Getting Started & Desktop Interface Navigation

System Installation & Setup

MRSware Desktop is a native Windows application built on the Microsoft .NET Framework for maximum speed, security, and offline capability. It runs on Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server environments.

Desktop Interface Navigation

The MRSware Desktop interface is structured into four primary interactive zones:

• Top Menu Bar & Toolbars: Fast action buttons for New Contact, Quick Add Invoice, Send Email, Edit in Spreadsheet, and Data Analysis.
• Navigation Sidebar: Left panel allowing quick switching between CRM, MREPS Sales/Commissions, SFA, File Share, and System Admin modules.
• Workspace Viewport: Main workspace area supporting instant toggling between Table View, Compact Cards, and Multiline Cards.
• Dockable Panels & Status Bar: Integrated preview pane, statistics panels, database sync indicator, and RSS news bulletins.

Multi-Window Workspaces

Unlike standard web browsers that overwrite your context, MRSware Desktop supports true multi-window multitasking. You can right-click any company, customer, project, sales rep, or invoice listing and choose "Open in Separate Window". This allows you to inspect multiple transactions side-by-side without losing your place in master listings.

View Modes: Table View, Compact Card View & Multiline Card View

MRSware Desktop provides three standardized presentation view modes across CRM (Companies, Contacts, Tasks, Journals, Projects) and MREPS (Sales Rep Management):

Detailed Capabilities of Each View Mode

User Preferences, Themes & Workspace Customization

MRSware Desktop is engineered to be tailored to each user's unique role and daily routine. An agency principal monitoring pipelines or an outside rep reviewing customer notes needs a different daily view than an inside administrator processing hundreds of invoice line items or reconciling multi-tier commission statements. Every panel size, toolbar position, display font, and shortcut is remembered locally in your personal preferences (`%APPDATA%\MRSware\<username>\Preferences\`).

Themes & Custom Interface Colors

Under (General) → Colors, you can personalize the application color scheme:

• Preset Themes: Choose from pre-configured interface color themes in the Select a theme dropdown.
• Property Grid Customization: Modify individual interface elements—including window backgrounds, active highlight rows, grid borders, and panel headers—using the integrated property grid.
• Save as Theme: Click the Save as Theme link to preserve your customized color palette for future use.

Display Fonts & Typography

MRSware Desktop allows you to tailor typography and font sizes across the application interface to suit your display hardware, screen resolution (e.g. 4K, laptop, or multi-monitor setups), and personal readability preferences.

Configurable Font Settings

The Settings page (under Tools > Preferences > (General) > Settings) provides dedicated font configuration controls for the primary display areas of the desktop client:

How to Change a Font

1. On the Settings page, click the Font Dialog button next to the display area you wish to customize (e.g. Font for Card Views : or Font for Table Listings :).
2. In the standard Windows Font selection dialog:
   • Select your preferred Font family (e.g. Arial, Segoe UI, or Tahoma).
   • Select the Font style (e.g. Regular or Bold).
   • Select the point Size (e.g. 9, 10, 11, or 12).
3. Click OK in the Font dialog. The text box next to the button will immediately display your selection (for example: 10 pt. Segoe UI).
4. Click OK or Apply at the bottom of the Preferences dialog to save your changes. Open card views, grids, and dashboard panels refresh automatically with the updated typography.

Sort Search Menu Items

Also located on the Settings page is the Sort Search Menu Items checkbox:

• Checked by default (Recommended): When enabled, all entries under the top-level Search menu are alphabetized (e.g., Activities, Companies, Contacts, Customers, Invoices, Opportunities, Orders, Projects, Sales Reps). This provides fast alphabetical lookup when jumping directly to specialized search forms.
• Unchecked: If unchecked, menu items remain in their original default system order.

Managing, Resizing & Collapsing Panels in the Sidebar

The Sidebar on the left side of MRSware hosts quick-navigation and shortcut panels, including Shortcuts, Search, and New.

Resizing the Sidebar & Panels

• Sidebar Width (Splitter Bar): Hover over the vertical splitter dividing the Sidebar from the main workspace until the cursor becomes a horizontal resize arrow (↔). Click and drag left or right to make the entire sidebar wider or narrower.
• Individual Panel Height: Each panel in the sidebar features a blue header bar. Move your cursor over the upper edge of any panel header until it changes into a vertical resize arrow (↕). Click and drag up or down to allocate more or less vertical height to that panel.

