This document is intended to get you started with the most important features of the Tamino X-Plorer. It is recommended that you read the topics in the sequence indicated below. After reading a section which is referenced in a topic below, you should always return to this document and then proceed with the next topic.
The following topics are covered below:
See Starting the Tamino X-Plorer for information on how to start the Tamino X-Plorer on the supported platforms.
When you start the Tamino X-Plorer for the very first time, the navigation tree on the left is empty since you have not yet connected to a server and database.
Connect to any Tamino database which has been previously activated using the Tamino Manager. See Connecting to a Tamino Database in the section Servers and Databases.
When you have connected to a database, a node for it is shown in the navigation tree and you can explore the database contents.
Expand the tree structure by clicking the plus sign in front of an object. When using the keyboard, select the object and press RIGHT-ARROW. The object types are indicated by different icons. See Navigation Tree in the section Elements of the Main Application Window.
Select an object to display details about it in the Content pane and in the Properties pane on the right. See Content Pane and Properties Pane in the section Elements of the Main Application Window.
In the navigation tree, not all instances are shown at the same time. They are subdivided into several packs. When further packs are available, down-arrows are shown in the navigation tree.
Click the plus sign next to the down-arrow to display the next pack of instances. When using the keyboard, select the down-arrow and press ENTER.
Or invoke a context menu for a group of instances. From the context menu, choose, for example, to display the last pack of instances.
The pack size and the maximum number of instances that can be shown in the navigation tree at the same time depend on the instance fetch options. You can specify different values. See Specifying the Instance Fetch Options in the section Working with Schemas.
By default, the ino:docname or ino:id is
shown for each XML instance in the navigation tree. To make the instances more
readily identifiable, you can create instance descriptors.
An instance descriptor defines the attributes of an instance that are to be shown in the navigation tree (for example, a surname, city and phone number) and the sorting sequence. See Specifying an Instance Descriptor in the section Working with Schemas.
Using a filter, you can reduce the number of instances that are shown in the navigation tree. For example, you can define a filter that shows only the instances with a specific surname. See Filtering Instances in the section Working with Instances.
Instances and schemas are created outside the Tamino X-Plorer, using external tools (see below). With the Tamino X-Plorer, you can then add them to a Tamino database. See Defining a Schema in the section Working with Schemas and Inserting a New Instance in the section Working with Instances.
The open location is the folder on your PC in which all schemas and instances that you modify and save using external tools are temporarily stored.
To check the default open location or to define another open location, invoke the Options dialog box and go to the File Location page. See the section Setting the Tamino X-Plorer and X-Query Options.
Several steps are required when modifying schemas or instances:
Invoke the corresponding external tool for the schema or instance directly from the Tamino X-Plorer (either with a double-click or via a context menu using the command). See Opening a Schema or Instance in the section General Commands for Managing Different Types of Objects.
Modify the schema or instance with your external tool.
Save the modifications to your open location and exit your external tool.
Update the schema or instance using the Tamino X-Plorer (i.e. overwrite the existing schema or instance in the database with the new version that is stored in your open location). See Updating a Schema or Instance in the section General Commands for Managing Different Types of Objects.
To search a Tamino database, you have to invoke a query window in which you specify and execute your query. The query results are shown in the query window. Two different types of query can be performed with the Tamino X-Plorer. See the following sections for further information: