Selector Maintenance Tab

The Selector Maintenance Tab is the tool to use for performing maintenance on the HomeStuff data file. The selection editor consists of a selection items list and a set of radio buttons that let you select the group of selections you wish to edit or remove. This feature is quite useful for making corrections to selection items that may have been incorrectly entered while adding new personal inventory items. Use this feature for correcting capitalization or typing errors.

The set of radio buttons in the "Categories" group allow you to select an item type and to set its categorization to something different. For example, if after having decided that your paperbacks that were entered as a "Generic Item" should be categorized as publications, you would go to the Selector Maintenance tab, select Item Types then, paperbacks from the list of item types and then set the Publication button. You would save the change by using the Save Changes button.

The Selector Maintenance tab allows you to manipulate groups of personal inventory items in one operation. You can merge items that have been entered for two different rooms into one room or, you can move items from one location into another.

You can also remove a selection item and <Unassigned> a group of items with the effect of disassociating them with any selector. For example, by removing a selector and looking at the resulting item list, you will notice that all the items associated with the removed selector have become <Unassigned>. This action allows you to disconnect and "toss" items belonging to one group into several other groups of items. This feature is useful when you split your belongings from one location into two other separate locations (home into RV and Storage for example).

Using the main user interface to change and organize your personal inventory items will, over time, cause certain selection items to be orphaned. These orphans are selection items that are not associated with any personal inventory item. To help you weed out and kill orphaned selection items, HomeStuff provides you with the Clean Up Selectors button that will be enabled when there are orphans in the list of selection items. Clicking on this button will delete the orphans.

Remember: NO CHANGE will be made if you DO NOT click on the Save Changes button. This is a QUIET safety feature that was built into the Selectors Maintenance tab. There are no dialogues, no bells and warnings. You can change things at will but they are not finalized until you use this button.

Example 1: Typo ("Lugage" should be "Luggage") on one selection item and missing capitalization on another ("junk" should be "Junk")

• Select Item Types from the Selectors radio button group
• Locate and click on "Lugage" using the selection items list
• The word "Lugage" will appear in the edit field below the selection items list, next to the OK button
• Change the word "Lugage" to "Luggage" using the edit field
• Click on the OK button - the corrected word will appear in the selection items list
• Notice the Save Changes button will be enabled
• Locate and click on "junk" using the selection items list
• The word "junk" will appear in the edit field
• Change the word "junk" to "Junk"
• Click on the OK button - the corrected word will appear in the selection items list
• Click on the Save Changes button

You have completed two changes in the Item Types selector. Note that if you follow this example again without using the Save Changes button, then clicked on the Locations radio button and then returned to the Item Types list, you would have lost your changes.

Example 2: Merging items located in the 3rd bedroom with items found in the 2nd bedroom after having moved from a 3 bedroom home into a 2 bedroom home

Assuming the two locations are present in the Locations selector:

• Select the Rooms radio button - Notice the Categories group of radio buttons becomes disabled
• Locate and click on "3rd Bedroom" using the selection items list
• The words "3rd Bedroom" will appear in the edit field
• Change the word "3rd" to "2nd" using the edit field
• Click the GO button
• HomeStuff will prompt you with an "Are you sure you want to merge n item?"
• Click Yes

When completed, the "3rd Bedroom" selection item is gone and that a quick review will reveal that all the items associated with the 3rd Bedroom can now be found in the 2nd Bedroom. Note that you will not need to click on the "Save Changes" button.