Home inventory, cataloging & personal information management organizing software

Help for The RecordsKeeper Add/Edit Record Screen

This screen permits you to add to, alter or delete data in the various fields that are available to you.

Adding a New Record:

If you clicked the ‘Add a New Record’ button on the previous screen, this screen will be blank (contain no data) when it opens. You are then free to add data into the available data fields as you require.

Editing an Existing Record:

If you clicked the ‘Edit’ button on the previous screen, all of the data that is currently associated with the record you selected is presented on the screen. You are then free to add, alter or delete data from the available data fields as you require.

Note that this screen will only display data fields that have their ‘Include’ option set to ‘on’.

Where appropriate, the number of available or remaining characters that a data field can contain appears in the small number to the right of each field. You can update this number by clicking in the field with your mouse while you are editing it, or by clicking in another field.

Hyperlink Fields:

You can identify a hyperlink field because it always has a light blue, rather than a white beckground.

There are two ways to add or edit data in the hyperlink fields:

You can type or paste data into one of these fields; or

You can use an edit box that opens when you right-click in the field.

If you enter a hyperlink address into any of the available hyperlink fields, you should also select a hyperlink caption from the list box immediately below the field where you entered the hyperlink address. This caption will replace the hyperlink address itself on screens so that the screens are more readable.

If you do not select one of the captions, a default caption will be inserted.

Attachment Fields:

You can identify an attachment field because it always has a paperclip icon followed by a bracketed number. When the field is empty, the number will be zero (0). The number shows how many attachments the field is currently holding.

You add or remove files from the attachment field by double-clicking the paperclip icon. This opens a dialog box that will permit you to add or remove files.

Types of Fields Available:

While not all fields may be displayed for any specific record, there are 30 data fields available to you. These data fields vary in format as follows:

11 regular text (a combination of characters and numbers) data fields of varying lengths
2 special text (a combination of characters and numbers) data fields of unlimited length
2 date data fields
3 telephone number data fields
2 amount, or number data fields, and
10 hyperlink data fields or 9 attachment fields

1: The 11 regular text data fields are of variable lengths, as follows:

1 of up to 24 characters in length
8 of up to 255 characters in length
1 of up to 36 characters in length, and
1 of up to 18 characters in length

When using these fields, you can either type the data into the field using your keyboard, or paste the data from another source after having copied it.

2: The 2 special text data fields are of a virtual unlimited length. You can type or paste any number of characters into them (well, up to 2 gigabytes of storage anyway, whatever that means)

3: The 2 date data fields are just that. When you double-click in them, a calendar opens and permits you to select a date.

4: The 3 telephone number data fields will accept 24 characters in any telephone number format. The fields can be used for other purposes if required.

5: the 2 amount, or number fields will accept a number of any length with up to 6 decimal places. The data can be displayed in a format of your choice, including currency.

6: the 10 hyperlink fields will accept web-page addresses, e-mail addresses, and any disk drive letter/folder/file path that you enter. You can type in an address, copy and paste it, or select one from a dialog box. The 9 attachment fields will accept most file formats for files that can be opened using a program currently on your computer.

One additional field, called the sequence field, stores a number and is available to help you sequence your records in order of preference. This number is only used to sequence your records on screens and reports, and has no relevance to the record itself, except perhaps for indicating its relative importance.

Tips and Techniques:

If you are using the RecordsKeeper database system as a means of recording information about things that you deem important, then it makes sense to capture as much relevant information as possible about that thing. This may include information about:

what it is
where it is
how to locate it
how to make it work
how to access it
how to get help for it
how much it is worth
how much it cost
what you intend to do with it
what to do if it breaks
how to fix it
who can fix it
where it can be fixed
any parts it might have or require
what it does
who it does it for
who to contact about various aspects of it
how you got it
where you got it
what you intend to do with it
its supplier
its manufacturer
its model number
its serial number
its license number
and so on

You can capture a lot of this information with words, but do not overlook the hyperlink and attachment capability, and use its ability to store or link to:

web-sites
photographs
electronic documents (correspondence, image scans of important documents, etc.)
computer programs
file folders
and so on

Following are some examples:

If you are a homeowner, you could scan an image of a map of any underground wires, cables and pipes with references to local city and utility company agencies that monitor such items
If you have a will and powers of attorney, you could scan images of them and store them on your computer for reference

Editing Data Field Names:

In addition to editing and changing data in the data fields available, you can also change the name of a data field from this screen. You do so by double-clicking one of the available data field names and choosing from options that are made available.