I’ve always thought the process of maintaining Chris21 XML templates is clumsy at best. You know the process – after each upgrade you need to copy the templates folder from the upgrade disc to the location on your network where users can access them. And usually it’s an IT function to do this. It can be, and often is, overlooked.

It’s not until you try to run a report that it will fail, due to version incompatibility. And that’s usually going to be a hassle when you’re in the middle of a payrun.

New process for templates

Recently, this confusion has been compounded by the need for special treatment for any templates that have been customised. There is a new step in the upgrade process to run a program over these customised templates to ‘convert’ them. To do this you have to copy the individual customised templates into a separate folder along with the ChrisTemplateConverter program and then run the program. After this, you copy the customised templates back into your default templates folder.

It’s not that it’s a particularly difficult process to follow, the problem is knowing that it must be done. I think it’s a once off process, it won’t be required for future upgrades – but I’m not 100% sure on that. The whole XML templates thing has always been a bit confusing.

Yes, it is in the release notes and we should all read and understand them but it’s not always clear. I scanned through the notes and initially thought it was a process required for all templates. Some of my clients thought the same thing. It took another read to get a clearer picture.

How to manage templates

During upgrades I always answer queries from clients about the Chris21 XML templates functionality. Here are the main things that you should do to ensure a smooth templates upgrade:

• If you have customised templates they will need to be copied from the existing templates folder into a new folder, along with the ChrisTemplateConverter application.
• Run the ChrisTemplateConverter application to convert customised templates.
• Next, copy the entire templates folder supplied with the upgrade (or downloaded from the Frontier Software website) to the location of the existing tempates and overwrite them.
• Copy your converted customised template into your templates folder.
• Make sure that users have personalised Chris21 so that they can access the updated templates. This step is important. Often clients will have multiple template folders on the network, and some of these will be out of date. Ensure that users are pointing to the recently updated folder.
• Each user can personalise Chris21 by selecting Tools -> Options from the top menu

Then browsing to the location of the updated XML templates and clicking OK

If you are still seeing errors when attempting to run your XML reports after the latest upgrade, have a look at the release notes for any steps you may have missed. Another option is the Chris21 Support Network on LinkedIn. Some fellow Chris21 users have been kind enough to offer some helpful advice on this topic.

It can sometimes be challenging when you are asked to write a report in Chris21 but you’re not sure if you can get the information required. You know how to write reports but sometimes they can be tricky.

There are all sorts of little tricks you can employ when using the Chris21 report designer.

For instance, did you know there are hidden fields that are available to you? Hidden fields are those that do not appear on the Chris21 form but are on the file, or perhaps generated on the fly, and therefore can be accessed in your reports.

A good example of this is the Manager Number on the Details (DET) form.

This field doesn’t appear anywhere on the DET form, but it can be included in your report output. This can be very handy if you want a report that shows employees and their current manager.

Incidentally, this report will also highlight cases where an employee does not have a manager. This tells you that you need to update the Relationships (REL) form.

Identifying Hidden Fields

In the Report Designer you add fields to your Chris21 reports using the Field Chooser. You then navigate to the form you want to report from. By default, this will display a copy of the actual form, you then choose the fields you want in your report.

All pretty standard so far right? But you don’t have to be limited to the view of the form.

Hidden Fields Are Not Immediately Obvious

I guess that’s why we call them hidden. They are just one of those things that are there, but you won’t know it, especially as a new user.

You must go looking to find fields that are not on the form but that you might want in your report. Fortunately, they are easy to find when you know how.

Select the All Fields tab at the bottom of the Field Chooser. This will display a list of all the fields that are available, but don’t necessarily show on the form.

When you scan through the list, you might be surprised at the fields that are there, but you didn’t know existed.

In the example below, I have found the Managers Number field.

Double click this field to add it to your report.

Usually, you will want the manager’s name to go with their number. You can translate this field to get the manager’s name, as you would do with DET NUMBER to get the employee’s name.

A Bit More Help

For more help to achieve this, see my blog Did You Know You Can Include the Manager’s ID in Your Chris21 Reports?

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions by leaving a comment!