Chapter 3. Tellico Details

The most basic field type is called Simple Text. No restrictions are placed on the field values, and the data entry widget is the standard line edit. This type is appropriate for fields which aren't expected to have long values, such as the author or the genre.

The Number type is identical to the Simple Text, except that the data is restricted to being numerical. Entries will be sorted numerically in the column view if a Number field column is clicked. The standard line edit, with small arrow buttons for increasing or decreasing the value, is used for data entry. No formatting is ever applied.

The URL type allows for links to other documents, using the standard KDE file type associations for opening the linked documents. No validation is done on the actual value of a URL field, but non-valid links are not opened. The data entry is a line edit with a button for opening the standard File-Open dialog, but any URL may be used. Relative URLs are interpreted relative to the location of the data file, once it has been saved.

In the Entry Editor, the label becomes the link, while in the Entry View, an actual hyperlink is used. This field type is convenient for linking to PDF files of bibliographic entries, or to movie reviews, for example. No formatting is ever applied.

Relative URLs may also be used. They are interpreted relative to the location of the Tellico data file. In the Entry Editor, the line edit provides auto-completion for local file locations. If you want the URL from the KDE File Selector Dialog Box to be interpreted relative to the document location, then a property for the URL field should be set to relative : true.

For longer text fields, the Paragraph type offers a larger text edit area, and is always in its own category. A Paragraph field may not have multiple values, nor is it automatically formatted. It cannot be used for grouping. Abstracts, plot summaries, or reviews should be entered using this field type.

When a field should be limited to a few preset values, a Choice type is used. The acceptable values are presented in a drop down box for selection. Multiple values can be allowed. Fields such as bibliography type or personal rating are Choice-type fields.

Semi-colons should be used to separated the allowed values.

For fields which take a yes or no value, the Checkbox type is available. By default, the field is toggled off. Checkbox fields are not formatted and are limited to single values. Internally, the field values are carried as true or false. Some examples are gift or loaned fields.

A Date field can include a day, month, and year. The date is shown in the standard format of YYYY-MM-DD, which allows for easy sorting. The standard KDE Date Selector may be used to choose the date with the mouse, or it may be entered directly. The field is not required to have non-empty values for the year, month, and day; only the year may be entered, for example. Multiple values are not allowed.

Table fields hold a one or more columns of values. In the Entry Editor, the field is presented using a spreadsheet-like view, with numbered rows. When the last row is selected, an additional row is then added. Auto-completion is not available. This field is useful for a list of chapters in a book, scenes in a movie, or songs in an album. Table fields are always a category by themselves.

The number of columns, up to a maximum of ten, is defined by adding a property to the field definition with the name columns. The columns may be labeled by right-clicking on the header, or by setting a field property named column1, etc.

When using the Entry Editor for Table fields, rows may be rearranged by dragging the mouse while holding the Ctrl button. A popup menu is also available by right-clicking on the table, which allows rows to be inserted or removed.

Image fields hold an image, of any format supported by KDE. Some of the typical ones include PNG or JPEG. The image can be saved inside the Tellico data file itself or in the application data directory. The standard KDE File Selector is used, so you can use a URL or just a file available locally. Images can also be dragged from a file manager or browser.

Rating fields show a number of stars to represent a numerical rating for an entry. By default, the rating is a maximum of five. The minimum and maximum may be changed by setting properties in the field definition in the Collection Fields Dialog, named minimum and maximum, respectively.

Fields with derived values are a special case. The field type corresponds to the typical type of value contained in the field, but the value of the field is constructed from other fields using a format string in the field description. For example, if the field has a value template of %{title} %{year}, then the value of that field will be the title, followed by the year. This field type is used primarily for the title field in the coin, stamp, trading card, and wine collections. Either the internal field name or the field title may be used in the description for formatting.

To select only a single value for a field with multiple values, add a position index to the template, such as %{author:1} for the first author. The position may be negative, counting from the end, so %{author:-1} would be the last author. Upper and lower-case values may be used by setting template flags, such as %{author:1/l} for lower-case first author and %{author:1/u} for upper-case.