Using Text Fields

A text field is an area within a window where text can be typed, pasted and/or displayed. For example, in the following field, the text "Philippa" has been entered:

Field colour

If (as in the example above) the area is coloured white, it means you can click in the field and edit the text.

If however the area is the same colour as the background, it means the data is for display only, and you cannot edit it. In the example below, the patient's age (circled) has been set by the system, using the patient's birth date:

To enter information in a text field

1. Click in the field with the mouse (or move to the field using the key).

   The cursor will appear in the field to show it is active, like this:

   

   or if there is already text in the field, it might be highlighted like this:

   

2. Use the keyboard to enter or edit the text by typing in the appropriate text, or use to paste in text that has been copied to the Windows clipboard.

   TIP: If the text in the field is highlighted (as in the example above), any typing or pasting will replace it. If this is not what you want to happen, first click in the field to remove the highlighting before youtype or paste. Alternatively, you can edit text within a field or replace it.

To edit text within a field using a mouse

1. Click in the field at the beginning of the text to be changed.
2. While holding down the left mouse button, drag the mouse pointer across the text to be edited and then release the mouse button. The text will be highlighted to show it is selected, as shown below:

   

3. Type the new text using the keyboard, thereby replacing the selected text.

   

To edit text within a field using a keyboard

1. Click in the field, at the beginning of the text to be changed.
2. While holding down the key, use the key to highlight the text to be edited.

You can delete the highlighted text by pressing the key, key, spacebar, or simply by typing.

Field Validation:

EXACT automatically checks text as you type, ensuring that the characters are acceptable and that the information is valid. For example, is the date entered a real date? February 30th would fail the date validation rules, and a time of 11:78 would fail the time validation rules.

Of course, some "free text" fields allow almost any characters and are therefore not validated as a time, date or numeric field would be.

Generally, if you enter invalid information in a field, you will not be able to enter information in any other field, and cannot save the record until the error is corrected. In many instances, an error message or a list of valid options is displayed.