Datasheet

Chapter 1 ✦ What Is a Database?

✦ Entering error-free information is easier. Most database programs have features

that speed data entry. Setting default values for some fields can save an incredi-

ble amount of typing time and ensure that information is entered consistently.

(Using

CA as the default entry for a State field, for example, ensures that you

don’t end up with records that variously contain CA, Calif., and California in the

same field.) Other useful data-entry features include

• Auto-incrementing fields (which automatically assign invoice or record

numbers to new records)

• Field types (which, for example, can prevent you from entering alpha-

betic information in a field that was designed to record salary data)

• Range checking (which accepts only numbers within a particular range)

• Required fields (which warn you if you don’t fill in a critical field)

✦ You can easily add, delete, or change data. Making a change to a record merely

involves bringing the record up onscreen, editing it, and then closing the file

or moving to another record. Because you make all changes on a computer,

you don’t need to search through file drawers or hunt for an eraser. And if you

need additional copies of records, you can quickly print them. The ease with

which you can manage data is one of the key reasons for buying and using a

database program such as FileMaker Pro.

✦ Finding records is simple. A Find feature enables you to quickly locate the

record or records of interest.

✦ You can specify criteria for sorting data. Arranging records in a different order

is as simple as issuing a Sort command. You can rearrange records in order

of salary, record creation date, or any other field that’s in the database. Most

database programs also enable you to sort by multiple fields simultaneously.

For example, you can sort a client database by state and by city within each

state.

✦ You can work with discrete groups of records. Using the database program’s

record selection tools, you can select a subgroup of records that’s based on

any criteria you want. You might, for example, want to see only recipes that

have chicken as the main ingredient or perhaps group employee records

according to salary ranges or by department.

✦ Database programs can perform calculations, frequently offering many of the

same calculation capabilities that spreadsheet programs offer. Instead of using

a hand calculator to compute the sales tax and total for an invoice, you can

have your database program automatically make the computations. In addi-

tion to performing computations within individual records, database programs

can also generate summary statistics across all records or for selected groups

of records. For example, you can easily summarize the efforts of different sales

teams by calculating sales totals and averages by region.

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