Deleting Records from your Database

There are several ways to delete data from your database. You can:

• Empty an entire table in one go
• Mark individual records for deletion, but leave them in the database
• Delete individual records immediately
• Delete all records from a table when you import data into it

Empty an entire table in one go

Sometimes you may want to just get rid of all your data and start afresh. This is easy to do:

1. Make sure that all CatBase windows are closed. If a record is open in a window, CatBase won't be able to delete it
2. Choose Zap Table from the Utilities menu
3. Select the table you want to empty
4. Click the Delete Records button

All the records in the table will be deleted, and the Record Number counter set back to 0.

Mark individual records for deletion or delete immediately?

You can choose whether to mark records for deletion or delete them immediately. This is useful if you want to be able to review what's been flagged for deletion before actually removing it from the database. This is controlled via an option in the Preferences. To change it:

1. Make sure all CatBase windows are closed
2. Version 6.74 or earlier: Choose System Preferences from the Adminmenu. Version 7: Select Admin and then choose Preferences
3. Go to the Data Entry tab
4. In the Data Deletion area, choose the appropriate radio button (Delete records immediately or Mark records for deletion)
5. Note also the Row Colouring in Lists option. If this is selected, records that are marked for deletion will be highlighted in red, and records marked as Inactive will be highlighted in yellow in list views.
6. Save the Preferences

Marking records for deletion

1. Find the record or records you want to mark for deletion
2. Select the record or records you want to delete
3. Click on the trash can icon at the top of the window
4. If you have Row colouring turned on, the records marked for deletion will be highlighted in red.

When you are ready to actually delete the marked records, choose Delete Records from Database under the Admin menu.

Deleting records immediately

To delete records immediately:

1. Find the record or records you want to mark for deletion
2. Select the record or records you want to delete
3. Click on the trash can icon at the top of the window
4. The records will be deleted.

Delete all records from a table when you import data into it

You can tell CatBase to empty a table immediately before importing new data into it. To do this:

1. Create an Import Style or open an existing one
2. Set up the parameters on the first page, if it's a new Import Style (choose your import fields and map them to the incoming data)
3. Go to the Updates tab
4. Choose the first radio button: Delete all records in the table before importing data

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