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The
DRS 2006 Database Utility (05/04/2002)
The DRS 2006 Database Utility is used to maintain the database used
in the DRS 2006 system. Here you can view and edit the records in the
database. Additionally you can export or import records in three different
formats. Database maintenance is accomplished using the Reindex and
Repack functions in the tools section.
Database
Terms
To understand how to use the Database Utility in a most sufficient way,
an understanding of the database terms and their purpose in DRS 2006
is useful. Imagine that you have a room with a file cabinet in it. This
file cabinet is our DRS 2006 database cabinet and contains all of our
database files.
When you
open the file cabinet you have access to each database and the records
the database contains. Depending on the database structure it will usually
contain an index, records and tables.
Index
An index determines the order of the records in a table. There are differences
in the way indexes work and what information is required to define the
index in different database systems.
Tables
Data in a database is organized in tables. A table name has meaning
only within the database. Tables are accessible to DRS2006 in rows (records)
and columns (fields). The rows are ordered by an index.
Records
(Items)
A record (in DRS 2006 we use the expression item) is a single entry
in the database that contains the fields. There may be just a single
field in the record or it may contain several fields.
Fields
A field can contain various types of text or numerical data. The DRS
2006 Analyzer database (Analyzer.dbf) contains nine fields. The field
names listed in the Analyzer.dbf database are Month, Day, Year, Ctime,
Artist, title, Time, Type and comment.
The
DRS 2006 Database Utility
Click the Database Utility module in the DRS 2006 Launcher to start
using the Database Utility.
Important: Once you have made changes
to your database these changes can't be undone. Therefore before you
start working on your DRS 2006 database make sure that you have a current
backup of your database. You can easily backup your database using the
Adminstration Kit. If you only want
to backup a single table you can use the export function described below.
The
Screen Layout
The screen is divided into four basic sections. They will be referred
to as the 'Database Window', the 'Records Window', the
'Database Toolbar' and the 'Menu Bar'.
The
Database Window
When the
DRS 2006 Database Utility first opens it will automatically connect
to your database. Located on the left side of the screen beneath the
'Database Toolbar' is the 'Database Window' (see screenshot
above). It displays the different database files that are in DRS 2006.
To move
between the files you have two options. You can select the file with
your left mouse button, or you can use the Up/Down arrow keys of your
keyboard. The scroll control on the right side of the window will move
to the last database file or to the first database file when using the
arrow bar on the right. As you move through each file you will see the
records change in the 'Records Window'.
The two
most important files listed here are:
DRSMain.dbf: Your main database
table. This table contains all the files you inserted into your database
using the Audio Manager.
DRSAnalyzer.dbf: As the name already
suggests this table lists all titles you played in any On Air DRS 2006
module. The records are sorted by date whereas the most recent entry
is listed at the bottom.
The
Records Window
As you
probably already discovered yourself the 'Records Window' is
the big window located in the lower right portion of the screen showing
the contents of the table you selected in the 'Database Window'.
You can resize the window by moving your mouse to a narrow location
located between the 'Database Window' and 'Records Window'.
The mouse pointer will change the appearance of the arrow icon of the
mouse into a small icon that has two vertical lines with two arrows
pointing in each direction. Once the mouse appearance has changed, hold
down the left mouse button and drag the window to the left or right.
When you have it the size you want, release the mouse button.
Right above the 'Records Window' you can find a drop down box
labeled 'Index'. Depending on the
table you have selected this box shows different entries. When you select
one of those entries the table will be sorted after the selected index.
For example when you are working on DRSMain.dbf the box shows the entries
ARTIST, CATEGORY and so on. By clicking on ARTIST the table will be
sorted after the artist name in an alphabetical order.
Another way of sorting your table is by clicking on the caption of the
column you want to sort the table by. When you do this a small arrow
pointing downwards will be shown at the right side of column caption
indicating that the table is sorted by this column.
The Database Toolbar
At the
top of the screen right beneath the 'Menu Bar' you can see the
'Database Toolbar'. This toolbar is used to navigate within the
records of a table. When you move your mouse over one of the buttons
a little box appears beneath you mouse cursor giving you a hint what
the button is used for.
First record: When you click on
the first button located on the very left of the toolbar the first record
of a table is selected.
Prior record: Click on the second
button from the left marked with an arrow pointing to the left to move
to the record prior to the one selected.
Next record: Click on the third
button from the left marked with an arrow pointing to the right to move
to the record following the one selected.
Last record: When
you click on the button to the left of the one marked with a plus sign
the last record of a table is selected.
Insert record: Press the button
marked with a plus sign to insert a new record above the one currently
selected.
