User settings
There are several user settings that can be used to create a more personalized web environment and database. Below is a description of the different settings
Custom field definitions
Three custom fields are available to be used besides the defined fields. These custom fields allow extra information to be added to each record and make it possible to select and sort on this information. Each field needs to be defined before use. This can be done by entering a name for the field in the custom field definitions section on the settings page. Once saved the new field will be available for entering data and using it in views.
The name of a field may only consist of letters (a-z, A-Z), digits (0-9) and a selection of special characters (space, underscore and dash). All other characters will be filtered out. The maximum length is 25 characters.
Insert fields selection
There are 14 different fields available for inserting data into the database, plus 3 custom fields (see: help/fields). The only mandatory field is the registration field, all others are optional. Not all users will find each and every field of interest and therefore fields can be deselected from the insert page. Deselected fields will still exist in the database, but will not show on the insert page. The complete input element will be removed from the page, which will eliminate the need to navigate through the unwanted fields.
Deselected fields can still be used in filters though, as the field itself still exists in the database. The field will also remain in the update form which can be reached from the view page. The update form will always contain all available fields.
View fields selection
The view page contains a filtered overview of the records in the database. The fields shown are customizable, both in which fields are shown and in which order the fields are shown. On the user settings page, add a field to the view by dragging the bar with the field from the right box (Available fields) to the left box (Selected fields). To remove a field drag it from the left box to the right box.
The order in which the fields are shown in the view is determined by the order in which the fields are shown in the right box (Selected fields). To change the order, drag the bar with the field up or down within the box. The field at the top will be the first field on the left in the view.
All fields can be selected and deselected from the view. However, at least one field must be selected at all times, otherwise no view can be created.
Do note that fields that are not selected to be visible in the view, can still be used in a filter. The field remains in the database and therefore can be selected and sorted on, it will only not show up in the view.
General settings
Use only capital letters for registrations
Check this box to always convert all letters (a - z) into capital letters (A - Z) in the registration field. This will eliminate the need to use a CAPS LOCK or SHIFT key when entering a registration.
Date format
Select the date format to be used in all views and trip reports. The date formats can be selected from a predefined format, using both European style date format (day month year) as well as American style formats (month day year).
Store locked fields between sessions
Select this option if you want to store the status (and values) of the locked fields on the insert screen between sessions. All locked fields will be stored in a cookie on your device and reset the next time you open the insert page.
Note that only one set can be stored per device. If you are using two insert screens at the same time, on the same device, only the locks from the last changed screen will be stored and will overwrite the storage of the other screen.
Allow anonymous display of my sightings
Planes that are displayed in the Plane Database app come with additional info like current and former Wrecks & Relics locations and all sightings recorded in the Spottingmode database. These sightings are fully anonymous, only plane information is displayed, no user info. Turn this option off if you do not want your sightings to be displayed like this.
Display special character insert asistant on insert and update forms
The Spottingmode database supports all characters available in the UTF-8 set. Extended support is available for the registration and construction number fields where selected characters can be used in Arabic, Cyrillic, Thai and Greek, while still linking the sightings to the published planes in Latin characters. Turn this option on to have a special insert assistant available to enter the characters.
Allow case sensitive inserts and updates
The fields in the Spottingmode database are case insensitive by default. Which means F-16A is equal to f-16a. In most fields the case of the characters can not be updated through normal update actions. Turn this option on to force case sensitive updates.