FAQ

1. How do I add a new piece of equipment?

Navigate to the intended table (e.g., Echo Sounding Equipment) by selecting the Equipment tab. Once in Table view, click the "Add" button located above the table and complete the data entry form that appears. Be sure to fill all required fields.

2. How do I modify an existing piece of equipment?

Navigate to the equipment's database record in its respective table. Open the database record by clicking the "View" button or the Effective Date hyperlink.

To add a new database transaction for the piece of equipment, click the "New Transaction" button. The Effective Date for this new transaction will default to today's date unless otherwise specified.

To modify an existing database transaction for the piece of equipment, select the transaction you wish to modify from the Transaction History table (click on Effective Date to open), then click the "Edit Transaction" button. The Effective Date of the transaction you wish to modify will be retained.

3. How do I delete an existing piece of equipment?

Users have a 7-day window to delete any database records they create. After that period only a hiBase Administrator can delete the record. To delete a database record, click the "Edit Transaction" button then select the "Check to Delete" option at the bottom of the data entry form. In the dialog box that appears ("Are you sure you want to delete this object?") select "OK', then click the "Submit" button to delete the record.

4. How do I move a piece of equipment?

Navigate to the equipment's database record in its respective table. Open the database record by clicking the "View" button or selecting the Effective Date hyperlink, then click the "New Transaction" button. In the data entry form that appears, select a new Current Location and enter the Effective Date of this transaction (i.e., the date when the piece of equipment changed location). The Owner field indicates ownership (typically the field unit, e.g., Fairweather) of the equipment and should not be modified unless the ownership changes.

5. How can I track changes on a piece of equipment?

Navigate to the equipment's database record in its respective table. Open the database record by clicking the "View" button or the Effective Date hyperlink. All changes made to the piece of equipment should display in the Transaction History at the bottom of the screen. To view the details of a specific database transaction, click on its Effective Date.

6. What's the difference between an inventory and a query?

The Query tab contains both inventories and queries.

An inventory is a report containing all equipment that currently belongs to a specified owner. To display hardware, select the Hardware Inventory. To display software and computer equipment, select the Software Inventory. To display Reson equipment, select Reson Inventory.

A query allows the user to conduct a customized search of hiBase and its archive. The Vessel Query allows the user to search all equipment that belonged to a specified owner, or existed at a specified location, on a specified date (e.g., "What equipment existed on Fairweather Launch 2805 on May 1, 2012?"). The Custom Query interface allows the user to generate their own fully-customizable query of hiBase and its archive. Users proficient in SQL wishing to write their own hiBase query should use the SQL Query.

7. How can I search the hiBase archive?

Users can search past transactions by using the Vessel Query or Custom Query interfaces, or by conducting an SQL query via the SQL Query interface. For example, to find out what equipment existed on Fairweather Launch 2805 on May 1, 2012, launch the Vessel Query interface (Query > Vessel Query), Search by Current Location, set Search = "FA_2805" and Date="2012-05-01". To find out where Fairweather's SVP-70 sound speed sensor S/N 4008077 was located on November 6, 2012, launch the Custom Query interface (Query > Custom Query), set Equipment="sound_speed", Serial Number="4008077" and Effective Date="2012-11-06".

8. Can I export query results to a file?

Yes, absolutely. Query results can be exported to a text or .csv file.

9. Can I create a PDF inventory report?

The ability to generate a pre-formatted PDF inventory report is under development. Until then you can print the web display to PDF. To facilitate this, you may adjust column width and table pagination by choosing the preferred settings in your profile (drop-down menu in the upper right-hand corner).

10. Can I search hiBase by keyword?

Yes, you can. To do so, click on the Query tab and select the Search option.

11. I'm trying to add a new piece of equipment and don't see the equipment's location in the drop-down list. How can I add a new location?

To add a new location, open the Current Location table (Equipment > Current Location) and click the "Add" button. When creating a new location, indicate whether the location is a main vessel (e.g., Rainier, Thomas Jefferson), survey launch (e.g., RA-6, TJ_3102), or warehouse (e.g., EEB-East, MOC-A Warehouse).

12. Are hiBase searches case-sensitive?

It depends. Any search conducted using the "=" operator will be case-sensitive, whereas any search conducted using the "contains" operator will not be case-sensitive. The Table search (Table > Search) has been modified so that it is no longer case sensitive, so now search for equipment belonging to Rainier or RAINIER will yield the same result.

13. I'm only interested in viewing equipment belonging to my field unit. What's the easiest way to accomplish this?

Users can screen for their own equipment by setting the Global Filter (Welcome [user] > Profile > Global Filter). When a user selects their field unit from the Global Filter drop-down list, hiBase will only display equipment owned by, and/or currently located on, that field unit. For example, setting Global Filter equal to "Rainier" will display all equipment owned by Rainier, as well as all loaner equipment currently located on Rainier and its survey launches.

14. What's the difference between Vessel and Current Location tables? (Admin, FOO and CST accounts only)

The Vessel and Current Location tables are actually different views of the same table. The Vessel "table" contains all survey vessels in the NOAA hydrographic fleet, including main vessels and survey launches. The Current Location "table" includes all vessels as well as non-vessel locations where equipment may reside (e.g., MOC-A Warehouse). Only Admin, FOO and CST accounts can add new data records to the Vessel and Current Location tables.