There are lots of different ways to enter data into Smartabase. The most common process used by an athlete, soldier, student or other non-professional user is to open a blank form, fill it out with their own information and save it. This creates a record for that form. If you need to, you can come back to a record you saved earlier and add or update the information in it. You can enter data into event forms and profile forms with Smartabase Online.
This article covers the following topics:
Entering data into an event form
Choosing a person and a form
Depending on how your Smartabase site is set up and which system permissions are part of your role, your data entry process for an event form might start from one of several places:
- The Enter data button on your home page.
- The Enter data option in a menu on the navigation bar.
- The calendar, which might be a home page button or an item on your navigation bar depending on how your site is set up.
- The sidebar, which appears on the left side of your screen (or on the right, if you’re using Smartabase in a language that’s written from right-to-left)
Normally, you would select a person and then choose a form to fill out. If you’ve selected someone via the calendar, you’ll see the same form selection screen that appears when you use the Enter data button or option. If you’ve selected someone from the sidebar, you can also choose the form from the sidebar.
On the form selection page, event forms that you can create new records for are grouped by category. There’s a search field where you can type in the name of the form you’re looking for. Depending on how your site is configured, your form selection page may appear with either the classic or modern interface.
- Classic interface: your favorite events are listed at the top of the page. Beneath that, the Show | Hide buttons toggle a list view of the forms you have access to. If you just want to see the grid view of all forms, you can use the Hide setting.
- Modern interface: all event forms that you have access to are shown by default. To filter the forms shown, you can select a category from the sidebar or use the search field.
To open a blank form, just select the name of the form. If you’re searching for a form by typing its name into the search field, Smartabase will automatically open a form when there’s an exclusive match for your search term. So, for example, if you have forms named Daily diary and Daily training, Smartabase will automatically open the Daily training form once you’ve typed "Daily T".
Filling out a blank form
When you create a new record, the date and time of the record is shown at the top of the form. A new record defaults to the date and time you created it, but you can select and adjust these if you need to. Usually, you would expect the time and date to reflect either when the event occurred or when you entered the data.
Event forms may contain a range of field types to capture data. Some fields will require a numeric response, others may provide a space to write a sentence or you may need to select a response from a list of options. You can fill these fields out manually, or you may be able to use the Clipboard or Template options, if these have been enabled for the form.
In some cases, it may be mandatory for a value to be entered into a specific field before the record can be saved. This configuration is usually done to maintain the integrity of the data and ensure that necessary information is collected. If there are any required fields in the form, they will appear in red text and a warning message will be displayed at the bottom of the form until they are complete.
You may also find that some fields already have a response filled out. These fields may have been configured to automatically use the last value that you entered or to populate with a default value, but you can still change these values.
In some instances, you may not be able to edit a field. This may be because it is a calculation or the field may be restricted to people with specific permissions.
Using the Clipboard to populate an event form
The Clipboard allows you to copy data from one record to another for the same event form. This new record can be for the same person or a different person. Only one record can be saved to the Clipboard for each event form. Values populated via the Clipboard can be edited as usual. If there's a table in the form, you’ll also be able to edit and delete pasted table rows.
To copy a record, hover over the Edit button above the event form and select Copy to clipboard from the drop-down menu. Data remains in the Clipboard until you copy new data for an event form, close or refresh your browser or log out of Smartabase Online.
To paste the data into a new record, open a new record for the same event form, hover over the Edit button above the event form and select Paste from clipboard from the drop-down menu.
Another option when entering data is to Copy for next entry, which can be found in the drop-down Edit menu. This option saves the data to the clipboard and automatically populates the next new record for the event form with the copied data. Once it has auto-filled the next form, the clipboard is cleared.
Using a Template to populate an event form
Templates are similar to the Clipboard in that the same data can be pasted into multiple records, but templates can be permanently saved to Smartabase for later access and you can save more than one template for each event form. This could be useful in strength and conditioning forms where the sessions are repeated frequently. Templates are unique to the person who creates them and they cannot be shared with other people on Smartabase. Values populated via a Template can be edited as usual. If there's a table in the form, you’ll also be able to edit and delete pasted table rows.
To create a new template, follow the steps below.
- Open a new record for an event form on Smartabase Online and fill in the relevant information.
- Select the New template button at the top of the event form.
- Provide a name for the template. It is recommended that you use a naming system so that you can distinguish the templates from one another.
- Use the Select template drop-down menu to choose a template from the list. Selecting the template name will populate the event form.
