The FDT contains the structure of the database; in the case of ABCD it also contains extra elements for the data-entry form.

In addition to the standard definition elements provided by ISIS/DOS and WinISIS, extra elements - based on HTML-codes - for the data-entry form are included, dealing with the type of field, the editing of subfields, terminology control by authority lists, thesaurus or simple menus (Pick lists), the presentation of the field in the worksheet, etc. It has the following format :

Tag	Description
Field Properties
Data-entry type	Specifies the type of component in the FDT to be described, with the following options : Field Subfield Group (Repeatable field with subfields) Record Leader (MARC) Fixed field (MARC) Load document with link Operator and creation date of the record Autoincrement Heading Line Field (F) This entry deals with a field in the database Subfield (S) This entry deals with the description of a subfield. All subfields defined in the field have to be described here with their details. With this information a new window will open during data-entry with the subfields presented as separate units, avoiding the need to enter the subfield delimiters of CDS/ISIS databases. In addition, the use of repeated subfields is allowed and the subfield sequence can be moved within the form in order to support easier application of the Formatting Language. Group (T) This entry type is recommended for editing repeatable fields with subfields. It allows editing of the subfields with a box for each separate subfield. Following an entry of type Group define the subfields that make up the field. Record leader of the MARC-format (LDR) This field contains the Marc Leader information, specified as follows : 3005 Record status 3006 Record type 3007 Bibliographic level 3017 Coding level 3018 Description of the cataloging format The value of field 3006 assigns the type of fixed field associated with the record. The structure of the leader is stored in a file named leader.fdt, found in the folder def of the database. Fixed field - Marc (M) This field type indicates that a fixed field should be inserted in the data-entry form, depending on the record type selected in the Leader. The structure of a fixed field is based on a Field Definition Table (FDT), which can be accessed through the option Record types (Marc) in the menu for Database definition update. The option Record Types (Marc) is presented in the update menu when the presence of a LDR field type is detected in the FDT of the database. Header (H) Use this entry to put separators in between groups of fields in the data-entry and display formats and to allow navigation within the data-entry form. Line (L) This adds a separation line in the data-entry form. It also can include a URL to refer to a page which should be presented at the moment of displaying the data. Load document with link (U) Allows a document to be loaded on the server and linked to the actual record. In the actual version of ABCD it is necessary to define a folder named bases in the root of ABCD, with a subfolder named according to the database where the images/documents will be stored. This folder should have write access rights. Another way of loading files is by FTP. The display format of the records should contain the URL of these files in order to include them in the display. Date, time and operator creating the record In this field the date, time and login of the operator creating the record will be stored. If no subfields are specified, respectively a, b and c will be used. Autoincrement A unique sequential number will be assigned automatically by ABCD when storing the record.
Tag	Numerical value identifying the field in the record. These values go from 1 to 999, except for the field Leader which accepts tags with up to 4 digits.
Title	Title or description of the field as it will appear in the data-entry or output formats.
I = Principal entry	Marks if this field is the record`s principal entry. This field will then be displayed in the list associated with the button for quick identification of a record.
R = Repeatable	Indicates if this field is repeatable.
Subfields	Insert the subfields (by their identifiers) of the field here. The first subfield can be omitted, but then put the character - (hyphen) to indicate this.
Pre-literals	Special characters to be used as pre-literals in the subfields of the FST and the output formats. If the first subfield has no identifier, the character - (hyphen) should be used. If this value is given, when entering data, ABCD will replace the delimiters of the subfields with these pre-literals to present the field in the data-entry form. When the record is written, the pre-literals will be replaced by the subfield delimiters. This way the data-entry for fields with few subfields can be made easier, e.g. the name of an expert Name, Firstname will still be stored as Name^nFirstname or ^aName^nFirstname, depending on the data specified in this parameter for Subfields and Pre-literals.
Data entry
Entry type	This value is used to generate the entry-box with the HTML-coding to capture the field. The following possibilities are accepted : Date (D): Will activate a JavaScript control to offer date selection from a calendar. ISO date: When you define a Date field in your entry form and immediately after this you place an ISO date field then, the value inserted in the date field is automatically converted to the equivalent ISO and placed in this field. This is used in conjunction with the parameter $config_date_format This configuration is in the config script.php Selection of several options (C): Checkbox If wanted, the number of columns to present the options can be defined, putting the value corresponding to the columns Selection of one option (O): Radio button If wanted, the number of columns to present the options can be defined, putting the value corresponding to the columns Single selection (S): Single Selection To be used when only one option from a list can be seleccted. Multiple selection (M): Multiple selection To be used when more than one value from a list can be selected. In this case the field needs to be identified as repeatable. Html Area (A): Insert an HTML editor to allow editing of text with HTML-coding. External HTML (E): Insert an HTML editor, in this case the data will not be stored in the database but in an external file which will be linked to the record (to be implemented) Upload file (U): Display a JavaScript control to allow files to be loaded to the server and create a link accordingly Text area (X): Text/Text area: Text area with fixed length (XF): Displays a text box where a limited number of characters may be entered in the field. The number of characters should be entered in the box for columns Table (TB): Allows repeatable fields with subfields, displayed as a table to be edited. In addition, the number of occurrences can be defined, by putting this number in the box for rows Password (P): The input box will be filled with * to hide the contents of this special field. Read only: Use this type of entry when you submit a protected field in the capture form: it can be displayed but cannot be changed.
Rows	If the entry type is T (Group), specify the number of rows (occurrences) allowed for this field. If omitted and the field contains 0 occurrences, 10 rows will be shown. If occurrences already exist, they will be shown with 5 more rows available. If the entry type is X (Text area) or A (Html area), specify the maximum number of lines to display in the box. If the type is T (group), a TextBox is shown. Also with type T, when the number of rows is higher than 1 a text area is shown. If the type is A (HTML area), define the size of the window where the HTML-editor will be presented. If the type is M (Multiple Select), specify how many options in the list will be opened.
Columns	If the value of Enter as is X (Textbox/Text area) or A (HTML area), specify the maximum number of columns (characters) to be presented in the lines of the text area. If the value of Enter as is T (Repeatable fields with subfields), the number of columns will define the number of subfields defined. If the value of Enter as is O (radio button) or C (checkbox) specify the number of options to put in each line
Selection List
Type	Control list to be used to manage the field terminology, with the following options: D = database P = Pick list T = Thesaurus
Name	Name of the database to be used for authority controls, or file with the Pick List options
Prefix	If the type is D, or T, gives the prefix to be used to get the terms of the database given in the authority_name. The prefix is applied to the IF and from the posting takes the information directly from the corresponding field of the first record indicated by the MFN-component of the posting.
Display format	Format to be used to display the field indicated by the IF (with the prefix given) in the selection list. If the extraction format includes various fields with different tags, the name of the format to be used or the format itself can be put here. This format has to be written following a pre-defined structure in order to be correctly interpreted. See the example here used for the authority files of the MARC database : @autoridades.pft This format has the following structure: select e3 case 1: v1 case 100: v100^a,`$$$`v100^a case 110: v110^a,`$$$`v110 case 111: v111^a,`$$$`v111 case 245: v245^a,`$$$`f(mfn,1,0) case 260: v260^a," : "v260^b case 270: v270 case 340: v340 ... ... endsel The `variable` used in this case -construction of the command < select > identifies the Id assigned to the field in the FST; next the format to be used to display the field in the selection list is specified and, subsequently, prefixed by `$$$`, the format to be used to display the field and transfer it to the data-entry form. If omitted, the display format will be used as the extraction format. Summing up, the procedure functions as follows: The prefix supplied is used to access the IF and to fill the select box in HTML. With the tag <option> select the box that stores the posting information. When the user selects a term, the information on: Mfn, Id, Occurrence and Position is noted. Using the MFN the record in which this term occurs is opened and the extraction format is applied using the ID and the Occurrence of the posting to locate the term requested in the record. *Note: if the field is repeatable, it is mandatory to use the post-literal % in the FST to make sure that the occurrences are counted in the posting.* The term is extracted from the record as entered in the database and placed in the corresponding window of the data-entry form.
Extract as	Format to be used to take values from the database and from the field located in the IF using the given prefix. If the display format is a pre-defined format (@xxxx) and follows the instruction to separate the display format from the extraction format by $$$, this part should be left empty.
Help-messages	Mark this box if the field has a help-page. To write such a help-message, use the option Help-pages for the fields of the database which is part of the menu Update database definitions The help-pages are stored in the folder *bases/dbn/ayudas,* where *dbn* represents the name of the database.
URL for the help message	If the aids for the field can be found through a traceable web page, place the URL in this box. This URL will apply to all subsequent fields until a new URL is supplied.

