What's new in Sage 100 2017 - General Updates

4 minute read time.

Sage 100 2017 has several new features that I'll be covering the next few weeks. I'm going to start with some of the more general feature enhancements that you'll find in the latest version of Sage 100.


Enhanced Auto-Complete

When using the auto-complete feature, your search criteria is compared with all words within the searched fields. Previously the feature considered only the beginning of the text in the searched fields.

For example, if you have a customer named Allen’s Appliance Repair and a customer named Appliance Services, typing Appl in the Customer No. field results in a list that includes both customers.

In addition, the number of fields included in the search has been expanded. For example, to search for a vendor by phone number, start typing the phone number, digits only, in the Vendor No. field.

After adding new records, you’ll need to run the Build Search Index utility on the Library Master Utilities menu to index those records so that they appear in the auto-complete search.

Build Search Index Utility

To activate the enhanced auto-complete feature, run the Build Search Index utility on the Library Master Utilities menu. If you do not run the utility, auto-complete will work as it did before this update.

Run the utility after creating new customer, vendor, and item records so that the records are indexed and appear in the auto-complete results. Running the utility updates the index for all of your companies.

You can use Task Scheduler to automatically run the indexing utility on a regular basis.

Full Text Search Option in Lookup Windows

A Full Text option has been added to the Search list in Lookup windows. When you select Full Text, your search criteria is compared with the data in all columns available in the Lookup window.

Note that your search criteria must match the beginning of a word. For example, if you have a customer named Hydromart and a customer named Martin Supply, when you type Mart, Martin Supply will appear in the search results, but Hydromart will not.

NOTE: To activate the enhanced auto-complete feature, run the Build Search Index utility after upgrading to version 2017. Run the utility as new customer, vendor, and item records are created to see the records in auto-complete search results.

Search for Empty Fields in Lookup Windows

You can now search for fields that do not contain any value in Lookup windows. After selecting a field from the Search list, select Is Empty from the operand list, and then click Find.

Maintain Commodity Codes for Miscellaneous and Inventory Items

You can now maintain a list of commodity codes and associate them with miscellaneous and inventory items. Commodity codes are included with the data sent when processing Level 3 credit card transactions in the Sales Order module.

    • Commodity Code Maintenance has been added to the Common Information Setup menu. Use this task to maintain a list of commodity codes and their descriptions. The codes and descriptions are available in the lookup views for Commodity Code fields. You can click the Apply button to assign a commodity code to a range of items.
    • The Commodity Code Import Wizard, available on the Common Information Utilities menu, guides you through importing commodity codes from tab-delimited text files.
    • A Commodity Code field has been added to the Main tab in Miscellaneous Item Maintenance and the Additional tab in Item Maintenance. You can enter an existing code or create a new one on the fly.
    • A Commodity Code field has been added to the Main tab in Product Line Maintenance. A Commodity Code check box has been added to the Apply Product Line Information window so that you can apply the code entered in Product Line Maintenance to the selected inventory items within the product line.
    • When an item is selected in Sales Order Entry and S/O Invoice Data Entry, the code entered in the item’s maintenance task is the default value in the Commodity Code field, but it can be changed.
    • A new Commodity Desc field displays the commodity code description in Sales Order Entry and S/O Invoice Data Entry.

Prior and Next Buttons for Calendar Window

Prior and Next buttons have been added to the Calendar window. You can use the buttons to quickly change from month to month.

Re-sizable Memo Maintenance Window

You can now resize the Memo Maintenance window by dragging the lower-right corner of the window.

Ability to Suppress "Remove Forms" Message

A module option in Role Maintenance allows you to suppress the message that reminds you to replace forms with paper after printing. To no longer see this message, clear the Show Prompt to Remove Forms From Printer check box in the Common Information section.

Larger Font for Selected Reports

The font size used for selected reports has been increased to improve readability. These reports previously used a 6 point font. The new font is horizontally equivalent to the previous font, but it is 30 to 40 percent taller.

Cancel Button Available When Printing Reports

You can now cancel report printing by clicking the Cancel button on the message window that appears while the report is processing. Note that clicking the Cancel button will cause the report's task window to close, even if you have selected the Keep Open After Print check box.

New Options on Help Ribbon

Several buttons have been added to the Help ribbon on the standard Desktop. The new options include the ability to:

    • Access the Sage 100 knowledgebase
    • Start a chat session with Sage 100 tech support
    • Create a support ticket

Note: You must log in to use some of these features.

I've covered a bunch of updates this week, but there are even more to come. Next week, I'll be highlighting updates to Sage 100 2017's modules, including Accounts Receivable, General Ledger, CRM , and more.

Have questions about Sage 100 2017? Find your answers in our knowledgebase