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The selection of records: what is it for and how do I create it?

2836  Data Area, Find, Hide, Isolate, Linked Records, Search, Show All

In the data area  of the main window , the records making up the displayed list form the selection.

When a file is displayed for the first time, all its records are shown in the on-screen list. The selection is then equivalent to all the records in the file.

It is then possible to limit the records presented to a subset of the complete file, as the user rarely needs to work with all the records. This subset may be the result of a manual selection of records or a search. In this case, the selection is equivalent to this subset of records.


You can check the contents of the selection at any time. The window title bar shows the number of currently selected records in relation to the total number of records in the file. The indication 8/155, for example, means that the file contains a total of 155 records, 8 of which are displayed in the main window. These 8 records make up the selection.

The Show All command in the Action menu redisplays all the records in the file, effectively cancelling the current selection. Calling up a search function will create a new selection of records.

The program keeps the current selection of files in memory for each file. In Finance, for example, it is possible to obtain a selection of records for each of the following files: Accounts, Entries, Journals, etc. Quitting the program removes the file selections.

Manual Selection

In the main window, the button bar offers two buttons for manual intervention in the record selection. The Isolate button is the most frequently used. It limits the selection to currently activated records . The Hide button has exactly the opposite effect: it removes activated records from the current selection. These two buttons have a corresponding command in the Action menu.

 

Selecting records by Search

Some actions modify the selection themselves. This is particularly true of search functions (quick search and the Find, Search and Linked records commands in the Action menu or button bar). When a search is successful, the number of records in the selection corresponds to the number of records found.

Selection usefulness

Several commands in the File and Action menus apply only to activated (=highlighted) records  or, failing that, to selected records: e.g. Print, Export, Modify, Linked records, Sort...

For security reasons, some commands can only be called up if records are activated: Duplicate, Apply, Delete, Isolate, Hide.

Combining Selections

The Find, Search and Linked records commands can take into account a current selection of files and display a search Mode pop-up menu containing the following values:

  • Normal : the search will ignore the current selection and create a new one.
  • Within selection : the search will be limited to the current selection.
  • Add to selection : the search will be performed on all records and will add the records found to the current selection.
  • Take out of selection : the search will be limited to the current selection and will remove from it records matching the search criteria.

This search mode allows you to combine several record selections, i.e. the current selection and the selection of records to be found.

 
The selection of records: what is it for and how do I create it?