Chapter 15
(Continued)
Customization, Options, and Tools
Automatic Field Recognition
Automatic Field Recognition recognizes fields in information you import or enter into askSam. This is particularly useful in scanned texts, email, or information downloaded from on-line systems such as the Internet, Compuserve or Lexis/Nexis, or others.
To Automatically Recognize Fields:
1. Choose TOOLS -> AUTO FIELD RECOGNITION
The first screen of the Automatic Field Recognition Wizard will appear.
2. Enter the character that identifies fields in your file. This tells askSam that words ending with this character may be fields. askSam will list these words, and you can choose which ones you want to use as fields. In most cases, the field character will be a colon ( : ).
3. Choose the NEXT button.
In this screen you tell askSam which Documents to examine for fields. You can choose:
In the first # document(s) starting at # - This option lets you examine just the first couple documents in the file. You can define how many Documents askSam will examine, and you can define at what Document you would like to start looking.
In all documents of this file Looks for fields in all Documents in the askSam file.
In the current document Looks for fields only in the current askSam Document.
4. Choose “In the first # documents”, “In all documents”, or “In the current document”, and choose the NEXT button.
This screen lists all the possible field names that askSam encountered. Before each name, you'll see the number of times the field was found.
5. Select the field you want and choose the Add button. Repeat this for each of the fields you want defined for this file. (You can also double click on the fields you want.)
6. After you've selected the fields, choose the NEXT button.
The final wizard screen lets you select the name of an Entry Form and append the field to this form or replace the contents of this form with the recognized fields.
7. Select the Entry Form where you'd like to insert the fields, choose “Append” or “Replace”, and choose the FINISH button.
The fields you selected are placed in your Entry Form. They can be used to search, sort, and create reports in your file.
Two Digit Year Conversion
askSam can interpret dates in a variety of formats. Even in its earliest versions, askSam properly searched and sorted dates entered with 4-digit years. In addition, askSam provides features that let you easily deal with dates in the 2-digit year format.
The Two Digit Year Conversion command helps convert dates with 2-digit years to 4-digit years.
1. Choose TOOLS -> TWO DIGIT YEAR CONVERSION.
The Two Digit Year Conversion Dialog Box appears.
2. Select the field that contains the date.
3. Set what century you want the dates converted to (for example 19xx or 20xx).
4. Choose whether you want to convert dates in all Documents or whether you only want to convert a selected group of Documents.
5. Choose the CONVERT button.
askSam will convert all of your dates with two digit years into 4 digit years. For example: 12/25/99 would become 12/25/1999.
NOTE: Information about askSam and the Year 2000 dates can be found on our Web site at http://www.asksam.com/year2000
Pick Lists
Pick Lists simplify entering data in askSam. With a Pick List you define a list of entries for a field. When you enter data in that field, you can have the list automatically appear, or you can simply press a key and display the list. Then choose the entry you want to insert in the field.
With askSam you can define a Pick List for a specific field, or you can define a Global Pick List for a file.
· Field specific Pick Lists are useful for keyword fields, classification fields, or any field where you have a limited number of options to enter.
· Global Pick Lists are helpful for long words or commonly used phrases (such as company name). With a single keystroke you can access this list and insert the desired information.
1. Choose TOOLS -> PICK LISTS (or press CTRL+F11).
The Pick List Dialog Box will appear.
2. Select whether your Pick List is for a specific field or global.
The Field Setting at the top of the Edit Pick List dialog lets you define the Pick List as Global, or you can choose a field from the list of field names and define a specific Pick List for this field.
NOTE: A list of field names will only be displayed if you have created an Entry Form and entered fields.
3. Enter the text for your Pick List and choose Add. The text will be inserted in the Pick List.
At times you may want a description displayed in the Pick List and an abbreviation inserted in your field. For example: the description in the Pick List could be "Delaware". The text inserted could be "DE".
To do this, enter your description (e.g. Delaware) in the “Display Text” field. Before choosing Add, type the text you want inserted (e.g. DE) in the "Text to insert" field. Then choose the Add button. The descriptive text is displayed in the Pop-Up Pick List, but the abbreviation will be inserted in the field.
4. Choose CLOSE when your Pick List is complete.
You can display the Pick List you defined by pressing F11 when your cursor is in the field. You can select any item in the Pick List and press ENTER to insert it in your file. Or you can choose Cancel to remove the Pick List from your screen.
NOTES:
1. Select the “Automatically display popup pick list” option if you want your Pick List to automatically appear when you enter a field. The Auto Popup option is only active when Data Entry mode is on and before a Document is saved. Once you save a Document, you will have to press F11 to display the Pick List for a field.
2. Select the Sort option to alphabetically sort the contents of the Pick List.
1. Choose EDIT -> INSERT -> PICK LIST (or press F11).
The Pop-Up Pick List will appear.
NOTE: The Pop-Up Pick List will only appear if you've already defined either a Global Pick List or a Pick List for the current field. If no Pick List is defined, the Pick List dialog box will appear (allowing you to define a Pick List).
3. Select the Pick List entry you want to insert and press ENTER.
4. The Pick List entry will be inserted at the current cursor position.
NOTES:
1. If you wish to select multiple entries from the Pop-Up Pick List, simply click on each of the entries and then press ENTER. Each of the selected entries is inserted at the cursor position.
