ZLC Ministry Scheduler -- Lists and Records Deleting and Adding to Lists

Throughout our system we have many lists.  All work the same way, and these are the basic techniques that it will be handy for you to know in using our system.  

Deleting Records

To delete records from any list (some may also have a Delete button on each record), you first "Select" one or more records, then push your Delete key on your keyboard.  You cannot delete a record by deleting its main (key) field; you must actually delete the entire record from the list.

You select a record by clicking on its "record-selector" box.  This is a blank box located at the far left end of every record.  When you add or make a change to a record, you will see a pencil appear in that box.  When the changes are saved, that pencil disappears.  Whichever record is the "current record" -- usually the one you have clicked in last -- there will be an arrow > in that box.  If you click right on that box, you will see it highlighted, indicated the record is selected.  You can also use a Shift-Click on a second box to select an entire range of records, or even use Ctrl-Clicks to select multiple non-adjacent records.  

Adding Records

Every list always has a new, blank record waiting at the end (bottom) of the list; you fill in that record to add one: it will be saved automatically and when you next return to that list the new records will be sorted into order.  This means you do not have to worry about the order you enter records; you can always came back later and enter more, or make changes, in any order.

The button with an * (asterisk) at the lower left of the list will take you directly to that new record.  If you are already at the last record of the list, then tabbing to the next record will bring up the new blank one.

Some lists have "Default" values for some fields, so they start out filled-in, and then you can change those values if desired.  And for the Minister's Details screen, you can set a default City, State, and ZIP on the SETUP screen -- so when entering people from the same area it will save you typing those in over and over again.  Note that that particular screen is one record of a list, but it is presented like the pages of a book, so you only see one record at a time.  Nevertheless, it still works just like any other list.

Searching Records

While many of our lists have some built-in search boxes, you can also search any field if needed by using the pull-down menus at the top of the ACCESS window.  First, click in the field to be searched, then enter CTRL-F (or use the menus) to pop up the search dialog window.  You should specify whether to use any part of the field, or match only the entire field, and whether to find the first instance or the next one from you current position in the list.  This function does not change the list, it just takes you to the specified record.

Sorting Records

Most lists in our system already have a pre-defined sort order.  But many or them also allow you to change that order, generally because that would make some operation easier to accomplish.  For example, if you were focused on just locating ministers without an email address in their record, you could sort by the email box and all of the blank ones would be at the top of the list.  When done working on that, you would then sort the list by name again, to put it back into the normal order.

To do such a sort, you use the pull-down menus at the top of the ACCESS window.  First, click in the box to be sorted, then select the RECORDS--QUICKSORT from the menus.  You will see the list change order as soon as you do that.

Other Techniques

There are some other things that can prove helpful in various operations.  You can move from record to record staying in the same box by using your CTRL-PGDN and CTRL-PGUP keys.  You can use a CTRL-' as a ditto function to type into your current field the contents of the previous record's corresponding field.

Return to SUPPORT TOPICS for the ZLC Ministry Scheduler.

ZLC Contact Information

We welcome any feedback on our products and our website.

Telephone: 510-357-3045

FAX: 510-357-2024

Postal address: 2471 Driftwood Way, San Leandro, CA 94577

Electronic mail: zlc@zlcsoftware.com

Send mail to webmaster@zlcsoftware.com with questions or comments about this web site.