In a data source in the application definition you specify so-called methods. Methods can be divided conceptually into access points and functionality switches:

•Access points are methods that refer to indexes defined in the database setup, and offer the user the possibility to search a particular index in the current database for a keyword or part thereof very quickly. Access points are listed on the Standard tab of the Search <data source> window in a running Collections application so that the user can search for e.g. an author, an object, a record number, etc., after the user has chosen a data source in the Select data source window.
•Functionality switches do not appear in the access points list, but offer (or hide) software functionality to the user. To include a functionality switch in the methods list for a data source, means offering that functionality to the user when he or she selects this data source in the application. The functionality you can offer this way, or leave out, consists of creating new records, deleting, advanced searching, exporting and importing, printing, deriving, or working with pointer files. If you leave out functionality, the corresponding buttons or options in Collections will not be present.

Note that every method that you add to a data source can be excluded (hidden) to certain users by associating role access rights with the concerning method.

See also

Accessing the application setup

Managing application objects

Method properties

Method access rights

Screen references for methods