Authority word lists are lists of words and phrases that open in the Edit view when you place your cursor in a field associated with a word list or right-click a field and click the list in the shortcut menu. Typing text automatically scrolls the list to the word or phrase nearest in spelling. Most words and phrases are retrieved with just a few keystrokes. Authority list entries are always inserted at the current cursor location in the Edit view.
An authority list can contain anything, including zip codes, author's names, and complex chemical names. Any data entry task that is repetitive and prone to errors is a good candidate for an authority list. Selecting entries from the list lowers the number of errors introduced through data entry, and the number of keystrokes — thus saving labor and expense while improving accuracy.
Authority lists are special files, similar to the database dictionary, which provide fast retrieval and maintenance of alphabetized entries. The authority lists used in Edit view have the .lst file extension.
Authority lists are created in the List File Management dialog box. Once an authority list is created, the list is assigned to a field or fields in the Data Entry Attributes dialog box.
You can create authority list values in three ways:
•Manually create list values
•Import existing values from a database field
•Import values from an ASCII file
To Manually Create an Authority List
1.On the Tools menu, click Manage List Files.
2.In the List File Management dialog box, click the Lists tab, click the New button.
i.Clicking the New button opens the Allow duplicates in new list file? message.
3.To allow duplicate values in the authority list, click Yes.
i.If you do not want to allow duplicate values, click No.
ii.Clicking Yes or No opens the Create a case sensitive list file? message.
4.To set the authority list to be case sensitive, click Yes.
i.If you want the authority list to not be case sensitive, click No.
ii.Clicking Yes or No opens the Save As dialog box.
5.Navigate to the directory where you want to store the authority list's .lst file, type the name of the authority list file in the File name field, and click Save.
i.Clicking Save opens the new authority list in the List File Managment dialog box.
6.Click the Edit tab.
7.In the Key field, type the first list value.
i.The Key field is case sensitive and allows up to 240 alpha-numeric characters.
ii.The Data value field is not used when creating an authority list. Leave the default 0 value in the Data value field.
8.Click the Add button to add the new list value.
9.Repeat steps 7 and 8 for each list value.
10.When you have finished creating the authority list, click the Done button to save your new list.
To Create an Authority List From Field Data
1.On the Tools menu, click Manage List Files.
i.Clicking Manage List Files opens the Lists tab in the List File Management dialog box.
2.On the Lists tab, click the New button.
i.Clicking the New button opens the Allow duplicates in new list file? message.
3.To allow duplicate values in the authority list, click Yes.
i.If you do not want to allow duplicate values, click No.
ii.Clicking Yes or No opens the Create a case sensitive list file? message.
4.To set the authority list to be case sensitive, click Yes.
i.If you want the authority list to not be case sensitive, click No.
ii.Clicking Yes or No opens the Save As dialog box.
5.Navigate to the directory where you want to store the authority list's .lst file, type the name of the authority list file in the File name field, and click Save.
i.Clicking Save opens the new authority list in the List File Management dialog box.
6.Click the Authority List tab.
7.In the Field list, click the fields containing the values you want to use for your authority list.
i.To select multiple fields, use SHIFT+click or CTRL+click.
ii.The Delimiter section determines which delimiter is used to separate the list values from each other in the authority list's .LST file. The Delimiter section defaults to Comma. If each value needs to be on a new line by itself, select the Newline option.
iii.For more information about delimiters, see About delimiter characters.
8.In the Delimiter section, select the delimiter option you want to use in the .lst file.
i.The Case conversion section determines whether or not Concordance Desktop converts the text of the value selected in the authority list to all upper case or lower case characters in the Concordance Desktop field. The Case conversion section defaults to No conversion.
9.In the Case conversion section, select the conversion option you want to use.
i.The Documents section determines whether the authority list values are created from the field values in the current query or the entire database.
10.In the Documents section, select the Current query or Entire database option.
11.Click the Load button to add the field values to the authority list.
12.To view, add, or delete the new list values, click the Edit tab and do any of the following:
•To add a new value, in the Key field, type the new value and click the Add button.
•To delete a value, click the value in the value list and click the Delete button.
13.When you have finished creating the authority list, click the Done button to save your new list.
To Create an Authority List From an ASCII File
If you have an ASCII file with listed or delimited data you can save time by importing it into an authority word list.
1.On the Tools menu, click Manage List Files.
i.Clicking Manage List Files opens the Lists tab in the List File Management dialog box.
2.On the Lists tab, click the New button.
i.Clicking the New button opens the Allow duplicates in new list file? message.
