Banner

Information on Banner forms is organized into “blocks” of information.  Some forms (validation forms) have a single block, while others contain a “key block” and one or more other blocks which contain different types of information about the entity listed in the key bock.  Sometimes a form may contain blocks of information that are not initially visible when entering the form.  These blocks appear in separate “tabs” when you navigate (move the cursor) into them.  Each block usually corresponds to a single database table.

Within each block, one or more “record” of data from the database may be displayed, depending on the nature of the information and the amount of screen space the block takes up.  Each of these database records contains one or more “field” (item) of information.

For example, the SPAIDEN form is made up of several blocks:  Key Block, Current Identification Block, Alternate Identification Block, Address Block, Telephone Block, Biographical Block, Email Block and Emergency Contact Block.  Once the person’s ID is entered in the Key Block, navigating to each of the other blocks in the form will display information about the ID currently in the Key Block.  The Address Identification Block contains multiple address records (even thought there is only enough space to display a single record at a time).  These records are made up of fields such as the Address Type, Street Number, City, State, and Zip Code.

Once you are in a form, there are several ways to accomplish a desired function such as moving the cursor, entering data, changing data, removing data, clearing information, searching for information, moving to other forms, obtaining help, and saving your changes to the database.  These methods include using the mouse cursor, pull-down menus, icons, or pressing function keys.  See the “Glossary” section below for information about Banner function key terminology.

 

Moving the Cursor

* Please refer to the keypad map for a more complete summary of available functions used to navigate within a Banner form.

To move to a different form:

1. Use the DirectAccess option of the File pull-down menu or by pressing F5
2. Click on one of the last 10 forms you accessed from the list on the File pull-down menu
3. When available, select the form from the Options navigation frame of the current form

To move your cursor from one tab to another:

1. Press the NextTab (Ctrl-Tab)  or PreviousTab (Ctrl-Shift-Tab) function key
2. Press the NextBlock (PageDown) or PreviousBlock (PageUp) function key
3. Click on the actual tab you would like to go to
4. Press the DisplayTabMenu (F2) function key and use the NextRecord or PreviousRecord functions to select from a list of available tabs

To move your cursor from one block to another:

1. Press the NextBlock (PageDown) or PreviousBlock (PageUp) function key
2. Use the mouse to click on a field in the desired block
3. Select Next or Previous from the Block pull-down menu
4. When available, click on an item in the navigation frame

To move your cursor from one record to another:

1. Press the NextRecord (DownArrow) or PreviousRecord (UpArrow) function key
2. Use your mouse to click on the scroll bar
3. Select Next or Previous from the Record pull-down menu.

 * Note that your cursor remains in the same block, even though the next block may be “down” or “up” relative to the current cursor position.

To move your cursor from one field (item) to another:

1. Press the NextItem (Enter or Tab) or PreviousItem (Shift + Tab) function key
2. Select Next or Previous from the Field pull-down menu

* Note that your cursor remains on the same record in the same block.

 

Entering/Changing Data

To enter data into a Banner form:

• Position your cursor in the field you wish to enter data into.
• If the field is empty, begin typing the information.  If not, use ClearField or Delete to empty the field of existing data before typing.  If the field contents are highlighted upon entry, the information is automatically replaced with whatever you type without needing to clear the field.

Date information is normally displayed in Banner in the DD-MON-YYYY (23-OCT-1998) format.  When entering dates, you may use abbreviated formats such as DDMMYY (102398) or DD/MM/YY (10/23/98) to save time. 

You may also double-click a date field to select the date from the Calendar Form (GUACALN).

 

 

 

 

 

Numeric information is normally displayed in Banner in the 999.90 (123.00) format (with one or more decimal places).  When entering numbers, you need only enter the significant portions of the decimal number, for example: 123. 

You may also double-click a numeric field to calculate a result using the Calculator Form (GUACALC).

 

 

 

 

 

Coded fields are normally checked against a validation (look-up) table to insure accurate entry.  These fields are identified by a search icon  either directly above or along side the field.  To access the list, double-click in the coded field, click on the search icon next to the field, press the ListFieldValues (F9) function key, or select List from the Help pull-down menu. 

 

 

Select the appropriate code from the list and click on the Select or OK button from the validation form or dialog box.  This will cause the selected code to be placed in the field your cursor was originally in.

 

Removing/Deleting Data

Under normal circumstances, data are never removed from the Banner database manually.  This insures that a complete audit-trail exists for information as it is changed.  In some cases, incorrect information must be deleted from the database manually.

To delete information in a single field, position to that field and use the Delete key to remove (clear) the existing data.

To remove an entire record (database row), position the cursor on the appropriate record in the block and form that correspond to the type of data to delete.  Issue the DeleteRecord function by pressing the DeleteRecord function key, or selecting Delete from the Record pull-down menu.

 

Clearing Information

Occasionally, you may wish to clear existing information in a field or record in order to enter new data.  To clear a single field, use the ClearItem function key, the Delete key, or select Clear from the Item pull-down menu.  To clear an entire record, use the ClearRecord function key or select Clear from the Record pull-down menu.

Note that “clear” is different from “delete” in that clearing data from a field or record does not actually impact the database (unless you type new information over the cleared fields).  Deleting data actually removes it from the database (after you commit the changes using the Save function).

 

Searching for Data

In any block which contains multiple records, you may search for and display a particular record using a query.  To perform a database query:

• Move to the block containing multiple records of information.
• If the block is not already in “query” mode, press the EnterQuery function key or select Enter from the Query pull-down menu.
• Enter the part of the text that you wish to search for.  Use the wild-card character (%) to specify a partial search condition.
• Issue the ExecuteQuery function by pressing the ExecuteQuery function key or select Execute from the Query pull-down menu.   
       

Saving Your Changes

Any data changed on a form (adding, changing, or deleting) is not actually saved to the database until you save the changes.  This allows you the opportunity to “rollback” (abort) any changes you might have made by mistake.

To actually commit the changes to the database, press the Save function key, click on the Save button   in the horizontal toolbar, or select Save from the File pull-down menu.

To abort the changes and start over, press the Rollback function key, click on the Rollback button   in the horizontal toolbar, or select Rollback from the File pull-down menu.  Once changes are “saved”, they may no longer be “rolled back”.

 

Entering a New Key 

To move the cursor back to the top of the form (into the Key Block) in order to specify a new ID (or other key), issue the Rollback function.  Remember to save your changes first if you have made changes that you wish to actually commit to the database.

 

Exiting the Form 

To exit from any form and return to the menu, the next form in a QuickFlow, or a calling form, press the Exit function key, click on the Exit button  in the horizontal toolbar, or select Exit from the File pull-down menu.  If you have made changes that have not been saved, a dialog box will ask you whether you wish to save your changes or not prior to exiting the current form

 

Need more help? Please contact the Help Desk by email or by phone at 651-523.2220