A Text Lookup Field is used to find information you have entered previously into Masterpiece.
The function of the text lookup field changes depending on the check box on the Edit menu. Each user can have their own setting for AutoLookup on or off. The AutoLookup field is set to ON by default. This is indicated by the checkmark next to the setting.
If AutoLookup is ON, the system will try to find the text as you type. If AutoLookup is OFF, the system will wait until you stop typing and press TAB or ENTER to move off the field. At that point, the system will open the appropriate FIND screen and look for a match to the word you entered.
There are many Text Lookup fields used in the system. An excellent example is the Title Field on the Items Screen. These Text Lookup fields are indicated by a pink background when in edit mode.
When you enter a Text Lookup field (in edit mode) the system will be waiting to help you find the information you are looking for (in this case, the title of a piece).
When you enter a letter, the system finds the first piece with the letter you entered. In the example above, the title BRECKENRIDGE LAMP POST was the first piece starting with "B".
Each time you press another key, the system tries again to find an entry that matches what you are typing.
After you have entered enough keys to select the actual piece you need, simply press TAB to populate the piece.
If you keep typing past the point, the system assumes you are entering a brand new value in the field.
The Text Lookup field is also tied directly to the information it is searching.
To see a full listing of the information you have entered previously, double-click in the field. This opens the appropriate FIND screen for the information. If there is text within that field, it will automatically be carried over into the FIND screen. If this was blank, the system will act as though a brand new find screen was requested.
NOTE: See the Find Screen help topic for more information on this very powerful feature.
When you select the entry you want, (i.e. double-click on the row or click on the row and click select) the information is returned to the screen that called the FIND. The information is entered into the Text Lookup field automatically.
In this example, we are looking for a new item title. As is discussed elsewhere in this tutorial, an item title represents many attributes about a piece, including the title, subject, medium, artist, etc.
Suppose we want to enter all of the details about a brand new title.
We can enter the Item Titles screen directly from the Text Lookup field by pressing CTRL-Enter.
After we enter the new information and close the new screen, the information is entered into the Text Lookup field automatically.