Meeting Manager Data
Getting to know the Data manager
Viewing and Editing Table Data
Deleting records
Inserting Records
Color Coding Bookings
Meeting Manager Table Details
Viewing SQL Queries
Avoiding Database Corruption
Re-indexing Tables
Archiving Old Bookings
Backing Up Data
Restoring Data
Importing and Exporting CSV Data
Getting to know the Data Manager
The Meeting Manager program uses several data files. The Data Manager screen allows viewing and editing of all Meeting Manager data. To bring up this screen select View | Data Manager from the main menu. Note that if security has been enabled, you must first login as Admin or as Superuser if the Superuser data access option has been set. The following screen should appear:
See also: General Options
Note that in Meeting Manager Client/Server the Data Manager is only accessible from the Server application.
The Data Manager consists of three parts. The menu, the data navigation toolbar and the data view. The menu contains several data related functions. The data navigation toolbar is used to navigate through the different tables. The data view shows the data of a single table.
The Data navigator Bar
The bar at the top is the data navigator. The data navigator is for navigating the records of the current table. The first button |< will move to the first record of the current table. The second button < will move to the previous record. The third button > will move to the next record. The fourth button >| will move to the last record. The + button will add a new record. The - button will delete the current record. The button with the checkmark will save changes made to the current record. The x button will cancel any changes made to an unsaved record. The last button refreshes the current table to show the latest changes made to it.
The Data Tabs
The data tabs show all the tables used in Meeting Manager and allow you to view and edit the data in them. See the Viewing and Editing Table Data section for more details.
Menu
The menu consists of four sections File, Search, Records and Help. See below for descriptions of the different functions found within these sections.
File
Export to CSV - Exports the current table to text (CSV) format. See also: Importing and Exporting Data in CSV Format
Import CSV File - Imports a text file in comma separated variable (CSV) format into the current table. See also: Importing and Exporting Data in CSV Format
Import Contacts from Outlook - Imports any new contacts from Microsoft Outlook. See also: Import Contacts from Outlook
New SQL File - Opens the Notepad text editor to allow you to create a new SQL file. See also: Viewing SQL Queries
Edit SQL File - Opens the Notepad text editor to allow you to edit an existing SQL file.
Open SQL File - Allows you to choose an existing SQL file and shows the results of that query in the detail tab data grid.
Execute SQL File - Allows you to choose an existing SQL file and execute that query. Only Administrators can execute queries.
Re-index Table - Re-index the currently selected table. See also: Re-indexing Tables
Close - Closes the Data Manager screen.
Search Section
The Search section allows you to find records when in the detail tab view. To search for a record you must first click in or tab over to the field in which you want to search. Then choose Find from the Search menu. In the dialog that pops up, enter the text you want to search for then press the Find Next button. To find the next occurrence of that text press the Find Next button again.
Records Section
The Records section contains the following functions:
Insert - Inserts a new record above the selected record. See also: Inserting records
Delete Selected Records - Delete all the selected records. See also: Deleting records
Delete All Records - Deletes all the records in the current table.
Archive Inactive Bookings - Deletes expired bookings from Meeting Manager and saves them in the Archive table. See also: Archiving Old Bookings
Backup Data - Makes a time-stamped backup file of all tables. See also: Backing up Data
Restore Data - Replaces your existing data with the tables from a previous data backup. See also: Restoring data
Viewing and Editing Table Data
There are two ways to enter table data: form view and detail view.
Entering data in form view
To enter data by form view choose the tab corresponding to the table for which you wish to enter data. A form will appear showing all the fields in that table. The screen should look like this:
To add a new record press the + button on the data navigator bar. A blank record field will appear. Enter data in the fields and press the check mark on the data navigator bar. This saves the record changes.
Entering data in detail view
To view a table's data in detail view first choose the Detail tab. The screen should look like this:
To view the data for a table choose the table's radio button in the left box. The table's data should then appear in the grid to the right. The data may now be edited directly in the grid. After editing a record, the changes will be saved after you move off the edited record.
Currently, data from SQL queries may not be edited in this way.
You can cancel any changes you made to a record by either clicking the Cancel button (the big X) on the Database Navigator at the top of the screen or by simply hitting the ESC key.
See also: Deleting records, Inserting Records
Deleting records
To delete one or more records, select the records to delete. To select multiple records, click on the first record then hold down the [Ctrl] Key and click to select individual records or hold down the [Shift] key to select a range of records. To delete the selected records either press the [Ctrl]+[D] key combination or choose File | Delete Selected Records from the menu. To delete all the records in the current table choose File | Delete All Records from the menu.
