How to Find a Customer on the Customers List
The quickest way to find one customer is the search box on the toolbar of the Customers list, beside Refresh and New Customer. Type the start of the customer's code or Eircode, or part of its name or address, then pick the customer from the list that drops down; the Customers list then shows that one customer, as long as your other filters let it through. The box stays on screen even when the filter rail is folded away.
How do I search for a customer on the Customers list?
Type at least two characters into the search box at the top of the Customers list (it reads Search by code, name or address), then pick the customer from the list that drops down. The Customers list narrows to that one customer, and a Customer chip naming it appears on the filter line.
- Open Customers from the navigation menu.
- Type the start of the code or Eircode, or part of the name or address, into the search box on the toolbar.
- Choose the customer from the drop-down list with the mouse, or press the Down and Up arrow keys to move through the matches and Enter to pick one. Escape closes the drop-down.
- Read the result: the Customers list now shows only that customer, and the search box is empty again, ready for the next search.
The other filters you have on still apply to the picked customer. If you have ticked a group, a category or an account manager, or filtered a column, and the customer you pick does not fit that filter, the Customers list says No customers match. Select the × on the chip of the filter that is in the way, or select Clear all filters at the end of the filter line and pick the customer again.
Nothing is searched until you have typed two characters. Each match shows the customer's code and name, the first line of the address, and a small word saying which field matched: code, name, address, or your company's word for a postcode (Eircode on an Irish system, postcode elsewhere). Your typed letters are highlighted in each match.
What does the customer search match, and in what order?
The search box on the Customers list matches the customer's code first, then the name, then the address, then the Eircode or postcode, and lists the matches in that order. The line at the foot of the drop-down says so, for example Active customers · by code, then name, then address, then Eircode.
- Code matches only when the code starts with what you typed, so type a code from its first character.
- Name matches when the name starts with what you typed, and after those, when the name contains it anywhere.
- Address matches when the mailing address contains what you typed anywhere.
- Eircode or postcode matches only when it starts with what you typed, so type it from its first character. It is only looked at when what you typed contains a digit, because every Eircode and postcode has one.
The search box does not look at phone numbers, e-mail addresses or the names of a customer's contacts. To find a customer by phone number, use the filter button on the Phone column heading of the Customers list, choose Contains and type part of the number; the Accounts e-mail column's filter works the same way for an e-mail address.
A customer found in more than one way is listed once, at its best match. The drop-down shows up to 20 active matches, so if the customer you want is not there, type a little more. Selecting Also search inactive accounts can add up to 20 more after them.
An Eircode can be typed with or without its space, and the first three characters alone (the routing key) find the customers in that area. When the match was on the Eircode, the match shows the Eircode in front of the address so you can see what matched.
To begin with the search looks at active accounts only. If nothing matches, the foot of the drop-down says No active customer matches.
How do I find an inactive customer or a prospect?
Search as usual in the box at the top of the Customers list, then select Also search inactive accounts at the foot of the drop-down. ABM Service then searches the accounts that are not active, and adds them after the active matches, each tagged inactive or prospect so you can tell them apart.
The foot of the drop-down says Searching inactive accounts… while it looks, then Active, then inactive once they are added. If none match, it says No inactive accounts match either.
Inactive accounts are only searched when you ask, so the everyday search stays quick and a closed account is never mistaken for a live one.
Why did the Customers list switch to All when I picked a customer?
The Customers list switches Which accounts to All when the customer you picked would not be shown by the choice that was on. For example, picking an inactive account while the list shows Active would otherwise leave an empty list with a chip claiming the filter worked.
When this happens, a line appears under Which accounts in the filter rail saying why, in the form "(customer name) is not an active account, so the list now shows every status." The same happens the other way round: picking an active customer while the list shows Prospect widens the list to All and says the customer "is not a prospect".
If the picked customer already fits the Which accounts choice, nothing changes except the list narrowing to that customer. The line explaining the switch disappears at your next change to the filters, and it cannot be seen while the filter rail is folded away; the Accounts chip on the filter line still shows All.
How do I clear the customer search and see the whole list again?
Select the × on the Customer chip at the top of the Customers list, or select Clear all filters at the end of the filter line. The list goes back to every customer that fits your other filters. To then see every customer whose name contains the same word, filter the Name column of the Customers list with Contains.
Clear all filters takes off the picked customer and every column and tick-list filter, but it does not change Which accounts. If the list switched to All when you picked the customer, it stays on All until you choose Active again in the Which accounts block of the filter rail.
Note: Take the Customer chip off before you go back to Active. If you choose Active while an inactive customer or a prospect is still picked, the Customers list says No customers match, because that customer is not an active account.
The Customer chip also has an open-in-new-tab link (its tooltip reads Open the customer in a new tab in a browser, or Open the customer in a new window in the ABM Service desktop app) that opens that customer's screen in the new tab or window.
What is the difference between the search box and the Name or Code filter?
The search box on the Customers list finds one customer and shows only that customer. The Name and Code column filters narrow the list to every customer whose name or code starts with, or contains, what you type.
Use the Name filter when you want a family of accounts, for example every account whose name contains the same word:
- Clear any customer you picked with the search box first, with the × on its Customer chip on the filter line of the Customers list. The two combine, so while a picked customer is on, the list stays on that one customer whatever the Name filter says.
- Select the filter button on the Name column heading of the Customers list.
- Choose Starts with or Contains.
- Type part of the name into the box (it reads Type part of the name…) and select Apply.
The Code filter works the same way with Type part of the code…. Case is ignored. A name filter and a picked customer can both be on at once, each with its own chip, but together they show only the picked customer, and only if its name fits the filter. So after picking one customer called Smith, clear the pick and filter Name for Smith to see them all.
Can I open a customer straight from the search results?
Yes. In the drop-down under the search box on the Customers list, hover over a match's code or name and select the open-in-new-tab link beside it (its tooltip reads Open the customer in a new tab in a browser, or Open the customer in a new window in the ABM Service desktop app). The customer's screen opens in the new tab or window and nothing is picked, so the Customers list stays as it was.