Local Information System newsfeed Local Information System mail list

Local Information System - Maintenance walk-through

We have produced the following screen shots using Windows 7, but the system runs under many different versions of Windows. Note that we used an out of date version of Epsom & Ewell's database to produce these screen shots. They don't represent the current state of the system.

The first screen we see when we run the maintenance utility asks us for an id and password:

Password entry screen

This screen is suppressed, however, if you have logged in to your network and your network id matches an internal list of local information editors.

The maintenance screens starts off looking like this:

Initial screen

You can change the size of the screen by dragging any of the sides or corners. You can also drag the vertical boundaries inside the screen to the left and right to show more information. You can also click the icon at the bottom left of the screen to see this screen:

Zoom screen

This allows you to resize the content of the screen - useful for people with weak vision or users of high resolution displays.

Returning to the main screen...

You get the same search facilities as you get with the enquiry screen plus the ability to search for:

You can also search for items by their local information filing system reference or their database id.

Searching for "blind" finds three matches:

Data entry screen

You can page backwards and forwards between the matched items (you can choose whether to show items 'Latest first' or alphabetically), using the arrows at the top centre of the screen, until you find the item you want. Note:

We provide some tools to help you create alternate index entries. For example, clicking the 'Index' button shows:

Scanning text for search words

Note that:

To add a new item to the database, click 'Add a new item'. You will see an empty screen like this:

Add entry screen

If the system detects an error it shows you a red exclamation mark. To see the error message you just have to move your mouse over it.

The program displays a pencil icon at the top of the screen while you are making changes. It also helps you keep you changes by asking you if you want to save them if, for example, you move to a different item.

The system comes with built-in help which appears like this:

Help text

You can also search the help for the assistance you need.

The check links button displays a tool that allows you to check whether all the links from the database are still valid:

Check links

The 'Repair and compact' button keeps your database as small as possible and fixes any problems it finds.

Find out about other components of the desktop version.

Find out about the intranet version.

Get your free copy of the Local Information System.

Accesskey links: Skip navigation | Home page | Accessibility | Contact us | Accesskeys

Mail list
Click this icon to subscribe to, or unsubscribe from, the Local Information System mailing list.
RSS News Feed
This icon points to a page containing the latest Local Information System news. Add the page to an RSS news reader to stay up-to-date.
Try it now
We've put a copy of the Local Information System online for you to play with. There's nothing to install, it's just another web site.