Powerbase is an extremely powerful program. Despite the fact that it is
actually very easy to use its complexity and many features can make it
difficult for the new user to get started. This booklet uses some ready made
example databases supplied on the distribution disc to help familiarise you
with the main functions of the program.
It is made up of two sections. The first is a Quick Tutorial aimed at
inexperienced users who may not have used a database before. The Main
Tutorial is meant for people who, although new to Powerbase, have some
familiarity with other databases. If you do fall into this category you
should skip the Quick Tutorial and move straight on to the Main Tutorial.
QUICK TUTORIAL
==============
This tutorial is intended to acquaint the new user as painlessly as possible
with the most commonly-used facilities of Powerbase. It does not explain how
to create a database from scratch (see Chapter 4 − Creating a New Database −
in the Manual), nor does it delve into the many advanced features, but it
does explain how to:−
(a) Start up Powerbase and open an existing database.
(b) Browse through the database and search for individual records.
(c) Add new records and alter or delete existing ones.
(d) Query the database to create simple reports.
(e) Close the database.
The supplied sample database Friends is used to illustrate most of these
activities. If you have a hard disc you should copy Friends and Powerbase
itself onto it before proceeding further. It is possible to use Powerbase
from floppy discs only but some operations, such as printing lists, will be
quite slow. Unless memory is very tight users of floppy discs are
recommended to allocate at least 32K to the RAM disc and copy Friends onto
it. Everything will then run much faster. Powerbase can provide
context-sensitive help via Acorn’s !Help application and you are advised to
load this, resizing the help window and placing it at the top right of the
screen. Further help can be had by choosing the Help entry which will be
found on Powerbase’s main menu and also on the icon-bar menu.
1 Starting Powerbase
=====================
Double-click on the Powerbase icon. After a few seconds it will appear on
the icon-bar with the words “No data” beneath it to show that no database is
open. Dragging the Friends icon onto the Powerbase icon on the icon-bar will
open Friends for use and the words “No data” will be replaced by the name of
the database.
Two windows will open. One is the record window and displays the first
record in the database, the one for Badgery Peter. The other is the keypad
which allows you to control the browsing, searching and editing functions of
Powerbase. The keypad is rather large and obscures quite a big area of the
record window. The most-used buttons, however, are on the top two rows and
clicking the “toggle size” icon (the small square at the right-hand end of
the keypad’s title bar) will reduce the keypad to these two rows only. A
second click restores it to full size.
2 Browsing and Searching
=========================
Now that you have a database running we will find out how to move from
record to record and how to access any specific record by using a small
group of letters called the key of the record. All the mouse clicks
referred to are made with the SELECT (left) button. If the chosen keypad
action has an obvious opposite then you will find that using the ADJUST
(right) mouse button brings about that effect. e.g. While SELECT on the top
left keypad button takes you to the start of the file, ADJUST on the same
keypad button takes you to the end.
2.1 Browsing through the Records
--------------------------------
The top row of buttons on the keypad allows you to browse through the file.
If you have !Help running, as previously suggested, it will tell you what
each button does. Once you get the general idea you will find the symbols on
the buttons logical and self-explanatory. The most commonly used ones act as
follows:−
(a) The arrows at the ends of the row take you to the first and last
records. You are at the first record now, so click with SELECT on
the top-right button and you will see the record for Turnip Charles.
The leftmost button takes you back to the start again.
(b) Movement through the file one record at a time is achieved using the
single arrow keys next door to the ones you have just used. Try them
out, noting the way records come up in alphabetical, or reverse
alphabetical, order.
(c) The keys with double arrows let you make longer jumps through a
file. The number of records skipped is shown in the writable icon
between them and has a default value of 10. As there are only 10
records in Friends these keys will have the same effect as the
“first” and “last” keys, unless you make the interval smaller. Click
in the icon, delete the 10 and enter 5 or 2, then try the
double-arrow keys again.
2.2 Searching for a record
--------------------------
The fifth button on the second row of the keypad shows a question mark
followed by a “record card” icon. We will call it the Search button. When
clicked with SELECT a small window opens on the right-hand side of the
keypad. This is the Search window and contains a writable icon in which to
enter the key of the record you wish to display. In this database keys are
made up from the first 4 letters of the surname plus the initial so, if you
wanted to call up the record for Bloggs Fred you would need to enter BLOGF.
Do so then click on Find (or type the Return key on the keyboard) and the
record will be displayed. Note that the key is shown in the window heading.
If you enter the key of a non-existent record Powerbase displays the record
which most nearly matches the key, but flashes the key field to warn you
that what is being displayed is not what you asked for.
3 Editing the Database
=======================
This part of the tutorial involves changes to the data. Make a working copy
of the disc and put the original in a safe place. If you are using a copy of
Friends on the RAM disc then the floppy disc won’t be altered, but it’s
still not a good idea to work with the original disc.
3.1 Modifying records
---------------------
Point the mouse at any field and click SELECT. The red text caret will
appear in the field. The contents of the field may now be edited with the
aid of the keystrokes which are standard for all RISC OS writable icons.
i.e.
Ctrl U clears the field.
Delete removes the character to the left of the caret.
Copy removes the character to the right of the caret.
Shift/Copy deletes the word to the right of the caret.
Ctrl/Copy deletes everything from the caret to the end of the line.
⇦ and ⇨ move the caret left/right by one character.
Shift ⇦ and Shift ⇨ move the caret left/right by one word.
Ctrl ⇦ and Ctrl ⇨ move the caret to start and end of the field.
Having modified one or more fields you may be wondering what you have to do
to make Powerbase save the modified record so that the changes won’t be
lost. You don’t need to do anything! Powerbase will ensure that your changes
are saved when you display a different record or close the database.
3.2 Recovering data after a mistake
-----------------------------------
You may edit the wrong field by mistake and want to restore the previous
contents. Call up Bloggs Fred’s record and change the address from “12
Woodland Road Exeter” to “12 Woodville Road Exmouth”. Now click MENU over
the first line of the address. The second entry on the main menu (Field)
contains a short group of letters called the tag of the field, in this case
ADD1. Follow the right-pointing arrow to the Field sub-menu and choose the
last entry; Undo changes. The contents of the field will revert to “12
Woodland Road”. Notice that only the first line of the address is affected;
the town is still “Exmouth”. If you want to restore that field as well
click MENU over it and follow the procedure just described.
There might be occasions when you make a hopeless mess of a record and want
to discard all the changes and revert to what you started with. You could,
of course, “undo” each field separately as we just did for the street
address and town but there’s a quicker way. Look near the bottom of the
main menu, (just above Help) and you will see that here too is an Undo
changes option. Choosing this undoes all the alterations you have made.
It is important to realise that these facilities depend on the fact that
Powerbase holds the currently-displayed record in memory and will therefore
only work if the altered record has remained on display from the time you
started changing it up to the point where you decided to “undo”. If you have
looked at another record or clicked on Force update in the meantime then the
changes will have been written to the disc and thus become “permanent”.
3.3 Adding and deleting records
-------------------------------
To add a new record we use the Add record button which looks like a plus
sign and an index card. Clicking on this offers a blank record into which
you can type new data. You don’t have to complete all the fields, in fact
the only field into which you must type something is the NAME field. This is
the key field; the one from which the key, mentioned earlier, is derived. If
you leave the key field blank then nothing will be written to the database.
Type the name “Bodmin George”, then go to the beginning of the file and step
through it record by record. You will find that your new record has been
inserted in the correct place, i.e. the sequence goes: Badgery, Bloggs,
Bodmin, Cavendish.
Now try deleting the record you’ve just added. There is a “dustbin” button
which will do exactly that, but don’t use it just yet. Make sure that the
unwanted record is on the screen and click the button to the right of the
dustbin. You will now find that Bodmin’s record has vanished; the names now
run straight from Bloggs to Cavendish, just as they did before you added
Bodmin.
This looks a bit too easy. Suppose you clicked the keypad button by mistake
and deleted an important record? No problem; what you have just done has
been made easy because it’s far less drastic than it looks. The record
hasn’t really been deleted at all. Click the button above the one you used
for “deleting”. This shows a green right-pointing arrow and a card index
icon. “Bodmin” will reappear. You will soon find, however, that it appears
to be the only record in the file! Don’t worry; nothing has been lost. A
Powerbase database is treated as six separate subfiles numbered 0−5. When
you first open the database you are looking at Subfile 0 and the heading of
the record window shows this. If you look at the heading now you will see
that it has changed to Subfile 1.
The buttons on either side of the bin carry pictures which suggest their
true functions. They do not delete records; they merely move records from
one subfile to another. The right button moves the displayed record to the
next subfile in sequence. Thus, in the above case the “Bodmin” record has
been moved from subfile 0 to subfile 1. A record in subfile 1 would be moved
to subfile 2 and so on. When it gets to 5 the next click moves it into
subfile 0 where it was originally. As you may have guessed, the left button
moves records in the opposite direction, i.e. from subfile 1 to 0 or from
subfile 0 to 5.
If you do want to lose a record for good you consign it to the dustbin. As
this button’s action is more drastic than that of the other two you are
given a chance to change your mind. A window headed Powerbase: please
confirm: will appear displaying the question Delete record permanently?
Clicking OK causes the record to be deleted, Cancel removes the warning
window from the screen leaving the record untouched.
4 Printing Lists
=================
Before Powerbase can produce a list it must be told:−
• which fields should appear on the list
• which records should appear on the list
4.1 Making the field selection
------------------------------
Specifying the fields you want is extremely easy. To include a field point
at it and click with ADJUST. The selected field will then appear with its
foreground and background colours reversed. If you change your mind you can
de-select it by clicking on it again with ADJUST. The order in which you
select the fields is the order in which they will appear in the printed
list. Take care with this as there is nothing on the screen to indicate what
order the fields will be in. Field selections may be saved (using Save
selection from the Print submenu) and reloaded for future use. For now
select the name and the first 3 fields of the address.
4.2 Choosing which records to print
-----------------------------------
Specifying which records to print is somewhat more complicated, although
efforts have been made to render it as simple as possible. With the mouse
pointer in the record window click MENU. This displays the main Powerbase
menu from which you should choose Print. A small window appears in which you
can specify the criteria which must be met by records for inclusion in the
list. If you just click over the Print button (or type Return) without
entering anything, you will obtain a list of the whole database (or, more
accurately, of the the whole of the current subfile). Try this first.
When the search is complete the list will be displayed in a window. If you
point to a record in the list and double-click with SELECT Powerbase will
display the chosen record in the main record window. Note that the caret is
placed in the field you were pointing to on the list. This is very useful if
you spot errors in the data whilst examining a list. A double click on the
offending item offers the record with the caret correctly positioned for
editing.
Most queries involve printing only some of the records, not the whole
database. To target a particular group of records we need to enter a search
formula which will distinguish the records we want to print from all the
rest of the records. Search formulae can be quite complex and a more
detailed treatment is given in the Manual. Only a few simple examples are
shown here. Enter the following and then click Print:−
ADD2=Exeter
The report window appears showing just one record: the one for “Bloggs
Fred”. ADD2 is called the tag of the field. The label which appears beside a
field on the screen is called its descriptor and you might have expected
such labels to be used to refer to fields in search formulae. This is not
done for two reasons:−
(1) Descriptors can be inconveniently long for use in this way.
(2) Fields don’t necessarily have descriptors. Of the 5 address fields
only the first has a descriptor (Address). Since every data field
needs a “handle” of some sort so that we can include it in search
formulae we give each a tag, which is never more than 4 characters.
Clicking MENU over a field makes its tag appear in the second menu
item.
The record for “Bloggs Fred” is, however, not the only one with an address
in Exeter. There is another (“Sunningdale Samantha”) but with Exeter in
ADDR3 rather than ADDR2. You can print both on the same list by using the
formula:−
ADD2,ADD3=Exeter
Notice the way the alternative tags are separated by commas. We call this a
tag list. A record will be printed if any one of the tags in the tag list is
matched. The part of the search formula after the = sign is called the
target and here too we may specify several in a target list. Try the
following:−
ADD3=Exeter,Anytown
and also:−
ADD2,ADD3=Exeter,Anytown
The first of these examples prints the records for “Soap Joe” and
“Sunningdale Samantha”, the second prints these two and “Bloggs Fred” as
well. What the second formula is saying is “Print all the records which have
either ‘Exeter’ or ‘Anytown’ in either the ADD2 or ADD3 field”.
The characters we want to match don’t, of course, always make up the entire
field. You can also search for part of a field. Suppose you wanted the
records for people called Peter, Fred and Jean. Enter the formula:−
NAME{Peter,Fred,Jean
and you will find that the records for “Badgery Peter”, “Bloggs Fred” and
“Ford Jean” are printed. The curly bracket (“{”) means “contains”. i.e. the
name field doesn’t have to consist of Peter, or Fred or Jean, but has to
contain one of these names somewhere within it.
4.3 Hard copy
-------------
So far you have displayed reports in a window. If you want to send them to
your printer run !Printers, switch on the printer, then click MENU over the
displayed report. The Save as text option leads to a standard Save box from
which you can drag the file icon to !Printers on the icon-bar. You could
also drag it to a directory window to save it. Or you could simply type
Return, in which case the report would be saved under a suitable default
name in a directory called PrintJobs inside the Friends database directory.
Every Powerbase database has a PrintJobs directory to use as a general
dumping ground for reports and which needs to be cleared out periodically.
5 Closing down
===============
A database may be closed down by choosing the Close database entry from the
icon-bar menu. When you do so all relevant data stored in memory is saved to
disc and the database is closed. You do not have to do anything to save the
database file itself to disc since it has been there all along. Only the
current record is in memory at any one time and this is automatically
written back to disc when it has been changed in any way.
If you are going to use another database straight away just double click on
it or drag it to the Powerbase icon on the icon bar. In fact you don’t even
need to close the previous database before doing this; Powerbase will do it
for you.
When working with a database on the RAM disc Powerbase will issue a warning
that the data is not secure and that you need to drag it from the RAM disc
to a floppy or hard disc before switching off.
To terminate Powerbase itself use the Quit option on the icon bar menu.
=============
MAIN TUTORIAL
=============
This section is intended to acquaint a new user with the most commonly-used
facilities of Powerbase. It does not explain how to create a database from
scratch but it does explain how to:−
(a) Start up Powerbase and open an existing database.
(b) Browse through the database and search for individual records.
(d) Add new records and alter or delete existing ones.
(d) Query the database to create simple reports.
(e) Close the database.
The sample database Elements is used to illustrate these activities. If you
have a hard disc copy Elements and Powerbase itself onto it before
proceeding further. It is possible to use Powerbase with floppy discs but
some operations, such as printing lists, will be slow. Unless memory is very
tight users of floppy discs are recommended to allocate at least 112K to the
RAM disc and copy Elements onto it, which will make it much faster.
Powerbase can provide context-sensitive help via Acorn’s !Help application
and you are advised to load this, resizing the help window and placing it at
the top right of the screen. Further help can be had by choosing the Help
entry on Powerbase’s main menu or on the icon-bar menu.
1 Starting Powerbase
=====================
Double-click on the Powerbase icon. After a few seconds it will appear on
the icon-bar with the words “No data” beneath it to show that no database is
open. Dragging the ‘Elements’ icon onto the Powerbase icon on the icon-bar
will open Elements for use and the words “No data” will be replaced by the
name of the database. Double-clicking on the Elements icon has the same
effect, in fact if Powerbase isn’t already on the icon-bar a double-click on
Elements will install it for you provided that the Powerbase icon has been
seen by the filer.
Two windows will open. One is the record window and displays the first
record in the database. The other is the keypad which allows you to control
the browsing, searching and editing functions of Powerbase. The keypad is
rather large and obscures quite a big area of the record window. The
most-used buttons, however, are on the top two rows and the keypad can be
moved part way off screen to get it out of the way.
2 Browsing and searching
=========================
Now that you have a database running we will find out how to move from
record to record and how to access any particular record by using a small
group of letters called the key of the record. All the mouse clicks
referred to are made with the SELECT (left) button. If the chosen keypad
action has an obvious opposite then you will find that using the ADJUST
(right) mouse button brings about that effect. e.g. While SELECT on the top
left keypad button takes you to the start of the file, ADJUST on the same
keypad button takes you to the end.
2.1 Browsing through the records
--------------------------------
The top row of buttons on the keypad allows you to browse through the file.
If you have !Help running, as previously suggested, it will tell you what
each button does. Once you get the general idea you will find the symbols on
the buttons logical and self-explanatory. The most commonly used ones act as
follows:−
(1) The buttons at the far left and right take you to the beginning and
end of the file. The rightmost button takes you to ZIRCONIUM and the
leftmost one to ACTINIUM.
(2) Single arrows move by one record at a time. From ACTINIUM, clicking
the right arrow takes you to ALUMINIUM. The left arrow takes you
back to ACTINIUM.
(3) Double arrows move through the file by longer jumps The right double
arrow takes you from ACTINIUM to BISMUTH and the left one back to
ACTINIUM. The “fast forward/rewind” value is shown in the box
between these “fast wind” buttons. It is initially set to 10 but can
be altered by clicking in it with SELECT and entering a new value.
At either end of the file “wrap around” occurs. If you are at the last
record (ZIRCONIUM) one record forward takes you to ACTINIUM again.
Similarly, one record back from ACTINIUM goes to ZIRCONIUM.
The second row has buttons marked like the “play” and “stop” controls of a
cassette player. Play allows an automatic flip-through of the records
without the need to touch any other buttons. When you get to the place you
want, click on Stop. If the records go past too quickly you can slow the
process down by increasing the number in the central icon of the top row of
buttons. (This is normally used to set the “fast-wind” interval; see above.)
2.2 Key fields, Keys and Indices
--------------------------------
When using the six buttons on the top row of the keypad you will have
noticed that the records appear to be arranged alphabetically by the name of
the element. The actual order in which records occur in the file is in fact
nothing like alphabetical, but the order in which they are accessed is
determined by an index which forces them to appear in alphabetical order.
