Add-on Developer Guidelines
Contents
1. Provide Feedback amp Response mechanisms to tell the user that certain actions have been executed successfully Example For an Add on providing import functionality during the import operation provide a progress bar and at the end of the import operation make the system display a message saying x No of vouchers have been imported successfully O vouchers failed to import Press any key to continue Show appropriate error message notifications for failed executions of an action Tally Solutions Private Ltd Page 3 10 11 12 13 14 Lay Give proper titles for all Tables Reports Sub forms Collections etc Headings should not be abbreviations or code words that are difficult to understand Stk ltms Stock Item Text displayed in Buttons Menus Tables etc should be short and easy to read without being compressed Do not use 3 or more words Make sure there are no spelling mistakes in text in output screens Make sure height width of Part Line Tables etc are properly aligned For the Add on enablement option in F11 F6 Add on features provide appropriate question depending on the Add on s function Example Correct Enable Printing of Special Message in Sales Invoice Yes No or Print Special Message in Sales Invoice Yes No Wrong Enable Print Special Message in Sales Invoice Yes No Design for neat tidy and aligned printing Always test if report invoice is printing correctly When s2. this add on useful Optional Screenshots should be of regular screenshots Do not use developer mode screens Screenshot should show the exact screen with exact words as in Add on Screenshots should be sharp center aligned contain only relevant areas and not extended stretched Examples Stock ltem Configuration Allow ALIASES along with Names Allow Language ALIASES along with Names Allow ADVANCED entries in Masters Calculate VAT on MRP Marginal Use PART NUMBERS for Stock Items Use Description for Stock Items Use REMARKS for Stock Items Specify Default Ledger Allocation for Invoicing Use ALTERNATE UNITS for Stock Items Allow Std Rates for Stock Items Allow Component list details Bill of Materials Tally Solutions Private Ltd Page 8 Lay POWER OF SIMPLICITY 1S ee ti os Ao LD LSS SS along wwith Mam s Adl lowyr Language ALLDASE DS along writh PFHarnes Sow SDE Sete Soin Masters Calculate WAST oom MITAA MW argi m al Lise PAAT MUMI GERS for Stock beers Use REMRMARRR for Stock Items Speci Default Ledger Allocation for lm oicing Use ALTERNATE UMTS for Stock hems lowe Std Pates for Stock Items Allo Coo poan ent hst details Eill of MWIlaternials EE Unit Alteration Type Simple symbol DES Formal Name Numbers Number of Decimal Places 0 Y P Print E Export M E Mail O Upload S Shop G Language K Keyboard K Control Centre H Support Centre H Help Type Simpl
3. all new strings This will help in multi lingual coding 5 After loading the add on as account local TDL an activation option must be given at F11 F6 Add on features for all releases from Tally ERP 9 Release 3 2 or at F11 F1 F2 Accounting Inventory Features for releases below Tally ERP 9 Release 3 2 Do not give activation option at any other location like Company Alteration Screen Gateway of Tally etc Add on features should not be enabled by default after loading They must be hidden and deactivated and appear only after activation in F11 F6 Add on Features UDFs should appear in relevant places only Example a l a UDF is created to store Broker Name in Sales voucher then it should appear in sales vouchers only and not in other voucher types b Likewise if a UDF is created to store Broker Name for Ledgers created under Sundry Debtors group then it should ask to conditionally capture Broker Name in Ledgers created under Sundry Debtors group only and not in other groups Only permissible range of UDFs must be used in the codes The permissible range of Index numbers is 1 to 9999 and 20001 to 65536 The Index Numbers 1 to 29 is already used for default TDL Ensure unique UDF Index Numbers are used for each of your Add ons to prevent clashing between Add ons and also with other TDLs The field associated with the UDF needs to be in the context of a Data Object If the data is to be st
