Select Edit Point and Shoot from the Tools menu to display the Point and Shoot Editor. You can use the Point and Shoot Editor to create or edit a Point and Shoot list or to browse data to analyze the effects of criteria as you define it.
Start Table rows that satisfy selection criteria, if any, are displayed. If the number of rows that satisfy the selection criteria exceeds the fetch limit, a message in the message bar alerts you that more rows exist than were retrieved. To retrieve more rows, you can increase the Maximum Fetch Rows value on the Display tab of the Personal Options dialog.
If you are editing a Point and Shoot list, and the list includes rows that do not satisfy any selection criteria, a prompt displays to allow you to retain these ‘unknown' rows or retain only rows that meet the current criteria.
If you create or modify a Local Point and Shoot list, you must select Update for the File menu to revise the list, and then save the Access Definition.
The Start Table must have a primary key for Point and Shoot to function. The process uses primary key values to identify Start Table rows to be processed. The primary key values of the rows selected using Point and Shoot are saved in the Point and Shoot list.
During processing, the following rules pertain to Point and Shoot lists:
The Point and Shoot Editor displays data from the Start Table in a browse window. A toolbar in the browse window allows you to select display options and menu choices that pertain to the display.
Number of rows in the Point and Shoot list that are not found among the rows retrieved for the current Point and Shoot session. A number greater than zero may indicate that the Default Qualifier has changed since the Point and Shoot list was created or that the Point and Shoot list includes rows that do not match current selection criteria.
The first browse window in the Point and Shoot Editor displays the Start Table rows. The Start Table browse window contains a grid column labeled Select that contains a check box for each row. Select the check box to include the row in the Point and Shoot list. Clear the check box to retract a selection.
You can join and view data from related tables in additional browse windows, using the Join button on the toolbar. Joining tables is useful for inspecting related data to ensure that appropriate sets of data are selected.
Data displayed in the table named in the browse window can be navigated and customized using the Find, Exclude, Include, Hide, and Lock options available on the grid heading shortcut menu. (See Using Find and Replace for additional information.)
A browse window contains the following components:
In columnar format, the column names are displayed across the top of the browse window and the data is displayed in columns beneath the headings. Note that the headings for primary key column(s) display in bold type.
In side label format, the column names are displayed down the left side of the browse window and a row of data is displayed to the right of the headings. Use the navigation buttons on the browse window toolbar to scroll to another row. Side label format focuses on a single row and can display more columns per row than columnar format.
For example, when the number of rows that satisfy the criteria is 3523, but the fetch limit is 1000 and can be increased, the following is displayed:
However, if the fetch limit is at maximum, the following is displayed:
You can join multiple tables to any table in the Point and Shoot Editor. When you open the Point and Shoot Editor, the Start Table displays.
Use the Join function to display related data from other tables. When you join tables, the related data in the joined table displays in a new browse window in the Point and Shoot Editor. A relationship must exist between the tables to join them. You can join several tables to a single table, or join additional tables to each joined table. Each joined table displays in a new browse window.
When you join tables, a relationship between the tables is required. Only one relationship can be used.
You can also join more than one table to any table. When several tables are joined to a single table, the joined tables are "stacked" in a single edit window, in the order in which they were joined. The most recently joined table is displayed by default, and the other tables in the stack are hidden.
The name of the displayed table appears in a drop-down box in the browse window. Click the arrow to display the list of tables stacked in the browse window. Click a table name in the list to display that table in the browse window.
You can display any table in the stack and join other tables to any table in the stack. In many cases, a database table is related to two or more tables, creating different paths for joining and browsing the data.
When a stacked table is displayed, all subordinate joined tables are also displayed. When a stacked table is hidden, all subordinate joined tables are also hidden.
When editing a Point and Shoot list, use the Find dialog to find and select specific rows. Options allow you to select and unselect rows containing specific data. To display the Find dialog, right-click a grid column heading in the Point and Shoot Editor and select Find.
The Find dialog has three tabs, Criteria, Columns, and Selection. Use these tabs to specify search parameters and selection options. The Find parameters operate together to identify and select rows.
Use the Criteria tab to define criteria for the data to find.
Use the Columns tab to select columns in the Start Table to limit the scope of the search.
Choose options for selecting search values in the Point and Shoot list.
You can convert a Local Point and Shoot list to a named list, or a named list to a Local list. A Local Point and Shoot list is stored as part of the Access Definition and is available only to that Access Definition. A named Point and Shoot list is a file stored in the Optim Directory and can be used with other Access Definitions and shared with other users.
To facilitate row selection you can temporarily specify selection criteria to limit the list to specific rows and use it in combination with Point and Shoot Editor commands.
As an example, assume you are creating a test database of ORDERS and related DETAILS. To meet your testing requirements, you need orders posted more than 3 years and 1 month ago, but less than 4 years ago. Most orders that meet your requirements are for salesmen with an identifier that begins with the letters SE, but several are for two salesmen with the identifiers, NE005 and NC005. First, open Table Specifications to define selection criteria for ORDERS, the Start Table. Select the option on the Selection Criteria tab to combine all column criteria with AND. As criteria for the ORDER_POSTED column, specify:
and, as criteria for the ORDER_SALESMAN column specify:
Without closing Table Specifications, select the Access Definition Editor and choose Edit Point and Shoot List from the Tools menu to open the Point and Shoot Editor. ORDERS rows for orders posted before February 1998 for salesmen with an identifier beginning with SE are displayed.
Use the Options menu Select All Rows command to select all displayed rows. You can then use Find to locate and unselect rows for which the order was posted in 1997. Close the Point and Shoot Editor, saving the file. On the Table Specifications dialog, change the criteria for the ORDER_SALESMAN column to:
and again choose Edit Point and Shoot List from the Tools menu on the Access Definition Editor. Click Yes at the prompt asking if you want to keep unknown entries. When the Point and Shoot Editor opens, ORDERS rows for orders posted before February 1998 for salesmen with the identifiers NE005 and NC005 are displayed. Select the rows appropriate for the test database and, again, close the Point and Shoot Editor, saving the file.
The Point and Shoot File now contains primary key values for all desired ORDERS rows. This file can be referenced in an Access Definition or Extract Process Request used to extract rows from the production database and the resulting Extract File used to create the test database.