Every database must have at least one index, but you can have as many extra
ones as you wish (subject to memory and disc limitations).
The second row of the keypad has two buttons featuring a blue arrow with a
key symbol. Click on the right one and the record for HYDROGEN is displayed!
If you now experiment with the top row of buttons as before you will find
that the records no longer appear in alphabetical order of name but in order
of ATOMIC NUMBER instead. What we have done is change to a different index.
If a database has several indices the “key” buttons allow you to cycle
through them in opposite directions. (Since Elements has only two indices
the two buttons have exactly the same effect.) When you change to a
different index the screen always displays the first record as determined by
that index.
An index is built from keys which are derived from a particular key field.
The two indices used by Elements are based on the NAME and ATOMIC NUMBER
fields. The way in which the key stored in the index is derived from the key
field differs in the two cases. For the NAME index the first four letters of
the name are used. Since no two elements have names beginning with the same
four letters this gives a unique value for the key. (Two letters would not
be enough because of names like CHLORINE and CHROMIUM.) The ATOMIC NUMBER
index is based on the whole 3-digit maximum length and the ordering is
numeric. Whenever a record is displayed the key is shown in the window title
(# characters are for padding and should be ignored.)
The record screen shows which fields are key fields and which are not. The
labels, or descriptors, of fields are normally black. Where the fields are
key fields they are shown in dark blue instead and the field used by the
current index has its descriptor in red. Note also that the background
colour of the NAME field is pale yellow whereas the rest are white . This
indicates that NAME is the primary key field. The primary key is more
important than the others. The index based on it is the only one which a
database must have and is the one selected when a database is first opened.
2.3 Searching for a record
--------------------------
The fifth button on the second row of the keypad shows a question mark
followed by a “record card” icon We will call it the Search button. When
clicked with SELECT a small window, the Search window, opens to the right of
the keypad. It contains a writable icon in which to enter the key of the
record you wish to display. Suppose you want to see the record for the
element NITROGEN. If the current index is the NAME then enter NITR and
either type the Return key on the keyboard or click the Find button with
SELECT. The required record quickly appears. If you enter the key of a
non-existent record Powerbase displays the record which most nearly matches
the key, but flashes the key field to warn you that what is being displayed
is not what you asked for. You don’t necessarily need to type the whole key;
NIT would do in this case, but NI would be ambiguous (there are elements
called NICKEL and NIOBIUM).
To find NITROGEN when the ATOMIC NUMBER index is active you would need to
know that the atomic number of nitrogen is 7. Change key, enter this number
and type Return or click on Find. The required record appears. Abbreviated
keys are not allowed in this case for obvious reasons; if you want element
103 (LAWRENCIUM) it’s no good entering 10 (NEON)!
You might want to examine a group of related records, e.g. the six similar
elements LITHIUM, SODIUM, POTASSIUM, RUBIDIUM, CAESIUM and FRANCIUM which
are known as the Alkali Metals. You could, of course, look up each in turn
by entering its key but there is a better way. Click on the Use filter
button on the keypad. The button becomes ticked and the Filter window opens
on the right of the keypad. This button is what we call an option switch and
is used to turn a particular feature ON or OFF. The six elements referred to
all occur in group 1 of the Periodic Table of the elements so type GP=1 into
the writable icon. and click on Filter. The record for CAESIUM is
displayed. If you experiment with the buttons on the top row of the keypad
you will find that they behave as if the six Alkali Metals were the only
elements in the database; all the rest have been “filtered out” so that you
access only the ones you are interested in. To return to normal operation
either click the Cancel button on the Filter window or turn off the switch
on the keypad.
3 Editing the Database
=======================
This part of the tutorial involves changes to the data records. Make a
working copy of the disc and put the original in a safe place. If you are
using a copy of Elements on the RAM disc the floppy disc won’t be altered,
but it’s not a good idea to work with the original disc.
3.1 Modifying records
---------------------
Pointing the mouse at any field and clicking SELECT places the caret in that
field. The contents of the field may then be edited in the standard way for
RISC OS writable icons. i.e.
Ctrl U clears the field.
Delete removes the character to the left of the caret.
Copy removes the character to the right of the caret.
Shift Copy deletes the word to the right of the caret.
Ctrl Copy deletes everything from the caret to the end of the line.
⇦ and ⇨ move the caret left/right by one character.
Shift ⇦ and Shift ⇨ move the caret left/right by one word.
Ctrl ⇦ and Ctrl ⇨ move the caret to start and end of the field.
Changes made to a record cause the record to be written back to the database
whenever you display a different record or close the database. There is a
button on the keypad called Force update but you don’t normally need to use
it.
3.2 Using the scratchpad
------------------------
It is sometimes necessary to copy the contents of one field into another,
either in the same record or a different record. This can be done with the
aid of the scratchpad which is controlled by the two buttons at the ends of
the third row on the keypad. Place the caret in the field you want to copy
and click on the left button. This stores the contents of the field on the
scratchpad. Moving the caret to another field and clicking the right button
copies the data from the scratchpad into that field, over-writing its
previous contents. You may continue to “paste” the data into new fields as
often as you like. Only when you click the left button again are the
contents of the scratchpad changed. Data pasted into a field will not be
allowed to overflow; if too long for the field it will be cut to the
permitted length. As an added precaution you can’t paste into a field if
there is nothing on the scratchpad so accidental blanking of fields is
avoided.
3.3 Undoing mistakes
--------------------
You might edit the wrong field by mistake and want to restore the previous
contents. Click MENU over the field. The second entry on the main menu
contains the tag of the field. Follow the right-pointing arrow to the Field
sub-menu and choose Undo changes. The previous contents of the field will be
restored. Similarly, if you make a mess of a whole record and want to go
back to the way it was you can choose Undo changes from the main menu.
It is important to realise that the Undo facilities will not work if you
have looked at another record before using them (or clicked on Force
update). You can only recover data which has been altered in or removed from
the currently-displayed record.
3.4 Adding new records
----------------------
First we will add a new record for a fictitious element as described below:−
NAME TASMANIUM
SYMBOL Ts
ATOMIC NUMBER 108
The second button on the second row of the keypad has a plus sign and a
“record card” icon. This is the Insert button. A blank record will be
displayed with the caret in the NAME field. Enter TASMANIUM here and type
Return. The caret will jump to the SYMBOL field. Enter Ts. You will now need
to press Return twice to get to ATOMIC NUMBER (One press takes you to the
un-named field after NAME where the origin of the element’s name is given.)
Alternatively you could point the mouse at the ATOMIC NUMBER field and click
SELECT. There is no need to press Return after entering a field in order to
accept the data; it’s just the most convenient way of getting to the next
field. When entering data into widely-scattered fields it is more
convenient to use the mouse to move the caret.
Having entered the data click any of the first row of buttons so a different
record is shown. Now use Search to find TASMANIUM by name (its key will be
TASM). Change to the other index and find it by atomic number. In both cases
try moving to the record just before and just after the new one, noting that
it has been placed in its correct position in both indices: between TANTALUM
and TECHNETIUM in the NAME index and at the end of the ATOMIC NUMBER index.
3.5 Data Input Validation
-------------------------
When entering the above data you may have noticed that the NAME field will
only accept capital letters and the ATOMIC NUMBER field will only accept
numerals. Any others are simply ignored. We call this feature character
validation.
Another level of data validation, which we will now illustrate, is called
table validation Make an entry in the GROUP field. Type X, for example,
then try to move to another field by either typing Return or clicking the
mouse. You will find that you can’t do so; you get an error message instead.
This is because the GROUP field is linked to a validation table which means
that only entries which appear in the table may be used in that field.
Fields linked to validation tables are distinguished by using dark green,
instead of black, as the foreground colour.
To see what the validation table contains, place the caret in the GROUP
field then click on the List values button on the keypad. The validation
table will be displayed in its own window. Only items in the left column of
the table may be entered in the GROUP field. Element 108 would be a
transition metal, so enter T. You will now find that Powerbase accepts your
data.
Both character validation and table validation may be turned off and on by
means of a switch on the Preferences window. To get at this window click
MENU over the Powerbase icon on the icon-bar and choose Preferences from
the icon-bar menu. The rather large window which appears has a collection of
option switches down its left-hand side. The sixth of these (Validate input)
is normally ON to indicate that validation is in effect. Click to turn it
off then click on Accept. The Preferences window will be removed from the
screen and you will find that input is no longer being validated.
3.6 Deleting records
--------------------
Since “tasmanium” isn’t a real element we want to remove it from our
database. There is a “dustbin” button which will do exactly that but we
won’t use it just yet. Make sure that the unwanted record is on the screen
and click the button to the right of the bin. You will now find that
TASMANIUM has vanished; the names run from TANTALUM to TECHNETIUM and the
atomic numbers end with 103, just as they did before you added the extra
record.
What if you had clicked the button by mistake and deleted an important
record? Powerbase handles this very nicely. The record hasn’t really been
deleted at all. To prove this, click on the button above the one you used
for “deleting”. This shows a green right-pointing arrow and a “card index”
icon. TASMANIUM will reappear. You will also find that it appears to be the
only record in the file! Don’t worry; nothing has been lost. A Powerbase
database is treated as six separate subfiles numbered 0-5. When you first
open the database you are looking at Subfile 0 and the heading of the record
window shows this. If you look at the heading now you will see that it has
changed to Subfile 1. The button you hav just clicked advances the subfile
number by 1. Its counterpart on the left has the opposite effect.
The buttons on either side of the bin carry pictures which suggest their
true functions. They do not delete records; they merely move records from
one subfile to another. The right button moves the displayed record to the
next subfile in sequence. Thus, in the above case TASMANIUM has been moved
from subfile 0 to subfile 1. A record in subfile 1 would be moved to subfile
2 and so on. When it gets to 5 the next click moves it into subfile 0 where
it was originally. As you may have guessed, the left button moves records in
the opposite direction, i.e. from subfile 1 to 0 or from subfile 0 to 5.
If you do want to lose a record for good you consign it to the dustbin. As
this button’s action is more drastic than that of the other two you are
asked to confirm that this really is what you want to do before the deletion
goes ahead.
4 Printing Lists
=================
Before Powerbase can produce a list it must be told:−
• which fields should appear on the list
• which records should appear on the list.
4.1 Making the field selection
------------------------------
Specifying the fields you want is extremely easy. To include a field point
the mouse at it and click with ADJUST. The selected field will appear with
its foreground and background colours reversed. If you change your mind
about a field you can de-select it by clicking on it again with ADJUST. The
order in which the fields will appear in the printed list is the order in
which you select them. Take care since there is nothing on the screen to
indicate what order the fields will be in. The fields chosen for inclusion
in a printout make up a selection which may be saved, using Save selection
from the Print submenu, and reloaded for future use. Just for now select
NAME, SYMBOL and GROUP.
4.3 Choosing which records to print
-----------------------------------
Specifying which records to print is more complicated, although efforts have
been made to render it as simple as possible. With the pointer in the record
window click MENU. This displays the main Powerbase menu from which you
should choose Print. A small window appears in which you specify the
criteria which must be met by records for inclusion in the list. If you just
click the Print button (or type Return) without entering anything here you
will obtain a list of the whole database (or, more accurately, the the whole
of the current subfile). Try this first.
Nothing will be printed until the search is complete. If the mouse pointer
is over the main window the hourglass will tell you how far things have
progressed. Pressing Escape will cause the process to be aborted. When
complete the list will be displayed in a window. Clicking MENU over it
displays a menu which leads to a Save box. You may save the list as a text
file by dragging the file icon to a filer window or print it by loading
!Printers and dropping the file icon on the !Printers icon on the icon-bar.
If you point to a record in the displayed list and double-click with SELECT
Powerbase will display the chosen record in the main record window. Moreover
the caret is placed in the field you were pointing to on the list. This is
very useful if you spot errors in the data whilst examining a list. A double
click on the offending item offers the record with the caret correctly
positioned for editing.
Most database queries don’t, of course, involve printing all the records.
You will usually need to enter a search formula before clicking Print. You
have already used a search formula when you typed GP=1 to “filter out” all
but the six Alkali Metal records (see 2.3). Search formulae can be complex
and a more detailed treatment is given in the Manual. Only a few simple
examples are shown here.
Suppose we want a list of all transitional elements. i.e. all those which
have T in the GROUP field. We can do this by entering the search formula:−
GP=T
Why GP? GROUP=T seems the more obvious choice but Elements contains many
fields which have no label, such as the one on the first line which gives
the origin of the element’s name. Every field which can hold data has to
have a handle by which we can refer to it and that handle is called the
field tag. Tags are very short; never more than four characters. You have
seen some tags already. Look at the list you printed earlier. The three
columns are headed with the tags (NAME, SYM and GP) not the descriptors
(NAME, SYMBOL and GROUP). We therefore meets tags in two contexts:−
• specifying fields in search formulae
• as the default column headings in lists
The Print options window, displayed by choosing Options from the Print
submenu, lets you change the column headings to field descriptors if you
prefer them.
Type GP=T in the space provided and click Print. This time the list will be
a much shorter one and you will see that the GP column contains T in every
case.
The second example involves printing all elements whose names end in “IUM”.
What we need to specify is that NAME contains IUM and we do this by entering
the search formula:−
NAME{IUM.
Note the use of a left brace (curly bracket) to mean “contains”. Another
way to perform this search is to use a wild-card. Type:−
NAME=$IUM
Clicking Print will produce the same list as before. The “$” is a wild-card
character which can represent any number of unspecified characters. The
search formula is saying in effect, “I don’t care what the first part of the
name is as long as it ends with IUM”.
We will combine the previous two examples into a two-pronged search for all
the TRANSITIONAL elements whose names end in “IUM”. The search formula this
time is either:−
NAME{IUM AND GP=T
or:−
NAME=$IUM AND GP=T
Note the spaces before and after AND. These are essential. You might like to
try an alternative way of entering a search formula. Proceed as follows:−
1. Click the Help button on Print window. This opens the Help window.
2. NAME should already be visible as the required field, but you need
to select the radio button for contains.
3. Click in the space next to Value and enter IUM.
4. Click Add to formula. The search formula now reads NAME{IUM.
5. Click the AND button.
6. Click on the “menu” button to the right of the tag display and
choose item 6 (GP)
7. Select the radio button for is equal to
8. Enter T in the Value field.
9. Click Add to formula
The complete search formula should now be visible so click Print and the
list will be produced. The procedure takes far longer to describe than to do
and can be a great help to the infrequent Powerbase user who has trouble
remembering the syntax of search formulae. If you use complex queries often
you may find it convenient to save them for future use. Save query from the
Print submenu enables you to do this.
The biggest problem you are likely to encounter is not knowing the tags for
the various fields. By using the above method you can see all the tags
displayed in a menu or cycle through them using a pair of arrowheads called
“bump” icons. It is also useful to know that clicking with SELECT on a field
while holding down Ctrl causes the tag of that field to appear in the search
formula icon.
5 Merging data into an Impression document
===========================================
The distribution disc contains a simple Impression document called
MergeTest. It will be used in conjunction with the Elements database to
illustrate direct data-merging with Impression.
(1) Ensure that Impression has been “seen” by the filer. (You need not
actually load it.)
(2) Open the Elements database and drop MergeTest onto the record
window. The Data merge window will appear.
(3) Click on Merge. You will see that data relating to the record for
ACTINIUM has been inserted into the Impression document.
(4) The arrow and double-arrow buttons, identical to those on the
keypad, may be used to move through the database merging different
records into the document.
(5) A search formula may be used to restrict the operation to records
matching certain criteria.
(6) Print may be used to print the document with the currently-merged
data. To print a set of documents, one for each matching element,
select Print all then click on Merge.
During data-merging Impression editing is disabled; you can’t place the
caret in the document and the mouse pointer appears as a red and blue cross.
Clicking on Cancel or closing the Data merge window restores normal editing.
For more information on data-merging, including instructions on how to
prepare the Impression document, see Ch 9 in the Manual.
6 Closing down
===============
A database may be closed down by choosing the Close database entry from the
icon bar menu. When you do so, all the indices stored in memory are saved to
disc and the database is closed. You do not have to do anything to save the
database itself to disc since it has been there all along. Only the current
record is in memory at any one time and this is automatically written back
to disc when it has been changed in any way.
Also saved automatically is the link file which holds the relational links
between the main database and the validation tables. The tables themselves
are also saved.
There’s also an Abandon database entry on the icon-bar menu. This too will
close your database but without saving new data to the disc. It is really
intended as the quickest way to close a database which you have opened
simply for examination. If you are entering data for real you should use
Close database.
If you are going to use another database straight away just double click on
it or drag it to the Powerbase icon on the icon bar. In fact you don’t even
need to close the previous database before doing this; Powerbase will do it
for you.
When working with a database on the RAM disc Powerbase will issue a warning
that the data is not secure and that you need to drag it from the RAM disc
to a floppy or hard disc before switching off.
To terminate Powerbase itself use the Quit option on the icon bar menu.nderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks CH 2 - BROWSING AND EDITING
===========================
When you open a database you will normally see two windows. The record
window displays the data record. The keypad contains buttons for moving
around the database, adding and deleting records, searching for records etc.
It may be toggled between full size and a display of the first two rows of
only. You can also suppress the keypad and put some or all of its buttons on
the record window itself (see 4.2.9). The sample database !Boxes
illustrates this. In this chapter we will assume that you are using the
keypad.
Both windows may be moved to whatever position on the screen you find most
convenient and the record window may be re-sized. When you close the
database the position of the keypad and the position and size of the record
window are stored so that they will look the same next time you open the
database.
Most of the keypad functions have keystroke equivalents provided by the
numbered function keys (F1−F11) and experienced users might want to use
these instead of the mouse. The relevant keystrokes are given in the text
where appropriate, but note that these are default values and may be
redefined if so desired. (See Appendix B.)
