Database Application

The IC database application stores information on both reports and resources, as well as cross-references between them. This page provides some basic information on how to get started using the application. More detail on specific tasks is offered on the Data entry, Search, and Administration pages.

A key concept in the database application is selection sets. These are simply subsets of the database which you define, and which persist until you modify or delete them. You can create selection sets in a number of ways, as described below. To perform a records search, you would first create a selection set defining the reports and resources of interest, and then go on to print or export information about the selected records, for delivery to the client.

Basic Navigation

The main menu is the starting point for the application. For both reports and resources, there are three options: Show All, Show Selected, and Search. The Show All and Show Selected buttons both open the list view for the type of record you selected. The Show Selected button is only available when you have already created a selection set. The Search button takes you to a search form, as described in detail on the Search page. The Admin Tools button offers advanced functionality for editing and validating data, as described on the Administration page.

The list view shows a list of reports or resources. For each item in the list, there is an Open button which allows you to open its detail view. There is also a PDF button, which will open the linked PDF file for that item, if available. There is also a check box, which allows you to manually select that record (i.e., add it to your selection set); you can un-check the box to remove it. At the bottom of the list view, you can toggle between showing selected records and all records, by clicking the Selected and All buttons respectively. You can also clear your selections completely.

Also at the bottom of the list view is a Print/Export... button on the lower left, which provides various options for printing and exporting selected records, as described further below. Finally, on the bottom right is an Add New... button for adding new records. This button is dimmed if you lack appropriate permissions.

The detail view shows a single report or resource. The full range of attribute data is shown, as explained in further detail on the Data entry page. Near the top of the view, the Open PDF button provides access to the PDF file for the record. If the button is dimmed, it is because the PDF could not be found. The Print button on the upper right opens a print preview of the Detail page for that record (see Printing and Exporting below).

Creating Selection Sets

You can create and modify selection sets in a number of ways.

• Manual selection -- In the list views, you can simply scroll to a record of interest and check the box at the right end of the row to select it. Or, you can un-select a record by clicking the box again. You can check as many records as you like. Manually selecting records is not particularly efficient, unless you are selecting only one or two records, or you are making minor modifications to a selection set you already created using one of the other methods.

• Using the search form -- you can open the Search form from the main menu or the list views. You can search based on attributes, or using a list of identifiers. Please see the Search page for more detail.

• On the detail views -- for both reports and resources, you can select cross-referenced items. For example, if a given report has 20 associated resources, you can click 'Select in resource list' to add them to your selection set for resources. Also, if the report is cross-referenced to another report, you can click 'Select in report list' to add it to your report selections.

• Using the GIS toolbar -- if your IC has GIS data for the area to be searched, you can use the GIS toolbar to automatically find and select matching database records. The toolbar will always create a new selection set, overwriting any selections you already made.

You can clear selections any time by clicking Clear Selections at the bottom of the list view, or the search form.

You can also save selection sets for later use, or sharing with other users. Click Save... at the bottom of the list view. You will be prompted for a location to save your selection set as an Excel spreadsheet. You can load selection sets saved this way by using the Load... button.

Printing and Exporting

On the detail view for a single record, you can print details about it by clicking the Print button in the upper right. A print preview is shown. You can then right-click anywhere in the preview and select Print... to send it to a specific printer.

In order to print multiple records, e.g., for a records search, or to export data to other formats, you first need to create a selection set. Once you have one or more records selected, click the Print/Export... button at the bottom left of the list view. You will see a dialog box with a list of options to choose from. You can optionally add a title that will show at the top of the list and detail views.

• Print list view -- this option will open a print preview showing a list of the selected records. Only a selection of database fields is shown. To print, right-click anywhere in the preview window and select Print..., then select the printer you would like to use.

  • Print detail view -- this option will print the detail pages for the selected records. Each record gets its own page, and all database fields are shown. (This is the same view that you get by selecting Print on the detail views.) To print, right-click anywhere in the preview window and select Print...

• Export list view to PDF -- this option exports the list view directly to a PDF file.

• Print detail view -- this option exports the detail pages for the selected records to a PDF file.

• Export Excel list -- this option will create an Excel sheet listing the selected records. All database fields are shown. Note that for reports, if there are additional citations for a given report number, these are shown on multiple lines. You will be prompted for a location to which to export the file. You can give it a unique name if you desire.

• Export RTF/Word list -- this option is available only for reports. It will create a file in RTF format (suitable for opening in Word) with a formatted citation for each selected report. Only the report citation, and its associated resources, are shown.

  • Copy individual PDFs -- this option will copy the individual PDF files for the selected records, if they exist, to a directory you choose. If PDFs do not exist for any of the selected records, the application will tell you.

Data Entry and Editing

If you have the proper permissions, you can add or edit data. To add a new record, go to the list view, and click the Add New... button on the bottom right of the list view. For more details on adding and editing records, please see the Data entry page.