Inserting Records
To insert a record click on the record above which you wish to insert a record. Then either press the [Ctrl]+[I] key combination or choose File | Insert Record from the menu.
Color Coding Bookings
There are many ways bookings can be color coded. You can assign a color to the booking itself, to the resource that is booked, to the booking topic or to the person who made the booking. If you have set the "Show current time" colored bar will be shown across the schedule grid indicating the current time. If you have set the "Show current items options" then the bookings taking place right now will be colored green.
Meeting Manager Table Details
Manager has 13 tables: Archived Bookings, Bookings, Booking Topics, Categories, Contacts, Deleted Recurring Events, Equipment Bookings, Resources, Resources at a Glance, Resources, Unavailable, Status, Waiting List, Users and Security.
Archived Bookings
This table lists all the expired bookings that have been purged from the main booking table. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
ID - Integer - unique
Date - Date
StartTime - TimeStamp
EndTime - TimeStamp
Resource - String - 15
Description - String - 250
Contact - String - 50
Extension - String - 15
Freq - String - 10
LoginID - String - 30
Notes - String - 250
Attendees - String - 250
EndDate - Date
Equipment - String - 100
Catering - String - 100
Status - String - 1
Color - String - 1
Attendance - Integer
Bookings
This table lists all the active bookings. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
ID - AutoInc - unique
Date - Date
StartTime - TimeStamp
EndTime - TimeStamp
Resource - String - 15
Description - String - 250
Contact - String - 50
Extension - String - 15
Freq - String - 10
LoginID - String - 30
Notes - String - 250
Attendees - String - 250
EndDate - Date
Equipment - String - 100
Catering - String - 100
Status - String - 1
Color - String - 1
Attendance - Integer
The Resource field links to the Resource field in the Resources table. The Status field links to the Status field in the Status table. The color field can have the following values:
B - Blue
A - Aqua
D - DkGray
G - Green
L - LtGray
R - Red
F - Fuchsia
M - Maroon
N - Navy
O - Olive
P - Purple
S - Silver
T - Teal
The Freq field can have the following values:
s - single event.
d1 - every weekday.
d - every day.
wx - every x weeks.
mdx - every x months.
mx-y-z - the xth y of every z months. x can be first (0), second (1), third (2), fourth (3) or last (4). y corresponds to the weekday (Sunday is 1, Monday is 2...Saturday is 7).
Booking Status
This table lists booking status codes that will show up in the booking status pull-down list in the Add Booking screen. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
Status - String - 1 - unique
Description - String - 15
Booking Topics
This table lists all the booking topics that will show up in the booking topic pull-down list for the Add Meeting screen.
Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
Topic - String - 250 - unique
Color - String - 1
The color field can have the following values:
B - Blue
A - Aqua
D - DkGray
G - Green
L - LtGray
R - Red
F - Fuchsia
M - Maroon
N - Navy
O - Olive
P - Purple
S - Silver
T - Teal
Categories
This table lists all the resource categories. The names listed in this table will show up in the Category pull-down list on the main scheduler screen. When a category from this table is chosen from this pull-down list, only the bookings of resources belonging to this category will be shown.
Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
Category - String - 15 - unique
Description - String - 20
The Category field links to the Category field in the Resources table.
Contacts
This table lists all the default booking contacts. The names listed in this table will show up in the Contact pull-down list in the Add Booking screen. When the Contact field in the Add Booking screen is double clicked, the contact's e-mail address will be queried from this table in order to e-mail the booking contact.
The e-mail addresses from this table will show up in the Attendees pop-up in the Add Booking screen.
Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
Name - String - 25 - unique
Extension - String - 25
EMail - String - 40
LoginID - String - 30
Phone - String - 15
Address1 - String - 20
Address2 - String - 20
Deleted Recurring Events
This table lists all the individually deleted bookings from a recurring event. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
ID - Integer - unique
RecurDate - Date
The ID fields link to the corresponding ID field in the Bookings table. The RecurDate field indicates which day in the recurring event was deleted.
Equipment Bookings
This table lists all the equipment that is booked to other resources. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
BookingID - Integer - unique
Resource - String - 15
The BookingID fields link to the corresponding ID field in the Bookings table.
Resources
This table lists all the bookable resources. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
Resource - String - 15 - unique
Description - String - 50
Capacity - Integer
Security - String - 1
Equipment - String - 250
Cost - Currency
Category - String - 15
EmailContacts - String - 100
Color - String - 1
DefaultContact - String - 25
DefaultTopic - String - 15
Picture - Blob
Active - Boolean
The Resource field links to the Resource field in the Bookings table. The Category field links to the Category field in the Categories table. The Equipment field contains a list of equipment normally found in this room. Separate each piece of equipment with a comma.
If a resource is itself a piece of equipment, you must set the Category field to "Equipment". Only resources flagged as "Equipment" will show up in the Equipment pop-up selector in the Add Booking screen.
The color field can have the following values:
B - Blue
A - Aqua
D - DkGray
G - Green
L - LtGray
R - Red
F - Fuchsia
M - Maroon
N - Navy
O - Olive
P - Purple
S - Silver
T - Teal
The DefaultContact field is used to automatically assign a contact when the resource is booked. The DefaultContact field links to the Name field in the Contacts table. The DefaultTopic field is used to automatically assign a topic when the resource is booked. The DefaultTopic field links to the Topic field in the Topics table. The Picture field stores a JPEG image of the resource. The Active field indicates whether this resource can be booked and have its schedule visible.
Resources at a Glance
This table lists all the resources that will appear when the Resources-At-A-Glance view is chosen. It contains only one field: Topic - Resource - 15. This field links to the Resource field in the Resources table.
Resources Unavailable
This table lists all the days and times resources are unavailable. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
Resource - String - 15
Day - Integer
TimeFrom - Time
TimeTo - Time
DateFrom - Date
DateTo - Date
The Day field indicates the day the resource is not available. Sunday is 1, Monday is 2, ... and Saturday is 7. To make a resources unavailable all day long just enter a value for the Day field and leave the From and To fields blank. To make a resource unavailable for a time period every day, leave the Day field blank and enter values for the TimeFrom and TimeTo fields. To make a resources unavailable for a range of days, leave the Day, TimeFrom and TimeTo fields blank and enter date values in the DateFrom and DateTo fields.
Security
This table keeps track of all the user names and passwords used for the security features. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
LoginID - String - 30 - unique
Password - String 10
Level - String - 1
Color - String - 1
The Level field indicates which security level the user has. The Level field can be A for administrator, S for superuser and U or blank for user. See also: Security.
The color field can have the following values:
B - Blue
A - Aqua
D - DkGray
G - Green
L - LtGray
R - Red
F - Fuchsia
M - Maroon
N - Navy
O - Olive
P - Purple
S - Silver
T - Teal
Users
This table lists all the users of the software. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
LoginID - String - 30 - unique
LastIn - TimeStamp
LastOut - TimeStamp
Waiting List
This table lists all the waiting list appointments. Here are the field sizes and descriptions:
RequestDate - Date
StartTime - TimeStamp
EndTime - TimeStamp
TimeLength - Float
Description - String - 250
Contact - String - 25
Resource - String - 15
The TimeLength field is the time in hours of the appointment. e.g. for 45 minutes you would enter 0.75 in this field. The Resource field links to the Resource field in the Resources table. The Contact field links to the Name field in the Contacts table.
Viewing SQL Queries
It is possible to view the results of simple SQL statements stored in external text files. SQL stands for Structured Query Language; it is a way to communicate with databases using English-like commands.
To create a new SQL file either create one using any text editor or choose File | New SQL File from the menu. Save the SQL file to a folder, usually the Meeting Manager Data folder.
To open a previously saved SQL file choose File | Open SQL File from the menu. A file select dialog will pop up allowing you to choose a SQL file. After selecting a file, you should see the results of the query in the data grid.
Note that currently only simple SQL Select queries are supported. Here is an example:
SELECT [Resource] AS Resource, [StartTime] AS StartTime, [EndTime] AS EndTime
FROM Bookings
WHERE [Resource] = "1A" And [StartTime] Between "2004-03-09" And "2004-04-03"
ORDER BY StartTime
This query shows all bookings, sorted by StartTime for the resource "1A" between March 09 and April 03.
Note that when using the Order By and Group By clauses you must assign a name to the grouped by fields using the As token. Naming fields in this ways also gives the data grid columns a descriptive name.
For more information on SQL, consult a good introductory database textbook. There is also some documentation on the supported SQL calls in the database engine manual. To read this manual choose Help | DB Engine Manual from the Data Manager menu.
