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Field type (length)
Character (1 to 254)
Numeric (1 to 19)
Date (always 8)
Logical (always 1)
Memo (always 10)
Allowed input
Character fields allow any type of input.
Numeric fields accept only numbers as input. You can set
the desired number of decimal places with Decimals.
You can perform calculations on the contents of such
fields (see chapter “Calculations in the text” beginning
on page 359).
Date fields are intended for date entries.
Logical fields are intended for yes/no entries. The
allowed entries are limited to (Y) for “Yes” or (N) for
“No”.
Memo fields accept any type of input. However, what
you enter in these fields can only be viewed and edited,
not printed. The width is always given as 10, but in fact
you can enter up to 4000 characters.
Tip: For numeric entries like telephone numbers, zip codes, etc. select “Character”
rather than “Numeric”. Here, numeric fields provide no advantages – on the
contrary: If you try to enter a telephone number like “001-555-55555” in a numeric
field, TextMaker will not allow the “-”, since only numerals are allowed;
also, the leading zeros will be automatically removed.
Notes on the supported database formats
Databases that you create with TextMaker are stored in dBase format, a widespread
database format supported by many database applications.
The dBase format comes in different variants. When you invoke the Tools >
Create Database command, you can choose the desired variant by selecting it in
the Files of Type list.
The following variants are supported:
File format
Description
dBase/DOS Database with DOS character set. This is the default format –
see note below!
dBase/Windows
dBase/Unicode
Database with Windows character set
Database with Unicode character set. Please note that this
format is not dBase compatible (see below)!
342 Database Manual TextMaker