How To Use Multi-Currency

Collect's multi-currency settings allow you to set the currency symbol for your region. If you collect multiple currencies, you can set the currency at the client level, also. For this example, will will use the Euro currency. By default, Collect! will use the currency that you have set as the default currency in your Control Panel\Regional Settings.

Turn ON 'Multi-Currency' in the Company Details dialog. Access this through the System menu at the top of the Collect! screen.

WARNING: Collect! uses the regional LOCALE settings of the server, not the format settings, for any account setup as System Default. Please ensure that your server is setup properly for the currency that you want to be the default. This applies to the display only. Data entry will use the currency settings of your local workstation. For example, if your server is setup for French Canada (123,55) and your workstation is setup as English Canada (123.55), you would enter the amount with a period, not a comma.

Using Euro Currency With Collect!

If you don't already have the currency you desire, you must set up Windows to support it. For the Euro:

1. Download and install the Euro currency support system update, available at www.microsoft.com.
2. Open the control Panel and select Regional Settings and click the Currency tab.
3. Make sure the Num Lock light is ON on your keyboard.
4. Hold down the Alt key, and then press 0128 on your numeric keypad. The Euro symbol should appear.

If the Euro symbol doesn't appear in your currency symbol field, check the Character Map to see if the Euro symbol has been installed.

Now all accounts in your database are Euro by default.

If an account is in some other currency than the Euro, then select the Principal field on the Debtor form and select the Location (locale) of the currency you require for this debtor, as follows.

To edit a Debtor to use a currency other than the Euro:

1. Select Browse from the top menu bar and then select Active Debtors.
2. Click on the Debtor to open the Debtor dialog.
3. Click on the Principal field, and the Financial Detail dialog will open.
4. Click on down arrow to the right of the Currency field and the list of Locales installed on your system will be displayed.
5. Press Page Down until you see the currency that you require, and select that with your mouse. The currency symbol now changes in the Financial Detail dialog.
6. Click OK to save these settings, and the appropriate currency symbol is displayed in the Debtor dialog.

Printer Support For Your Currency

The Euro symbol can be printed correctly provided that the user's peripherals (such as printers) are designed to work with the Euro. Printer fonts that will support the Euro symbol include Times New Roman, Arial, and Courier New. For details, you can go to Microsoft's web site and view the Microsoft Office Euro page and the Euro Currency Symbol typography page. More information on printer issues can be found in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

Technical

We are using the Win32 call GetCurrencyFormat to convert a value into a currency string. This is a Win32 function that uses the Regional Settings in the Windows Control Panel. A language identifier is used to select the currency which is derived from ISO standards 639, 3166 and 4217. The numeric codes are store in the pick list attached to the currency field. You can edit the pick list and add new entries using the Field Properties command in the System menu, Layout and Languages.

Upon adding the Euro to the Regional Settings in Windows, you will be able update your system without limitation!