A Zoot database is basically a collection of items. Those familiar with standard database terminology can think of items as database records. A Zoot item has a variety of database fields associated with it, including common fields like <Subject>, <Date Created> and <Priority>. You can see a list of these fields by pressing the F8 key, which brings up the Item Properties Dialog. The Item Properties Dialog lists all of the frequently used fields for the currently selected item and shows the current value for each field. You can edit many of the fields directly in the Item Properties Dialog, however, some of the fields are read-only and cannot be edited (<Date Created> for instance).
Item fields can also be edited directly in the Item Grid. To edit a field directly in the Item Grid, a column corresponding to that field must be added. Typically you'll add several columns to the Item Grid representing the most frequently used fields. Columns make it easy to view and change the values of fields, since you can make the changes directly in the Item Grid. The <Subject> field, for instance, is usually available as a column. To edit a column field simply click on it with your mouse and Zoot enters in-place editing mode. Enter a value and press the Enter key to accept the changes or press the Esc key to cancel.
Every Zoot item has a document associated with it. When you click an item in the Item Grid, the document associated with the item is displayed in the Item Editor below. An item's document is a freeform, multiline text field, which can hold a short note or a much longer document (up to 32,000 characters). In some cases an item's document may represent a link to a file or some other resource, in which case the document will contain the file path or URL information pointing to the resource. Currently the item document is restricted to plain text only. A future version of Zoot will allow for rich text formatting (RTF) in the item document.
