JFile 3.0
Documentation

IMPORTANT NOTES!
- JFile users can install this program right over top of the older one.  
Features:
- NEW: Column totaling of fields
- NEW: Palm Find function compatible
- NEW: In-place editing of many fields in the column view
- NEW: Ability to make a database read-only
- Password protect access to databases
- Remembers the last sort/filter/find options performed
- Field types including popup lists, date, integer, floating point, and Boolean
- Filtering of records
- Sorting on secondary and tertiary sort fields
- Forward and reverse sorting by field (when tapping column heading twice)
- Columnar formatting when viewing a database
- Cut/Paste between fields
- Local find function in the database view
- Columnar formatting in the database view
- Export a record to MemoPad
- Duplicate a record
Limitations:
- 30 databases (1 in the unregistered version)
- field names can be no longer than 20 characters
- 20 fields per databases
- 500 characters per field of data

Creating A New Database:
To create a new database, tap the 'New DB' button.  Enter the name of the database, which can be up to 30 characters in length.  The next step is to select the field names for each record and the field types.
The field names can be up to 20 characters each in length, and must be continuous on the ‘New Database’ screen, JFile will not permit you to leave an ‘unnamed’ field in the list of field names.
You may choose a different Field Type for each field, with the only restriction being that the last field in the database cannot be of type Boolean, JFile will alert you to this situation if it arises, and ask you to create another non-Boolean field after the Boolean field.
Field Types
String: this is the ‘normal’ field type allowing strings of up to 500 characters to be entered in the field list.

Bool: this is the Boolean type of field type, and will appear in your databases as a checkbox that is either checked or unchecked. NOTE: You can ‘filter’ on Boolean fields using either a 0 or a 1 as the filter string.

Date: this is the Date type of field type, and will popup a Date picking dialog box when you click on the name of the field

Time: this is the Time type of field type, and will popup a Time picking dialog box when you click on the name of the field

Popup: this is a Popup List field type.  You can define the contents of the popup list once you are in the editing view of the database itself (instructions for this are listed in the Editing portion of this documentation.

Int: this is the Integer field type.  Sorting on this field will be valid for integers up to approximately 9 digits in length.

Float: this is the Floating Point field type.  Sorting on this field will be valid for integers up to approximately 9 digits in length.
Database Modification
You can now change the names of fields, their Field Types, as well as the database name after the database has been created.  You can also add, delete, and exchange fields in the database structure.  To modify a database in this way, go to the Main view in JFile, tap the ‘Mod’ button, which will become highlighted, and then select the database you wish to modify.

From this screen you can Insert (Ins.) a field, Delete (Del.) a field, or Exchange (Exch.) 2 fields in the database structure.  Note that on large databases some of these operations may take a while to complete.

Similarly you can change the types of Fields in this screen.  Note however that if you change from non-compatible field types, you will have a loss of data.  Example: you have a field with a string type with a lot of text in each record in that particular field.  If you switch that to a Boolean type of field, you will lose each of those strings, and the field will be reset to allow input of a Boolean/Checkbox type of input.
Global Finds
In the App Prefs menu option, you can check or uncheck the option that will include JFile databases in the PalmOS ‘Find’ function.
In Place Field Updates In Column View
In the App Prefs menu option, you can check or uncheck the option that will allow you to edit certain field types (popup lists, dates, times, and checkboxes) in the column list view of a database for quicker editing of these fields.  Other field types when tapped will take you to the normal edit screen.
Viewing A Database:
While on the main view screen, tap on the title of the database you would like to view.  A new screen comes up, with the title indicating which database you are in.  For a new database you will see only the column/field headings.

As the number of records in your database grows, you'll find yourself scrolling down the list of records. Keep in mind that in addition to the software "line at a time" up/down arrow buttons provided by JFile, you can also use the hardware "scroll" buttons provided on your Pilot (just below the data entry area) to move not only JFile but any pilot application's data up and down a full page at a time.
Sorting a Database
While viewing a database, you can tap on any of the column headings to sort the database by that particular column/field.  A menu option to sort the database with secondary and tertiary sort fields is also available.
Column Totals
JFile 3.x now supports column totals.  You can click on a column title (ie. the field name), and you will be presented with a list of options, one of which is ‘Column Totals’.  By click on this, you will the totals for that particular column.  For integers and floating point numbers, the total will show the number of records and the total of the numbers.  For checkbox/boolean type fields, this will show you the number of checked vs. unchecked boxes.  All other field types will show you the number of records in the display.  