2.1 Subfiles, record numbers and keys
======================================
Look at the title-bar of the record window. Three pieces of information are
displayed; the subfile number, the record number and the key of the record.
Since we will make frequent reference to these three terms it will be as
well to explain at the outset what each one means.
2.1.1 Subfiles
--------------
Suppose you have a bookshelf, capable of holding 100 books and six
partitions, numbered 0−5, which you can use to divide it into sections. The
partitions are, to begin with, all stacked together at the left-hand end of
the shelf. You may leave them like this if you wish and fill up the shelf
with an unbroken run of 100 books. If, however, the books fall into well
defined categories you might prefer to use the partitions to divide the
shelf up. There are no restrictions on where you can place the partitions,
or how many books can fall into each section of shelf, so long as you don’t
exceed a total of 100 books.
In a similar way every Powerbase database is able to use up to six subfiles.
When you open the database you are looking at subfile 0 and you might have
no occasion to bother with the others at all. Like the shelf partitions
subfiles are there for you to use or not use depending on what your
requirements are. The database remains the same size whether you use one
subfile or all six and the number of records in a subfile is limited only by
the defined size of the database.
Suggestions as to when several subfiles might be useful are given later (see
2.2.4).
2.1.2 Record numbers
--------------------
Every record in the database has a number which specifies its position in a
file called Database. As you step through the records (see 2.2) you will
probably find that the record numbers shown in the title-bar look quite
random. Record numbers reflect the order in which records were originally
entered into the database, not the order in which you see them while
browsing which is determined by the key.
2.1.3 Key
---------
A key is a group of letters (or other characters) derived from one or more
of the data fields in a record and used to identify that record. Of course,
the record number identifies the record in a sense but, as explained above,
record numbers are of limited use because they only reflect the order in
which the data was entered. Keys, on the other hand, are derived from the
data itself and are stored in a special table called an index. The keys in
the index are ordered, either alphabetically or numerically and can
therefore be used to examine the records in an order which is related to the
data.
A database may have several keys (and indices) based on different fields in
the record but there must be at least one which we call the primary key.
When you come to create a database of your own you will find that Powerbase
insists that you define the primary key before you can use the database but
subsidiary keys may be defined at any time. Whether you use them or not is
up to you. You can recognise the primary key field by its background which
is pale yellow instead of white like the other data fields.* Look at the
key field and at the key itself in the title-bar and you should be able to
see that the two are related.
2.2 Moving about the database
==============================
2.2.1 Browsing
--------------
Six buttons on the top row of the keypad move you about within the subfile.
From left to right their actions when clicked on with SELECT are:−
(1) First record (keystroke equivalent Ctrl F1)
(2) One record back (F1)
(3) 10 records back − “Fast rewind” (Shift F1)
(4) 10 records forward − “Fast forward” (Shift F2)
(5) One record forward (F2)
(6) Last record (Ctrl F2)
The number of records forward or back for actions (3) and (4) is determined
by the number in the writable icon between the associated keypad buttons.
The terms “first”, “last”, “forward” and “backward” refer to the order of
records as determined by the keys in the index. The file wraps around so one
forward from the last record takes you to the first and one back from the
first record takes you to the last. In accordance with RISC OS conventions
clicking with ADJUST instead of SELECT reverses these actions so that ADJUST
over the first button, for instance, takes you to the last record rather
than the first. This allows you to move about the database with fewer
movements of the mouse.
The buttons at the start and end of the second keypad row resemble the Play
and Stop buttons of a tape player and it will be convenient to refer to them
by these names. Play starts an automatic run-through of the records and the
last button on the row Stop halts the process. So does closing the record
window. If started with SELECT records are displayed in forward order.
ADJUST displays them in reverse order. You may swap the order at any time by
a further click on Play. The time for which each record remains on screen
may be altered by changing the “Fast forward” interval (see above).
Four “bookmark” icons at the bottom of the keypad allow you to mark specific
records for rapid retrieval. Click on one with SELECT to store the number
of the current record. A subsequent click with SELECT will return you to
that record. Click with ADJUST to clear the marker.
2.2.2 Changing keys
-------------------
Two buttons in the middle of the second row of the keypad bear a symbol
resembling a key. They enable you to cycle through the available keys in
opposite directions (Shift F4 and Shift F5 respectively). ADJUST reverses
the action of SELECT. If no subsidiary keys have been defined these will
have no effect. Key fields have their descriptors (labels) a different
colour from the rest so that you can distinguish them. By default the
descriptor of an unselected key is blue and that of a selected key − the
currently active key − is red, but bear in mind that these colours are
user-definable (see footnote)
2.2.3 Changing subfiles
-----------------------
Three buttons in the centre of the third row of the keypad have the
following effect when clicked with SELECT:−
(1) Back one subfile (F4)
(2) Rotate subfiles (Ctrl Shift F4)
(3) Forward one subfile (F5)
(1) and (3) change the current subfile to the previous one in sequence and
the next in sequence respectively. As with the corresponding buttons for
moving from record to record Forward from subfile 5 takes you to subfile 0
and Back from 0 takes you to 5. ADJUST reverses these actions. Rotate
renumbers the subfiles so that subfile 1 is the old subfile 0 etc. The old
subfile 5 becomes the new subfile 0. Records which were previously in, for
example, subfile 2 will then be found in subfile 3 instead. As this is quite
a drastic change you will be asked to confirm before Powerbase proceeds.
2.2.4 Using more than one subfile
---------------------------------
A Powerbase database consists, as stated earlier, of six subfiles numbered
0-5. You may use subfile 0 (which is the one used by default) and ignore the
others if you wish, but there are occasions when users might find subfiles
very useful. If, for example, you are maintaining a set of pupil records in
a school you could assign one subfile to each year. At the end of a school
year the promotion of Year 1 pupils to Year 2, Year 2 to Year 3 etc can be
brought about by a single click on the Rotate button.
A more common use of subfiles is to use subfile 0 to hold the main records
and subfile 1 as a dumping ground for records which you want out of the way
but don’t want to lose permanently. Powerbase is used in this way in a
Further Education college where the applications file for a course is built
up in subfile 0. On enrolment day records are updated to reflect students’
actual subject choices and all records for applicants who have not appeared
are moved into subfile 1. The enrolled students in subfile 0 are then
timetabled and class lists are printed. During the first week of the course
there is a trickle of late enrolments which simply involve retrieving the
required records from subfile 1 and reinstating them in subfile 0.
The facilities for moving records, singly or in batches, from one subfile to
another are described in 2.4.2 and 2.5.6.
2.2.5 Naming subfiles
---------------------
You may give subfiles meaningful names. Name subfile, from the Miscellaneous
submenu, leads to a writable menu item into which you may type a name of up
to 20 characters. This then becomes the name of the current subfile and will
be saved on closing the database.
2.3 Searching for a record
===========================
It’s all very well being able to move about the database like flipping
through the pages of a book but how do we find a specific record? Powerbase
provides three ways of doing this; you can search for the record by key, by
record number or by using something called a filter.
2.3.1 Searching by key
----------------------
The icon bearing a record card and a question mark is the Search button
(F8). When clicked with SELECT a little window opens to the right of the
keypad. Type the key of the required record into the writable icon and
either click on Find or type Return. (To see how the key is constructed from
the key field click MENU over the record window and choose Current key. This
displays a window describing the key structure.)
If the key exists in the current index the record will be found and
displayed. If the key doesn’t exist Powerbase bleeps and displays the
nearest matching record with the key field flashing. (If the database is a
small one with keys which differ greatly from record to record then the
displayed record may not look to be very near at all.) If you typed Return
or used SELECT on the Find button the Search window will disappear. If you
want to search repeatedly it is more convenient to have the window stay on
screen and this can be achieved by clicking on Find with ADJUST. If you do
this you will notice that the icon above the Find button displays the number
of matches found.
Clicking on the “bump” icons in the Search window allows you to search an
index other than the current one. The index used affects the search only;
clicking the “browse” buttons on the keypad will show you that the current
index has not been changed.
A search carried out as described looks only at the current subfile. If you
suspect that the record you require might be lurking in some other subfile
you can force all six to be searched. This can be achieved by using ADJUST
(Shift F8) instead of SELECT on the Search button. When the search window
appears you will see that the All subfiles radio button is selected instead
of This subfile. You can change the selected radio button if you change your
mind when the search window is open.
If searching on a numeric key you must enter a number of exactly the right
value. If the key is alphabetic, however, you may use just the first few
letters if they are sufficient to distinguish the key from others.
There are two other buttons on the search window. Old retrieves the last key
entered (if any) and Cancel simply removes the window from the screen
without further action.
2.3.2 Searching by record number
--------------------------------
You may type a record number, preceded by # (e.g. #1054) instead of a key.
Provided the record is in use Powerbase will find and display it, regardless
of which subfile it is in. If the record has been deleted or has never been
assigned a “Record not in use” error is generated.
2.3.3 Searching by filter
-------------------------
The Filter switch (Ctrl F8) is in the middle of the last row on the keypad.
Selecting it brings up the Filter window which contains a writable icon into
which you can type a search formula (see 3.3.2). You should then click on
the Filter button in the Filter window or, alternatively, type Return. The
keypad buttons used for browsing will now only display records which match
the search formula, all non-matching records being filtered out. Deselecting
the Filter switch restores normal keypad operation.
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bŷÿ…Ç ÃÕ’ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿ p | | L ' O óÿ[< ðØÿÿ 7! A4 Portrait 7! L p °³ ï…óÿ»¯ PLÿÿ °³ ï…óÿ»¯ PLÿÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ûþÿ p ¨ ¥j Påúÿ™ ðŶüÿ⇦ ¥j Påúÿ™ ðŶüÿ ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ¶x ¶x \− | ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ¨ p f2 Jù÷ÿP ïùÿ€ f2 Jù÷ÿP ïùÿ ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L ' fi æÿ[< ?Ùòÿ 7! A4 Portrait 7! L p ☓ °³ >™æÿ»¯ flLòÿ °³ >™æÿ»¯ flLòÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p | | L ' í Ùÿ[< ‰Ùåÿ 7! A4 Portrait 7! L p °³ ™™Ùÿ»¯ îLåÿŴ °³ ™™Ùÿ»¯ îLåÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ i9Úÿ p p °³ ™6Ùÿ»¯ ™qÙÿ€@ °³ ™6Ùÿ»¯ ™qÙÿ ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L ' <Ìÿ[< ÝÙØÿ 7! A4 Portrait 7! L p … °³ Ü™Ìÿ»¯ =MØÿ °³ Ü™Ìÿ»¯ =MØÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p p °³ Ü6Ìÿ»¯ ÜqÌÿ€@ °³ Ü6Ìÿ»¯ ÜqÌÿ ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p | | L ' ⇧¿ÿ[< ,ÚËÿ 7! A4 Portrait 7! L p °³ +‰¿ÿ»¯ …MËÿ
X ÿêŷ ÿ " ð ü RISC OS conventions clicking with ADJUST instead of SELECT reverses these actions so that ADJUST ⇦ — “Í" ÿõP ÿ " ð ü over the first button, for instance, takes you to the last record rather than the first. This allows you to move — -\ R0 ìflÿ ÿ " ð ü about the database with fewer movements of the mouse. \ ™ 4’ÓŒflÿ³Éflÿ " ð ü The buttons at the start and end of the second } } keypad } row resemble the eV V 4’ à V à Play V à t t à and end Ä Ä d W W Ä Stop W Ä buttonh Ä s of a tape ™¬ çÞdflÿ¾›flÿ " ð ü player and it will be convenient to refer to them by these names. X X Play X starts an automatic run-through of the ¬ ™¬ “Ðé.flÿÉ]flÿ " ð ü records and the last button on the row Y Y Stop Y halts the process. So does closing the record window. If started ¬ ⇦ 8flôøfiÿÔ'flÿ " ð ü with SELECT records are displayed in forward order. ADJUST displays them in reverse order. You may ⇦ ™¨ xfiÿÂfiÿßñfiÿ " ð ü swap the order at any time by a further click on . Z Z PlayhemZ . The time for which each record remains on screen ¨ ‘ R4
proceeds. undê ê ⇦ p R6h‰Ò−ÿ> Œÿä) ð ü 2.2.4 e [ ê [ Using more than one subfile [ ê toê p ™À `haœ−ÿAÊ−ÿ " ð ü A "
