The Main Data option of the Database Menu starts the Main Data Entry Screen.

Descriptions of the various components of this screen follow:

All fields are read only until you choose Edit or Add.

Last, First, MI, Nickname, Other - No restrictions are placed on these fields except that The Union Organizer forces all data to upper case. The Duplicate Warning dialog will be triggered if you t ry to enter a duplicate record.

Status - This field is a Drop Down Menu and is populated by a list of values, which you may modify to suit your needs. See User Preferences on the Utilities Menu for more information. The defa ult values are EMPLOYED, LAID OFF, and GONE. This field is intended as an alternative to deleting records when an employee departs. You may not enter data directly into this field - you may only pick from the list. If you choose to use this field you may m odify its values any way you like, or even use it for something else.

Rating - This is an important organizing tool. You should try to keep this field up-to-date and accurate for all employees. Use this field to record each employee's connectedness to, and level of support for, the union. This data is a measure of union strength and will help you focus your organizing efforts where they are most needed. Like Status, this field is a Drop Down Menu and is populated by a list of values, which you may modify. See User Pr eferences on the Utilities Menu for more information.

Photo - The photo field contains the name of the image file displayed. To add or remove a picture, choose Edit then click on the New button next to the picture area. A dialog box will prompt you to choose either "Remove the Existing Photo" or "Add a New Photo". If you choose the latter, a file choice dialog will appear. After making your choice, choose either Save Changes or Discard Changes.

If you choose to attach pictures, you will need access to a scanner or digital camera and the appropriate software. The files may be located anywhere on your hard drive. The photo field will accept many image formats, but remember that image files can be very large and will quickly eat up disk space. Saving images in GIF or JPG format will consume far less space than BMP or other bitmap formats. Also note the size of the photo field - images will automatically center but will not scale, so you can save di sk space by keeping the images small.

A utility is provided with The Union Organizer to make attaching photos easier. The utility allows you to attach pictures to the data simply by creating a single folder (directory) anywhere on your hard drive. After you have created the directory you n eed only save all of your photo files to this folder, being sure to name the files with the format: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_MI.??? where LASTNAME, FIRSTNAME, and MI are the names of the employee that the picture file is associated with. The three question mark s refer to the file extension (BMP, GIF, ...). See Add Photos on the Utilities Menu for more information.