SIMPLE but powerful relationship option...

[wjwood64]

One thing I have noticed over the years is the number of associated module relationships.

For me, I don't need bugs or cases as part of the contacts. While there are options to customize this I don't think that is the best option.

Could you add a single binary flag to the subpanel to "hide" subpanels?

This could by a simple check box in the subpanel in Studio. In turn this would set a "1" or "0" in the relationship table. The coding, database field change, and other options would be very simple. By just having a "hide" option none of the underlying "plumbing" needs to be changed. When the Module Page is rendered it would be one simple code check to determine whether that subpanel is visible.

This would alse be very low risk for upgrades because "eliminating" a subpanel would not be a true customization. If someone wants to add it back in later all they have to do is uncheck the "hide" flag for the subpanel and it is available again.

[jmertic]

You can hide modules and subpanels easily in the app; look under 'Display Modules and Subpanels' in the 'Admin' section.

[Angel]

Another idea would be utilize an approach similar to that which I describe in this post:

Angel's Blog: SugarCRM Customization: Dynamic Subpanels

The difference between that approach and the approach described by John is that the latter is system wide, while the former is specific to a given module.

[wjwood64]

Thank you very much John and Angel for your replies.

Angel, you hit clearly hit the mark with both your understanding AND your solution. However I have had huge problems in the past with customizations like what you propose. I'm okay with PHP coding and MySQL database development. I've done some add-ons, built a couple of my own modules, etc. Over the years it has created gigantic headaches with upgrades. Recently I had to completely, manually, rebuild my entire SugarCRM database and the application. I'm hoping to keep it closer to "vanilla" and be very selective about what I change.

I just spent about 50+ hours upgrading a Dev version of my Sugar instance, getting all of my records cleaned up, and bringing everything current. I dumped old mods that I found other workarounds for, etc. After upgrading and getting the DB changes up to the latest version I then did a CLEAN install, replaced the DB with the upgraded one. Cleared the upgrade history, manually re-built custom fields, etc., and then re-installed the whole system in a production environment.

I am up to a CLEAN install of the latest version.

As an SAP consultant approaching 20 years I try to think about things from a customer / user perspective. I really believe this small tweak in the official version would be relatively simple AND beneficial to the Sugar customer base. The ability to "hide" the subpanels by module as part of the officially supported functionality would benefit many customers who want to clean up the clutter.

Thank you for your input, I do appreciate it.