When you create a new Panorama database, Panorama defaults to displaying the data in a row and column view that is very similar to a spreadsheet. This view is called the data sheet. (Panorama also supports alternative custom views that can be created with the built-in graphic layout tools, see Forms).
The data sheet allows you to view and modify data, and also allows you to add and delete records.
Changing Column Widths
To change the width of a column, move the mouse over the column name. The cursor will change to a double ended arrow. Simply drag the mouse left or right to change the width of the column.
Editing a Data Cell
To edit a particular data cell simply double click on it. This opens a small pop-up window over the data cell, this is called the Data Input Box. (You can also open this window simply by clicking once on the cell and then starting to type.)
Within the input box you can use normal Macintosh editing techniques to edit the data. When you're done, press the Return or Enter keys. The modified data will appear in color in the data sheet.
You can also press the Tab key, which will update the data sheet and automatically advance to the next data cell. If you decide you want to cancel your changes press Escape or Command-Period.
Expanding the Data Input Box
Is the data you need to edit too long to see all of it in the data Input box? No problem, just expand the box! To change the size of this box move the mouse over the lower right hand corner of the box. When you see the cursor flip upside down, click and drag the corner to set the new size.
Now you can see and enter more text into the box. Press the Return key to insert a new line into the text, or just let the text wrap around to the next line.
When the data input box is more than one line high you must press the Enter key to close the Data Input Box and complete editing. Once the Data Input Box is closed you can only see the first line of text. The only way to see additional lines of text in the data sheet is to double click on it. (However, Panorama also has a feature called Forms that allows you to use any graphical layout you want to view and edit the data. You can design a form to display multiple lines of data at all times. For more information, see Forms.)
Once you've set the size of the data input box for a particular field Panorama will remember the size when you go back and edit it again later. Each time you double click on a cell the data input box will open to the same size used the last time this field was edited.
Note: If the field you are editing is right justified (for example a numeric field) you expand the data input box from the lower left hand corner instead of the lower right hand corner.
Adding New Records
There are several methods for adding a new record,
| Choose Add New Record from the Edit menu. |  |
| Click on the Add New Record tool. |  |
| Click on the Insert New Record tool. |  |
| Press the Return key. |
Although Panorama allows you to insert new records in the middle of the database, Rails does not. Any new records you add in Panorama will be added to an arbitrary location the Rails table, regardless of the location of the record in the Panorama database. When you upload the new records to Rails (see Uploading Data) and then later download them again (see Downloading Data) the order of the records will almost certainly change.
Uploading Changes to Rails
Track Magic can upload changes you make immediately to the corresponding Rails tables, or save them for later (this includes new records as well as changes to existing records). To learn more, see Uploading Data. You can also save changes on your local hard drive with the Save command in the File menu.
Deleting Records
If you want to delete a record from both Panorama and the Rails table, choose Delete Current Record from Rails from the Rails menu. This immediately deletes the record both from the local Panorama database and from the Rails table.
There are several methods for deleting a record from the local Panorama database but not from the Rails table.
| Choose Delete Record from the Edit menu. |  |
| Click on the Cut Record tool. |  |
| Press the Backspace key. |
These operations normally delete the record from the local Panorama database without changing the Rails table. If you want to automatically delete the corresponding Rails record whenever a Panorama record is deleted, open the Local Database Options dialog (in the Rails menu, see Local Options), then check the Delete from Rails when record deleted option.
When this option is checked deleting a record from the local database automatically deletes it from the Rails database. (Panorama will ask you to confirm before it actually performs the deletion, but you can bypass the confirmation step if you hold down the option key.)
Track Magic "Magic" Fields
The data sheet always contains at least three "magic" fields: __rid, __Changed, and __Exception.
The __rid field holds the Rails record ID for each record. The __Changed field is used internally by Track Magic to keep track of changes you have made to a record but have not uploaded to Rails yet. The __Exception is used to to show any validation errors that occur when you upload data to Rails (see Data Validation). All three of these "magic" fields are normally disabled so that you can't edit them. These fields are maintained automatically by Track Magic. (Note: You can enable direct editing of "magic" fields in the Local Database Options dialog (in the Rails menu, see Local Options), but we don't recommend this.)