Plan Navigator

The Plan Navigator displays the main functions of the Business Planner in a hierarchical tree structure on a bar, which is docked to the left of the screen. It was designed with the novice user in mind but it serves the experienced user as well.

The Plan Navigator actually shows the same functions that can be operated from the Plan menu and the Analysis menu but it is much more convenient and quick to use because, unlike a menu, it is displayed fully all the time.

As a default, the Plan Navigator is loaded automatically when the Business Planner is loaded. You may change this by unmarking the check-box "Load Plan Navigator at start up" in the Preferences screen.

The Plan Navigator window can be removed and loaded again whenever you need it, simply by clicking the <Plan Navigator> button on the main toolbar.

The Plan Navigator display

The Plan Navigator display is a tree (outline) and you can see the main items - General, Tables, Plan, Analysis, Reports and Graphs - in bold fonts and the sub items in regular fonts.

Selecting an item, by clicking on it with the mouse, will display a brief explanation concerning this item in the small yellow window at the bottom of the Plan Navigator bar.

Double clicking an item will load the window related to this item where you can enter data or see the analysis results.

Item Sensitive Help

The Plan Navigator presents a short explanation to each item. The explanation is displayed in a small yellow box at the bottom of the tree. This shortened help explanation can be shown/hidden by clicking the small button that appears below it.

Plan Navigator Mode

The Plan Navigator can display items according to three modes that are selected by the user: Simple, Medium or Full. The selection is done by clicking the "Navigator Mode" button in the toolbar on the top of the navigator or the Edit/Navigator mode button on the menu.

When the Simple mode is selected, the Navigator will show the main and most used planning functions of the software.

When the Full mode is selected the Navigator will show all the planning functions.

The Medium mode is in between the other two modes, it will show the functions that are used by experienced users that do not require the most advanced functions and reports of the software.

These modes can be used as a tool that enables a new users to learn the software more easily and it can help experienced users to focus on the planning steps that are necessary for them.