At the log-in screen, choose Guest Account. No password is necessary. Click on Login.
(If you can't enter, there may already be people on the site. Please try again later.) Once you are in the database:

This is the area in which you can manipulate the database.
If you see the screen divided into two vertical frames, the one on the left is the Status Area.
Near the top is a left-pointing triangle; if you click it the left frame (the Status Area) disappears.
If you don't see two vertical frames there should be a right-pointing triangle near the upper left.
Click it and the Status Area appears.

Top row of three icons. Home takes you back to an entrance page; Pencil puts you in Browse mode; and Magnifier puts you in Find mode.

You are currently in Browse mode. In this mode, you can page through the database by clicking on the pages of the Open Book icon in the Status Area. Click on the right page to move forward or on the left page to move backward. You can get extra information by clicking on any square gold button. Any text box that has more information than can be easily displayed has a slide bar to its right; this will get you the whole message.

Second row - a word plus two icons: The word says what mode you're in (Browse mode), but you already knew that. The first icon is dead. The second is the Help button.

Third row of icons: Most of them are dead, but the ones you need are Sort and Show All Records. After you have performed a Find, you may want to return to the full record set and re-sort them.

The Help button: This tells you how to maneuver around the database. However, you will not be able to do all the things mentioned, such as adding or deleting records or editing text. (Sorry, you're only a guest.) The most important sections you need are:
  (1) Navigating records in Browse mode
  (2) Viewing records in a form, list, or table
      Form: you see one record at a time.
      List: you can see all the records, one after another, by using the slide bar on the right.
      Table: you see records in a sort of spreadsheet format, and you can click on any
      record to select it, then change to form or list for a better view.
      The table view acts as a rough Table of Contents.
  (3) Finding and sorting records
      To find a particular plant, go into the Find mode, type its common name into the Common
      name box (or its Latin name in the Latin name box) and click Perform Find.
      This will bring up one or more entries, which you can browse through by clicking on the
       pages of the Book icon.
      The database is easily searchable in Find mode. You can select several criteria at once by
      clicking on white boxes and/or entering text in text boxes.
      For example, in Find mode, choose Yes for Palladius to see all the plants he mentions.
      Or choose Yes for Charlemagne and Yes for Culinary Uses to find only those
      plants that were suggested in the edicts and are used for food.
      Or click on the gold button after Other in the Uses checklist area (to bring up that information box)
      and type in your key word (such as "oil", or "hair", or "strewing") there to find all such entries. .
      To see only main entries (NOT cross-references), go into Find mode, type the word see in the
      Common name box, check Omit in the Status Area, then Perfom Find. This will give you the
      set of records that do not contain the word see (i.e., the cross references). You can now Sort.
      The Help information explains more complex searches.
      Et cetera.

Printing: First, hide the Status Area. Then, in Page Setup (in the File pulldown menu) choose Landscape, Shrink to Fit, and (most important!) Print Background. But you'll only print what shows on the screen. To get the full text of the boxes with sliders, I suggest copying whatever information you want into your word processor and printing that.

Thanks for visiting my garden. I hope you enjoyed it. Please send your comments, suggestions, additions and/or corrections to marian@buttery.org.

Pray Enter My Garden