Data Entry

  1. Data entry is accomplished by accessing the appropriate Form in any of three ways.

    1. Use the appropriate buttons on the Taskbar, as described above.

    2. Keyboard - Instead of the Taskbar, you may use the Insert, Enter, and Delete keys on your keyboard to Insert, Change, or Delete records. A Select can be made by a double left mouse-click.

    3. Right Mouse-Click - The third method involves a right mouse-click. This will cause a popup Menu to appear with the options that are currently available

  2. Forms vary from the simplest with only one TAB and perhaps a single data entry field to the complex with numerous entry fields, multiple TABS, Text Windows, and scrolling Browses to hold multiple items of data of the same kind (multiple authors of one title, for example).

    1. Simple data entry fields allow you to type information directly into the form.

    2. A lookup data field will display a little down-arrow (called a Mouse Look Up Button) to the right of the field (see Exhibit II) when entered via a Tab keystroke or mouse-click. These are specialized fields that allow data from another file to be looked up and linked to the currently active file. These can be used in several ways, depending on the nature of the information in the other file.

      1. Just start typing the entry if known and the nearest match will appear in the field.

      2. Use the up-arrow or the down-arrow on the keyboard to move back and forth in the other file to choose another item if desired.

      3. Third, and this is often advised with a more complex data look-up, a mouse-click on the Mouse Look Up Button will cause a Browse to appear listing all of the data in the other file. Select the appropriate item for the Form data field by double clicking on it, using a right mouse-click to call up the popup menu, or using the check mark on the Taskbar if available.

      Exhibit V - Select a Subject Record

    3. All Forms have OK and Cancel buttons on the lower right. Clicking on the OK button (or pressing the Enter Key) will save the record, while clicking on the Cancel button will abort it.

    4. The Titles Form is the most complex and varies depending on whether you are Inserting or Changing data to prevent the creation of orphan records. On Insert, only the Titles (General) Tab and the Notes Tabs are visible. After adding the basic title information, you then use Change (or the Enter Key) to add the subject and author information.

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    Documentation for Library Manager V. 1.0