The RISC Menu Options and Control Buttons

RISC encompasses an intuitive, efficient and responsive database management system that has been specially tailored to cater for the requirements of school staff registering individual student contacts. Double clicking the RISC icon in Windows opens a system which is easy to learn fully and even easier to use on a day-to-day basis.

Once you have started RISC, after the opening credits, the following screen will be displayed :

The RISC Main Form: 

The above form consists of a title bar at the top that displays the database in use and its current access level (Restricted or Unrestricted).  A menu bar containing Reports and Database functions, Form Letters and other Options is also present.

The main part of the screen contains the data entry/edit/view area for individual student contacts. This is where data is initially entered and saved into the contacts database and where contacts can be viewed and updated. The top light-grey section is for data retrieved from the school administration (enrolment) information, while the larger section below is for contact (incident) records.  At the top-right is a picture box where student photos can be displayed.  See the RISC PhotoCapture! section for more details.

The bottom part of the screen contains the control buttons used while working with the database and at the very bottom is a help line that provides details of the area on the form being pointed to by the mouse cursor.

The Title Bar on the RISC Form:

At the top of the RISC form is the title bar. It consists of the Short Name of the Registered User followed by the name of the system, followed by the database in use and the current access level.

For example, it may display 'RISC 8 - SPS - Current Database (Restricted)'. If you have selected an archived database, the title bar shows the name of the archive file instead of 'Current Database'.  If the word (Restricted) is shown, the user cannot view contacts marked as Confidential. If (Unrestricted) is displayed, all contacts are available for viewing and printing. 

The Menu Bar on the RISC Form:

The RISC main menu contains four options - Reports, Form Letters, Database and Options. Each of the functions contained in these menus is described below.

The Reports Menu - 

This menu is divided into three areas - screen based reports, printer based reports and RISC Credits. All of these reports work with either the current database or an archived database. For any reports designed to output to Microsoft Excel, the PC running RISC MUST have MS Excel 2000 or later installed.

Tally by Descriptor (screen):

Displays an on-screen count of the total number of contacts of each of the defined Descriptors (smileys). Click OK on the screen report to go back to the RISC form.  This is useful for seeing how many incidents have been marked as positive, negative or not applicable.

Tally by Gender (screen):

Displays an on-screen count of the total number of contacts relate to Boys as opposed to Girls. Click OK on the screen report to go back to the RISC form. Again, useful for seeing a breakdown by gender.

Total Contacts Today (screen):

Displays an on-screen count of the total number of contacts saved into the database today. This is useful particularly where RISC is being used in a network situation with multiple users. Click OK on the screen report to go back to the RISC form. NOTE: This report will always produce a zero result if using an archived database.

Tally by Student (Name) (Excel):

Calculates the total number of contacts each Student has in the selected database. A report is outputted to Excel (which is automatically launched) in alphabetical order (on student surname) of all students with at least one contact (students without contacts are not shown in this report and can be reported on using a separate option in the Reports menu).  The column widths in Excel may need to be adjusted.  This can be done easily by selecting the entire spreadsheet (Ctrl-A), and choosing Format...Column...AutoFit Selection.

Tally by Teacher (Excel):

Calculates the total number of contacts each Teacher has in the selected database. A report is outputted to Excel of all teachers with at least one contact (teachers without contacts are not shown in this report).

Tally by Grade/Year (Excel):

Calculates the total number of contacts each Grade or Year has in the selected database. A report is outputted to Excel of all grades with at least one contact (grades without contacts are not shown in this report). 

Tally by Contact Category (Excel):

Calculates the total number of contacts each Category has in the selected database. A report is outputted to Excel of all categories with at least one contact (categories without contacts are not shown in this report). NOTE: This is a user-definable field name, so the title may not be 'Contact Category'. It could be 'Subject or Faculty' or something else.

Tally by Type (Excel):

Calculates the total number of contacts each Type has in the selected database. A report is outputted to Excel of all Types with at least one contact (Types without contacts are not shown in this report).  NOTE: This is a user-definable field name, so the title may not be 'Type'. It could be 'Infraction' or something else.

Tally by Action Type (Excel):

Calculates the total number of contacts each Action Type has in the selected database. A report is outputted to Excel of all Action Types in the lookup with at least one contact (Types without contacts are not shown in this report).  NOTE: This is a user-definable field name, so the title may not be 'Action Type'. It could be set to something else.

Tally by Status (Excel):

Calculates the total number of contacts each Status has in the selected database. A report is outputted to Excel of all Statuses in the lookup table with at least one contact (Statuses without contacts are not shown in this report).  NOTE: This is a user-definable field name, so the title may not be 'Status'. It could be something else.

