Data Entry Basics

Navigating in dialogs with the Tab key

You will spend a lot of time entering information in dialogs, such as customer information and reservation details.  Therefore it's a good idea to learn the fastest way to get around in them.  Generally you will use the Tab key to jump from one field to another.  This will move the text input cursor to the next logical entry field or check box in the dialog.  Mastering the Tab key (and Shift-Tab to back up a field) and also the Alt-key shortcuts for the buttons will allow you to do nearly everything in a dialog from the keyboard, without moving your hand to the mouse.  Note that the Enter key will also move to the next field in most cases, but this was implemented only as a convenience for users that are familiar with an Enter-based system.  This is not the Windows standard way of moving between fields, so it's best to get used to using the Tab key.

Selecting from drop-down lists

Many of the fields in dialogs will use pick-lists (most of which are user-definable), in the form of a drop-down list.  These will have small down-arrow buttons on the right-hand side of the entry field.  Initially you can use the mouse to click the down-arrow button to open the list, and then click on the desired option.  Alternatively, you can use Alt-down-arrow to open the list with the keyboard.  Whether it is opened first or not, you can use the up and down arrow keys to change the selected item.

Once you are familiar with the contents of the list, you can also select items quickly using the first letter of the selection.  For instance, typing "F" in the Rig Type field will typically select Fifth Wheel automatically.  In cases where the first letter is used by more than one selection, just press the letter repeatedly to change the selections.  For instance, "T" may take you to the Tent selection first, and pressing "T" again will go to Travel Trailer.  (Since "TT" is often an abbreviation for Travel Trailer, this just happens to make sense!)

Checking boxes with the keyboard

When a check box field is selected on a dialog (indicated by a dotted line around it), you can check or uncheck the box by pressing the spacebar on the keyboard.

Working with Dates

Another common dialog entry field is a date, which normally uses a "date-picker" control.  There are several ways to enter a date.  One way is with the mouse -- click the down-arrow on the right side of the entry field, and a calendar will open up.  Just click on the date you want, using the arrow buttons to change the month as needed.  For moving a large number of months, you can click on the month at the top of the calendar to produce a drop-down list of months to select from.  You can even click on the year and it will show up/down buttons to quickly change years.  

However, the keyboard can be used effectively if you already know the date you want to use without referring to a calendar.  When entering a date field, the month will usually be highlighted at first.  Just start typing the date as month/day/year, using slashes just as you would write it.  The date will be entered as you would expect.  You don't even have to enter the whole year -- for instance, type "5/3/1" for May 3rd, 2001.  If all you need to change is the day, it's even simpler.  To skip the month, start typing with the slash ("/"), then type the day.  For instance, to change 11/5/2001 to 11/9/2001, just type "/9", then you can Tab to the next field as needed.  There are other ways also -- you can use the up and down arrows to change the month, day or year (whichever is highlighted), and the right and left arrows can be used to move the highlight back and forth between the month, day, and year.

Check-Dates

Some date fields, such as the Paid-Through date, also contain a check box.  This is a combination field which effectively allows you to select "None" as a date.  When the box is unchecked in this case, it means there is no Paid-Through date (they have not paid).  The date will be "grayed out" (lighter color) to indicate that it is not actually used.  When the box is checked, the date is used just like any other date.  Note that selecting a date with the mouse will automatically check the box, allowing you to save a step.  If using the keyboard, you will need to check the box first (the spacebar can be used to do this from the keyboard), then you can edit the date by pressing the right-arrow key to get to the date portion of the field.