CHESS FAQ
This FAQ file will be updated as new issues are raised. If you have a question about the MetaData Administrator, email them to Chuck Thomas at crt@nchems.org and they will be answered individually before posting on this page.
Here are several questions and answers as of February 2004
Q1. Where is the documentation for the MetaData Administrator application?
A1. Click on the Documentation button at the top of the window to bring up a PDF file of detailed documentation. If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader®, download it from www.adobe.com and install it on your computer. This PDF file (DD2_Documentation.pdf) is contained in the Documentation folder on the distribution CD, along with the DD2_Installation_Instructions.pdf
Q2. How do I add a new Administrator or delete an old one?
A2. Open the dd2.mdb database with Microsoft Access®. Select Forms under Objects and highlight Logins to open the LOGINS FORM. To add a new Administrator, select Insert & New Record on the Access menu, then enter a newadmin_username, admin_password, and admin_name. To delete an old Administrator, select Edit & Delete Record on the Access menu. When you close the LOGINS FORM the Logins table will be saved.
Q3. How do I change the password for an Administrator.
A3. Open the dd2.mdb database with Microsoft Access®. Select Forms under Objects; highlight Logins to open the LOGINS FORM. Select the appropriate entry and make the changes. Remember that admin_password is case sensitive! When you close Access the Logins table will be saved.
Q4. How do I add a new Data Element?
A4. Login as an Administrator, then select a data element in an existing group. Click on the Add button and a new data element will appear with that group code and a new number. At this point the number can be changed to any number not already taken, and the data can be entered, followed by a click on the Update button.
Q5. How do I add a new group code beyond the ALM, CRS, FAC, FIN, HRS, & STU groups?
A5. Microsoft Access® is required to add a new group code to the Hierarchy table, then a first data element must also be added to the database using Access. To accomplish this, first open the dd2.mdb database with Microsoft Access®. Select Forms under Objects; highlight Hierarchy to open the HIERARCHY FORM. To add the new group code select Insert & New Record on the Access menu, then enter a new Category Name, and Abbreviation. When you close the HIERARCHY FORM the Hierarchy table will be saved. Next select Forms under Objects and highlight Elements to open the DATA ELEMENT FORM. Add a Data Element by selecting Insert & New Record on the Access menu, then enter the data. When you close the DATA ELEMENT FORM the Elements Table will be saved. This first data element may be modified, or additional data elements may be added with the MetaData Administrator after login as an Administrator.
Q6. How do I change the color scheme of the web interface to my school colors?
A6. There are two colors on the web interface, dark and light. They can be changed either on the web interface or with Microsoft Access®. When in Administrator mode on the web interface, select Options and replace the HTML Color Numbers. A few primary colors may be selected using the Color Choice buttons on the Options screen after login as Administrator. Microsoft Access® may also be used by opening the dd2.mdb database, selecting Forms under Objects and highlighting the Options table. If you do not know the HTML Color Numbers for your school colors, charts may be found on one of the following web sites:
http://www.ctyme.com/colors.htm or http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_colornames.asp.
Q7. How can I change the CHESS logos to my school logos?
A7 The filenames for the two logos are included on the Options menu and can be replaced with the filenames for local logos following the same proceduresas for changing the color scheme. Care should be taken to ensure that the size of the replacement logos fit on the web interface pages. The top_logo.gif is 392 x 46 pixels and the chess_logo.gif is 300 x 85 pixels.
Q8. How do I add a new Activity, edit an existing Activity, or delete and Activity in the Taxonomy?
A8 Login as an Administrator, then click on the Taxonomy button. Click on the Add button in the panel on the left of the screen and a window will come up for entering a new activity. It is important to assign a number to the new activity that will place it in the general hierarchy of the Taxonomy. Highlighting an existing Activity in the left panel will activate a separate window with buttons to Edit or Delete an Activity.
Q9. How do I print reports from the Data Dictionary or the Taxonomy.
A9. Open the dd2.mdb file with Access, then highlight Reports to see several pre-formatted reports. Additional reports may be created using either the “Create report in Design view” or “Create report by using wizard” features of Access.