Tally by Form Letter (Excel):

Calculates the total number of times each form letter has been produced by the RISC Form Letters module. A report is outputted to Excel showing the description of all form letters that have been produced at least once.

Total Contacts Per Day (Excel):

Calculates the total number of contacts each day in the selected database. A report is printed to Excel of all dates with at least one contact (dates without contacts are not shown in this report).

Students Without Contacts (Excel):

Exports to Excel the name of every student in the Student Database that does not have any contacts in the selected Contacts database. This function is only available when using the student database (STUDBASE.DAT and STUDBASE.NDX). It is not available if you are using the simple Student List (STUDLIST.DAT).
 

The Form Letters Menu -

The Form Letters menu is used to invoke the RISC Form Letters Module. There are only three options in this menu - one to Select Form Letters to print and the other to Create or Modify Form Letters.  Full details about the functions and operations of this module can be found in The RISC Form Letters Module.

A new feature in this menu is the RISC MailMerge Wizard which is used to create multiple form letters in one go for groups of students.

The Database Menu -

The Database menu is used to select databases to be used by RISC. The default when you start RISC is the Current database (RISC.DAT). Alternatively, you can choose an Archived database (if one exists). Full details for Archiving and using archived databases can be found in the Archived Databases section.

Rebuild RISC Indexes:

RISC indexes its contacts two ways - by Student Name and by Teacher Name. Any search requests containing a Student's name or an Teacher's name will refer to the index and only search relevant parts of the database. This allows for very quick response.

As data is added to the RISC system, it is important to Rebuild the RISC indexes regularly. This process is quite fast and can be performed from any RISC workstation at any time. In a networked situation, any workstation performing a rebuild should not affect other concurrent users working with RISC. A rebuild performed from one workstation will benefit all others. It is recommended that the fastest PC in use on the network be used to perform Rebuilds and these should be done at least twice per day if contacts are being entered or updated. On a Pentium-type workstation, rebuilds take about 3 seconds per 1,000 contacts in the contacts database.

The Rebuild RISC Indexes menu option displays a status box showing the percentage of the rebuild complete. The displayed percentage updates ten percent at a time and is complete when it reaches 100%.  On some PCs the process is so fast that the status percentage is not visible.

The rebuild itself should not be interrupted - i.e. DO NOT reboot your workstation or turn off the power in the middle of a rebuild. This will likely cause data corruption. When the status box disappears (after completion of the rebuild), the workstation will again be ready for use.

If you find there are any problems in searching for contacts in the RISC database such as being unable to find a contact that you are sure should be there, try doing a rebuild then repeat the search.

The Options Menu -

The Options menu contains four miscellaneous functions in RISC:

Set a Date For New Contacts (XX-XX-XX):

With RISC v1.xx, the Date and Time set for all new contacts was the current system date and time. This did not lend itself well to entering contacts that occurred previously. With RISC v2.0 (and later), you can set the date to be saved with all new contacts. Therefore, if the details of contacts were written on paper, they could be entered later but saved with the actual date of the contact.

When you first start RISC, the current system date is used for the RISC save date. You can adjust this date by selecting Set a Date for New Contacts (XX-XX-XX) from the Options menu. A calendar is displayed from where the desired date may be selected.  Choose the date by clicking it once then double-clicking OK, otherwise, just double-click the desired date.  The selected date will be the date saved with all future contacts on that workstation (until changed or until you exit RISC). There is also the option to choose today's date in the date selection box to quickly reset the save date to today's date.

NOTES:  It is recommended that you sort all backdated contacts to be entered into chronological order, from oldest to newest and enter them one by one, changing the save date as necessary. When you have finished, reset the save date to today's date. Try to avoid randomly entering backdated contacts as this will affect the chronology of the database.

When you save backdated contacts, the Date will be set to whatever date you set using this option. The Time will always be set as the current time. The Last Updated date and time will always be set to the current date and time.

You should always check to see what the currently set RISC save date is before saving. This can be easily done by simply viewing the date on the Set a Date for New Contacts item in the Options menu.  You can change the date saved with a contact by using the Date button on the RISC form.  This button is described below.

Selecting a Date Range for Reports and Queries :

RISC allows for date ranges to be specified for all searches and printed reports. Under the Options menu, choose the option 'Set Date Range for Reports/Queries'. For more  instructions for its use, see the Searching the RISC Database section.

RISC PhotoCapture!:

This is was a new feature first released with RISC v7 which is used to capture student images using a USB WebCamera and having those images automatically attached to each student's RISC record.  That way whenever a student's record is displayed, so is their photograph.  RISC PhotoCapture! is quite unique in its operation and is detailed separately in this RISC Help System.

