About Lookup windows

Lookup windows help you locate data. After you locate the data, you can insert it in the appropriate text box or cell. For example, suppose you are entering a payable invoice, but do not remember the vendor number. You can open a Lookup window, find the vendor, and then insert the vendor number in the vendor number box.

To display a Lookup window, do any of the following:

Click the drop-down arrow in the data control.
Click the drop-down arrow next to the text box.
Right-click in a cell of a column, and then select a window from the menu.
Select a cell and press the F5, F6, F8, or Shift+? keys.
Select a cell, enter a word or partial word, and then press F5 or Shift+?.

The Lookup window displays the first occurrence found in the database.
Select a cell, type a wildcard, enter a word or partial word, and then press F4.

The Lookup window displays every occurrence found in the database.
Double-click the cell or column title.
Select the cell or column and click the drop-down arrow in the cell.

Searching efficiently

Changing the display in a Lookup window can help you search efficiently. You can:

Use the data control to move through records.

You can also simply begin typing a search term in a data control box. Lookup windows display only the records that begin with the characters you type, filtering more effectively as you continue typing.

In fields that contain character or alphanumeric data such as descriptions, addresses, and invoice numbers, Sage 100 Contractor sorts data by the value of the first digit. If a field is strictly numeric, then the numbers appear in numerical order. For example, 1100 would appear before 200.
Choose columns to display or hide in the Lookup window.

On the Options menu in any Lookup window, click Select Columns to Show, then select the checkboxes for each column you want to display in the Lookup window, or clear the checkbox to hide a column from view.
Change the order in which columns appear in the Lookup window.

Simply grab the column heading for a column you want to move, then drag it left or right until it is positioned where you want it to be.
Change the sort order of a column by clicking the arrow in the column title.
Click the Refresh icon to return the list to its original order.

If you delete a column accidentally, or if you have hidden a column you want to see again, you can right-click any column header, and then click [Show All] to display all columns.
When you close the window, Sage 100 Contractor automatically saves your display preferences, so columns appear as you want them the next time you use Lookup features in that window.

To select an item in a Lookup window:

Click the item.
To pull an item into a grid, double-click it.

Searching by class

Some Lookup windows have a left and right pane. The left pane displays the classes, and the right pane displays the contents of the class that you select. You can click the triangle next to a class to open or close it. The color of the triangle indicates whether you can display more subclasses.

Color	Description
Red	The class cannot be expanded any further (end of the branch).
Blue	Currently selected class showing all subclasses.
Green	Contains subclasses and can be opened by clicking the plus sign (always displays a plus sign).

Note: When you click the Refresh button in a split-pane Lookup window, the list in the right-hand pane returns to the original list order for the selected class.

Filtering searches for cost codes by job and phase

When you search for cost codes in a lookup window, you can apply filters to include only the cost codes that pertain to a specific job and phase or you can display all the cost codes you use for your company. A filtered search is very efficient, especially if your company has a large number of cost codes and you are interested only in cost codes for a particular job.

You can use three types of filters to search for cost codes:

All
Job
Job/Phase

When searching for cost codes, the filters that are available depend on the structure of the job and budget:

If a job has a budget, you can select a filter.
If the job has a budget but no phases, you cannot filter by Job/Phase.
If the job has no budget at all, no filter is available.

If you set up a job with phases, and each phase has a budget, the search yields only cost codes included in the budget for that job and phase. If the job has a budget but no phases, the search yields only the cost codes for the job. If there is no budget, the resulting list includes all the cost codes in your company database.

Filtering rules also apply to cost divisions. If the budget has no cost codes for site work and you select the site work division, the search yields no results. To see the site work cost codes, you must switch the filter to All .

Looking Up Inactive Records

For records that display a single record at a time (not in a grid format), you can view all Inactive records of a selected type by opening the associated lookup window, and then clicking Options > Show Inactive Records.

A check mark in the Inactive column indicates that a record is Inactive.

Printing information from Lookup windows

Although many Lookup windows have a Print button, some do not. For example, in the 1-5 Bank Reconciliation window, when you click the drop-down for the Account# box, the Ledger Accounts Lookup window that appears has no Print button. However, you can create a screen capture of a portion of the Lookup window’s information, paste it into a Word document, and then print the document.