Creating and managing views

In Fuel Dispatch, the Planning Worksheet and the Card Planner display the trips and resources that a dispatcher uses for scheduling and tracking trips. The trips and resources are displayed in data grids called dispatch views. These views retrieve data from specific tables in the TMWSuite database. Data is displayed as columns and rows in a grid.

The default dispatch views (All Loads and All Inbound) are generated from system-defined SQL views. A SQL view is based on a SQL SELECT query that references one or more existing database tables. A SQL view does not store data like a database table, but determines what data is dynamically generated when the view is referenced. In effect, every view is a filter of the table data referenced in it, and this filter can restrict both the columns and the rows of the referenced database table.

In Fuel Dispatch, views are created and managed in the Maintain Planning Boards window, which is accessed by selecting Maintenance > Maintain Planning Boards. The Planning Worksheet or Card Planner does not need to be open.

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This window is divided into three sections:

  • The Header (top), where you can specify the type of view to be created, edited, copied, or deleted.

  • A User/Group tree (left side) where you can select users or groups to see a list of views to which they have access.

  • A grid (right side) that displays the views, of the selected type, that can be accessed by the highlighted user or group. When expanded, each row displays the users or groups who can access them, and a list of the restrictions that were set on the view.

General guidelines for creating and modifying views

As a system administrator, you can create and modify multiple dispatch views to meet the different needs of dispatchers or other users. The following guidelines apply:

Setting up the system

  • The options available for creating and modifying views include such items as labels, resource profiles, and commodity profiles. These are defined in TMWSuite’s System Administration and File Maintenance applications. Make sure TMWSuite has been set up properly before you attempt to set up or use Fuel Dispatch. See Required Setup for more information.

  • Fuel Dispatch users and groups are created in the TMWSuite System Administration application. Fuel Dispatch users are also assigned to groups in System Administration.

Working with views

  • In a new installation of Fuel Dispatch, the default views All Loads and All Inbound are available in the Planning Worksheet and Card Planner Trips and Power fields, respectively. These views have no restrictions set.

  • A view created or modified in the Maintain Planning Boards window must be saved before it can appear in the Planning Worksheet or Card Planner.

  • A view modified in the Planning Worksheet or Card Planner is temporarily changed until the window is closed or another view is selected. The view cannot be saved.

Working with view fields

  • All view settings are optional. If you do not select an option in a field, that restriction will not apply to the view.

  • As you modify a view, you can click the Preview button to check the effect of your selections.

  • To remove an entry from a specific field, highlight the entry and press the DELETE key on the keyboard.

  • To remove all restrictions in the current Board Definition window, click Clear.

    Note: Use care. The Clear button will remove all settings in the current Board Definition window, including settings in collapsed sections of the window.

  • A blank field is not the same as a field set to UNK or UNKNOWN, which can affect displayed data.