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Tutorial 12: Creating databases on the Mac Desktop
Product: HanDBase Desktop MacArticle Number: 308Creation Date: 12/07/2007
- Topic: Creation of a Database using Mac Desktop

- Product: HanDBase Desktop for Mac

- Version: 4.0

- Date Modified: November 24, 2007

- Handheld OS: n/a

- Desktop OS: Mac OS X (10.4.x, 10.5)

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Tutorial:

This tutorial's goal is to introduce creating a database as a new feature in HanDBase Desktop for Mac 4.0. This feature's main function is to allow users the option of converting external data on the desktop computer to HanDBase format. This extends functionality by allowing data to be taken directly from comma seperated value (CSV) files into the handheld HanDBase format, saving in many cases a great deal of time inputting data on the handheld. In this tutorial, the necessary steps to configure HanDBase on the desktop to take advantage of this new feature will be detailed. Then, the results of proper configuration will be examined. Finally, additional resources will be provided should any further information be needed.

To take advantage of the ability to create databases on the desktop, HanDBase Desktop for Mac 4 first needs to be configured. The first step in doing so is to launch HanDBase Desktop by finding the application in the Finder and double-clicking the icon. Be default, the application is installed to the following directory:

- Macintosh HD / Applications / HanDBase /

Once running, the steps necessary to import are:

Step #1:

a) Set HanDBase’s preferences to match the type of CSV file that will be imported.

b) To do this, select the menu item “HanDBase 4/Preferences”.

c) In the resulting dialog, configure the preferences as illustrated below, for the purpose of this tutorial:

d) As illustrated, the user can define the date and time format as well as the decimal separator for numbers. It is best practice to leave the decimal separator set to a “.”, otherwise changing it to a “,” comma may cause interference with the default delimited.

e) Since most typically CSV files are delimited by a comma, leave the bottom option set as it. In the case that a file happens to be delimited by a tab, this option can be changed.

Step #2:

a) After defining HanDBase’s formats preferences, the next step is to import a CSV file into a HanDBase database.

b) To do this, select the menu option “File/Import/Into New Database/Import from comma separated text file”.

c) The next dialog allows for the selection of the CSV file to import. In doing so, the user will be allowed to browse to the file on the computer’s hard drive, assign it a handheld database name and define whether the first row of the data contains field names.

d) To choose the file, select the “Browse” button. The standard OS X file selection dialog will appear, as illustrated below. Please note that only files ending with the “.csv” extension will be available for selection.

e) The next step is to enter a name for the database. Be sure to append a “.pdb” extension to the name so that the file is recognized properly.

f) It is common for CSV files to contain the names of the fields in the first line of data. This option needs to be checked, otherwise the field names will show as a record in the database. See the screenshot of the file below. The first row of data contains the field names.

g) When finished configuring the dialog with the above information, click the “OK” button. A standard Mac OS X file browser dialog will appear. Choose a directory to save the database to and assign a file name. Be certain to append a “.pdb” extension.

h) After clicking the “save” button, HanDBase Desktop will display a window showing the contents of the database, as illustrated in the screenshot below.

To summarize, this tutorial has introduced the ability to create a database by importing a CSV file as one of the many new features in HanDBase Desktop for Mac. Additional resources, if needed, can be found at:

link to video version of tutorial



If further assistance is needed, please contact DDH Software's technical support at http://www.ddhsoftware.com/support


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