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Navigating the NexJ CRM user interface

The NexJ CRM application window consists of a toolbar at the top, a navigator sidebar on the left side, a workspace area in the center, an application sidebar on the right side, and the floating action button in the bottom-right corner. NexJ CRM provides several workspaces that display information by category and enable you to perform a variety of specialized actions. Workspaces display either cards containing information or data tables containing records. Records display in a data table based on your filter selections and search criteria. For example, the data table on the Contacts workspace can display contact, company, household, or user records.

The first time you start NexJ CRM you will see the Home workspace, which is a summary of the information that is most relevant to you. For more information about the Home workspace, see Home workspace. Each of the other workspaces focuses on a particular feature or function of the application. For example, the Contacts workspace allows you to view and manage client records and the Schedule workspace displays your calendar and enables you to schedule action items.

Using the navigator sidebar to open workspaces

The navigator sidebar displays on the left side of the application window and enables you to navigate between available workspaces. To expand the sidebar menu, and see the names of the workspaces, click the collapsed menu button at the top of the sidebar, or click directly on a workspace button to navigate to that workspace. For example, click the Schedule button to open the Schedule workspace. Available workspaces are listed below:

ButtonWorkspace

Home

Contacts

Schedule

Tasks

Document Manager

Opportunities

Customize

Reports

Nudges

Service Level Management

Import

Using the application toolbar

The application toolbar is located at the top of the application window and contains the following buttons:

ButtonDescription

The Conversations button opens the Conversations sidebar. When you have unread messages, the Conversations button indicates the number of conversations with unread messages, for example .

The Notifications button opens the Notifications sidebar. If there are unread notifications in your notifications stream, the Notifications button indicates the number of unread notifications, for example .

The User settings button opens the following menu options:

  • User Preferences
    Opens the User Preferences dialog which contains options for setting the region and language preferences for NexJ CRM, choosing a default Document Manager folder, managing turned-off notifications, and managing reminders for tasks or schedule items. For more information, see Regionalization.

    When managing reminders, you should be aware of the following information:

    • If you re-enable reminders within the same day that you have disabled them, you will see reminders for the times they were scheduled. An alarm will be displayed as a Reminders dialog at the times you selected for the reminders.
    • If you don't re-enable reminders within the same day that you have disabled them, you will not receive an alarm for overdue reminders for previous hours. 

    For more information about setting reminders and responding to them, see Tasks and Schedule items.

  • Batch Processes

    Opens the Batch Processes dialog where you can view the status of a batch process.
  • Files
    Enables you to download files when they are available for download.
  • About NexJ CRM
    Displays information about the version of NexJ CRM.
  • NexJ CRM Help
    Opens the portal page for the product documentation.

Using cards on workspaces

Some workspaces contain cards, which are containers of information that you can interact with. Cards serve as entry points to information that is more detailed. Depending on the workspace, cards can display tables of data, lists of tasks, summary charts, or information fields. You can add, edit, and delete records on cards that contain a data table. You can also mark tasks as complete, run reports, or navigate to other workspaces from a variety of cards. For example, on the Home workspace, on the Today's Agenda card, you can add a schedule item using one of the available templates.

The placement of cards in the user interface is determined by the responsive design.

Summary cards display items containing information. Item details can be expanded to show quick actions that can be performed directly from the card. For example, on the Home workspace, you can expand a task on the My Tasks card and click Mark As Complete or Delete. Summary cards also contain the Add button which enables you to add an additional item and in some cases the More Actions menu button which contains additional action options.

In addition, summary cards can have the following action buttons:

ButtonDescription
MoreExpands the card to show additional items. The More button is only available if there are five or more items on the card. If there are additional items available to view, you can click it again. When there are no more items left to display, the button is not available.
LessReturns the card to the previous amount of displayed items.
View AllOpens the associated workspace.

Chart cards graphically display information based on a mathematical formula.

Total amounts in the charts use the M character to denote millions. For example, 20 million is displayed as 20M and 1 billion (1 thousand million) is displayed as 1000M. The total amount in the charts is also a rounded number. For example, if the amount is less than or equal to 4.4 million then the amount displays as 4M, and if the amount is greater than or equal to 4.5 million, it displays as 5M.

