EMO:The Data Grid

All text-format data appearing in the Presentation Interface appears in a Data Grid. The Data Grid can appear as:

• A single data entry field (a single cell grid)
• A column of data entry fields
• A row of data entry fields
• A table ("grid") of data entry fields

Editing a Data Grid Field

>> To enter text in a field:

1. Make the field current and enter field 'edit mode' by:

• Right mouse click inside the field box (a grey border will appear around the cell)
• Use the Arrow (Up, Down, Left and Right) keys to move to the required field and pressing the <SPACE> bar

2. Type the text you want to enter - this will replace all text currently in the field

Keys	Function
<F2>	Highlights the Field contents and makes it available for editing
<Esc>	Discards any changes you have made the field in the current edit
<Home>	Positions the text cursor before the first character in the field
<End>	Positions the text cursor after the last character in the field

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NOTE: Standard text editing features such as highlighting, cutting and pasting are supported in Data Grid fields.

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Advanced Data Grid Features

Selecting Fields

Selection	Method	Result
Single Field	Click on field with the Mouse	Field border is highlighted in grey
Multiple Fields	Click and drag with mouse to describe a rectangle containing the required fields	Selected fields are bordered in grey and appear highlighted in a pale purple (except for upper left field)
Single Row	Click on row label	Row border is highlighted in grey and row fields are highlighted in pale purple
Single Column	Click on column header	Column border is highlighted in grey and row fields are highlighted in pale purple
Multiple Rows	Click and drag mouse across adjacent row labels	The border of the selected rows is highlighted in grey and row fields are highlighted in pale purple
Multiple Columns	Click and drag mouse across adjacent column headers	The border of selected columns is highlighted in grey and column fields are highlighted in pale purple
Whole Table	Click on the top left table corner (not the top left field)	The whole table is highlighted in pale purple

Copying to Clipboard

>> To copy all or part of a Data Grid to the Windows clip board:

1. Highlighting the fields to be copied with a click and drag operation. Highlighted fields appear light purple except for the first field in the selection which remains uncoloured (but will appear within the grey border around all selected cells)
2. Using <CTRL><C> or "<Ctrl><Shift><C>" to copy to the clip board. "<Ctrl><Shift><C>" copies the column headers as well as the data.

Data copied to the clipboard can be copied directly to Excel retaining the columns and rows of the original grid.

Pasting from Clipboard

>> Use <CTRL><V> to paste data from the clipboard into a Data Grid.

To be noted when pasting:

• Original row and column structure of a cutting from an Excel spreadsheet will be retained
• In cases where the data grid can only accept data for a fixed number of fields, surplus clipboard data will be discarded
• Where an unlimited number of repeating fields can be accepted in the Grid (e.g. Nodes defining a Transmission System) new rows will be created when the number of pasted rows exceeds the number of displayed rows

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WARNING! The Data Grid attempts to paste directly in any area you have highlighted within the Grid. If the clipboard holds more fields than the highlighted area, extra clipboard fields are pasted over the top of non-highlighted fields replacing their contents.

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Creating New Rows in a Table

>> To create a new row in a table Data Grid:

1. Make the Data Grid the current object by clicking in any cell in the Grid (if a Grid contains no rows use one of the Column Headers)
2. Press <INSERT>: a new blank row of fields will appear

Sorting Fields by Column

Some Data Grid Tables support data sorting.

>> To sort the whole table by the contents of a column alphanumerically:

1. Double-click on the Header of the Column you want to sort by (sorts in ascending order)
2. Double-clicking again will re-sort the table by column contents in descending order

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NOTE: Where a Data Grid supports data sorting, the header for the column currently sorting the table will contain an arrow head facing upwards or downwards depending on whether the data has been sorted in ascending or descending order.

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