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Z3 Schema Development

The Z3 Schema Editor has been released.

Please download the application at http://lter.limnology.wisc.edu/software2/z3-schema-editor/. If Z3 is already installed then all the prerequisites are there and you don't have to be an administrator.

If Internet Explorer is not your default browser, save yourself some time by going to Start > Run and entering:
iexplore http://lter.limnology.wisc.edu/software2/z3-schema-editor/Z3SchemaEditor.application

Some caveats:

  • Yes, every Workspace file contains a Schema inside of it, and the Z3 Schema Editor will let you Open a Workspace file and edit its inner schema. However, doing this may break your Workspace. In particular, you cannot add/edit/delete any countable or container levels or fields, or delete anything. (If all you want to do is enable counting at the Genus level, for example, that is fine.)
  • Once you have created your Schema, the way to add Report Types and Species Lists is to create a New Workspace based on your schema, add Report Types, import Species, and then change the extension on your Workspace file to z3s. It now acts as a Schema, but if you have added any Species Lists, those data tables will cause errors if you break the restrictions above.
  • The Field definitions are used directly to define SQL fields. Errors in syntax will not be detected until you try to create a New Workspace based on your schema.
  • Enclose the "Default" field in single quotes like 'My Default Value'. For numeric fields, you don't need quotes.
  • When using a nvarchar field (a text field), use the small text box following the type to specify a maximum length for the field.
  • Properties only show up in the Schema Editor. Any properties starting with SYS_ cannot be created, edited, or deleted.

Defining Measurement Types:

  • Displayed: Should it show up in the drop-down box.
  • Can be Measured: If not checked, users will get an error when doing multi-point measurements (i.e. "You can't Measure a Count!")
  • Can be Counted: If not checked, users can't count (single-click)... if this means that another Measurement Type should be Counted instead, enter that under Count. (This is how single-clicking a Length adds a Count)
  • Increments: For Countable types, should clicking more than once just increment the previously added value? For Measurable types, should measuring again create a new measurement in the same individual?
  • Auto Record a Count: If you count/measure this, should a count of a different type be recorded? If so, you also have to specify the Auto Type.
  • When specifying Auto Type and Count type, you need to specify 0 for none, or the ID of another valid Measurement Type. The ID is displayed in the lower-left corner of the editing form.
  • Is Default: Whether this one should be the first one selected by default in the application.
  • Hotkey: The numeric Hotkey value. You can find this out in Z3 when associating a Hotkey with a species.