User Manual:Grids
From ATab
Many windows in ATab use Grids (spreadsheet-like views) to display and edit data. Since these grids are reasonably standardized over the program, and have some quirks, this section describes the best way to work with Grids in ATab.
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Creating a new entry
Most Grids, especially those intended for data entry, have a blank row at the bottom of the grid. If you'd like to create a new row in the grid (for example, creating a new Judge entry) simply begin filling in this blank row. A new blank row will be created at the bottom of the grid, leaving the row you were just working on as your new entry.
Do not be concerned that this blank row remains at the bottom of all grids as it does not represent real data but rather just a convenient place for data entry. If two or more blank rows are present in a grid, however, this is either a bug in the program or the rows are not really empty. See Deleting an entry.
Making changes to a row
Because of a quirk in the way Grids are programmed, to change a cell in a grid it is often necessary to double- or even triple-click. This is because the cell editor only appears following a double click. Therefore, to change the value of a checkbox, for example, three clicks are necessary. Unfortunately this is a limitation of the Grid outside of my control; I found, however, that the otherwise great flexibility of the Grid outweighed this limitation.
Saving your changes
As mentioned in the General Overview, ATab works on the principle of "No Save Buttons". However, the computer must know when you are finished entering data in order to commit it to memory. To do this, simply click outside the field once you are finished entering data and your entry will be saved.
Deleting an entry
Life would be simple if it behaved the way you expect. Unfortunately life is not simple, and therefore ATab, unlike how you would expect, does not allow the simple use of the Delete key to delete a row in a Grid. For the life of me I cannot discover how to get this seemingly simple feature to work. Instead, a workaround exists: right-click on the row and select Delete Selected. This should raise a pop-up window asking for confirmation, following which the row should be deleted.
Display-only Grids
Some grids, for example the grid in the Ballots view, are mostly for display purposes and therefore cannot be edited directly. This should not pose a problem under normal use; if a grid seems like it should be editable and is not, this may be a bug and I would appreciate being informed.