Avoiding Database Corruption
Note that corruption is very unlikely to occur in the client/server and web-based versions of Meeting Manager.
Meeting Manager Standard uses a local database to store its data. Unfortunately, local databases are susceptible to corruption if the computer is shut down abnormally. Corruption occurs while the program is in the middle of writing to the database and the program is prevented from completing the write. For this reason, you should always perform proper shutdowns. You should never shut off the computer or reset it while Windows is still running. Perform a proper shutdown by choosing Shut Down and either Restart or Shutdown from the start menu. If your system starts to act abnormally, try to exit Meeting Manager first and then perform a proper shutdown.
If your system appears frozen first try hitting the Ctrl + Alt + Delete key combination. This should bring up a task list. You may be able to end the task that is no longer responding. Sometimes the system will crash so hard that you cannot even bring up the task list. If this happens reset the machine and repair any corrupted Meeting Manager tables if necessary.
Note that it would be extremely rare for tables to become corrupted when using Meeting Manager C/S, Meeting Manager Enterprise or Meeting Manager Web.
See Also: Re-indexing Tables
Re-indexing Tables
Over time, one of your tables may become corrupted. This is not as bad as it sounds. When a table becomes corrupted, it just means that it requires re-indexing before it can be properly used again. See the section Avoiding Database Corruption to learn more about table corruption. Usually when a table requires re-indexing you will see an error message such as:
DBISAM Engine Error #9217 Error reading From Data File I:\MeetingManager\data\Bookings.dat
Re-indexing the table is simple. Just select the affected table in the data selector and then choose File | Re-index Table from the Data Manager menu. It does no harm to re-index a non-corrupt table.
DBSys
If you are unable to open the application to do a re-index you can get the DBSys utility. DBSys is a utility from Elevate Software, the makers of the database engine used in Meeting Manager. Use this program to re-index the affected table.
Last Resort
If after trying all these solutions you still have problems, you can zip up the problem data files and e-mail them to CyberMatrix support.
Archiving Old Bookings
After a time, the Meeting Manager program will have accumulated many old one-time meetings that are no longer useful to retain. Using the Archive Inactive Bookings function will delete these old meetings from Meeting Manager and save them in the Archive table. Occasional archiving in this manner will help to keep the Meeting Manager program running at peak efficiency.
To archive your old booking select Records | Archive Inactive Bookings from the Data Manager menu. The following dialog will appear:
You are able to choose the date range of the bookings to be archived. The date range defaults to include all inactive bookings from the last year. To archive inactive bookings within the date range press OK.
Backing up Data
To manually create a backup of your data choose Records | Backup Data from the menu in the Data Manager screen. Running this function will create a zip file in the Data\Backup folder. The zip file will have a name consisting of the current date and time the archive was completed. If you ever want to restore the data later you will need an unzip program such as WinZip. Alternatively you can use the restore feature. See also: Restoring Data
Restoring data
To restore previously archived data choose Records | Restore Data from the Data Manager menu. A file select dialog will pop up allowing you to choose the archive you would like to restore.
Importing and Exporting CSV Data
Importing Data
Meeting Manager can import data in the form of comma-separated CSV files. If you have existing data from another application, this data can be imported into Meeting Manager provided it is saved in the right format. CSV files used for importing must follow the exact same format as the table into which they will be imported. That is, if you look at a table in the detail view of the Data Manager you will notice the order of the fields in the table. This is the same order that your CSV file must be in. Most spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel allow you to easily load in CSV file and move columns around.
See the section Meeting Manager Tables for more details on field types and sizes.
To import a CSV file first select the table you want to import into from the Data Manager. Then choose File | Import From CSV from the Data Manager menu. A file select dialog will allow you to select the CSV file to import.
Exporting Data
Data can also be exported in CSV file format from Meeting Manager. This data can be imported into other applications that can handle CSV imports.
To export a CSV file first select the table to export from the Data Manager. Then choose File | Export To CSV from the menu. A file select dialog will allow you to select the CSV file to export.
Import Contacts from Outlook
Contacts from Microsoft Outlook can be imported into the Meeting Manager Contacts table. To import Outlook contacts choose FIle | Import Contacts from Outlook from the Data Manager menu. This import will only retrieve new contacts, that is contacts whose name is not already in the Contacts table. If you want these contacts updated from Outlook you will have to delete the contacts you want to update from the Contacts table. Note that the business contact information will take precedence. If there is no business contact information the home information will be used.