University of California Davis Herbarium Database Management System |  Version 4 Summary and Installation

Herbarium Access Management System, version 4 (Access 2000 format).

The Documentation for this version is incomplete, but is made available to groups interested and/or requesting these enhancements from previous versions. This  updated version is in current use at the UC Davis herbarium, however, we hadn't release it to our website until now. After we complete the documentation (it is complete for the herbarium labels) in PowerPoint format and included in the zip file), we will post the complete documentation to our website.

Some highlights New to Version 4 :

• Enhanced locality printing options (UTM, Latitude/longitude, USGS, and alternate headers for printing labels)
• Added country, state and county pick list tables that you can dynamically add to (countries are complete; USA states and their counties are complete; Mexico states complete).
• A new selection option (list box) of previous specific epithets...authorities entered into the database, rather then re-typing these entries.
• Lookup Genus Option displays list of all genera to choose from; Previously had to select family to display genera within selected family.
• Elevation now accepts a range; or can enter just only one elevation entry.
• Browse capability expanded.
• Database Tools, e.g. compact and repair, integrity view, DiGIR/Darwin Core, Web resources ... see the documentation for complete information on added features.

*For those needing to convert from 2000 to XP version; Simply open the database(s) up in XP and elect to save in 2003 (XP) format (on the Access toolbar, select: Tools - Database Utilities - Convert Database...).

**Also included in zip file is the "in progress" documentation in PowerPoint format (when completed, we will post the documentation in PowerPoint and Adobe pdf format).

Steps for a Manual Install:

1) Download (Herbarium4.zip), preferable to the drive and directory (C:\HerbariumAccess\)

2) Uncompress (unzip, you can download PKWARE or WINZIP software) the downloaded file. This procedure will uncompress these databases and files:

• LabelsData2000.mdb - contains the herbarium label data (click here to view the database structure)
• ShippingData2000.mdb - contains the shipping data
• LibraryData2000.mdb - contains the library and membership list data
• Herbarium2000.mdb - contains all the data entry forms, queries and temporary files
• DigirData.mdb - contains the DiGIR/Darwin core data
• Additional files associated with the database (installation.html, herbarium.xml, providerMeta.xml, resources.xml),

************* Begin: Additional step3 if upgrading from a prior version****************

3) Run the upgrade procedure for each database separately, e.g.:

• It is strongly suggested to make a backup of the databases before proceeding.
• Open the LabelsData2000.mdb, Select the Forms tab, Run the "Upgrade".
• Run the Compact and Repair database option,  From the toolbar menu: Tools, Database Utilities, Compact and Repair Database...
• Close and proceed to the next database upgrade (ShippingData2000.mdb & LibraryData2000.mdb).
• There is no upgrade option for the DigirData.mdb, as it is, with version 4, a new container database for the Darwin Core datasets.

* if you elect to import prior versions, the earlier version databases will be preserved with their original names (Herbarium.mdb, LabelsData.mdb, ShippingData.mdb, LibraryData.mdb). These earlier versions will not be modified in any way. However, if you have the version 3 (2000), you may need to rename or backup to a different folder; The version 4 uses the same database name (Herbarium2000.mdb). Although, you can essentially give this database any name, as it contains all the data entry forms, queries and temporary objects (see documentation for details). It is the supplimental databases (Labels, Shipping, Library and DiGIR) that must maintain their names.

************* End: Additional step if upgrading from a prior version****************

4) To start the application, open the Herbarium2000.mdb (see documentation for use details).
    IMPORTANT: If you have installed the application to another drive & directory, other then "C:\HerbariumAccess\", see the documentation for changing the reference to the data files.

5) To make use of the DiGIR/Darwin Core features: see the options available within the database menus. We have included template XML files in this package to become a DiGIR provider over the Internet/Web; You will need to consult the DiGIR homepage for details on how to setup this protocol, see: http://digir.sourceforge.net.

6) To make use of the Web script templates to host the database on the Web, consult the link provided here (ASP_herbarium.html).

                                                                                ...next version, in development, will use Microsoft SQL server database system.

Click here to return to Herbarium Management System  |  Click here to return to UC Davis herbarium homepage