Identifier Fields

Identifier Fields

Identifier fields are mainly used for unique identifying numbers, including fields like RelatedNameCode which are used to link to other databases.

Because of how Calm stores data, identifier fields are best used in fields for identifyng numbers or even people's names, where the contents of the entire field are usually searched at once, as opposed to fields like Description where a user will only search for a few words at once although the field may hold entire paragraphs of text. If 'John Smith' were searched in a text field, Calm would have to do two searches, for 'John' and for 'Smith', whereas in an identifier field it would do a single search for 'John Smith'. One search is faster than two, so an identifier field would be the more efficient solution here.

Serial Numbers

Some fields in Calm (usually identifier fields) are serial number fields which are usually automatically completed with a rolling number by Calm, for example the DpstrId field in the Depositors database. Serial numbers may contain textual prefixes and suffixes as well as numbers and may be customised in the Admin program. The 'Auto Create' option, set in the Admin program for each field, determines whether the serial number is automatically entered, or whether you enter it manually using the Insert key.