How To Hide Tabs On Debtor Screen

This topic explains how to remove "Tabs" on the Debtor screens so that access is restricted for targeted user levels.

The Tabs being referred to are the sub-windows that exist in the lower half of the debtor screen, specifically:

Notes
Contacts
Attachments
Cosigner
Transact
Detail
A1
A2
A3
CBR
Group
Misc
Phones
Group Notes

These tabs function as though they are part of the main debtor screen but in actuality, each tab is a separate sub-file which is accessed FROM the main debtor screen. This is why if your cursor is in a sub-file tab at the time you attempt to generate a letter or report that Starts On "Debtor", that letter or report doesn't appear in your print menu. Insofar as the program is concerned, you are not on the debtor file if your cursor is in one of the tabs.

The same is true if you are attempting to generate a report or letter which Starts On " Cosigners" or one of the other tabs. If your cursor is on the main part of the debtor screen, you are not in the sub-file the program is looking for.

A need to restrict access to Tab screens may arise as a function of client driven security that requires data masking, regional legislation related to consumer privacy, or simply Operator level 'need-to-know' best practices exercised in your organization.

By setting Access Rights to these sub-files to be "No Access" for specific Operator Levels, you are able to make the sub-file Tabs essentially invisible to the users you do not wish to have any viewing privilege.

There are 2 ways to adjust Access Rights to sub-files and fields in the system: directly by right-clicking on the window or field to be modified which pops up the Properties window that leads to the Access Rights settings OR via the Access Rights listing of all files and fields, which is located via the menu path \System\Rights\Access Rights.

Each tab has its own system ID number in the list of Access Rights. Setting one of these to "No Access" for any User Level will make the tab invisible to all operators of that level. For example, you may not want Junior Collectors to view banking information stored in the Debtor Detail window. You can set the "Detail" tab to "No Access" for User Level 60 and the whole tab will disappear when a Junior Collector views any Debtor screen.

All updates to Access Rights require that the user log out of Collect! completely, then log back in again before the changes are apparent. This is because as the updates are written to the Server, they are not in effect until the next time that the user logs in.

Access Rights For Tabs

As stated previously, each tab has its own system ID code in the list of Access Rights. Care does need to be exercised - similar names with different ID codes do exist and obtaining the desired result depends on the correct code being selected for the purpose intended. Additionally, there are cases where there are multiple IDs to be set to effect a specific change.

Access Rights control and modifications are best handled by your System Administrator who should have familiarity with the intricacies of permissions modifications.

The following are the system ID codes in the Access Rights list for the tabs which are connected to the Debtor screen. With the exception of the Notes tab, simply setting each one of these to No Access for the user levels of your choice will restrict all viewing or awareness that the information is there.

debtor:notes
debtor:subform:contacts
debtor:subform: attachments
debtor:subform:cosigners
debtor:subform: transactions
debtor:subform:detail
debtor:subform:a1
debtor:subform:a2
debtor:subform:a3
debtor:subform:cbr
debtor:subform:group
debtor:subform:misc
debtor:subform:phones
debtor:subform: emails
debtor:subform:addresses
debtor:groupnotes

The Notes tab is the special case. For a user level to be able to see the debtor at all AND have any ability to take any actions on an account, there are 2 specific Access Rights settings that have to be set with permission minimums:

"debtor:notes" must be set to FULL Access Rights for all user levels, AND

"notes" must be set with at least NO DELETE Access Rights.

The ID code "debtor:notes" is what gives access to the debtor tab and the "notes" code is the privilege level they have on the notes list. NO DELETE means they can enter notes but not remove any which have been committed to the account. This is the recommended setting combination for general staff.