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database consists, as stated earlier, of six O O subfilese t O numbered 0-5. You may use subfile 0 À ‘ ’le−ÿL“−ÿ " ð ü (which is the one used by default) and ignore the others if you wish, but there are occasions when users ‘ ™¬ àºw/−ÿW^−ÿ " ð ü might find O O subfiles O very useful. If, for example, you are maintaining a set of pupil records in a school you ¬ ¼ “ lÅè –ÿÈN–ÿ " ð ü could assign one subfile to each year. At the end of a school year the promotion of Year 1 pupils to Year 2, “ ¥¤ B☓îóé„ÿÓ–ÿ " ðYear 2 to Year 3 etc can be brought about by a single click on the Ê Ê ach_ _ Ê Rotate _ Ê buttono Ê . ¤ Ŷ† l€¦—„ÿŷÇ„ÿ " ðA more common use of O O subfilescan O is to use subfile 0 to hold the main records and subfile 1 as a dumping † Ŷ† |è±b„ÿ’’„ÿ " ðground for records which you want out of the way but don’t want to lose permanently. "
bleeps and displays the nearest matching record with the ù ù key fieldhe ù ll Ì Ì flashinged. Ì . (If the database is a Ä Ŷ Lâw‘ÿWñ‘ÿ " ðsmall one with Q Q keysps Q which differ greatly from record to record then the displayed record may not look to be Ŷ¬ Ð.ŵ…‘ÿb»‘ÿ " ðvery near at all.) If you typed Return or used SELECT on the c c Find e c button the Í Í Search windowec Í will ¬ ⇦ ¨é™V‘ÿmŶ‘ÿ " ðdisappear. If you want to search repeatedly it is more convenient to have the window stay on screen and this ⇦ Ŷ¨ Ô«— ‘ÿxO‘ÿ " ðcan be achieved by clicking on Ï Ï Find Ï with ADJUST. If you do this you will notice that the icon above the e cd d ¨ ¥p B<Ï£ê•ÿ◰‘ÿ(# ðFind n d button displays the number of Ð Ð matches found Ð . p € ¤¨V−•ÿ6È•ÿ " ðClicking on the “bump” icons in the Search window allows you to search an index other than the current € ☓ Téac•ÿA‹•ÿ " ðone. The index used affects the search only; clicking the “browse” buttons on the keypad will show you that ☓ %@ BLçl-•ÿL\•ÿ " ðthe current index has not been changed. @ ⇦ \ä ܉ÿÿ
•ÿ " ðA search carried out as described looks only at the current subfile. If you suspect that the record you require ⇦ ☓ L»*¦‰ÿ
Õ‰ÿ " ðmight be lurking in some other subfile you can force all six to be searched. This can be achieved by using ☓ Ŷ¬ H¶5p‰ÿfl‰ÿ " ðADJUST (Shift F8) instead of SELECT on the e e Search e button. When the ur Í Í search window y Í appears you will ¬ Ŷà xÅ@:‰ÿ i‰ÿ " ðsee that the f f All fl‰ÿ O f O subfilestea O f n tf radio button is selected instead of heg g This subfileh wg . You can change the selected radio à ¥t BdÊK‰ÿ+3‰ÿ " ðbutton if you change your mind when the Í Í search window Í is open. t Ŷ PÛþ²™ÿÞá™ÿ " ðIf p p searchingle p on a numeric key you will only find the record by entering a number of exactly the right value. ⇦ ¤± }™ÿé«™ÿ " ðIf the key is alphabetic, however, you may use just the first few letters if they are sufficient to distinguish ⇦ %0 B⇦yG™ÿôu™ÿ " ðthe key from others. 0 ŶÌ ø«Çõ…ÿ§$™ÿ " ðThere are two other buttons on the Í Í search windowve Í . uh h Old feh retrieves the last key entered (if any) and 0 i i Cancel i Ì ¥h BpñÒ¿…ÿ²î…ÿ " ðsimply removes the window from the screen without further action.wŶ Ŷ h ¥‘ BŒ€µf…ÿe‡…ÿä) ð2.3.2 ^ Ŷ ^ la p Ŷ ^ p Searching k p Ŷ ^ by record number ^ Ŷ Ŷ ‘ Ŷ‘ €®⇦/…ÿh^…ÿ " ðYou may type a record number, preceded by # (e.g. #1054) instead of a key. Provided the record is in use "
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will find and display it, regardless of which subfile it is in. If the record has been deleted or has “ ¥h Bä◰fiÃ⇧ÿ~ò⇧ÿ " ðnever been assigned a “Record not in use” error is generated. " ☓ ☓ h è ☓ t Rúeg⇩ÿO⇩ÿä) ð ü ü 2.3.3 Ñ ☓ Ñ Searching by filter Ñ ☓ a☓ t ™ d²:á⇨ÿ⇩ÿ " ð ü The j j n j n Filter n j j switch (Ctrl F8) is in the middle of the last row on the } } keypadl } . Selecting it brings up the ² n n Filter n ™ä Ü»E«⇨ÿ%Ú⇨ÿ " ð ü window which contains a writable icon into which you can type a the þ þ the Ŷ þ Ŷ search formula Ŷ þ t b þ (see oÿ ÿ 3.3.2 ÿ ). You should ä ™ ØËPu⇨ÿ0¤⇨ÿ " ð ü then click on the ek k ich n k n Filter n k k button l l in the n l n Filtere n l window l or, alternatively, type Return. The } } keypadi } buttons used ™´ èî[?⇨ÿ;n⇨ÿ " ð ü for browsing will now only display records which match the Ŷ Ŷ search formula Ŷ , all non-matching records being he n n ´ à Røfif ⇨ÿF8⇨ÿ " ð ü filter n ed out. Deselecting the rowm m on n m n Filterh n m m switch restores normal } } keypadr } operation. | | à p R‘èy¨⇦ÿùæ⇦ÿà/ ð ü 2.4 Editing the database − fundamental operations| n p h R☓“åM⇦ÿ”☓⇦ÿä) ð ü 2.4.1 m ` ` Adding new recordse ` h ™Ä ð⇨¸⇦ÿ—E⇦ÿ " ð ü The icon bearing a record card and a plus sign is the Ò Ò n n Ò Add recordn Ò button Ò (F10). Clicking with SELECT Ä ‘ Ø°Ãàÿ£⇦ÿ " ð ü displays a blank record for you to fill in. The subfile number and anticipated record number are shown in ‘ ™° 4âΪÿ®Ùÿ " ð ü the title-bar of the ng ¹ ¹ record window° ¹ but there is, of course, no key as yet because there’s no data. The title-bar ° ™È 8óÙtÿ¹£ÿ " ð ü therefore reads “(New)”. The only field which you l must fill in is the Ó Ó primary key fieldse Ó . Any or all of the rest È ™¬ èä>ÿÄmÿ " ð ü (including subsidiary r ù ù key fieldhe ù s) may be left blank. You might find that on some fields pressing certain keys ¬ “ \ØïÿÏ7ÿ " ð ü has no effect. This will happen, for example, if you try to type letters into a field which has been defined as “ -0 Rt» úÒŷÿÚÿ " ð ü Numeric. 0 ‘ TÈŴŷÿ™°ŷÿ " ð ü If you type into a field which is highlighted in dark green you may get an error message. These fields only ‘ ™ €á¸Kŷÿ—zŷÿ " ð ü accept certain values which are listed in a " ume + + TÈ - + - validationt + - tablei - in (see Ô Ô 5.2Ô ). To see what these values are make sure ì R“ Ãŷÿ£Dŷÿ " ð ü the caret is in the relevant field then click on the Õ Õ + p p Õ List valuesp Õ button Õ on the } } keypad } . ? ? * t ? ì “ ÜÓvÄŶÿVóŶÿ " ð ü After entering data into a field you can go to the next field in sequence by pressing either Return or cursor- “ “ ¸ôŴ‰Ŷÿa½Ŷÿ " ð ü down⇩. To go back one field use cursor-up⇧. These cursor keys operate so that attempting to go beyond the last “ — èÇ…XŶÿlŶÿ " ð ü field of the record takes you to the first field and attempting to go back from the first field takes you to the — † pë–"ŶÿwQŶÿ " ð ü last. Pressing Return on the last field of a record acts rather differently in that it writes the record to disc and † ™Ô ⇦a¢ì☓ÿŵŶÿ " ð ü brings up a new blank record for editing, i.e. it duplicates the action of the Ö Ö − − Ö Add recordn− Ö button Ö on the er } } Ô ‘ R¸à¶☓ÿ™å☓ÿ " ð ü keypad } . You can, in addition, place the cursor in any editable field by clicking with SELECT. ‘ ™¨ Ù`e☓ÿ@“☓ÿ " ð ü When you have entered as much of a record as you wish you can click } q q Add recordÿq again for another blank ¨ “ Äâk/☓ÿK^☓ÿ " ð ü record. The record you have just entered is automatically written to the file. The same is true if you click on “ ™ä ¤~vù◰ÿV(☓ÿ " ð ü any other } } keypado } button or close the database altogether. You don’t need to use the eco × × d yr r × Force updateati × r tor (F3) ä ™Ì ÜŒŴÃ◰ÿaò◰ÿ " ð ü button to tell , , Powerbase u , to write the record. The real purpose of this button is to make do"
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save ý ý Ì ™Ð ^…™◰ÿl¼◰ÿ " ð ü indices ý and + + " ø - + - validation + - tables - s which are stored in memory. Occasional use of the button during a long Ð p R(s–W◰ÿwŷ◰ÿ " ð ü working session guards against power cuts or system failure. 7 7 p h R^8zþŵÿ*5◰ÿä) ð ü 2.4.2 a 7 a Deleting recordsre a 7 ry7 h ™¨ ĸMÇŵÿ-öŵÿ " ð ü The fourth row of the ÿ } } keypadk } has only three buttons, the middle one of which has a large dustbin symbol. ¨ ™È x◰X’ŵÿ8Àŵÿ " ð ü This is obviously the s Ø Ø s s Ø Delete s Ø button Ø (Shift F10) but what are the others? The left button (F6) moves the È — è c[ŵÿC⇩ŵÿ " ð ü displayed record back one subfile, i.e. if the record is in subfile 1 it will be moved to subfile 0. If it is in — ‘ à„n%ŵÿNTŵÿ " ð ü subfile 0 it will be moved into subfile 5 (“wrap-around” again). The right button (F7) moves the record ‘ “ “ÍyïŴÿY ŵÿ " ð ü forward one subfile. A record in subfile 5 will be moved into subfile 0. These buttons, which we will refer “ ™ ¤À☓¹ŴÿdèŴÿ " ð ü to as “ Ù Ù agat t Ù Shift back Ù t ordt and Í Ú Ú u u Ú Shift forward r Ú u ileu respectively, clearly don’t delete records at all. We often want to get a ‘ ¤Ï•◰Ŵÿo²Ŵÿ " ð ü record out of our way but keep open the option of bringing it back again and that’s where these buttons are ‘ “ |¸ŒMŴÿz|Ŵÿ " ð ü really useful. If you have a lot of records in subfile 0 and want to do a clear-out you can use subfile 1 as a “ … \«¥ŴÿŶFŴÿ " ð ü dumping-ground for the unwanted records. You’re not really deleting them: just removing them from the … -@ R☓é°á€ÿ‘Ŵÿ " ð ü subfile you’re working in. @ “ (Äc‘€ÿC¿€ÿ " ð ü It is sometimes useful, especially when shifting a record, to be able to “follow” it into its new subfile. You “ ü RôénZ€ÿN⇨€ÿ " ð ü can do so by holding down SHIFT while you click on the Ú Ú . u u Ú Shift forward u Ú eti Ú or spe Ù Ù hift t Ù Shift backot Ù int Ù button. ü ™¨ \Ø! €ÿ8€ÿ " ð ü The an v v Delete v button should only be used when you are sure you want to lose the record permanently. As this ¨ ° R…<,Óÿ €ÿ " ð ü is quite a drastic action > > Powerbase > will ask you to confirm it before the record actually disappears.t( ( ° p R zÿ¿°ÿä) ð ü 2.4.3 s b ( b Altering existing records b ( ( p … |^âBÿÂqÿ " ð ü A displayed record may be altered manually without any restrictions other than those applying to the … ☓ Ŷ¨ Ðyŷ }ÿfO}ÿ " ð ü addition of new records (see Ü Ü 2.4.1 Ü ). You will be asked to confirm an alteration which would result in a ¨ Ŷ† èâ’ê|ÿq}ÿ " ðchange to the n ÷ ÷ primary key ÷ . The normal RISC OS conventions for editing writable icons apply, e.g. Ctrl U to † Ŷ— H§†´|ÿ|ã|ÿ " ðclear the icon. As with new record entries you need do nothing to make "
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save your changes to — ☓ ħ~|ÿ|ÿ " ðdisc − the process takes place when a different record is displayed, when a database is closed or when you ☓ ¥P Bh<²H|ÿ‹w|ÿ " ðquit co"
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. A A P ¥` B‘üÅç{ÿE&|ÿà/ ð2.5 Editing the database − special features A e p+ + ` ¥\ BÚ_1™{ÿáÃ{ÿä) ð2.5.1 i Ý + Ý Undoing mistakeslos Ý + + \ Ŷ¸ `JV{ÿä☓{ÿ " ðChanges to the record on-screen can be undone provided you haven’t clicked on i Þ Þ basw w Þ Force update Þ w w (not ¸ Ŷ— `n {ÿïN{ÿ " ðnormally needed anyway) or done anything to cause "
provides a means of doing this. Call up the main menu, go to the { { ŶÄ lÅxsxÿX¢xÿ(# ðMiscellaneous { submenu and choose | | Edit c j | j templaterd j | g t| . A blank record is displayed and the window title says Ä ☓ Ðâ◰=xÿclxÿ " ð“Enter data which you wish to appear by default on new records”. Type in the required fixed data then click ☓ Ŷ¨ ,À‰xÿn6xÿ " ðany of the usual } } keypad } buttons. You will now find that the “blank” record displayed every time you click } } ¨ Ŷ¬ £−Ñwÿy xÿ(# ðAdd record } isn’t really blank at all but already contains the data entered in your ta j j template,À j . Note that this ¬ ¥ BÐœ¤œwÿ☓Êwÿ " ðfeature affects Yo new hat records only. It doesn’t have a retrospective effect on existing records. ¥` BVBwÿ7ywÿä) ð2.5.3 Using the t a l l clipboardnt l No ` ŶÜ (ÍZ wÿ::wÿ " ðThe buttons at the far left and right of the third row of the } } keypadv } may be thought of as t à à speâ à â Copy ngâ à to Clipboard à Ü ŶÀ HæeÕvÿEwÿ " ð(Ctrl C) and á á Ö á Paste á from Clipboard á (Ctrl V) respectively. They can save a lot of time when you want to copy À Ŷ† ðïpflvÿPÎvÿ " ðdata from one field into another. When you click SELECT on ã ã Copy ã the contents of the field which owns the † Ŷ d¾{ivÿ[—vÿ " ðcaret is stored in memory. Positioning the caret in another field and clicking on Ŵ Ŵ Paste uŴ will copy the stored ¥| BX·ŷ3vÿfbvÿ " ðdata into the new field. If the data is too long for the field it will be truncated. sä ä | Ŷ¨ ÄÜ9âuÿvÿ(# ðCopy ¾ä and areå å Paste rå are not limited to copying into another field of the same record; you may use them to copy ¨ ŶÀ XÙD¬uÿ$Ûuÿ " ðdata between records or from a record into a ta + + for - + - validationa + - table - or a dialogue box or, indeed, between any two À ¥È B¨¥Ovuÿ/¥uÿ " ðwritable icons within i # # Powerbasehe # . Data remains on the t l l clipboarduÿ l until you use æ æ Copy oræ again.% % È ¥P B´y2 uÿâSuÿä) ð2.5.4 Choosing the field where editing startsb% P Ŷ çætÿåuÿ " ðWhen an existing or blank record is displayed p"
kÿ " ðbecome CONFUSER. You may, of course, use “$” in the by G G ê middle G ê of a word:− ê J J I I J K I J K È ¥ì B…—}¤jÿ]Ójÿ(# ðReplace antK I J teaM I J M re$ment L I J L M { M I J L with L I J he N I J N dis$ed N I J e I J s aJ ì ⇦ áÐbjÿ°’jÿ " ðwould cause a string in the target field beginning with “re” and ending with “ment” to have its head and tail ⇦ %☓ BìÛ,jÿ»[jÿ " ðreplaced with “dis” and “ed”, leaving the middle unchanged. e.g. “replacement” would become “displaced”. ☓ Ŷ¸ |‰Ûiÿn
jÿ " ðThe “#” character is used to represent a he O O single O ndo ” ” wild-cardie ” character and can replace individual letters in ¸ Ŷ¼ á−¥iÿyÔiÿ " ðspecific positions. The f iP P Replace mbeP and andQ Q with Q strings must be the same length and should have “#” characters in ¼ ☓ °«¤oiÿ☓fiiÿ " ðthe same positions. The characters in the remaining positions are the ones which get replaced, but only if ☓ ¥x Bì¯9iÿ•hiÿ " ðthey occur in the corresponding positions of the existing field value. ™ ™ ™ x Ŷ¼ ™bèhÿBiÿ " ðYou may also use veR R ca ⇩ R ⇩ Global changess ⇩ R , nR to perform simple calculations e.g. “+12” will add 12 to the current ¼ ⇦ …äm²hÿMáhÿ " ðvalue in the field on all the matching records. “*5-13” will multiply the current value by 5 and then subtract ⇦ … ¤çx|hÿX«hÿ " ð13. It is operations like these which are most likely to produce values which won’t fit in the field, especially … Ŷ €Ø◰Fhÿcuhÿ " ðif floating-point numbers are involved. The operation isn’t limited to " " Numeric field a " s, or even to other types Ŷ— ¨t‰hÿn?hÿ " ðof field consisting wholly of numerals; " "
6 . ¥è Â|◰ éC¥ÿÉr¥ÿø" ü . . . 6 6 6 . Page 6 6 . . . è yV4 ‘ / ¥è Â4• 8D—ÿs—ÿø" ü / / / / Page / / / è yV4 þ ŶØ yózÈ—ÿZ÷—ÿ " ü þ þ þ * à à þ à þ This is the default colour for the background of the ÷ þ ÷ primary e ù þ ÷ ù key ÷ þ ù field ù þ but it is possible for the user to change it (see þ 14.6 þ þ ) Aþ þ þ . A key Ø ¥— B UŒ—ÿeÁ—ÿp need not be derived from a single field (up to four may be used) so more than one field might have this appearance.þ — yV4 È Ŷ ð¨Wÿ~ÿg&ÿp ü * If the table + + validation + feature proves to be a nuisance you can turn it off. To do so bring up i Powerbase’s icon-bar menu and ŶT öÏkÒ~ÿ{ù~ÿp choose 3 3 Preferences 3 ref . One of the option switches on the left of the wit 3 3 preferences 3 window is called Û Û ate Û Validate input Û ø . Turn this switch T ¥` B
|¥~ÿ•Ì~ÿp off and click on on Accepte . ` yV4 ¼ Ŷ ¤ÌNîWÿ^Xÿp ü * If you drop a text file in the wrong place in the record window "
