County Records System - General Information
All County Records Systems have standard Help modules built into the program. To activate Help at any point in the program, either click Help at the top toolbar or at any point hit the <F1> key.
P/D/S, Inc. county records systems are designed around a tabbed page format. These tabbed pages consist of Home for the startup area, Record View for viewing all the fields that relate to individual records, Table View to examine multiple records at once, Print Options to perform various mail merges, Utility Functions which covers updating and other high level options, and Farm Operations which relates to adding, subtracting, or printing operations for a selected group of records. Note that some functions and operations relate only to certain county systems because of the data structure of those specific counties. Operations of this type are marked with an asterisk*.
The following sections will discuss each of the above tabbed forms in some detail and will attempt to give users a brief explanation of the various buttons and operations that exist for each tabbed form.
This is the starting point when the program opens. Click the System Notes button to get information on contacting P/D/S, Inc. The program Exit button appears below System Notes.
To begin using the program click one of the tabs to go directly to that form. The first and most often used tab is called:
Record View displays all the available field data for any particular record in the database. All fields for an individual record can be edited. Simply put the cursor in a field, click it, and any of the data can be corrected, erased, or changed. To save the changes then click the "Save Record" button located on the lower right hand side of the form.
The most common use of the Record View form is to perform a lookup for a specific property owner or condominium/subdivision project. The following is an explanation of each button operation that can be used on this tabbed form:
Quick Condo/Sub*: Clicking this button opens a sub form that requests the user to enter the name of a condominium project or subdivision area. Enter the name and click OK and the program will take the user directly to the requested area. If the user is unfamiliar with the correct spelling of a complex or subdivision, click the button at the bottom of the form labeled "Condo Subs?".
Do a text string locate or cursor through the list of projects to find the correct one. Then either close that sub form or as a shortcut, highlight the project/subdivision, right click it, click copy, and return to the "Quick Condo/Sub" form, place the cursor in the "Enter...." area, right click, and choose "paste". Then click OK and the user will be taken to the correct condo/subdivision.
*Note: Certain county systems (Park) cannot be indexed as the legal descriptions reside in a "memo" field instead of a standard text field. The queries for subdivisions or condo complexes will take somewhat more time when this is the case.
Quick Owner: This button functions identically as the above with the exception that the user must know the name of the property owner's last name or company name or trust name, etc.
Should the entered text not call up the appropriate record, there are other methods to pursue to find the correct record. At the top toolbar click Find, then click the All Fields check button. Enter the desired text string. Then click "Find". If the requested text is not found, attempt the search either backwards or forwards. This process will locate any text string that exists anywhere in the database, but it is much slower as all fields in the entire database must be searched.
Should the owner still not be located, if the user knows the complex or subdivision where the owner supposedly exists, go to the "Quick Condo/Sub." Button, type that condo/sub. name and then cursor through the project to attempt to locate the property.
Quick Schedule: The same process applies to tax schedule numbers. Enter the correct number when prompted and the user will be taken directly to that record. Don't forget to input all the leading zeros of the schedule.
Query Notes: Provides information relating to those specific queries that require a certain syntax be followed for the query to be successful.
Other Queries: Clicking this button pulls up a list of built in queries for the program. Clicking any of the queries in the list will again raise prompts for the user to enter to locate whatever is related to that query. Should the user create his own custom query and save it, that query will end up on this list. Note that a "query genie" has been added to the program beginning in 2000 that will allow users to more easily create complex searches through the use of plain English statements. The "genie" can be accessed on the "Print Options" page or on the "Utility Functions" page.
Reset All Queries: Important Note! Once a query has been run for a certain characteristic this button must be clicked before another query of the same type can be processed. In other words the query engine must be reset before attempting a new query of the same type.
Mark Record: Should the user wish to exclude a particular record from a present or future printing operation, click this button. A small marker will appear at the lower left hand corner of the record.
Unmark Record: If the user later wishes this record to appear during a mail merge, click this button to cancel the marker.
Cancel Changes: When field data in a record has been changed or modified and the user is not satisfied with the changes, click this button and the record will revert to its original state. This is the equivalent of "undo".
Save Record: Alternatively when the user is satisfied with changes made to data fields, click this button at any time to save the corrections.
Text Search: An additional method of finding a specific text string in any or all fields in the database.
Print This: Clicking this button with the printer activated will send a snapshot of this one specific record to the printer.
