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Pro Power Tips 1.0A (c) 1992 Scanlon Enterprises
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
DATA BASE POWER TIPS
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
When you use a data base system, no matter which one, you need
to create records, make reports and present data, in a concise
and timely manner. Pro Power Tips, Database section, will guide
you in these and other Database matters.
Enhance Your dBase Logic Field Usage
Tired of explaining what T and F stand for in DBase III Plus
Reports? If your DBase reports often display the contents of
logical fields, you'll produce more readable output by using
DBase's IFF() function with the Active expression to substitute
words for the logical values. Suppose you have a file called
Vendors with a logical field called Active, containing T & F in
a report column, instead of the Active Expression itself, use
"IFF(ACTIVE,'YES','NO'". You can also use "IFF(ACTIVE,
'Active','Inactive'".
Add Printer Codes for Better-Looking dBase Output
You can spruce up dBase III plus reports by using printer
control codes to produce compressed type, underlining, boldface
and other print styles. Just use the following commands. ".SET
DEVICE TO PRINT"
".@ PROW(),PCOL() SAY CHR(15)"
".SET DEVICE TO SCREEN"
In the example above, "@ PROW(),PCOL() SAY" sends the control
code "CHR(15)" (compressed type for Epson and IBM compatibles),
to the printer at its current location. Substitute other control
codes (which of course must be specific to your printer) to
effect other print styles. The commands can be entered at the
dot prompt, saved in their own command file or used within other
command files.
Paradox Shortcut, Pick Your Own Editor
If you don't like the Paradox Script Editor, you can assign
another ASCII text editor, such as Brief or Word, to run in
Paradox. First be sure the text editors directory is referenced
by the system PATH statement. From Paradox's main menu, select
Script Play and type "CUSTOM" and press <ENTER>. Now answer the
prompt about your monitor, and from a subsequent menu, choose
Pal Editor. Type the name of the executable file that invokes
your text editor, and follow it with a space and an asterisk.
The asterisk, indicates that you want whatever script file is
loaded when you invoke the editor. Also, you can put an
exclamation point before the editors file name to give the
editor more memory, and/or you can add another space and two
more asterisks to end the line if your editor can accept a line
number that jumps you to that position in the script. To exit,
press <ENTER>, select Return Do-It, Do-It, save the CFG file to
either the harddisk or Network. Paradox will close. The next
time you load Paradox, Script Play will summon your favorite
editor.
dBase & Foxbase do Multiline Reporting
Still stuck with an old dBase III Plus or Foxbase report writer?
It may seem impossible to build a multiline report, but it's
NOT. Here's the trick. Placing a semicolon within the column
contents will wrap the column to the next line. This lets you
load a multiline group of expressions, such as a three line
address block, into a single column. To do this, enter the
column contents, such as the following, into a single column.
TRIM(FNAME) + " " + TRIM(LNAME) + ";" + ADDRESS + ";" +
TRIM(CITY) + " " + STATE + " " + ZIP
The above should be entered continuously. Set the column width
no narrower that the widest possible combination of data
appearing between the semicolons, otherwise, you'll get
unintended word wrap effects. Unfortunately, there's no easy way
to box and address. For that you'll have to upgrade.
From a Table to a Form
A Browse screen table view shows you many records at once, while
an Edit screen form gives you a clearer view of one record.
dBase III Plus, offers no way to toggle easily between these
views, but you can create such a toggle by programming. Here's
how to do it with the least amount of code :
X = .F.
DO WHILE .NOT. X
BROWSE
EDIT
@21,37 SAY "Exit?" GET X
READ
ENDDO
RETURN
This example assumes that your data file is already open. The
program starts a loop, that brings up the Browse screen,
(dBase's table view). Here, you can scroll through your data and
even edit it. When you exit Browse, by pressing <ESC> or <Ctrl>W
the Edit screen appears, showing the record that was highlighted
when you exited Browse. When you exit Edit, with <ESC>, you'll
be asked if you want to exit the program. If you respond with
"Y" or "T", the program terminates. If you answer "N" or "F",
the program resumes looping, and brings you back to the Browse
screen.
