Dimensions
Dimensions are how EVX Software organizes your firm's work. Clients, projects, departments, job phases, rate schedules, and the other sections of the left panel are all dimensions. Every task, time entry, expense, invoice, and document is linked to them, so you can find and filter your work from any angle.
This page shows the screens of a Super Administrator.
Jump to:
- What a dimension is
- How records are classified
- Filter with dimensions
- Dimensions and permissions
- The dimensions in EVX Software
- Choose which dimensions you see
- Frequently asked questions
What a dimension is
A dimension is one way of organizing your records, such as Clients or Job phases. The items inside a dimension are its members. For example, Clients has members such as Accor and AECOM, and Job phases has members such as Field work and Reporting.
Each dimension appears as a section of the left panel, with its members listed below it.
Each section of the left panel is a dimension, and each item in it is a member.
Some members hold their own information. A project, for example, has a number, a client, a contract amount, and a project manager. Some dimensions also let your administrator group members, for example in folders.
How records are classified
Linking a record to a member is called classifying it. A record can be classified in several dimensions at once. For example, the task "04. Site Survey and Assessment" is classified in a project, a rate schedule, a labor category, and a job phase.
Open any record to see where it is classified, in its Related to section. To change it, edit the record and choose the members in Related to.
A task is classified in several dimensions at once.
Some classification happens on its own. When you classify a record in a project, EVX Software also classifies it in that project's client and rate schedule, so you never enter them twice. Your administrator decides which of these links fill in automatically. See Setting up dimensions.
Filter with dimensions
Select a member in the left panel, and every tab shows only the records classified in it. The selection stays as you move between tabs. Select a project, and Tasks, Time, Expenses, Documents, and Invoices all show that project.
Selections from different dimensions combine: you see only the records classified in all of them. For example, select project 26-0004 and then the job phase D. Field work, and the Tasks tab shows only the field work tasks of that project.
Filters from different dimensions combine: only tasks in both remain.
Your selections appear next to Home at the top of the screen. Click Home to clear them and see everything again.
When you select a project, the other sections of the left panel narrow to match it. Clients shows only the project's client, and Rate schedules only its rate schedule. Dimensions that are not linked to projects, such as Job phases, keep all their members, so you can combine them with the project.
Two more ways to narrow what you see:
- The Filters box at the top of each section of the left panel searches the members of that section, not your records. Type part of a name to find a project or client quickly.
- The filters at the top of each tab, such as Assigned to or Status in Tasks, work on top of your left panel selection. See Finding, filtering, and sorting tasks.
Dimensions and permissions
What you can see follows the members you have access to. If you don't have access to a member, you don't see the records classified in it, even when a record is also classified in a member you can see.
That is why two colleagues can open the same tab and see different records. Your administrator decides who has access to which members. See Permissions and access control.
The dimensions in EVX Software
EVX Software uses the dimensions below. Each one has a default name in the system, and EVX Software suggests a name that consulting and engineering firms recognize. This documentation uses the suggested names.
| Dimension | Default name | What it organizes |
|---|---|---|
| Clients | Clients | The firms and agencies you work for |
| Projects | Projects | Your projects and proposals |
| Departments | Workspaces | Internal areas of your firm, such as departments or business areas |
| Services | Project types | The kinds of services your projects deliver |
| Project managers | Project managers | The people who manage your projects |
| Industries | Client sectors | The sector each client works in |
| Locations | Countries | Where your projects take place |
| Vendors | Suppliers | The vendors and sub-consultants you buy from |
| Contract stages | Contract phases | Where each project stands commercially, from proposal to signed contract |
| Rate schedules | Rate schedules | The billing rates that apply to a project |
| Labor categories | Labor categories | The kinds of work your people do, which set their rates |
| Expense categories | Expenses categories | The kinds of expenses you record |
| Job phases | Job phases | The stages of work inside a project, such as field work or reporting |
| Approval status | Timesheet Status | Where each time entry or expense stands in approval |
| Document types | Document types | The kinds of documents you store |
| Tags | Tags | Labels you can assign to any record |
Your firm may use other names, or only some of these dimensions. More dimensions become available with plugins. Ask EVX Software if your firm needs one.
Choose which dimensions you see
You choose which dimensions appear in your left panel. Click View more at the bottom of the left panel, and tick the dimensions you want to see. A dimension you tick appears in the panel right away. Untick it to hide it again.
Tick a dimension to show it in your left panel.
Hiding a dimension only changes your own left panel. Your records stay classified in it, and your colleagues' panels do not change. To turn a dimension on or off for the whole firm, your administrator uses Setting up dimensions.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I see a project, task, or document?
Two things decide which records you see: your selection in the left panel together with the tab's filters, and your permissions.
- Check the left panel and the filters at the top of the tab. Selecting a project or applying a filter shows only the records that match. Click Home to clear your selections, clear the tab's filters, and look again.
- If the record still doesn't appear, your access may not include that client, project, department, or module. Ask your firm's EVX Software administrator to review your permissions. See Permissions and access control.
What you can do next
- Classifying records to classify records by hand and see what fills in automatically.
- Finding, filtering, and sorting tasks to combine your left panel with the filters of the Tasks tab.
- Permissions and access control to see how access to members is set.