User Interface
The interface manages a Connector and each Table it contains.
Connector
At the top of the display is where either an existing connector is selected, or a new connector is created.
 |
Click New Connector and select Database (general database), Form (database that contains tables used in data entry forms) or Analytic (database that contains tables for analytics.
If a connector has already been defined, select it from the drop-down list to show all its tables.
The Run Database Script button 
is provided to run a database script file. Database script files must reside in the Data directory of the project and have the extension .dbc.
An example script is provided called createtables.dbc which shows the CREATE TABLE syntax for the supported database formats and data types is provided. This file can be edited in notepad or any other text editing application.
Table
Select a Table Name. The first column shows an image of a key for any column that is indexed. A black key indicates that the column has a unique index whereas an orange key indicates a non-unique index. In the grid, are the Columns of the table, showing the Name and the Type.
For a new table, right click on the row to assign/unassign an index (note that this option is not enabled for an existing table). The Database Manager supports two types of column indexes:
Column Indexes | |
|---|---|
Unique | Column value cannot duplicate. A search for a value in this column will return no more than one record. |
Non-unique | Column value can be duplicated. A search for a value in this column will can potentially return more than one record |
To edit the Name, select the cell and change its content. To edit the Type, click a row and select from the list.
Note that editing is not supported for all connectors.
The Types supported are:
Column Types | |
|---|---|
DateTime | Use for date and time stamps. |
Byte | Use for whole numbers that range from 0 to 255. |
Number | Use for whole numbers that range from -32,768 to 32,767. |
Number (long) | Use for whole numbers that range from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647. |
Text | Use for textual data. Up to 255 characters can be stored in the column. |
Text (wide) | Use for columns that store textual data in wide format. This must be used if Unicode characters such as Chinese or Japanese are used. Up to 255 characters can be stored in the column. |
Decimal | Use for numeric values with decimals (e.g., floating point values) with up to 7 significant digits. |
Decimal (double) | Use for numeric values with decimals (e.g., floating point values) with up to 15 significant digits. |
Currency | Use for currency values. It is recommended that cells linked to columns of this type are formatted to display currency in Excel. |
New columns can be added to the grid by entering the information on the bottom row. Existing columns can be deleted from the grid by right clicking the row and selecting Delete or by selecting the row and pressing Delete on the keyboard.
With a Table Name selected, a number of table operations are provided:
Table Operations | |
|---|---|
Add | Add a table to the database. When selected, the Table Name changes from a drop-down list of tables to a text box where the new table name is entered, and the Columns grid is cleared. Edits are not saved until Accept is pressed. Press the Refresh |
Duplicate | Add a table to the database based on an existing table’s structure only. When selected, the Table Name changes from a drop-down list of tables to a text box where a new table name can be entered. The columns of the original table remain in the Columns grid as a starting point for the new table. |
Delete | Delete the selected table in Table Name from the database. |
Preview | Open the Preview dialog to display the top 100 records stored in Table Name. If the table has a column named DateAndTime, records are ordered by DateAndTime in descending order (newest to oldest). |
Edit | Open the Edit dialog to display the top 100 records stored in the Table Name. Add new rows to a table by entering the values on the edit row (last row) and clicking OK. This option should be used with care since it will add information to the table. |
Reset | Clear all the rows from the selected table in Table Name. When selected, a confirmation of the number of rows deleted is shown. |
Record Locking | This setting is only available for Form connectors. When this option is checked an xlrLock column is automatically added to the table. Use this option if the table is intended for a Data Entry Form that prevents users from editing the records once they have been locked. Once checked this setting cannot be edited. |
