This tutorial's goal is to introduce
the enhanced date filtering as a new feature in HanDBase version 4.0.This feature's main function is to allow
users greater flexibility in filtering various date tags and ranges.Being able to take advantage of the date
filtering extends the previous functionality of HanDBase by allowing
users to
do such things as filter to show only records with a date matching the
current
day, tomorrow, yesterday, and "x" amount of days, months and years in
the past and present.This could be very
useful in the creation of databases which have date sensitive records,
such as
attendance logs, task and/or project management and datebook
replacements.
In this tutorial, the
necessary steps to
configure date filtering within HanDBase will be detailed.Then, the results of properly configuring
date filtering will be examined.Finally, additional resources will be provided should any
further
information be needed.
Step #1:
a)The
first step towards taking advantage of the ability to
use the enhanced date filters, a database first needs to be created.For the purpose of illustration, this
tutorial will detail the process of creating a simple task management
database.The first step in doing so is
to launch HanDBase in the manner most appropriate for the particular
model of
handheld being used.Once running, the
create a database with the following properties:
Database Name = “Task Manager”
Field 1 – Name=”Status”,
Type=”Check-Box”
Field 2 – Name=”Priority”, Type=”Text”
Field 3 – Name=”Date”, Type=”Date”
Field 4 – Name=”Task”, Type=”Text”
Field 5 – Name=”Notes”, Type=”Note”
Step #2:
a)Once
the database is created, the second step is to create
views that contain filters based on date criteria.
b)Tap
the popup list in the upper right corner of the window
to display a list of the views available for the database.Initially, there will only be one view,
called the Default View.This database
will have five (5) unique views.While
each view’s description explains what the type of task is that will be
displayed in the list, they must first be created and configured.
c)To
create a unique view, tap the “New” button at the bottom
of the “Select a View” form.
d)A
form with three options will appear.For
the purpose of this tutorial, only the
Filter option will be configured.To
edit the filters for the view, press the “Filter” button.
Step #3:
In order to be able to view the tasks
in the database according to date status, there needs views created to
show
only tasks that are due today, tasks that are due tomorrow, tasks that
are
already completed, tasks that are past due and finally a view that
shows all of
the available tasks, both past and present, complete and incomplete.
a)Create
views that have titles to match the filter
descriptions listed above.In each of
the views, create the respective filters listed below:
-Due
Today
oFilter
1 = Enabled
Field
= Status
Value
= Not Checked
oAnd/Or
= AND
oFilter
2 = Enabled
Field
= Date
Date
Range = Today
-Due
Tomorrow
oFilter
1 = Enabled
Field
= Status
Value
= Not Checked
oAnd/Or
= AND
oFilter
2 = Enabled
Field
= Date
Date
Range = Tomorrow
-Past
Due
oFilter
1 = Enabled
Field
= Status
Value = Not Checked
oAnd/Or
= AND
oFilter
2 = Enabled
Field
= Date
Date
Range = Trailing Year
-Complete
oFilter
1 = Enabled
Field = Status
Value = Checked
oFilter
2 = Not Enabled
-All
oFilter
1 = Not Enabled
oFilter
2 = Not Enabled
After setting up HanDBase 4 to use the
new date filtering functionality as described in the previous steps, it
can be
observed that when switching views, the different status and date
filters are
applied, allowing the user to manage the information in a productive
manner.
To summarize, this tutorial has
introduced enhanced date filtering as one of the many new features in
HanDBase
4.Additional resources, if needed, can
be found at:
