| First of all, I wish to thank you for downloading the database and reading
this Manual. The Aviation Database V2 is a limited-freeware application
to be distributed by Airliners.be only ! The use of this database is totally free. * If data would be lost while using the database, the designer and distributors cannot be held responsible for this loss. Setting up the database Working with the database
Setting up the Database Installing the Database Installation of the database can be done wherever you would like. The
only thing that needs to be guaranteed is that the internal structure of the
database and "Background" and "Aircraft" folder remains intact.
To run the database, simply open the "Aviation Database.mdb" file. Setting Photographer Identity As the database opens, you will get a "homepage". On this page, in the lower right corner, you will see "Photographer Identity". When you click this you will get a new form asking for your name. The name you fill in on that form is the name that will appear at the bottom of all your reports. This name remains inside the database and is not emailed or sent to another computer in any way. If you choose not to fill in your name, your reports will have "Copyright @ Aviation Database" on the bottom of each page. Working with the Database There are 3 kinds of data you can add to the database. First there is Airframe data. This tells the database what aircraft type belongs with a registration. This data has to be entered only once. Once the database knows that e.g. 9V-SFA is a Boeing B747-400F, you don't have to tell him that anymore. Then there is Aircraft data. This is where you say what airline the aircraft was flying for, at what airport, what date ? To say it simple : Who, Where and When. Additional information like storage location of the images of that aircraft and comment can be added here. No need to tell him what type of aircraft it is, the database will look that up for you amoung the airframes. Offcourse you understand that if the airframe is not known to the database, he will not be able to store the aircraft data. So when entering data of an aircraft that is not known to the database, allways enter the airframe data first and only then the aircraft data ! Then last there Airport data. This data has the least funtionality in the database and is thus also optional. The Airport information will be used when entering your aircraft data. If you do not remember the airport ICAO-code, you can use the scroll-down menu to select an airport from the Airport-data.
1. Adding Airframe data Adding Airframe data is done via the menu "Add Airframes/Aircraft". Here you will find 2 menu's. One for the Airfames and one for the aircraft. The top one is for the Airframes !
As you can see, there are 7 fields. Registration is an obligated field. You can't enter an Airframe without its identification, the registration it carries. The center 3 fields (Manufacturer, Aircraft Type and Specitfication) are optional fields, though I highly recommend you fill them in. The lower 3 fields (Construction Number, Serial Number and Buildyear) are also optional. It is totally up to you if you wish to use them or not. If you want to enter a new Airframe, make sure all fields are empty by clicking the "Create New Record" button. Once all data is filled in, click the button again to store the data and empty the fields. If you would start typing while previous data is still in the fields, you will overwrite that data. Some good advice : ALLWAYS click the "Create New Record" before you enter data and after you have entered it. This way you wont overwrite anything and the entered data will be stored.
2. Adding Aircraft Data The lower menu on the "Add Airframes/Aircraft" page is the form to enter new aircraft.
Before entering data here, make sure that the registration is a known airframe. If you haven't entered the registration as an airframe before, you should do it before you start entering data here. Again, ALLWAYS click the "Create New Record" before you enter data and after you have entered it. This will guarantee an error-free addition of your data. As you can see in the image above, there are 7 fields and 1 checkbox in this menu. The obligatory fields are Registration, Livery #, Airport and Date.
The Airline is an optional field, but highly recommended. Other fields like Location and Comment are pure option. If you store your images on a CD or DVD, you can enter the Number of the CD or DVD here. This way you will allways be able fo find the image you wanted fast as you will allways know what disc to take ... For information on the use of the checkbox, go to Adding Images
3. Adding Airports Adding airport information is done in a similar way as adding Airframes or Aircraft but then though the menu "Add Airports". The data entered here is used only for the pulldown menu in the "Add Aircraft" menu. The Aviation Database offers you the ability to add images of the aircraft entered into the database. These images are stored in the "Aircraft" folder. The name of the image is also VERY important ! you should start with the registration, then a space, open bracket *(*, Livery #, closed bracket *)* and the extention ".jpg" An example : 4X-EBU with livery # 01 should have filename "4X-EBU (01).jpg" If you have put an image in the "Aircraft folder", you should check the checkbox that sais "Image in Database". You can find this by clicking "Edit by Registration" on the main menu and entering the registration of that aircraft. The check the checkbox and return to the main menu. Last thing to do then is to run the "Location Manager" (also on the main menu.). This will tell the database to remake all links to all images (so also the one you just added). When you get the warnings, you should click "Yes" twice ! Searching for
Data Searching for data is easy and fast. On the main menu, you have 3 quicksearh buttons. These are the searches I found are used the most. If you need to do another search, just click "More Search options" and you wilkl get a menu with all available searches in the Database. When you have clicked a search, a small pop-up will display asking you for information.
