Alien (External Data)

Newt: My mommy always said there were no monsters - no real ones - but there are.
Ripley: Yes, there are, aren't there?
Newt: Why do they tell little kids that?
Ripley: Most of the time it's true.

Learn how to use external data in Efficy.

Sometimes in Efficy, you want to display data from another source. Data's coming from a mainframe, an excel sheet, an accounting database, an external supplier, ...

You have the choice between two solutions. Either import data (one shot or regularly), either take a look at them from Efficy without importing them.

The only question you have to ask yourself is: do I want to modify these data or only consult them.

If you want to modify them, then import the data in Efficy. You will take advantage of all the Efficy's features like security, historic, notifications, ...

If you only want to look at them (to check one's invoices status, ...), then you will take full advantage of the "ODBC connection" feature. This way, you have access to virtually unlimited sources and can display them in Efficy within minutes. Reference

Enjoy !

Cedric

The Net (Password Management)

[discussing the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's"]
Jack: When I was about thirteen, I had this sort of identity crisis. I used to think I was one of the characters.
Angela: You thought you were Audrey Hepburn?
Jack: No. I used to think I was the cat.

Learn how to change your Efficy password.

No problem! Now you can use your cat's name as your Efficy password! By the way, to avoid "The Net"-like situations, think of changing your password from time to time. You needn't wait until it expires; just click the Tools button, menu item Change my password:


Try it out!

See you,

Rachel

I Know What You Did Last Summer (confidential records)

Barry: We're going to go home now and never ever under any circumstances known to God- speak about this again. Is that clear? It's now a future therapy bill.

Learn how to keep your information confidential in Efficy.

Everybody has secrets... don't deny it! Your secret's safe with Efficy: you can plan secret meetings, keep your diary in an Efficy Document, have off-the-record phone calls... without any other user knowing about it!
This is how it works: edit the "secret" record and click the button Make Confidential in the toolbar:

This actually is the same as removing all users from the Securities window apart from the owner:

Now, other users will never see that record, even if they search for it.
However, there is a slight difference for Appointments, since you wouldn't want your colleagues to plan a meeting when you're off doing whatever it is you're doing... So, when other users view your Agenda, they do see partial information on your confidential action: its date and time, duration, mode and nature. The subject, description and links are kept invisible, and no one except you will be able to open the action.


Don't let the others know what you did last summer!

See also the topic about Securities: help - aide - hulp

Try it out!

Rachel

Desk Set (Desktop Configuration)

Ruthie Saylor: [Talking about Richard Sumner as he tape measures the office] Do you think we're being redecorated?
Sylvia Blair: Does he look like an interior decorator to you?
Peg Costello: No. He looks like one of those men who suddenly switched to vodka!

Learn how to customize your Efficy Desktop.

How would you like to redecorate your Efficy desktop? The position of the Navigation bar and of the Toolbar can be adapted to will; just click the Efficy logo in the left-hand top corner:


Click again and again to scroll through the 4 available layouts:

Try it out!

Rachel

Two Weeks Notice (Urgency Management)

Lucy Kelson: What did I tell you that defines an emergency?
George Wade: A large meteoroid, severe blood loss and uh... what was the other thing?
Lucy Kelson: Death! And you're not dead!

Learn how to manage urgency in Efficy.

What about getting your priorities straight? Knowing what's urgent from what's not? What must be done in two weeks and what can linger on and on until it's obsolete?

Efficy can help you!
In the first place, input a due date in your tasks to mark their deadline. That way, you will be remembered each day of what you have to work on in the My Day in Efficy window.


Secondly, consider indicating the urgency of your tasks. This comes in handy in large To Do Lists that you can sort by emergency, to work on urgent things first.


To learn how to sort a list, see http://help.efficy.com

Try it out!

Rachel

Dead Man Walking (Active/Inactive)

Earl Delacroix: My wife filed for divorce this afternoon. We just have different ways to deal with our son's death. Until death do us part.

Learn how to use the active/inactive checkbox.

Sorry for the cold shower... And don't worry, Efficy is not turning into a virtual cemetery. Only, people and things do pass away. For example : companies go bankrupt, sales opportunities are lost to competitors, projects come to an end, contracts don't get renewed etc.

That's why, in Efficy, on all items, there is a checkbox called "Active":


Non-active items are clearly indicated so (generally their name is striked out):



It's up to you to decide when you mark a Contact, Company, Project etc. as non-Active and what it means to you and your business.

