Airtable Database Basics for CHS

Simple Airtable   Sept 2024:   click:
https://airtable.com/appZT73u0VhiS67ZX/shrbyGf6l55u1dCf1/tblCm726I7x0KVQ4n/viweiMHGJGMBG7lsd
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Then click on "filter " (upper left)  and set it up so "Description contains gavel"

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Airtable Database Basics   for Colrain Historical Society.
There are over 2700 items (Nov 2024) in the CHS database, using "Airtable", an online database program. 1500 of the items have pictures
You can access it at home.  BELOW is what you should see:

============ QUICK SEARCH (limited value) ===========
Search using the magnifier in upper right.  However, this is a very limited search feature.  In the example, "chicken" finds 3 records. Pic shows the first record being highlighted.  The down arrow leads to the next record (not shown here).  (the "4 cells in 3 records" means that "chicken" is in one of the records twice).

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======FILTERS are best way to Search=============
"Filters" are better  "quick search". You can choose which columns (fields)  to filter by, and have many options on how to filter. For example, to find all photos of Shattuckville, try this:

The result:

Note that Filters are only available when using a computer ... unavailable on IPhones etc.
======Expand a "record" =============
To see the full screen of item 1083 above (for example) click on the two diagonal arrows in the left-most cell of the line as in:

The result:


This (above) is just the top 1/2 of the full screen (expanded).  On a PC, to see the rest, use the slider on the right side of your screen.

======View Details / Get the Picture =============
To enlarge the picture, click on it and it will fill your screen.
However, Airtable (on a PC) does not let you zoom in to see details on the picture.  To see details, you must Download the image by clicking "Download" in the lower right. To see the downloaded image you will need to know where your computer stores downloads.

Also note the right-arrow on the right edge of the screen.   This indicates a second image.  Click on that to see more.  In this case it is the back of the photo . (below)

To exit this picture view, click on the small X in upper left.

 =========CHAPTER  2  ============

Airtable is set up with "VIEWS".   "GRID-ALL" is the main view which has all the records. But 2500 + items is a bit daunting.... So, we have set up custom VIEWS for our convenience. The panel on the left side has Groups of Views like SUBJECTS  &  LOCALES.

 Let's try SUBJECTS VIEWS -  about ten of these now.

If you select  "inn" in the SUBJECT  views  you will see 51 Records on the Inn.  (The number count is at the bottom of the View.)


 To EXPAND a record, hover over the leftmost column of a record and click when you see Expand"

See EXPANDED record below: (A Colrain Inn family member had an airplane business out west.).  To see more, you can scroll further down.

 Click on an image to see it larger.  If you can't read it, you will need to "download" the image to your computer ("download" in lower right corner).

More Later =======================================

In February 2024 it is being "hosted" by Dave Allen on his "Old Maps"  business' Airtable account.  The monthly fees are almost nothing as long as the files are on Dave's account so they are not paid by CHS.  At some point, CHS will need to take this over, and may want to move the data to more sophisticated software.....