Love the Tabbed Feature in Server Manager

Today, I have started actually using the New Server Version that I installed last week. As I had to update two months of accounts it was really handy to be able to add new suppliers, inventory items etc on the fly by right clicking the tab or entry on the summary page etc while I was creating new invoices. I ended up having several tabs open to have quick easy access to invoices, accounts payable etc.

Really pleased to have this feature! :grinning: It makes such a difference to working on your accounts - really streamlines the process. I think my accountant will be really pleased as I am sure that it will make end of year accounts so much faster to have tabs side by side.

However, since I started using Bank Imports - wow what a timesaver - killer feature! My accounts reconcile in minutes now, not hours!

Now if I could just get Manager to make the coffee… :+1:

You must have missed the many forum discussions and newsletter articles on how to do this in the desktop edition. The capability to open multiple windows has always been there. The only difference is, in the desktop edition the first window looks like a dedicated Manager window, while others are more obviously browser windows. In the server edition, everything looks like a browser window.

I don’t know about macbooks, but in Windows you have never been able to right click and open a new tab in Manager. I know because I tried.

Oh well. Doesn’t matter. I am enjoying using the feature now.

You start by opening in a new window, which opens as a tab in the browser. From there you can open new tabs.

Ok this must have been added over the last year or two I guess. When I tried it out a couple of years ago, it did not work in the desktop version. Oh well. I have it now!

It is not now and never has been a feature of Manager. It’s a function of how your operating system interacts with browsers. That is why it isn’t covered in the Guides. The exact procedure differs slightly between operating systems.

I think it would help users if there was a guide on it covering all operating systems and all versions of Manager.
Happy to contribute screen shots if needed for windows. Other will need to do screen shots for Mac and Linux

I booted up my laptop to test whether I could create new windows etc. I seem to be able to, but I can see it is far more preferable to use tabs - which is not supported in Manager Desktop and it is probably this that I tried years ago. New Windows isn’t really that practical to use compared to tabs.

@Patch I don’t really know that the guide needs screenshots. Right click and select Tab or Windows is really all you need to say.

Remember, @dalacor, the tabs you like so much are not from the server edition either. They are from the browser you are using to access it. And those depend on your browser preferences. They could just as easily be separate windows.

Once you have done “Open in new window” once and got Manager into a browser tab, you can subsequently open as many tabs as you like in the same browser, just like you would in the server edition.

Well, given that there still seems to be confusion about this, maybe a guide with screenshots would be useful. While @Tut is correct to point out that the exact behaviour of the windows and tabs is dependant on your operating system and browser and is not controlled by Manager, I suspect that many users of the desktop edition don’t know that, and see it as a stand-alone app. Just like you did, they could miss out on some of the functionality because they didn’t make the connection and understand the behaviour as being browser-based.

I do have a question about this behaviour in the server edition: In the desktop edition, if you open a new window or tab, the content of this does not update or auto-refresh as you make changes in another window or tab – you need to manually refresh the page or navigate to a different page to see the changes reflected. Is this the same in the server edition? I’m guessing it probably is.

I think it is because I tried it before in desktop version and didn’t like the way it worked, especially as other people mentioned about having to refresh the pages.

In the server edition, if I create a purchase invoice and suddenly realise I need to create a new supplier or inventory item, I can open a new tab, create the supplier or inventory item and then go back to the Purchase invoice and I can select the new supplier or inventory item from the drop down. I assume that this is what you mean?

I’ve just tested, and if I’m creating a sales invoice but haven’t yet created the customer I need, I can open the Customers tab in a new browser tab, create the customer, then revert back to the tab with the open Sale invoice edit screen and select the customer I have just created.

I was thinking more about things like the figures on the Summary page. Those don’t update in real time as you make changes to your accounts in other tabs, so you need to refresh the page if you want to see the effects of what you’ve just done.

With the desktop edition there is that extra step of having to do the first “Open in new window” to get from Manager’s own browser instance to your web browser of choice, but once you’re there I think you can use it just as you would the server edition.

