Unibase Imaging, release 7.46i, (yes, there is always an equivalent release for Unibase Imaging as well as Unibase by DMAC) now allows operators to insert and delete records in a batch file.
This capability is the result of a valued client taking untethered images to the limit. Concepts were the hardest part of this implementation.

Take the case of changing a record's format in verification. To do it correctly the operator must be on the record with the incorrect format. The operator inserts a new record with the chosen record format. This new record has the same image associated with it as that which was displayed on the screen when the operator pressed record insert. Then either before or after entering the data in the newly inserted record, the operator can delete the original record. Initially, we thought of the operator deleting the record then inserting a record. Problem was in knowing which image to pass to the new record. So the reverse order solved the problem.

Conceptually, users can now think of the idc file as providing an image pool which is a set of images from which records can be built. With all the untethered controls available, records can be created in any order, quantity or sequence of images in the image pool.

Batches keyed under previous releases of Unibase Imaging cannot successfully utilize the insert and delete operator features. They of course are compatible with this release -- just that the features do not work. Rescueing and reading back in the images will correctly update those files for use with insert and delete.