4. e Symbol NN Formal Name Numbers Number of Decimal Places 0 Accept D Delete x ag dae 5 Use proper data in screenshots Use real stock item names ledger names instead of using names Q Quit I gt like Item A dummy item ledger 1 customer etc Screenshot should show only English language unless required 6 Wherever needed highlight the relevant area in the screenshot with a thick red box Use the same highlight style throughout the user manual Tally Solutions Private Ltd Page 9 T 10 Lay POWER OF SIMPLICITY Stock Item Configuration Allow ALIASES along with Names Yes Allow Language ALIASES along with Names No Allow ADVANCED entries in Masters Yes Use Description tor Stock Items No Use REMARKS for Stock Items No Specify Default Ledger Allocation tor Invoicing No Use ALTERNATE UNITS for Stock Items Yes Allow Std Rates for Stock Items No Allow Component list details Bill of Materials No Give step by step instructions with proper path Do not merely give short instruction and make the user figure out the path Always provide the full path from Gateway of Tally or from the current menu that the user is in However don t make it a long paragraph Keep it 1 3 sentences for each step Example Correct Instruction Step 2 Next to alter the Sales Voucher type go to Gateway of Tally gt Accounts Info gt Voucher Type gt Alter and select Sales In the screen tha
5. ect Authorization required Project Details Build Options Compiler Execution Options Product Information Name Company Name aL Version lbiciabfa bfac 4f2c b4ad fdf0989166d6 1 0 Regenerate GUID Paste GUID Compilation Format e Irreversible Tally ERP9 Series A Release 3 6 and above This cannot be decompiled C Regular Enable Trial Mode Tally ERP9 Series A Release 3 6 and above Trial Duration Days IS Deny loading in educational mode Target Serials Customer Mame Add Serials Manage Customers Save And Build Cancel Build Options configuration screen O Tally Solutions Private Ltd Page 7 Lety POWER OF SIMPLICITY User Manual 1 Download the latest user manual template from your partner portal and use it to prepare the user manual for your add on Do not change the fonts formatting and styling of the template while creating the user manual Replace lt lt gt gt areas with relevant words In the introduction section as a general rule always provide the following information about the add on in both user manual and Add on details screen a What does the add on do Example Stop passing Sales voucher in case of negative zero stock b What benefit will the customer get Example Prevent unauthorized invoicing by data entry users c What conditions scenarios it will work does not work Example This functionality does not work for Administrators d For which segment industry is
6. everal of your add ons are used together the printing emailing exporting of report invoice should not look misaligned Keep the number of steps required to execute the Add on to be as few as possible Make the interface user friendly meaning easy to understand and easiest to use There should be no difficulties for the user to use the Add on Functionality 1 To minimize conflicts with other TDLs and Default Tally Definitions prefix your company name abbreviation and add on name for all of the following in code while naming Definitions Report Form Part Line Field Collection etc System Formulae Methods UDFs Variables Tables Functions O Tally Solutions Private Ltd Page 4 Laly Example For Company name Tally Solutions Pvt Ltd and Add on name Add on1 Part Add on1TSPL MyPart Line Add on1TSPL MyLine Field Add on1TSPL MyField Do not reuse the same code across several add ons lf you do change all names in code as stated in previous point Same goes for sample code Make sure that when multiple Add ons are loaded together no clash occurs and that one Add on does not overwrite prevent execution of another add on which commonly happens when code is reused and names and conditions are not changed or 2 or more Add ons use the same UDF storage Give contextual names and don t use words like ABCField MyPart MyField Variable1 in definitions Prefix LocaleString for
7. lolly POWER OF SIMPLICITY Guidelines for Developing Add ons For TallyShop By Tally Solutions Pvt Ltd 5 9 2014 Doc Ver 2 0 Laly POWER OF SIMPLICITY Contents USerIntenace DOSO tente econo EEEE EEEE EEE escotes 3 CU OUD sa e E 4 TOP COMP re o aaa 7 KEE EE geet 8 ele 0 g iB UE 11 CI de UET 13 Tally Solutions Private Ltd Page 2 Lety POWER OF SIMPLICITY Guidelines for Developing Add ons User Interface Design 1 All new menu items should be added in appropriate sub menus Avoid adding them directly in Gateway of Tally Do not add buttons in Gateway of Tally Example Bills Due Overdue menu item need to be added in Gateway of Tally gt Statement of Accounts gt Outstandings and NOT in Gateway of Tally Ensure while adding any new prompt that the alignment is in sync with default prompt and not compressing All popups menu reports must be designed as per the default Tally standard Do not use different colors alignments fonts styles and other formatting options that will make the Add on look out of place Default Option Hi Custom Option MN x Custom Option Default Option Use small size form Using this definition at the form level when creating reports will give the look and feel of default Tally Reports Keep pop ups notifications short and easy to understand Give question mark at the end of questions and do not overuse exclamations 1