Try it out!

See you,

Rachel

The Remains of the Day (My Day in Efficy)

James Stevens: I don't believe a man can consider himself fully content until he has done all he can to be of service to his employer.

Learn how to keep track of your daily work.

When starting Efficy, you get an overview of your Day, with your schedule, tasks, opportunities to follow up etc. (See http://help.efficy.com)

But how can you easily check what's left for you to do today once you've closed this overview?

Simply click the button My Day in Efficy from the Navigation bar:


Another tip: in your Agenda, you get to see if there are any tasks planned for today:

Now you won't miss the remains of your day!

Try it out!

See you,

Rachel

The Next Best Thing (Apply and Open Next)

Robert: What? Eight martinis and you're stuffed?
Abbie: Yep.
Robert: Well, it doesn't take much to crack your egg, does it?

Learn how to process multiple records efficiently.

Here's a quick way to open the ninth martini (oops, I mean the next action/document/e-mail in any list in Efficy): just click the Apply and Open Next arrow at the right-hand bottom corner.



Try it out!

See you,

Rachel

Volver (Back/Next Buttons)

Sole: Hay gente que dice que la ha visto.
Raimunda: La has visto tu?

Learn how to use the back and next buttons.

The past is just one click away... Did you consult some list in Efficy and changed to another window in the meantime? You can go back to the previously displayed page by using the "Back" arrow:

Try it out!

See you,

Rachel

A fost sau n-a fost? (Set Action as Done)

Nea Piscoci: Pentru ca... a început la Bucuresti, am iesit si eu.
Jderescu: Uite ca dl. Manescu sustine ca a fost înainte.
Nea Piscoci: Pai el o fi fost înainte; eu am fost dupa.
Jderescu: Dar ce revolutie e asta, daca... lumea a iesit dupa?

Learn how to mark that an action has been done.

Did we have a revolution in this town, or not? Did that meeting really take place? Has that e-mail been sent already? Has that action been done?

You might start doubting about what really happened if your colleagues forget to mark their actions as Done:

You also have the option "mark as done" in the contextual menus:


So, don't keep us hesitating any longer about what truly happened!

Try it out!

See you,

Rachel

Stand By Me (Open in a new window)

Chris: I'm never gonna get out of this town am I, Gordie?
Gordie: You can do anything you want, man.
Chris: Yeah, sure. Give me some skin.
Gordie: I'll see ya.
Chris: Not if I see you first.

Learn how to display multiple entities at once.

Do you need multiple managers at a time ? Or maybe you want to keep one specific record on the screen all the time ?

You have two ways to get multiple Efficy windows.

Use the shortcut key by clicking the manager button while holding the "CTRL" key
or
Use the "Open in a new window" icon

Enjoy !

Au revoir, à bientot,

Cedric

The Hours (Agenda Range)

Richard Brown: I don't think I can make it to the party, Clarissa.
Clarissa Vaughn: You don't have to go to the party, you don't have to go to the ceremony, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. You can do as you like.
Richard Brown: But I still have to face the hours, don't I? I mean, the hours after the party, and the hours after that...

Learn how to customize your agenda range.

Do you work the classic 9 to 5 or rather like me from coffee in Central Perk until your boyfriend brings you a Valentine pic-nic basket at the office?

Luckily, you can adapt your working time in Efficy so that your Agenda shows your working hours:

And if someone plans a meeting outside your normal office hours, it will be signaled by a double arrow in your Agenda:

Get help about
* The Agenda: help - aide - hulp
* Changing your Options: help - aide - hulp



Try it out!

Rachel

Ocean's Thirteen (Keep window open after selection)

Willie Banks: This town might have changed, but not me. I know people highly invested in my survival, and they are people who really know how to hurt in ways you can't even imagine.
Danny Ocean: Well, I know all the guys that you'd hire to come after me, and they like me better than you.

Learn how to link multiple records at once.

11, 12, 13... I'm dying to meet them all! (Well, hopefully not literally). I already planned the dinner action in Efficy!

Of course, linking 13 contacts can be tiresome if you don't know this trick: in the Search window, click the box Keep window open after selection. Then, all you need to do is type one of the contacts' name, then click in the results; type and click; type and click... thirteen times... Done!


I can hardly wait to see the 13 of them!

Try it out!

