35: Select "Go to Form Data Management" from the "Layout" menu to go into Data Entry Mode. Select the "Append Blank Record" option from the "Data" menu. A new record is appended to the end of the form file and you will see a blinking cursor.
The first field in our example form is the Date field. Either Type a date or select the "Insert Current Date" option from the "Misc." menu.
Next, hit the Tab key to go to the next field (or click the mouse on any field to go to that field). Holding down the Shift key while hitting the tab key will go to the field before the one you are currently in. All of the data in the field tabbed to will be selected unless the appropriate option in the "Preferences" dialog is not checked. If the field you tab to is out of view, it will be scrolled into view automatically. Text in any standard field can be selected by double clicking or shift clicking. You can cut & paste text to and from any field.
Experiment with entering data into some of the "Quantity" and "Unit Price" fields.
Recalculating Fields:
Calculated fields are only calculated at certain times when entering data (such as when Previewing the form or when printing). So, after entering some data, select the "Recalculate Fields" option from the "Misc." menu.
Displaying a Fields Help:
If the currently highlighted field has a help screen associated with it, the "Help" button below the tool pallet will be highlighted. Click this button or select the "Get Field Help..." option from the "Misc." menu to access the help screen.
Selecting from a Fields Choice list:
If the currently highlighted field has a choice list associated with it, the "Choice" button below the tool pallet will be highlighted. Click this button or select the "Get Field Choices..." option from the "Misc." menu to access the Choices list.
36: Click in the "Salesman" field to highlight it and then click the "Choice" button below the tool pallet. When the choice list dialog comes up, you can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list, or you can type the first few characters of any choice in the list to move to it. Double-clicking is the same as selecting a choice and clicking the "OK" button. After clicking the "OK" button with a selection made, the text from the selection will be placed into the selected field.
Check Box Fields:
NOTE: When you click on a check box it will toggle the check mark on and off depending on its previous setting. The check box is also selected when clicking on it or tabbing to it while entering or editing data. While the field is selected, hitting any key other than the tab key will also toggle its setting. The tab key will move you to the next field as usual.
What record you're working on:
You can see what record you are currently working on by looking at the numbers in the lower left corner of the window. If you are following this tutorial and creating a new form, it should say "1 / 1" since you have just added only one record.
Adding a new record to the form file:
When you wish to add another record to the form file to enter data into, select either "Append Blank Record" or "Append Copy Record" from the "Data" menu. A new record will be appended to the end of the file and you can enter/edit data. The second option is useful if the record you're adding has data similar to the current record so you don't have to retype duplicated data.
Deleting the current record from the file:
You can mark the current record as deleted by selecting the "Delete Current Record..." from the "Data" menu. You will be asked to verify the deletion. The record will not actually be removed from the file until the form file is saved.
Deleting multiple records from the file:
You can mark multiple records as deleted by selecting the "Delete Multiple Records..." from the "Data" menu.
Setting up the multiple record criteria:
If the From/To radio button is selected, just fill in the From and To edit boxes with the records you wish to delete (e.g., From = 1, To = 5 will mark records 1 through 5 as deleted).
If the "Records matching this criteria" radio button is selected you can have records matching the criteria you specify marked for deletion (e.g., type F1 = "CA" into the edit box and all records with the characters CA in field number 1 will be marked as deleted).
Undeleting a record:
If the current record is marked as deleted, you can unmark it by clicking in the box in the tool pallet with the characters "Del" in it.
Undeleting multiple records:
You can undelete multiple records by selecting the "Undelete Multiple Records" option of the "Data" menu. The criteria for undeleting multiple records can be done just like the Delete Multiple Record option works (see above).
Exporting:
To export records from the form file, just select the "Export..." option from the "Data" menu. First you must name the text file to export out to. Next, you will be presented with a dialog.
NOTE: What's in the Export Records Dialog:
If the All radio button is selected, all records will be exported.
If the From/To radio button is selected, just fill in the From and To edit boxes with the records you wish to export (e.g., From = 1, To = 5 will export records 1 through 5).
If the "Records matching this criteria" radio button is selected you can have records matching the criteria you specify exported (e.g., type F1 = "CA" into the edit box and all records with the characters CA in field number 1 will be exported).
After selecting the Export criteria, and if there is enough room on the disk you have chosen the export file to go to, the record(s) will be exported into a text file. Holding down the Command-. keys will stop the export process.
Importing:
Forms can be filled out by importing data from any text file. Before importing any data I would suggest first saving the current form file by selecting the appropriate menu item from the "File" menu. Data will be imported into the selected fields using the selected field delimiter as set up in the "Preferences" dialog.
After selecting the file to import, and if there is enough room on the disk which contains the form file, the text file will be imported from. Holding down the Command-. keys will stop the import process.
NOTE: If you have any return characters in any fields of your form, you must use comma delimited files for importing and exporting.
Moving to a different record in the file:
You can edit any of the records in your form files just by opening the file and moving to whichever record you wish to edit by; clicking the left/right arrows in the tool pallet (or selecting the "Previous Record" or "Next Record" options from the "Search" menu), move to the appropriate record by searching for text in a specific or all fields (see Searching, below) or by moving right to the record by selecting "Go To Record #" under the "Search" menu and typing the number of the record you wish to view or edit.
Searching:
To search for any text (or numbers) in any record in the form file, select the "Find" option under the "Search" menu. You will then be presented by a dialog.
NOTE: What's in the Search Dialog:
If the All radio button is selected, all fields of all records will be searched through.
If the "Selected Field" radio button is selected, only the field selected in the field list on the left will be searched.
The "Data to search for:" edit box is where you type the data you wish to search for.
You can type the whole word or just a few characters for your search. The FORM IT! search option is not case sensitive. You will find any occurrences of your text in any record in the file if there is a match starting at the current record. Once a match is found, it will move to the record where the text was found and the field where the text was found will blink. You can also search for the next occurrence of the same text by choosing the "Find Next" option from the "Search" menu.
Printing:
You can print any record in the open form file by selecting either the Print Tool Icon in the pallet or by selecting the "Print" or "Print Data" option from the "File" menu.
The "Print..." option in the "File" menu and the Print Tool Icon do the same thing.
The "Print Data..." option in the "File" menu will allow you to print just the data and not the background PICTures. This option is useful when printing to preprinted forms.
In the Print Records dialog:
If the Current Record radio button is selected, only the current record will be printed.
If the All radio button is selected, all records will be printed.
If the From/To radio button is selected, just fill in the From and To edit boxes with the records you wish to print (e.g., From = 1, To = 5 will print records 1 through 5).
If the "Records matching this criteria" radio button is selected you can have records matching the criteria you specify printed (e.g., type F1 = "CA" into the edit box and all records with the characters CA in field number 1 will be printed).
After selecting the Print criteria the record(s) will be printed. Holding down the Command-. keys will stop the printing process.
