Frequently Asked Questions

This page contains a list of questions frequently asked by Calm ALM users; for ease of use it has been separated into sections on broad subject headings: Fields, When opening a database, Searching, Editing Fields, Importing and Mail Merge reports.
Click on a question to view the answer.
Please also see the A-Z index for more information on individual subjects.

Fields

I have changed the definition of a field but the field is not behaving according to its new definition in existing records
Some changes to field definitions, such as Default Content, will not apply retrospectively to existing records. The existing fields will keep their original content however this may be updated by using the Replace facility from the Edit drop down menu or using a script to edit existing fields and records.

I have inserted a field in a record and cannot see it on screen
When you insert a field into a record it will be inserted in its position according to the predefined field order. If you cannot see the field you have inserted there are two possibilities:

You may have empty fields hidden, press the button on the tool bar to display them.
The current view of the data does not show the field in question, check that the record type you are viewing is the one into which you inserted the field, or use the scroll bar at the side of the screen or the Page Down key on your keyboard to view the rest of the record.

I wish to add an existing field to a record or as a column in an overview, but it is not shown in the 'Choose Field' list of available fields
You will need to change the relevant field to 'pickable' using the Field, Properties option in the Admin program.

I wish to add an existing field to a search dialogue box, but it is not shown in the list of available fields
You will need to change the relevant field to 'pickable' using the Field, Properties option in the Admin program.

Some of the field lists are too long, such as those shown on the 'Sort Hit List' dialogue box and 'Choose Field' dialogue boxes. Can I just show fields relevant to me?
In the Admin program, use the Field, Properties option, to remove the 'pickable' attribute from the fields you do not wish to show.

In the Admin program, I want to change the attributes of a field, but I can't because they are disabled in the Edit Field Properties dialogue box. Why is this? This is a system field required by Calm, so changes to certain of its attributes are not permissible.

When opening a database

"No database" message is displayed in the status bar
It is possible that the database files have been moved or they are corrupted. Please contact the Calm Help Desk.

"Record unavailable" message is displayed in the status bar
No records are displayed because there are no records in the current hit list. To find all the records in the database press SHIFT+F5. If the message still appears, there are no records in the database in question.

A different database opens instead of the one I am trying to open
It is possible that the database files have been moved or they are corrupted. Please contact the Calm Help Desk.

Searching

The search produced no hits
Check the following:

Did you mistype the search term ?
Is the term misspelt throughout the database ?
Is the search term a stopword ?
Does the search term contain an invalid character ?
Did you type a number, currency, date or time incorrectly ?
If you were narrowing the hit list: Does the term only occur in records not in the current hit list ?

If you still cannot find the search term, re-index the database.

You can often avoid unsuccessful searches by selecting the term from an authority controlled list in the Search dialogue box, or by using synonyms on search conditions.

Comparative searches for scalar values (e.g. Date<01/01/90) match with incorrect records
If scalar values are typed in Text fields, the comparison is done alphabetically (e.g. 01/01/92 comes before 31/12/91). If possible, type numbers, dates, times and amounts of money in fields of the appropriate type. If the problem occurs with dates in Date fields, it may be because some dates have been entered with the day, month and year in a different order to that specified in the Windows Control Panel (e.g. mm/dd/yy instead of dd/mm/yy).

"Record unavailable" message is displayed in the status bar
The record that once occupied this position in the hit list has been deleted, either while this hit list was stacked or by another user (in a multi-user system). You may also see this message if the database is corrupt and needs re-indexing.

Editing fields

I cannot change the contents of a field
If you are part of a multi-user system and Calm appears to ignore your key-presses in a field, check if another user is editing the same record. If so the message "locked by another User" will be displayed in the status bar.

Check that the field you are trying to edit is not one from a linked record. For example if you link a Depositor record to an Accession record you will see some fields from the Depositor record at the bottom of the Accession Record, but they will be read-only. To update the Accession record use the navigational tabs at the top of your screen to go to the Accession database.

Check that the record has not been made uneditable. If so it will have the phase "uneditable" in the status bar.

Check that the field is not a read-only field by looking it up in the Complete Field Lists.

Changes to fields appear to have been accepted but have been undone when I return to the record
Did you make an invalid entry in a Numerical, Date or Time field? Some fields will delete invalid entries when the record is saved.

I cannot edit the end of a text field, as the text runs beyond the edge of the window
The fields in Calm have a pre-set width, if you have typed more information into a field than will show at once, there are several solutions:

Enlarge the Calm window by dragging the right-hand edge further to the right.
Insert line breaks in the field (press ENTER).
Use Wrapped Text fields for long pieces of text.
Right-click in the field and select FieldZoom or use the Zoom button on the toolbar to extend the field to the full width of the record. Zooming on the field again will return it to its normal width. This will not permanently affect the width of the field. If you consistently find that a field is too narrow for the text you wish to type into it you can change the field width in the Admin program.

