Introduction to the RecordsKeeper Screens & Reports

 

the RecordsKeeper database system, like most other computer based systems, provides you with a series of screens that you can navigate through to accomplish various tasks.

 

 

All screens have a similar look and feel and all screens contain one or more of the following elements:

1. 'Captions' are used in several ways. They are short phrases used to identify screens, buttons and data fields. They attempt to convey the purpose and a sense of what the screen, button or data field is for. They appear in many places on the screens – in the header bars and top sections of screens, as column headers for tabular listings of data or to the left of or above specific data fields, and within the buttons.

 

2. 'Helper phrases' are used to provide more specific guidance in the use of a screen or data field. They usually appear at or near the bottom of a screen, but can also appear anywhere on a screen. They are longer than captions, usually full sentences that provide you with help in using a screen. Specific helper phrases are also displayed for the more important screen elements when you hover your mouse over one of the elements.

 

3. 'Buttons' cause things to happen when you click on them with your mouse. You can always identify a button because your cursor will change to a small hand icon when it hovers over one. A button will always respond to a mouse click and cause an action to occur. These actions include opening screens, closing screens, deleting records, and preparing reports.

 

4. 'Data fields' are just that. They hold and store the information that you enter into the database. There are a number of them available to you and all have different characteristics. Some store text; some store numbers; some store dates; some store complete computer files, and some store the addresses of web-sites and so on. Most have a limit as to how many characters they can store but others can store a virtually unlimited number of characters. These characteristics are easily identifiable and in many cases the amount of space that a data field has remaining and available is displayed for you as you enter data. Data fields are also used for storing your own captions and helper phrases. This feature permits you to customize the screens with phrases that are more meaningful to you. They can even be in any language that your computer accepts. If a data field is available for data entry or editing, the background of the field will be white. Conversely, If the data field does not have a white background, you cannot alter the contents of the field in any way, but you can usually select and copy the data in the field.

 

5. 'List Boxes' are data fields that provide a list of pre-defined data items. They are identifiable by the small down arrow at the right side of the data field. The list is opened when the arrow is clicked. In most cases you are limited to the items in the list and you must select one of them.  If the list box background is white, then you can enter additional items.

    

6. 'Option Boxes' are small squares that you can check on or off. They are used to select and identify a specific data record, or to indicate a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ in order to guide the program in what you want to have happen in certain situations. An option box is set on or off by clicking it with your mouse. When it is on, a check mark (√) is displayed in the box. When it is off, the box is empty. In some cases, the program will allow only one of several check boxes to be on at the same time and when you check one, all others will be turned off automatically. In other cases, several check boxes can be set on at the same time.

 

7. 'Action Options' are things you can do in certain situations. Action options are available by clicking your right mouse button when your mouse cursor is in a data field or over a report. In these instances, clicking your right mouse button opens a list of action options that you can then select with your mouse to cause an action to occur. For example, if you wanted to sort a number of records in either ascending or descending order, you can select the data field you wish to sort by first clicking in it, then right clicking and selecting the sort action you want. Action Options are only available when the data field permits it.

 

8. 'Hyperlink Fields' are really data fields that act in a certain way. First, you can only store a hyperlink address in the field, and second, when you click on an entered hyperlink address, another window will open on your computer and display the object at the address that you linked to. An address in this case is the location of an object on a computer, your own or one that you can access through a local network or the world-wide web. Thus, you can enter the address of any web page on any computer, or you can enter the file folder location of any file on your own computer. When a field contains a hyperlink address and you hover your mouse over that address, your cursor will change to a small hand and when clicked, the field will act in the same manner as a button, except in this case, a web page, a computer program, a file folder, or a file will open, depending on what address you have entered. If a hyperlink data field is available for data entry or editing, the background of the field will be a light blue to distinguish it from normal data fields. Conversely, If a hyperlink data field does not have a light blue background, you cannot alter the contents of the field in any way, but if it contains data, you can click on it to go to the object the address refers to.

 

9. 'Attachment Fields' are also data fields that act in a certain way. They permit you to store one or more complete computer files in an attachment field. Thus photos, scanned images, videos, spreadheets and word processing documents can all be stored, even together in the same field. When  you open an attachment, it opens with a program that can process it (i.e. Excel). The attachment field provides an alternative to accessing a file via a hyperlink. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. For example, if you use a hyperlink to open a file, the file must always be in the location where it was first specified in order for the RecordsKeeper system to find it. Should you move the database to another computer, you must also make sure that the file is also moved and placed in a directory with the same name. If you store the file as an attachment within the database, it is always available, but only by opening the RecordsKeeper database first.

 

10. 'Message Boxes' appear as small screens containing specific messages for you, usually to apprise you of a condition, such as telling you that something you are trying to do cannot be done for some reason. They usually appear when you try to carry out an action which is not permissible. A message box is really a small screen in its own right, and when it appears, you must click the ‘Okay’ button on it to close it before you can proceed with any other activity on the screen you are in. 

 

 

When you start the RecordsKeeper database system, your computer screen will be completely filled, with the exception of the Windows taskbar if it is not set to ‘Auto-hide’.  After entering your password and gaining access to the system, the application area will be completely filled with one of the application screens. While these full screens are open, you will not be able to move them or size them. You can always access other applications on your computer however, by simply using the task bar, the task switcher (Alt + Tab keys), the Windows Task Manager screen or in whatever way your system permits.

 

In most cases, when you navigate from one screen to another, only the screen you navigate to will show and will replace the screen you left.

 

In other cases, the screen you open will show on top of the screen you were on, and in these cases, you must close the screen you opened when you are finished with it before you can continue. You will only be able to use the screen that is on top and will not be able to access any other screens until that screen has been closed. Help screens are an exception to this rule. You can use the screen underneath a help screen while the help screen is open.

Most screens cannot be moved. The help screens can be moved however, so that they can be moved out of the way of an item you may be reading about. The help screens can also be stretched or shrunk to and from the right or to and from the bottom. You move a help screen by selecting the title bar (The very top part of the screeen) with your mouse and moving it to another location. You stretch or shrink the screen by clicking on the top, left, right, bottom or corner border of the screen and moving your cursor to stretch or shrink the screen. In this case, the help data will automatically reorganize itself to take advantage of the new size if you choose to stretch it. You will lose the ability to view all of the data if you shrink it beyond its original size however. Be careful not to shrink it to the point that the buttons are no longer visible, or you will not be able to close the screen until you stretch it out again.

 

 

© Copyright Reserved, RecordsKeeper Software, 2009