P. 1 FAKING A DATABASE ON THE PORTFOLIO Why Fake It? ------------ Personally, I would find a real Database more useful than a Spreadsheet on the Portfolio. I mean a real Database with a selectable number of titled categories per record, sortable, and uploadable to another real Database on my Mac or even one of those other three-letter computers. Unfortunately, I haven't found one small enough to run in the PF, but I have found ways to fake it using the built-in Address Book and Worksheet applications. This at least has the advantage that it isn't eating up the precious little RAM available. How: The General Idea --------------------- * Use the Address book, and insert a set of category titles in every record. * Use the Worksheet, and use the vertical columns for categories, with the category titles in the first row across the top. Which One? ---------- Both methods are relatively easy to use and print, and both can be searched. There are some advantages and disadvantages to each which may make one more suitable for a given use than the other. Address Book "Database" Worksheet "Database" ---------------------------------- --------------------------------- -Searcheable -Search command not available -Automatically sorts (but on first -No built-in sort category only) -Easy to view all categories for a -Easy to view one category for single record, but difficult to several records, but more compare several records difficult to see all categories for a single record -Easy up/download from/to a "real" -Upload to "real" database may be database easy, download from real database difficult -Can create new database from -Subset creation possible with subset of original cut and paste, but tedious -Category titles more complicated -Category Titles very easy -Category entries up to 255 char- -Long category entries more acters complicated to deal with. P. 2 Fake Database #1, The Address Book ================================== An example of a single Address Book DB file record might look like this- LOT #: 104-2 _________________________________________ SIZE: 150 Kg SHIP TO: Acme Paint and Color, Charlotte, SHIP DATE: 11/1/90 NOTES: First run with new filter and high Category Titles -------------- How do you get the category titles in there without having to type them every time you enter a new record? Here's how. First, be sure you have "Clipboard Save" ON under Applications... in the Portfolio Setup application. Now create a text file with the editor that looks like this: (< is carriage return, CR) LOT #:/< SIZE:< SHIP TO:< SHIP DATE:< NOTES:< The "/" at the end of the first category title is important, as I will explain later (Trust Me, Read My Lips, etc.). You can load this set of category titles onto the Clipboard, and paste them into as many records in the Address Book file as you think you will need. Keep the text file around in case you have to create more blank records. - Put the cursor on the L in LOT #, Press Fn+3, and select Mark - Move the cursor to the end of the NOTES: line. - Press Fn+3, and select Store - Exit (and save the file) from the Editor - Open a new file in the Address Book - Fn+3, select Paste to insert the category titles - Press tab to create a new record, and repeat the Paste step above as many times as desired Now you can go back to your first record, press Fn + the right arrow key to go to the end of the category title, delete the "/" and enter your data. The reason for the "/" now becomes apparent. If it weren't there, the automatic sorting of records that Address Book performs would put all of your blank records at the beginning, which makes it inconvenient to get to the real data. If you put in the "/", or almost any other punctuation or special character, all the blank records will be at the end of the list. P. 3 Upload/Download --------------- Uploading the "Database" to a real Database on a desktop computer is fairly easy (or is it downloading - I never know which way is up). It is VERY easy if your real Database can import from a text file format where all categories are terminated with CRs, and you specify the number of categories per record. Simply upload the Address Book file to your desktop computer as a text file, and import it into the desktop's Database. In this case, the categories per record to specify is one more than the actual number, because the Address Book puts a blank line between records. (This will give you a blank category in every record.) If you have a real neatness fetish, you can use the Replace function of a word processor (or even the Portfolio Editor) to strip out the category titles and extra blank lines from the Address Book file before importing it into the desktop's Database. If your desktop's Database can only read the format where categories are terminated by tabs and each record is terminated by a CR, then you will have to do a little more work with a word processor to put the required characters in. Another way to do it is to enter a TAB character (= control-I, generated by SHIFT+6 followed by I) at the end of every line as you are entering data into your fake Database. You have to remember to do it on EVERY line, however. A better way is