Enter Confidentiality Password:

This is used to change RISC operation from Restricted mode to Unrestricted, allowing the user access to records marked as Confidential.  More details in the RISC Confidentiality section.

The Help Menu -

The Help menu contains several useful support resources for RISC including this Help system, the RISC Virtual Tour, printable installation instructions, a link to the latest news about RISC and a link to the main RISC website.  You can also find and download updates that have been released for your version of RISC. In addition, the last option in this menu is:

About RISC:

This option displays an on-screen message box showing the credits for RISC, the version and release date of your copy of the RISC system. Click the OK button to return to the RISC form.  The contact details for Marillion Designs can also be found here.
 

The RISC Control Buttons:

Clear Form:

The Clear Form button is used to wipe details on the form and present the user with an empty screen. This button is typically used after a contact record has been entered and saved, after a search request is complete and the necessary information has been gained and before any new data entry or new search requests are made.

NOTE: The Clear Form button does not save any data on the screen before it is clicked. Therefore, you should make sure you save any entered information that you wish to keep before you click this button.

The Clear Form Button makes data entry much easier. For example, if four students were found smoking in the playground, the new contact details for each student can be more easily entered into RISC. 

A contact should be fully entered for one student and then saved. Clicking the Clear Form button once will just wipe the Student Name and parent details leaving all other details of the contact on the screen. Now you can simply Find the next student's name and save a fully completed contact without having to retype everything. Repeat for all students involved. 

Similarly, the first click can be used on an old contact of a similar type to quickly create a new contact in a different name. Just search for an old contact that contains the details you need for the new contact, click Clear Form once, find the new student name and Save the new contact. 

Clicking the Clear Form button twice wipes all but the Teacher name, and a third click will wipe the whole form.

Left Arrow (<):   (at top of screen)

This button is only available if the Student database is being used. It is disabled if you are only using the Student Pick-list. The Left Arrow when clicked will cycle backwards through the student database one name at a time (alphabetically), displaying Student name, Contact, Home Phone number, Grade/Year and Roll Class/Home Room. When you have reached the first record in the student database, a message will be displayed to say that you cannot go backwards any further. Normally this button would be used in conjunction with the right arrow (>) and the Find buttons.

Right Arrow (>): (at top of screen) 

Roll Class/Home Room. When you have reached the last record in the student database, a message will be displayed to say that you cannot go forwards any further. Normally this button would be used in conjunction with the left arrow (<) and the Find buttons.

Find:

This button is only available if the Student database is being used. It is disabled if you are only using the Student Pick-list. The Find button is disabled until something has been typed into the Student name field. For example, if you were looking for CUNNINGHAM Diane in the student database, type CUNNI in the student name field then click the Find button (you only have to type enough of the name to make it unique to find the student first go). The less you type, the more you will need to use the left and right arrow buttons. The Find button only searches the student database - NOT the contacts database. 

NOTE: Once you have successfully 'Found' a student, the Find button becomes disabled. Clicking the Clear Form button then retyping part of a student name will re-enable the Find button if desired. The Find button is actually redundant. You can get the same effect as described above by typing CUNNI (or part of any other name) in the student field then hitting the Enter key. For more information about data entry, read the section titled 'Entering an Individual Student Contact into RISC'.

Save:

Once you have found a student from the Student base, the Save button becomes active. It is used to save new contact records - i.e. contacts that have not yet been allocated a contact number. If you are using a Student Pick-list instead of the Student Database, the Save button will become active after you have selected a student from the pick-list (or typed in a name) and typed in a Parent Contact name as well.

Clicking the Save button will allocate a Contact number to the new contact and also register the date and time according to the date set in "Set a Date For New Contacts" in the Options menu. The 'Last Updated' date and time will be set to the current date and time. The first timestamp is then fixed (but editable using the Date button), the second is updated whenever the Save Updated Form button is used. The Save button is disabled whenever a contact that has already been allocated a contact number is on the screen or when the form is empty. Of course, the Save button is always disabled when using an archived database. 

Date: 

The Date button only becomes active when there is a saved contact on the screen (i.e. a contact number has been allocated and is displayed).  This button is used to change the default set date of the contact and is particularly useful when entering backdated contacts.  It is possible to set the date for new contacts before they are saved using the Set Date… option in the Options menu.  However, the Date button is useful in cases where backdated contacts have been saved with the wrong date as it allows for the date to be changed. 

When clicking the Date button, a perpetual calendar pops up allowing the user to select a date from any month of almost any year.  Once selected, clicking the Transfer button will place the chosen date in the Date field.  You must click Save Updated Form to save the date change to the contacts database.

