## Switchboard

The switchboard provides an entrance to the database, giving users a variety of options.

The following options are found on the switchboard:

Initialise System
If the system has just been installed, it first needs to be initialised. This is necessary because many of the images that are found in the database need to be linked, or re-attached, to the database file itself. This option must also be used if the system has been moved between directories. This can take up to a few minutes.

Customise System
This option produces a form that allows users to customise many aspects of the system. Lookup tables for names of species and elements can be augmented or modified, allowing the system to be adopted for use on assemblages that are not from the British Isles or Western Europe. Likewise, pathologies, non-metrical variations, butchery categories, taphonomic alterations, and a variety of context-level recording variables can be altered to suit the assemblage and user requirements.

Record Data
Click this option to begin recording, or to continue recording an assemblage. You will then be asked to record summary information about the site your assemblage is from, or to select a site from those already recorded in the database. This option is not preferred for viewing recorded data, as it is possible to inadvertently create new tables entries while doing so. If you wish to view data, use the following option.

View Records
This option is selected if you wish to view, but not record information from an assemblage. The distinction between viewing and recording is that the former makes use of the system's lookup tables to display the full definition of each term recorded, while the latter is designed to permit data entry using abbreviations and combo boxes (drop down lists). Data entry is not possible in viewing mode.

Reports
The system has a variety of built-in reports that permit the user to view selected data from the database tables, in a style that can be readily printed or exported for further use, particularly to Microsoft Excel.

Export (Backup) and Delete Options
This option gives users the opportunity to either back-up their data to files of a simple, easily accessed format, or to remove blocks of records from the system. See the backing up and deleting page for further information.

Help
Throughout the system the user can click on the help icons, illustrated thus: . These launch the relevant page of the help file, which will indicate to the user how each aspect of the database functions. It is also possible to launch the integrated help file by pushing 'F1' at any time. In certain circumstances this will simply launch Access 2000's own help file (which can be accessed at any time by using Help | Microsoft Access Help.

Options are also given to view the credits, and to quit the York System. On slower computers this may take some time, as the database should be set to 'Compact on Close', thus reducing the size of the application each time it is closed. Although this option is recommended, it can be turned off using Tools | Options | General.