Charts contain colored segments or bands and a legend that indicates what information is displayed. The size of the segments and bands is relative.

You can interact with charts in the following ways:

  • To see a tooltip that provides details about the information represented by a segment or band, hover your cursor over it.
  • To see more items in the chart legend, click the up and down arrows.
  • To toggle between including and excluding the information represented by a segment in a chart, click the legend item for the corresponding segment.
For example, on the Home workspace, the Product Opportunity Pipeline chart card displays a graphical summary of how your product opportunities are progressing through the stages of the sales process. You can hover your cursor over a band to see a tooltip containing the name of the stage and the total expected revenue for all of your product opportunities in that stage of the sales process. For more information about product opportunity charts, see Visualizing your sales pipeline.

Notes cards enable you to add, view, edit, delete, or print notes.

Using data tables

The majority of the workspaces contain data tables that display records. You can search for data records or filter a data table using the search and filter functionality that is available in the workspace. When your search returns many records, use the Items per page drop-down or cycle through the pages using the chevron buttons at the bottom of the table. These buttons are disabled when no additional records are available. For more information, see Searching and filtering in NexJ CRM.

As of NexJ CRM 9.5, a pagination summary has been added to data tables to display the range of rows currently in view along with the total number of rows.

At the top of the data table, use the data table toolbar to add new records and perform actions on existing records. Depending on whether you select a single record or multiple records, the action options vary.

Each time you apply or clear filter criteria, the number of records displayed in the data table is updated and shown in its upper-left corner. This number also updates when you switch between filters. Additionally, if you have explicitly selected any of the records, the total you have selected also displays. Your selections are retained only across pages of a data table. Switching between filters clears your selections.

To better regulate performance, the maximum number of records that you can multi-select in a data table is 1000 by default. A developer can override the default value at the project level for applicable tables.

There are multiple ways to select records and perform actions for the selected records from the data table:

  • Hover over a record in the data table to reveal the action buttons and click one of the available buttons to take an action directly from the table. For additional options, click the More Actions button in the record row and select an option from the menu.
  • Click a data record row, so that it is highlighted by an accent color line on the left, and click on an action button in the data table toolbar, or for additional options, click the More Actions button in the data table toolbar, and select an option from the menu.
  • Use the checkboxes to select one or more records in the data table, or select the Select all checkbox to multi-select all the records currently displayed in the table. Selecting records with checkboxes reveals a different set of actions in the data table toolbar. Select an action you want to accomplish from the data table toolbar, or for additional options, click the More Actions button and select an option from the menu. To select records for batch processes, use checkboxes.

Data tables contain links that enable you to open records or send emails directly from the data table. Using a link to open a record, redirects you to the workspace that contains the record. For example, clicking a contact's name in the data table on the Tasks workspace, takes you to the contact's detail page on the Contacts workspace. The back arrow button on a detail page, takes you to the workspace that contains the record you are viewing, in this case the Contacts workspace.

Depending on the type of records in the data table, you can use links to do the following:

  • To open an entity's detail page, click a link in the Name column or For column of a data table.
  • To send an email using your native application, click an email link in a record row.
  • To open a service request record, click a link in the Request ID column of a data table.
  • To open an opportunity record, click a link in the Description column of a data table.
  • To open a user's detail page, click a link in the Assign To column of a data table.

Data table columns vary by workspace and display the most relevant columns by default. You can modify the information that displays in a data table by adding or removing columns. Click the More Actions button in a data table toolbar and select the Select columns option. In the Select columns to display dialog, select checkboxes for the columns you want to add to the data table. Click Manage Selection to change the ordering of the selected columns by clicking the up and down arrow buttons that appear when hovering over a row corresponding to a column. Columns that are not pinned can be reordered and pinned columns stay ordered at the beginning of the table. To remove a column, click the Delete button that corresponds to the column in the Selected items dialog or clear the checkbox for the column in the Select columns to display dialog. Since only relevant columns should be selected, the Select All checkbox is disabled. Column selection and ordering is restored when you relaunch the application.

When the data table contains more columns than you can see, use the right and left chevron buttons in the header row to view additional columns. To ensure that the most significant information about a data record stays visible, the first two columns in a data table are always pinned.

