[Update Sept. 16, 2013: See this note on a potentially serious iOS 7 bug with FileMaker Go]

One of the reasons that I started this blog is to share the actual files and workflows that I use from project to project. In that sprit I have made available an unlocked version of the database originally developed for the PARP:PS project. You can download the database here (see licensing below and in the ReadMe file that comes with the database). It is a FileMaker 12 database. The database makes heavy use of recently introduced features such as script triggers, conditional formatting, and charts. You can download a demo of FileMaker 12 from FileMaker if you don’t have a copy of the software. The older database, useable in FileMaker 11, is now here.

There are several features of this database, many of which I have not explored on this blog before. These include:

  • specific layouts for iPad use
  • support for syncing from multiple iPads
  • navigation aids to help move between non-contiguous records
  • visual data validation aids
  • ability to see list data and single record data on the same layout
  • an audit trail to track edits to all fields in the database
  • organize and view data by SU, phase, trench
  • support for pottery, finds, faunal, and carbon records (floral coming)
  • prompts for missing data
  • color aids for workflows
  • ability to hide image records without deleting them

Like most excavation databases this one reflects the particular workflow and research goals of the PARP:PS project. Like most excavation databases, it should also be considered unfinished. I hope to focus more on the finds tables this year in preparation for the next summer’s excavation season.

Thanks to Steven Ellis, director of the PARP:PS project, for allowing this database to be made public.

Creative Commons License
PARPPS Database by John Wallrodt is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Advertisement