Managing Database Notes

Database callouts, keynote legends, and general notes all use a two-sided Notes Manager dialog box for creating, removing, adding, editing, and updating callout, keynote legend, and general notes text. The left side of the dialog box displays and edits database information. The right side of the dialog box displays and edits the selected notes for the object. A column of buttons in the center of the dialog box moves information between the database and object.

To add or edit database notes for callouts, keynote legends, and general notes:

1. Add the object as described in Placing Database Callouts, Placing Database Keynote Legends, or Placing Database General Notes, or click Edit Notes from the Object Info palette of a selected object.

The Notes Manager: [Object] dialog box opens.

2. If necessary, click Show Database Controls to expand the dialog box and access the database parameters. The notes in a selected section are organized by a description.

Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Active Database	Displays the currently selected database file
New	Creates a new, blank database
Choose	Selects a different, existing database. A database from a previous version of the Vectorworks program can be specified, but it must be converted to the current version format as prompted.
Save As	Saves the current database with a new name
Sections in Database	Lists the note sections; the associated notes in a selected section are displayed in Notes in Database
Add	Adds a new note section; enter the section name in the Notes Manager dialog box
Remove	Deletes the currently selected section and its associated notes
Edit	Renames the currently selected section; enter the new name in the Notes Manager dialog box
Notes in Database	Lists the notes associated with the current database section
Add	Opens the Add Note dialog box, for adding a note to the database section
Remove	Deletes the currently selected note
Edit	Opens the Edit Note dialog box, for editing the selected note or its description
Note Text	Displays the note text of the currently selected note; the note text can be edited
Database Filter	Filters the database sections, descriptions, or notes with a search term, to more easily locate a note
Edit	Opens the Edit Filter List dialog box, to add or edit database filters
Prefs	Sets the automatic save options for the database
Callout Text/Notes in the Selected [Object]	Lists the notes selected for the object. For keynote legends and general notes, the Relative Path column indicates whether the associated database is referenced by a relative path (check mark) or absolute path (no check mark)
Connect to Database with: (Callouts only)	For callout objects, sets how to connect to the selected database; if an absolute path is selected, the database must be present at the specific location. If a relative path is selected, the database must be present at the indicated location relative to the current file.
Add > (General notes only)	Adds one or more selected database notes to the object notes list
Update >	Replaces the selected note with a selection from the database
< Update	Replaces the database text with an edited version from the [Object] Text list
< Add	Adds the text in the [Object] Text list to the database, placing it in the current database section
Auto-Locate (Keynote legends and general notes only)	Automatically locates the database, section, and description of a selected object note, if the note originated from a database
< Locate	If the selected text in the [Object] Text list originated from a database, locates the note’s database, section, and description
Hide Database Controls >>	Hides the database portion of the dialog box; edits made with the database hidden are not reflected in the database

3. To add a section to the database, click Add or Edit in the Sections in Database area, and enter the section name.

4. To add a note, click Add under Notes in Database.

The Add Note dialog box opens. Specify the section, description, and note text.

Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Section	Select the associated section for the note
Description	By default, contains the first 42 characters of the note text; to change the default, deselect Use the first 42 characters, and enter a different description
Note Text	Type the new note text
Use the first 42 characters	If the default description is not desired, deselect this option and enter a new Description

5. Click OK to add the note to the specified section and return to the Notes Manager: Callout dialog box.

6. Edit a selected note by selecting the description and clicking Edit.

The Edit Note dialog box opens. You can edit the note text or associate the note with a different section.

7. To search easily for a note, section, or description, use a filter. Only notes, sections, or descriptions with the specified text are displayed. Select the desired filter from the Database Filter list in the Notes Manager: [Object] dialog box. To display all notes, sections, and descriptions, select All Notes. (In addition, if no items match a selected filter, all notes are displayed.)

8. To add to or edit the database search filters, click Edit under Database Filter.

The Edit Filter List dialog box opens. The filters are listed in order.

Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Filter list	Lists the search filters in the order they display in the database filter list
Add	Adds a search filter to the list; enter the new term in the Add Filter dialog box
Remove	Deletes the currently selected search filter(s)
Edit	Renames the current search filter; enter the new name in the Edit Filter dialog box
Move Up/Move Down	Changes the filter list order; select the search filter and move it up or down in the list

9. Click OK to change the search filters and return to the Notes Manager: [Object] dialog box.

10. Changes and additions to the notes database are saved automatically according to the preferences specified. Click Prefs to set these preferences.

The Database Preferences dialog box opens. Select the actions that automatically save database changes. If no actions are specified, you will be prompted frequently about saving the database.

11. Click OK to return to the Notes Manager: [Object] dialog box.

12. Once the desired note has been entered or located, select it and click Update to move it to the [Object] Text list. For general notes, click Add to create a list of notes.

13. Click OK. The selected note is used for the object’s text.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Notes Management with Databases

Was this page helpful?