You can sort records in a data table in ascending or descending order. When you hover over a header of a column that can be used to sort the records, an arrow displays beside the column header. To sort the records in the data table by a sortable column , click the column header. A sorted column displays an up or down arrow beside the header to indicate the sort order. To reverse the sort order, click the column header again.

When no records are selected, y ou can also use the data table toolbar to sort a table. Click the More Actions button, select Sort by, and select the column you would like to sort by.

Viewing records

Click a link in the data to open a record and view detail information. Contact, company, user, opportunity, and service request records have detail pages. A detail page contains a banner at the top with overview information and tabs below the banner that provide access to more detailed information. Tabs contain either cards or a data table.

Badges are icons that visually indicate information about action items, entities, opportunities, and service requests in NexJ CRM. Badges are highly versatile and can represent almost any conditions. Administrators can configure various badges to display in the banner when the defined conditions are met. Hover over a badge in a banner to see what information it represents.

Banners display different information depending on the type of record you are viewing. For example, contact banners display the contact's name, company, position, status, preferred address, and preferred communication method.

Using the floating action button

The floating action button displays at the bottom-right of the screen on every workspace and enables you to quickly add the following types of records to the system without navigating to the associated workspace:

ButtonActionDescription

Add ContactOpens the New Contact dialog.

Add CompanyOpens the New Company dialog.

Add Schedule ItemOpens the New Schedule Item dialog. The Template field defaults to a Meeting type schedule item. You can select a different type of schedule item from the drop-down.

Add TaskOpens the New Task dialog. The Template field defaults to a To Do type of task. You can select a different type of task from the drop-down.

Add OpportunityOpens the New Product Opportunity dialog. You can select a different product opportunity from the drop-down in the Template field.

Using common task buttons

The following buttons appear on various workspaces across the application and enable you to perform common tasks:

ButtonDescription

Add

Copy

Delete

Edit

Email

Filter options

Generate predefined reports

Mark as Complete

Open More Actions menu

Print Document

Save

Select columns

Sort by

For information about filters, see Searching and filtering in NexJ CRM.

Selecting dates and times

When you need to specify dates and times in a field, click the calendar icon . Use the provided calendar to choose the date and the analog clock to specify the time. For time values, which are not in the 24-hour format, indicate whether the time is in the AM or PM.

Selecting dates Selecting hours  

The calendar banner displays your date and time selections as you make them. Perform the following actions to select a date and time:

  • To select the year, click the currently displayed year in the banner, use the scroll bar to navigate, and click the desired year to select it.
  • To select the month, click the currently displayed date (day of the week, month, date) in the banner, use the left and right chevron buttons to cycle through the months, and click a date to select it.
  • To select the hour, click the currently selected hour in the banner, and click a value.
  • To select the minutes, click the currently selected minutes in the banner, and select a value.
  • To select before noon or after noon, click AM or PM in the banner as required.
  • To save your changes, click OK. The changes are reflected in the field.

Using selection dialogs

Selection dialogs allow you to select items to display or values to add to a field. Depending on the type of item you are selecting, a selection dialog can contain a:

  • Drop-down menu
  • Single-selection table
  • Multi-selection table

Single selection dialogs allow you to choose only one item. They can contain a drop-down list or a data table. For example, in the Select a custom field type dialog, you can only select one custom field type. If you select another, your previous selection is cleared.

To find an item in the data table in a selection dialog, use the text search field where available, use the predefined filters or add filter chips to find the required item(s), and cycle through the pages using the chevron buttons  .

When you are creating the following items, you can create a new entity from a single selection dialog if the target entity does not already exist:

  • Contact - create a new Company
  • Company - create a new Parent company
  • Opportunity, Service Request - create a new entity in the For field or in the Contacts tab

To create a new entity, click the Select button for the field, click the Add a new item button , provide the required information in the New Company dialog (for contacts) or New Contact dialog (for opportunities or service requests), and save your changes.

When modifying the information for a contact in the Detail tab, administrators can create a new custom field type from the Select a custom field type dialog and category from the Select a category dialog by clicking the Add a new item button and providing the required information.

The following screenshot shows how when you are adding a new contact you can also add a new company by clicking the Add a new item button in the Select a company dialog.

Adding a new company for a contact

Multiple selection dialogs contain data tables that enable you to select one or more items. For example, in the Select filter fields dialog you can choose multiple filter chips to add to a search area. In the New Schedule Item dialog, you can add multiple entities in the For field and multiple users in the Assign To field.

By default, the contacts multi-select limit is set to 300 records within multiple selection dialogs. A developer can override the default value at the project level for applicable tables.

To find an item in the data table in a selection dialog, use the text search field where available, use the predefined filters or add filter chips to find the required item(s), and cycle through the pages using the chevron buttons . For example, when you select a participant in the For field for a contact's activity, you will use the following dialog:

Select entities dialog

To select individual items, select or clear checkboxes, or to multi-select all the items, click the Select All checkbox. When you select items, the number of selections is indicated at the top and highlighted with an accent color.  For more information about filters and filter chips, see Searching and filtering in NexJ CRM.

When you are creating the following items, and you don't find the required target entity, you can create a new entity in the For field:

  • Schedule Item
  • Task
  • Document
  • Call Record

To create a new entity, click the Select button for the For field, click the Add a new item button , provide the required information in the New Contact dialog, and save your changes.

When the selection dialog table spans numerous pages and you make selections on different pages, the number indicates the total amount of selected items. To review all selected items, click Manage Selection to open the Selected items dialog. You can remove selected items in the Selected items dialog and you can resume making selections by clicking Make Selection.

In some cases, the number of selected items includes items that are selected by default, in addition to your selections, to show you the total number of selected items. For example, in the Select filter fields dialog, default filter chips are counted as selected items, even though they are not listed in the dialog. This indicates the total number of filter chips you are making available to refine your search for the selected filter.

Some selection dialogs in NexJ CRM support search and filter functionality. For example, when adding a relationship custom field for an entity, you can choose another entity as the field value. The Select an entity dialog allows you to search for the entity using filters, filter chips, and a text search field.

Selection dialogs, retain your selections across filters. Switching between filters, or otherwise changing the search criteria in a dialog, does not clear a selection. To change your selection, select another radio button in a single selection dialog or clear the checkboxes in a multiple selection dialog. To clear all your selections and close a selection dialog, click Cancel.

In data tables on workspaces, switching between filters clears your selections.

For more information about search and filter functionality, see Searching and filtering in NexJ CRM.

Resetting the user interface

If elements on a page in your user interface appear misplaced, misaligned, are missing, or if they are extremely slow to load, refresh your browser.

Responding to user input errors

Field-level validation messages, for example, using an invalid format, display under the field as you are completing the dialog. To dismiss the message, enter the corrected value into the field.

Dialog-level validation messages, for example, missing required fields, also display under the relevant field. In addition, an error message banner appears under the dialog title. To dismiss both messages, enter the corrected value and save the changes. To dismiss the error message banner without correcting the error, click Dismiss 

As of NexJ CRM 22.06, dialog-level validation messages have been improved to provide more details for general validation errors.

The error message banner appears even if the error occurs on another tab in the dialog. If you do not see the error on the tab you are viewing, navigate to other tabs to find the error.

For example, if you are saving the data in the New Contact dialog, and you have not entered all the required field information, the following error messages display. Enter the correct value in the First Name field and click OK to remove both messages and save the new contact.

Example error message

Also, the error message banner remains visible when you have scrolled within a dialog. For example, if you are adding a new contact, forget to provide a last name, scroll down to the end of the dialog, and click OK, you will still see the following error message banner:

Persistent error message banner example

Observing interface loading progress

As a workspace or dialog is opening, you may see a green progress indicator below the workspace or dialog title. This indicates that the workspace or dialog is loading and will be displayed as soon as possible. You do not need to reload the workspace or re-submit the dialog.

Responding to a client session interruption

A session may be interrupted due to a timeout, a refresh requirement, or an error.

When your client session is interrupted due to a timeout or refresh requirement, a dialog displays to inform you that your session has expired. To log back into NexJ CRM, click Log In, and provide your user name and password.

If the session is interrupted due to an error, a dialog displays to inform you that an unexpected server response has been received, along with a snippet for the server response, and an option to email your Support team.