Data Base

SAVE TIME BY "RE-INDEXING" YOUR DATABASE WITH "SUBSET" 100LX

The (F6) key in the Phone Book or any Database application on the 100LX is used to create a Subset of the main database. (See related tip on this page for more on using Subsets.)

Subset can also be used to "remember" different sort sequences and column displays.

For example, a phone book is normally sorted alphabetically by the Name field. You might want to sort and display the phone book by the business phone so you can make phone calls to the same area at the same time of day.

CREATE A NEW SUBSET

Go to the "All Items" list of your Phone Book (or any Database).

  1. 1. Press (F6) to go to the View Subset menu.
  2. 2. Press (F2) to Define a new subset.
  3. 3. Press (F10) to save the new subset. Give the new subset a name (Business numbers for this example) and press (F10) (OK). The new subset should be highlighted in the View Subset list.
  4. 4. Press (F10) to select it. Notice that this new subset is, so far, identical to the old, alphabetized phone book.

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CHANGE THE SORT ORDER

Now change the sort order of the new subset so that the list is sorted by Business phone numbers.

  1. 1. Press (F7) to Sort the new subset.
  2. 2. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to select Business
  3. 3. Press (F10) or (ENTER) to sort the list.

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CHANGE THE COLUMN ORDER

Next change the column display so that the Business phone numbers column is to the extreme left of the screen.

  1. 1. Press (F8) (Columns) to enter the Arrange Columns mode.
  2. 2. Use the RightArrow key to move the highlight bar to the column you want to move (Business in this case).
  3. 3. Press (F7) (Move left) and Business should move over one to the left.
  4. 4. Press (F10) to save your changes when you're finished.

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Your "Area code list" subset should be arranged in numerical order, with the Business phone numbers on the left of the screen. If you want go back to the regular alphabetized by name view, press (F6) and select All Phone Book Items. If you ever want your list by Business phone numbers, press (F6) and select Business numbers.

Once you've created a subset this way, re-indexing your phone book, or any database, is almost instantaneous. Each additional subset definition takes up about 1K on your C drive. But this feature can really save look up time.

(For specific information on moving columns and sorting a database, see the HP 100LX User's Guide, beginning on page 17-24.)

Rich Hall

Editor, The HP Palmtop Paper

[This tip was based on one from Frank Nagle [71140,1253], posted on CompuServe -- Rich.]