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3.5.2  Special Menu

Autofit Columns

The widths of all columns in a table may be automatically adjusted to Autofit the five header rows using the Autofit Columns command in the Special menu.

Clear Table

To clear all the data in a table (worksheet) choose the Clear Table command in the Special menu. You will be asked for a confirmation.

Add and Remove Method Definitions ...

Each MagIC Project only requires a limited number of Method Definitions. By clicking on the Add and Remove Method Definitions ... command in the Special menu you can generate a list of Method Codes that describe the methods used in your project, including field sampling techniques, lab protocols, parameter estimations, and more (see the buttons at the top of this dialogbox for a complete list of categories). The Method Codes that are currently stored in your MagIC SmartBook file are listed in the In Use ... list box shown on the right-hand side.

You can Add new Method Codes by first selecting a method from the master listing of methods list box on the left-hand side, followed by clicking the right-pointing Double Arrow button. Show different categories of the Method Codes in this master listing by clicking on the Category Buttons in the top of this dialogbox.

You can Remove the Method Codes one-by-one by selecting the code in the In Use ... list box, followed by clicking the other left-pointing Double Arrow button. You can remove all methods at once by clicking on the Clear Selection(s) button. The program will ask you for a confirmation.

When you are finished compiling your list of Method Codes, click the Save button. This action will store all newly assigned Method Codes in the MAGIC_methods table, and it will add the appropriate references to the ER_citations table.

Note   If you cannot find the appropriate Method Code by using this dialogbox, you can always define a new Method Code by activating the MAGIC_methods table and clicking the Edit Data button on the MagIC Toolbar. Continue by clicking the New Record button in order to generate a new record and fill out all fields. After uploading your MagIC SmartBook files this new code will be reviewed and (if a new code is warranted) it will be added to the master listing of methods.

You can find a complete listing of Method Codes at http://earthref.org/MAGIC/methods.htm.

Add and Remove Instrument Definitions ...

Each MagIC Project only requires a limited number of Instrument Definitions. By clicking on the Add and Remove Instrument Definitions ... command in the Special menu you can generate a list of Instrument Codes that describes the instruments used in your project. The Instrument Codes that are currently stored in your MagIC SmartBook file are listed in the In Use ... list box shown on the right-hand side. The Instrument Codes should all start with an abbreviation indicating the host institution.

You can Add new Instruments by first selecting an instrument from the master listing of instruments list box on the left-hand side, followed by clicking the right-pointing Double Arrow button. You can search for Instruments by typing in (part of) a name in the top textbox, followed by clicking on the Find ... button.

You can Remove the Instruments one-by-one by selecting the code in the In Use ... list box, followed by clicking the left-pointing Double Arrow button. You can remove all instruments at once by clicking on the Clear Selection(s) button. The program will ask you for a confirmation.

When you are finished compiling your list of Instruments, click the Save button. This action will store all newly assigned Instrument Codes in the MAGIC_instruments table, and it will add the appropriate references to the ER_citations table.

Note   If you cannot find the appropriate Instrument Code by using this dialogbox, you can always define a new Instrument Code by activating the MAGIC_instruments table and clicking the Edit Data button on the MagIC Toolbar. Continue by clicking the New Record button in order to generate a new record and fill out all fields. After uploading your MagIC SmartBook files this new code will be reviewed and (if a new code is warranted) it will be added to the master listing of instruments.

You can find a complete listing of Instruments Codes at http://earthref.org/MAGIC/instruments.htm.

Synchronize Names

Some names, such as Location, Site, Sample and Specimen names appear in more than one place in the MagIC SmartBooks. Use the Synchronize Names function in the Special menu to automatically pre-fill these names throughout all the tables. This requires that you have at least filled out these names in one of the SmartBook tables. When new records are added to these tables they will appear in highlighted "light blue", "pink" and "purple" cells for easy detection. You can remove the formatting again by pressing Ctrl Shift S or when you Prepare for Uploading.

Remove Duplicate Data Records

You can detect and remove Duplicate Data Records in your tables by choosing Remove Duplicate Data Records from the Special menu. It is recommended that you first Highlight duplicate records. If you select this option, the potential duplicates get highlighted with an "orange" color. If you opt to Remove the duplicates immediately, the duplicate record(s) will be deleted from you table instead, while the first instance will be retained. Note that this action cannot be undone.

Remove Empty Data Records

You can detect and remove Empty Data Records by choosing Remove Empty Data Records from the Special menu. You will be asked to remove empty data record for the current (active) table only, or to do so for all tables in the entire MagIC SmartBook file. Note that this action cannot be undone.

Combine Two Similar Data Records

In some cases, tables may have sets of data records that are very similar, where they for example have the same sample number, but one data record (i.e. row) contains inclination and declination data, and another one only paleointensity data. These data records could be combined (i.e. merged) into one record. In order to do so, select two similar data records in a table and choose Combine Two Similar Data Records from the Special menu. If there are no data conflicts, the rows will be combined on the first row and the second row gets deleted. If the data cannot be combined, an error message is displayed and the data conflicts are highlighted in "orange" colors. To select two rows in your table, push the control key and click on any cell to select the first and second row. Note that this action cannot be undone.

Check Data Records

To verify that the data in one table have the expected format, choose the Check Data Records command in the Special menu. You will be asked to check data for the current (active) table only, or to check all tables in the entire MagIC SmartBook file.

Check Specific Data Records

You can also verify whether specific data (like latitudes, longitudes, citations, magnetic moments, paleointensities, flags) have the expected format and range of values. Some automatic repairs will be performed in the background (e.g. recasting longitudes from the -180/180 to the 0/360 notation) during this data check, other checks may return error messages. To perform this function, choose the Check Specific Data Records command in the Special menu. You will be asked to check data for the current (active) table only, or to check all tables in the entire MagIC SmartBook file.

Check for Data Integrity

To validate whether data in one table are correctly related with other data tables in the SmartBook file, choose the Check Data Integrity command in the Special menu. You will be asked to check data for the current (active) table only, or to check all tables in the entire file. This action will search each table for existing relations and it will check them against their parent tables. If a relation is broken (i.e. the parent record does not exist, or you misspelled the daughter or parent record) then an error will occur. You will be asked to edit certain data and metadata.