At the start of a training session, a student from the class asks the following question:

I have just installed ADempiere on my computer and launched the ADempiere Web Start client to log in to the application. However, I do not understand what to do with the application’s screens. Even though I am already familiar with Microsoft Windows, the structure of these screens is quite new for me. Could you please explain these screens to me?

This is not a naive question. Like all new users who do not have experience in operating ERP software applications, this student needs to know the purpose of the screen along with information on the buttons, tabs, and so on inside each screen. Once the users know the main function of a certain screen, they will use and operate the software more effectively.

The Connection aspect of ADempiere

Our pre-installed ADempiere application will contain a sample company data called GardenWorld company. To make ourselves familiar with ADempiere, we will access this company data, using a predefined user ID and password. Launch your ADempiere application server, and then launch the ADempiere Web Start client.

Checking the ADempiere client version

With ADempiere patches being frequently available, we need to know the version of ADempiere client that we are working on.

In the ADempiere Web Start client/fat client (not web-based version), through the ADempiere Login window, you can find the information that indicates the version of ADempiere in use. In this window, you can find the ADempiere client version by examining the information in the format 3.4.2s+P20091109. With this information, the system tells you that you are using:

• The ADempiere 3.4.2s (stable) version
• The latest patches installed on the system released on November, 09 2009

The predefined user ID and password

Coming to the ADempiere Login window, the system supplies us with a GardenAdmin User ID and an obscured Password. The question is: What exactly is the GardenAdmin password?

Within your current connection window, the system will serve us with the GardenAdmin user ID. However, this is not the only user ID that is available. Our ADempiere installation has a common list of user IDs and passwords, as mentioned in the following table:

We can try all of these user IDs in the Adempiere Login window. When typing these user IDs and passwords, check the Caps Lock status. The system will check the capitalization of the characters being typed. When supplied with a wrong password, you will get a User does not match password error message.

After typing your GardenAdmin password, you will be directed to the Defaults tab of the Adempiere Login window. Here, you have an option to set the Role, Client, Organization, Warehouse, Date, and Printer values. Leave the information as it is, and click on the OK button. You are now playing with a preconfigured GardenWorld sample client.

Understanding the Client and System users

With the default ADempiere installation, we can group users into the following types:

• Client users
• System users

The type of user is determined by the kind of Role being used when connecting to the ADempiere system. A Client user is a type of user who has the rights to access Client information (for example, GardenWorld Client), whereas a System user is a type of user who has the rights to perform system-related tasks, such as accessing and configuring the Application Dictionary through the System Client.

With the Application Dictionary, you can perform low-level configuration, such as:

Most of these parts can be done without altering the ADempiere source code. Any information in the Application Dictionary is user-extensible and can include user-specific configuration.

The GardenAdmin user ID is an example of a Client user. This user ID should be able to connect to the ADempiere server with the GardenWorld Admin or the GardenWorld User role. The System and SuperUser user IDs are examples of System users. When logging in to the ADempiere system, these IDs can connect with the System Administrator role.

SuperUser can be used to access both System and Client information.

Changing our ADempiere server connection

During our testing phase, it’s quite common to have multiple ADempiere servers. At least, we will have both a demo and a production ADempiere application server environment.

You can choose your target ADempiere server by clicking on the Server field on the Adempiere Login w

indow, as shown in the following screenshot:

During ADempiere installation, you will see an ADempiere Connection window. Complete the Application Host field with the target IP address (or computer name) of the ADempiere server, and leave the other fields with their default values. Ensure the connection between the client and the server computer by clicking on the Test Application Server button. If this button displays a green check mark, then the system will automatically put the information in the database connection information into this window. You can verify the database connection by clicking on the Test Database button.

When both of these buttons display a green check mark, this means that we have successfully connected to both, the ADempiere server and the database server. Finalize this task by clicking on the OK button.