MINUTES > How to Fill the Minutes From a Database or a Sheet > How to Insert Articles & Sets From the Estimate's Database

The data source is described in Database of the Estimate.

You can insert articles or sets as you do from a preferential database or from any qdb/grp database.

Insertion by Reference

You can insert articles or sets by reference i.e. by an Article name (this includes a whole set).

Alternative: use the description/reference, provided you checked either box File>Options>Editing>Display list of matching descriptions/references when typing in description/reference field. You may need to cycle through preferential databases pressing →. Refer to How to Insert an Article or a Set Using its Reference or Descript.

To come back to the Minutes view, use the structural view.

To refer to an article/set, use the list in the 'Reference to article' column.

The article substitutes for the row, the sub-articles show where applicable.

Only the Quantity column can be edited. The Database source/path columns are blank.

Alternative: Copy-Paste using context menu.

Insertion by Drag & Drop

You can insert articles or sets just like from qdb/grp databases by opening a viewer: first, select Data>Databases>Database of the Estimate.

Refer to Articles Viewer Description and How to Insert an Article or a Set into a Section of Minutes.

Here the viewer features no levels, but the row of a set is highlighted in dark blue.

Colors

	The background of the row is blue for the article
	The background of the row is light blue for the articles within a set
	No other color can be applied to these rows. Note that the blue available with the wand (Home>Font) is turquoise
XXX	The font color is dark blue for the values coming from the database of the estimate; this means that they cannot be edited in the Minutes view;
XXX	To edit them, check the box File>Options>Editing>Allow editing from database of the estimate rows from referencing rows, and click Compute Costs (F5) *. Then, the typeface turns black, and, if the database is indexed, the context table shows by double click to ease input of the key field values. You can also add missing values; they are fed back to the database of the estimate, this synchronizes the sibling rows as long as the links are kept

* if, in the database, you input a formula in the Quantity column (or in the column which is a replacement for the Quantity column) of an underlying row in a set, the formula goes not show in the comment in the Minutes view

To return to the database of the estimate, double-click a blue cell (other than Quantity). The cell can be edited and any change in the database is reflected in the estimate. To return to the Minutes view, press F4.

Alternative: select a blue row, then the Database tab.

To delete the link of the set top level to the source article while keeping the data (except the Task in Gantt), press Del in the 'Reference to article' column (Alternative: right-click and select Disconnect from database of estimate>Selected rows only); this deletes the cell Reference to article and the fields get free for editing. A change in the database is NOT reflected anymore.

To delete all the links in the estimate at once, right-click anywhere and select Disconnect from database of estimate>Entire estimate.

A set is inserted as one row and shows expanded. After disconnection, the rows inside a set get a line number.

To insert at one time into the Minutes's view AND feed the database of the Estimate, refer to How to Fill the Database of Estimate From a Database or a Sheet.

Comparison of the two kinds of article:

Source	Database of the Estimate	Regular Database
Reference fields	Reference to article	Identity (Reference)+ Database path/source
Editable fields	Quantity	R/W fields

NOTE Mnemonics used in the Field Manager:

▪Article name: InternalArticleName

▪Reference to article: ReferenceToInternalArticle.