Search Using Selected Fields:

This button is one of the most powerful in RISC. It allows multi-parameter searches to occur on the Contacts database. It does not search the Student database - the Find button is used for that purpose.

The Search button will find contacts from the contact database that match criteria specified by the user. All entry fields in RISC are useable for searches except for 'Contact' and 'Phone'. This includes strings contained in the Contact Description and Action fields. For more information on RISC queries, refer to the section called 'Searching the RISC Database'.

Save the Updated Form:

This control button is only available in the current database when there is a registered contact on the screen (a contact number is displayed). The Save Updated Form button is mutually exclusive to the Save button. When one is enabled, the other is disabled (however they can both be disabled such as when the form is empty or when you are working with an archive).

Clicking the Save Updated Form button will update the 'Last Updated' date and time in the contact record and save changes in the database. It is important that you save updated data before clearing the form. Using the Clear Form button before saving an updated form will revert that form to its last saved version (losing the latest changes).

Attach Report / View Report:

The Report button opens the Contact Reports Module that allows for a detailed report to be attached to the current contact. If an attached report already exists, it opens that contact report for viewing, updating and/or printing. Full details on the Contact Reports Module (CRM) can be found in The RISC Contact Reports Module.

Print Form:

The Print Form button is used to print out an Individual Student Contact Sheet. Depending on what information is on the screen, this button can produce anything from a blank form to a partially filled one to a completed form. Any fields where there is no data will have ruled lines printed so manual notes can be made on the hard copy. 

Help:

The Help button displays this RISC Help System. Further help is available via the Status Line at the bottom of the screen that provides a single line description of whatever the mouse pointer is pointing to. Use this feature until you get more familiar with RISC.

Contact Record Navigation Buttons: 

These four buttons at the top-right of the screen were new to RISC v7.  They are used to scroll through the contact records.  The first button jumps to the first contact number (1001) and displays it.  You use the middle two buttons to browse the records one at a time, either going backwards or forwards.  The last button takes you immediately to the last record in the database.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have made a change to a contact record, you should not use these buttons to move away from that record before clicking the Save the Updated Contact button.  Changes to RISC records are not saved automatically to avoid saving any mis-keying that may occur.  If you navigate away from a changed record without Saving first, those changes will not be saved.

Exit:

The Exit button is used to close down RISC and exit the program. When you have finished using RISC and you wish to exit, use the Exit button. If there is data on the screen when you click this button, you will be asked whether you still wish to Exit RISC or not. If you have saved the record, click Yes and RISC will close down. If you have not saved the record and wish to do so, click No. If you do not wish to save the record, click Yes.

In the past, several users have not realised the importance of regularly Rebuilding RISC Indexes. This process is essential for the efficient operation of the RISC database. To help remind users about the need to Rebuild regularly, an auto-prompt for Rebuilding is now built into RISC. The prompt will automatically be displayed when the Exit button has been clicked, but only if the user has added new contacts into RISC, and only if the user has not already performed a rebuild.

If the user clicks 'Yes' when asked if a Rebuild should be performed, the rebuild will automatically commence and RISC will close as soon as the rebuild is complete. It is recommended that 'Yes' is chosen whenever prompted as this will ensure the integrity of the RISC indexes. Since the Rebuild process can be run while other users are logged into RISC (on a network) and is also a fairly quick process, the additional brief waiting time before exiting should not inconvenience.

RISC also automatically makes a backup copy of the main database, RISC.DAT as part of the automatic rebuild function. Following the completion of the rebuild, it then automatically duplicates the RISC.DAT file as RISC.BKP in the FORMLTRS folder.

The purpose of this auto backup is in case of a data corruption in the main database and while it does not replace a good backup strategy as recommended in the Appendices of this manual, it may be better than you are doing right now in terms of backing up RISC data.

If running on a network, the auto-backup only occurs when the last person exits RISC and performs the auto-rebuild. In other words, all other users must have first closed RISC for the auto-backup to occur.

As you can see, using the Exit button is the safest and best way to exit RISC as it ensures all files are closed, data is managed and all memory (RAM) used by RISC is returned to Windows.

The Status Line:

At the very bottom of the RISC form, below the control buttons is a status line. This is used to provide additional brief instructions for users of the Register of Individual Student Contact.

Moving the mouse pointer to any control button will display a message on the status line to explain what that control button does. Similarly, pointing to any field name will explain what to do with that field. NOTE: No status line message is displayed when pointing to disabled buttons or to menu items.

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The Register of Individual Student Contact (RISC) is developed & distributed
by Marillion Designs.

Copyright © 1995-2008 Marillion Designs. All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

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