The Arsenal Files 6/The Arsenal Files 6 (Arsenal Computer).ISO/business/infotk15.zip/TUTORIAL.TXT

Text File | 1995-08-09 | 11KB | 217 lines

Infothek

Copyright   1995 Informatik Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Infothek is a trademark of Informatik Inc.

[e-mail]
[e-mail]


T U T O R I A L

Last updated: 08-02-95

THIS IS A FAIRLY COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM WITH MANY FEATURES AND CONTROLS.  PLEASE FEEL
FREE TO CALL INFORMATIK INC FOR HELP, EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT YET REGISTERED.
YOU CAN ONLY EVALUATE THE SYSTEM IF YOU KNOW HOW TO USE IT.



CREATE  DATABASE

*********************************************************************
The system includes a simple address database/table as a 'sample'.
If you don not want to create a new database at this time, ignore
this section and go to the POSTING ENTRIES or QUERIES section below.
*********************************************************************

1.   Start Infothek by clicking the "i' icon in the Program Manager.
From the blank Infothek main screen (no windows open), choose
Design Database from the Database menu.  The Database Selection
window is displayed.

(Alternatively, you can open the Database Administration system directly
from the Program Manager by clicking on the 'hammer' icon.)

The Database Administration is a separate program, linked to Docuthek.  If, for security reasons,
you want to make the Database Administration inaccessible to Docuthek users, move the
Database.exe and Database.hlp files to another directory.

2.   We will now create a brand new database.  Therefore, we shall NOT select an existing
database from any listed databases .  Instead please select Create New Database from the Options
menu.

3.   In the prompt box, type the full path and name of the new database, e.g. C:\MYDIR\MYDB
and choose OK.  A second prompt for the table name appears.

4.   In the prompt box, type the name of the table.  If at all possible, you should avoid spaces in
the table name.  Choose OK.  The Database Design window is now displayed.

5.   Now you must specify all the fields for the table.  The field specification consists of a field
name, a data type (such as number, text, date, etc.) and if the field is an text type, then the size of
the field.

Click the first cell in the grid box (Field, first column, first blank row).   In the box with the
blinking insertion point, type the name of the first field.  The field name should not have spaces, if
possible.

Click the second cell in the same row (Type).  A list of data types is displayed.  Select the 'Text'
item, assuming you want the field to be alpha-numeric.

Since this is a 'text' data type. we must specify the length of the field.  Click the third column of
the same row (Size) and in the input box type 20 (assuming we want the field to accommodate up
to 20 characters.).  Numeric fields do not need a field size.

Repeat the above steps for all the fields in the table.

6.  Review the entries.  If everything is correct, press the Create button.  Please be aware that
fields cannot be removed from a table once the table is created.  To remove a field, you will need
to delete the table and rebuild it.

7.   The next prompt is for our international users.  The database needs to know what language to
use when sorting the data.  If your language is English, French, German, Italian, choose OK.  If
you want to specify another language, press Cancel and select the language from a list of available
languages.

8.   The database is now being build.

9.   It is advisable to create indexes for the table.  Indexes can improve the performance of the
database significantly.  To create an index, select Create Index from the Options menu.

In the Index Name field, type the name of the index (any name up to 8 characters, no spaces).
From the Field List select the first index field and specify the sorting mode by pressing the
Ascending or Descending button.  Select other fields that are part of the index (optional).  Specify
'Primary' and 'Unique' if appropriate.   Review the index data displayed in the Index Definition
box, and if correct, press the Create button.  If you have several indexes for the table, repeat this
process, giving each index a different name.

You need to understand the meaning of the 'primary' and 'unique' flags.  Each table can have one
primary key; this is the main sorting key.  If you specify an index to be unique, the system will
ensure that duplicate values cannot be posted.  Primary indexes are 'unique' by definition.

11.   You should now review the newly created database.  From the Options menu, choose View
Database Structure.  The detail of the database is displayed.  To print the information, press the
Print button.

10.   Additional tables and fields can be added to existing databases.  To do so, you must first
select the database (and table, if it exists) from the lists on he Database Selection screen.  Then,
from the Options menu, select Add New Table or Add Fields.

11.  The Database Administration allows you to restructure the database, to repair and compact
fragmentated databases.  Use Database Administration also to import ASCII files,  to make global
adjustments, to delete tables and indexes.  As indicated above, individual fields cannot be deleted
from tables.  If a field is redundant, you should create a new table and transfer the date from the
old table to the new table with the Restructuring function.  Databases can be deleted only with the
File Manager.