Automated Sidebar Reset & Collapse Controls (`View > Side Bar`)

When changing screen resolutions, switching between laptop displays and external monitors, or moving windows between screens, sidebar panels can occasionally expand beyond the visible screen boundary. MRSware includes two built-in recovery tools under View → Side Bar:

Turning Panels On and Off

You can declutter your workspace by turning off panels or hiding the sidebar entirely:

• Toggle the Full Sidebar: Choose View → Side Bar → Show Side Bar. When unchecked, the sidebar disappears, granting maximum horizontal width for multi-column grids, wide Data Analysis cubes, or invoice spreadsheets.
• Toggle Individual Panels: Use the top-level View menu to turn specific sidebar child panels on or off:
  • View → Shortcuts: Displays or hides the Shortcuts panel.
  • View → Search: Displays or hides the Search panel.
  • View → New: Displays or hides the New object creation panel.
  When a panel is unchecked, MRSware automatically removes it from the sidebar and redistributes the vertical space to remaining panels.

Moving & Docking Toolbars

MRSware features an advanced multi-dock toolbar system (`ToolBarManager` and `ToolBarDockHolder`). Alongside the main workspace toolbar, you have three customizable satellite toolbars:

• New Toolbar: Quick-click buttons to create new records (Contacts, Invoices, Journals, Tasks).
• Shortcuts Toolbar: Instant navigation icons for your most-visited modules.
• Search Toolbar: Fast-access search dialog buttons and cross-module search.

How to Move and Dock Toolbars

1. Identify the Drag Handle: Each docked toolbar has a stippled gripper handle on its left/top edge along with its title (e.g. New >, Shortcuts >, Search >).
2. Click and Drag: Hover over the gripper until your cursor turns into a 4-way move cursor (✥). Click and drag the toolbar.
3. Dock to Any Border: Drag the toolbar toward the Top, Bottom, Left, or Right edge of the window. A dock guideline appears to indicate where the toolbar will snap.
4. Stack Rows or Align Side-by-Side: You can dock multiple toolbars side-by-side along the top row to save vertical space, or stack them into multiple rows.
5. Float as Tool Palettes: Drag a toolbar into the open workspace away from any window borders. The toolbar detaches into an independent Floating Window complete with its own title bar and close button (×), which you can position anywhere—even on a secondary monitor. Double-click the floating title bar or drag it back to an edge to re-dock it.

Customizing Toolbar & Shortcut Icons

As MRSware has expanded to encompass dozens of specialized screens and workflows, you may find that your default toolbars contain buttons you rarely use. You can customize exactly which icons appear in your toolbars and panels so that only your agency's vital daily workflows are visible.

Step-by-Step: Selecting Your Toolbar Icons

1. Go to Tools → Preferences... (Alt+T, then P).
2. In the left tree under (General), select Shortcuts.
3. The interactive tree displays every command, module, and search dialog in MRSware alongside its official icon:
   • File / New: Check or uncheck buttons for creating Invoices, Orders, Quotes, Contacts, Companies, Journals, Tasks, or Projects.
   • Go To: Check or uncheck module navigation buttons (e.g. Calendar, Data Analysis, Commissions, SFA).
   • Search: Check the specific search forms you use most frequently (e.g. Search Companies, Search Contacts, Search Invoices).
4. Check the box next to any action you want on your toolbar/sidebar, and uncheck any screens you do not use regularly.
5. Click OK or Apply. MRSware instantly rebuilds your Shortcuts, New, and Search toolbars and sidebar panels with your tailored icon set!

Turning Toolbars On and Off

If you prefer an uncluttered view, you can hide any toolbar completely:

• Click View → Toolbars on the top menu bar.
• Click any toolbar item (New, Shortcuts, or Search) to toggle its checkmark on or off.
• Floating toolbars can also be closed directly by clicking the × button on the floating header.

Toolbar dock positions and visibility preferences are saved automatically across sessions.

Customizing Tab Stops for Lightning-Fast Data Entry

For high-throughput transactions like Wholesale Order Entry, Invoice Entry, and Payment Entry, you can configure the exact keyboard navigation path across form fields:

1. On any Order, Invoice, or Quick Add screen, click Options → Customize Tab Stops (or right-click the form header).
2. In the Tab Stop dialog, check only the essential fields your team populates (e.g. Manufacturer, Customer, Invoice #, Invoice Date, Product #, Quantity, Price).
3. Uncheck secondary or auto-calculated fields (such as extended commissions, terms, or secondary addresses).
4. Save your tab order. Now, pressing Tab jumps directly between your essential fields, allowing staff to enter complete records at maximum speed using keyboard navigation alone without touching the mouse!

Dockable Record Preview Window

The Record Preview Window (or Preview Pane) delivers instantaneous, zero-click inspection of any selected record across Table View, Compact Card View, and Multiline Card View without launching modal dialogs.

