What this challenge is about

This document demonstrates Chronolator’s Merge, Sort, and Format features, and will show you how much time it can save you compared to performing these tasks manually.

Chronolator incorporates many other features designed to help produce chronologies. These are described on our web site, www.chronolator.co.uk.

How does it work?

At the end of this document are four tables, each with four rows. They have a variety of column widths and date formats, such as you might obtain if you received the tables from four different agencies, some of whose Word table skills were not too good.

The idea is for you to try to put all four into a single, consistently presented table in date order. See how long it takes you, and then see how much time you save by using the Chronolator toolbar to do it automatically.

How do I take the challenge? Merge, sort and format the tables ‘manually’, using only Word’s standard features. Notice how long it takes. To ensure a fair comparison, close the document without saving your changes, and then re-open it. Press the Merge Tables button on the Chronolator toolbar which appears on the Add-ins tab of the Ribbon, or just underneath your usual toolbars if you are using Word 2003 or earlier. The last three tables will be deleted, their contents having been added to the end of the first. Notice that all the column widths have been fixed, but that the dates are still in their original order as entered by the agencies. Press the Format Dates button to put the dates into a consistent format. Press the Sort Tables button to put the rows into Date order. (Non-UK customers please see the notes at the end of this document) A note about ‘macros’ When you opened this document, you might have been asked whether to ‘Run Macros’, or been told that macros have been disabled. Chronolator works by using macros; if you have disabled them, please enable them and then close and reopen this document. You can find out how to enable macros from Word’s Help system; search for ‘macro security’. If you are connected to the Internet, you can see an animated tutorial about it by clicking here. If the Chronolator Toolbar does not appear If you have followed the instructions in ‘A note about macros’ above, please check whether the demo has opened in a Web browser instead of in Word. If so, save the document on your computer before opening it.

Table 1– Social Services Chronology

Date	Source of Information	Family Contact - Child	Family Contact - Adult	Communication - within agency	Communication - external to agency	Response or Outcome	Comments
12 3 04	Social Services > SSD Duty Team log	Police call to say they have received reports of a fight outside SJW’s house
14 3 04	Social Services > SSD Duty Team log	5 pm. Neighbour Mrs B rings SSD. She can hear fighting next door and a baby crying
14 3 04	Social Services > SSD Duty Team log	5.40 pm. Duty social worker logs phone call from Neighbour Mrs B.	SSD no action now. Discuss at team meeting tomorrow.
15 3 04	Social Services > Emergency team social worker	03.00. Arrived at A&E to interview mother and consult with paediatrician.

Table 2– St Salome Maternity Unit Chronology

Date	Source of Information	Family Contact - Child	Family Contact – Adult	Communication - within agency	Communication - external to agency	Response or Outcome	Comments
1 November 2003	St Salome Maternity Unit > Antenatal records no 1234	New booking visit by midwife 1. No concerns.	Further appointments booked
12 January 2004	St Salome Maternity Unit > Antenatal records no 2784	Routine antenatal visit by midwife 1. No concerns noted.
10 February 2004	St Salome Maternity Unit > Antenatal records no 3984	Routine antenatal visit by midwife 2. No concerns.	Post-incident interview for review
01 March 2004	St Salome Maternity Unit > Labour ward records 3256	New birth. Paediatric examination 10.45 by SHO paediatrician. Normal.	Arrived in labour by 3.30 pm. Progressed to normal delivery by midwife 3 at 10pm. Transferred to postnatal ward @ 11pm.	Ms F stated she did not wish to be disturbed and if her partner arrives he is to be asked to come back in the morning	? where is this recorded? Recollection by Health Care Assistant Labour Ward

Table 3 – Berrickshire Police Chronology

Date	Source of Information	Family Contact - Child	Family Contact - Adult	Communication - within agency	Communication - external to agency	Response or Outcome	Comments
15 03 04	Berrickshire Police > CPT Records	02.10 Received phone call from St Salome’s A&E. Baby SJW died from suspicious injuries also, suspected assault on mother.	Action to attend incident at St Salome A&E dept.
15 03 04	Berrickshire Police > CPT Records	02.20 Left message with Community Safety Officers at Berrick New Town Police Station CSU. ? case known to them.
15 03 04	Berrickshire Police > CPT Records	03.00. Arrived at A&E to interview mother and consult with paediatrician.
16.03.04	Berrickshire Police > CPT Records	Team meeting to discuss previous night’s events	Formal review arranged for 19.03.04

Table 4 – St Salome Community Midwifery Unit Chronology

Date	Source of Information	Family Contact - Child	Family Contact - Adult	Communication - within agency	Communication - external to agency	Response or Outcome	Comments
13/12/2003	St Salome Community Midwifery Unit > Team records 8537	Routine ante-natal visit	No problems
20/2/2004	St Salome Community Midwifery Unit > Team records 1078	Routine ante-natal visit	No problems
27/2/2004	St Salome Community Midwifery Unit > Team records 1209	Routine ante-natal visit	No problems
4/3/2004	St Salome Community Midwifery Unit > Team records 1542	14.30 Ms F notifies Community Midwife by telephone. Going to Calais to stay with her mother. Coming back on 14.03.04.

Note for non-UK English Language customers

The dates in this demonstration have been entered in shorthand formats commonly used in the UK. When Chronolator formats and sorts them, they will be treated as if they had been entered in your local shorthand formats. The result will be that although the dates are in order, the ‘story’ presented by the chronology is out of sequence.

For example, ’16.03.04’ at the end of Table 3 would be taken to mean 16th March 2004 in the UK. However, if you process this document in the US, Word will interpret it as being 4th March 2016. Similarly, '4/3/2004' at the end of Table 4 would be taken to mean 4h March 2004 in the UK but 3rd April 2004 In the US.

Of course, no such problem will occur when you use Chronolator from scratch with your own local date formats.

Note for non-English Language customers

Support for all European language date formats is included in Chronolator Version 3.3 and later versions.