|
 |
|
|
Sharing data created in Hearing Office Lite with other database applications is quite easy. The first thing you will need to do is build the same fields (and field types!) in the other database application you will be using. This will be easier if you print out your field definitions before attempting to reconstruct your database elsewhere. You can do this from the Print dialogue box.
Once you have created all of the fields necessary to hold the data which is currently stored in Hearing Office Lite, you are ready to share the data. If you are only sharing some of your records, you should begin by finding the set of records which you’d like to share. Next you should choose Export from the file menu and type in the name of the data file which you are about to generate. You will also want to specify the File Type of the data file. The default is Tab-Separated Text, which is the most widely recognized file format. You ought to check the manual of the application which you will be bringing the data into for the file format which is best for your situation. Besides Tab-Separated Text, Hearing Office Lite can also export Comma-Separated Text, SYLK, DBF, which is the dBASE III file format, DIF, WKS, BASIC and Merge File. After choosing the File Format which is right for you, select the New button. You will then get a list of all the fields in your database except picture and summary fields, which will be dimmed. This is the dialogue box where you should specify which fields you will be exporting and the order in which you’d like to export them. If you need to rearrange the fields, start at the top and work your way down. If you would like to retain the formatting of the field that you have chosen for the layout you are exporting from, select the “Format output using current layout” button. For example, this will put dollar signs in front of the numbers if you have formatted them as currency. This may not be desirable in many instances; the dollar signs may get interpreted as text and throw off the field type in the other application, so leaving the default selection here would be the safest thing to do.
After exporting the database from Hearing Office Lite, all you need to do is import the data into the application that will be accepting it.
If you are utilizing repeating fields in Hearing Office Lite, you will probably want to separate them out before attempting to import the Hearing Office Lite data into another database application. To do this, you should make a clone of the existing database. The clone option is located in the “Save A Copy As” dialogue box under the File pull-down menu. Next you should find the set of records that you will be exporting. Then open the clone and choose Import from the File pull-down menu. Select the original file and choose the Open command. This will bring you to a dialogue box which will compare the number of fields in both Hearing Office Lite databases. Select the “Splitting repeating fields into separate records” button and click OK. This will generate a new record for each repeating field that has a value. You should then export the data from the clone to bring to another database application.
I am only going to recommend importing data from a previous database into the Patient Records database. If you have a billing file from another program, I would recommend that you use that database to manage all existing accounts until their balance is 0. Enter all new invoices into the Hearing Office Lite database.
To import patient names, address, and phone numbers follow the following steps
1. If you're replacing records, make a backup copy of the file you're importing into.2. Open the Hearing Office Lite file you want to import records into.
If you're replacing records in the file, use Find, Omit, or Omit Multiple to browse the records you want to replace. Sort the records in the same order as records in the file you want to import.
3. In Browse mode, choose Import/Export from the File menu, and then choose Import Records.
4. In the Open File dialog box, select the name of the file to import, and then click Open.
For Files of type, choose a file type to narrow the choices, or choose All Available to see all the files you can import.
5. In the Import Field Mapping dialog box, match the fields you want to import and click the Import button.
- · Add new records copies all records to the end of the file you're importing into.
- · Replace data in current found set replaces records in the file you're importing into.
If you delete the found set after using the Replace data in current found set option, you delete your original found set (which might be all your data).
If you select the Replace data in current found set option, be sure your records are correct before discarding the backup copy of the file.
6. Check each arrow and field name to be sure the correct data moves into the correct fields.
7. If you're importing data from a Hearing Office Lite file with repeating fields and selected the Add new records option, choose an option for repeating fields in the dialog box that appears, and then click OK.
After importing, check the data in the found set. Update lookups or use Replace to add data to the entire found set, if needed.
To stop importing: Press Esc.
To delete the records already imported: Choose Delete All from the Mode menu.