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iDB Tutorial  (cont.)

'Accounts' Application

'Accounts' database is primarily designed to keep track of accounts with login/passwords. As in any other database types, you may create multiple databases of this type.

On 'Record List' screen it is sorted alphabetically.
 

   

'Cards' Application

The primary design purpose of 'Cards' was to keep track of Credit Cards. Although, they can of course be used for data similar in content and layout.

Just like 'Accounts' above, 'Cards' in the Record List screen is only sorted by alphabetically. The index column visible on the right-side of Account screen above kicks in only after 20+ records are accumulated.

In 'Record Details' screen, 'web url' and 'tel no' fields are context-sensetive. If legit values are detected, they would turn into push-buttons, so, upon tapping on they would call associated applications:
 

   

'TO DO' Application

As always, you can create multiple ToDo databases. It only makes sense; you may have things to do at work, things to do at your backyard, etc. Hence it makes perfect sense to want to keep them apart.

However, at times you may want to see everything you need to do combined: What is the next thing to do, what's the most urgent thing to do, what are it past due things that I should take care of?

Therefore, anytime there is more than one ToDo database iDB automatically offers a combined view of ToDo's. Note that the combined view would only show up if you select ToDo application icon on the Console, and, if there are more than one ToDo database. The combined view would have the 'admin-only' requirement if any of the participating databases would require it.

The following is the ToDo Database List screen with more than one ToDo database:
 

ToDo's offer richer sorting options in Record List screen. The following two are sorted based on priority and due-time:
 

   

In the following two screens below the first one is sorted alphabetically, and, the second is sorted based on the most recently updated status. Sorting based on the most-recent update comes in handy if you have hundreds of records, and, when you want to quickly find out the last record you worked on.

As in any alphabetically sorted database, an alhabetical index column on the right side of the screen would show up only after some 20+ records. Also, for the sorting options to show up at the top of the Record List screen there needs to be at least 3 records. Otherwise offering sorting choices on one or two records, well, is kind of laughable. So do not just yet panic if you create a ToDo database and put a record in it and fail to see any one of those sorting choices:
 

      

Many of the screens above offer a progress button on the left side of the record title. So you may advance progress of the item without getting into Record Details by simply tapping on its progress button.

Pay attention to the third image above: At the very bottom of the ToDo Record List, resides a row (in the shape of a push button) to 'reset all progress'. That is useful if you need to do a list over and over. Once tapped, the whole list is reset to its original state and that row disappears. Any progress on any ToDo item would make it appear agaion.

Below is how a ToDo record details looks like:
 

Ignore the 'alert' field in the image above. That screenshot was taken on a development device; it will not show up on your iPhone/iTouch.

iDB in fact has the capability to fire system alerts for ToDo items. However, that capability uses iPhone's native alerts by utilizing iPhone Calendar database. Starting with an earlier beta version of iPhone SDK, Apple removed third party applications' read/write access to Calendar DB, hence, the feature seized to function on regular devices.

Since then we did not remove the feature, instead, pleaded with Apple to restore read/write access to Calendar database. Currently iDB checks the device in startup time to see if it can write into Calendar database, and if it cannot, turns off the feature. That's why the subject field shows up on the image above, but will remain hidden on your device.

The 'due-time' field in the image above may seem like a regular text-field. In fact it is not. In 'Edit' mode (tap on the 'pen' on upper-left corner) it turns into a push-button.
 

   

When tapped-on, due-time field pops up a date/time picker. If you are perfectly happy with the selected date, i.e., if you haven't made any selection yet, don't just tap on 'OK' and close the picker. At least jiggle the date field to send a 'selection' signal to iDB. Otherwise a date-time picker popped-up and immediately closed will render no selection.

While selection(s) are made, iDB will keep displaying/changing the current selection on 'due-time' field. Tapping on 'OK' will cement the selection.
 

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