12.   The Database is now created, and we can start to post our entries.


POSTING ENTRIES
*******************************************************************************************

1.   In the Program Manager, click on the Infothek icon and start up Infothek.

2.   Click the Data Edit button (pencil) in the toolbar.  The Data Edit screen is displayed.  If the
fields are not specified, or if the fields represent the wrong database,  click the Database Selection
button (filing cabinet) in the toolbar or choose Database Selection from the pull-down menu.  In
the Database Selection window, specify the drive, the directory, the database and the table.

3.   Press the Clear button (cross-out) to ensure that all fields are cleared.  Complete the fields.

To move to the next field, simply press Enter, or press the down-arrow or the tab key.  To return
to the prior field, press the u-arrow or press Shift-Tab.

4.   To clear the screen, press the Clear button.  If you are editing an existing record and you want
to restore the data, choose Restore Record from the File menu.

5.   To confirm the entry, press the Confirm button (checkmark), or choose Update Record from
the File menu.  The screen is now ready for the next entry.

6.   To return to another record, press the left or right arrow button, or choose the appropriate
function in the File menu.

To search for a specific record, make the field that you want to search active and choose the
Search menu.   Enter the search characters and press the Search button.  All matching records are
lined up and you can view them one at the time with the left and right arrow buttons, or use the
appropriate function in the File menu.  Make the necessary changes and press the Confirm button.

7.  To delete the currently active record, choose Delete Record from the File menu.

8.   Make several entries so that we can run a meaningful search afterwards.


QUERIES
********************************************************************

Infothek has a powerful (SQL-based) query engine.  This tutorial will introduce you to the basic
query technique.  The query engine is very powerful and extensive.  This tutorial will show you
just the 'tip of the iceberg'.

1.  In the toolbar choose the Query button (question marks).   (If you want to query another
database, choose the Database Selection button first.)  The Query window is displayed.

2.   The first column of the Query builder list all available fields of the table.  All fields are marked
with a blue checkmark.  Each marked field will be displayed as a separate column in the report.
You can remove a checkmark, by  clicking the appropriate Select cell  or by pressing the delete
button while in the Select cell.  To add a checkmark, simply click the cell.

3.   Most searches are done by filtering out selected data.  Click the field name that you want to
filter.  In the yellow input box (with the blinking insertion point), enter the filter
criteria.  For example, if you want to search for NY in the State field, type NY.  You can add
filters to several fields.

4.    Press the Query button (green spot).  The report shows all records that have 'NY' in the State
field.

5.    Press the Clear button (cross-out) to clear the screen and try another query.

You have noticed that the system automatically defaults the Filter Operator.  If the data type of
the field is 'text', the default Filter Operator is LIKE  and the system looks for a pattern.  If the
data type of the field is 'numeric', the default Filter Operator is '=' and the system looks for an
exact match.  For LIKE operators, the system always appends the '*' wildcard character.
Therefore, if you search for JOHN the system will retrieve all names starting with JOHN,
including JOHN, JOHNSON, etc.  To remove the wildcard character, simply specify 'JOHN'.

As you have seen, the system features a large number of operators, such as >=, BETWEEN, IN,
etc.  Furthermore, there are functions for aggregates, such as count, maximum, average, etc.
Finally, you can sort the display, reformat the values, and show totals at the bottom of the report.

Sometimes, the reported data cannot all be shown on the screen.  Horizontal and vertical scroll
bars allow you to view the hidden part of the report.  Also, if you click the right mouse button,
the system displays a summary of the record.

The report can be printed, exported or copied to the Windows Clipboard.  There are two methods
of printing:  horizontal and vertical presentation.  If you tag certain records with the checkmark,
only the tagged items will be printed or exported.  To tag a record, simply double click on it.   To
remove the tag, double-click it again, or press the Delete button.  Only the highlighted area is
copied to the clipboard.

The system has many features that are beyond the scope of this tutorial.  Please read the help
topics on the following features:

Refine          Query:  You can refine the query with additional filters and sort options.
Crosstab:     You can 'pivot' the data and create a spreadsheet format.
Graph:        The data can be displayed as a graph.  Many graph styles are available.

You should also read up on re-sequencing the columns, re-sizing the column width, adding
calculated columns, editing the SQL statement, purge, etc.

The SQL query supports most of the common functions.

Please review the INFOTHEK.FAQ file for examples of queries.  This file will be updated
regularly based on user questions and it can be downloaded from CompuServe library and
Informatik's homepage on the Internet.  If you cannot find the file, please send an email message
to [e-mail] or CompuServe 76534,1166.