8. n Keep the Add on name exactly the same across user manual Add on details screen and TCP Make sure that website URL e mail IDs phone numbers given in cover page and FAQs are correct and do not have any mistake Update the FAQs to be relevant to your add on Example The user manual template mentions in FAQs that the add on works in remote environment If your add on is not applicable for remote environment update the Question amp Answer on Remote Access in FAQs Make sure the starting and ending Tally ERP 9 Release mentioned in FAQs matches with the same in Add on details screen Your company Logo in cover page is mandatory Preferred extensions are pdf and doc User manual size should not exceed 1 MB 18 Name your file as Add on User Manual with FAQs lt lt Add on name gt gt Do not use special characters O lt gt 1 etc in file name Add on Details 1 3 Take a look at Procedure to upload Add ons document available in your partner portal to get step by step instructions on how to upload Add ons Give a proper name for your add on that best describes its functionality The name of the add on should be consistent with the scope of the functionality Example For an add on on printing special messages in invoice if the scope covers both sales and purchase invoice don t name it as Print special message in Sales Invoice instead name it as Print special message in I
9. n give any kind of messages in sales invoice 3 Works for both simple and comprehensive invoices x Tally Solutions Private Ltd Page 12 POWER OF SIMPLICITY Highlights e Print special message in Sales Invoice e Print in both Simple and Comprehensive Invoice e Works in Default Sales Invoice User created Sales Invoice amp Excise Invoice e Can enable disable messages anytime for specific invoice types Y 8 Give a minimum of 3 days evaluation period lt is recommended to give about 5 10 days of evaluation time to make the customers get used to the add on and buy it 9 It is recommended to keep to minimum applicable Tally ERP 9 release to be 3 0 and above 10 Provide the link to your website under Add on page URL This will help you to promote all your Products and Services to those customers who click on the link and land on your website General 1 Once the Add on is ready to upload review everything once by checking with both this Guidelines and Verification Checklistto ensure that everything is in order Spending 30 minutes on reviewing the Add on before upload will save considerable time and effort during the verification process from needing to make several corrections This will help your add on to be published in TallyShop quickly 2 Maintain high quality for Add ons and keep it free from issues and bugs This will help to reduce effort and time for Add on support to customers in future 3 After the Add o
10. n is listed provide search terms and keywords using Add Search Keyword option to make the add on easily identifiable in TallyShop search While ranking the search results the search feature takes into account appearance of how many times the search text appears in Add on name Descriptions amp Highlights Category Keywords added User Manual and other content Tip Think about what simple word s the customers will type in search box when looking for this functionality Use those words in Add on Name Descriptions and Keywords People search using words like invoice reminder but not module pop up 4 Keep the add on updated and compatible with the latest Tally ERP 9 release at all times Most customers update to latest Tally ERP 9 release and new customers will be on latest release If the add on details screen show compatibility information only till lower release and not up to latest release many customers may not think of trying buying Tally Solutions Private Ltd Page 13
11. nvoice and mention the scope in the description While naming the add on avoid abbreviations and spelling mistakes in names Keep the name short and give proper spaces When you use special characters like in name give space before and after the special character Example Right Naming Voucher Security 1 0 Tally Solutions Private Ltd Page 11 Lay POWER OF SIMPLICITY Print Detailed Account Statement 1 2 Print Special Message in Sales amp Purchase Invoice Wrong Naming VCH security 1 0 Detailed A c Stmt 1 2 Print Special Message in Sales Purchase invoice 4 Update the What s New section for new releases What s new e Updated for Latest Release x What s new e Add on is now compatible with Tally ERP 9 Release 4 91 e Feature to print in simple invoice format is added 5 Categorize the Add on under right category Utilities Tools type of Add ons must go under Office Productivity and not Reports 6 Only TCP file and User Manual are mandatory Other documents presentation flash screenshots etc are optional Still it is recommended to include screenshot s in joeg format 7 Provide clear content in Highlights and Description sections Highlights is not mandatory however as this is the first section that a customer sees it is better to give bulleted points about the Add on in highlights section Highlights e 1This addon will help to print special message in sales invoice 2 User ca
