Creating Fields

The fields are the heart of the database because they hold all the information. Each field can hold a different type of data. For example, you may have one field that records the pH of a stream and another fields that indicates the presence of calcite.

You can have virtually any number of fields in your database. The typical cave database has between from 5 and 100 fields in it. The Wind Cave inventory database has 97 fields in it.

Required Field. For Compass to make use of the database, there is one required field for cave databases. You must have at least one "string" (text) field that contains the station name that corresponds to the location of the information.

Creating Fields. Fields are created in the "Field Parameters" section. To create a new field, follow this step-by-step procedure:

1. Enter A Field Name. You begin by entering a Field Name in the edit box on the right hand side. Field names are used to identify each field. They appear at the top of each column in the editing grid. Usually, you pick a descriptive name like "Station" or "Calcite." Names can be up to 25 characters long and can contain spaces. For example: "Water Features."

2. Select A Field Type. The Field Type indicates the kind of data that will be store in the field. There are 16 basic field types including things like text, numbers, true/false values and graphic images. For cave work, you would usually use text fields for the station name, true/false fields to indicate if a feature is present and numbers to express a measured value like pH. If you are keeping a collection of photographs or drawings with the cave, you may want to use a graphic field. To select a field type, simply click on the desired type in "Field Types" list box.

3. Select A Field Size. This indicates the number of bytes used in the field. When you select a field type, the program automatically set a default size. Normally, the only time you need to change the default size is with strings. The default size for strings is 16 characters. If you think that you will need more characters than this, increase the size. If you think you will need fewer characters, use a smaller size. Using fewer character will decrease the overall size of the database.

4. Create The Field. To create the new field based on the parameters you have chosen, press the “Add” button. The new field will appear in the “Field List” on the left.

Editing Fields. Once the list of fields has been created, you can manipulate them in several ways. To delete a field, simply click-on the field in the list to highlight and then press the Delete Button. You can also move individual items in the list by highlight an item and then pressing the Up and Down Arrow buttons.