This appendix describes ways to enter dates and times quickly.

 

Normally BlueChromis automatically fills in the date and time when you create a new Register entry, but there are times when you need to makes changes, or key new entries. Here are some ways to do it quickly.

 

 

Keyboard Spinner

 

Dates and times can be easily changed using the Keyboard Spinner. Simply press the plus (+) or minus (-) keys to increment or decrement the date by one day, or the time by one interval. Holding down a Spinner key down will spin the values very fast. See Keyboard Spinner.

 

 

Date Picker

 

Upon entering a Date cell, an Option button is displayed. Click the Option button, or press ALT+DOWN from the keyboard, to display the Date Picker.

 

Date Cell Selected

 

Date Picker

 

Use the Back (<) and Forward (>) buttons to change the month. Holding these buttons down for a second or two will change the months rapidly. Click on any day to select that date. The Today button will select Today's date. This is handy if you've scrolled months away from today and you want to get back to Today's date quickly.

 

See also Keyboard Shortcuts.

 

 

 

Manually Entering Dates and Times

 

There are occasions when it's necessary to enter dates and times manually. Date and Time formats are for display purposes. You're not bound by these formats during data entry. This means you can enter these in a more informal way. First, it is not necessary to type separators when entering either dates or times.

 

Entering Dates

You can use abbreviated values when entering dates, saving time and effort. The only rule is that you must use at least 2 digits each for day, month and year. If you omit the year, the current year is used.

 

Examples of entering a date using the format MTH DD YYYY, assuming the current year is 2014:

 

Entry               Date Displayed

071514     JUL 14 2014

0715       JUL 14 2014

JUL 15     JUL 14 2014

07152014   JUL 14 2014

1212       DEC 12 2014

010516     JAN 05 2016

05/12/15   MAY 12 2015

 

 

Entering Times

For quicker entry, you may enter as few digits as possible to produce a time that is meaningful. You may also enter times in both 12 hour or 24 hour formats regardless of the display format selected.

 

Examples of entering a time:

 

      12 Hour Format

Entry               Time Displayed

123          1:23 AM

123p         1:23 PM

1205        12:05 PM

1205a       12:05 AM

0005        12:05 AM

5            5:00 AM

5p           5:00 PM

1420         2:20 PM

18           6:00 PM

 

    24 Hour Format

Entry               Time Displayed

1            1:00    

13          13:00

1305        13:05

005         00:05

5            5:00

123p        13:23