Using Online Help for iData 3

Welcome to iData 3, the flexible, multi-use data management program! iData lets you collect and manage all kinds of written information.

Help Topics

Help topics are divided into three sections, each further divided into chapters.

Section 1 - Introductory Help Topics includes links to three Help pages, in addition to this one:

Tutorial (Getting Started With iData 3) presents basic information about how iData 3 works. iData 3 is a powerful program. As such, it is a fairly complex program. The Tutorial is designed to make it (relatively) easy to learn iData 3's most basic features.

License Agreement and Warranty contains the standard legalese. It exists mainly to remind all the honest folks that there are two people who've put a lot of time into creating and improving iData 3, and we'd like to earn something from the effort. With a single product in a relatively small market, every sale counts, and the return has to justify the effort required to continue to improve the product (and to keep it working with new versions of the Mac OS). Please don't help others take it without paying for it.

New Features in iData 3 is designed for those who have been using earlier versions of the product. It summarizes the main changes between version 2.1 and version 3.0. Those features that are complex enough to require more detailed descriptions are included in the other Help topics described below.

Section 2 - General Help Topics covers basic information on how iData works and how to set it up. It is designed to make it easy for you to get the most out of iData, and to get it set up to match your personal working style. We strongly recommend that you read this section before you begin using iData 3. Even if you are an experienced user, you may find a little new, useful information there.

Section 2 covers the following topics:

   Files and File Locations -- Where your iData files are located, and why

    Entering iData 3 Serial Numbers -- What to do when iData asks for your serial number

    The Datafile Window -- The basic elements of the datafile window

    Toolbar Navigation Buttons -- What the toolbar buttons do, and how to customize the toolbar

   
    Modifier Keys for Toolbar Buttons -- How to change what toolbar buttons do by holding down various keys

    Changing Commands Keys -- How to use System Preferences to change key commands in iData

    iData 3 Services -- Setting up iData 3 to Work With the Services Menu

Section 3 - Functional Help Topics is designed as a reference. It is made up of chapters that are organized around iData's menu structure, making it easy to learn how a particular menu command works. Because this section is designed as a reference, it may repeat some information that is contained in Section 1.

Chapter titles in this section include the main menu name, followed by a sub-menu name, if appropriate. While you should at least look over the chapter titles, you can put off a detailed reading of topics this section until you need to find information on a particular operation. Within iData, in many dialogs or windows, there will be a button that you can click to take you to the appropriate Help page for that function.

Chapters in this section are arranged in approximately the same order as the menus themselves. Menu items that are common to most Macintosh applications, such as Cut, Copy, and Paste, are not included.