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will think you want to treat the file as CSV file and Ŷè ´bÁWÿrèWÿp import data from it (see il« « to < « < CSV files < « èWÿ« ) and the Import text file window will appear. This is rather startling but harmless enough as è ¥´ BLÍv“Wÿŷ»Wÿp long as you don’t click on ¬ ¬ Importo¬ ! Click on on Cancel to get rid of the window. ´ yV4!Kàê ô 7 ¥` B kÓáUÿ³@Vÿ|E ò ü 7 7 7 Ch 3 − Printing from the Database7 ` Ŷ TÅb‹UÿBÁUÿ " ðThis chapter describes how to print out selected data from a ha"
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application, including the printing Ŷ¨ <ìm\UÿM⇧Uÿ " ðof individual records and of labels. A print-out of selected data from a database is commonly referred to as a × × m a ý × ý ¨ ¥\ B, x&UÿXUUÿø" òreport 2 X ý ý × . ×
, for example). If you follow the big report with a small one the † %| B|sr·NÿRæNÿ " ðunused memory will be given back, but that is more tidily accomplished by choosing this menu item. | € LŶ%fNÿ”Nÿ " ðThe report window has one more useful feature. If you point at a particular piece of displayed data and € ☓ DÌ00Nÿ_Nÿ " ðdouble click with SELECT the record will be displayed with the caret placed in the field corresponding to ☓ ⇦ 8ð;úMÿ)Nÿ " ðthe item on which you clicked. If you are using a list to look for errors in the data any which you find can be ⇦ ☓ dâFÄMÿ&óMÿ " ðquickly corrected using this method but the list won’t reflect the corrections which you make unless you re- ☓ ¥0 Bd¡ Q‰Mÿ1½Mÿ " ðcreate it.Ø Ø 0 ¥` BŒ−45MÿäkMÿä) ð3.1.2 The h ‰ Ø ‰ File destinationd¡ ‰ Ø aØ ` Ŷ¸ èâþLÿç,Mÿ " ðA ÿ Save boxèâ will appear as soon as you tell "
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Powerbase "
to go ahead and generate the report. Type a filename ¸ ŶØ ,ÈLÿòöLÿ " ðand drag the file to a directory viewer or click enÛ Û Save TÛ to save it in " PrintJobsec c under the default name. The Ø ¥D BÄ÷ ‹LÿýÀLÿ " ðreport will then be created.obÜ Ü D ¥` BnÜ 9Lÿ°oLÿä) ð3.1.3 The a ‘ Ü ‘ Printer destination ‘ Ü e Ü ` Ŷ¤ ôîÓLÿ³0Lÿ " ðIf you use this option make sure that !Printersn is installed on the icon-bar and that the printer is ready before ¤ € ¸£ÞËKÿ¾úKÿ " ðyou create the report. Don’t expect an immediate response from the printer when you give the go-ahead; € ¥⇦ B|é”KÿÉÄKÿ " ðnothing will be printed until the file has been assembled in memory. No copy of the file is saved.Ý Ý ⇦ % B ü4Kÿ|sKÿà/ ð Ý t R ⇦"Iÿ¢PIÿà/ ð ü ü 3.2 What types of field can be printed? Ý t ⇦ RLï^¿Hÿ>îHÿ " ð ü You can print data from the following types of field:− ⇦ -l Vú7±}Hÿ’¬Hÿ " ð ºn ö² (1)Ú Any field into which you can directly type data. l € Vª¼GHÿ†vHÿ " ð ºn ö² (2)Ú Text and ° ° Text blockr ° fields. € -☓ VRÇHÿ§@Hÿ " ð ºn ö² (3)Ú Check Boxes. What is printed differs from what you see in the check box. Thus:− ☓ -p VŷcÒÛGÿ²
Hÿ " ð ºn ö² hecŵM (a) Tick/Cross boxes result in “Yes” or “No” p “ V YÝ¥Gÿ½ÔGÿ " ð ºn ö² n ŵM (b) Tick/Blank boxes result in “Yes” or “-” Y “ ☓ VJèoGÿÈfiGÿ " ð ºn ö² ankŵM (c) Star/Blank boxes result in an asterisk or “-” “ ☓ ™° Xß;.Gÿ]Gÿ " ð ü (It is, of course, possible to print Draw and Sprite fields from à à individual à records by loading the external file ° … RP´FøFÿ&'Gÿ " ð ü into Draw or Paint and printing from that application. See
2.6.2le
) F F … \ R>Y–FÿÙÕFÿà/ ð ü 3.3 Specifying what to printoF
Z Z \ ¼ RÜ?”DFÿusFÿ " ð ü There are two stages to creating a report. â â Z Powerbase e â Z needs to be told:− " Z ü \ \ st[ [ \ ¼ ¨ V„xèFÿÈ1Fÿ " ð ºn ö² •2= which d ã ã [ \ fields ã [ \ to print from the data records. ÿ[ \ n \ ¨ † VþóÌEÿÓûEÿ " ð ºn ö² • = which ä ä \ records s ä \ to include in the report.\ † ™ð ☓F⇧Eÿ&ºEÿ " ð ü The first of these pieces of information is called a rt å å  å  field selection  å å , the second is specified by means of a all æ æ å Ŷ æ Ŷ ð x R 'QUEÿ1☓Eÿø" ð ü search formulah Ŷ æ .ec æ mea L L L æ á á x p RèFìEÿ†>Eÿä) ð ü 3.3.1 Specifying a  á  field selection  á á p ‘ ì·¿ÐDÿflÿDÿ " ð ü Point at each of the required fields and click with ADJUST. The field will be highlighted by reversing the ‘ ™ Ð=ÊŒDÿªÉDÿ " ð ü foreground and background colours. Only those fields which are printable (see i 3.2 ) will respond to ™¨ è‡ÕdDÿµ›Dÿ " ð ü ADJUST in this way. A second click will de-select the field. Note that the spo c c order c in which you select the ¨ ‘ =à.DÿÀ]Dÿ " ð ü fields is important since that is the order in which they will appear in the report. There is no visible ‘ ™À ü§ëøCÿË'Dÿ " ð ü indication on the r record screenea of the order, so take care when making your Cÿ   field selection  . A contiguous À ‘ pÄöÂCÿÖñCÿ " ð ü range of fields may be selected by placing the caret in the first field then double-clicking with ADJUST in ‘ ™è ø™Cÿá»Cÿ " ð ü the last. If you fail to make a ret   field selection  before entering a Ŷ Ŷ search formula Ŷ e ÷ ÷ Powerbasema ÷ will select the se ÷ ÷ è t R,e WCÿìŶCÿ " ð ü primary rmu ù ÷ ù key ÷ ù field ù (s) for printing. t ™ü dè¿Cÿfl4Cÿ " ð ü Several entries on the ç ç Print ç submenu deal with   field selection  s. ü è è Save selection è ç è lets you preserve the current ü ™è Ü£ÊÏBÿªþBÿ " ð ü selection for re-use. The default pathname in the Save boxser points to a directory called Ä Ä ele Ä PrintResaul Ä th Ä (i.e Print è ™è lïÕ−BÿµÈBÿ " ð ü Resources) which, like PrintJobs i.e , resides inside the database application directory. lié é Show resources é (Ctrl R) è “ lËàcBÿÀ‹Bÿ " ð ü will display the contents of this directory. Selection files are of type &7f3 and are distinguished by an icon “ ™¸ xnë-BÿË\Bÿ " ð ü bearing an “S”. They may be reloaded by dragging them from PrintResy a onto the ¹ ¹ record windowar ¹ or by ¸ ™¬ ôåö÷AÿÖ&Bÿ " ð ü simply double-clicking on them. Other entries in the ê ê Print ê submenu enable you to select all the fields in the ¬ t RdgÂAÿáðAÿ " ð ü record (Ctrl A) or to clear the selection completely (Ctrl Z). ectë ë t ⇦ Rt½ähAÿ“flAÿä) ð ü 3.3.2 Specifying which records to print − the e Ü ë Ü query panel Ü ë ë ⇦ ™ì Ú·1Aÿ–`Aÿ " ð ü To enter a Ŷ Ŷ search formula Ŷ you can choose elì ì Print ì from the main menu or í í Match í from the fî î Print uî submenu or, ì ™¬ ÌàÂû@ÿ¢*Aÿ " ð ü simplest of all, type the Print key on the keyboard. Any of these actions displays the Þ Þ Print window" Þ of which ¬ ™¸ \ÕÍÅ@ÿô@ÿ " ð ü the most prominent feature is a group of icons enclosed by a thin red border. This object is called the Å@ÿ ï ï Ü ï Ü query ¸ ™ü <⇨Ø•@ÿ¸¾@ÿø" ð ü panelhi Ü ï Th ï and you may have already seen it. It appears when you select the ð ð " n ð n Filter n ð ï ð switch on the } } keypadp } for ü ™ {ãY@ÿÃ⇦@ÿ " ð ü example (see i 2.3.3 ) and is also used when making ñ ñ ⇩ ñ ⇩ Global changes ⇩ ñ eeñ ( 2.5.5 ), performing a akiò ò Move/deleteò ™ 4âî#@ÿÎR@ÿ " ð ü operation on a batch of records ( 2.5.6 ), doing a ó ó Mail merge ó (ÿ 9.2.2er ), exporting a ô ô CSV file.5.ô ( 8.3 ) and creating … R⇦Rùí?ÿÙ @ÿ " ð ü a eõ õ ô w õ w Subset õ w w ( Ch 13 ). … ™´ ‘_¬†?ÿ…Ë?ÿ " ð ü The writable icon in the bs Ü Ü query panel Ü , in whatever context the latter appears, is meant to take a Ŷ Ŷ search ´ ™¸ À¼·f?ÿ–”?ÿ " ð ü formula Ŷ . The simplest thing you can do, of course, is to type nothing at all! If you then click on ”?ÿö ö Printrmö you ¸ ™ì îÂ0?ÿ¢_?ÿ " ð ü will create a list of all the records in the database. You could achieve the same result by typing ù ù ALLù ü li *rd bas , indeed ì ™Ô ÄÜÍú>ÿ)?ÿ " ð ü if after producing the above list with a null formula you click on ø ø Old eedø (Ctrl Oø ø ) ø , which retrieves the last-used wi Ŷ Ŷ Ô ☓ R°LØÄ>ÿ¸ó>ÿ " ð ü search formula Ŷ , you will find ALL displayed.ch
☓ ⇦ Rò<»k>ÿk¢>ÿä) ð ü 3.3.3 The construction of Ŷ
Ŷ search formulai Ŷ
e
LL- - ⇦ ™¬ y‰4>ÿnc>ÿ " ð ü Most database queries will involve a selected group of records. A Ŷ - Ŷ search formula Ŷ - describes the criteria ¬ ™° l⇨−þ=ÿy->ÿ " ð ü which records must fulfil in order to be included in the report. Getting to grips with Ŷ - Ŷ search formulae Ŷ - e is, ° ¼ - Ŷ¬ (U"<ÿñP<ÿ " ð ü perhaps, the biggest hurdle faced by the new "
"
- Powerbase "
- user and you are referred first to the simple ¬ Ŷü ÔØ ì;ÿü<ÿ " ðexamples described in the - Tutorial - file. A
l will give you the latter. To get what you require use brackets to ¤ ¥t B™ØC-ÿ¸r-ÿ " ðmake the logic clear. In other words write it as:−m l m 0ÿn l m n t ¥¼ B ¿+-ÿ 1-ÿº ð(GP=1 y Ò l m n Ò OR Ò l m n GP=2) Ð l m n Ð AND Ð l m n Z<50. n l m l m C-ÿm ¼ ŶÀ ü}~À,ÿ^ï,ÿ " ðIf a w " " Numeric field " appears in a Ŷ Ŷ search formulaÿ Ŷ then the comparison with the target is made by n n numeric À Ŷ ‘—⇨⇩,ÿi¹,ÿø" ðvalue n , e.g. x x NUM=5 x would match y y 5,ÿy , az z 05ez , { { 5.0{ etc. For other types of field the % % comparison is by e o o % character Ŷ¸ xÑ“T,ÿt◰,ÿø" ðmatching % o o . This can easily catch you out. Suppose for example you want to print records for which | | NUM<8 | . ¸ Ŷè ÐÖfl ,ÿM,ÿ " ðYou might be surprised to find records in which e } } NUM ris} contains values such as cte~ ~ 55~ , 20 , or € € 13e€ being printed, è ¥Ð B,3ªè+ÿ⇩,ÿ " ðas well as those containing rŴ Ŵ 4M<Ŵ , ŵ ŵ 6Öŵ , ◰ ◰ 2ur◰ etc! If this happens, check that the field is defined as numeric. Ð Ŷ¸ â]–+ÿ=Æ+ÿ " ðYou can p p force p a r & & comparison-by-value & for a field which consists of (or, at least, begins with ) numerals, even ¸ Ŷ‘ Ð[ha+ÿH‘+ÿ " ðthough the field is not defined as of Numeric type, by enclosing the field tag in square brackets, e.g. . ☓ ☓ ‘ Ŷ⇦ Üs++ÿSZ+ÿº ð[NUM]<8☓ would produce the desired result in the above example. This is useful where you want to make a ⇦ € è¬~õ*ÿ^$+ÿ " ðcomparison but still allow the field to accept non-numeric characters. The comparison-by-value can only € ŶÐ Dê⇨¿*ÿiî*ÿ " ðwork in such cases if the number part of the field comes first. e.g. it will deal correctly with dŶ Ŷ 55AŶ , eŷ ŷ 20Bŷ , e 13X Ð ¥⇦ BÀ1“⇨*ÿt¸*ÿ " ðbut not with ll⇦ ⇦ A55⇦ , n⇨ ⇨ B20⇨ , a⇧ ⇧ X13⇧ . ⇦ ¥Ì B†jw0*ÿ'g*ÿä) ð3.3.4 Using “er › › d c ” › ” wild-cardco ” › s › ” in Ŷ Ŷ search formulah Ŷ e Ú Ú Ì Ŷì £Jù)ÿ*(*ÿ " ðThe use of characters “$” and “#” as “ › › Ú ” › ” Ú wild-card ” › Ú sj › Ú ” was described in ' Ú ' 2.5.5 ' Ú in connection with search-and- ì ŶÀ (UUÃ)ÿ5ò)ÿ " ðreplace operations. They may be also be used in Ŷ Ŷ Ú search formulaÿ Ŷ Ú e. “$” is used to represent a s " " Ú group " Ú of À Ŷ¸ t¨`™)ÿ@¼)ÿ " ðcharacters and “#” to represent cri S S Ú single S Ú characters which do not need to be matched. e.g. If (still using the l Ú ¸ ¥… B€>kW)ÿKŷ)ÿø" ðElementsŶ Ú database) you type:− Ú ” i
&ÿ " ðis slightly different. You are, again, asking for names which begin with U U ] S U ] and end with &ÿV V ] IUMV ] but this time Ä ŶÈ —ä¦%ÿóÔ%ÿ " ðSAMARIUM and ] SCANDIUM m] ] would be found, but ' W W ] not W ] SODIUM since you have specified exactly 4 s ” ] ” wild- È ¥ä B¬ p%ÿþfi%ÿ " ðcardhic ” ] ed letters between the Y Y ] S Y ] and the Z Z ] IutZ ] . Finally:−%ÿ] AMA^ ^ ] \ \ ^ " ð[ [ \ ^ ä ¥P B@q.%ÿQ]%ÿº ðNAME=#####[ \ ^ ODI\ ^ hav^ P ¥D B\ |ø$ÿ\'%ÿ " ðwill find any 5-letter name. ÿ™ ™ D ¥ BðÁ_fl$ÿÖ$ÿä) ð3.3.5 Other features of the ] Ü ™ Ü Query panel Ü ™ and Þ ™ Þ Print windowv Þ ™ ™ ŶØ ¬¯2h$ÿ–$ÿ " ðClicking on ^ ‰ ‰ Help.%ÿ‰ in the # Ü Ü Query panel Ü opens up the ( ( Help window ( which offers another way of building up Á Ŷ Ŷ Ø Ŷ‘ ìÀ=2$ÿ a$ÿ " ðsearch formula Ŷ e which might appeal to the beginner. The target field is selected by either cycling through ‘ Ŷ †°Hü#ÿ(+$ÿ " ðthe n$ÿ Ì Ì tags 5- Ì with the “bump” icons or by choosing from a pop-up menu. A radio button is then used to select Ŷ¨ ÄsSÆ#ÿ3õ#ÿ " ðthe up È È comparator È . The required field value is typed into the writable icon, followed by clicking ’ ’ Add to ¨ ø¥ ’ ™@ ø¥¯""ÿ•Q"ÿ(# ð ü ü formula’ whereupon the Ê Ê search elementY Ê appears in the “ Ü Ü Query panel Ü . You may then click on “ “ T Ð “ Ð AND Ð “ nt“ or ” ” ⇨#ÿ Ò ” Ò OR Ò ” ” @ ™ü ÈÒºì!ÿŒ"ÿ " ð ü and enter other # Ê Ê search elementm Ê s in the same way. If you wish to use the e‹ ‹ app Ô ‹ Ô NOT Ô ‹ pa‹ button you must do so › › before › ü Ì R†ÌŶ!ÿ¥å!ÿ " ð ü clicking ’ ’ Add to formula ’ . „ „ PowerbaseÒ „ inserts the brackets round the Ê Ê search element Ê for you. Ì ™¨ \Ìxe!ÿX“!ÿ " ð ü Holding down Ctrl and clicking on a field with SELECT while the ou Ü Ü Query panel Ü is displayed causes the tag ¨ ™¤ pC◰/!ÿc^!ÿ " ð ü of the field to be entered in the Ŷ Ŷ search formula Ŷ at the caret. This, together with the above method of ¤ ™ 0\‰ù ÿn(!ÿ " ð ü constructing Ŷ Ŷ search formulal Ŷ e, largely overcomes the problem (especially when using someone else’s x R¸Ú−à ÿyò ÿ " ð ü database) of not remembering what the field e e Ì Ì tagsŶ Ì are x ™È ¼íLr ÿ,¡ ÿ " ð ü It is sometimes useful to produce a list which includes the V V record numbers V and a switch on the Þ Þ Print windowpro Þ È -D RÐ<W< ÿ7k ÿ " ð ü may be selected to enable this. D ™¼ ’
ë ÿê ÿ " ð ü There are occasions when you merely wish to ) ) count ÿ ) how many records match a ef Ŷ Ŷ search formulai Ŷ without ¼ ‘ ⇦µ ÿõã ÿ " ð ü actually printing anything. There is a switch to enable this too. Note that the icon at lower right, which ‘ ‘ 4ô ÿ ® ÿ " ð ü normally gives the time taken to produce a report, displays the number of matching records when this option ‘ < R¨− +I ÿ x ÿ " ð ü is in use • • < @ RÐÛ>è ÿ¾& ÿà/ ð ü 3.4 Print formatn• @ Rèdz” ÿZÄ ÿ " ð ü Near the middle of the – – ht, à – à Print options à – orm– window is a section headed a r— — Format — . This offers four choices:−ptÕ Õ ¨− ° ° Õ ™( ¶--D ÿs ÿ " ð ºn ö² • = & ÿ'¢ '¢ ° Õ Pri† † '¢ ° Õ † '¢ ° Õ Horizontald † '¢ ° Õ X ÿ'¢ † ° Õ op† ° Õ Records are displayed one to a line with fields aligned in columns. Non-numeric ( ™0 l08 ÿ= ÿ " ð <¼ ö² fields are left-justified and " ° Õ " Numeric field " ° Õ s right-justified. A è ° Õ è header è ° Õ line prints Ì ° Õ Ì tags¢ Ì ° Õ or † Î ° Õ Î s a Ŵ ° Õ Î Ŵ 0 “ Rp¢CØ ÿ# ÿ " ð <¼ ö² descriptor Ŵ ° Õ Î s Î ° Õ to identify the columns. ° Õ " œ œ Õ “ ™@ n¸„„ ÿvÅ ÿ " ð ºn ö² • A= ° '£ œ '£ Õ è ‡ œ ‡ '£ Õ Table '£ œ ‡ Õ ‡ œ Õ Similar to ¦ œ ¦ Õ Ŵ œ ¦ Õ Horizontalÿ œ ¦ Õ sc¦ œ Õ format but each record is underlined and a user-definable @ ⇦ Äæ¡` ÿŴ• ÿ " ð <¼ ö² number of ruled columns (6 by default) is placed to the right of the text, producing a grid. You ⇦ À R,¡¬* ÿ…Y ÿ " ð <¼ ö² are advised to set print pitch to 10 or 12 characters per inch when using this. '¤ œ '¤ Õ ¦ fi œ fi '¤ Õ ch '¤ œ fi Õ À ™@ Ê+ÿè ÿß ÿ(# ð ºn ö² • ÿ= '¤ œ fi '¤ Õ olu œ fi '¤ Õ Verticaligh œ fi '¤ Õ a g'¤ œ fi Õ fi œ Õ Fields are printed underneath each other with the identifier (i.e. tag or Ŵ œ Õ Ŵ descriptor Ŵ œ Õ ) at @ ☓ äT
