Altair® Monarch®

 

Field List Window

Use this window to view or modify the properties of all fields included in the Monarch Classic table.

This dialog is especially helpful for:

  • Naming fields

  • Setting field properties for a series of fields, to modify a template

  • Matching field names and properties to an existing database when exporting data

To display this dialog box, select Field List on the Table Design ribbon.

This window uses a spreadsheet grid format to display a scrollable list of all fields along with their associated properties. The titles for each column in the grid display the name of a field property (Field Name,  Source,  Type,  etc.).

Note: For all of the following options to be visible, both the Show Template Properties and the Show Table Properties check boxes must be selected.

Field

Description

Order

The first column of the grid displays the order in which the fields appear in the Table window. The left-most field in the table is assigned 1, the next field is assigned 2, and so on.

To modify the display order, use the Move Up and Move Down buttons at the bottom of the list.

Name

The Field Name column displays the field names assigned to each field in the table. You can change a field name by clicking on its cell and typing a new name. To edit a name, without retyping the entire name, click on the cell within the text of the field name. An insertion cursor will appear within the text and you can begin editing.

To cancel changes to a field name, press CTRL-Z (Undo) while editing. The field name will be restored to its previous value.

Source

The Source column displays information about the source of the field. Fields may be created from data extraction templates, as calculated fields, or imported from an external database. This column is for informational  purposes only; you cannot edit a field’s source value.

Type

The Type column displays a field’s data type: numeric, character, date, etc. You can change the data type for a field by clicking on this cell to display a drop-down button in the cell. Then click the arrow to select a new type from the drop-down list. To cancel changes while selecting a new type, press Escape to restore the previous type.

Notes:

  • When changing a field’s type, Monarch Classic automatically  updates the field’s data length setting to an appropriate value for the new data type.

  • This column is displayed only if Show Table Properties is checked.

Format

Displays the selected format for the field. The drop-down list contains all available formats for the field type.

For character fields, the only format available is General.

For numeric fields, the formats are:

  • General

  • Thousands

  • Currency

  • Percentage

  • Time Span.

For Date/Time fields, the formats are:

  • General

  • Short Date

  • Long Date

  • Short Date and Time

  • Long Data and Time

  • Time

  • Japanese Date (This format s available only if Fullwidth Character Mode is On. Turn Fullwidth Character Mode on or off  from the Language Tab of the Input Options window )

  • Japanese Era Date  (This format s available only if Fullwidth Character Mode is On. Turn Fullwidth Character Mode on or off  from Language Tab of the Input Options window )

For memo fields, the only format available is General.

For more information on field formats see Changing a field's type.

Display Width

The width column displays the column width for each field. The column width refers to the width of the field on screen in the Monarch Classic Table window. You can change the column width by clicking on the cell and typing a new value.

If the column width of a numeric field is set to less than the width of the field values, the field values display as pound signs (####). For character fields and date fields, field values are truncated on screen. In all cases, the actual data in the field remains unaffected; the width setting affects only the way that the data appears on screen.

Decimals

The Decimals column displays the decimal accuracy for each numeric field. This value is blank for character, date, and memo fields. For numeric fields, you can change the decimal value by clicking on its cell and typing a new value.

The Decimals value determines the decimal accuracy of the field. Monarch Classic rounds all values in the field to accommodate  the specified number of decimal places.

Size

The Size column displays the data length for character-based calculated fields. You can change the data length value by clicking on the cell and typing a new value.

Notes:

  • Character fields may be up to 254 characters wide. When Monarch Classic extracts a character field from a report, it sets the data length to the length of the field highlight in the report. You may set the data length of a character field to any value in the range 1-254. Note: If you set the data length too short to accommodate  a field value, that value is truncated.

  • For multiple line character fields that have a potentially varying number of lines (those captured using any End Field On option other than "Line Count"), the data length is initially set to 254, the maximum length of a multiple line character field. For multiple line fields that have a fixed number of lines (those captured using the "Line Count" option), the data length is initially set to the lesser of the width of the field multiplied by the number of lines captured, or 254.

  • Numeric fields can hold numbers containing up to 15 significant digits and an optional decimal point and negation sign. When Monarch Classic extracts a numeric field from a report, it sets the data length to the width of the field highlight in the report. This value becomes the minimum data length for the numeric field as you are not allowed to truncate numbers in the table. You may set the data length to a higher value, to a maximum of 18.

  • The data length of a memo field is determined by the data in the field, with the only limit being 65536; the maximum data length of a memo field.

  • If a memo field is subsequently  changed to character, date, or numeric format, an appropriate data length is established for the field.

Alignment

Displays the current alignment setting of each field. The default alignment setting for text fields is left-aligned, while for numeric fields it is right-aligned. You can change a field’s alignment by selecting an alignment setting from the Alignment drop-down list.

Hidden

The Hidden column includes a check box for each field, indicating whether the field is hidden from the Table window display (checked) or displayed (unchecked). You may hide a field by checking the box or re-display a hidden field by unchecking the box.

Line

The Line column displays the template line from which each field was extracted. This value is blank for calculated fields and for fields imported from an external database. You can modify the line value by clicking on its cell and typing a new value. You should use caution, however, when changing this value, as it has implications  for how data is extracted from a report.

Note: This column is displayed only if Show Template Properties is checked.

Column

This column displays a field’s column offset within a data extraction template. This value is blank for calculated fields and for fields imported from an external database. You can modify the column offset by clicking on its cell and typing a new value. You should use caution, however, when changing this value, as it has implications for how data is extracted from a report. Typically, you would change this value to adjust the position of a field to match a change in the structure of a report.

Note: This column is displayed only if Show Template Properties is checked.

Template Width

The template width column displays a field’s template width (the number of characters extracted from report). This value is blank for calculated fields and for fields imported from an external database. You can modify the template width by clicking on its cell and typing a new value. You should use caution, however, when changing this value, as it has implications  for how data is extracted from a report. Typically, you would change this value to adjust the width of a field to match a change in the structure of a report

Note: This column is displayed only if Show Template Properties is checked.

Fill Empty

Many reports are designed so that duplicate field values do not repeat down the page. When Monarch Classic extracts the data from the report and builds a database table, it does not automatically duplicate these values, leaving empty cells throughout the field. Checking the File Empty Cells check box for a field causes Monarch Classic to copy the appropriate values into any blank cells.

Note: This column is displayed only if Show Template Properties is checked.

Verify Left

This displays and allows you to set whether the specified field’s left boundary should be checked when verifying field boundaries.

Note: This column is displayed only if Show Template Properties is checked.

Verify Right

This displays and allows you to set whether the specified field’s right boundary should be checked when verifying field boundaries.

Note: This column is displayed only if Show Template Properties is checked.

Verify Type

This displays and allows you to set whether the specified field’s data type should be checked when verifying field boundaries.

Note: This column is displayed only if Show Template Properties is checked.

Table Verify Result

This displays  the results of a Table Verify operation.

Show Template Properties

When this check box is selected the Field List window displays the Line, Column, Template Width, Fill Empty Cells, Verify Left, Verify Right and Verify Type properties. When unchecked, these properties are not displayed.

Note: This check box is not available if all available fields were imported from an external database.

Table Verify

Click this button to verify the table. A new column, Table Verify Result, will be added to the right of the table.

See Using the Table Verify Feature for more information..

Move Up

Moves a field  up. Use this button to modify the order of a field on a table.

Move Down

Moves a field  down. Use this button to modify the order of a field on a table.

Data Preview Panel

Shows a subset of the actual field values. Use these values to verify that the field definitions are correct.