Navigate by click

As shown in the ChannelCRMs data model almost all the information in ChannelCRM is linked. Or connected. Contacts in companies. Activities belongs to contacts, companies and perhaps projects. Forecasts relates to customers, etc.

This means that you, can easily go from one place in the system to another. From a list of companies to company details. From a contact's detail information to the company, in which the contact is employed.

At all places where this is feasible, it is indicated by the cursor turning into a hand (instead of the usual arrow). You can double-click and thus open detailed information on the subject.  You can also keep your keyboard's Shift key pressed while double-clicking. Doing so will open the detailed information in a new window.

In the screen shot above navigable fields for one activity are shown with red arrows. Double click on one of these fields and detail information for it relevant company, contact, project or activity opens.

This approach to navigate the data is used throughout ChannelCRM and after a short time you will discover that you can intuitively find your data with click navigation. The truth is that the real sales world is linked in a similar manner. And so it is easy to remember.

It also means that it will be easier to navigate your own data structure, the more you use it when you enter data. If you create an activity, remember to let the activity be linked to both the company, contact person, and possibly project. This usually happens automatically because the activity will be created with knowledge of the context. (If it is created by clicking the plus button to a contact's activity list, the system will "know" both the person concerned and the company.)

Thus, the basic (Windows default) method to create an activity via the menu File | New | Activity is also the most cumbersome. In this case, the new activity knows nothing about the context and you must attach yourself to contact, company and project.

Technique

The way all this information is linked is via system key fields. For every contact, there is a unique ContactId - for every company, there is a unique CompanyId and so on.

In the system default editors and views, this information is automatically linked. However, you can use it even when you build personal and global lists. If you - in such lists - include the key fields (even if you choose not to show them), the lists will be "navigatable" as the rest of the system.

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