to make two passes through the data. The first determines what ¤ Ŷ¸ €ÞÚeÿº“ÿ " ðthe ion u u actual u , as opposed to the " v v allowed v , maximum field lengths are. The second creates the report using these ¸ ¥h BÔºå/ÿÅ^ÿ " ðmaxima, thus closing up the space between columns if possible. rag× × h ¥< BÊ·ÈÖÿxÿä) ðControl codes (default ON)× < ☓ ⇦Áœflÿ{Îÿ " ðReports will normally contain special codes specifying print pitch and underlining information which will ☓ Ŷ¤ Ǧiÿŷ—ÿ " ðbe sent to the printer to implement these effects. If you drag the report into er Ø Ø EditÜ Ø you will see these control ¤ ŶÀ 0ã±3ÿ’bÿ " ðcharacters on the first line. Deselect this switch if you are incorporating co Ù Ù Powerbasent Ù reports into an Ú Ú Editou Ú file À ¥D B‘7¼ý ÿ†,ÿ " ðor a wordprocessor document. w– – D ¥< BRÜfl¤ ÿOÛ ÿä) ðPage numbers (default OFF)– < ☓ —árm ÿR† ÿ " ðTurn this switch ON to print the page number at the bottom of each page of multi-page reports. Single-page ☓ ⇦ `ï}7 ÿ]f ÿ " ðreports will not be given a page number even if the switch is ON. This feature works quite independently of ⇦ ¥‘ B“[⇦ ÿh0 ÿ " ðthe îHÿ— — Footer — switch.om – – ty ï ï – – ï Ò Ò ï ‘ ¥H Bîo»º ÿkñ ÿä) ðPage length ï Ò (default A4)nÒ H ŶÐ “lj◰ ÿn² ÿ " ðTotal length of page, including vHÿ è è header è , t ê ê footer ê and lo top margine . For an A4 page this is 70 lines. The fan-fold Ð ☓ X¸−M ÿy| ÿ " ðcomputer paper usually used in dot-matrix printers is more likely to be of the size known in the U.S.A. as ☓ ŶØ —`¤ ÿ☓F ÿ " ð“letter” and requires a page length setting of 66 lines. In ¥GÿÛ Û n Û Vertical Ti Û s Û format "
"
Powerbase "
will try to avoid Ø Ŷ† Яá
ÿ• ÿ " ðsplitting a record between pages, but this can happen if the report includes Text or ° ° Text Block ° fields of † ⇦ ¦º«
ÿŒÚ
ÿ " ðgreatly varying length. (It will also happen if the number of fields to be printed exceeds the length of the ⇦ ¥@ B¸w Åu
ÿ¥¤
ÿ " ðpage!)Ü Ü ð Ü ð @ ¥L Bò’¨
ÿXS
ÿä) ðLine spacinglic ð Ü (default = 1)Ü L Ŷ¤ Þ{å ÿ[
ÿ " ðA setting of 1 leaves no blank lines between the lines of print-out. 2 results in / / double spaced output / . Higher ¤ ¥T BàLŷ¯ ÿfÞ ÿ " ðvalues may be used but are seldom required. edÝ Ý T BV Ü Ý ¥D BV}ÿ-Rÿä) ð ü Title (default = none)Ý D ¥† Bì Päÿ0ÿ " ðThis allows you to supplement the normal a è è header è information with a line of your own choosing.Þ Þ † ¥p B¨/3⇧ÿãÁÿä) ðTop and eco Þ left margin Þ s (defaults are both 1) Þ p € øWTÿæŵÿ " ðThese may be used to adjust the position of the report on the page so that a short, narrow list may be € Ŷ´ <Å ÿñLÿ " ðpositioned somewhere near the centre. The y top margin is specified in lines and the left margin in character ´ ¥D Bt“ èÿüÿ " ðwidths. ß ß á ñ ß ñ D ¥L Bnlÿ‰ÿ¯Åÿä) ðText widthf ñ ß (default = 73) seß L ¥À B0ÒWÿ²ŷÿ " ðThis specifies the line length used when printing in heá á lds á Verticalhe á hiá format. sià à ò à ò À ¥d Bòxµþÿe5ÿä) ðColumn spacerco ò à (default = 1 space) pà (seŵ ŵ d Ŷ 4Ó⇦Çÿhöÿ " ðSpecifies how columns are separated in â â ŵ th â ŵ Horizontal- â ŵ Noâ ŵ or ã ã ŵ e ã ŵ Table ã ŵ formatÿ ŵ . Columns are first padded with spaces ŶÐ ‡›’ÿsÀÿ " ðto the maximum width of the relevant data field (but see § ŵ ä ä ŵ Shrink list ä ŵ eeä ŵ above) and the spacer string is then Ð ¥° BD⇩fi[ÿ~⇩ÿ " ðprinted before starting the next column. Three interpretations of the contents of this box are possible:− ŵ e cŴ Ŵ irs€ € Ŵ ° %h F‹ÞñÿÑHÿ " ð(1) ‘ " A number by itself means use the specified number of spaces. h ☓ 'üãÿÜÿ " ð(2) " A number followed by a non-numeric character means use a string of the specified number of ☓ ¥T Bt®ÿçÜÿ " ðthat character, e.g. “3-” means 3 hyphens. € Ŵ T ¥| F!xÿò¦ÿ " ð(3) ù " A non-numeric string is used “as is”, e.g.“|” or “ | ”. l Ŵ n tç ç | ¥@ B`"%ÿ¥Uÿà/ ð3.6 Printing single recordselç @ Ŷ´ 8{aÄÿAóÿ " ðThe iel Þ Þ Print windowcti Þ contains a large button marked serè è Print this recordBÿè . When clicked this prints only the ´ ⇦ Ãl‰ÿL½ÿ " ðdisplayed record. The selected format is used. Alternatively you can print the displayed record using Ctrl ⇦ ¥† BxÉwXÿWÿ " ðPrint, in which case ïê ê ê Vertical li ê ê format is always used. V V † ¥@ B@ü⇩÷ÿ
6ÿà/ ð3.7 Field analysis reportsectV @ Ŷ° 4⇦Ƥÿ¦Óÿ " ðThe é ë ë Field ë submenu has an ì ì Analyse theì option which allows you to print a breakdown of the field contents ° ¥L Bè±Ñnÿ±‡ÿ " ðunder certÿ U U ain special circumstances: L ŶT fi'<)ÿ Xÿ " ð(a) the If the field is Res q U q th û U q û indexdo û U q ed q U the menu entry will read mp ô U ô g oí U í ô Analyse cl û U í ô û indexbm û U í ô ect ô U í n tí U . When chosen it will produce a T Ŷ† ÀÕGóÿ'"ÿ " ðlist of all the values in the Z û U û index û U with the number of times each one occurs. e.g. A database of † x t¬R½ÿ2ìÿ " ðcollege students might have a field for the school of origin. If there are 20 different schools x Ŷ— £]ÿ=¶ÿ " ðand if the field is ì û U û indexro û U ed then a list of those schools will be generated showing how many — ¥T BDnhQÿH€ÿ " ðstudents came from each school. mp U ll, À À T ⇦ fùÓ ÿ³:ÿ " ð(b) of " If the field contains an 8 or 10 character date (e.g. 19-10-42 or 19-10-1942) the menu entry ⇦ Ŷ¼ PŒÞÕ ÿ¾ÿ " ðreads u õ À õ icoî À î õ Analyse monthsh õ À î ed î À and a breakdown by month will be printed. There will be a line for ¼ t 4àéfl ÿÉÎ ÿ " ðeach month showing the number of records for that month. For example, this could be used in t p …ôi ÿÔ— ÿ " ðan orders database to find out quickly how many orders were received or dispatched each p ŶÔ |×ÿ3 ÿßb ÿ " ðmonth. This feature works on editable ¶ À ¶ Date fieldw ¶ À s and also on s ì À ì Date stampg ì À 8 and ì À ì Date stamp. ì À 10 Ô ¥@ B(ß
þÿþê, ÿ " ðfields in the Stamp class. À @ Ŷ ä¿u¸ÿþUçÿþ " ðIt is, of course, possible for a field containing a date to be û û index û ed. Action (a) (above) takes precedence in € dg€ŵÿþ`±ÿþ " ðsuch a case. You can, however, force action (b) instead by first selecting the field with ADJUST, then € %4 Blà⇧Lÿþk{ÿþ " ðchoosing from the menu. 4 Ŷ† ª>ûþþ *ÿþ " ðFor cases not described above the menu entry simply says ï ï Analyse icoï and is shaded. Printing is always to a † Ŷ´ ¤~IÅþþ)ôþþ " ðwindow (from which the report may, of course, be saved); the ð ð Destination ü ð buttons in the à à Print optionsf à ´ %4 B‘ÎT•þþ4¾þþ " ðwindow have no effect. 4 yV4 d ¸ 0 ¥è ÂìŒ FJÿòtJÿø" ü 0 0 0 ¸ ¸ ¸ 0 Page ¸ ¸ 0 0 0 è yV4 ‘ » 1 ¥è ÂìŒ aF=ÿAu=ÿø" ü 1 1 1 » » » 1 Page » 1 1 è yV4 Ŷ ^³®Ë=ÿ¾ò=ÿp ü * In this section we will often have occasion to refer to text typed by the user. Such text will be distinguished by the use of the ¥h BÒÂfi=ÿÒÅ=ÿp Corpus Medium font, e.g. GP=T h yV4 ô Ŷ☓ pñÝÎÿíõÿp ü * This is useful in a college situation where labels are being addressed to parents. Mature students, for whom the “parent” field in ☓ ¥d BFÏñ¡ÿÉÿp the record is blank, can have their own names printed instead. d yV4!Kàê ☓ ⇨ ¥l Bfi0üãúþÜBûþ|E ò ü ⇨ ⇨ ⇨ Ch 4 − Creating a New Database⇨ ` ` l ¥| Büó⇧“úþkÃúþ " ðFive steps are involved in setting up a new database:−` " ^ ^ e i] ] ^ | ¥€ FroÞRúþ¾Ŵúþ " ð(1)Ú Create the database ] ö ] ^ ö application shell ö ] ^ . € ¥p F¦é úþÉKúþ " ð(2)Ú Design the ] ^ record screenúþ ] ^ p %h FBÝôæùþÔúþ " ð(3)Ú Specify the number of records the database is to contain. h ¥| Fb◰ÿ°ùþßßùþ " ð(4)Ú Specify the to ÷ ] ^ ÷ primary key ÷ ] ^ . ] ^ | ¥X F*@
installed on the icon-bar but with no database open, i.e. “No data” should — Ŷ† »d’øþDÀøþ " ðappear under the icon. Click SELECT over the icon and a d Save box" will appear. Type in the name of your † | @ŵo[øþO⇩øþ " ðdatabase and drag the database icon to a directory window. Remember that the name cannot exceed 10 | ☓ ☓z%øþZTøþ " ðcharacters, including the initial “!”. If you enter more the name will be truncated and you could end up ☓ Ŷ H¿Ŷï÷þe øþ " ðoverwriting an existing database with a similar name. You don’t actually need to enter the “!”; n e"
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Powerbasea "
%8 B䑹÷þpè÷þ " ðwill insert it automatically. 8 ⇦ ‘¹Ch÷þ#–÷þ " ðIf you open the newly-created application directory (Shift double-click) you will find that it contains files ⇦ Ŷp “¬N2÷þ.a÷þ " ðcalled ò ò !Run, !Sprites, ò ta ò ò !Sprites22 ò and all ó ó Colours !S ó and four directories called tes ô ô nd ý ô ý Indices ý ô , ô PrintJobs ô , ô PrintResý ô ô and rin ô ô ô ô p ¥Ä BèyYüöþ9+÷þø" ðValTables ô nd ô . All "
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applications require these objects to be present so don’t delete any of them. ‰ ‰ Ä ¥d B@´lœöþìÙöþà/ ð4.2 Designing the n ‰ record screen ‰ ‰ d ☓ 8Ò¨Höþ⇦wöþ " ðWhen you created the application shell you were left with a blank window on screen and it is here that you ☓ ⇦ ĸ³öþ›Aöþ " ðmust design the database record. This is the lengthiest and trickiest part of setting up a database, although ⇦ Ŷ‘ …☓¾Üõþfi öþ " ðefforts have been made to render it as easy as possible. If you have closed the window just click on the ma"
icon on the icon-bar to re-open it. ` ¥p Bºfl¬Mõþ\☓õþä) ð4.2.1 Simple co 0 0 field creationn 0 p d d p Ŷ° X¸õþ_Eõþ " ðClicking MENU over the window brings up the õ õ d New databaseX¸õ d menu on which every item except gsö ö d Design ° Ŷ¸ €½⇩àôþjõþ(# ðfield ö d is shaded at this stage. ÷ ÷ d Design field€½÷ d leads to a window which lets you specify the characteristics of a ¸ ☓ ´‹”ªôþuÙôþ " ðfield. First decide what category of field you want to create. There are five such categories, selected via ☓ ¥X BH) tôþ€£ôþ " ðradio buttons:− atd arec c tegb b c X %, Fr½ ó2ôþÓaôþ " ð(1)Ú Data , %0 FÂþüóþÞ+ôþ " ð(2)Ú External 0 %0 F„ä Çóþéõóþ " ð(3)Ú Button 0 ¥| F2’óþô¿óþ " ð(4)Ú nal " b c " Check-box) " b c b c ’óþe c e | ¥D FRÅ [óþÿ⇨óþ " ð(5)Ú Stamp c e e D ⇦ ¼⇩róþRHóþ " ðFor the present we will confine ourselves to the first, which is the default selection. As well as the field ⇦ Ŷ† Ŵ}ãòþ]óþ " ðcategory you must decide on the type of field within the category. The default offered is ú ú Unrestrictedon ú , † %p BÌ ⇦òþhÜòþ " ðmeaning that it will accept all printable characters. We’ll look at other types later. p Ŷ ñ;\òþ⇧òþ " òDecide on a name for the field and enter it in the û û . û ⇧òþ Ŵ û Ŵ Descriptore Ŵ û tû 2 X icon. This is the name which will appear on the û ¹ ¹ ŶÈ $°F&òþ&Uòþ " ðrecord window i ¹ and may be up to 40 characters long. You must also enter a Uòþü ü ndo ü Tagü cha , which is used to identify È ŶÔ ]Qðñþ1 òþ " ðthe field in g Ŷ Ŷ search formulah Ŷ e and is limited to 4 characters. Next enter the iný ý 1 ý 1 Data length 1 ý to ý ; the maximum Ô Ŷ† @¾\ºñþ<éñþ " ðnumber of characters the field is to hold. Values up to 246 are allowed. Now click on þþ þ Create þ and the field † Ŷ— ø†g☓ñþG³ñþ " ðwill appear on the ¹ ¹ record window ¹ . It’s probably not where you want it so use SELECT to drag the white — Ŷ… ¤6rNñþR}ñþ " ðrectangle to the position required. When you drop the field in its new position you will see that the t Ŵ Ŵ … Ŷ¨ “µ}ñþ]Gñþ " ðdescriptorh Ŵ falls into place too. If you want the Ŵ Ŵ descriptor Ŵ somewhere other than to the left of the data icon ¨ %l B¸Ò⇦âðþhñþ " ð(above it, for example) you can move it by itself without the data icon moving. l ☓ ¨”;’ðþÀðþ " ðThat, basically, is all you need to do in order to create fields. To correct a mistake click MENU over the ☓ Ŷ° 4¾F[ðþ&⇩ðþ " ðfield to be altered and making the required changes. Then click on ÿ ÿ Update ÿ ( Create will be shaded). Data ° ¥ BôøQ%ðþ1Tðþ " ðfor any field may be displayed by choosing from the menu produced by clicking on œ œ List fields.ielœ is ¥t B☓¶4Ìïþäðþä) ð4.2.2 Deleting, inserting and re-ordering fields . t Ŷ´ ¨ã”ïþçÃïþ " ðIt is important to realise the difference between the physical positionã of fields on the screen and the d internal ´ ß ° Ŷ† ßë#îþËRîþø" ð ü numberingtt of the fields. The former is purely a matter of appearance and you may drag the fields about the † … —íöííþÖ îþ " ðscreen to your heart’s content, but the latter is fundamental to the way the database will function. Each field … Ŷ… ☓w¸íþáæíþ " ðhas a number which corresponds to the order in which it was created. Whenever you invoke the 3 3 Field … Ŷ‘ H× ŵíþì°íþ " ðcreation window 3 the title-bar shows either the number of the (new) field you are about to create (e.g. “New ‘ ☓ ÌòLíþ÷zíþ " ðfield 3”) or the number of the (existing) field you were pointing at when you opened the menu (e.g. “Modify ☓ ☓ ¼´"íþEíþ " ðfield 5”). The numbering of fields determines the order in which they will be “visited” by the caret when ☓ %X B8*-àìþíþ " ðyou are actually using the database, i.e. the editing order. X Ŷ¸ LŒà‰ìþÀ½ìþ " ðA field may be deleted by clicking MENU over it and clicking on th er. Removeþ . Field s which come after the ¸ ⇦ ëëXìþËìþ " ðdeleted field will be found to have had their field-numbers reduced by 1. Inserting a field into the middle of ⇦ ☓ †Âö"ìþÖQìþ " ðthe existing field-sequence is obviously a little more complicated because we have to specify where in the ☓ ☓ \Ûíëþáìþ " ðsequence the new field goes. You need to know the number of the field before which you want to place the ☓ Ŷ¸ @ß ·ëþìåëþ " ðnew one. This number is entered in the the
before fieldant
icon before you click on þ Createn . If you examine fields ¸ ¥€ B‘Ŵëþ÷¯ëþ " ðwhich come after the insertion you will find that their numbers have been increased by 1. 5 5 € ⇦ ÖÊ/ëþª^ëþ " ðThe procedures just described can also be used to change the numbering of a field; first remove it , then re- ⇦ ⇦ LèÕùêþµ(ëþ " ðinsert it. There are, however, better ways. Click MENU over an existing field to bring up the dialogue box. ⇦ ⇦ 4ôàÃêþÀòêþ " ðWe will call this the “current field”. Enter the number of another existing field in the same place as was used ⇦ ⇦ ±ë™êþ˼êþ " ðabove to specify the insertion position of a new field. We’ll call this the “entered field”. You may then do ⇦ ¥\ Bð¤öWêþÖŷêþ " ðone of the following:−5 d. is \ ŶÜ &ÓIêþ)Eêþ " ð• = Click þ ing Swap with d . This does exactly what you would expect. It swaps the positions of the Ü ¥€ BäTàéþ4êþ " ðcurrent field and the entered field in the field sequence. d e ps ion € ŶÌ V0§fiéþÍéþ " ð•rr= Click h n t Renumber as . This is a bit more complicated. The current field acquires the number of Ì x äÀ²héþ‹–éþ " ðthe entered field. If this involves giving the current field a lower number than previously the x t l†½2éþ‡aéþ " ðfields beyond the new position are all moved up one place to open a gap for it, at the same t x ð‘Èüèþ¨+éþ " ðtime closing up the gap left by moving the current field from its old position. If it is being x t ä·ÓÆèþ³õèþ " ðgiven a higher number the fields above its old position all move down one place, closing up t ¥‘ BÔ¯Þ‘èþ¾¿èþ " ðthe gap left by its removal and opening a gap in the required place farther up the sequence. l ing ‘ ¥x BäUÁ7èþqnèþä) ð4.2.3 Re-sizing the nd bounding box pl t ce.h h x Ŷ¤ 4⇦“ èþt/èþ " ðLeft to itself "
