Data Grid Data Entry

Within the data table processing within Metamation, data can be accessed, entered and viewed in a variety of ways, depending on your personal preference. When you access a table through the My Data of the Metamation home page, by default you will be taken to the summary view.

The various options available for viewing or entering data are as follows:

The summary view
This is the stand data view for Metamation, and provides a paged view of the data contents in a grid, similar to a spreadsheet. This view allows you to quickly filter the records you are interested in, add new records and download the data for external use.

The Data Form Panel
This view uses a painted screen to enter and view information within a data sheet, one record to a page.

Data Grid Entry
This view is very similar to the summary view in that the information is shown in a grid, but this allows new records to be added to the end of the listed records, rather like adding a row to the end of a spreadsheet.

Data sheet data entry - summary panel

When a table is first selected for data entry of viewing from the My Data section of the home page , the default view of the data is the summary panel. This is a screen divided into 2 sections, with a set of filters at the top, and the contents of the table below.

The filter options will depend on the columns within the table which have been defined to allow filtering. The filter panel is then used to filter the contents of the contents list below to show only relevant information. By default, the data panel below will show all available records.

The data panel shows the contents of the selected data table. The columns shown in the summary display will vary depending on those columns within the defined table which have been marked for summary display.

Depending on the size of your computer screen, this information will be divided into display pages. You can page through the rows in the table using the paging control which appears above the data. The page control appears as follows:

The numbers shown represent the page numbers (with the current page highlighted). Pressing a page number will jump to that page. You can move to the start of the list or back one page using the back controls, and forward a page or to the last page using the forward controls.

As you move the cursor over the data, the fields will be highlighted. Clicking any line will take you into the data form view for the selected record for detailed viewing and amendment (subject to security). As you scroll the mouse left and right beyond the table, the whole table will automatically scroll.

At the top of the screen, options are available for viewing the data in data sheet entry (which displays all rows, and allows viewing, entry and adding new rows in the same way as Excel does), and the ability to Download the data to your local computer for other uses.

Data sheet data entry - Data form panel

When a table is first selected for data entry of viewing from the My Data section of the home page , the default view of the data is the summary panel. From this display, when a record is selected for viewing/amendment with the mouse, the Data Form is displayed.

Unlike the summary view, the data form shows all defined content of the table, for the selected record. The layout of the form will depend on the layout defined for the table, and may be broken up into sections, may include sub-forms, and may include a list of documents associated with the record.

Within the form display, as you move your cursor over the fields, the field is highlighted to show focus. If you are creating a new record or your permissions allow you to edit existing records, selecting a field will allow entry in that field.

Different fields will react in different ways, depending on the definition of the table, fields and content. Some fields may be display only, and either will not allow entry, may be calculated from other fields, or will be presented as drop down calendars or selection lists.

If you are amending existing data or creating new records, the system will warn you if you try to do anything wrong (such as enter text into a numerical entry, or miss a mandatory field). Some warnings will be produced as you enter information, and some will be warned when you save the record.

Download of Data

When a table is first selected for data entry of viewing from the My Data section of the home page , the default view of the data is the summary panel.

From this summary panel, once any data filtering has taken place, facilities are provided to export and download the table data to your local computer for further use (such as analysis or use in mail-merges etc).

At the top of the summary display window, the Download table data will generate a CSV file (using the company name and system date) which you can either save to you local drive or open with a selected application (normally excel).

Once the data has been exported, it is no longer controlled by Metamation and its use is no longer audited.

Data sheet entry - filtering

When a table is first selected for data entry of viewing from the My Data section of the home page , the default view of the data is the summary panel. This is a screen divided into 2 sections, with a set of filters at the top, and the contents of the table below.

The filter options will depend on the columns within the table which have been defined to allow filtering. The filter panel is then used to filter the contents of the contents list below to show only relevant information. By default, the data panel below will show all available records.

Within each field list, entries can be entered either by direct entry, or using the pull down calendars or drop down lists as defined within the columns. All data entered into the fields forms a logical AND in the selection.

I.e, entering a company name of "SMITH" and a location of "LONDON" will find companies called SMITH in LONDON.

Each text field is a logical content selection. This means that entering a name of "SMITH" will find "A SMITH", "B SMITH" etc. The more text you enter, the more specific the filter.

Once you have entered information to be filtered, options are available at the base of the filter panel as follows:

Filter - Filters the records shown by the filter criteria you have entered.

Show All - Clears the filter criteria and shows all records

Clear - Clears the filter criteria, but does not refresh the data shown

New - Where you have permissions, creates a new record using the Form view

Delete - Deletes records from the system. To remove records, first select records using the tick boxes to the far left of each record, then press the delete button.