This is the main feature of the Garden Notebook application. The selections you made in Diary Choice are shown here. The display is a list arranged as a paper diary might be - entries are displayed in date order and grouped by date.

  1. The List

    This is the body of the display and is rich in features as discussed below. For most entries, only the most important data are shown; you can see the full set of information for any entry by using the [Change’ option.

    1. Editing Values

      Many of the values shown can be edited in-line. To edit a value, double click on it. For many values this will present you with a drop down list to select a value from, others will just give you a plain text box to type in. You can edit any comments already present or add new comments.

      You cannot change the date of an entry (the date might apply to many entries). You cannot change the plant species or variety of an entry if that entry is already in a History tree.

    2. Context Menu

      The context menu available on an entry provides many options; you can bring up the context menu by clicking the right-hand mouse button over an entry. The options are shown below.

      1. Change

        This will bring up an editor for the entry. You can change most values here or simply view them and close the editor without making any changes.

      2. Delete

        This option, if available, allows you to delete the current entry. The usual reason you may not be able to delete an entry is if it has later entries in a History tree - this is easily checked with the ‘Later history’ option.

      3. History

        This opens a sub menu of options to manipulate the History tree for this entry.

      4. Previous History

        This option, if available will open a new tab showing all the previous history for this entry. For example, if this is a ‘plant out’ entry for plants you sowed, the previous history would show the pot up, emergence, sow and purchase entries for the seed. If the item has no previous history, this option is unavailable.

      5. Later History

        This option, if available, shows all the later history for the plants in this entry. For example, if this is a ‘purchase’ entry for seed, the later history would include (probably several) ‘sow’ entries, each with several ‘emergence’, ‘pot up’, ‘plant out’ and ‘harvest’ entries. If the item has no later history, this option is unavailable.

      6. And then

        This option lets you add a later event into the History tree of the entry. For example, if this is a ‘purchase’ entry for seed, this is an easy way to add ‘sow’ entries into the later history of the purchase. The appropriate editor will be brought up in a new tab; the newly created entry will be a direct child of the current entry.

        1. Husbandry

          This will bring up the Husbandry editor to add a new Husbandry entry as a later member of this entry's History tree. The editor will be pre-populated with relevant values, such as plant species and variety.

        2. Groundwork

          This will bring up the Groundworkeditor to add a new Groundworkentry as a later member of this entry's History tree. The editor will be pre-populated with relevant values, such as plant species and variety.

        3. Pest & Disease

          This will bring up the Pests and Diseases editor to add a new entry as a later member of this entry's History tree. The editor will be pre-populated with relevant values, such as plant species and variety.

        4. Sale

          This will bring up the Sale editor to add a new Sale entry as a later member of this entry's History tree. The editor will be pre-populated with relevant values, such as plant species and variety.

      7. Disconnect

        This option lets you disconnect the selected entry from the History tree. The selected entry must be a ‘leaf’ in the History tree - it must have a parent but no descendants. You cannot disconnect a sub-tree, only a leaf.

    3. Drag & Drop

      Drag and Drop functionality is implemented within the list as another way of adjusting the History tree of an entry. You can use Drag & Drop to connect a leaf item to a parent item. Say you select entry A and drag it over entry B then drop it. A number of conditions must be met:

      • one of A and B must have no later history, i.e. it must be a leaf entry. You can only connect a leaf, not a whole sub-tree.
      • A and B must refer to the same plant species and plant variety; if one of A and B does not have a plant variety named, neither must the other.
      • The leaf entry must not have a date before the new parent entry.
      • A purchase may not be a child entry.
      • A sale may not be a parent entry.
      • A Sale may not be a direct child of a Purchase.

      Most of these rules are obvious to maintain a sensible History. If only one of A and B is a leaf entry, it will be treated as the new child and that will decide if the drop is allowed. If both entries are leaves, the rules above will be used to try to decide which should be the parent and which the child - the most important of these is date, the earlier will be the parent. If they are both leaves and on the same date, the application will make a Purchase the parent or a Sale the child. If no reliable decision can be made, the drop will not be allowed.

      This all sounds horribly complicated but in practice it all works smoothly because you will only do sensible things - drag a ‘purchase’ over a ‘sow’, or a ‘sale’ over a ‘harvest’, and so on. Try it out, it works quite nicely!

  2. Add Button

    This is a drop-down list to bring up one of the editors in a new tab so that you can create a new entry.

  3. Change Button

    If an entry in the list is selected, this button will bring up an editor for the item. The functionality is exactly the same as using Change in the context menu.

  4. Delete Button

    If enabled, this button lets you delete the selected entry. The functionality is exactly the same as using Delete in the context menu.