If you find that you're typing the same information into one of the data entry fields on the Sample Info. window for test after test, you can use the program's Selection List feature to turn the field into a popup list of selections that can be inserted into the field with a simple mouse click. There are a couple of cases where this feature can be especially useful:
- You can set up a list of standard entries for fields such as "Tested By", "Checked By", etc. so that you can select -- with a single mouse click -- from a list of personnel instead of typing in the same names over and over for every test you enter.
- Selection Lists can also be used to easily insert boilerplate text into, for example, the testing remarks field. This can be very handy if the same basic text is always typed into a particular data entry field.
To create a selection list for a field:
Right-click on the field and select Make a Selection List. This shows an empty selection list box that you'll need to fill with selection entries (such as personnel names, or your test remarks boilerplate text):
Empty Selection List for "Tested by"
Next, right-click within the empty selection list and select Edit, Delete and Add Entries. When you've done this LabSuite will show the Selection List Editor dialog:
Selection List Editor
(The editor box above has already been filled in with a number of testing personnel names.)
Each selection that you want to appear is typed on a separate line: Type a selection, then follow by pressing the Enter key (this will show up as a ¶ sign at the end of the entry). (You can delete entries by simply deleting the line of text that defines the entry, including the ¶ sign at the end of the line.) When you're finished, click OK to save the list.
To use a selection list
Once you've created a selection list for a given data entry field, that list will automatically appear when you click in the data entry field, at which point you can either click on one of the items in the list (which will automatically fill in your data entry field with that item), or manually type data into your field.
The figure below shows a sample "Tested by" selection list:
Sample Selection List
To delete a data entry field's selection list:
Right-click on the data entry field then select Delete the Selection List. This action can be undone: You can make your selection list reappear by right-clicking within the data entry field and selecting Make a selection list again (the program will have preserved your original selection list entries).