Making a Form Your Own
When you view data in Paradox, <F7> acts as a hot key for going
between the table and form views. By default, the form displayed
with the hot key is a simple vertical listing of your table's
fields. But Paradox lets you redesign this form to make it
easier to read. For instance, you can place CITY, STATE & ZIP
fields on a single line. To change the form display, select
Forms Change from the MAIN menu. Enter the name of your table
when prompted, and press <ENTER> to select the highlighted "F"
from the list of forms that can be changed. (Other forms are
listed by number. If the table has no other forms, only the "F"
will be displayed.) Enter a description for the form, or press
<ENTER> to keep the default, STANDARD FORM. That boring Standard
Form now appears. Pressing <F10> brings up a menu of options for
changing the look and, for that matter, the functionality of the
form. For instance, you can use the Area Move command to move a
field to another part of the screen, or the Border Place command
to draw a box. Explore the menus to see what else is available.
Once you are satisfied with your new form, press <F2> to save
your work and exit. The next time you press <F7> from a table
view, the current record will pop up using your new and improved
form.
Copy a Calculated Field in Paradox
When you're designing a report, with a number of similar,
complex, calculated fields, it's handy to copy a formula from
one field to another. Unfortunately, Paradox, has no commands
for doing this. You can get around this shortcoming, by creating
an instant Script macro when you first enter the formula. While
designing a report, before creating the first calculated field,
press <Alt><F3> to start keystroke recording to an Instant
Script. Then press <F10> and select Field Place Calculated. Next
type in your formula, and press <ENTER> <Alt><F3> to end
recording. When you want to place a similar calculated field in
another location, simply press <Alt><F4> to play the Instant
Script. You will soon be prompted to place the field. Press
<ESC> <Ctrl>F, edit the formula, press <ENTER>, and place the
field as prompted.
Multi-Config for Q&A
Changes made at Q&A's Utilities Set Global Defaults screen are
saved in a file called QA.CFG. If you want to have alternative,
reusable configurations, save one configuration before creating
another, and copy this file to another name, such as QA2.CFG. To
use QA2.CFG, copy it back to QA.CFG. This copy back and forth
can be automated via a batch file. Don't forget to save the
original QA.CFG, by copying it to a temporary file, such as
QA.TMP, before you copy the QA2.CFG to QA.CFG.
EXAMPLE: COPY the current QA.CFG file to QA1.CFG, you have now
cloned the current config information. Now, enter Q&A's
Utilities Set Global Defaults Screen, and set up your second Q&A
configuration. EXIT Q&A and copy the new QA.CFG to QA2.CFG. Now,
make two batch files, one called QA1.BAT the other QA2.BAT. The
first line in each batch file will copy the correct QA config
file. For QA1.BAT, this should be "COPY QA1.CFG QA.CFG", and for
QA2.BAT, this should be "COPY QA2.CFG QA.CFG".
Getting the Right Record With DBase III Plus
Set Relation, which links two data bases by a common key, is one
of the most powerful DBase III Plus commands. However, Set
Relation has one undocumented quirk that can produce undesirable
results. When DBase searches the child data base for the first
key that matches the parent data base's key, the matching record
may be a deleted one, even if Set Delete is on. To avoid this
problem, ensure that the child data base contains no deleted
records before you create the relation by issuing a Pack
command.
Duplicating Paradox Entries
When working with Paradox 3.0+, it is often necessary to
duplicate the contents of a field from one record to the next.
To do this, use the Paradox "Ditto" key, which copies the value
from the same field of the previous record. The "Ditto" key is
the combined keystroke <Ctrl>-D. This key combination is listed
in the index of both the Paradox Introduction and the User's
Guide manual.
Effective Data Base Reports
Effective data base reports turn data into information, but if
your readers can't tell what they're looking at, the report is
nothing but a dead tree! An informative title and clear column
headings go a long way toward telling a reports story.
