NOTE: This feature is available in the Professional and Enterprise versions of both Spectra and myStratus Desktop.

Creating a Preproduction Order

Remember, preproduction orders are created from Session records.

1. Find the session for which you want to create a preproduction order for and open it.

2. Click Preproduction Order in the New group of the ribbon to open a new preproduction order. 

3. The Client and Session Information sections on the General tab will automatically be filled in with information from the client and session related to this preproduction order. 
   
   

4. Choose the appropriate Vendor for this order.

5. Fill in the required order information in the General section of this tab. Assign an order number to make it easier to find preproduction order. The status will default to the first step you defined in Preproduction Order Status Maintenance. See also: Preproduction Order Statuses

6. When you know the vendor's invoice number and the invoice amount, you may enter that information in the Financial section. This is a reference field only and is not used in financial calculations.

7. Open the Order Detail tab and add products to the preproduction order. 
   
   

8. Use the In-House and Vendor Notes sections on this tab to enter notes about each line item on the order.

9. Enter information related to the entire order on the In-House, Vendor, and Status Notes tabs.

   WHO WILL SEE MY NOTES? In-house notes are for internal use and will be included on your work orders. See Printing a Work Order for more information. Vendor notes are included on your purchase orders. See Printing a Purchase Order for more information. Both types of notes can be shown on the preproduction order and on the Production hub.

10. If you have more orders to create for this session, click Save & New icon on the ribbon. Otherwise, choose Save or Save & Close.

Creating Preproduction Orders Automatically

Preproduction orders can be created automatically based on session type. Here's how to set it up:

1. Go to Maintenance > Session > Session Types. See also: Session Types
   
   
2. Open a session type and click the Production tab.
   
   
   
   
3. The default here is set to Never. That means preproduction orders won't be automatically created (by the software or the Control Center) AND you won't be prompted to create them. If you want to automate this process, choose how you want preproduction orders created for this session type. You have three options to choose from:

   • Automatically - The software can automatically create preproduction orders when the Session is First Saved or when the Session Status is Set to a specific status. Note: The Never setting is basically used to "turn off" any prompting or automatic creation of preproduction orders for this session type.

   • Prompt User - Instead of allowing the software to automatically create preproduction orders, use this option to prompt the user to do it, either when a Session is First Saved or when the Session Status is Set to a specific status.

   • Control Center - Use this option to have the Control Center regularly create batches of preproduction orders on a set schedule. The Control Center can be triggered to create them when a Session is First Saved or when the Session Status is Set to a specific status. In addition, you have the option to use a Filter to define the criteria for when the preproduction orders are created. See also: Filters

4. Choose a vendor and exclusions.
   
   
5. Click OK to save the changes for this session type.

Finding an Existing Preproduction Order

There are several ways to find an existing preproduction order.

• From a session record - Go to the Production tab, choose to display preproduction orders, and double-click the desired order.

  

• From a client record - Go to the Production tab, choose to display preproduction orders, and double-click the desired order.

• From the Production hub - Select the Order type Preproduction  and double-click the preproduction order desired. 

• From any hub - You can scan a barcode and be taken directly to a preproduction order. See also: Bar Coding

Deleting a Preproduction Order

1. Open the preproduction order you wish to delete. See the “Finding an Existing Preproduction Order” section above for more details.

2. Click Delete on the ribbon.

3. If you're sure you want to delete this order, click Yes on the Deleting Order Warning box, otherwise click No.

Changing the Status of a Preproduction Order

1. Open the preproduction order you want to change. Refer to the “Finding an Existing Preproduction Order” section above for more information on how to select the preproduction order.

2. Click the button next to the Status line. The software will advance the status automatically. If another status is desired, simply select it from the drop-down menu.

Note: A preproduction order does not need to move through every status, nor does it need to move through the steps in order. The user controls when the status is changed and the status to which the order is changed.