statements) and which I miss now but of course there are other features in the cloud version which are very useful. 

Thanks for your reply and please keep us all posted :-)

Have a nice weekend,

Kerstin

Debbie, This is still happening.  I thought it was me typing it wrong, but exactly as you say, it's only the first letter.  Just typed oil, got hil.  Letters are not next to next.  Shame SAGE has not found a fix for this irritaing issue.

Absolutely. It has become an irritation that we've had to learn to live with as Sage don't seem to even recognise it as an issue.  Those of us who've been battling it for years have given up on complaining about it but if you've a large batch of data entry you can pretty much guarantee it's going to happen at some point.