This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Omitting Data
Often it is useful to find records that do not fulfill your find request; you do this by clicking the Omit checkbox in the status area before performing the search. Alternatively, after you complete the search, you can use the Show Omitted Only command in the Records menu to switch the found set from those found to those omitted.
You can manually omit records with the Omit Record command in that menu or with the Omit Multiple command. Omit Record omits a single record, whereas Omit Multiple presents a dialog that lets you choose how many records (including the currently viewed record) should be omitted.
Omitting records is useful in a number of cases. Two of them are described here:
If a certain value (or absence of data) is to be excluded from analysis, search on that value and omit those records. The entry = finds blank values in a field and can be useful in this case.
If data is categorized in a number of categories that you want to retrieve, it may be easier to use Omit. If you want to examine all inventory items that are in stock or on order, it may be easier to retrieve all out-of-stock items and omit them.
NOTE
Once again, the design of your database helps you retrieve data. Considering the types of searches you want to conduct should affect the fields and values you choose for the database.