Select Index: Indexes are methods of sorting records by particular fields or groups of fields which allows users to "jump" quickly to particular text keys entered by the user. This system contains indexes for owner names, complex/subdivision names, and tax schedule numbers. If the user wishes to visually examine records sorted in order as noted here, select the correct index. Then at the top toolbar click Find, then click "Find By Key", then enter the desired text string, and that record will immediately appear. Clicking the buttons labeled "Next", "Previous", etc. will take the user to the next successive or earlier record while sorted as noted above.
Buttons located directly below the legal description, address, and contact fields:
First Record: Will find the first record within whatever index is currently selected. If the user is looking for a number of records to view in a particular sequence, click the "Select Index" button first; then perform a text or a key search for the first desired record.
Next: Again refers to the sequence of records as they are ordered - either by index or by query. When the last record of the index or query list has been viewed, the next record called will appear to be blank.
Previous: The reverse process of "Next".
Last: Locates the last record in an index sequence or query.
Condo Subs?*: This button is new and applies to a limited number of county systems including Pitkin, Eagle, Summit, and Garfield. Clicking it pops open the table form that displays all current condominium projects or subdivisions in the county. Locate the desired item, right click it and click copy. Then go to "Quick Condo/Sub.", right click the "Enter...." space, click "Paste", the click "OK" and the user will be taken to the appropriate project or subdivision. (Note that this is a new function button with systems downloaded after 6/1/99. Earlier versions require that the user first click the "Utility Functions" tab and then proceed as indicated above.)
This form page displays multiple records in a tabular format. To view fields that do not appear in the table screen click the right arrow button at the bottom of the screen. This type viewing format sometimes allows quicker marking and unmarking of records for printing purposes. Field data can also be changed fairly quickly compared to Record View if multiple records require modification.
For explanations of the other buttons available on this form page see Record View above. The uses are identical.
Click this tab to perform various mail merge operations. Numerous boiler plate letters, mailing labels, and reports already exist. All of these forms of output can be modified at the user's discretion. However, to avoid destroying any essential boiler plate material it is suggested that users will be better advised to open an existing report, letter, etc. and then "Save As" it to another name prior to attempting any modifications. That way the original will always remain in the system.
Letters: In most instances the only changes that a user will have to make to printed output will be to modify merge letters. It is necessary that the user create merge letters prior to running queries and performing the merge. That process is done as follows: Click the button in the lower part of the screen called "Design Letters". Then click "Go directly to letter....". Then click the open folder icon at the upper left hand corner of the tool bar. Choose the boiler plate letter that appears to best suit your needs. Double click that letter to open it. Immediately "Save As" the letter to another specific name that you choose.
Then begin the modifications to the newly saved letter. Create whatever new text is desired by deleting the existing text in the body of the letter and replacing it with the user's text. Move the body of the letter around the page by clicking or moving the "handles" until the text area conforms to whatever letterheads or letter sizes the user desires. Generally speaking it is then wise to "Save As" this modified letter as a name that can then be reopened at a future date for further modification. In effect this newly formatted letter becomes the user's personal "boiler plate" letter.
Various other formatting options are available. Type <F1> for help or click the Help button above the tool bar at the top of the page for assistance.
Reports: If the existing reports give the user adequate information when printed, it is suggested they remain undisturbed. However, should the user wish to include other field data within a report, anything can be modified. User is urged to follow the same safety precautions noted for letters above.
Mailing Labels: The same notes apply to mailing labels as to reports and letters.
Performing a Mail Merge
Follow the instructions shown on the screen. Read the "Query/Print Notes" copy by clicking that button. First "Run a query" that is appropriate to your merge. Choose the query from the large list available in the system. Note that the number of records found by the query will appear in a box at the bottom right hand side of the screen form. Then click one of the buttons related to the type of output desired - labels, reports, or letters.
The printing process always begins in "Preview" mode. If the user is satisfied with the appearance of the print preview, simply click the small printer icon on the upper toolbar and the printing process will begin.
Important Note! Once a query has been run - as an example for a specific complex or subdivision user must click the "Clear all existing query lists" button before running a query for a new project.
Custom Queries: If the list of existing system queries does not provide the user with the desired list of properties, user can design a custom query that can then be saved and will become integrated into the existing query list. Construction of queries can be a daunting process. It is suggested that the user utilize the "query genie" that exists on this page to simplify the query design. To create a custom query from formulas only, go to the "Utility Functions" page and click the button for query creation that exists there.
Another alternative is to start the query design process and then click the "file open icon" at the top of the page to open an existing query that is close to the one the user wishes to create. Note the structure of the current query and then modify it to fit the user's needs. After finishing designing it to test it click the "lightning bolt" on the top toolbar and the query will execute. If the results are favorable, save the query under a new name, and it will become part of the system.
Once the custom query has executed, follow the same steps previously noted above to complete the mail merge.
This form page provides a variety of useful functions. It's important to note that these utility features will vary from county system to county system based on the type of updating and other information that is available for that specific county. A brief explanation of various buttons that may exist on this form is as follows:
General Information: Should user experience problems updating indexes or posting monthly changes (where that can be done), refer to the information contained here.
Post Monthly Changes*: Clicking this button will take the user to the default directory where the monthly update from an e-mail should have been saved. If the monthly "xxx.dbf" file does not immediately appear in the window, user will have to click the "file open icon" to search for the update file on the hard drive. Once that file is located, double click it, and the posting process will commence. Indexes will also be automatically updated and a message stating "Operation Complete" will appear at the finish of the process.
Update Indexes: Hard drives occasionally develop "bad" sectors. If any of the data from system indexes happen to be written to a bad spot, the indexes will cease to function. Clicking this button will correct the problem and will write the indexes to clean sectors on the hard drive. Be sure to perform this operation immediately upon starting the program.
Design a Custom Query: Similar to the button noted on the "Print Options" tab and allows query creation using either the "genie" or by directly filling in a query table.
Update Farm Codes: This button allows the user to automatically post farm codes from an earlier version of the system to the new one. Its method is to post the farm code field to the newer system where the schedule numbers are identical. Even though this process is thorough, the user should then manually verify the accuracy of the update as it is possible for schedule numbers of properties to change as when a property is split.
Design Custom Post Operation: Clicking this button will allow the user to design a posting operation specific to user's needs. One example might be to post telephone or other contact information from a previous system to the new one. Press <F1> or click "Help" during the design process for additional assistance.
Complex/Subdivision Descriptions*: See notes on the Record View Tab regarding this feature. Note that this list of projects will remain constant until the following year's system is released. Thus some new condos or subdivisions that might be "born" in mid year may not appear in this list.
Abstract Code Definitions: This is a list of the assessment abstract codes that apply to all properties in the county. It is very useful for performing queries for certain property types, and most of the built in system queries are based on this list.
Tax District Descriptions*: Identical to Complex/Subdivision Descriptions above, but for county tax districts. Useful for creating queries in specific tax area locations.
Complex/Subd. Export: Provides a method for the user to export various fields from specific condo complexes or subdivision records in the property system to other programs for purposes of analysis or merge or any other purpose.
Custom File Export: Similar to the above, except the user decides what range of records to export, and the export file types are more numerous.
Summarize Records: A new feature that allows users to develop statistical information such as average sales prices, minimums, maximums, etc. for any year, subdivisions, etc. and any other data field in the system.
Copy Database: Allows user to copy all or portions of the county records system to another database for whatever purpose the user desires.
Global Field Update: Permits the mass updating of any or all fields in the records system at a single time, rather than correcting each record individually.
Show Control Panel: Entering the correct password will enable the user to work on certain system operations directly below the application.
Hide Control Panel: Closes the above ability for security reasons.
Exit the System: Self explanatory.
This is a specialized form page that allows the user to create complex "farm areas" to primarily perform large mail merges without having to run queries for multiple condo complexes or subdivisions. It is most useful when the user wishes to send regular mailings to a variety of properties that would otherwise be unrelated.
*On some county systems the particular Board of Realtors MLS areas cannot be included in the database. Thus functions related to MLS areas will be unusable for those counties.
Buttons are self explanatory. Follow directions to create and/or modify farm areas. The code naming system developed by the user should be carefully constructed to maintain consistency.
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Some additional notes on monthly updates (for those county systems in which this type of update is available.)
The monthly update file is sent to the user as an e-mail attachment as soon as it is available. User "Saves to disk" the file attachment in the directory specific to that user's system.
There are two situations in which users may wish to not have the monthly update file deleted immediately in which cases the user should save the file to a separate folder for future use.