Overview... Important!
Database OrientationThe StepWatch database is a powerful tool. It is important to familiarize yourself with the workings before implementing it into your projects. It is not difficult to use, but it is important for you to familiarize yourself with some of its basic principles, functions and terminology.
The database is NOT meant to serve as the means for storing all your data.
Its purpose is storing your "good," finalized, filtered data. While you are "playing" with your data, it's best to store the files in folders on your hard disk (e.g. the "Client Files" folder in the StepWatch Library). Every data set you enter into the database will influence your summary measures.
To help distinguish between data stored independently in folders on your computer and data stored in the database, we use the following terminology:
File - a monitoring session stored OUTSIDE OF the database.
Record - a monitoring session stored IN the database.
You (the user) enter information about your client then enter their data file into the database where it becomes a record. Your file also remains separately.
The database does NOT dynamically recalculate results when you make changes to your preferences or to the filtering parameters of a file or record. The way to make the analysis results for a record reflect changes to your program preferences, the record's time filtering, or the client's date of birth is explained in Altering a Database Record in the Database Help. Likewise, if you open and make changes to a file (stored on your hard disk outside of the database), the changes will NOT be reflected in your database records or database summary measures even if you had previously submitted that file as a database record. The softwarae keeps no connection between the file and the record.
You may assign your clients to groups that you or others define. The database gives summary statistics of: users, clients, and groups, and individual statistics of the current user's clients. It also provides comparisons of individuals to themselves over time, individuals to groups or the whole database, and comparison of a group to another group or the whole database.
You may work with the databse as a public or pirvate user. As a private user your individual client records are private and you may get comparisons and summary measurs that reflect only your clients by using privatae groups and private IDs.
Most database summary measures for groups designated as public and the "Everyone" group are influenced by records input by all users at your site who enter records for clients assigned to those groups. See Group Stats for the exception to this.
See documentation for Users, Groups and Clients.
IF YOU EVER SUSPECT THAT YOUR DATABASE IS CORRUPTED, DO NOT QUIT STEPWATCH. See help for Restoring Database from Back-Up.
Some database capabilities are new additions to the StepWatch software. We have tested for bugs, but if you find discrepancies please notify us. As a standard data safety precuation, we recommend you create an independent back-up of database records by storing your downloaded files in the Client Files or elsewhere.
Database help
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