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h makes all its field icons the same height and of a suitable length to contain the ¤ Ŷì €ÀflÊçþùçþ " ðnumber of characters specified in a h s t 1 h 1 Data length 1 h n t h . This may not be quite what you want. If the i 1 h 1 Data length 1 h is ì € −ª“çþ⇩Ãçþ " ðmore than about 70 the field runs off the right edge of the window. You may also want to make the field € ŶÌ À˵^çþ”™çþ " ðtaller for emphasis. (But h not th h for displaying multiple lines. Only fields of i ° h ° Text block ° h type can be multi-line. Ì ¥¨ BÙÀ(çþ Wçþ " ðThese are discussed later.) There are two ways of altering the size of a field’s bounding box:− cah i-lg g ¨ f f g ¨ ¥l Fö¾çæþóçþ " ð(a) her By dragging with ADJUST. ef g boi g i l Ŷ ®; ±æþþßæþ " ð(b) g " By typing in the required width and height in the h g i W g i and g i Hæþ g i icons of the n 3 g i 3 Field creation window 3 g i . t °“){æþ ªæþ " ðThe units used are the same OS units used for plotting on the screen. (In mode 27 the full t ¥T B4K4Eæþtæþ " ðscreen is 1240 x 960 OS units.)he g i e ti T ⇦ ¬Çæþg2æþ " ðBesides altering the size of the bounding box by typing the data directly, you may adjust its position in the ⇦ ☓ ØÚ‹Íåþrüåþ " ðsame way by entering the X and Y co-ordinates of the lower left corner. The units are the same as for width ☓ Ŷ¼ ôñ‡–åþ}Æåþ " ðand height but the origin is the ng 3 3 top rdi 3 left corner of the ¹ ¹ record window a ¹ . This means that the Y values are always ¼ ¥— B☓›¨aåþ⇦‘åþ " ðnegative. Clicking on O O FitO automatically sets the bounding-box width to fit the data length. — ¥È B¦Ø⇧åþ;?åþä) ð4.2.4 More about o Ì Ì tagsO Ì and s Î Î box Ŵ Î Ŵ descriptor Ŵ Î s Î åþ Mo Ì Ì È Ŷ¨ …Ã^Ñäþ> åþ " ðTags Ì are of great importance in "
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. They are used when querying the database to produce reports, ¨ Ŷ° 0ÝiœäþIÊäþ " òexport 2 X nce < < CSV fileswe < etc. and also by some internal operations. Every writable field must have a tag and no two ° ŶÄ åteäþT“äþ " ðfields may have the same tag. y Î Î . a Ŵ Î Ŵ Descriptore Ŵ Î s w Î are less important. Their main purpose is to provide visible labels Ä Ŷ ⇦Ó/äþ_^äþ " ðfor fields and in some cases you may not need a Ŵ Ŵ descriptorm Ŵ at all. e.g. If your database is to hold names and ¥` B(⇩ùãþj(äþ " ðaddresses you might want the record to look like this:- ‹ ‹ ` %d F•ï=¨ãþ ×ãþ " ð a‡ to@ NAMEnd — Fred Bloggs d %| FflÿHrãþ(¡ãþ " ð e‡ @ ADDRESS⇧L 27, Every Street | %h FÃ~S<ãþ3kãþ " ð 8 @ | " Anytown h %h FÓ•^ãþ>5ãþ " ðeet8 @ " Woolshire h ¥T FCiÐâþIÿâþ " ðwn 8 @ " WL4 h ‹ 7XZ T D® Ü ŶÈ D®:$áþSáþ " ð ü There are 5 fields here but, having given the second one the do Ŵ Ŵ descriptor Ŵ ADDRESS, you don’t really want Î Î Î Ŵ Î Ŵ È Ŷ¼ T§Eîàþ% áþ " ðdescriptor Ŵ Î sg Î for the remaining 3 (except perhaps POSTCODE for the last). It is quite in order to have null Î Î Î Ŵ Î Ŵ ¼ Ŷ° …„P¸àþ0çàþ " ðdescriptor Ŵ Î s Î like this, but your 3 4 4 must OS 4 give each field a tag. Suitable ones might be NAME, ADD1, ADD2, ° %d B‘ý[ŵàþ;±àþ " ðADD3, ADD4. (Remember they must be unique and not more than 4 characters.) d ☓ —ä1àþî_àþ " ðThe only cases in which you may omit the tag is where the field is simply an explanatory label and contains ☓ ¥p Bø5ûßþù)àþ " ðno actual data so that there would be no reason to include it in a query. p ¥T Bè ü¡ßþ¬Øßþä) ð4.2.5 Other types of Data fieldory d cm m T ⇦ PÒÏjßþ¯−ßþ " ðSo far we have only used fields of Unrestricted type. Clicking on “bump” icons to the left of the field type, ⇦ ¥¬ B@+Ú4ßþºcßþ " ðor on the menu button to the right, lets you cycle through the various types available. These are:− d m ckik k icoj j k ¬ ¥— F‘@-óÞþ"ßþ " ò(a) @+ 2 X th ! j k ! Unrestrictedyou ! j k e vÀ¿ Accepts any printable character. — %p FpI8½ÞþìÞþ " ð(b) Alphanumeric¬ <œ Accepts all letters and numerals and common punctuation. p %\ F“ÿCÞþ#¶Þþ " ð(c) Upper case ìÕ Accepts capital letters and numerals only. \ %\ F€7NQÞþ.€Þþ " ð(d) NumericÐ Accepts numerals, +, − and . (decimal point). \ %D Fü…YÞþ9JÞþ " ð(e) Yes/No ô Accepts Y and N only. D %` FÔÓdåÝþDÞþ " ð(d) Date †@ Accepts dates in the form dd-mm-yy or dd-mm-yyyy. ` %p F,Zo¯ÝþOÞÝþ " ð(e) Calculated øÞ Can’t be typed into directly. Takes its value from other fields p Ŷ¸ Æ(zyÝþZ¨Ýþ " ð(f) Composite ÈÕ Similar to a m- º j k º Calculated fieldÞÝþ º j k , but for textual rather thano ” ” j k aluv: ¸ ¥h FÖ—ŶCÝþerÝþ " ðyÝþ²− numeric data.i” j k o aj k j l k l h h ´_‘Ýþp<Ýþ " ð(g) Time, b\D Accepts times in the form hh:mm:ss up to a maximum value h ¥x FÞ~œ×Üþ{Ýþ " ð ²− of 23:59:59.j ” ” k l ” k l k l Ýþl x | xtî”ÜþÎÄÜþ " ðWhen Numeric or Calculated is selected, certain icons in the dialogue box which are normally shaded | Ŷ† ¤ðù_ÜþÙ‰Üþ " ðbecome available. Thus, you can make such a field of fixed-point type and "
will make sense of entries such as 4/5/ ´ %T BxMîÊÚþÎùÚþ " ð87, duly converting it to 04-05-87 when you press Return. T Ŷ† ⇦¡yÚþŴ¨Úþ " ðA s º º Calculated field º is used when you want the record to automatically display the result of a calculation † Ŷ† À—¬CÚþ…rÚþ " ðbased on other fields. Similarly, a yÚþ ¼ ¼ Composite field ¼ might be used to display a person’s name in the form † l ì›·Úþ–<Úþ " ðFORENAME SURNAME when the record uses separate fields for SURNAME and FORENAME. You l %⇦ BèèÂ×Ùþ¢Úþ " ðdon’t specify at this stage how the field value is derived; that’s done when the database is actually working. ⇦ Ŷ ȱuŷÙþUµÙþ " ðA s ¸ ¸ Time fieldR ¸ (like a date) is checked for validity and (again like a date) you may be fairly flexible in how ⇦ ¸¸€PÙþ`Ùþ " ðyou actually type the values in. If you enter 3.45;9 it will be reformatted as 03:45:09. The colon separator ⇦ ŶÌ (µ⇧ÙþkIÙþ " ðmay be changed via the 7 7 irl 9 7 9 Preferences7 9 window 9 (see h8 8 14.5.1 8 ). Arithmetic may be performed on times held in Ì %0 BL„äØþvÙþ " ðthis type of field. 0 ¥À B…ÚI›Øþ)ÂØþ " ðFor a de9 U U scriptn U ion of the workings of Calculated and ¼ ¼ Composite field ¼ s see r: : Ch 6eld: . , , À ¥| B¬þ,:ØþÜpØþä) ð4.2.6 ® , ® External fielde ® , si, p p rki ® p ® | Ŷ´ ☓¹ÿØþß1Øþ " ðExternal field ® p s allow you to link : "
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p Powerbase "
p records to pieces of data of a size and type which make them ´ ŶÄ ØÎ
Í×þêû×þ " ðunsuitable for inclusion in a Data field. Such items are sometimes called “ ; p ; BLOBs ; p ” ( < p < Binary Large Objectss o < p ) Ä ¥¬ B,<–×þõÅ×þ " ðin the PC world. The field types in this category and the types of data they “hold” are as follows:− p ; o o ; n n o ¬ ¥¨ F—⇨hU×þH☓×þ " ð(a) Textcts¨U Plain ? n o ? text filest ? n o , such as s 3 3 n o Edit ty 3 n o creates. ¨ ¥° FÈs ×þSN×þ " ð(b) Sprite Ø4 n > n o > Sprite files" > n o , such as 4 4 n o Paint t 4 n o creates. ° ¥x FìA~éÖþ^×þ " ð(c) Drawn X? Drawings such as 5 5 n o Draw a 5 n o creates. x ¥† FÎ⇨³ÖþiâÖþ " ð(d) o ° n o ° Text block ° n o n (ß Plain text files, as for (a). n o c) q o q † ¥… F“ŵ“}Öþt¬Öþ " ð(e) n ´ o q ´ Picture ´ o q x ¨" Sprite files, as for (b). o q extq … Ŷ† “Ðç;ÖþÇjÖþ " ðWhen you create a field of type Text, Sprite or Draw it appears on the ¹ ¹ record windowhe ¹ as a button bearing a † ŶÐ ìÞòÖþÒ4Öþ " ðsmall version of the icon for 6 6 Edit 6 , 7 7 Paint u 7 or 8 8 Draw Sp 8 respectively. Files of the appropriate type may be dropped Ð ☓ `§ýÏÕþÝþÕþ " ðon these buttons, whereupon the file is copied into a special system of subdirectories within the database ☓ ŶÄ ÔŒÕþèÈÕþ " ðapplication. Unlike fields of the Data category the data doesn’t become part of the d @ @ ÏÕþ @ Database wh @ fileis within the Ä Ì, ! Ŷ¨ Ì,⇨$ÔþiSÔþ " ð ü application; the Text, Sprite or de @ @ Draw filete @ retains its identity and may be exported for editing in the ¨ Ŷ 4Í“îÓþt Ôþ " ðappropriate application. Clicking on the button in the ¹ ¹ record window ¹ will display the file if the filer knows ¥´ B@|fl¸ÓþçÓþ " ðthe whereabouts of the relevant editor ( fo : : Edit : , ; ; Paint ; or < < DrawCli < ). but ° ° ´ Ŷ¼ ÐÖRgÓþ2„Óþ " ðText block ° and th ´ ´ Picture ´ fields take this a step further by actually displaying a text or sprite file on the ¹ ¹ record ¼ Ŷ¸ (ô]1Óþ=`Óþ " ðwindow ¹ . The bounding box of the icon needs to be of suitable size to hold the text or ° ´ ´ picture ´ . In the case of a ° ° ¸ Ŷ“ l¹hûÒþH*Óþ " ðText block ° too small a box will cause the text to appear truncated. None is actually lost; it just can’t all be “ Ŷ påsÅÒþSôÒþ " ðdisplayed. Too small a box for a r ´ ´ Picture ´ field will cause the sprite to spread beyond its boundaries. (N.B. To ¥à BÍ~•Òþ^¾Òþ " ðdisplay the same sprite on each record, e.g. a company ² ² logocan ² , define the field as of type p ² ² Logoa b ² , not t ´ ´ Picture ´ .) ld / / à ¥l Bp>a6ÒþmÒþä) ð4.2.7 b " / " Check-box " / fieldsay / sprt t l ☓ 0é4ÿÑþ.Òþ " ðThese are fields whose status alternates between two values when clicked on with SELECT. Three types are ☓ ¥h B ´ ?ÉÑþ øÑþ " ðdefined:− t p s s ) r r s / œ œ r s h %p F`&‹Ñþr¶Ñþ " ð(a) Cross/tick Té Displays a cross by default. A click changes it to a tick. A p %d Fà.‡QÑþ}€Ñþ " ðcliŵM ith²− second click changes it back to a cross. d ¥“ F|—¨Ñþ⇦JÑþ " ð(b) Null/tick $þ Similar to (a), but first state is an empty box. ir œ s aysu œ s u “ ¥° FxÖ³åÐþ›Ñþ " ð(c) Null/star d Similar to (b), but second state is a star. ckœ s u to s u u “ B B " " " B ° Ŷ† ⇦+¤ÐþæÒÐþ " ðCheck-boxst " B es provide the fastest way of entering true/false or yes/no type data. If you examine the l ? ? B † Ŷ¸ 8çnÐþñ†Ðþø" ðValStrings ? B file inside the "
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B Powerbase"
B directory you will find strings associated with each of these three types ¸ ¥t B; 8ÐþüfÐþ " ðthe latter parts of which read, respectively:−B bC C A A C t ¥h B0oöÏþO%Ðþ " ðQNo,Yes Q-,Yes Q-,* A C dirC h Ŷ† ,¨Â´Ïþ¢ãÏþ " ðThese specify what will actually appear in a print-out when a ø " " check-boxic " field is included in a query. You † Ŷ †ïÍ~ÏþÏþ " ðmay change them if you wish, but don’t omit the initial Q (although this will D D not D appear in the print-out) and ¥\ B$›ØHÏþ¸wÏþ " ðtake care not to alter the remainder of the string. - - \ ¥x B λïÎþk&Ïþä) ð4.2.8 ¾ - ¾ Stamp field ¾ - sy- butv v he ¾ v ¾ x ŶÐ LÖ‰¸ÎþnçÎþ " ðStamp field ¾ v s resemble Calculated and ¼ v ¼ Composite field ¼ v s in that you cannot edit them; - W W v PowerbaseÏþ W v takes care Ð ¥¼ BPº−ŵÎþy±Îþ " ðof their automatic updating. The following types are available:− v çÎþ~ ~ ld} } ~ sem*¡ *¡ } ~ ¼ fi fi *¡ } ~ ¼ ¥“ Fø#ì@ÎþÌoÎþ " ð(a) ca E fi *¡ } ~ E Record numberas E fi *¡ } ~ re (Ŷ Database record number. “ ¥¬ F†h÷
Îþ×9Îþ " ð(b) are $ fi *¡ } ~ $ Sequence number $ fi *¡ } ~ ¡ HV Unique value numbered upwards from base value set by user. ¬ %X F¤ÔÕÍþâÎþ " ð(c) Time Ô# Time at which record was created. X %` FÜØflÍþíÍÍþ " ð(d) Date lË Date on which record was created. ` %` FD¼iÍþø–Íþ " ð(e) Date and time ⇨ Date and time of record creation. ` h U#3ÍþbÍþ " ð(f) Day " ØR Day on which record was created (in the form Mon, Tue etc h %H F⇩ã.ýÌþ,Íþ " ðate²− or day of month as 10, 24 etc). H x B9ÇÌþöÌþ " ð(g) Month €á Month in which record was created (as either a string; Jan, ¶ x %H FÙD’Ìþ$ÀÌþ " ðay ²− Feb etc or a number; 1, 2 etc). H %p FÌhO[Ìþ/⇩Ìþ " ð(h) Year Ü Year when record was created as four-digit number, e.g. 1993 p t Ø\Z%Ìþ:TÌþ " ð(i) Last altered tл Records the date and time record is first created and updates t d âeïËþE Ìþ " ð− ²− it if the record is subsequently altered. Merely displaying the d ¥¼ FzSp¹ËþPèËþ " ð re²− record does our 7 fi *¡ 7 } ~ not t 7 fi *¡ } ~ cause updating. s } fi *¡ ~ ord fi *¡ ~ ¼ ¥, F {◰Ëþ[²Ëþ " ð(j) " ² fi *¡ ~ ² Logoubs ² fi *¡ ~ ng ⇦î Allows a sprite to be included as a d d ² fi *¡ ~ ² logo ² fi *¡ ~ on every record.fi *¡ ~ fi *¡ ~ ~ , Ŷ xãÎAËþ®pËþ " ðAll such fields are “stamped” by go"
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Powerbase "
when a record is first entered. When using (a) or (b) make sure Ŷ¸ À€Ù Ëþ¹:Ëþ " ðthe fi X X 1 X 1 Data length 1 X ìÊþX icon contains a large enough value to accommodate the longest number which will be ¸ Ŷ àäÕÊþÄËþ " ðencountered. In the case of (b) the base value from which the sequence numbers begin is entered in the Y Y ng F Y F ŶÔ −ïflÊþÏÎÊþ(# ðNumeric min F Y Y box. For the other types the required field length is already known by be "
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Powerbase "
and the e Z Z he 1 Z 1 Ô ¥d BLÀúiÊþÚ—Êþ(# ðData length 1 Z e Z box is therefore shaded. J J d ¥⇦ B“⇧Êþ™GÊþ " ðType (d) fields may display the date in any of three formats:− lenJ reaH H owG G H ⇦ ¥€ F`é ×ÉþàÊþ " ð(i) Sun,01 Aug 1993€9 (called “ ì ì G H Date stamp ì G H ”) € ¥° FÐ ¡ÉþëÏÉþ " ð(ii) 01-08-93 " ´ (called “y ì ì G H Date stampe ì G H 8”) G H G I H I ° ¥— F€ºkÉþö−Éþ " ð(iii) 01-08-1993 DE (called “ ì ì H I Date stamp ì H I 10”) H I ¡ÉþI — Ŷ ü—i)ÉþIXÉþ " ð(ii) and (iii) are identical to the formats in which te"
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Powerbase "
displays dates of the ordinary editable-data ¥ B tóÈþT"Éþ " ðtype (see ] ] 4.2.5al] ). The numbers refer to the field length occupied by the ì ì date stamp ì . Ŷ¤ Xµ'¢ÈþÑÈþ " ðType (j) fields require the name of the sprite to be entered as the tag of the field to be used as a t ² ² logoble ² . This ¤ ôî 4" Ŷ¬ ôîØ$Çþ¸SÇþ " ð ü means that the sprite name is limited to four characters. You may have several ² ² logo ² fields on your record, all ¬ ¥° B ÙãîÆþà Çþ " ðthe required sprites being included in a file called ^ ^ UsrSprites ^ which is placed inside the database directory. SÇþ. . ° ¥X B×Æ”ÆþvÌÆþä) ð4.2.9 i % . % Button field Yo % . sr. X ŶÌ ¯−^Æþy™Æþ " ðAny or all of the control buttons on the Æþ"
4 ŵx ERT\P # ºn ( Ô ☓ Ô † ☓ Ô Ô NOTEion☓ ☓ : stops at word end) ¼ %P F⇨Zè›·þÈ·þ " ð(e)0Þ 2 Ð L¸þw 4 ŵx HERR P %L FÑ0ó]·þÓ…·þ " ð(f)dã 2 Ð R × 3¸þŵx ING L %P FŴMþ'·þÞV·þ " ð(g)‘Û 2 Ð 3 «
4Uŵx RRIN P %P F-w ò¶þé ·þ " ð(h)‘Û 0 Ð L w 5ûŵx ALBER P ¥´ F'¼¶þôê¶þ " ð(i)øå 0 Ð Lw 7 ŵx ALBERTH~? ( Ô ☓ Ô Ô ☓ Ô Ô NOTE st☓ ☓ : ignores word break) ´ ¥ä F' ŷ¶þÿ´¶þ " ð(j)øå 0 Ð R × 8 ŵx THERRING…·þÞ' ( Ô ☓ Ô ☓ Ô x Ô NOTE ☓ ☓ : ignores word break) ☓ ŷ ŷ Ŷ Ŷ ŷ ä ¥ø F'*P¶þ
lets you enforce this condition if you wish (see é é 11.2.1é ). Occasional repetitions ¸ € \„€´þ`3´þ " ðmay not be serious, but a field which can have only a few “values” is usually a poor choice. A customer € € ¦⇧γþký³þ " ðnumber or membership number is the sort of thing we are looking for but your database may not contain € ☓ 0¹„—³þvdzþ " ðanything like that. In a database of school pupils the pupil’s name would be a good choice of key, but the ☓ € äסb³þŴ’³þ " ðform teacher’s name would not, since only a small number of names would be involved, each appearing on € %4 B ù¬,³þ…[³þ " ðthe record of many pupils. 4 ☓ ÔØ_Û²þ?
