When entering a query there are several tricks that can be
used to help refine you search.
Make sure you are in query mode. The Status area will show "ENTER
QUERY" and the Message area will give detailed instructions on which keys to press.
Pressing Enter Query twice or invoking Last Criteria will restore the
previous query and allow for quick modification of the criteria without having to retype
the entire query.
A normal query assumes that all fields defined are to be found
simultaneously. So for example in a form which had fields for Animals and Colors, entering
Animals: Cats and Colors: Yellow would only retrieve records concerning yellow cats.
You can enter restrictions in some of the fields to narrow the query. For
example in a numeric field, entering >30 will find only those items greater than 30.
Valid comparisons are > (greater than), < (less than), >= (greater than or
equal), <= (less than or equal), = (equal) and != or <> or ^= (not equal).
You can use the special characters % (percent) and _ (underscore) to
match within text field. The percent sign matches any string of characters and the
underscore matches any single character. So for example, %at would match "cat",
"that" or "this and that", while _at would only match "cat".
Special character do not have to appear at the beginning of the string. The following is a
valid syntax: _at%cd_. Meaning a strings with one character before "at",
followed by any number of characters up to "cd" and followed by only one more
character. Using wild cards can cut down on typing but may retrieve many more records than
you mean to. Always try to be as specific as possible.
After a query has been created you can press the Count Hits key to get a
quick indication of how many records match, without actually performing the query. This is
useful for answering statistical questions quickly without generating a report and also as
a check that your query will perform as desired. If all seems satisfactory, pressing
Execute Query will reuse your criteria and perform the search.
Entering a "substitution variable" in any of the query fields
will cause the Query Where dialog box to pop up when Execute Query is pressed. A
substitution variable is an alphabetic string of your choosing prefixed with an ampersand
& . In this dialog you can enter any valid Structured Query Language expression to
further refine your criteria. For example, if in the Animals field mentioned above you
entered &A , then in the Query Where dialog you could enter: &A like
"%OG" and not like "%AT ". This would retrieve animals like DOG or
HOG, but not CAT. Full details on the syntax of the Structured Query Language will be
found in standard references.
Many forms have direct links to other forms which permit navigation
without returning to the menus. Pressing Show Keys will give a list of the specific forms
using up to ten Hot keys. See also the Other Forms button at the bottom of some screens.
In a List of Values pop up form with a Find: field it is possible to
restrict the list by entering a partial search string. It is not necessary to press Enter
Query or use wild cards. Partial search strings only work on the leading edge of the
values.
In a List of Values pop up form without the Find: field, press Enter
Query and use any of the standard techniques to refine your search.
When entering new data be aware of the presence of the List of Values
indicator as you navigate from one field to another. You can use this feature whenever
available, or you can enter a value if known directly. Note that some screens have hidden
fields and that you must you the List of Values to select all required items. Typing only
into the visible fields will produce an error on commit. This situation most commonly
arises when selecting items which may be restricted to a valid time period. Examples
include academic departments, course and class sections, for example.
Remember that changes done on a form are not saved into the database
until the Accept/Commit key is pressed. This gives you the ability to correct errors or
back out of inadvertent changes. Clearing things on a form does not change the database,
but delete things does. Be careful, once changes are committed they cannot be undone,
without reentering the original data.
If you inadvertently enter data when you intended to do a query and
forgot to press the Enter Query key first use the Clear Record function to remove your
typing and then press Enter Query .
You can have more than one screen active at a time and switch between
them with ALT-TAB. To start a second screen switch back to the underlying menu and select
the one you wish. The number of simultaneous screens is limited by the amount of memory in
your computer. Having too many open at once may cause your computer to slow down.
If you have retrieved some data and another user changes it from another
computer you will receive a message if you attempt to modify the same record. Requery to
item to see the updates and then make your changes. This insures that two users do not
overwrite each other's changes.
If you seem to have gotten hopelessly stuck in some sort of error message
loop, select Clear All from the menu bar and then exit the screen.