ACOL is an on-line information service that provides electronic access to government information maintained by the four provincial governments of Atlantic Canada. This service is managed by Unisys Canada Inc. within a public/private partnership with the governments of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
Glossary of Terms
DIAS-related terms are listed below. This includes terms related to ACOL and DIAS.
Glossaries for other ACOL services are available here.
ACOL
ACOL Fee
The fee you or your ACOL account will be charged for performing a function, subject to special discounts or additional surcharges.
Additional Information
Fees for some, but not all, ACOL services are defined by legislation and regulations.
ACOL fees are automatically charged to the user's ACOL account. If you are using a public access terminal without having set up your own account, your payment method will be determined by the providers of the public access terminal.
ACOL endeavors, wherever possible, to display an accurate fee before the user requests a service. However, fees for some services cannot be calculated at the time the user is requesting the service.
In some cases, the Fee displayed by the ACOL application may be reduced by temporary or volume discounts. In other cases, the ACOL service may additionally be subject to a surcharge to cover the cost, for example, of a value-added service or of access to a public access terminal.
ACOL Reference
Any number that you want to assign to an ACOL transaction for your own records. It can be a combination of up to 12 letters and numbers. Use of an ACOL Reference is always optional.
Additional Information
The ACOL Reference number can be used to identify an individual and/or a set of related transactions. For example, you could use the ACOL Reference to identify your file or customer.
The ACOL Reference appears in ACOL Account Statements as a user-specified identifier for the transaction.
ACOL Reference is also an optional parameter when performing an Account Statement Query (see help for Account Statement Query). This permits you to create reports which show your account activity (transactions) for a single ACOL reference.
Authority Level
Every ACOL user is assigned an authority level. The authority level determines what account and user information the user can view and change.
ACOL authority levels - Prime Contact, Contact and Basic - determine what ACOL Client Services functions the user will be able to perform. Prime Contact and Contact users are often described as "administrative users" because they are permitted to perform functions such as Reset Password, Account Status, Account Statement Query and changing other users' User Information.
Bulletins
Bulletin board message postings providing general information for ACOL users.
Buttons
A button is a rectangle with a text label or an iconic graphic inside. Select a button to initiate the corresponding action. Pause the pointer over a button to display a brief description of its action.
Check Boxes
A check box appears as a square box with an accompanying label. When the choice is set, a check mark appears in the box. When the choice is not set, the check box is empty (similar to toggling a light switch).
Copy, cut, and paste
Data entry text fields support the following standard key combinations for copying, cutting and pasting text to and from the Windows clipboard.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| [Ctrl]+C | Copy the selected (highlighted) text to the clipboard. |
| [Ctrl]+X | Cut the selected (highlighted) text from the current field and place a copy in the clipboard. |
| [Ctrl]+V | Paste the clipboard contents to the current cursor position in the field. |
| [Ctrl]+[Insert] | Copy the selected (highlighted) text to the clipboard. |
| [Shift]+[Insert] | Paste the clipboard contents to the current cursor position in the field. |
Electronic Cheque
Subject to financial agreements with ACOL, ACOL permits use of electronic cheques to transfer funds from your bank account to your ACOL account. This is an electronic funds transfer (EFT) which makes funds available immediately to the ACOL account's users.
Electronic cheques are physically and logically similar to standard cheques. Each cheque must be signed and sent to take effect. Electronic cheques may be voided prior to being sent.
Additional Information
ACOL users who have electronic cheque signing authority are designated in your Client Application Form. To change the list of cheque signers (also called "EFT approvers") in your organization, contact the ACOL Client Support Centre .
A cheque may require more than one electronic signature. If there is a cheque waiting for another signature, it is displayed automatically when another signer selects the "Electronic Cheque" menu item.
Fields
Fields are labeled sections of a screen, which display information or provide a place for the user to enter or change information.
List Boxes
List boxes look like one-line text fields, but feature a down arrow symbol at the end of the field. They feature a pre-defined set of values which are valid for that field. To select a value from the List box, do any of the following:
- use the mouse to click on the down arrow symbol to display the list of values, then use the mouse or the up and down arrow keys to highlight a value;
- use the up and down arrow keys to display each item in the list; or
- press the key corresponding to the first letter of any item in the list.
Menu Bar
The menu bar is a horizontal list of drop-down menus. The menu bar appears immediately below the title bar. Menu items that are not currently accessible are displayed in faded text.
Pop-up Screens
Pop-up screens are small windows that typically display a context-sensitive message (that is, related to your current activity). You must select one of the buttons displayed on the pop-up in order to continue your work.
Radio Buttons
Radio buttons appear as two or more circles, with one and only one of the circles featuring a dark dot in the center. The dark dot indicates the current value selected. Each circle (button) represents a mutually exclusive option.
Special Keys and Short-cut Keys
Many special keys and shortcut keys are available to assist moving around and to help you enter information. These keys make it possible to perform work without using a pointing device such as a mouse.
Most special keys and shortcut keys behave the same as they do in other Windows applications.
Title Bar
Displays the name of the application along the top of a window.