You can increase or decrease the width of the columns by placing the cursor in the title area of the table, over the dividing line of the column which you want to change, by dragging the divider to the right or left you can make the column wider or narrower.

Organize FDT allows the fields defined in the table to be moved (to be implemented)

Validate Reviews the structure of the FDT and displays a list of errors (if any).

To define the tables or authority lists associated with the fields, select from the column Selection list-Type the type of file to be used for the authority control. To continue click on browse to get the possibilities provided for each case

Type	Control list to be used to control the field`s terminology, with the following options : D = database P = Pick list T = Thesaurus
Name	Name of the database to be used for the authority control, or the file with the Pick list options
Prefix	If the type is D, or T, gives the prefix to be used to get the terms of the database given in the authority_name. The prefix is applied to the IF and from the posting takes the information directly from the corresponding field of the first record pointed to by the MFN-component of the posting.
Display format	Format to be used to display the field pointed to by the IF (with the prefix given) in the selection list. If the extraction format includes various fields with different tags, the name of the format to be used or the format itself can be put here. This format has to be written following a pre-defined pattern in order to be correctly interpreted. See the example here used for the authority files of the MARC database : @autoridades.pft: select e3 case 1: v1 case 100: v100^a,`$$$`v100^a case 110: v110^a,`$$$`v110 case 111: v111^a,`$$$`v111 case 245: v245^a,`$$$`f(mfn,1,0) case 260: v260^a," : "v260^b case 270: v270 case 340: v340 ... ... endsel The variable associated with the case statement, identifies: the ID assigned to the field in the FST the format to use to display the field in the selection list, and preceded by `$$$`, the format to use to transfer the field to the data-entry form. In this way it is possible to transfer the complete field (as entered) or to make modifications of the field or of the subfields. If the extraction format is omitted, the display format will be used as an extraction format.
Extract as	Format to be used to take values from the database and from the field located in the IF using the prefix given. If the display format is a pre-defined format (@xxxx) and follows the instruction to separate the display format from the extraction format by $$$, this part should be left empty.

Definition of a database structure