A field is characterized by its data type which determines the kind of information you can enter in the field. The following table describes the different data types.
| Data Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Character | Character fields can contain any characters that you can type or copy.
The AR System administrator sets the maximum length of each field and (optionally)
a pattern defining allowable characters. The maximum length for a character
field is 32,000 characters. A character field can include a pull-right
menu that serves as a fill-in aid. Depending on how your AR System administrator
defines this menu, selecting an item from the menu may either overwrite
or append to any existing field contents.
Character menus can be created from a static list of items, from the contents of a file, or from the result of a query on another schema. Since changes to the file or to the other schema might change the items contained in the menu, your AR System administrator can choose whether to update the menu when the schema is first read, when the menu is first displayed, or after a specific period of time. Therefore, the contents of a character menu might change from time to time. A good example of using this type of menu is a list of all employees which changes over time. If a character field is 70 characters or more, you can open a Text Editor dialog box by selecting the text edit symbol to the right of the field with the mouse button (or type F7). For more information, see Using the Text Editor Dialog Box. |
| Diary | Diary fields contain multiple character entries that are automatically stamped with the date, time, and the name of the user who entered the item. Each diary item can contain any characters that can be typed or copied. The maximum length for a diary field is 32,000 characters. You can open a Diary Editor dialog box for the field by selecting the diary symbol to the right of the field with the mouse button (or type F7). For more information, see Using the Diary Editor Dialog Box. |
| Integer | Integer fields contain a number between -2147483648 and 2147483647, though their range may be limited by the AR System administrator. For integer fields with a display property field type of numeric text, up and down arrows appear to the right of the field allowing you to increment and decrement the value in the field. |
| Real | Real fields contain a floating-point number. You can enter numbers either with a decimal point or in scientific notation (for example, 1.43 or 2.9e-9). The AR System administrator sets the range of real fields. If your AR System administrator set up a real field to be a precision field, the number that is displayed is rounded off. The number stored in the database is not changed, only the number that you see is either rounded up or down. |
| Selection | Selection fields provide a list of exclusive, named choices. The possible choices are displayed as radio buttons or as items in a drop down list box. |
| Date/Time | Date/time fields may contain numerics, characters for months, time/date
punctuation, and AM/PM designations. You must enter the date first when
entering both date and time.
Note: If the date is not entered, the current date is assumed. If the time is not entered, 0:0:0 (12:00 midnight) is assumed. You can enter the month as text as a full word or as an abbreviation (February or Feb) or numerically with or without a leading zero (02 or 2). You can enter the day with or without a comma or leading zero: October 4, 1993, Oct 04 93, or 10/04/93 The year is optional. You can enter it as two digits (93) or four digits (1993). If you do not enter the year, the current year is assumed. Note: You can specify the date format from International Control on the Control panel. For information about what date format your platform uses, either check the Control Panel or see your System Administrator. You can enter the time in either 24 or 12 hour format, using a colon to separate hours, minutes, and seconds (minutes and seconds are optional): 13:30:28 or 1:30:28 PM To change a format, use International Control on the Control panel. |
| Trim | Trim fields allow you to modify the appearance of schemas with lines, boxes, and text. Screen trim can be resized and moved around when customizing a view in the User tool. However, only an AR System Administrator or Subadministrator can add trim to a schema. |
Copyright © 1996, Remedy Corporation. All rights reserved.