You should allways look at what it is asking, as it will ask different things for different searches. When choosing a search with multiple criteria, you will get some pop-up's after another, depending on your search-choice. allways look at what it is asking and give what you are looking for. Creating Reports Creating reports is made very easy through the use of query's and automatic sorting systems. Just a few clicks and you have a printable report.
1. Fleet Status report
Fleet status reports will tell you how much aircraft you allready have. You
can ntake a Standard Fleet Status report or an Extended Fleet Status report.
As you can see from the examples above, the Extended report will give you
more details, while the Standard report simple figures without much detail.
2. Fleet Status report Fleet reports are even more detailed than the Extended Fleet Status reports as they will give you all the information they have ! This report will reserve 1 line for each different aircraft in your Dabatase.
Above is a small take from my personal database. As you can see, it is as detailed as can be ! First of all, just like the Fleet Status reports, it tells you how many aircraft you have, avoiding the need to count all the lines ... The it gives you the basics : Registration, Livery #, Aircraft Type and Airline. If you have entered the buildyear and construction number, this will also be displayed. The last column tells you when you last saw this plane and how many time you have seen it. So "2005/1" means that I saw that aircraft last in 2005, but only saw it once (in 2005 offcourse).
When you click the Fleet Report on the main menu, you will get the report
sorted out by Aircraft Type (like the above). If you want it sorted out by
Registration only, you whould click the "View Other Reports" button to get
all other available reports.
3. Other Reports In total, there are 10 available reports. Besides the 2 Fleet Status reports and the Fleet Report (sorted by Aircraft type) you have 7 others :
For changing data in the database, there are 2 possibilities. You can either go via the registration or via the airline. In both cases, you will get a list of all matching records where all available data has been made editable. This feature can e.g. be used to check the checkbox of the image. When you have applied the changes, you can either choose to edit more records or simply return to the main menu. Data is saved as soon as you click one of these 2 buttons. The Image manager is a handy tool to tell you which aircraft still need an image in the database. When you click the button, you will get a list of all these aircraft, sorted by Date and then by Registration. When you have entered an image, you can also come her to check the checkbox of the image. When you click "Refresh" the list will be adjusted and the checked record will not be in the list anymore.
Location manager
The location Manager will make the links to the images. This way you
don't have to type in the entire path to each image. When the image checkbox
is checked, the manager will make a link as folows : "path to the database"
+ "/Aircraft/" + "Registration" + " (" + "Livery #" + ").jpg"
Deleting a record
Deleting a record is done at own risk. The Designer and ditributor of this
database cannot be held responsible for the los of data. You can delete a
record by clicking the "Delete a record" button on the mainpage. The
database will then ask for the registration of the record you wish to
delete. After giving the registration, the database will return a list of
all records matching that registration. Only the Aircraft data will be deleted this way. Information about the airframe, like manufacturer, type, construction number, ..., will remain in the database.
Database Repair
When making a Fleet Report (read caution) or Fleet Status Report (read
caution), a table is deleted and remade using existing data. If however this
table can't be deleted, the process will stop and give you an error-message.
Quick Link Buttons Wherever you are in the database, you will allways be able to see the quick-link buttons on the upper toolbars. The first one is important. Whenever you want to quit the database, allways push "Before closing the database, click HERE to compact and repair the database". As it allready sais, it will compact the database and repair eventual errors. Then there are serveral, very handy quick links.
Other Problems If you are experiencing other problems and you can't find the answer here in the manual of in the FAQ's, please feel free to contact me on andries.cafmeyer@gmail.com Best regards,
|
Andries
