When working with Reports and Queries, you may have come across special symbols used to format data associated with the date and time fields. Besides the date and time fields, there is another set of special symbols used to format data in other numeric fields. For example, by changing the symbols used in the QRG (frequency) field, the data shown in the Logbook View will be displayed, per your definition.

Formatting Symbols Used in a Query – also applies to the Report Wizard

To explore the use of the formatting symbols in greater detail, this section uses the same example described in the "Logbook View - Using Queries" section. If you need to review the screen images shown in that section click here.

If you have created a logbook in SWISSLOG and you would like to experiment with one of sample queries, follow the three steps listed below:

• First, close any open windows such as the QSO entry window – this step is not required; however, other windows are not necessary now and it will keep the Swisslog desktop environment uncluttered.
   
• Second, if you do not have a logbook file loaded – load a logbook file now – from the main menu select File ¦ Open Logbook-DB and select a logbook (your_log_filename.mdb) from the list of available files.
   
• Third, open a Logbook View by selecting View ¦ Logbook-DB (Selection) from the main menu. This will bring up two windows; the View Logbook window which is partially hidden by the active window labeled – Open SWISSLOG Report or Query. On the left side of the window, there is a list of the Query directories and sub-directories. Click on the Logbooks directory and a list of Queries will appear at the right. Select the query named: Example logbook.spq (double-click on the filename).
  
  The dialog window will close and the your log will appear in the View Logbook window.

Changing the Loaded Query

There are a number of changes that can be made to a Query, which will affect the appearance of your log. However, this section is limited to describing the symbols used to control the format of data in numeric fields such as Time and Date, QRG (frequency), and BandID – note, BandID is not the same as the Band field – the Band field is not a numeric field.

• Select Change Query / Field Selection from Functions on the main menu or the pop-up menu.

• The Query Editor will be displayed as shown below – also shown is the Value Editor pop-up menu:

The lower portion of the Query Editor window is a workspace or a table of cells defining which columns are displayed in the View Logbook. In the above screen image, the QSODate field was selected which activated the Value Editor menu.

Changing the Format of the QSODate Field – for the Logbook View or the Report Wizard

First select a field, double-click on the field and the Value Editor will appear. Verify that the Value Editor lists the field you want to edit – a common mistake is accidentally selecting another field.

Hint: You can also right-click on a field and select Edit Properties from the pop-up menu to open the Value Editor.

In the example above, you can see the Value Editor lists several properties specific to the QSODate field – toward the bottom of the list, there are five properties defining how the QSODate field is displayed in the log. With the exception of the format property, each property offers a scrolling list of the possible values.

The QSODate Format property is somewhat different as it does not offer choices from a scrolling list. You can define the date format you prefer to use, by entering standard date abbreviations used by many programs and operating systems. Formatting symbols may be written in upper case or lower case letters – both – produce the same result. A few of the common time and date formats are shown in the table below:

Hint: The format properties used for the following fields; QSODate, Day, Month, and Year, only affect the corresponding values displayed in the Logbook View.

When using the date in a search value, the date must be entered as defined by the Windows operating system. If an error message appears, or if your search results in a empty logbook, verify that the date format used in the search is formatted correctly. An easy way to verify the correct format is to click on the arrow in the Date column heading and select (Custom) from the drop-down list. When the Custom AutoFilter appears, click on the arrow beside either of the empty boxes on the right side. When the calendar appears, click on Today – the date shown will be in the correct Windows format – click cancel to exit.

The table below is a complete listing of symbols that can be used to format the Date and Time fields. These symbols may be used in Queries and Reports.

Changing the Format of Numeric Field Values – for the Logbook View or the Report Wizard

Numeric fields such as Frequency are formatted slightly differently than the fields related to date and time. While the concept is basically the same – the symbols and their formatting masks are specific to numeric data. Below is an example of the frequency using a coma.

Note: BandID is also numeric field – BandID is not the same as the Band field – the Band field is not a numeric field.

Other valid formatting masks include the following:

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