To delete a template, choose the template from the list and select the delete button that contains the template name (e.g. Delete template 1).
Putting data into a table in a form
In this example, you can see some of the useful functions that become available when you enter data into a table. These will appear whenever you have a table field selected. Clicking the Done button will take you to the next most appropriate cell in the table for entering data; this can be the next cell to the right or the cell below, depending on how the table has been built. The Cancel button will deselect the current cell. The Clear button removes anything you have entered in the current cell.
There are some additional buttons which can speed up the process of filling out a table.
- The Fill down button will take the data you have entered into the current cell and copy it to the remaining cells in the column.
- The Fill down entire row button will copy data from an entire row (or rows) into subsequent rows.
- The Copy last button will copy the data from the cell immediately above the current cell into the current cell.
- The Paste from Excel button allows you to paste data from Microsoft Excel directly into the table. When you select this button a pop-up box appears with a blank field for you to paste the data you’ve copied from an Excel spreadsheet. For this to work you must have the data from Excel formatted in exactly the same way as the table columns. Be aware that how Excel displays data is not always the same as how it is stored, particularly with regard to decimal places, dates and times.
In some forms, table rows can be configured to lock after the record is saved. This means that the data entered into the table rows cannot be edited, but it can still be viewed. Table rows may be locked when sensitive data is entered into the form that should not be changed, such as a doctor’s treatment notes for an injury or illness. Depending on how the form is configured, table rows may lock as soon as the record is saved or there may be a delay of one to three days, during which time the values in the table row can still be edited.
It is important to note that once a table row has been locked, it cannot be unlocked.
Saving a record
When you have finished entering data into an event form, you need to save the form to create a completed record. If you do not save the form, the data will be lost. If you do not want to save the data, you can use the Cancel button to return to the home page.
As indicated in the previous examples, forms may have different types of save buttons. For example, some save buttons will save the record and redirect to the Performance history while others will save the record and open a new blank form for you to fill out. There may also be an option to save the record as a draft - this means the record will not show up by default in the Reports and Performance history tools, and data in the form will not display in dashboards.
Some forms may be configured to lock all of the fields after the record is saved. This means that none of the data entered can be edited after the record is saved. This may be the case in medical forms where it is important that the data is not changed after the initial entry. Depending on how the form is configured, the record may lock as soon as the record is saved or there may be a delay of one to three days, during which time the values in the record could still be edited.
It is important to note that once a record has been locked, it cannot be unlocked.
Editing an existing record
To edit an existing record on Smartabase Online, you first need to find the record in the sidebar or using one of the reporting tools such as Reports, Dashboards or Performance history). Select the record to re-open it. As long as the record has not been locked, you can edit the fields within the form much like filling out a blank form. Remember to save the form when you have finished editing it so that your record is updated with the latest information.
Using quick edit functionality to update a form
When you’re looking at form data using the Reports or Performance history tools, you might see a pencil icon for each row of data. This indicates that quick editing has been enabled. You can select the pencil icon to access a pop-up screen and quickly update important fields from that record.
In this example, the quick edit feature has been enabled on an injury form. This could help medical staff when they need to efficiently update the injury statuses of people they’re treating. The doctor can use the pencil icon to access the key details of each injury and update the necessary information without needing to view the entire injury record.
Once the fields in the pop-up screen are filled out, they can be saved. The information shown in the report or performance history will be updated to reflect any changes which have been caused by the quick edit, such as a new status. The doctor can then move on to the next injury they want to update.
Note that quick edits are only able to be saved and closed. If the Save and Lock or Save and Enter Another functions are enabled for a form, you'll need to open the record to perform these functions.
Entering data into a profile form
Depending on how your Smartabase site is set up and which system permissions are part of your role, you may enter profile data from one of several places:
- The Profiles tool, which might be a home page button or an item on your navigation bar depending on how your site is set up.
- The athlete sidebar, which appears on the right side of your screen (or on the left, if you’re using Smartabase in a language that’s written from right-to-left).
When entering the tool via the Athlete profiles button as a professional user, you need to select an athlete. The Profile displays the account details and profile forms entered for that athlete.
At the top of the page is a drop-down field where you can select a profile form to fill out or edit. if you are editing an existing record of a profile form, the previous data entered will not be kept. Once you've updated the details, save the profile form.
If your role has access to generate PDF reports and you create a PDF of the profile forms, only the complete profile forms (not the personal details in the Profile section) are included in the PDF. To include any of these fields in the report, you should use Personal details fields in the profile form.