When I type a scalar value (such as a number, date, time or amount of money), Calm displays the wrong value when I return to the record
This problem occurs if you type values in Number, Integer, Date, Time or Currency fields in a format that Calm cannot understand. These formats are defined in the Windows Control Panel.

When I type a scalar value (such as a number, date, time or amount of money), Calm displays a blank field when I return to the record
This problem occurs if you type values in Number, Integer, Date, Time or Currency fields in a format that Calm cannot understand. These formats are defined in the Windows Control Panel.

When I type a scalar value (such as a number, date, time or amount of money), Calm displays a zero value when I return to the record
This problem occurs if you type values in Number, Integer, Date, Time or Currency fields in a format that Calm cannot understand. These formats are defined in the Windows Control Panel.

When I try to move away from a record the following message is displayed: Mandatory field 'Fieldname' is empty. Do you want to correct this now ?
The named field has been set up as a mandatory field and you have left it empty. There are four possibilities:

Click Yes and enter a value in the field.
Click No to ignore the warning and to leave the field blank.
Click No, then change the validation using Options on the Record drop down menu to prevent the warning appearing in the same circumstances next time.
Open the relevant database using the Admin program, and change the field properties, so the named field is no longer mandatory.

When I try to move away from a record the following message is displayed: The word 'FieldEntry' is not in the vocabulary for field 'Fieldname'. Do you want to correct this now ?

This message occurs if you have typed an invalid entry in a Vocabulary field. There are four possibilities:

Click Yes and enter a suitable value in the named field.
Click No to ignore the warning.
Click No, then change the validation using Options on the Record drop down menu to prevent the warning appearing in the same circumstances next time.
Open the vocabulary file using the Admin program, and change the acceptable entries.

When pasting text from Microsoft Word, unexpected line breaks are inserted
Unfortunately the line breaks are inserted by Microsoft Word, and not by Calm.

Importing

Calm imports the wrong data into the fields
Check the following:

Is the data file a valid inflected or non-inflected file ?
Do the field names in the import format file match those in the Calm database ?
Have you specified the correct regular expressions in the import format file ?

Importing has overwritten my existing database / I cannot see previous records
Importing automatically creates a new hit list of the imported data. Your existing records are still in the database, but are no longer shown in the hit list. Press shift+f5 to find all the records in the database.

Mail Merge reports

I need to change the mail merge reports in Calm, how do I do this?
The mail merge templates are held on the client PC, in the Calm output folder (usually /dscribe/archive/output). Open the relevant template using Word and then alter the text and add in mail merge fields as required.

I would like to add an extra field to my receipt, but it doesn't appear in the list of merge fields in Word. Can I do this?
Yes, fields can be added using the mailmrg.ini file. This file is found on the client PC (rather than the server). See Working with the Mail Merge Templates in Word for further information.

I have altered one of my mail merge reports and now need my colleagues to use the same report template. How do I do this?
Copy the mail merge template (from the Calm output folder - usually /dscribe/archive/output, on your client PC) and paste it into the Calm output folder (usually \dscribe\archive\output) on the other client PCs.

I sometimes need to produce a catalogue in a different layout from the standard ones we usually produce, what is the best way of doing this?

Either, launch the report from Calm and then amend the mail merge document,
or, launch the catalogue report from Calm and then use it as the data source (recipient list in Office 2007 onwards) for another mailmerge document.

I have edited mailmrg.ini to add in a new field, but when I run the report, the field is still not available to add to the template as a merge field.
You must exit Calm before opening mailmrg.ini to edit it to ensure that your changes are saved. Please note: when you add a field to mailmrg.ini it does not automatically get added to your mail merge template. Use the "insert merge field" button to add the field to the template.

I have performed a mailmerge, but data from the first record is not included in the report produced.
You need to create a header - either a line in your data file containing titles (which would need to be added each time a new data file is created) or a header source file (which can be used each time you run this particular mail merge). For further details, see the exporting for mail merge case study.

When I run a report, Word opens but I cannot complete the mail merge.
This answer applies to version 11 of Word (Office 2003) and version 10 of Word (Office XP/2002). If you encounter a problem and cannot complete the mail merge or the Merge button is not available, this may be because the data is being exported and stored in a folder other than the default folder. If you have your DScribe folders on a drive other than C:\ then you will have to tell the system where to find them, as follows:

Press the buttons that correspond to the report you wish to produce.

When Word opens, choose Tools, Mail Merge as normal.

On the Mail Merge Helper dialogue box that appears, press the Get Data button.

Select Open Data Source…

You can then browse through your set-up to find the required file. It will usually be in the default folder of dscribe\archive\output

Please note: You must make sure the box labelled Files of Type contains *.* indicating All Files, otherwise you will only be able to see Word document files with the extension .doc. Click in the box and scan through the list of types to do this.

When you find the file, highlight it and click on Open.

The filename and folder will now appear underneath the Get Data button and you should be able to continue with the mail merge.

If you are still having problems after carrying out the above steps then please contact the Calm Help Desk.