Change Button versus CHANGE Command
Aeries Query provides two methods to quickly change data in a table, the Change button and the Change command. The idea behind the Query Change button is first running a LIST query using Aeries query tool, and by a click of a button, turning the resulting records into a fully editable grid that can bypass all business rules, except security settings. Considering the power of this tool, it should be used carefully. With the ability to easily navigate each cell using the keyboard and quickly typing values, dates, or codes, you can easily change many records with many fields from many tables in no time. The CHANGE command is a query statement that automatically writes a specified value into a field for ALL records selected.
Change Command
Both the Client Version and the Web Version will display Confirmation messages prior to executing the CHANGE command. Read the confirmation message carefully and take note of the number of records that will be updated. Click on the OK button to execute the CHANGE query.
NOTE: Be sure you have a fresh backup before running any CHANGE COMMAND.
Change Button
Major changes can be made to student data by using the Change button in Aeries Query. Type a LIST query statement in the query text box and click on the RUN button. For example, the query below is searching for all students that have Next School code set to 0. Close the Query Results window to return to the query form, then click the Change button.
Note: The Change button is only available to users with Mass Update permission to the Query Change Command security area.
The Query Change form will display in a separate tab with the fields selected in the query. Data can be changed within certain fields. For example, the Student ID, First and Last Name fields cannot be changed. Also, if the user does not have Update permission to the table or to the field (for tables that support field-level security), the field will not be editable. Editable fields can also be locked to change the fields to display only and prevent the Tab key from stopping in that field.
NOTE: Be VERY careful when using the Query Change form. Changes are saved immediately to the database, and changes may bypass normal Aeries business logic. For example, changing a student's address using this form will NOT update the Address History (ADH) table.
Click the lock icon in the field headings to lock a field. The field will be greyed out, and the Tab key will not stop in that field. For example, the Grade and Res Schl fields will be used for verification only, so the Tab will not stop within these fields.
Enter a change to the desired field and press the Tab key. The change will be saved immediately. After all changes are complete, close the Query Change form.
Note: You can also navigate the Query Change form using the mouse, the Enter key, or the Up, Down, Left, and Right arrows on the keyboard.
Change Button with Multiple Tables
When multiple tables are included in a query, the Query Change form allows updating fields in all the included tables (based on permissions). To lock all the fields from a table, click the lock icon next to the table name in the upper left. The icon will change to the "locked" icon, and the orange background will turn grey. This is the equivalent of clicking the lock icon on every included field from this table. Click the lock icon again to unlock all the fields from this table. In the example below, all fields from the STU table have been locked, so the Tab key will not stop in those fields.
Note: When multiple tables are used, only related records that exist in all included tables will be displayed on the Query Change Form
Dropdown Fields in Query Change
If choices are provided in a dropdown field displayed by Query Change, those items are from the COD table. Additionally, if values exist for a particular field in COD, Query Change will only allow those values to be entered.
For example, here are dropdown values for Home (Reporting) Language:
And the matching values from the Code table:
In this example, if STU.HL were used in Query Change, only those languages from COD would be available for selection from the dropdown.
To add, change, or delete items in those dropdowns, see the documentation on how to Update Code Table. Be aware that the values in the Code table are used in many different forms and are district-wide, so be careful when changing them.