Module 1 - The ICS Environment - Cargo Support

1
THE ICS ENVIRONMENT
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service
5 Constitution Avenue
Canberra ACT 2601
Telephone: 1300 558 099
© Commonwealth of Australia 2013
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced
by any process without prior written permission from the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.
Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction rights should be addressed to the Director, Communication and
Media, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, 5 Constitution Avenue, Canberra, ACT, 2601.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Overview ............................................................................................................ 3
Logging into the ICS ........................................................................................... 4
Accessing Customs Interactive ....................................................................... 4
Logging into the ICS ........................................................................................ 6
Logging out of the ICS ........................................................................................ 7
The Layout of the ICS screens ............................................................................ 8
Main Menu ...................................................................................................... 9
Fields and buttons ......................................................................................... 10
Online Help ....................................................................................................... 13
Further Assistance ........................................................................................ 16
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OVERVIEW
Clients using the Integrated Cargo System (ICS) log in through the Internet to
access the Customs Interactive. Some clients choose to communicate with
Customs using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) messaging. This module is
designed to introduce the ICS functionality to those clients using the Customs
Interactive (CI).
Note: for more information on EDI messaging, you should contact your software
provider directly.
The login process uses the Customs Connect Facility (CCF) system, and requires
users to have obtained a digital certificate and passphrase before attempting to log
in.
This section looks at the process of logging into CI and navigating to other systems
and information through the links available.
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LOGGING INTO THE ICS
Before logging into the ICS, you must access the Customs Interactive.
ACCESSING CUSTOMS INTERACTIVE
To access the Customs Interactive Menu screen:
Step 1.
Step 2.
Open Internet Explorer.
In the address bar, type the address https://www.ccf.customs.gov.au.
The Customs Interactive screen displays.
The Customs Interactive screen allows you to register to use the ICS, and to log
into the Customs Interactive.
Step 3.
Click on “LOGIN to the Customs Interactive”
Select your Digital Certificate from the list displayed.
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Step 4.
Enter a password and click OK.
The Customs Interactive Menu screen displays.
This menu is used to access different components of the CI. For example, it
enables the user to access the link to the ICS and the link to the Identity Manager
The following table lists the options available on the Customs Interactive Menu
screen.
Option Action Result
To access the Customs
Interactive.
To download and view
the user agreement that
was signed as part of
registering in the CCF.
To maintain/amend
digital certificate details.
From the main menu,
click on ICS
Production
From the Log in
screen, click on
Download User
Agreement for the
CCF.
From the main menu,
click on Identity
Manager.
The ICS Home Page screen
displays.
The File Download screen
displays allowing you to
download the user
agreement to a specific
location.
The User/Certificate
Maintenance screen displays
(refer to Volume 1 Module
3.5).
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Option Action Result
To logoff from the CI
menu.
From the main menu,
click on Logout.
The Login page displays.
LOGGING INTO THE ICS
Once you have accessed the Customs Interactive menu, you can log into the ICS.
To log into the ICS:
Step 1.
Step 2.
Ensure the Customs Interactive Menu screen is displayed.
From the main menu, click on ICS Production.
The Home Page screen (for the ICS) displays.
The Home Page screen is the first screen that is displayed in the ICS.
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LOGGING OUT OF THE ICS
As a security precaution you should close any ICS session when you have
completed your transaction, as another person using the same computer may be
able to access the ICS. If the session is open without activity, the system will log
you out after set a period of inactivity. This is currently set to 30 minutes.
To log out of the ICS:
Step 1.
From the main menu, click on Logoff.
A confirmation box displays.
Step 3.
Click on the OK button.
Note: it is also possible to log out of the ICS by clicking on the close window
button at the top right hand corner of the screen.
Enforced log off
The Access Control Enforcement system forces a user to log off after a
predetermined period of inactivity. This is currently set to 30 minutes. You may not
realise that you have been logged off until you attempt to perform another activity
at which time the login page will appear for you to log back into the ICS.
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THE LAYOUT OF THE ICS SCREENS
The ICS Home Page displays as shown, immediately after you have logged onto
the system.
The following table describes each of the generic components of an ICS page and
their functions:
Component
main menu
HOME
HELP
screen name
Function
Contains the names of all available functions that
can be accessed from the Home Page.
Links to the ICS home page, available from all
screens.
Link to screen level online help information,
available for all screens.
Each screen within the ICS has a different name
depending on the transactions that can occur on
that screen. As shown above, the ICS home page
screen name is Home Page.
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MAIN MENU
The main menu will appear in every screen accessed within the ICS.
The main menu is always on the left hand side of the screen and is headed by the
HOME and HELP links. Options within the menu and their descriptions appear
below.
All clients will see a different menu depending on their level of access to the
system and the roles they selected when they registered. The following is an
example of the menu a client may see.
A menu item can be expanded by using the + to the left of the item. Alternatively, a
menu item can be collapsed by clicking the – to the left of the item.
Component
Reference
Client
Reports
Function
Where users can search for codes and
supplementary data to support other functions
(eg, the Postcode reference function allows
users to search for and check the postcode of
any town or city within Australia).
Where clients can view their own details (eg,
phone numbers, addresses) and service
providers can register their clients.
Where reports from the ICS can be accessed.
Exports
Imports
Outbound
Messages
All aspects of exports reporting and
functionality are contained within the exports
menu.
All aspects of imports reporting and
functionality are contained within the imports
menu.
Where messages that have been sent to and
from the ICS can be viewed.
Logoff
Click on the link to log out of the ICS.
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FIELDS AND BUTTONS
On most screens within the ICS, there will be a combination of fields and buttons.
These are used differently depending on their purpose within the screen. The
UNLocode Search screen is a good example of a screen that consists of a
combination of fields and buttons, as shown below:
Field
Hyperlink
Checkbox
Options
Field with
dropdown
button search
Button
Name Description Example
Field
Fields consist of a field name and field
data. Most screens in the ICS contain fields
in which you enter data (input fields) or that
provide information for you (display fields).
Fields with
hyperlink
search
Some fields have the ability to perform an
independent search through a hyperlink.
Other hyperlinks also exist in the ICS.
Checkboxes Checkboxes are clicked to select one or
more options and clicked again to deselect
an option (e.g. in the screen above, one or
more port types can be selected).
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Name Description Example
Options
Fields with
drop-down
buttons
Options are clicked to select only one from
a number of options. Unlike checkboxes,
they allow only one of a list of options to be
selected (e.g. in the screen above, to
access all versions of the UNLocode, you
would click on the option underneath the
word All).
Some fields have the ability to search a list
attached through a drop-down button.
Clicking on the drop-down button will reveal
a list from which the user can choose to
populate the field. Only one option may be
selected from a drop-down menu.
Buttons
Book icons
Buttons are clicked on to initiate a
response or action (e.g. clicking on the
Search button will initiate a search based
on the parameters provided in the fields
preceding it). It is also possible to use the
enter key to activate buttons, however it is
necessary to first tab until the button is
highlighted before pressing enter as
shown.
Some fields have the ability to perform a
search for more complex data through a
book icon. This icon can sometimes appear
as a green cross, but performs the same
type of search.
Moving around screens
There are three basic methods of moving between fields in the ICS screens:
• pressing the ‘Tab’ key on the keyboard will move forwards through the
fields displayed on the screen
• pressing the ‘Shift’ + ‘Tab’ keys on the keyboard will move backwards
through the fields displayed on the screen
• using the mouse, click in the field required and enter data.
Tip: Where there are a large number of fields to navigate between (e.g. lodging an
export declaration), it can take a long time to get to a particular part of the screen
when using the tab key. Clicking directly in the field required with the mouse may
be a quicker option.
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Tip: For fields with a drop-down button, information can be entered using the
following methods:
• click on the drop button and select the required option with the mouse
• type the first letter of the option required and it will appear in the field. For
example, in the date field, type the first letter of the month required e.g. ‘S’
for September, and the word September will display in the field. If there is
more than one month that begins with that letter, simply keep pressing that
letter until the month required appears in the field
• use the up and down arrows to scroll through the options in the drop-down
menu until the relevant option is found.
Field Colours
The ICS has standard field colours that indicate whether information is required.
There are four basic field colours as described below:
white – optional or conditional input field. Conditional fields are ones that become
mandatory after a related field has data entered
blue – mandatory input field
pink – blue mandatory fields become pink when a user attempts to move past
without inputting information. The field remains highlighted until the information is
completed. This colour also appears after an error message is received regarding
information missing from a mandatory field. The ICS will list what information is
missing, and then when the error dialog box is cleared, all fields that have been
missed will be highlighted in pink
red – when an error message is generated, a window displays on the screen
detailing which field is incorrect / missing information. It is possible to click on the
error message in the error box to highlight the incorrect field on the screen. This
field will be highlighted in red. This is useful if the incorrect field is not immediately
recognisable on the screen.
Note: the red colour will only appear when information is missing from mandatory
fields.
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ONLINE HELP
The ICS has been designed with an online help option to provide assistance to
users.
There are two options for accessing the online help system:
• screen-level help
• field-level help.
Screen-Level Help
The screen-level help option provides information regarding the function and
purpose of any particular screen within the ICS.
To access screen-level help:
Step 1.
From the main menu, click on HELP (at the top of the main menu).
The Help Page dialog box displays relevant to the page being displayed.
Screen-level help contains the following information:
• general overview/background information regarding the process
• steps to follow to complete the screen or submit the report.
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Screen-level help also has a menu available which is an exact replica of the ICS
main menu. This allows the user to navigate to screen-level help for any other
screens/processes within the ICS, without actually needing the screen to be
displayed.
Field-Level Help
Field-level help provides information regarding the field contained on a particular
screen.
To access field-level help whilst working in a particular screen:
Step 1.
Move the mouse to hover over the fields you are unsure of.
The mouse pointer will change to look like a question mark (?).
Step 2.
Click the left mouse button.
The Help Page dialog box displays with a description of the field selected.
Field-level help contains the following information:
• a definition of the field and what information is required
• definitions of other adjacent fields.
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The field-level help appears in the same format as screen-level help, which then
allows users to navigate to other screen-level help options through the main menu.
The online help is available at all times and within all screens of the ICS.
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FURTHER ASSISTANCE
For more information email cargosupport@customs.gov.au or phone
1300 558 099.
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