# Department Preferences — Administrator Guide

## Quick Start

As a **department head or administrator**, you can customize HMIS features for your department by managing department preferences. This guide walks you through accessing and modifying these settings.

## Prerequisites

- Your user account must have the **Admin** privilege
- You must be assigned to a specific department (e.g., Pharmacy, Nursing, Finance)

## Accessing Department Preferences

### Step 1: Log In

Log in to HMIS with your department admin credentials.

### Step 2: Navigate to Department Preferences

**Menu Path:** Administration → Department Preferences

Or go directly to: `http://localhost:9090/rh/faces/admin/department_preferences`

### Step 3: Verify Your Department

At the top of the page, you will see:

> **Department Preferences — [Your Department Name]**

This confirms you are managing preferences for your own department only. You **cannot** modify another department's preferences from this page.

## Managing Preferences

### Enabling a Preference

1. Locate the preference you want to enable (e.g., "Allow Disposal Issue to Same Department")
2. Check the checkbox next to the preference
3. Click the **Save** button
4. You will see: "Department preferences saved successfully"

**Effect:** The preference takes effect immediately. Staff in your department will now see updated behavior.

### Disabling a Preference

1. Locate the enabled preference
2. Uncheck the checkbox
3. Click **Save**
4. Confirm the change has taken effect by refreshing pages or re-logging in

### Resetting to Defaults

1. Click the **Reset to Defaults** button
2. Confirm the popup message: "Reset all preferences to system defaults?"
3. All preferences return to their default (disabled/false) state
4. Click **Save** to apply

## Available Preferences

### Pharmacy Department

#### Allow Disposal Issue to Same Department

**What it does:**
- **When enabled:** Your pharmacy staff can create disposal issue bills within the pharmacy department itself (same source and destination)
- **When disabled (default):** Your pharmacy staff can only create disposal issues to other departments

**Why enable it?**
- If your department needs to track internal waste/disposal for auditing
- If you manage multiple sub-sections and want internal transfer tracking

**Why keep it disabled?**
- Stricter control — all disposals must go to a central waste management department
- Simpler audit trails — all disposal issues show external movement

**Impact on Staff:**
- If enabled, the error "Cannot Make an Issue to the Same Department" will not appear when selecting their own department
- If disabled, they will see the error and must select a different department

## Troubleshooting

### "You are not authorized to access this page"

**Problem:** You see this message when trying to access Department Preferences.

**Solution:** Your user account must have the **Admin** privilege. Contact your system administrator to request this privilege.

### Changes Don't Take Effect

**Problem:** I checked a preference and clicked Save, but staff still see the old behavior.

**Solution:**
1. Verify the **Save** button completed (look for "saved successfully" message)
2. Ask staff to **log out and log back in** to refresh their session
3. Clear browser cache and reload the page
4. If still not working, contact your system administrator

### Can't See Department Preferences in Menu

**Problem:** The "Department Preferences" menu item doesn't appear.

**Solution:**
- This page only appears for users with **Admin** privilege assigned to a specific department
- Check that your account has Admin privilege
- Check that your user account is assigned to a department (not institution-wide)

## Important Notes

- **Department-Only Management:** You can only modify preferences for your own department
- **Immediate Effect:** Most preferences take effect immediately, though staff may need to refresh their browser
- **No System-Wide Changes:** Your preferences **never** affect other departments or the institution as a whole
- **Reversible:** All settings can be changed or reset to defaults at any time

## Related Topics

- [Department Preferences Overview](Department-Scoped-Preferences.md)
- [Pharmacy Disposal Issue — Same Department](Pharmacy-Disposal-Issue-Same-Department.md)
- [System Administration](System-Administration.md)
- [Privileges and Access Control](Privileges-and-Access-Control.md)

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**Questions?** Contact your system administrator or refer to the [Department Preferences Overview](Department-Scoped-Preferences.md).