Use two-part report headlines. For the title, carefully, choose
descriptive words commonly employed in your business which never
change. Next, build a modifiable heading, which identifies the
data set on the particular report. This is especially important
if you use the same report form (or layout) for more than one
type of report. Suppose, you use the same layout to generate two
reports on customers, but select the listings by different
criteria. One report might show all of your customers, while the
other might include only those who haven't bought anything this
year. Using the same report form, not only saves you time, but
if you use a layout consistently, your co-workers will know, for
instance, that the last purchase date is always in the fifth
column. But, if both reports have the same headline, you'll have
some confused and angry co-workers. Everyone will be much
happier if you name these reports something like "Customers" and
"Inactive Customers". Most data managers let you supply report
headings at run time.
Sorted Details: The heading can do double duty, by telling your
readers what order the records are in. Most people, assume that
a report is sorted by, or printed in the order of, its left-hand
column. It's therefore best to design a report form with the
sorted column (be it NAME, ZIP or something else), on the left.
This is NOT always possible, especially if you're using the same
report form for a number of reports. The solution, specify the
sort order in your heading, as in "Inactive Customers (No
Purchase in 1991)".
At the head of the Column: After the report heading, the column
headings are the best clues to what's on the report. The easiest
(but not necessarily the smartest) thing to do is simply accept
default in many report writers and use the field names provided.
If the fields have simple names, like, "Phone", that's no
problem, but a column headed "DTPOST" will confuse the boss.
Therefore, when the field name is a code or abbreviation, spell
it out in the column heading. For instance, "Date Posted" is
much easier to understand at a glance, that "DTPOST". If your
description column heading is wider that its column, split it
into two lines. You can do this with virtually all report
writers. Once you've spelled out your column headings, format
then for easy reading. Parallel justification is important. A
left justified or centered heading will look confusing over a
column of right justified numbers. AS a general rule, you should
left justify character column headings, center those above dates
and long descriptions and right justify heading over numbers.
Other column heading design tips: Use uppercase and lower case
letters. They're easier to read than all uppercase or lower
case. Put a line below each column heading, stretching the full
width of the column. If you've put some thought into your report
heading and column headings, the people who read your reports
will be happier. In the long career run, this will make you a
happy camper.
Naming Reports As You Print Them
How would you go about printing, from a data base of all your
customers, a report of just those customers added since last
July? Assuming your report form is called CUSTLIST.FRM and your
date field is called "First_Sale", the obvious answer is to use
the command "REPORT FORM CustList TO PRINT FOR First_Sale >= C
TO D("07/01/90")". One extra step will give your report a title
that accurately reflects the data in the new report. The dBase
REPORT command, has a little used HEADINGS option, that lets you
add a title at print time. If you change the command to "REPORT
FORM CustList TO PRINT FOR First_Sale >= C TO D("07/01/90")
HEADING "Customers Added Since July 1, 1990", the resulting
report will be much clearer to your co-workers.
Reporting From a Paradox Query
Paradox offers no direct way to print a report of only some of
the records in a table. If you need a list of customers added
since last July, for instance, you can't use your Customer
table's Report R to print it. You can create an Ask query, that
lists only those customers, then use the Tools Copy Report
command to copy your report form from the Customer to the Answer
table. Printing Answer's report rather than the Customer's will
give you the selection you want. Even then, the reports' title
won't state which customers are listed, and Paradox 3.0+ has no
way to change a report title when you print it. So, before
printing, the report, you'll have to use the Report Change
command to change the name manually. Do this after you've copied
the report to the Answer table, and be sure to change the name
of the copy, not the original. If you have Paradox 3.5 is
easier. When creating or changing the report, put a calculated
field in the title's place, using a variable name as the
expression. From then on, changing the contents of the variable
will change the title of the report. <Alt><F10>MiniScript is an
easy way to do this.
Section finished. Be sure to order your THREE BONUS DISKS which
expand this software package with vital tools, updates and
additional tutorial material for computer users! Send $24.95 to
Scanlon Enterprises, Department TIP, 38354 17th St. E.,
Palmdale, CA 93550. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Modifications,
custom program versions, Site and LAN licenses of this package
for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author.
This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY
BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu.