Data Management

Advanced > Data Management

Although many users will only ever need to store data in their InBox, many users find that they want to keep important clips for longer periods of time, and that it is convenient to categorize them.  So we allow you to create other "collections" for various projects or topics, where you can keep clips as long as you'd like.  Whether you only need to keep ten clips or ten thousand, you need to understand how collections work, and how they interact.

You have three collections which are created by default:

Virtual Collections

Additionally, you have "virtual" collections which are really just specialized "searches".  The Trashcan is one such "virtual" collection, which shows you all clips that are in "deleted" status in the database. There are also date-based virtual collections showing all clips captured/created today, during the past 7 or 30 days, and one for "all bitmaps".  New virtual collections may be added in subsequent 7.x releases.

About the trashcan:  As previously stated, the trashcan is really just a query of clips marked for future deletion from the database.  Each database has a rule that says how long clips can remain in the trashcan before they are permanently deleted.  The default is 7 days, so you can go back and rescue clips from the trashcan, if you want to.

Note that the "overflow" mechanism is new to version 6.  In prior versions, the "trimmed" clips were lost for good.  And the trashcan was only good until you closed the program.

The "Flow"

So let's consider the journey of a clip.  Typically, it will be captured into the InBox.  200 clips later, it gets moved into Overflow.  Another 800 clips, and it winds up in the Trashcan.  Where it is finally deleted 7 days later.  Of course, you could intervene at any time, and move it to another collection with different attributes (such as "safe" or another collection that you have set up.)

Note that you can cut short the time that clips spend in the trashcan by using the File | Empty Trash command.  We designed the data handling so that you would never need to do this. However, some users will want to keep a clean trashcan, so we've provided a way to do that.

Also, consider that you can capture directly into any collection, as long as you have it set to "accept new clips".  When a collection is active, and you copy new data, the new clip will either go into that collection, or if you have set the "garbage avoidance" feature on that collection, then it will "bounce" to the InBox.  If you are working on a particular project, such as gathering research on a particular topic, you will probably want to capture directly into that collection.  Or, you can just let it accumulate in the InBox, and selectively move the data over when you're ready.

Note that the Overflow and Empty Trash processes can be configured to run at startup, shutdown, or after an hour of inactivity.  See: Database  Properties Dialog for more information.

For more information see: