When a user is editing a record, it becomes locked to prevent other users from modifying it simultaneously.
When the record is updated or editing is cancelled (buttons save or cancel of the tool bar), the record is freed and made available for the rest of the users.
If the updating cycle is not finished, that is, if the record is not modified or editing is not cancelled (buttons save or cancel of the tool bar), the record remains locked for the rest of the users for some time (4 hours).
There are two ways to unlock a record before the mentioned time expires:
The user who locked the record can free (or unlock) it by either updating, editing or cancelling its editing.
Using the option “Unlock records” available in the menu Utilities in the tool bar. Only the System Administrator or the Administrator of the Database has access to this option.
Available options for editing records
Use the titles of the sections, indicated in the upper part, to navigate inside the form.
Use to query and pick terms from the controlled list, authority list, dictionary of terms or thesaurus associated to the corresponding field. By clicking on the terms in the list, those will be transferred to the corresponding field. If the field is defined as repeatable, and the entry box has more than one line (TEXTAREA), then, one term will be transferred to each line, creating the occurrences of the repeatable field. If the field has only one line (TEXTBOX) and you select more than one term, those entries should be separated by a semicolon (;). Remember that the display format of the terms of the controlled list may be different to the extraction format of the field; that is, the display format can omit the subfields, but the extraction format can include them. This condition is controlled from the FDT of the database.
Use to open the assistant to manage the occurrences and subfields of a repeatable field
Use to see the help menu for the data entry into the field
When you finish editing a record, click on to validate it before storing it in the database (this option will appear only if you created a validation format as part of the files that define the structure of the database).
Validation of records
The validation of records can be defined for each field of the database, a format (PFT) is used to determine the consistency of the data before storing each record or click on the link Validate Record when you are doing a repair of the database.
The form contains an input validation for each field defined in the FDT and a text window to place the validation format to be applied individually to each field. Also, a selection box () which allows recording of the records conditional on the outcome of the validation: if the box is ticked while the record is being entered or modified, then the record will not be recorded if any of the fields fail to meet the validation conditions. The validation condition is considered invalid if the format applied to the field returns a value.
During the input procedure, when updating a record, a format is built where the partial validations are consolidated. This format is applied to the record and through it, it is possible to detect which field generated an error and determine if the error produced permits the updating of the record or not.
If the record fails the validation, the errors are displayed. If one of the fields generated an error in the validation form they are marked as Fatal error (tick the box in the validation form), the record is not updated and a link is displayed allowing you to go back to the changes and make any necessary corrections.
If none of the fields that are generating an error are marked Fatal error a validation report is issued with the record of updates.
Use to save the record. The record is stored in a defined format if it passes the validation test described above;
to cancel the editing of the record, or
to eliminate the record
Important note: If the record wasn`t changed it is advisable to use the cancel button instead of the updating one, to guarantee the integrity of the database
to query and pick terms from the controlled list, authority list, dictionary of terms or thesaurus associated to the corresponding field. By clicking on the terms in the list, those will be transferred to the corresponding field. If the field is defined as repeatable, and the entry box has more than one line (TEXTAREA), then, one term will be transferred to each line, creating the occurrences of the repeatable field. If the field has only one line (TEXTBOX) and you select more than one term, those entries should be separated by a semicolon (;). Remember that the display format of the terms of the controlled list may be different to the extraction format of the field; that is, the display format can omit the subfields, but the extraction format can include them. This condition is controlled from the FDT of the database.
to open the assistant to manage the occurrences and subfields of a repeatable field
to see the help menu for the data entry into the field
to validate it before storing it in the database (this option will appear only if you created a validation format as part of the files that define the structure of the database).
to save the record. The record is stored in a defined format if it passes the validation test described above;
to cancel the editing of the record, or
to eliminate the record