The Entered on field can be used to record the date that a record or table row within a record was first saved. It can be used in event or profile forms.
After a value has been saved against the field, the Entered on date will not change if the form is edited and saved on a different date. If the field is added to an existing form after records have already been created, the field will remain blank until the record is saved. The date that the record is saved by someone or via a resave will be recorded as the Entered on date.
It is not possible to import data into an Entered on calculation. If you import a record into an event form containing an Entered on calculation, the date of the import will appear as the calculation result. This is important to be aware of if you have imported a record that has an event date which is different to the import date.
The date format for the Entered on calculation can be set in the field advanced properties.
Using an Entered on calculation in an event form
An Entered on calculation can be placed anywhere in a form and it will store the date that the record was first created.
In the example below, a purchase order form contains an Entered on calculation named Order Date to display the date that the order is entered and saved. Since the event date (labeled On Date in the image below) can be adjusted, the calculation will display the date that the record was actually saved. Administrators could check what date the order was placed in case there was a due date for the order to be placed.
In this example, the order has been entered on 02/08/2021 but the event date has been backdated to 30/07/2021. When a staff member fulfills the orders collected in the last week, they could filter the report by the Order Date to ensure that they don’t miss any records.
Note that dates are saved in Smartabase with a time component, even though it isn’t visible with the date format options. Entered on calculations will store the exact time that the record was saved relative to the server time.
Using an Entered on calculation within a table in an event form
An Entered on calculation can also be placed within a table in an event form to store the date that the table row was saved. This means that multiple users could add rows to the table and each row would indicate when the data was entered.
In the example below, an injury record form contains a treatment consultation table. Each time an athlete receives a consultation for their injury, a new row is added to the table. An Entered on calculation has been included in the table to automatically populate the consultation date and reduce manual entry within the form. The assumption is that the consultation notes are added on the same day as the treatment.
If the table defaults to showing multiple table rows and not all rows are filled out, the Entered on value will default to the date that the record was first saved.