I realise you started this topic as a happy user just celebrating one of Manager’s great features, and you’ve been challenged and corrected, which doesn’t seem in keeping with the spirit of the thread! But hopefully it helps other users discover and understand this aspect of the program that you find so helpful.

Yes I see what you mean. For me the value of the tabs is doing precisely what you described in the first paragraph. It’s amazing how often one needs to add a new supplier, client or inventory item while creating invoices and quotes.

Agree, figures on summary pages would need to be refreshed. They are basically pulling data from the table and presenting it. It probably is possible that Manager could be designed to update pages in real time but speaking for myself, I don’t see it is worth it.

Once you have the relevant tabs open, it’s trivial to refresh - hell I can probably use the browser refresh button to do it!

All in all I am very pleased with the tab functionality. Yes it does work in Desktop Manager but as you say you have to start off with a new window and then tab it. I just prefer working in a browser now. I wish that Manager had an accessible CSS file so that I could customise Manager as it’s now basically a website I guess. I would love to get rid of the yellow background and replace it with a colour that I actually like! I might add a question on that.

But the best thing about this program is definitely bank import. Since I started using it, it has made my accounting so much quicker, far less time spent on it. I can’t believe how inefficient I was before.

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Correct, once upon a time having multiple tabs open was in fact marketed / promoted as one of the feature differences, along with multiple users, between the Desktop and the Server / Cloud versions.

However a User a couple of years back, who I wont name (but not me), fluked upon right clicking the tab and received the operating system option of opening the tab in a separate window.

Hence, since then the Desktop version could function as a de facto multiple tab server version.

If I owned Manager I wouldn’t want to see a Guide which promotes a backdoor variant of the Server product as that has revenue implications.

Which is what the Desktop version is “a stand-alone app”. Just because you can right click a tab, doesn’t change that stand-alone status as it can still only function on one computer at a time with one user.

While we are on the right click, do you want to know another trick. When on the Summary screen, right click the report (not the tab) and select “print”, then you can print the BS and P&L together, side by side on the same page.

That last trick is a Windows (and maybe Linux) thing. To do that on a Mac, you must first open an instance of Manager in a browser—as described above—rather than the dedicated Manager window. Then you can right-click in the browser window and print the page.

This is something that has always surprised me about the developer, particularly the way he provides support for Dropbox, Onedrive etc. My response would be if users want to use Desktop Manager on more than one PC, then they should be using the Cloud or Server version! No if’s, and’s or buts.

It doesn’t make any business sense to me to sabotage sales of the cloud and Server versions by supporting the desktop versions to do things that really require a multi computer version. That’s what the cloud and server versions are for! He should be marketing the server and cloud editions to offer features that the desktop version doesn’t.

My principle is not to artificially cripple desktop edition. It should be as powerful as it can be. Sure, it can cannibalize revenue of paid editions but so be it.

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@lubos Appreciated. Even though I am using Cloud Edition.

As it’s your product, it’s your choice. Putting aside the licensing factor, I am a little dubious as to the safety of any database in dropbox etc. Files can get corrupted during transmission over Internet. I just kind think it’s dangerous personally.

But I am really enjoying the Server version thank you!

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I am very very grateful. I still can’t believe that I can get a fully-featured package like this for free, without ads, feature limits, or annoying pop-ups prompting me to upgrade to the paid version and reminding me what I am missing out on, and with excellent forum support. And the ability to synchronise over Dropbox makes it so useful and powerful for my way of working. I don’t have a problem with paying for something as useful and essential to my business as Manager is, but living in a country with such a confusing, every-changing financial system means that making payments to foreign entities is a non-trivial exercise at best, and near-impossible at times. I’m grateful that Manager enables me to avoid that stress every month, and has helped me learn essential business skills in a way that actually has me enjoying doing my accounts. Thank you @lubos! When I need to upgrade to a multi-user platform, I’ll definitely be sticking with Manager, and will be glad to give you my money.

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