This is a Level 4 and higher feature.

On-line shipment processing is reached by selecting SHIPPING TOOLS >> ON-LINE SHIPMENT PROCESSING from the Menu Bar on top of the Main Invoice Screen.

This feature allows you to access shipping company websites, fill out shipping forms, print shipping labels, schedule pick-ups, and carry out other tasks.  All of the necessary preliminary information has been pre-loaded for several shippers.  But are you not limited to the shippers that come with AnyOrder.  A great amount of flexibility has been built into this part of the program which allows you to add your own shippers.

Note: Shipping companies have been changing their websites so quickly that it has been difficult for us to keep up with the changes. They also have been instituting new password protection schemes which prevent Internet Macros from logging in.  Consequently, we have decided to build in a new on-line system whereby the shipping company website is by-passed, and AnyOrder communicates directly with the shipping company's server.  We are working on this for the Level VII program.  We will, however, continue to leave this module in the program since it is workable for a significant number of our users.  Additionally, it is flexible enough that you can make your own changes or create your own macros.

Practice Session

Before attempting to process a shipment with a shipping company, we highly recommend that you run through a practice session first.

In that regard, we want to mention an important preliminary.  Before processing a shipment, you need to fill out AnyOrder's Shipment Form.  AnyOrder uses the information from the Shipment Form for on-line processing.  More information: Shipment Form.

However, for the practice session, you won't have to worry about the Shipment Form.  To save time, we've already pre-loaded some information for you.

Let's run through the process.

1. If you look on the upper left of On-line Shipment Processing dialog box, you see a list of "WebLinks."  From the list, select "Practice Using On-line Feature." WebLinks are a set of instructions that tells  AnyOrderhow to reach the shipper's website and what data needs to be copied to the shipper's on-line form.

2. Make sure "Practice Using On-line Feature" is selected.

3. Just below the list of WebLinks, select "Log-in automatically."  This means AnyOrder will log-on to the shipping site and stop.

4. Now click on "Process Current Invoice."

If this is the first time you've used this part of the program, AnyOrder will install a subsidiary program which takes care of all Internet functions.  The subsidiary program is called Internet Macros.  Internet Macros has been developed by the iOpus company and is licensed for use in AnyOrder.  The installation goes very quickly.  Once it's finished, you can continue with the practice session.

After clicking on "Process Current Invoice," the Internet Macros Browser will start up.  You may need to adjust the size of the browser window.  In the browser, you'll see the on-line practice form.  (The on-line form is found on the developer's website.  It doesn't really do anything, but it does resemble the on-line shipping form found on the U.S. Post Office site.  Feel free to practice with it all you want. )

Instead of using the information from one of your invoices, we'll already pre-loaded some data which will be used for this practice session.

On the left side of the Internet Macro Browser are a series of macros.  Macros are like tape recordings.  In this case, when you "play" the macro, it fills out an on-line form.

1. Using your mouse, click on "Practice - Autofill" so it's highlighted.  Then click on the "Play" button (just below the list of Macros).

2. A message will appear: "Which Customer? (Enter 1, then 2, then 3, etc.)."  If you were processing several customers, you would start by entering a "1" for the first customer.  When you were all finished with that customer, you would enter a "2" for the second customer, and so on.  For our practice session we have two customers.  Start out with "1."  Since "1" is already there, just click on "OK."

The form will be auto-filled.  You'll need to use the scroll bars to move around in the form, but you'll see that the sender's address has been filled in.  It's none other than Granny Annie (from Grandma Pies).  If you look at the recipient, you'll see that it is Maudy Frickered who owns a famous bake shop.

1. Highlight "Practice - Autofill" again (actually, it will still be highlighted).  Click on the "PLAY" button.

2. The "Which Customer?" message will come up.  This time type in "2."   Click on "OK."  The form will be auto-filled--and you'll notice that new recipient is Ma Barker.

That's it for the practice session.   Next we'll look at how things work with a real on-line form.

UPS Example

Now that you've had a chance to try the practice form, we'll look how this feature works in an actual shipping situation.  We'll use UPS (United Parcel Service) as an example.  Even if you don't use UPS as your shipper, we highly recommend that you read through the material below since most shippers use similar website procedures.

First of all, you'll need to fill out the Shipment Form.  AnyOrder uses the information from the Shipment Form for on-line processing.  The Shipment Form also has something called Reminder Notations.  They'll help you get your data organized so that all required information is ready to go before logging on to the shipper's site.  More information: Shipment Form.

