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C-25 · Screen and Keyboard Tips

Draft page

Captions marked [confirm] and the "Open items" section are still being verified against the live product.

Book C — Daily User Guide · Part 8 Reference · draft v1 (2026-08-29)

Everyday shortcuts

  • Double-click any date box to stamp today's date (application received, NTP, payments, inspection dates, correspondence…). Double-click the year box to stamp the current year.
  • Double-click a name in a contractor or payee box to open that contractor's record; double-click a project row to open the project.
  • Page Up / Page Down do nothing on data forms — deliberately, so they can't move you to another record by accident. Use the lists and Search to navigate.
  • Padlock on the Navigation form: locked = viewing/searching, open = editing (Add New Applicant / unlock). Click it to toggle.
  • Yellow fields need a choice before you can continue (Project Setup, Financial Review); green boxes are the ones a button just told you are missing; bold blue / red labels point at the field a document needs.
  • Underlined letters in the left menu are Alt-key shortcuts (Alt+S Search, Alt+A Add New Applicant, Alt+P Active Projects, …).

Windows and monitors

  • The project window and dialogs open centred on the monitor HousingOS is on; on a two-monitor desk keep HousingOS on the monitor you work on so pop-ups don't land behind you.
  • Unhide Window (Developer block) brings back a form hidden behind another; Minimize shrinks the Navigation form.
  • Zoom [frmZoom] — Shift+F2 on any long text box opens it in a large editor [confirm].
  • Map viewers, the dashboard, status cards, the report builder and the IDIS sheet are web pages inside HousingOS — if one is blank, its Refresh button reloads it.

Text and data

  • Spell-check runs when you leave the Correspondence text box; run it elsewhere with F7.
  • Unit numbers: letters, numbers, spaces, underscores only.
  • Descriptions on disbursements have a length limit because they print on the check request.
  • Interest rates show as percentages; you never type them on a project — they come from Program Terms.

Getting help

  • Every button that refuses tells you which field it wants — read the message title, it names the tab.
  • Comments / project log (▸ C-20) is where HousingOS records what it did; check it before assuming something didn't happen.
  • Version: shown in the HousingOS title bar (e.g. v 2.26.08.07); your administrator will ask for it (▸ B-15).
  • Periodic Reminders (Admin ▸ Reminders) list the yearly housekeeping — income limits (Apr 1), FY close-out (Jun 1), new-year funding and settings (Jul 1) — for the administrator; you'll see them too.