Register Forms

There are various types of forms in KVS/3. By far the most common is the register. In a register you see a list of records of a particular type - for example, a list of active students. Above the register itself is generally a toolbar offering the ability to add, delete or edit records.

If the records are relatively simple, the records will be edited directly in the register. See, for example, the "holidays" register at the right - all information about a holiday can easily be represented on one line, and hence holidays are created and edited directly in the holiday register.

Most  registers can be sorted by any column. To sort the register in ascending order by the contents of a column, click on the column header. To sort the register in descending order by the contents of a column, click on the column footer.

The leftmost button on the toolbar, if enabled, indicates that this type of data may include inactive records. By default, only active records are displayed, but by clicking on this button you can display all records.

Inactive records help you reduce clutter - for example, students and teachers who are no longer at the school cannot simply be deleted from the database - but by making them inactive you eliminate them from virtually all forms and reports unless you specifically ask to see all records.

The refresh button redisplays the form. This can be useful, for example, if several people are simultaneously working in KVS, and you want to see data that the others have just entered.

The print button prints a copy of the register.

The search button allows you to search for records with particular filed content. In the search window, you select the field you want to search in and the operator you want to use. In the text box to the right, you enter the value you wish to search for. You can search for the first, last next or previous record. The comparison operators available are the usual ones: greater than, less than, equal to, and so forth.

The delete button deletes the currently selected record. You can also delete a record by highlighting it (click on the small box just left of the first field) and pressing the delete key. To prevent accidental deletion of records, the delete button is only enabled when you have unlocked the register by pressing the edit button.

The new button creates a new record. When you create a new record, be sure to enter all fields - in some cases, the first field retains a gray background to indicate that it is the unique identifier for the record. Although this field is not normally changeable, you can edit it when you first create a record.

The edit button unlocks the register, so that you can change data in existing records. The register is locked by default (gray background) to prevent accidental changes. When the register is unlocked, the edit button may changes its caption to "lock" and the background will change to white. Note: colors may differ on you system if you have changed the standard color settings. Pressing the lock button locks the form.

If the register is of the type where data cannot be edited directly, pressing the edit button will open an edit form for the current record.