Next, you'll need to set up an account with UPS.  When you set up an account, you'll also establish a log-in name and password which will allow you to gain access to UPS's on-line shipment processing webpage.

1. AnyOrder can automatically log-in for you.  To do so, you need to enter the log-in information in the WebLink Properties Dialog Box.  Start by selecting "UPS" from the "Select a WebLink" box.  Then, just to the right, click on "View or Modify."

2. The "WebLink Properties" dialog box appears.  Enter the login name and password in the appropriate blanks.

3. Exit and return to the On-line Shipment Processing dialog box.  Just below the "Select a WebLink" make sure the radio button is set to "Log-in automatically"

4. After you've done that, click on "Process Current Invoice."  You'll be automatically logged in and you'll be taken to the on-line shipment form.  (UPS calls this the "Create a Shipment Page."

Now we're at UPS's "Create a Shipment" page and we are ready to fill out the form that appears there.  As we mentioned above, to access UPS's on-line shipment form, AnyOrder uses a subsidiary program call Internet Macros (IM).   You'll notice that on the left side of the IM Browser is a list of macros.  (To see all of the IM Browser, you may need to move to a different position or change its sizing.)

1. For this example, you would select "UPS-Autofill" macro so it's highlighted.

2. Then click on "PLAY."

3. A message will appear: "Which Customer? (Enter 1, then 2, then 3, etc.)."  If you were processing several customers, you would start by entering a 1 for the first customer.  When you were all finished with that customer, you would enter a 2 for the second customer, and so on.  Since we've clicked "Process Current Invoice," we just have one customer.  In that case, we use "1."  Since "1" is already there, just click on "OK."

The macro should start running and will enter the name and address and fill in the rest of the fields.

At that point, the macro ends.  That allows you the opportunity to check everything over and make sure all the information is correct.

1. Add any finishing touches to the information on the form.  Depending upon the type of shipment, you may need to make an adjustment or two.

2. When everything looks good, click on the "Next" link.  UPS moves you to the second on-line form.

Shipping labels can be printed, a pick-up scheduled--and, of course, you can pay for the shipment.

Note: If you'd like to processes several customers at once (by clicking on "Select One or More from a List"), we've included an example below to help illustrate how it works.  The example uses UPS and is found in section entitled "Select One or More from a List, Then Process."

UPS Macros

Here's a list of the UPS macros and what they do:

UPS_Autofill_Address_Book - No longer used. This is an older macro which is no longer used.  UPS has changed their website so that you can fill in the main shipment form and then move the information to your address book.

UPS_Autofill_Page2_Email - No longer used.  This is an older macro which is no longer used.  UPS has changed their website so that you no longer have to move to a second page.

UPS_Autofill_Select - This macro will select a customer from the UPS Address Book.  In order to use the macro, you must have previously entered the customer in the Address Book. The nickname of the customer that you designate in the UPS Address Book must be exactly the same as the shipping name found on the shipment form in AnyOrder. (If there is no shipping name on the invoice, AnyOrder will use the billing name).  It's very important that the shipping name is the exactly the same as the nickname:  The spacing, the capital letters, any punctuation must be exactly the same.  One way you can assure that it is the same is to copy the shipping name from to the clipboard and paste from the clipboard into the UPS Address Book.  If you have a customer that has several different ship-to addresses, use shipping names and nicknames that help distinguish between them, i.e. Baker & Taylor - Momence, Baker & Taylor - Reno, Baker & Taylor - Somerville, etc. When you are sure that a shipping name is the same as the nickname, you can use this macro.  The macro is particularly handy when you are billing to the receiver since the address book will have the receiver's account number.  To run this macro, start at the "Create a Shipment" page.  Highlight "UPS_Autofill_Select from the list of macros.  Click on "PLAY."

UPS_Autofill_You_Select - To run this macro, start at the "Create a Shipment" page.  Before running the macro, select the customer you want from the drop down list.  The drop down list is just below "Address Information - Ship To."  When you select, the customer's address will be filled in.  Now you are ready to run the macro. Highlight "UPS_Autofill_You_Select" from the list of macros and click on "PLAY."

UPS_Autofill - To use this macro, you must start at the "Create a Shipment" page.  It's a handy macro since you do not need to have the customer in the UPS Address Book.  The macro will temporarily place the customer in the Address Book so that the shipment form can be filled in.  It works particularly well for most shipping situations.  If, however, you are billing the charges to the receiver and the receiver has provided you with an account number, you may wish to use the UPS_Autofill_Select or UPS_Autofill_You_Select macros so that the account number is automatically entered.

UPS_Just_Login - This macro goes to the UPS website, automatically logs you in and then follows the necessary links to take you to the "Create a Shipment" page.  You must have entered your login name and password in the WebLinks properties dialog box as described above.

U.S. Post Office & FedEx Macros

You'll also find macros for the US Post Office and FedEx.  These macros use the same naming convention as the UPS macros.  For more information on how they work, see the above descriptions for UPS macros.

Problems Processing a Shipment

If you have any problems processing a shipment, see On-line Shipment Troubleshooting.

Helpful Advice

Working with macros, at first glance, can seem scary.  You are whisked off to a shipping company website and a macro takes over, typing information into a form.

But, if you think about it, that's all it does.  Once a macro finishes, it stops.  It lets you look over the form and make sure everything is okay.  You're the one that has the final say.  You're the one that has control.  If you don't like what you see, you can fill out the form -- or parts of the form -- manually.  If you want to leave the website, you can.  It's just a matter of exiting from the Internet Macros browser.

None of the macros ever submit the information to the shipper.  That's left to you.  That means that you can visit a shipper's website and try out the macros.  When you are first learning, you may find that you'll need to go back to AnyOrder from time to time and make changes to the Shipment Form (where all the shipping information is found).  That's fine.  Just exit from the browser and make the changes.  You can return to the shipper's website when you are ready to try it again.

This part of the program takes some getting used to --no doubt about that -- but once you get comfortable with it, you'll find that it's an incredible time saver.  Suddenly, on-line shipping will become a lot easier -- and maybe a little fun too!

What Actually Happens During the On-line Shipment Process

There are a number of things that take place when you process an on-line shipment and it's helpful to understand what's happening behind the scenes.

When you click on "Process Current Invoice," AnyOrder starts by creating an export file.  It's the data from the export file that will be used to fill in the form.  The export file is created in background.  You don't really see it being created, but you can see all the ingredients that go into creating the export file.  That's found in AnyOrder's Advanced Export (FILE >> ADVANCED EXPORT).  In fact, you can actually create the export file by itself by going to Advanced Export, selecting the proper on-line profile, and running an export.

Let's look at Advanced Export for a moment.  When the export process occurs, AnyOrder uses something called Replacement Tables.  You can look at a Replacement Table by going to Advanced Export, selecting an on-line profile and working your way through the dialog boxes until you reach "Other Options."  Most shippers' on-line forms require that state names be fully spelled out.  That could create problems because AnyOrder uses abbreviations.  In order to make things work, AnyOrder has to replace the abbreviated names with full names.  That's where the Replacement Table comes in.  It looks up the abbreviation on the table, converts it to the proper full name, and then writes it to the export file.

There may be other Replacement Tables used -- and there often is.  The idea of Replacement Tables is quite a powerful one -- and it provides a lot of flexibility when working with on-line export files

AnyOrder knows which Export Profile (and associated Replacement Tables) to use by looking at the properties of the WebLink.  The WebLink is named for the shipper  (UPS, FedEx, USPS, etc.), but it also contains information (called properties) which instruct AnyOrder to use a certain Export Profile with a certain shipper.  The WebLink also tells AnyOrder where the shipper's website is found.

Once the export file is created, AnyOrder starts up the Internet Macros browser.  It instructs the browser to go the log-in page.  It also will provide the Internet Macros browser with the name of the first macro to run.

At this point, the Internet Macros program takes over.  If it's been instructed to run the "log-in" macro, it "plays" the macro.  The log-in macro will enter your log-in name and password and click the submit button.  In some cases it will take you directly to the shipping form.  In other cases, you'll need to click on the appropriate links to get to the shipping form.

Once you're at the shipping form, then you can select the "autofill" macro and let the macro do its work.

Printing Shipping Labels

One of the advantages of on-line shipping is that you are able to print shipping labels.  Often the shipping company will provide a "print" button to print the label.  Some shippers (like FedEx) instruct you use to the print feature in the browser.  There's no FILE >> PRINT found in the Internet Macros browser.  So instead, you need to use the PRINT macro found on the left side of the screen.  Highlight the "PRINT" macro and click on PLAY.

You may also be able to use the RIGHT click menu.  However, it's quite important where you click.  On the FedEx shipping label, you need to right click on the lower part of the shipping label where the text appears.  On the websites of other shippers look for an area of explanatory text and right click in that area.

When you right click in a textual area, a menu will appear.  You'll know that you have the right menu when "Print" is listed as one of the options.  Select "Print."  You'll have the opportunity to select a printer and afterwards the label will be printed.

