Guess What? Braille Sense 4.0 Beta 1 and the Database Manager
Nov-02-2006Disclaimer
The following message includes information regarding Braille Sense 4.0 Beta 1. Please note that Braille Sense 4.0 Beta 1 HAS NOT been released at this time. We are, however, providing you with some small glimpses into the features that the 4.0 Braille Sense upgrade will contain. We are currently not answering any questions regarding the functionality of the beta. The only things we're going to talk about will be what we have included in our new Guess What series, which will continue daily up to the beta release date, November 3, 2006. We will answer all questions at that time. Please be patient; you will be rewarded.
If you're subscribed to the GW Micro or Guess What podcast feed, you'll automatically receive this Guess What in MP3 format. Check out www.gwmicro.com/podcast for more information. If you want to download the MP3, read this article online, or view more Guess What articles (when they are released), please visit www.gwmicro.com/sensebeta.
Enjoy!
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Welcome to GW Micro's "Guess What?" series, an introductory look at the upcoming release of Braille Sense 4.0 Beta 1. We will be covering a new feature in Braille Sense 4.0 Beta 1 every day until its release, so stop by our web site (www.gwmicro.com/sensebeta) each day, to make sure you don't miss any of the exciting new features.
Since its Release the Braille Sense has taken the country by storm. The 4.0 upgrade of the Braille Sense will continue to raise the bar in quality. We are excited about the new features in this release and we are conducting this series to give you a glimpse in to what you will see in the Braille Sense 4.0 update.
GW Micro is committed to quality and stability in our products, and we want to give you the opportunity to give us feedback on the new features in this release. Since our Window-Eyes public betas are so successful we have decided to conduct a public beta for the Braille Sense. On Friday November 3, users of the Braille Sense will be able to give us feedback as we release the first public beta for the 4.0upgrade. In our first Guess What episode we discussed the Braille Sense and its support for MSN Messenger. Yesterday we covered downloading and reading Web-Braille books on the Braille Sense. In this episode we are going to make "Braille sense" of the Database.
Perhaps one of the most intimidating applications for computer users is the Database. Whether you use a Personal Computer or a PDA you have probably been scared off by that dreaded term "Database." However, Braille Sense users don't have to be scared of the term "Database", because creating your own Database on the Braille Sense is not only easy but fun as well. Once you play with the Database Manager on the Braille Sense you will wonder why the term "Database ever caused you to panic in the first place.
In order to launch the Database Manager on the Braille Sense do the following:
1. Press F1
2. Press the letter T
You could have also pressed F1 and then SPACE-DOT-4 to arrow to the Database program item. However pressing T after pressing F1 is a much quicker way of launching the Database Manager.
If you are new to the Braille Sense, you may want to take a close look at the letter in parentheses by each program item on the Braille Sense. This letter is the shortcut to launching the various programs on your Braille Sense.
Let's launch our Database Manager.
<Braille Sense Speech>
Notice the Braille Sense says "No tables have been created. Open the Table Manager dialog box to create a table."
Don't let the term table scare you. In simple terms, a table holds all of your Database records. Your records are made up of various fields. A field has a name associated with it called (most appropriately) field name.
In order to add a table we need to tab to the Add Table dialog and press ENTER.
<Braille Sense Speech>
The Braille Sense prompts us to enter a name for our table.
I am going to name our table, "Contacts."
<Braille Sense Speech>
Now that we have entered the name of our table, we can press ENTER.
<Braille Sense Speech>
Notice the Braille Sense informs you that there are no fields in your table. This isn't anything to worry about. All we need to do is add some fields. Press the letter A or tab to Add Field and press ENTER.
Now we are in the Edit box where we can type a name for our field.
You may not have thought about it very much, but if you are going to be doing a lot with your Database you may want to make your first field an ID number. If you are going to keep track of people, your second field could be LastName your third Field could be FirstName etc.
There are lots of uses for Databases. You could even create a Database for keeping track of all your movies, CDs, recipes customers, etc. The Braille Sense gives you the power to organize your life.
But I digress. Let's get back to the task at hand.
In order to enter a Field Name we can just type it in to the Edit box and then tab to our list of File Types.
<Braille Sense Speech>
I have typed in IdNumber and then tabbed to the Filed Types combo box. Let's quickly discuss each of these options. Since we have entered in IdNumber for our first field the first item IdNumber makes sense for this field. But what about LastName, FirstName, Addresses etc. those are not numbers. But, they are text. With the Braille Sense you can change your field type by arrowing to the field type you Want.
<Braille Sense Speech>
This is the best option for our LastName or FirstName fields.
<Braille Sense Speech>
This would be used for Web Address and E-Mail Addresses.
<Braille Sense Speech>
This would be good if we wanted to write comments that would be several lines long. Perhaps notes about a customer we are helping with a problem.
There are 3 other fields here in this combo box. "Date", "Time", and finally check box. I am not going to take the time to go through all of these items.
Let's add another field and then take a quick look at an actual database.
<Braille Sense Speech>
Now that we have added our first field, tab over to Add Field and press ENTER.
<Braille Sense Speech>
Now, let's type in LastName and tab to our Field Types combo box. Arrow to Edit box and press ENTER.
Notice the Braille Sense says, "New Field Added." When finished with our table, tab to Confirm and press Enter.
<Braille Sense Speech>
Now we can add records to our table. Press SPACE-M and arrow to "Add Record."
<Braille Sense Speech>
Now type in a unique number for the person in your record.
<Braille Sense Speech>
I have typed in "001" for this example. Now tab one time to LastName and type in the last name for the person you are entering in your database. After you have filled out the record press enter
<Braille Sense Speech>
Notice the Braille Sense tells us that our record has been added.
I am now going to close out of this database and show you what happens when I first launch the Database Manager.
<Braille Sense Speech>
Here we can enter in what we want to search for. Our first field is IDNumber. Let's tab to LastName and type a last name.
<Braille Sense Speech>
The Braille Sense searches and finds our records.
There are many hot keys that you can use with the Braille Sense to move around while reading creating, and modifying your records. Remember, you can get a list of these keys by bringing up the Braille Sense Context help with SPACE-H. Then arrow through the list to see the keys that are available to you.
<Braille Sense Speech>
We hope today'?s Guess What has given you a glimpse in to the Braille Sense and the new Database Manager. Please join us again tomorrow when we'll look at downloading and installing the Braille Sense 4.0 Beta 1 release.
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