12. or specific set of stock items i Allow users to have the option of using both default invoice and custom invoice ii Allow users to have the option of entering items that need custom fields and items that do not need any additional field in the same custom invoice The Add on must work in Remote environment unless not applicable Test this via Remote Access Start with version 1 0 and increment your version by 1 or 0 1 depending or major or minor release Keep version increments orderly Keep your add on functionality unique with a compelling selling point The add on MUST NOT be similar to or duplicate of an existing add on Thoroughly test the Add on before upload Tally Solutions Private Ltd Page 6 Lety POWER OF SIMPLICITY TCP Compilation 1 Ensure Product name build version and author details are given while compiling the TCP file The author details need not contain any contact details Ensure relative path is specified while including files in projects Ensure that the TCPs are compiled using latest Tally Developer 9 DO NOT provide any customer serial while compilation build Follow the below snap shot to compile your TCPs Mandatory Fields Name Name of the Add on Author Company Name of partner Version Define the add on version number Should start with 1 0 GUID Note that GUID need to be always same for all the versions of add on Compilation Format Irreversible Sel
13. ored in a sub object in the existing hierarchy of internal object then the field associated with the UDF also need to be in the same object Tally Solutions Private Ltd Page 5 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Lay POWER OF SIMPLICITY Always use dsptemplate at report and form levels to ensure the default report standards While customizing a vouchers reports make sure they are in line with default vouchers reports and that they can be exported mailed and printed in both simple and comprehensive format Ensure Default Tally functionality is not tampered with while customizing Use OPTIONS SWITCH functionality to ensure the default functionality is not disabled Use Buttons Shortcut Keys to toggle between displays and to perform actions Use F12 Configuration to enable or configure parts of functionality Use Dates and Periods Detailed Condensed modes in reports as required during customization If they are not needed for the report remove the buttons from the screen Buttons that do not perform anything in a report should not be visible Make the add on work in as many scenarios as possible Keep the functionality generic and give choice to users to choose different options Allow users to disable options temporarily or permanently as needed Do not make it so specific that the only way users can stop using the add on is to unload it Examples For an add on providing a custom invoice format f
14. t appears you will see a new line Show Party Notes Yes No Set Yes to this option and save the screen Wrong Instruction Step 2 Alter sales voucher type and enable the option Show Party Notes Wherever complex formula logic are used provide explanations on how it works what it does Define every new field and caption Mention all conditions that need to be met options that need to be enabled for the add on to work properly Example For an add on related to delivery note mention in instructions to go to F11 F2 Inventory Features and set Yes to the option Use Tracking Numbers Delivery Receipt Notes before proceeding with Add on instructions lf the add on works in one scenario and will not work in another scenario clearly mention the same Always list down all exceptions Example lf a custom invoice add on works only for default Sales Voucher type and user created Sales Voucher type but not in Excise Sales Invoice mention this Tally Solutions Private Ltd Page 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Lay POWER OF SIMPLICITY Content should not contain abbreviation of text informal language usage of You or Il when explaining Be clear about singular and plural usage Batches Batch use punctuations Full stops commas colons semi colons quotes double quotes and spaces between words properly Use only add on or Add on Do not use words like addon AddOn ADDON ad o
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