If you right click on the shipping label where the barcodes are located, you'll get a different menu.  On that menu, you'll see "Print Picture."  That's the wrong print function.  When you use this method of printing, you'll end up with a shipping label that's too large.  Instead, look for "Print" and you'll be able to properly print the label.

BACK Button

To go to a previous webpage, use the "BACK" macro.  Highlight the "BACK" macro found on the left side of the Internet Macros browser and click on PLAY

Information on Writing Your Own Macros

If you are interested in writing your own macros, more information is found here: Macros.

Deleting WebLinks and Macros

It is possible to delete a WebLink from the On-line Processing Dialog Box (by using the "Delete Link" button), but we don't recommend it.  Once deleted you can not get it back.  It is best to leave WebLinks as they are.  Even if you don't ever expect to use one or more WebLinks, you'll find them very helpful to refer to if you ever develop your own.

Macros are another story.  If you are not using certain Macros you can delete them.  To delete a macro, start up the Internet Macros browser by clicking on the "Internal Browser" button.  From the list on the left side of the browser, select the macro that you want to delete.  Click on the "Edit" tab.  Then click on the "Delete Macro" button.  The macro will be deleted.  If a blank space is left, click on the "Refresh Macro List" button.

You can restore deleted macros that come with the program.  A separate set of macros is kept in C:\AnyOrder\WebInfo.  To restore a deleted macro, use Windows Explore (reached by right clicking on the START button and selecting from the list).  Find the C:\AnyOrder\WebInfo directory.  Look in the directory for the macro you want to restore (i.e. UPS-Just_Login.iim).  Highlight it, copy it and then paste it to the C:\AnyOrder\Internet\Macros directory.  This is the directory that Internet Macros uses for its macros.  The next time you start Internet Macros, you'll find the copied macro on the list.

Other Features on the On-line Shipment Processing Dialog Box:

WebLinks

A Weblink is a set of instructions or properties telling AnyOrder how to reach the shipper's website and what data needs to placed on the shipper's on-line form.  WebLinks are selected from the box on the top left of the Shipment Processing Dialog Box.

To view the properties of an existing WebLink, click on "View or Modify."  You can build your own WebLink for a shippers not included with AnyOrder.  To do so, click on "Create a New WebLink."  If you need to remove a WebLink, click on "Delete Link." Note that deleting a WebLink is not recommended.  Even if you don't use some of the WebLinks, they are very useful as a reference for building your own.

For more details on WebLink properties: WebLinks

Log-in Options

Manual Log-in. If you select this option, AnyOrder will take you to the log-in area on the shipper's website.  Once there, you'll need to manually log-in.

Log-in Automatically. By selecting this option, AnyOrder will take you to the log-in area on the shipper's website.  Then a macro will run and log you in automatically.  The macro which is utilized to do the log-in is indicated in WebLink Properties. (Click the "View or Modify" button to review WebLink Properties).

Provide Customer List in NotePad

This option may be used when you are processing several customers at the same time (by clicking on: "Select One or More from a List, Then Process.")  When you process a group of customers, the macro will request the customer's order number.  By order number we mean the order in which you selected customers.

The "Provide Customer List" option is designed to help out if you've forgotten an order number.  By selecting this option, AnyOrder will create a list of customers.  Just before the Internet Macros browser appears, Windows NotePad will start-up with a list of the customers that you've selected along with their order number.  Internet Macros will start next and overlay NotePad.  If while processing shipments, you forget an order number, you can switch to NotePad and obtain the number.  When you're all finished processing shipments, you'll need to close NotePad.

Process Current Invoice

Before you can click on "Process Current Invoice," you need to do three things:

1) First, make sure you've filled out the Shipment Form.  AnyOrder uses the information from the Shipment Form for on-line processing.

2) Select the proper WebLink from the box on the upper left of the "On-line Shipment Processing" dialog box.  (For all intents and purposes, a WebLink is the name of the shipper whose website you'll be accessing).

3) Select one of the "Log-in Options" (see above).

When you click this button.  The data from the current invoice (the invoice showing the Main Invoice Screen) will be placed in an export file.  Then you'll be taken to the shipper's website.

Once you arrive at the shipper's website, a message will pop-up: "Which Customer? (Enter 1, then 2, then 3, etc.)."

When you use the "Process Current Invoice" button, you are only dealing with one customer.  Thus, you want to use "1."  Since "1" is already there, just click on "OK."

Select One or More from a List, Then Process.

