This section contains templates that have been designed to allow certain common database uses to be created quickly and easily. Click on a link below to see details on Form Sections and Form Elements to be created, as well as variations.

• Support Request Template
• Client Information Template
• Call Monitoring System Template

---

Support Request Template

This section contains instructions on how to create a database instance designed for handling Support Requests. The purpose of this database is as follows:

* Retrieve information about the user placing the request.
* Retrieve information directly relating to the request.
* Send email notification to one or more parties who will be required to act upon the request.

Requirements for this database are as follows:

* Access Rights sufficient to allow a database to be created
* A User that will be required to act upon any requests made via this form.

This database will be organized into two sections. Section One will contain information about the requestee, Section Two will be information relating to the request.

Section One - User Information

This section will retrieve information about the user. Before we begin adding fields to this section, the first step is to create a Form Section. Create a Form Section and name it User Information.

Field One - User Name, field type: User Field

Getting the user name is made very simple with the User List field option. This creates a drop-down list that contains the names of all Noodle users. It is recommended that this field be set to Required. A feature of the User List field is the ability to link to the User's profile directly from the entry. Because of this feature, no other fields should be required in this section as the user profile can contain information about that User's location, address etc. This also saves valuable time and money as employees do not have to fill out long request forms. They simply select their name from the list:

Section Two - Request Information

This section is focused on retrieving information pertaining to the problem or request. This section can be organized in such a way that allows all necessary information to be collected from the user. In this case we are going to record the Type of request and Details of the request. Extra fields can be placed in this section at the discretion of the user, dependant on further information that needs to be recorded.

Field One - Request Date, field type: Date Field

This field will be used to retrieve the date on which the request was submitted. Create a Form Element of the Date Field type:

Choose a date format and specify whether this field is to be mandatory. Click Save when satisfied.

Field Two - Request Details, field type: Text Area

This field will be used to retrieve details about the request. Depending on the amount of information that will be needed from the user choose a size for the textbox:

Now that may seem basic, but really what more information do you need? All User information including name, contact information and address can be seen in the User profile and details about the problem can be seen in the Request Details section. So what is left? Well, once the form is filled out and a request submitted, someone needs to act upon that request. We are going to use Noodle's Auto-Notification feature to send an email out to the person responsible for taking action.

To set an Auto-Notification, the User must have Administrative Access to the database. Click on the Administration link and then the Auto-Notification tab.

We are going to send an email notification to one user to inform them when a new entry has been added to this database. To add a notification, begin by clicking the Add User Notification button - this will open a new window for configuring this field:

In the example, the user has been selected by ticking the checkbox next to their name. The other important part of this is the Notified When section. This is the condition that must occur to trigger the email mechanism. In this case, we are using Created, as we need an email to be sent out when a record is created.

Once the notification has been configured, this form is now ready for use.

Variations

Other fields can be added depending on other types of information that are required from the user. Any further information regarding the requestee should be placed in the User Information section. Further information regarding the request should be placed in the Request Information section.

Client Information Template

This section contains instructions detailing how to create a Database that holds client information. The purpose of this database is as follows:

• Retrieve information from the User detailing client name, contact and address.
• Create reports that will display clients with a value greater than $100,000 and another that will display clients from before June 2006.

This database will be organized into two sections. Section One will contain information about the client's name, address and contact information. Section Two will contain information about the client's industry, value and product information.

Section One: Basic Information

This section will contain basic client information. This section can be customized as necessary.

Field One - Company Name, field type: Single-Line Text Field

This field will be used to hold the name of the company or organization, create a Single-Line Text field as follows:

Field Two - Contact Name, field type: Single-Line Text Field

This field will contain the name of the person who acts as a contact for this company, create a Single-Line Text field as follows:

Field Three - Address, field type: Multi-Line Text Field

This field is used to hold the postal address for the company - create a Multi-Line Text Field as follows:

Field Four - Number of Employees, field type: Numeric Field

This field is used to hold the number of employees in the company, create a Numeric Field as follows:

Section Two - Company Business Information

This section displays information about the company's industry and business details. Create fields as follows:

Field One - Industry, field type: Drop-Down List

This field will be used to get the type of industry. A drop down list should be created and various industry types specified:

Field Two - Client Since, field type: Date Field

This field will be used to retrieve the date on which this company became a client. Create a Date Field as follows:

More fields in this Noodle database

Field Three - Value, field type: Currency Field

This field is used to retrieve the value of this company. Create a Currency Field as follows:

Once the two Form sections have been created and the fields placed within them, we can begin creating reports to show information from the database.

Part Two - Creating the Reports

As previously mentioned, Reports provide a powerful method for specific information retrieval. In this example we are going to create two reports.

Report One - Clients with a Value greater than $100,000

This report is very simple in that it will only require one condition to be specified - the Value field for all entries returned should be greater than 100000. The first step is to decide which fields will be present when the report is displayed. We are going to choose Company Name and Value.

Any number of fields can be included in a Report View and this will not affect the Report in any way. Once the included fields have been decided, we can move onto the next step.

The next step is to specify the report condition. Four things must be considered:

• Whether the restriction will remove the entries that fall under it's conditions, or Include them.
• The Field on which the condition will be placed - in this case the Value field.
• The Type of condition (greater than, less that, equal to etc) - in this case Greater Than.
• The Condition Value - in this case 100000.

Use the options at the end of the report creation section to specify the conditions like so:

Click Save to complete the creation of the report.

Report Two - Clients before June 2006

This report will return a list of entries whose Client Since field dates before 06/2006. To achieve this, we will Exclude all clients whose Client Since dates are past June 2006:

Call Monitoring System Template

This section contains instructions on how to create a Call Monitoring System using the Noodle Database. This form is being created assuming that the callers will all be from an existing client and their information will already be present in the Client Information database prepared earlier. The purpose of this database is as follows:

• Retrieve Information about the call
• Provide a link to the profile of the user taking the call
• Provide a link to the Client Information database created here that shows information about the client
• Send an email notification to the Assistant Manager of this Department, notifying them that an entry has been Created.
• Send an email notification to the Manager of this Department, notifying them that an entry has been Modified.

The first step in the process is to create the form. We are going to need two Form Sections - Section One will retrieve User information, Section Two will retreive call information.

Section One - User Information

This section will ask the user to identify themselves from the drop-down list of Noodle users.

Field One - Instructions, Field Type: Rich-Text Area

This field is designed to allow information to be placed on a form without affecting input or results. Create a Rich-Type Text Area and use it to instruct the user:

Field Two - User, Field Type: User List

This field places a drop-down menu on the form that allows the user to choose from a list of Noodle Users:

Section Two - Call Details

The purpose of this section is to provide fields for the user to enter details about the incoming call. This section can be customized depending the amount and types of information that are required. We are also going to place a link to the Client Information database created here.

Field One - Caller Name, Field Type: Single-Line Text Field

The purpose of this field is to allow the user to specify the name of the caller:

Field Two - Client Information, Field Type: Data Connector Field

The purpose of this field is to provide a link to the Client Information database created earlier. This type of field can be very useful for providing easy reference to other sources of valuable information. Ensure the Link to Record checkbox is selected.

Field Three - Call Information, Field Type: Multi-Line Text Field

The purpose of this field is to retrieve information about the call from the user. Depending on the amount of information that will be entered, give the text box a suitable size:

Notification One - Notify a User upon Creation

The purpose of this notification is to inform a user when an entry has been created. Create a User Notification with the Created condition.

Notification Two - Notify a User upon Modification

The purpose of this notification is to send an email notification to a user whenever an entry is Modified. Create a User Notification with the Modified condition: