Configure system key settings

Introduction

Before the users even start working with the XTRF Platform, you, as the administrator, should configure the system settings to make sure that all data is saved and secure. You need to determine how the data should be displayed, your default currency unit, and essential language settings for your project managers. This article outlines how to set up the basic configuration of the system before making the very first steps within the XTRF Platform.

  1. First of all, locate the Configuration menu: click the icon on the Top menu bar.

  2. In the accordion menu that appears on the left, select General Configuration → Settings.

  3. Click the Edit button.


I. Provide the administrator’s details

In the General Configuration → General Configuration → Settings → Administrator tab, you can update the ‘admin’ account's coordinates, like First and Last Names and E-mail Address.

For more details, click the Show administrator account link. You will be directed to the admin’s user page in the General Configuration → User Management → Users section. For more details, see the User Management – Users article.


II. Configure the outgoing e-mail service

In the E-mail tab, you can configure your outgoing e-mail service used for sending notifications to the Home Portal users, clients, and vendors. To learn how to do this, see the General Configuration – Settings – E-mail tab article.


III. Adjust formats to your needs

In the Numer and Date Formatting tab, you can determine the formats of different system settings.

  1. In the Date Format field, provide the date format typical for your geographical area.

  2. In the Date and Time Format field, provide the date and time format for your geographical area in your system. The default timezone is set to Central European Time (CET) +0100 UTC.

  3. Click the advanced link to set how the time zones will be displayed in XTRF. Additional fields will appear.

    • Select the Main Time Zone. If your XTRF server is hosted in another time zone, the system time may not match your local time. You can decide which of these will be set as main: the System Time (your server time) and User Time (time in your location).

      If you set the User Time Zone as a default one, the time zone in the users' accounts also needs to be set correctly to avoid the situation where the same time is displayed twice on the user's screen. To learn how to do this, see the User Management – Users article.

    • Depending on your choice in the Main Time Zone section, the next section would be Display User Time or Display System Time. Select whether you want to display the other time zone next to the main one.

    • In the next section, set the format for displaying the additional time zone.

    • To hide those fields, click the basic link.

  4.  From the Decimal Separator drop-down list, select the separator type the users will be using: dot or comma.

  5.  From the Grouping Separator drop-down list, select the separator type the users will be using: white space, dot, or comma.

  6. In the Percentage Format field, define how the percentage value should be provided. The default format is #.# %.

  7. In the Rate Format field, determine how the rate values should be provided. The default format is #0.0000.

  8. In the Quantity Format field, define how the quantity value should be provided. The default format is #,###,##0.00.

  9. In the Currency Format field, define how the currency value should be provided. The default format is #,###,##0.00.

  10. With the Currency Sign drop-down list, specify where and how the currency sign should be placed: before or after value, with or without white space.


IV. Configure your default settings

In the Defaults tab, you can edit the default system settings, such as the base calculation unit or exchange rate applying policy for the Home Portal. To learn how to do this, see the General Configuration – Settings – Defaults tab article.


V. Set up your dashboard

In the Dashboard tab, you can configure some settings for the Classic dashboard (see the General Configuration – Settings – Dashboard tab article). To learn more about the XTRF dashboards, see the Dashboard module article.


VI. Configure the CRM settings

In the General Configuration → General Configuration → Settings CRM tab, you can manage the notifications for project managers and sales persons (for Classic projects only). To learn how to do this, see the General Configuration – Settings – CRM tab article.


VII. Set up your Paths and URLs

In the General Configuration → General Configuration → Settings Paths and URLs tab, you can configure the location of the XTRF Platform.

  • In the XTRF System URL field, provide the URL specifying the location of your XTRF Platform. The URL format for the XTRF Platform should be as follows: https:// proxyhostname:portnumber /xtrf .

  • If you run the XTRF Platform on your local machines, in the System Home Directory field, provide the location where the files should be stored.

    When users create items such as quotes, projects, etc., in the XTRF Platform, all data is stored in the files locally. The default file path to these data files is  C:\Users\ yourusername \xtrf


VIII. Decide on the History scope

XTRF captures and stores the history of changes in 3 scopes: Client, Vendor, and Project or Quote. If you want historical data to be recorded in any of those areas, make sure they are on the right-hand side as Selected Items.

History is kept for a specified period only. Usually, one month is enough - it may be extended to up to a year in the Keep History for section.

(For on-premise clients) The stored data can be erased by clicking on the Purge history button.

You can limit access to the History tab for certain user groups in Configurartion menu > User Management > User Groups and Rights.

IMPORTANT!

Gathering big amounts of historical data can slow down your system. To avoid this, you can select only some of the available components or schedule monthly cleanups.