Before you can click on this button, you need to do three things:

1) First, make sure you've filled out the Shipment Form.  AnyOrder uses the information from the Shipment Form for on-line processing.

2) Select the proper WebLink from the box on the upper left of the "On-line Shipment Processing" dialog box.  (For all intents and purposes, a WebLink is the name of the shipper whose website you'll be accessing).

3) Select the "Log-in Option" (see above).

After you click this button, a list of invoices will appear.  Select those invoices for which you want to process shipments.  Upon exiting from the list, the data from the selected invoices will be placed in an export file.  Then you'll be taken to the shipper's website.

Once you arrive at the shipper's website, a message will pop-up: "Which Customer? (Enter 1, then 2, then 3, etc.)."

You would start by entering a "1" for the first customer that you selected.  That allows you to process the shipment for the first customer.  When finished, you would enter a "2" for the second customer, and so on.

It's easy to forget the order numbers of the customers, and there's a feature which can help.  By placing a checkmark beside "Provide Customer List in NotePad," AnyOrder will create a list of customers that you are processing.  Just before the Internet Macros browser appears, Windows NotePad will start-up displaying a list of the customers that you've selected along with their order number.  Internet Macros will start next and overlay NotePad.  If while processing shipments, you forget an order number, you can switch to NotePad and obtain the number.  When you're all finished processing shipments, you'll need to close NotePad.

An Example of How to Use "Select One or More from a List." Let's look at how this would work in a real situation.  We'll use UPS as an example.  You start by clicking on "Select One or More from List" button.  A selection list will appear.  Select the desired customers.  Upon exiting from the list, AnyOrder will take you to the UPS site.

After logging on, you'll reach the "Create a Shipment" page.  Once at the "Create a Shipment" page, select the "UPS-Autofill" macro and click the PLAY button.

The following message pops up:  "Which Customer? (Enter 1, then 2, then 3, etc.)."  You'll start out with the first customer.  Enter a "1" to indicate that you want the first customer.  Once you do, the form will be filled out.

Check to make sure everything looks OK, then move on to the next web page on the UPS site, indicate payment method, print a label and complete processing that customer.

Now you're ready to move to the next customer.  Click the appropriate links on the UPS page and return to the "Create a Shipment" page.  Make sure the page is clear of addresses.  If it's not, click on the "Clear All" button.  That will clear the page.  (This is an important step.  If the page is not clear of the previous address, the macro will not run.)

When the page is clear, select the "UPS-Autofill" macro again and click on PLAY.  This time select "2" from the list for the 2nd customer.  The autofill macro will fill in the data for the second customer.

Continue following this same procedure until you've completed shipments for all customers.

Open Internal Browser.

This button activates the Internet Macros browser built into AnyOrder.  It does not run any macros nor does it take you to a pre-designated website.  It just starts the browser.  Primarily, this feature allows you to work on your own macros.  It can be used for general browsing, but it's not particularly useful in that regard since you'll need to manually type in the URL address.

Import WebLinks.

From time to time, the developer may develop additional WebLinks.  When they are made available, you can use this feature to import the WebLinks and add them to your existing list.

Your Address & Options.

For shipping purposes, AnyOrder needs to have your "Ship from" address.  Click on this button to enter the address.  The Options dialog box also is used to enter the path to Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Re-install Internet Macros.

If Internet Macros didn't install properly the first time, you can click this button to do a re-install.  You can also use this button if the developer provides you with an updated version of Internet Macros.

Using On-shipment Processing on a Network

We highly recommend that you establish one computer on the network for on-line shipment processing.  To be assured, on-line information, including all information contained in the WebLinks file, is available to all computers on the network.  (The WebLinks file is kept on the Common Data Directory.)  But if you make changes to macros -- which admittedly few users will do -- the changes are only available to the computer on which they were made.  The Internet Macro browser and its macros run from the local computer.  (More information on this is found in macros.)

Additionally, the "Directory for Export File" found in WebLinks is set to the local computer's directory.  Once again, this may not make a difference.  If you've installed AnyOrder to the same directory in all computers on the network, then you could move from computer to computer with no problems.

If no changes are made to macros, and if you've installed AnyOrder to the same directory on all computers, then this advice doesn't apply.  But if you do make changes to macros or if you do have different program directories, then you'll want to designate an on-line shipping computer.  It will make life much easier.

Other On-line Shipment Processing Links:

WebLinks (WebLinks Properties Dialog Box)

Trouble Shooting On-line Shipment Problems

Macros (Developing Your Own or Editing Existing Macros)

Macros (How to Turn On Error Checking)

Shipment Form