Linking Computer Files To Note Records
Data File Link records are used to link a computer file to a database record, such as a
Note record, and to all of that database record's parent records.
Data File Link records hold a lot of useful, memorable, and searchable information about the file
they're
linked to.
It's because of this information that it's typically possible to locate any computer file in less
than 30
seconds by using a simple keyword search, where the keywords have nothing to do with the file's name
or
its location on a storage device.
The keywords you'll use for a search will typically come from whatever you can remember about the
contents of that file, or anything else that was important to know about the linked file.
The file linking process explained below shows you how to link computer files to a Note record, but
this
same process can be used to link them to Idea, Task, Subtask, or Work Session records too.
When you click the New Data File Link hyperlink in any window that displays it, you'll
see
windows and dialog boxes similar to the ones shown in the instructions below, and as I've already
mentioned, the linking process will be the same as what's being taught below.
Linking Computer Files To A Note Record Using The Notes Window
To link a computer file to a Note record first open the Note record in the Notes Window.
Then on the left hand side of the window click the New Data File Link hyperlink.
When you click this hyperlink, a File Navigator dialog box, like the one shown below will be
displayed.
You use this dialog box to navigate to the folder containing the file(s) you want to link to the
database
record.
After you've found the files you want to link to the record, use your mouse to select them,
and
then click the Open button to link them.
If you're just linking one file, then all you have to do is
double click anywhere on its entry.
The dialog box will close and then the Linked File Description dialog box gets
displayed.
That dialog box asks you for a description about the files being linked.
Type as much text as you
need
to, to record whatever you think would be important for someone to know about the linked file(s).
Most of the time, it'll be the text in a record's description that future keyword searches will use
to
find that record again.
Click the OK button to record the description in the Data File Link record.
The Data File Link records for each of the files you selected for linking, will all use this same
description.
It's possible to change the record's description later, by clicking the Edit Selected
Data
File Record hyperlink in windows that display it, but how all this works is not shown here.
After the Linked File Description dialog box closes, the Import Files dialog box will
open.
This dialog box is asking you if you want the selected files copied to the project's Project folder,
and
then have the database files link to those copies.
Or, if you want the link to be on the original files.
Answer Yes to import the files into the project folder, or No to link to the original source files.
Answering Yes is normally the best idea because the software has tools that make it very easy to backup
and restore the contents of the Project folder. Also, those files will remain in the Project folder,
whereas you can never be too sure as to what can happen to the original files.
After you make your decision, the dialog box closes and you return to the Notes Window.
That window will be displaying a message telling you how many files it linked to the record.
Also,
the
window's Data Files field value will increase by the number of files linked.
Displaying The Data File Link Records The Note Record Owns
If you want to see all the Data File Link records the Note record owns, which will include the ones
you
just linked, then click on the Display Data File Links hyperlink on the left hand side of the
window.
The Note's Data File Links Index window will open and it'll be displaying all the files the Note
record
is linked to.
Beneath that list of files is a Search panel that you can use to search for linked
files,
if the list is large.
If you want to load and display the contents of a particular computer file, then just double click
anywhere on the file's record entry in the list.
The software that's used to work with that type of
computer file will be loaded and it'll load and display the file for you.
In this image the Open Office Writer software is used to display Word Processing files, on my
computer, and it's displaying the document that is linked to it, by the above Data File Link record.