How to Choose a Company in the ABM Service Desktop App
The second step of the ABM Service desktop sign-in window lists every company your user in ABM (Advanced Business Manager) may open. One click on a company opens ABM Service for that company, and the sign-in window then closes itself. If you may open only one company, this step is skipped and ABM Service starts straight away.
How do I choose which company to open in the desktop app?
After you press Sign in in the ABM Service desktop sign-in window, click the company you want in the list. There is no separate Open button: the click opens it.
- Sign in with your name and ABM password in the ABM Service desktop sign-in window.
- Check the heading: it shows your name and, under it, the number of companies you may open.
- Click the company you want. Each row shows the company's name and, under it, the name of its database.
- Wait while the window says Starting ABM Service… under the company's name. The sign-in window then closes, and ABM Service opens on its Home screen for that company.
The list shows exactly the companies ABM gives your user, sorted by name. Nothing is marked as "recently opened": the desktop app does not remember which company you chose last time.
How do I find a company when there are a lot of them?
When you may open more than six companies, a search box appears above the list in the ABM Service desktop sign-in window, with the hint Search companies, databases, servers. Type any part of the company's name, its database name or its server name, and the list narrows as you type.
If nothing matches, you will see No company matches followed by what you typed. Clear the box to see every company again.
With six companies or fewer there is no search box, because the whole list already fits in the window.
Searching by database or server is useful when support tells you which database to open, or when several companies have similar names: each row shows the database name under the company's name, and Details at the foot of the list adds the server.
What does the Details button show in the company list?
Details, at the foot of the company list in the ABM Service desktop sign-in window, adds each company's server and its database version to its row, after the database name. Press Hide details to take them away again.
The database versions are fetched only when you press Details, for all the companies at once, so each row may show "…" for a moment. A row that shows a dash instead of a version means ABM Service could not read a version for that company: either its database did not answer, or it answered but holds no version setting. A dash does not by itself mean the company cannot be opened. This is useful when support asks which server or version a company is on, or when two companies have similar names.
The line at the very foot of the window names ABM's control database (the list of users and companies that ABM itself keeps), the ABM version, and the version of ABM Service you are running.
How do I go back if I chose the wrong name?
Press Not you? at the top of the company list in the ABM Service desktop sign-in window. It takes you back to the first step, Who you are, with the password cleared, so you can choose another name and sign in again.
If you signed in and were told There is no company for this user., press Choose another name instead: it does the same thing. That message means ABM has given your user no company; whoever looks after ABM can give you one in ABM’s own user list.
To change user or company once ABM Service is already open, you do not sign out. Open ABM Service Desktop from the Start menu again and sign in as the other person or pick the other company. Each company you open runs on its own, with its own tray icon beside the clock, and you can have several open at once. Signing in as another person does not close the first person's copy: it keeps running, with its own tray icon, until you choose Exit on that icon.
Why won't a company open from the desktop sign-in window?
When a company cannot be opened, the ABM Service desktop sign-in window goes back to the company list and says why above it. The list stays, so you can press the same company again once the problem is fixed.
- A message beginning The company database is unreachable — the company's database server did not answer. Try again in a moment; if it keeps happening, tell whoever looks after ABM or your IT support.
- That company is not in this user's list., or a message beginning Unable to locate company — the company is no longer one your user may open. Close the window and sign in again to get a fresh list.
- A message beginning ABM could not start the application — the desktop app could not start its own program for that company. Try again; if it repeats, tell your IT support.
- The company could not be opened. — the desktop app got no reason back. Try again; if it repeats, tell your IT support.
If ABM Service is already open for the same user and company, choosing it again does not start a second copy. A new Home window opens in the copy that is already running.