Customize Fields: Auto Date

An auto date feature can be added to any date field. With this feature active, the date will automatically be inserted in the date field whenever a record is modified.

If you do not already have a date field that you want to use for this, add a new field to your database first, selecting American Date or European Date as the field type. For instructions, see Add a Field. If you have just added a date field and the Properties dialog is still open with the Field tab active, you can skip to number 3 in the instructions below.

To enable the Auto Date feature in a date field:

1	Click File, Properties to open the Properties dialog.

2	Click the Fields tab at the top left of the dialog.

3	Click the Auto Date button. The Auto Dating of Records dialog will open.

4	Complete the information in this dialog as follows:

•	The Enable Auto Dating of Records check box should be checked if you want to enable this feature. Uncheck this box if you want to disable this feature.

•	All of the date fields in the database will be shown in the table in the middle of the dialog. In the example above, there are two date fields: DA (Date modified) and DP (Date of purchase). Click to highlight the date field that you want to use for auto dating.

•	Select one of the two radio buttons to indicate whether you want to save only the date of the last edit, or save the dates of all edits.

•	The format of the automatic date can be altered by choosing to add leading zeros to days or months less than 10, and by using the drop-down list to choose the punctuation mark that will separate day-month-year.

When all of the above selections have been made, click OK