11
Using a Selection Filter or SelFil
Most of the time, when you work within a database, you want to see only those
records that have particular values for a given field or fields, while excluding the
remaining records that have different values for those same fields. In order to do
this, Univers uses a tool known as a SelFil. The word SelFil an anagram
composed of the words selection and filter, which is precisely what it does,
filter out a selection of parcel records with the desired data, according to a set of
pre-specified parameters which may be defined by the user.
Since ALL data retrieval operations in Univers are done through a SelFil, the key
to successfully searching for data in Univers is properly structuring your SelFil
parameters. The typical process would be: choose a SelFil, modify any search
parameters to suit your needs, run the SelFil, and finally, run the desired report,
operation, or extraction that you need to do.
A SelFil can be used to extract one single record at a time, groups of similar
records, or every single record in the database depending on the values you
insert. A screen dump of a typical Univers SelFil is shown in the illustration
below.
Looking at the illustration above, we can see that after the three header lines
showing the date & time, menu title and SelFil title, there are six lines labeled: