2.3 Shortcuts and tips

Updated 1 Nov 2026

Shortcuts and small tricks that save time in Tamanu Desktop. Each one works wherever you meet the kind of field or screen it describes.

Dates and times

Fill in the current date or time. Select a date, time, or date and time field and type a lowercase c. The field fills in with today's date, and the current time where the field has one.
Use the calendar's buttons. Open the calendar beside a date field and select Today, or Now in a time field, to fill it in. Select Clear to empty it.
Type a date instead. Type the date straight into the field in the format it shows, such as dd/mm/yyyy, rather than picking it from the calendar. Tamanu reads it when you leave the field.
See a date in full. Point at a date anywhere in Tamanu to see it written out with the day of the week, and the time where there is one.

Search with part of a name or number. The NHN, First name and Last name search fields find what you type anywhere in the value, in capitals or not. Typing toni in Last name finds Antonini.
Press Enter to search. Press Enter in a search field instead of selecting Search.
Show more filters. Select the double arrow beside Search to open Advanced search, which has extra filters such as Include deceased patients. Select it again to hide them.
Pick from a list. In a field that suggests options as you type, select the field to see every option, type to narrow the list, and select the cross to clear it.
Add a value that isn't listed. Some fields, such as an allergy's name, let you add a new value. Type it, then select the option ending in (item not in list). This needs permission, so contact your system administrator if you believe you should be able to.

Read text that is cut short. Point at text ending in an ellipsis (…) to read all of it.
Download more than one page. Download under a table saves only the rows on the current page. To save more, raise the number of rows shown at the bottom of the table first.

Put the tabs in your order. Drag an encounter's tabs, such as Vitals and Notes, into the order you use them. Tamanu saves the order to your account, so it is the same in every encounter, at every facility.
Check a reading against its normal range. In Vitals and Charts, values outside the normal range are highlighted. Point at one to see the range it falls outside, or point at a measure's name to see its normal range. Ranges show only where your site has set them.
Spot edited values. An asterisk (*) after a value means it has been edited since it was recorded.

Keep the record in view. The note window sits over the patient's record without hiding it, so you can scroll and read the record while you write. Drag the window's title bar to move it, or drag its edges to resize it.
Finish the note before moving on. You cannot leave the patient's record while a note is open. See Move around a patient's record.

Move between days with the arrow keys. On Outpatient appointments, and Location bookings in Daily view, select a day in the strip of days, then press the left or right arrow key to move a day at a time.
Jump to a month. Type a month and year, such as March 2027, in the month box above the calendar and press Enter.
Book from the calendar. On Location bookings, select an empty space in the calendar to start a booking with that location and date filled in. In Daily view the time is filled in too.
Move a booking. On Location bookings in Daily view, drag a booking up or down to move it to another time in the same location.
Book several time slots. When booking a location, select the first time slot, then the last. Tamanu books every slot between them.
See a booking in full. Point at a booking or appointment to see its full time and patient name, which may be cut short on the calendar.

Saved to your account: your encounter tab order, the chart you last chose on the Charts tab, and which measures you chose to show together in a graph.
Saved for each facility: your filters on Location bookings, Outpatient appointments and the Dashboard's Upcoming tasks.
Kept until you log out: the search terms on the patient, lab, imaging and medication lists, while you move around Tamanu. Reloading the page clears them too.
Reset each time: the number of rows a table shows, the order you sort it in, and whether the sidebar is collapsed.