Cleaning up the mess by fixing AutoComplete errors

Dynamics GP includes a fantastic feature known as AutoComplete, which remembers what a user has typed in a field and later makes data entry suggestions based on that information. This can significantly reduce repetitive data entry. However, if a user makes an error during data entry, such as a misspelled or incorrect word, that error will continue to be suggested over and over again.

There is a simple way to remove erroneous entries, and we'll look at how to do this in this recipe.

Getting ready

To demonstrate this feature, we first need to intentionally create an AutoComplete error.

1. Select Sales from Navigation pane on the left-hand side.
2. On the Area page for Sales, select Customer under Cards on the right-hand side to open up the Customer Maintenance window.
3. Select Sales from the Navigation pane on the left-hand side.
4. On the Area page for Sales, select Customer under Cards on the right-hand side in order to open up the Customer Maintenance window:
   
5. With the Customer Maintenance window open, type MISPELL in the Customer ID field and click on Tab. Press the Clear button to remove this customer entry.

How to do it...

Now that we have an error, let's look at how to fix it:

1. Back in the Customer ID field, type MIS. Dynamics GP will suggest MISPELL. Right-click on the suggested word, MISPELL, and select Remove From List:
   
2. Now, typing MIS in the Customer ID field doesn't provide the MISPELL suggestion.

How it works...

AutoComplete is controlled in User Preferences, which is accessed via shortcut bar. The AutoComplete settings are defined for each user. This means that each user has a different set of AutoComplete entries, so removing an errant entry doesn't affect other users.

There's more...

To better manage AutoComplete, there are some other settings that can be adjusted on a per-user basis.

Removed unused entries

The AutoComplete cache of entries can grow quite large and unwieldy, leading to a significant number of entries to sort through and reducing the effectiveness of this feature. A consistent way to manage the size of the AutoComplete list is by letting AutoComplete remove unused entries automatically. To set this up, perform the following steps:

1. Select User Preferences from shortcut bar and click on AutoComplete.
2. In the Remove Unused Entries After field, enter 90 and click on OK.
3. This means that any AutoComplete entries will be removed after 90 days without any use.

Reducing the number of AutoComplete entries

Another option to manage the size of the AutoComplete cache is to limit the maximum number of AutoComplete entries. To accomplish this, perform the following steps:

1. Select User Preferences from shortcut bar and click on AutoComplete.
2. For the Max. Number of Entries to Store per Field entry, the default is 10,000, which is a huge limit.
3. This can safely be lowered to 1,000 by changing the number in the Max. Number of Entries to Store per Field box and entering 1,000.

Resetting AutoComplete

If significant changes are made to a system, users can get a fresh start by completely resetting their AutoComplete entries. This is accomplished via the Remove Entries button available by clicking on User Preference and then clicking on the AutoComplete button.