If you choose the “Automatically display popup pick list” option, the Pop-Up Pick List automatically appears when you reach the field. When a Popup Pick List appears you can:
· Choose an entry from the Pick List and press ENTER to insert it.
· Select multiple entries from the Pick List and press ENTER to insert them.
· Press ESC to remove the Pick List.
NOTE: A Popup Pick List only appears automatically when adding a new Document with Data Entry mode on. When you later return to edit a Document, you must press F11 to display the Pick List.
1. Choose TOOLS -> PICK LISTS (or press CTRL+F11).
The Pick List dialog box will appear.
2. Choose the Pick List you wish to modify from the “Field” dropdown menu.
You can now:
BUTTON ACTION
ADD Adds new entries to the Pick List.
REPLACE Select the Pick List entry you wish to modify, and change the “Text to insert”. REPLACE replaces an existing entry with the new text.
DELETE Deletes an existing entry. Select the entry you wish to delete and choose the Delete button.
DELETE ALL Deletes all entries from the Pick List for a field.
 Moves entries in a Pick List up or down in the list (only available when a list is not sorted).
3. Choose the CLOSE button when you finish editing the Pick List.
The Import button lets you import entries into your Pick List. The texts you import must be formatted so that each entry in your Pick List appears in its own line. For example, to import a Pick List of all the US states, the Pick List would have to have the following format:
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
If you wish to import a Pick List with “Display Texts” which differ from the “Texts to insert”, the text you import has to have the following format:
Alabama|AL
Alaska|AK
Arizona|AZ
Arkansas|AR
California|CA
Colorado|CO
Connecticut|CT
Delaware|DE
In this case, the imported Pick List will display “Alabama” in the Pick List, but insert “AL” into the field.
1. Choose TOOLS -> PICK LISTS (or press CTRL+F11).
The Pick List dialog box will appear.
2. Choose the Field where you want to import the Pick List entries (from the “Field” dropdown menu).
3. Choose the IMPORT button. Select the file you want to import and choose the OPEN button.
The Pick List text you imported is displayed in the Pick List dialog.
1. Choose TOOLS -> PICK LISTS (or press CTRL+F11).
The Pick List dialog box will appear.
2. Choose the Pick List field you wish to export (from the “Field” dropdown menu).
3. Choose the EXPORT button. The “Save As” dialog box will appear. Enter a name for the file, and choose the SAVE button.
The entries from the Pick List you selected are saved into a text file. You can import these into another askSam database, or you can edit these and re-import them into the current database.
Creating and Modifying Templates
askSam comes with variety of pre-defined templates. Templates are databases that we've setup for you. You can use them as a basis for building your own databases. Whenever you create a new file, you can choose to create it based on the NORMAL.ASK template, or you can create it from another existing template.
The NORMAL.ASK template is an empty file. If you base your new file on NORMAL.ASK, you'll get an empty file with the settings from the NORMAL.ASK file. If you create a file from another existing template, the new file will contain the Entry Forms, reports, settings, and data from the template. This saves you the time and trouble of reentering this information.
Templates are stored in the TEMPLATES subdirectory underneath your askSam directory. When you install askSam, the pre-defined templates are copied to this directory. You can use templates as they are supplied, modify them, or create entirely new templates.
Templates can contain any or all of the following:
1. Entry Forms Entry Forms define the structure for a file. They simplify entering data and tell askSam what fields the file contains.
2. Reports Reports display information in an organized and summarized manner.
3. Data & Hypertext Links Each of the templates included with askSam contains one document describing the contents of the template and a Hypertext Menu. Templates, like the calendar template, contain multiple data documents that you fill out as required.
Any askSam file in the TEMPLATES directory is considered to be a template. So to create a new template, you just create a new askSam file and save it in the TEMPLATES directory.
1. Choose FILE -> NEW and create a New File in the TEMPLATES directory.
2. Define Entry Forms, create reports, enter data - whatever your template requires.
To modify an existing template:
1. Choose FILE -> OPEN and select a file from the TEMPLATES directory
2. Edit the Entry Forms, Reports, Hypertext Menu, or data.
Please check the README file for a description of the templates included with askSam. As new templates are created, they will be placed on our Web site. If you have a template that you would like to make available, contact our technical support department at tech@asksam.com and we will post it.
File Recovery
If for any reason an askSam file becomes corrupted, askSam will automatically detect the error and ask if you want to recover the file. If you choose the YES button, askSam will recover the file. If you choose the NO button, your file will be closed. The next time you access the file, you will be given the option to recover.
· Renames the corrupted file with the extension .CRP
· Scans the corrupted file and attempts to repair any errors. (Depending on the size of your file, and the errors encountered, this can be a lengthy process.)
· Adds a list of the problems detected, the actions taken, and the Document number where the error occurred to the ASKSAM4.LOG file in the WINDOWS directory.
· Packs the corrupted file.
When this process is completed, you are returned to the recovered File.
It is always advisable to keep up-to-date backup copies of your files. Make sure you make regular backups of your data files.
In addition, you should also regularly pack askSam files. Packing permanently removes deleted Documents and reclaims fragmented space in the file. When a file is packed, askSam renames the old file with a .BAK extension. This .BAK file can serve as a backup in case of an emergency, but it is still recommended that you backup your data to another drive or medium (like tape or CD).
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