Structured address fields
Structured address fields in documents and in the address master
(Available from release v2.0.2509.x)
Why do you need the address fields in a structured format?
There are more and more areas in which address data is no longer transferred in pure "text form" but as data. For example, this applies when creating an order via EDI or in e-invoices or reports—anywhere where the address must be identified completely as individual data. So the whole thing actually takes place in the "background."
The address was created as a "text field" from several different fields, which cannot be easily "separated" later on. For this reason, the structure of the address will now be precisely defined in future.
Do I need to "set" something for this?
For all "deviating addresses" in the address master (deviating delivery/invoice addresses as well as "new documents" that are not created from existing ones), which you create from the 2.0.2509x release onwards, the address fields are automatically structured.
We have implemented two new checks in c-entron Inspector for existing "different delivery and billing addresses" and the addresses in "open documents" (the "recipient" and the three addresses in the "Addresses" tab as "delivery address," "billing address," and "licensee address").
This allows "many" addresses to be structured automatically retrospectively, provided that the data records can be "uniquely" identified and assigned. These can then be automatically "updated"/transferred.
Addresses that have discrepancies in the respective line cannot be accepted.
How do I proceed with automatic structuring?
Open the "c-entron Inspector" module (you must belong to the administrator rights group to do this).
First select the checkbox "Structured recipients for active customers" and click on "Analyze." Depending on the number of "active customers" (not deactivated), this may take a few minutes. It will then show you the number of active customers with "different delivery and/or billing address."
Now click on "Repair" if there are records that can be structured.
A window will now open showing you all these customers (or, in the other check, "Receipts"), and you can check again whether the data has been correctly recognized according to "Company name," "Department address," "Contact person," and "Department contact person," as well as street, house number, etc. (screenshot point 1). All data records that have been correctly recognized and assigned are automatically preselected for structuring. However, you can now also manually select or deselect in the last column if you do not want to structure certain customer data. (2)
Addresses where not all lines could be assigned correctly, e.g., because the company name, street and/or postal code, department, name, etc. have changed and are therefore no longer identical according to today's master data, cannot be structured automatically. You can recognize this by the fact that the "Problems" line is filled in and the "Update" checkbox cannot be activated. If you move the mouse over the "Problems" column, a small pop-up will show you "which" lines could not be assigned and which "possible lines" could have been found. Even the smallest differences can prevent us from automatically "updating/structuring" the data.
By clicking on "Apply," the addresses will now be structured as shown here. You can then see the result in your inspector.
You can now perform the same process with the second check, "Structured recipients for open documents."
What should I do with addresses that have a "problem" and cannot be structured automatically?
You can select the contact person again and reassign them in both the address master and the document (in a new version) using "Change recipient" or "Search for address." Since you are now "creating" the address, it will be automatically "structured," and you do not need to do anything else except reassign it once. This will then be automatically transferred to subsequent documents in the same structured form.
How can I generally control how the address is "composed"?
Each address has four checkboxes: "Name" (customer name), "Department," "Contact person," and "Department contact person." Each checkbox that is active is included in the address. If you have all of them active, it will be composed as follows:
Name (customer name)
Contact person department
Address Department
Contact person name
Any checkbox that is not checked will not be included in the data record, and the following data will therefore "move up one field."
If, for example, you want to display the company name and the name of the personal contact person before the street address, etc. in quotations and orders, simply select "Company" and "Contact person."
Then the address is:
Name (customer name)
Contact person name
Street House number
Postal code City
However, if you do not want to have a personal contact name on this customer's invoices, but only the company address, you can proceed as follows:
Uncheck the box next to the contact person's name so that only the name is checked, and save the address in the address master.
Under "Conditions" for the customer, click on "Search address" under "Different billing address" and select the same contact person you want to use. The address will now be "regenerated" and, since the contact person's name is no longer active, this "different billing address" will now read:
Name (customer name)
Street House number
Postal code City
save this again now
You can then check the box for this address under "Contact person" again and save it.
What happens now? When you create a new quote or order, the address is generated according to your current settings for this address—in the above example, "with contact name"—and is transferred from the quote to the order. When you transfer the document to an invoice, you will be asked whether you want to use the "existing different billing address," i.e., the address listed in the document as the "billing address" under "Addresses" and stored in your address master as a "different billing address." (unless you have selected a separate billing address for this quote or order in the document -> Addresses). If you now say "yes, transfer the different billing address," the address will be transferred to the invoice without the contact name; if you say "no," it will be transferred from the previous document recipient field "with contact name."
Can I "see" or "check" somewhere what has been filled in or how it is composed?
Yes, you can. For all of these recipient fields, you can hover your mouse over the field and a small window will open showing the "structured fields." However, the document must first be saved, as only "saved data" can be displayed correctly in this window. If your document has not yet been saved, the correct data may not be displayed, as it is not yet structured.
Note: The "house number" is always used "from the first number in the line." This may not be entirely correct for some addresses (in other countries), but it must simply follow a recognizable logic. Therefore, "Hauptstr. 5a" becomes "street = Hauptstraße" and "house number = 5a."