Configuring the Items ID Generator

IMSMA^NG provides a local identifier (local ID) data element for each item category or subcategory, which when used on data entry forms allows information managers to track items and Data Entry Forms entered into IMSMA^NG. These local ID data elements enable data entry clerks to click a button and insert an automatically generated ID rather than enter one manually, helping to reduce duplicate local IDs in the system. The local ID generator enables you to define a numbering scheme for an object ID, for example, the Report ID, Accident ID, or Victim ID, on a Data Entry Form template. Once the numbering scheme is defined, users can automatically assign IDs to objects each time they add a Data Entry Form with an object ID field to IMSMA.

How To
Local ID Generator Window

IMSMA^NG comes with a default local ID generator per item, but there is no limit to how many different types can be created. It is recommended to create at least one local ID generator per item subcategory. For example, create a local ID generator for completion reports, another for clearance reports and another for minefields. Also, establishing a convention for the local ID generators makes it easy to understand and find data.

Information managers can also create an individual local ID for each Data Entry Form template that indicates the kind of information in the form. For example, a completion report can have a local ID beginning with “FR-CR-” to give users an immediate understanding of the content of the form. For templates intended to update existing items, such as status change templates, information managers can remove the local ID generator or the ID field entirely to prevent users from accidentally creating new local IDs for existing items.