Key Capabilities of the Preview Window:

• Zero-Click Inspection: Moving your selection with arrow keys or mouse clicks instantly renders the full record profile in the preview pane.
• Flexible Docking Layouts: Dock the preview pane to the Right (recommended for wide monitors), to the Bottom, set to auto-hide, or undock/float it onto a secondary physical monitor.
• Rich HTML Document Rendering: Powered by an embedded read-only HTML engine displaying structured tables, contact badges, key dates, and financial metrics.
• Line-Break & Formatting Preservation: Multi-line notes, call interaction logs, and project descriptions preserve natural line breaks (<br/>) and whitespace formatting cleanly.
• Top Action Bar:
  • Edit Button: Instantly opens the standard Add/Edit dialog for the highlighted record.
  • Print Button: Triggers direct WYSIWYG printing using the native Windows Print dialog (DocumentPrint()) for immediate hard-copy generation.
• High-Performance 250ms Debouncing: Equipped with an intelligent 250ms selection timer to ensure rapid scrolling through thousands of records without UI stutter or unnecessary database round-trips.
• Selection-Based Blanking: Cleans the preview canvas automatically when no record is selected or during active search filtering.

Edit in Spreadsheet Functionality

For high-volume data entry and rapid multi-row maintenance, MRSware Desktop incorporates the reusable SpreadsheetGridControl engine. This feature brings full Microsoft Excel spreadsheet ergonomics directly into core business screens—including Invoice Entry, Product Catalog, and Sales Rep Management.

Spreadsheet Features & Power-User Tools:

• In-Cell Editing & Keyboard Navigation: Click any cell or press Enter to begin typing. Press Tab to advance to the next cell or Enter to move down to the next row.
• Add-New Row Line: An empty insertion row is anchored at the bottom of the grid (NewRowPosition.BottomRow), allowing continuous rapid data entry without opening new dialogs.
• Excel Clipboard Copy & Paste (Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V): Copy multi-column tabular data straight from external Microsoft Excel spreadsheets or CSV files and press Ctrl+V (or click "Paste from Excel") to populate hundreds of rows instantaneously.
• Freeze Columns: Right-click any column header and select Freeze Column to lock key reference columns (e.g. Invoice #, Part #, Rep Name) on the left while scrolling horizontally through wide datasets.
• Header Sorting & Context Menu: Sort columns ascending or descending by clicking headers, auto-fit column widths, or customize column alignment.
• Cell Fill-Down: Duplicate values down consecutive rows quickly for repetitive field entry.
• Search & Filter (Ctrl+F): Built-in search toolbar to highlight and filter rows by any keyword or column value in real-time.
• Export to CSV / Excel: Export your customized spreadsheet view to standard CSV or Excel files with a single click.
• Atomic Batch Validation & Transactional Save: Includes Save Changes and Save & Close options with live progress indicators. All rows undergo data validation (e.g. valid dates, required lookups, split percentage bounds) and commit to the database in a single atomic transaction.

Interactive Statistics Panels & Home Dashboard

MRSware Desktop features dynamic statistics panels engineered to give agency principals and reps immediate operational intelligence without running formal reports:

Grid Controls, Sorting & Grouping

All listings in MRSware Desktop feature comprehensive sorting, grouping, and customization tools:

• Table Column Header Sorting: In Table View, click any column header to sort ascending or descending. An arrow indicator shows the current sort order.
• Sort Toolbar Button (Card Views): In Compact Cards and Multiline Cards where table headers are absent, use the Sort dropdown button on the top toolbar. Click any available field to sort, and click the currently selected field to toggle between Ascending (Asc) and Descending (Desc) order (indicated with a checkmark).
• Column Chooser: Right-click grid headers to add, remove, or reorder custom data fields.
• Multi-Column Grouping: Drag header column buttons to the top grouping panel to nest records hierarchically (e.g. Group by Principal > Group by Sales Rep).
• Summary Aggregates: Display real-time totals, averages, and counts at the bottom of numeric columns (Sales, Commission, Cost, Lifetime Value, Churn) formatted cleanly as whole numbers.

Search & Advanced Filtering

MRSware provides versatile tools to locate and isolate records quickly across tables and card views:

1. Filter Toolbar Button: Dropdown button on the workspace toolbar enabling fast filtering by status, category, or follow-up flag color (Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Orange, Complete, Not Flagged, or All).
2. Context Menu Filtering (By Selection & Excluding Selection): Right-click any card or row and select:
   • Filter > By Selection: Shows only records matching the selected entity (e.g. all emails from that sender or tasks for that contact).
   • Filter > Excluding Selection: Inverts the filter to hide records matching that entity, removing noise from recurring alerts or automated notifications.
   • Filter > Remove Filter: Restores the full recordset.
3. Inline Grid Search: Type directly in column header search cells for instant autocomplete in Table View.
4. Multi-Condition Filter Builder: Combine AND / OR conditions across multiple criteria (e.g. Sales Rep = 'Smith' AND YTD Sales > $50,000).
5. Date Range Filtering: Presets for This Month, Last Quarter, Year-to-Date, or custom calendar ranges.
6. Saved Filter Presets: Save frequently used search filters to your personal toolbar shortcuts.