probably to put a space and a TAB right in with the category titles when you create them, i.e., LOT #: ^I< SIZE: ^I< etc. The ^I will not actually show up in the Editor file (but will in the Address Book file), and you can use the regular tab key to create it in the Editor, rather than the "SHIFT+6 I" method you have to use in the Address Book. Downloading a file from a real Database to your fake Database on the Portfolio requires (1) creating a text file output from your data base, and (2) probably some massaging of the text file with a word processor to put it into the Portfolio Address Book format. (Every line terminated with a CR, one blank line between records.) Inserting category titles is really a chore unless your word processor supports Macros that can automate the process to some extent. This is a good reason to leave them in instead of removing them when uploading to a desktop database. Fake Data base #2 - The Worksheet ================================= This is especially suitable for databases where entries in each category are short. Such a setup might look like this- |-----A-----|----B----|-----C-----|--- 1 |LOT # |SIZE |SHIP DATE |SHI |-----------|---------|-----------|--- 2 |104-2 |150 Kg |11/1/90 |Acm |-----------|---------|-----------|--- 3 |106-3 |137 Kg |11/7/90 |Mei P. 4 Category Titles --------------- Category titles are easy. Move the cursor to the desired cell in row 1 and just type them in. They will be entered in the cell left-justified. If the title starts with a number or other non-letter character, or you want different justification, type one of the special justification characters at the beginning. An initial ' left-justifies the title, a ^ centers it, and " right-justifies it. You can keep this row of category titles permanently at the top of the screen by using the "Titles" option in the Worksheet. - Put the cursor on cell A2 ("104-2") - Press the Atari symbol key or Fn+1 - Select Worksheet... and press RETURN - Titles will normally be OFF. Select it and press RETURN to turn it ON. Column Widths ------------- You will have to adjust the column widths to accommodate the longest entry in each category. - Place the cursor in the column whose width is to be changed - Press the Atari symbol key or Fn+1 - Select Range..., then Width - A box will appear around the current cell. Just hit RETURN if you only want this column changed, or move the box left or right with the arrow keys to include adjacent columns. If you guess wrong at the beginning and a new entry in a category is longer than the width you have set, just change the width again. The maximum column width is 34 characters. You can type in entries up to 240 characters long, but usually you will only be able to see the first 34 until you put the cursor on that cell. You also will only be able to print or copy (to upload to a real database) the first 34 characters. To get around this problem, leave (or Insert from the Worksheet... submenu of the Fn+1 menu) one or more empty 34-character-wide columns to the right of the "long" entry. Long text will now continue into these empty cells. Upload/Download --------------- Uploading to a real Database on a desktop computer can be fairly simple IF your desktop Database recognizes a certain input format. Otherwise you are in for a lot of massaging with a word processor. My Microsoft Works Database on my Macintosh (and presumably the PC version of MS Works as well) recognizes two or more consecutive spaces as a TAB. If you make sure to set the width of your columns so that there are at least two spaces at end of every entry, you are all set. Proceed as follows: P. 5 - Place the cursor on cell A2 (the first data-containing cell) - Press Fn+3 (clipboard) - Select Mark - Move the cursor to the last data-containing cell (lower right of the worksheet - Press Fn+3 - Select Store - Exit the Worksheet (save it) - Open a new Editor file - Press Fn+3 - Select Paste (May have to Cut and Paste more than once if Worksheet is larger than the 8K capacity of the Clipboard) - Exit and save the new text file Now you can upload this text file to your desktop computer and import into your real Database. Almost all Databases can import text files in the format in which each category is terminated with a TAB and each record by a CR. If your desktop database doesn't recognize two or more consecutive spaces as a TAB, then you will have to open the text file with a word processor and insert TABS after each category (except the last, which has a CR). Downloading from a desktop database to the Atari PF Worksheet is another story. Apparently the only format that can be imported into the PF worksheet is Lotus 1,2,3. I haven't yet figured out how to get data from my Macintosh databases into this format. It probably can be done with PC databases if you can copy your database data into a Lotus 1,2,3- compatible spreadsheet Of course the simplest way to maintain upload/download compatibility with a desktop computer in the case of a fake DB in the Worksheet is to simply upload it and import it into a Lotus 1,2,3-compatible Spreadsheet on the desktop computer, rather than trying to put it into a Database.