Delete record: There are two ways
to delete a record. Either click on the button marked with a minus sign
to delete the currently selected record. Or press the 'Ctrl'
+ 'Del' key on you keyboard. Note: you will be prompted to confirm
the deletion before any action is taken.
Edit record: The button labeled
with an arrow pointing to the top is used to select a record for editing.
An easier way to edit a record is by clicking at the record then clicking
at the field you want to edit. The field is now selected for editing
and you can start typing in the changes you want to make.
Post edit: After you are done editing
a data record the changes have to be saved to the database. You can
either do this by clicking on the button labeled with a check mark or
simply by clicking on a different entry in the database.
Cancel edit: If you edit a data
field by mistake and want to leave the record unchanged you can do this
by either pressing the button marked with a X or by pressing 'Esc'
on you keyboard. Note if you press 'Esc' once the record will
still be selected for editing, if you press 'Esc' twice you will
leave the record entirely.
Be careful when you make changes to a record. Once the record is saved
you won't be able to undo the changes.
Refresh data: When you press the
very right button of the toolbar the 'Records Window' will immediately
show any changes made.
You can select a whole section of a table by selecting one record, then
holding down the shift key of your keyboard and pressing the arrow up/down
key.
The
Menu Bar
At the
very top of the screen you can find the menu bar. It contains four main
menus: 'Database', 'Tools', 'Window' and 'About'.
There are sub menus in each main menu.
Database
The sub menus for the 'Database' are
Open DRS 2006 Database (shortcut F2):
Use this option to open the DRS 2006 Database. Note: when you open the
DRS 2006 Database Utility it will automatically connect to your database.
You can open as many instances of the DRS 2006 Database as you like.
To arrange the windows in a clear way use the options from the 'Window'
menu (see below).
Close DRS 2006 Database: Use this
option to close the selected DRS 2006 database instance.
Save and Exit (shortcut Alt+X):
Select this option to save the changes made to your database and exit
the Database Utility.
Tools
The sub menus for the 'Tools' are
Reindex Table: Use this function
the rebuild the index of a table. This is useful when you have a problem
with a mixed up index of a table.
Pack Table: Use this option to clean
up and compress a table.
Export Data: This function is used
to export a table. You can specify the location where the file will
be saved along with the table type and the number of records. Click
on the folder icon to the right of the table name to select the location
where you want to save the file. You can also change the file name.
The database will be exported to either a Paradox, DBase or ASCII file
depending on the choice you make in the section 'Table Type'.
Finally in the section 'Record count to export' you can select
wheather you want to export all records or just a certain part (starting
at the selected position) of the table.
Import Data: This is a powerful
function allowing you to insert data from any Paradox, DBase or ASCII
data file into one of your DRS 2006 database tables. Select the file
you want to import data from by clicking on the folder icon and browsing
to the directory where the file is located.
Next choose either 'All records' or 'First xx records'
from the 'Record count to import' section depending on wheather
you want to import an entire table or only a certain part of it.
Finally from the drop down box labeled 'Import mode' you can
select one of three modes:
'Append' - meaning the data your are importing will be added
to your table. This won't affect any of the existing records.
'Update' - meaning the data you are importing will replace the
data in you table.
'AppendUpdate' - meaning the data you are importing will be added
to your table AND redundant recods will replace records in your table.
Search and Replace: This function
is used to search for a string within a table and replace it with another.
While this is a very powerful function it is a very dangerous one at
the same time. Therefore before using this function make sure to backup
your database.
In the box labeled 'Search for' type in the string you want to
replace, in the box below (labeled 'Replace with') type in the
string you want to replace the search results with.
For example if you want to replace a category named "Jingle"
with a category named "Jingle DRS" using the 'Search and
Replace' function makes this an easy task. Since this function is
case sensitive, only strings containing "Jingle" will be replaced
while the ones containing "jingle" in lower case letters will
remain unchanged. Also if there is any other field containing the word
"jingle" - even if it is as a partial string only - this will
also be replaced! For example a remark reading "jingles from the
80s" will read "Jingle DRS from the 80s" afterward.
Window
The options in the 'Window' menu are useful when you have more
than one instance of the DRS 2006 database running, i. e. more than
one window open.
The sub menus for the 'Window' Menu are
Cascade: Use this funtion to arrange
the windows in a cascading way behind each other.
Tile Horizontal: Select this option
to arrange the windows horizontally on the screen.
Tile Vertical: Select this option
to arrange the windows vertically on the screen.
Minimize All: Use this option to
minimize all windows.
About
The 'About' menu will open the DRS 2006 information window. This
window contains information and web links that can be clicked on to
connect to the DRS 2006 web site.
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