NOTE: The totals are based on the current filter, so that if you have a filter on that is showing 20 out of 40 total records, the totals will be based only on those 20 records in the filter.
Setting Up Column Widths
In the database columns view, tapping the column heading will present a drop list with one of the choices being to change the Column Width for that column..  The number that you enter into this box (0-160) will be the number of pixels alloted on the screen to that column.  Note that if you make a column 0 width, it will make the column ‘hidden’, and you will need to use the ‘Show Hidden Columns’ menu item to bring them back into view.  Remember though that column 1 is a static column, and will not scroll left and right.

As an example, say you set each of you columns to 80 (pixels), you would see two columns on the Database view screen, each of 80 pixels, and when you scroll left or right, you would scroll 1 field to the left or right (again, the leftmost first column will remain stationary).  Experiment different column widths  to understand the new usage.
Horizontal Scrolling
Horizontal scroll buttons added to the database view.  The first column is a non-scrollable column (this may change in a future version to allow the first column to scroll also) and any other visible column will now scroll left and right through the available fields.
Password Protection
You can now set a password for each database.  This is done from the Database Prefs menu option while viewing a particular database.   The password you set here can be up to 10 characters in length.  It will be required to enter this password each time you try to access the database from the Main view of all the databases.
The Auto-Lock on App Exit checkbox will automatically return you to the ‘Main’ view of JFile if this item is checked, and if a password has been set.  What this means, is that normally, JFile will try to return you to the last position you were at in the database should you leave the application and return.  If you do this with a Passworded database, you will not be asked the password, and will get instant access to the last place you were at.  This checkbox, if checked, will automatically return you to the main screen if you leave the JFile application, and therefore the Password will need to be re-entered if you wish to access the database in question.
NOTE: There is no encryption being done on the data items in the database itself!  The purpose of this password function is only to prevent the casual user of your Pilot from accessing you more Private data.  Example: say you want to hand it to a friend to try out the Pilot, with the Password set for the database, and the Auto-Lock on, the person will not be able to access that particular database in JFile without the password you have set.  Similarly, the data is not encrypted in the resultant .pdb file on the PC following a HotSync, so that it is possible to access the data in a Password Protected database after a HotSync on the PC.  Again, the purpose of the password is simply to prevent the casual user of you Pilot from accessing data that you would not like them to have access to.
Adding Records To A Database:
While viewing a database, tap the 'Add' button.  You will be presented with a form showing the field names, and space to enter your data.  When through editing your data, tap 'Done' to save the changes, 'Cancel' to cancel them, and 'Del' if you wish to delete the record from the database.
The different field types require different methods to input data.  In an integer field you are only permitted to enter numerical digits for instance.  In a date field, when you try to modify it a Date Picker dialog box will be presented.  Popup lists are discussed in the next section.
Working With Popup Lists
When editing a record, fields of type Popup List will appear with a Bold field name to indicate it is a popup list.  You can manually enter data into the field simply by clicking on the underlined area to enter data into.  You can also select from the Popup List by tapping the Bold field name and you will be presented with the current Popup List for that field.  One of the list items will be Modify Popup List, which will allow you to add or delete items from the Popup List for that particular field.
Popup lists are not intended to be used for very long lists of data.  There are limitations in JFile that limit each Popup List to 100 items, and each list is limited to approximately 2000 characters of data (this will likely be modified in a future version to allow lengthier popup lists).
Changing the Editing Record Format
While editing a record, you can use the Menu to increase or  decrease the amount of space allotted to the data fields.  Each time you tap on the menu item the ‘data’ portion of the screen is incremented or decremented by 5 pixels in size.  This allows you to view more or less of the field names if the data is small, and vice versa if the data is large compared to the field names.
Viewing Fields That Contain Lengthy Data:
If you have a lot of data in one field (more than 200 characters usually), and it spills of the screen, you will need to drag the cursor down the field (i.e. selecting the text) to scroll to the remainder of the data in that field.  This may be modified in the future for easier usage of long data fields.
Using JFile .pdb Databases in Flash Rom

You can now use Jfile .pdb databases in Flash ROM, in read-only mode, however you must be running the latest 2.10 (or later) version of TRG's Flash Builder application.  Email TRG for the latest information
on this application.