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Chapter 1 - Getting Started with Staffinder

You can start Staffinder by clicking Start > Programs > Staffinder.  If you're using Windows 98 or Windows 2000, you can quickly create a Shortcut on your desktop by right-clicking the Staffinder entry and dragging it to the desktop and releasing the mouse button.  When the pop-up menu appears, select Copy Here.

If Staffinder does not start automatically when your workstation is started, contact your system administrator to make adjustments to your Windows Startup folder.

Depending on how Staffinder is configured, you will either be taken directly to the Staffinder interface, Staffinder will run minimized, or the log in screen will appear.

To log into Staffinder:

1. If you have a large number of employees in Staffinder, you may find it easier to locate your name in the list by selecting your department from the Dept/Group drop down list.

2. Click your name in the Employees box.

3. Enter your password in the yellow Password box.  Your password is set to your first name when your account is created.  It is case-sensitive, so if your name is "Betty", your password is set to "Betty" by default.  We recommend you change your password after your first successful login, this will keep other people from logging in under your account.  To change your password, click the Security icon on the toolbar or click Tools < Security.

4. Click OK or press Enter to log in.

Note:  If you are the only user who uses the computer, you may want Staffinder to log you in automatically.  To change this setting, click View > Preferences.  On the Options/Refresh tab, uncheck the "Prompt for user name at startup"

Figure 1.1

In general, Staffinder is an Explorer style application.  This means the main interface is divided into a Left and Right pane.  The left pane shows the Departments/Groups, My Group, Messages, and Resources categories.  The right side pane show employee names, their In/Out status and message details when My Messages is selected in the left pane.

Below is a description of each of the 6 sections shown in diagram 1.2 below:

Figure 1.2

Title Bar:
The Title bar contains the name of the application (Staffinder) followed by the name of the currently logged on user.  The right side of the Title bar contain the standard Minimize, Maximize/Restore and Close buttons.

Menu Bar:
The Menu Bar contains drop down lists that contain program functions.  Here is a list of the functions in all Menu Bar selections:

File Dropdown:
Reports - Displays the reports dialog so you can print reports
Exit Staffinder - This selection closes Staffinder.  If your preferences are set accordingly, you may be prompted with choices before the program closes.

View Dropdown:
First Name/Last Name:  These selections allow the user to choose how the "Employee" column will be sorted.
Search:  This option allows the user to search the employee database based on name, phone number or extension.
Preferences:  Launches the Preferences screen (detailed later on this page).
Status Schedules: Displays the status scheduler screen so you can program in future status change.  Requires the status scheduler add-in to be installed.  This is a free download available in the download section of this web site.
Vacation Schedules: This menu option will display the Vacation schedule screen so you can see who is on vacation or not.
Refresh:  Forces an immediate Refresh of the screen.
Columns: Allows the user to select which columns are displayed in the Right Pane.
Explorer Bar:  Allows the user to turn on/off the Navigation Bar (Left Pane)

Status Dropdown:
In Office through Vacation:  In one click, sets the selected user to the status selected in the menu.
Custom:  If you have configured any custom status option these will be displayed in the sub menu.
Sign In/Out:  Brings up the Sign In/Out screen, showing all possible In/Out Choices as well as other related settings.
Do Not Disturb:  Turns on/off the "Do not disturb flag" for the selected employee (rights pending).
Notify me when in Office:  Sets a flag on an employee.  Brings up a dialog box to show when the user signed back "In Office".
Send Phone Message to employee:  Sends a "while your were out" message to the selected employee.
Send Custom Message to employee:  Displays the custom message form for sending email type messages to other employees.
Send Email:  Displays your default email message window so you can send an email via your email system.
Submit Vacation Request:  This will display the vacation request form so you can request time off from your supervisor.
Properties:  Brings up the properties (phone, extension, name, status) for the currently selected employee.

Messages Dropdown:
New Phone Message:  Sends a "while your were out" message to the selected employee.
New Custom Message:  Sends a custom message to the selected employee.
Delete Message:  Deletes the currently selected message.
Save Message:  Allows you to save messages into your saved message folder.
Reply:  Allows you to reply to someone's message.

Tools Dropdown:
Change User:  Allows the ability to log in as any user without restarting the program.  Brings up the Log In screen, shown above.
Security:  If allowed from an administrative level, allows the user to configure their security settings.
Change Password:  Allows users to change their password.
Active Update:  Displays the Active Update utility so you can download any update to Staffinder easily.
Setup:  Displays the Company setup screen where you can manage the various areas of Staffinder.

Help Dropdown:
Staffinder on the Web:  Brings up web-based help files, including this User Manual, Installation, and troubleshooting.
About Staffinder:  Brings up information about Staffinder so you can find what version of staffinder you have.
 

Tool Bar:
The Staffinder Toolbar is divided into two sections, the standard buttons and the In/Out choice buttons.

Standard Buttons:
The standard buttons are the same in every installation and cannot be changed.  ToolTips for each button will reveal the purpose of a button by hovering the mouse over any button for a few moments.  Depending on the selecting employee or other settings, certain buttons my become
grayed out", depicting that that particular function is not available at that time.  Below is a description of each button:

Figure 1.3

Button 1 - Hide/Unhide Company Navigation Bar:
This button toggles the left side pane that shows the departments, Everyone, My Group, etc.  This option is useful when operating Staffinder in a kiosk mode or when more employee data needs to be seen.

Button 2 - View by First Name:
This button toggles with button 3 to sort the users by First Name.

Button 3 - View by Last Name:
This button toggles with button 2 to sort the users by Last Name.

Button 4 - Reports:
This button brings up the report criteria screen where you can run the various reports.

Button 5 - Search:
This button brings up a Search window that allows users to search the entire employee database by most of the fields included in employee information.  This includes name and phone information.

Button 6 - View Employee Properties:
This button shows the Employee Properties for the selected employee.

Button 7 - View Preferences:
This button shows the Preferences dialog boxes that allow each user to customize general settings, refresh rate, Reminders, font, font color and My Group.

Button 8 - View Security Settings:
This button shows the Security dialog box where the user must provide username and password to change security settings.  Security settings access can be locked by Staffinder administrators to prevent users from making inappropriate selections.

Button 9 - Manual Screen Refresh:
This button forces an immediate refresh of the data in the employee grid.

Button 10 - Create New Note to Employee:
This begins the process of sending a While You Were Out message to the selected employee.  In the example, the currently logged in user is selected, causing the button to become unavailable.

Button 11 - Delete Note:
This button allows the user to delete the currently selected or viewed note.  In the example, no Note is selected, causing the button to be unavailable.

Button 12 - Sets "Do Not Disturb" flag:
This button toggles the Do Not Disturb flag for the selected user.  This button will be unavailable if you do not have permission to change the selected users In/Out status.

Button 13 - View Sign In/Out Screen:
This button shows the Sign In/Out screen.

In/Out Choice Buttons:
Staffinder ships with eight standard In/Out board options.  These cannot be removed from the system, but you can specify a new icon if desired.  Staffinder administrators can create new In/Out boar selections, which will appear in position 9 and higher on the Tool Bar.  Below is  a sample of a Tool Bar showing the eight standard selections and a custom choice in positions number 9.

If these icons become unavailable (grayed out) when selecting an employee, you currently do not have rights to change that employees status.  If you need the rights to change a persons status, contact your Staffinder administrator.

Button 1 - In Office button (standard)

Button 2 - On Break button (standard)

Button 3 - At Lunch button (standard)

Button 4 - Out for the Day button (standard)

Button 5 - In Meeting button (standard)

Button 6 - Dr/Dentist Appt button (standard)

Button 7 - Sick button (standard)

Button 8 - On Vacation button (standard)

Button 9 - Custom In/Out Choice (custom).  You will see a button for each custom option you have added.

Left Pane (Explorer Bar):
The left pane is used to show the Organization Name, Browsers,  all configured Departments, Messages, and Resources.  Buttons and selections on the Menu Bar and Tool Bar allow the Explorer Bar to be turned on or off as needed.

Right Pane (Employee Grid):
The right pane is where employees will spend most of their time.  The name, phone info and in/out status of each employee is shown in the right pane.  You can do quite a bit of customization to achieve the results you like.  By changing the sorting or the column order you can have have the results organized in a manner that you like.  Below are the details on what can be done with the columns...

• Can have their width adjusted by clicking (and holding) the dividers between the column headers and dragging the mouse left or right.

• Can be moved to a different horizontal position by clicking on a column header and dragging the header left or right to a new position.

• can be sorted in ascending or descending orders by clicking on the column header.  An arrow will appear to show how the column is being sorted.  You can also sort by multiple columns at once by holding down the CTRL key and selecting additional columns (up to 8).  Your sort settings will also be saved when you exit Staffinder.

• Can be hidden or shown by clicking View > Columns on the Menu Bar.  Columns with a "check" by them will be shown.
  
  Right-clicking an employee will show a pop-up menu with available functions that can be used on the selected employee.  This list will vary depending on the employee selected and the rights you have with that employee.

Double-clicking an employee will either show the Employee Properties screen or the Sign In/Out screen depending on how the "Show Sign In/Out on Double-Click" option is set in the preference screen.

Index  |  Chapter 1  |  Chapter 2  |  Chapter 3  |  Chapter 4  |  Chapter 5  |  Chapter 6