Quick Reference
Below is a screenshot of the main work screen in Dabble DB.
Click the numbers to learn more about each part of the screen.
1
The yellow bar near the top of the window lists the main categories for your application, with menus showing all of the views available for each. In the “More” menu are any categories that don’t fit on the bar as well as commands for adding new categories and editing the existing ones.
Categories are used to group similar entries in your database, and to give them all the same fields. (They’re similar to what many database systems call tables.) A simple application will have only one or two categories. For example, this Real Estate application has a Property category with fields for Address, Area, and so on, and an Agent category for the names of agents. A more complex application, like a Project Management application, might have categories for Project, Client, Milestone, Task, each with many fields.
Unlike with traditional database tables, a single entry can belong to multiple categories at once.
2
Views are how you look at your data. They can be tables or other forms such as charts and calendars. Each view shows some entries in a particular category, limited by the current filters. Although you can only use one view at a time, you can save them and go back to a view later using the menus in the yellow category bar.
While using a table view, you can show or hide columns for individual fields. Columns can be used for grouping and sorting, as well as for things like subtotals and formulas.
Different views are available depending on your data. For example, if you have date/time data, Dabble provides a calendar view. If you have numeric data, you can create charts.
3
Filters limit which entries appear in the current view.
The simplest filter is a keyword search: if you type a few keywords into the Search box you can restrict the view to entries which contain the keywords somewhere in their data.
Filters may also limit the entries show by the “value” of a specific field. For example, if you type “Last Name: Bryant” into the Add Filter box, you will only see entries with that last name. It’s also possible to add value filters directly from the view and from the entry editor.
Filters can also limit by category if some entries in the view are in more than one category.
4
An entry is a single item or record in your database, similar to a row in a spreadsheet.
Entries can belong to one or more categories. For example, you might have an entry for “Fred Smith”, which belongs to the Person category and also to the Employee category.
The current view shows a list of entries. To edit a particular one, just click the Edit column of that row.
You can create new entries in the current category with the New Entry button in the upper-left corner.
5
The entry editor lets you view and edit a specific entry that has been selected from the view.
The editor shows the fields for the category (or categories) that the selected entry is in. With the proper access, you can edit the field values for that entry. Small icons on the right offer shortcuts that, for example, add a field to the table above, add a filter, or switch to calendar view.
6
Fields are the individual “slots” for data, like cells in a table.
Each field belongs to a specific category. Every entry in that category will have that same field — but probably with different information in each one.
Each field has a “type”, such as Text, Number, Money, or Date/Time. Fields can also show links to other entries in the database. This helps you show “relationships” in your data. For example, a Person entry might be linked to a Company entry through a field called “Employer”.
Fields default to the Text type. To configure them further, click on the field name in the entry editor, and then choose “Configure” from the pop-up menu.