Sequences
Auto-numbering sequences — prefix, padding, and the document types they apply to.
Sequences control how Tooling Metrics generates document numbers. Each document type that requires a unique number (purchase orders, engineering projects, etc.) draws from a sequence.
Fields
Section titled “Fields”A sequence’s fields are three separate, independent settings — there is no single combined “format” field that mixes literal text and number tokens together.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Descriptive label for the sequence (e.g., Purchase Orders, Engineering Projects). Maximum 64 characters. |
| Resource | The document type this sequence applies to. Must be unique per organization — one sequence per document type. |
| Prefix | A literal string prepended to every generated number. Must be 1–5 characters and unique per organization. A prefix already taken by another sequence is rejected with “is already used in this organization.” |
| Subsequence | An optional raw strftime pattern, inserted between the prefix and the padded number — not a token-based format string. Common values use %Y (4-digit year), %y (2-digit year), and %m (2-digit month) with / separators, e.g. /%y/. Leave blank to omit it. |
| Size | Zero-pad width for the numeric portion. Integer, 3–16. Example: size 4 with next number 42 gives 0042. |
| Step | Increment applied after each number is generated. Integer, must be ≥ 0. A step of 0 never advances the counter — the same number is generated every time, which will collide with itself. |
| Next Number | The value used for the next document generated from this sequence. Must be ≥ 0. There is no floor tied to documents already generated — lowering it below the current count is not blocked by validation, but will produce duplicate document numbers on documents already issued. |
Generated number format
Section titled “Generated number format”A document number is composed by concatenating the three fields: Prefix + (Subsequence evaluated against today’s date, if set) + Next Number padded to Size.
Example — prefix PO, subsequence /%y/, size 4, next number 42:
- Generates:
PO/25/0042(where25is the current two-digit year)
Example — prefix T, no subsequence, size 5, next number 1:
- Generates:
T00001
Document types
Section titled “Document types”Sequences are created automatically for each of these document types, with default prefixes, when an organization is created:
| Document Type (Resource) | Default Prefix |
|---|---|
| Machine | M |
| Tool | T |
| Tool Transfer | TT |
| Item | I |
| Picklist | PL |
| Return List | RL |
| Transfer | TF |
| Inventory Adjustment | ADJ |
| Scrap List | SL |
| Purchase Order | PO |
| Purchase Receipt | PR |
| Purchase Restock | RS |
| Purchase Return | RT |
| Part | PRT |
| Tool Assembly | TA |
Edit any of these to match your organization’s numbering conventions. There is no destroy-guard on a sequence — unlike a Group with members, a sequence already in use by live documents can still be deleted.
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