Field Properties

Type

Field types describe the nature of the data recorded. For most field types, this value cannot be changed once the field is added.  Date, Date and Time, and Time field types do allow for changing the field type once it is selected.

Possible values are:

• Attachment—image, doc, or spreadsheet
• Currency—$/hr
• Date—09/18/14
• Date and Time—09/18/14 02:24:25 PM
• Integer—-3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3 (no decimals)
• Lookup—any field types can be within a library
• Number—can be negative, or decimals (-0.5, 0.5, 1)
• Quantity—1 ft, 1 lb, 1%
• Text—Carte1234
• Time—01:25:10 PM
• Check box—yes/no, true/false

Field Name

The conceptual name of the field. This is the name users see on forms and reports. Required. The maximum characters is 120.

ID

This field is defaulted from the Field Name. Must not contain spaces between words. The database field name used for scripts.  This value cannot be changed once the field is added. The maximum characters is 120.

Read-only

Select this check box to make the field read-only. This option does not apply to the Attachment field type.

System

Used for fields that are used by calculations.  If a field is marked System, it cannot be deleted from the database. This value cannot be changed once the field is added.

Created and Created By

Date the field was added to the database and the user who added the field to the database. (Read-only)

Modified and Modified By

Date the field was last modified in the database structure and the user who last modified the field structure in the database. (Read-only)

Date, Date and Time, or Time field type

To prevent accidental changes to the field type, a warning message requires you to acknowledge that you do intend to change the field type, or keep the current field type, in cases where the field type change changes existing data.

Data changes include:

• If a field type is changed from Date to Date and Time, all existing records have the time portion of the field set as 12:00:00 AM.
• If a field type is changed from Time to Date and Time, all existing records have the date portion of the field set to 01/01/1990.
• If a field type is changed from Date to Time, the date will be removed and the time default to 12:00:00 AM.
• If a field type is changed from Date and Time to Date, the time portion of each records are removed.
• If a field type is changed from Date and Time to Time, the date portion of each record are removed.

Table Name

Name of the database table for the field. The table name defaults to the name of the table or recordset that contains the field. This value cannot be changed once the field is added.

Column Name

Name of the database column for the field. The column name defaults to the conceptual (unlabeled) name on the General tab. This value cannot be changed once the field is added. The maximum characters is 30.

The following properties apply to Text fields only:

Maximum Characters

Sets the maximum characters allowed in the text field. Default value is 50. Value must be >0. If a value >8000 is entered, the Unlimited Text property automatically turns on and the Maximum Characters value is removed.

Unlimited Text

Select this check box to create a memo or unlimited text field. If this field is selected, the value in Maximum Characters property is removed. Turning on the Unlimited Text property turns off Unique Values Required properties automatically as those are conflicting properties.

Unit Source

The following properties apply to Quantity fields only:

Category

This field determines the unit category.  For example, Angle, Area, Mass, Percent, Time. This value cannot be changed once it is saved.

Default Unit

Default unit applied if the user does not input a unit. For example, ft, mph, gal/m

Units available for selection are determined by the unit Category assigned to the field.

Lookup Source

The following properties apply to Lookup fields only:

Lookup Recordset

The recordset or library that is the source of the lookup field. This recordset must contain a text field that is marked as unique and required. Lookups cannot be created to other field types.

Unique Field

The unique value in the recordset that is the source of the lookup field value.

Display

Default Value

Default values make data entry more efficient. Enter or select the value which is automatically populated when a new record is added. This value may be replaced by users.  Field has a maximum of 50 characters. This field does not apply to Attachment fields, or auto numbered Text fields.

The default value varies depending on the field type.  For example, you may enter a specific dollar value for a Currency field type. Or you may enter your most commonly used value in a text field, such as a default city value in the City field.

If the field type is Lookup, the Default Value is a list of all possible values in the lookup recordset/library. If the lookup recordset/library is empty, the Default Value field is disabled until there are values to be selected.

Field Size

You can select the size of the data entry box for some field types. Possible Field Size values are Small, Medium, and Large. Default value is Medium.

Field sizing applies to the following field types:

• Currency
• Integer
• Number
• Quantity
• Text (defaults to Large when text field is set for unlimited text)

The following property applies to Text fields:

Initial Settings

Valid values are: Value or Auto Number. Select Auto Number if the field should automatically assign a number. This setting is most often used for an ID field.

If Initial Settings is Auto Number and you are assigning number incrementally, then you can choose to set any of the following properties. These fields are combined together to create your number.

Prefix

The prefix added at the beginning of an auto-numbered field. The field allows alpha and numeric characters as well as underscore ( _ ), dash ( - ), and period ( . ).

Next Available

Select to determine how numbers are assigned in this field.  Valid values are: Incremental or Random.

Next Available Number

If Next Available is set as Incremental, then the next available number is listed here. This field requires a value even if Random numbering is used.  Best practice is to leave it set as the default value of 1 if not using.

Pad With Zeros

This field works with Number Minimum Length field. Select this check box and enter a number in Number Minimum Length to set the minimum length of the number portion of an auto-numbered field.

Minimum Number Length

If Pad With Zeros is selected, then enter the minimum length of the auto number. For example, set Number Minimum Length to 8 if you desire an 8 digit number. If the auto number value was 3 digits long, it would pad with 5 zeros on the front of the number to result in a number that was 8 digits long. This value cannot be less than 1 or greater than the maximum characters allowed in the field (see the Maximum Characters field in the Data Source section). Default value is 10.

Suffix

The suffix appended to the end of an auto-numbered field. The field allows alpha and numeric characters as well as underscore ( _ ), dash ( - ), and period ( . ).

Sample

Based on the auto numbering settings, this field displays an example of how your auto numbered field displays in Cartegraph.

For example, If settings are:

• Prefix: AD-
• Next Available Number: 213
• Pad With Zeros: Yes
• Minimum Number Length: 6
• Suffix: -TX

The Sample field displays: AD-000213-TX

Validation

Create rules to test data input before it is added to the database. Data that violates the rule generates an error message, and information is not saved until it is correct.

Unique Values Required

Select this check box if the field value cannot be duplicated. This setting is normally selected for ID fields.
This setting does not apply to fields with the Unlimited Text option selected.
If the field is marked System, the Unique Values Required property cannot be turned off once it is saved.
This option does not apply to the following field types: Attachment, Check box, Date, Date and Time, Quantity, Time.

Value Required

Select this check box if the field must have a value. This setting is normally selected for ID fields.  If the value is selected and the field is marked System, it cannot be turned off once saved.
Marking fields with Unique Values Required and Value Required
Only text fields may be marked both unique and required. Additionally, a recordset can only have one unique and required text field. Attempting to set multiple text fields to unique and required results in an error.

Validation Rule

An expression that is used to determine if data is acceptable.
For example, (([Minimum Index] >= 0) AND ([Minimum Index] <= 100))

Validation Text

The text of the message that displays when data does not pass the Validation Rule. Validation Text is required if a Validation Rule exists for the field.
Best practice is to include the field name in the message.
For example,  Maximum Occupancy should be a value greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 100.
The validation error message displays as a screen level error box, not a field level error. If multiple fields violate a validation rule, there is one error message box listing all of the error messages.