See you,

Rachel

Time after Time (Time Before/After)

Amy Robbins: I like that suit. Is that what they're wearing in London?
H.G. Wells: It was when I left.

Learn how to use the Time Before/Time After feature.

My colleague Ross had a meeting at a customer's office from 2pm to 3pm. So I planned an internal meeting at 3... But Ross couldn't be there on time. But tell me, how was I to know Ross' client is in Poughkeepsie?

Now, this wouldn't have happened if Ross had used the Time Before/Time After fields in the action to indicate his travel time.


I would have seen this extra time directly in his Agenda. The shaded part indicates this:

Try it out!

See you,

Rachel

Vertical Limit (Show all records)

Montgomery Wick: Peter, do you know where you are? Above 24,000, you're at the vertical limit, you're already dying. Look at you. You can hardly stand. If you think you can stop me, go ahead.

Learn how to browse through lists.

Do you also hate to be limited in everything you do? Don't go there, don't eat this, don't date him... But I want it all!

For example, I want to see all items in the lists in Efficy. Did you know the lists only display the first ten items by default?

To see the entire list instead of having to scroll through the pages of 10 items, click the button Show all records
Check out this topic in the help file: List Browse - Feuilleter à travers une liste - Bladeren doorheen een lijst

To change the display options (# of items shown on one page), go to Change my Options - Modifier mes Préférences - Mijn instellingen wijzigen

Try it out!

Rachel
Think well, think help.efficy.com

The X Files (ActiveX)

Scully: Mulder, there something out there.
Mulder: I know. I've been saying that for years.

Efficy is a full web application (one of the few). Meaning that, not only we use the browser to present information and to let the user input information, but we also want to interact with the user's computer.

One way to interact is the Office Integration, enabling users to edit and upload transparently their documents from and to Efficy.

"Transparently" is the keyword. We want the users not having to worry about the integration between their Efficy and the rest of their applications. These can be web applications (Maporama, financial services, ...) or "traditional" applications installed on their computer.

For these transparent integrations, we sometimes need to save and read files from the user's temporary folder. Unfortunately, it's not an easy job. Indeed, we need to provide the user with the best experience while fighting against always growing security software and browser sandboxes.

One method to pass through the sandbox while enabling users (or administrators) to choose which application can bypass it, is the use of Microsoft's technology: ActiveX (wiki). These are basically "Desktop" applications that can be used from a web browser.

This works really well, but only on Microsoft browsers. Meaning that, for some advanced features, users must, until now, use IE browsers. We are actively looking for a universal solution.

Enjoy !

Au revoir, à bientot,

Cedric

The Blair Witch Project (My Current Projects)

Heather Donahue: I just want to apologize to Josh's mom, and Mike's mom, and my mom. I am so sorry! Because it was my fault. I was the one who brought them here. I was the one that said "keep going south." I was the one who said that we were not lost. It was my fault, because it was my project. I am so scared! I don't know what's out there. We are going to die out here! I am so scared!

Learn how to display your current projects.

We all have our projects. Some turn out well (like me wanting to be a Buyer at Bloomingdale's), some are... scary. But they're ours! Well, sometimes they're our company's and we're just the one who's in charge - I'm sure Chandler would agree. But still, they're our projects!

So why the hell do I have to see all my colleagues' projects too when I'm searching for them? Not everything is teamwork; even I am sometimes better off working on my own - I can always count on my looks to get out of trouble if I mess up ;-)

Luckily for me, Efficy has thought of a very handy button that shows the list of My current Projects.

Try it out!

See you,

Rachel

Groundhog Day (Recurring Actions)

Phil: Do you ever have deja vu Mrs. Lancaster?
Mrs. Lancaster: I don't think so, but I could check with the kitchen.

Learn how to plan recurrent meetings.

Are internal meetings useful or a total waste of time? You might discuss endlessly... though the main concern is to keep meetings effective. As a start, how about not wasting time planning the meetings?

That is where the Recurring Actions feature can help you. You specify the meeting action once, and then simply generate a series according to the desired frequence (daily, weekly, monthly or yearly - on the 2nd of February of course).

This feature can be useful in other contexts too: plan your coffee breaks if you are afraid to forget them... or create recurring tasks to remind you to feed your cat. Personally, I created a daily Coffee at Central Perk reminder.

Want to learn more? See the Efficy Help file on Recurring Actions

Try it out!

See you,

Rachel