Index Builder

Enterprise & Corporate Edition Only

To access the Index Builder, start the INSTALLATION Workshop program and from the main menu select Build|Index Builder.

The Index Builder can be used to create new searching, sorting and filtering sequences for the CAPITAL system. Examples of possible uses include:

Sorting your stock data by BIN code. For example, a sort sequence could be added to the application to permit rapid searching of products by BIN.

Creating a List View that shows specific information only. For example, all wholesale customers in a particular state.

There are two types of sort sequences in CAPITAL:

Standard

Standard sort sequences cannot be changed. They are of interest in helping you view what sort options are already available to you. Standard sort sequences are unticked under the Custom column and always appear first. Standard sort sequences cannot be deactivated.

Custom

These are sort sequences that are not standard to CAPITAL and have been added to the system manually. Custom sort sequences are always ticked under the Custom column. They may be activated or deactivated. If deactivated, a red traffic light symbol appears next to the entry under the Active column.

Index Builder is an advanced feature of CAPITAL Series 7. Therefore, it should be used only by advanced users and consultants who are experts in the installation and management of CAPITAL Software. In many cases an understanding of CBS (CAPITAL Business Script) is required or assumed.

Index Builder Reference

Database Table

Select the database table you wish to inspect or add a sort sequences to.

Leave

Press this button to leave the Index Builder.

Edit

Edits an existing sort sequence. Standard sort sequences cannot be edited.

Add...

Adds a new sort sequence to the system.

Delete

Deletes an existing sort sequence. Standard sort sequences cannot be deleted.

Test

Checks to see if a sort sequence is valid.

All standard sort sequences are valid so no option is provided to test them.

Update...

After a sort sequence is defined the system must be updated in order for it to become operational. Press the Update button to do this.

Adding A Sort Sequence

To add a sort sequence press the Add button. You are then presented with the following parameters:

Active

Tick this setting to make the sort sequence active. Unactivated sort sequences are not available for use by the system. If a sort sequence is determined to be invalid when it is being created or repaired, CAPITAL will automatically deactivate the sequence.

Sort Name

Enter the name of the sort sequence. All user defined sort sequences must begin with the two letters UD (short for user defined) and these are placed in front of the name automatically by Index Builder.

Description

A longer name or description of the sort sequence for your reference and other users reference. This name will appear in Find windows when users go to search for data using this search sequence.

Sort Expression

The sort expression or field or combination of fields to sort on. The following examples demonstrate how sort expressions may be defined:

Sorting by BIN code using the Stock table. The Upper() function ensures that the upper/lower case state of the code entry is ignored when sorting. E.g., The set of lowercase letters such as 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd', etc., will not appear before upper case letters such as 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D' and so on. The bin entry A313 and a313 will be treated as equivalent.

Upper(Bin)

Sorting by customer state in the Custrec table:

Upper(Cusstate)

Sorting by customer state and then subsorting by customer name.

Upper(Cusstate + Cusname)

Scope Condition

An expression that must evaluate to TRUE or FALSE, that is used to determine whether a particular record in the table will be included in the sort sequence. The scope condition is optional.

To test the validity of either the sort expression or the scope condition press the Test button

Adding Fast Find Searches

Sort sequences added to searchable databases, such as STOCK (stock control), CUSTREC (customers), SUPPLIER (suppliers) and so on, will appear automatically in CAPITAL Finder windows as a search option when locating information. If you want to exclude a sort sequence from user searches, leave the Sort Name blank. Deactivated sort sequences do not appear in CAPITAL Finder windows either.

For character or text based fields, always surround the searchable data with the Upper() function. If this is not done, it will not be possible to consistently search on the sort sequence. Do not use the Upper() function with date or numeric fields.

Do not use the Index Builder to create search sequences for user definable fields. Use the Screen Builder and specify a Sort type instead.

For more information on finding information consult the topic: CAPITAL Finder.

Any changes you make to the system, such as adding or deleting sort sequences, take effect immediately. Exiting INSTALLATION Workshop without saving your changes will not reverse them.

Tutorial

In this example the customer database will be sorted by salesperson. All other users should be logged out of CAPITAL when you do this.

1. Start INSTALLATION Workshop.

2. From the main menu select Install|Build|Index Builder.

3. In Database Table select: Custrec

4. Press the Add button.

5. Type: SALEREP and press Tab.

6. In the Description field type: Salesperson and press Tab.

7. In the Sort Expression field type: Upper(Cusperson) and press Tab.

8. Press the Test button to ensure you have typed the entry in correctly. The message "The expression tested OK" should appear.

9. Press Ok.

10. Press OK again to return to the main Index Builder window.

11. Press the Update button to update the index structure of the customer database.

12. A repair window should appear. Press Start. The index of the customer database will be rebuilt. This may take a short while to perform.

13. Press the Done button.

14. Press the Leave button.

15. From the main menu select File|Exit to Close INSTALLATION Workshop.

Hints & Tips

Adding search sequences to your application software requires CAPITAL to do extra processing work to manage your sort sequences. This will result in slightly lower overall performance of the software, and more time will be required to perform Automatic Repairs when they are invoked. Sort sequences should therefore be added to the system in a conservative manner.

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