3.To allow duplicate values in the authority list, click Yes.
i.If you do not want to allow duplicate values, click No.
ii.Clicking Yes or No opens the Create a case sensitive list file? message.
4.To set the authority list to be case sensitive, click Yes.
i.If you want the authority list to not be case sensitive, click No.
ii.Clicking Yes or No opens the Save As dialog box.
5.Navigate to the directory where you want to store the authority list's .lst file, type the name of the authority list file in the File name field, and click Save.
i.Clicking Save opens the new authority list in the List File Management dialog box.
6.Click the Import/Export tab.
7.In the Import/Export section, click the Import option.
i.The Data value delimiter section determines which delimiter is used to separate the list values from each other in the authority list's .lst file. By default, the Include data values check box and Comma option are selected in the Data value delimiter section.
ii.For more information about delimiters, see About delimiter characters.
iii.Data values are not used by the authority list. For the authority list, it does not matter whether the Include data values check box is selected. If it is selected, the import populates the Data value field on the Edit tab in the List File Management dialog box with any data values in the ASCII file.
8.In the Data value delimiter section, select the delimiter option you want to use in the .lst file.
9.Click the Import button.
i.Clicking the Import button opens the Open dialog box.
10.Navigate to and open the ASCII .txt file you want to use for the authority list.
i.The values in the .txt file are added to the authority list.
11.To view, add, or delete the new list values, click the Edit tab and do any of the following:
•To add a new value, in the Key field, type the new value and click the Add button.
•To delete a value, click the value in the value list and click the Delete button.
12.When you have finished creating the authority list, click the Done button to save your new list.
To Associate an Authority List With a Field
Once you have created an authority list in Concordance Desktop, you need to associate the word list to a field so it can be used for data entry in the Edit view.
1.On the Edit menu, click Validation.
i.Clicking Validation opens the Data Entry Attributes dialog box.
2.In the Field Name list, click the field you want to add the authority list.
3.In the Authority lists section, click the File button.
i.Clicking the File button opens the Open dialog box.
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The Data validation and Authority lists sections in the Data Entry Attributes dialog box are independent sections. For example, assigning an authority list with words to a field selected as Numeric only does not cause an error. The data from the authority list overwrites the Numeric only setting. |
4.Navigate to and open the authority list file, .lst.
5.Select the check boxes that apply to the authority list in the field.
6.The Delimiter field defaults to the comma character. To change the field delimiter, type a different character in the Delimiter field.
i.The character in the Delimiter field is used to separate field values that were added to the field from an authority list. Delimiters are also used by exploded sort reports and the tally function to determine where one entry ends and another begins.
7.Click OK to save your changes.
i.For more information about the Data Entry Attributes dialog box, see Setting data validation.
Authority Lists Check Box Definitions
•Required for data entry - When the user's cursor is placed in the empty field, the authority list automatically opens. If the field is already populated, the authority list opens when a user clicks the right mouse button or attempts to type in the field. When the Required for data entry check box is selected, users can only choose a field value from the list or cut, copy or paste the text in the field.
•Single entry field- The field only allows one field value from the list to populate the field. If a user clicks another field value from the list, the original value is replaced by the newly selected value. You can select both the Single entry check box and the Required for data entry check box to ensure users only populates the field with one field value from the authority list.
•List updateable by user- Users can add and delete field values from the authority list assigned to the field. If you do not want users to modify the authority list, be sure the List updateable by user check box is not selected. When the List updateable by user check box is selected, the Insert and Delete buttons are displayed at the bottom of the authority list dialog box.
•Upper case conversion- Concordance Desktop automatically converts all text to upper case before text is copied to the field or the text is added to the authority list. Do not select the Upper case conversion check box if you are using an existing authority list containing lower case field values. If the check box is selected in this scenario, when a user selects a lower case field value from the list, the value will not be added to the field.
To Test an Authority List
After associating an authority list with a field, you can test to make sure that the authority list opens for the field in the Edit view.
1.In the Browse or Table view, select a record.
2.On the Standard toolbar, click the Edit button to open the record in the Edit view in edit mode.
3.Click the field you associated with the authority list.
i.If the Required for data entry check box is selected for the authority list in the Data Entry Attributes dialog box, the authority list automatically opens when you click in the field if the field is empty. If the field is already populated, the authority list opens when a user clicks the right mouse button or attempts to type in the field.
ii.When the Required for data entry check box is selected, users can only choose a field value from the list or cut, copy or paste the text in the field.
iii.If the Required for data entry check box is not selected for the authority list in the Data Entry Attributes dialog box, users can right-click in the field to open the shortcut menu, and click the authority list file name to open the authority list associated with the field.