³þ " ðSuppose you decide to use a person’s name, stored surname first, in a single field whose tag is NAME, as a ☓ ☓ Àœj¥²þJÔ²þ " ðkey. You could use the whole name but it would probably be far too long. The first four letters would be ☓ ☓ 4Çuo²þUfi²þ " ðmore appropriate but, as this is the start of the surname, you might get a lot of duplication. e.g. PRESTON ☓ x ^€9²þ`h²þ " ðand PRESCOTT would both have the key PRES − and this is before we even consider people whose x Ŷ† H×⇧²þk2²þ " ðsurnames are identical. To get round this problem, "
¦ LcaR uirbÒ 1e™ ‰ sen‰ ¨ Ŷ— ä¿!°þûO°þ " ðThis works quite well. Smith Peter and Smith Janet would have the Q Q keysd s Q SMITP and SMITJ. Duplication — ☓ <Â&ë¯þ°þ " ðcan still occur, but not often enough to be a serious problem. You might, of course, want to store surname ☓ ¥¤ B c1µ¯þä¯þ " ðand forename in rec ¥ ¥ different h ¥ fields. Let’s call their u Ì Ì tagshou Ì SNAM and FNAM.
¤ ¥d B4 äc¯þÄ‹¯þ " ðThe key definition is then:−ve
will restore the previous contents of the field and print an error message. + + f t - + - à Ŷ DóK>„þ+m„þ " ðValidation + - table - s have other uses too. They can have extra columns containing other data about the products, € †}V„þ67„þ " ðsuch as a name and a brief description, and lists can be printed in which this more understandable data € Ŷ† ̼aÒ”þA„þ " ðappears instead of the codes. You can also have ”þ"
á ŵ '◰ " ŵ '◰ lic'◰ ov'☓ '☓ ì ™ üÔ◰Ŵþù±Ŵþ " ð ü Clearlo'☓ removes all data from the table, leaving it blank. Since wiping out a table in this way is pretty drastic ™´ TÑ$MŴþ|Ŵþ " ð ü you will be asked to confirm the operation before it actually takes place. When you close a database all the is + + y d - + - ´ ™¨ \‘/ŴþFŴþ " ð ü validationo + - tablei - s in memory are written to the disc so you will over-write your disc copy with the blank ¨ è R¨ê:á€þŴþ " ð ü table. It is possible to recover the table using m⇧ ⇧ en f ⇧ f Undoll f ⇧ all sc⇧ provided the table has not been closed. 'ŷ 'ŷ . Ŷ Ŷ 'ŷ è ™ Ä“í•€þ;€þ " ð ü Save⇧ Ŷ 'ŷ 'ŷ leads to a all Save boxthe in which the default pathname points to a directory called … … " … ValTables … … inside the ™¨ PºøY€þØ⇦€þ " ð ü database application directory. Since that’s where "
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Powerbase "
expects to find the tables for a database you ¨ ™¨ ̤$€þãR€þ " ð ü should normally accept this pathname by clicking on e ™ ™ Savebas™ or typing Return. Only if you are transferring ¨ ™Ð äîþî €þ " ð ü tables from one database to another should you need to drag the icon to a filer window. All ypi + + ly - + - validation + - table - s Ð ™è —ê¸þùæþ " ð ü in memory are, in any case, saved to the r ‰ ‰ w. ‰ ValTables ‰ i ‰ directory when you close the database or quit "
will then load it whether any † ¥D B†é§’wþÀwþ " ðfield is linked to it or not. ] ] D ¥À BÐbº0wþ:owþà/ ð5.8 Including + + ] nam - + - ] validation + - ] tablew - ] data in printouts] is + + or - + - À Ŷ† ¼löÝvþÖ wþ " ðValidationn + - table - s are often used to allow short codes to be entered in records but with a link to a more † Ŷ¤ …ä¨vþáÖvþ " ðde U U script U ive entry in another column of the table. If this is all that is required then always put the data which ¤ ŶÄ ¬µ rvþì vþ " ðmakes up the actual …ä + + eþ e + e allowed li + e sto e , i.e. the items which are allowed in the fields of the main record, into the Ä ⇦ †Ú<vþ÷jvþ " ðfirst column of the table and set the link from the record field to this column (column 0). The more detailed ⇦ ŶÐ ¤™"vþ5vþ " ð“expanded” entry should go in column 1. Printing with the ¢ ¢ " 7 ¢ 7 Expandn 7 ¢ an¢ switch in the à à Print optionsn à window Ð ¥x Bhÿ-Ðuþÿuþ " ðselected will then print the column 1 £ £ instead ing £ of the column 0 entry. x ☓ ,«à~uþÀuþ " ðYou can, however, include data from other columns of a table by displaying the table and clicking in the ☓ Ŷ† ÔoëHuþËwuþ " ðrequired columns with ADJUST, exactly like selecting main record fields for printing (see i i 3.3.1ini ). It is † € °½öuþÖAuþ " ðimmaterial which row you click on; only the column matters and the highlighting to show which columns € ⇦ ¨Ýtþá uþ " ðare selected always appears in the first row. The columns selected in all tables are saved as part of a print ⇦ ☓ |¬ §tþìÕtþ " ðselection and may therefore be retrieved for future use. As well as highlighting the required columns you ☓ ŶÄ ìØqtþ÷fltþ " ðwill also need to select the ta¤ ¤ d a 7 ¤ 7 Expand 7 ¤ tþ¤ switch as described above. Printed reports will then include all the data Ä %8 BlC";tþjtþ " ðfrom the highlighted columns. 8 yV4 ' ¯ 4 ¥ä ÂìŒ dJ“þDy“þø" ü 4 4 4 ¯ ¯ ¯ 4 Page ¯ ¯ 4 4 4 ä yV4 @( ± 5 ¥ä ÂìŒ ³Jþ›yþø" ü 5 5 5 ± ± ± 5 Page ± 5 5 5 ä yV4 °( Ŷà >°=ÇþMîþp ü * If you have closed the database the table won’t have been reloaded on opening again. See fl fl 5.7fl fl for how to load your table for à ¥0 Bxx QŒþaÁþp linking. 0 yV4 L* ¥T Bþ¸ýªzþÒzþp ü * This feature cannot be used on tables created with earlier versions of — — Powerbase — and the option will be shaded in such cases.d T yV4!Kàê °, è ¥l B2açkþAFlþ|E ò ü è è è Ch 6 − Performing Calculationsè œ œ l ¥Ô BÌCð–kþÐÆkþ " ðThere are two mechanisms for performing –kþ k œ k calculationssms k œ in "
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œ Powerbasens"
œ :− in œ
Œ Œ bas− − Œ Ô Ŷä BCVkþ#Ŷkþ " ð• = − Q Q − Œ B À Q − Œ À Self-calculatingŒ À Q − Œ Œ Q − Œ fields which automatically calculate and display a value derived from other ä ¥D B– N kþ.Okþ " ðfields. − Œ † Œ † D ¥| FÚ¾Yêjþ9kþ " ð• = Arithmetic performed on a column in a report. Œ † c p† on À À | Ŷ¨ LŒ¬¨jþ…×jþ " ðSelf-calculatingÀ À fields are those which are of Calculated or Composite types. º º Calculated field or º s display a ¨ ⇦ <æ·rjþ–¡jþ " ðnumeric result derived from other fields in the record. When the mouse pointer is moved over such a field it ⇦ Ŷ 4ôÂ<jþ¢kjþ " ðchanges into a shape resembling a pocket calculator. an ¼ ¼ Composite field ¼ s perform a similar function but display ⇦ ÀËÍjþ5jþ " ða textual result instead of a number. In this case the mouse pointer changes into a large “+” sign. The latter ⇦ Ŷ ðÑØÐiþ¸ÿiþ " ðdo not, strictly, involve “calculations” at all but because Composite and n º º Calculated fieldut º s work in the same ⇦ €‘ãŒiþÃÉiþ " ðway it is convenient to deal with them together. It isn’t possible to type data directly into either of these ⇦ %0 Bø‘îdiþΛiþ " ðspecial types of field. 0 Ŷ† $ª¡iþŴBiþ " ðIt is also possible to write your own functions in Basic and use them in Calculated and you ¼ ¼ Composite field ¼ s. † ¥` B((¬Ýhþ… iþ " ðThe system variable TIME$ is useful in this connection. í í ` ¥l BPj¿|hþ?»hþà/ ð6.1 s º í º Calculated fieldp º í sí ^ ^ l ¥☓ B‰°+"hþÛXhþä) ð6.1.1 Simple calculations using ^ " ^ " Numeric field1. " ^ sa^ ng k k ☓ Ŷ¼ <_þêgþÞhþ " ðOur first example will be to make a field containing a v.a.t. Ø k Ø wik Ø a Ø exclusive vk k price determine the contents of ¼ Ŷ¬ ⇦ñ µgþéãgþ " ðanother field which includes v.a.t. at 17%. Let the gþ Ì k Ì tags wh Ì k of these fields be VEX and VINC respectively. Click ¬ ŶÀ p²gþôgþ " ðMENU over the VINC to bring up the S S k Field þS k submenu and move right over T T k Calculations T k . You will see a À ¥… Bf Igþÿwgþ " ðwindow with a writable icon which contains:− k wgþl l th d d l hicú d l ú … ¥p B … *gþ
. 0 $w / ŶÄ $wfl'RþVRþ " ð ü All the user functions to be used by a database must be included in a Basic program called ’ ’ o o ’ o UserFuncs ’ o se o Ä Ŷ¨ È„ªñQþ⇩ Rþ " ðwhich is stored in the database directory (not in the "
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Powerbase "
directory). When the database is opened to ‹ ‹ ¨ Ŷ¬ ⇦ñµ»Qþ”êQþø" ðUserFuncs ‹ will be loaded as a library and he"
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Powerbaseed"
can call the user functions just as readily as on its own ¬ ¥4 BèÅ ÀŶQþ ´Qþ " ðfunctions. 4 Ŷ¨ |ßs4QþScQþ " ðThe distribution disc includes a i › › UserFuncsQþ › file containing two examples of user functions kindly submitted ¨ ☓ D¢~þPþ^-Qþ " ðby David Lenthall. Users are invited to submit other user functions for possible inclusion in the function ☓ € (ß⇨ÈPþi÷Pþ " ðlibrary. FNUnow (which takes no parameters) operates on the value of TIME$ from the real-time clock and € € ô¬“‹PþtÁPþ " ðreturns a string containing the current date in form DD-MM-YY. A record design could include a field of € ☓ Xßfl\Pþ⇧Pþ " ðComposite type, at least eight characters long and tagged as, for example, DATE. Associating the field with ☓ ¥l Bà ª&Pþ⇩UPþ " ðthe formula:− eig„ „ lo“ “ „ fo “ „ l ¥| B€QµðOþ” Pþº ðDATE= “ „ he ” “ ” „ FNUnow ” “ „ “ „ „ | ¥h B(s¯OþèÝOþ " ðwould cause the field to display the current date at all times. − − h ☓ ð»]Oþœ…Oþ " ðThe second function, FNUageinyrs accepts two parameters, each of which should be the tag of a field which ☓ € €«Æ'Oþ¦VOþ " ðholds a date in DD-MM-YY format, and returns the difference between the dates to the nearest year. The € ‘ ÔáÑñNþ± Oþ " ðfirst date should be the earlier of the two. If your record design has a field for Date of Birth (let’s call its tag ‘ Ŷ ðòÜ»Nþ¼êNþ " ðDOB) you can use this function together with FNUnow to make a e ¼ − ¼ Composite field ¼ − (AGE) display a person’s ¥☓ B¤çŶNþÇ´Nþ " ðage in years by using the formula:− − Œ Œ ld– – Œ ) d – Œ ☓ ¥… BòONþÒ~Nþº ðAGE=n y – Œ fo— – — Œ FNUageinyrs(DOB,FNUnow)— – Œ – Œ Œ … Ŷ† ÀENþ%=Nþ " ðConsiderable care is needed in constructing user functions as it is very easy to make "
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Powerbase "
generate † ⇦ ⇦ÖPØMþ0Nþ " ðerrors. In particular you must avoid giving a function a name which is the same as a field tag − or even one ⇦ ⇦ †¼[¢Mþ;ÑMþ " ðwhich contains a field tag as a substring. The two functions described could not, for instance, be used in a ⇦ %x B¸FflMþFœMþ " ðdatabase which had a field tagged as “now” or “age”, although “NOW” and “AGE” could be used. x Ŷ° ¤⇩MþùIMþ " ðCalculated and ¼ ¼ Composite field ¼ s are normally updated when changes are made to the fields whose ⇩ Ì Ì tagslat Ì ° … ð$åLþMþ " ðappear in their calculation formulae. If a formula contains a user function then the field will be updated after … ¥☓ B—Å/¯LþÞLþ " ðchanges to those fields whose e Ì Ì tagsnta Ì appear in the parameter list of the function. ☓ Ŷ¨ ªâ]LþÂ…Lþ " ðThe previous discussion of ¼ ¼ Composite field ¼ s pointed out that they are updated after altering fields whose ª Ì Ì ¨ Ŷ‘ ¼−í'LþÍVLþ " ðtags¼ Ì appear in the calculation formula or, in the case of those using TIME$, immediately before display. ‘ € ŵøñKþØ Lþ " ðThere is a problem as a user functions may use TIME$ without it appearing in the parameter list of the € € P̼KþãêKþ " ðfunction (FNUnow is an example of this). The field AGE in the example given will only be updated when € | dŷKþî´Kþ " ðDOB is edited. It will therefore show the age at the time you enter his/her date of birth but won’t | | XLPKþù~Kþ " ðautomatically change it a year later. To make the change automatic you could introduce TIME$ as a | Ŷ☓ hr$KþIKþ " ðparameter in FNUnow, i.e. make it FNUnow(TIME$) even though the function doesn’t need it. When "
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☓ Ŷ☓ H”/äJþKþø" ðPowerbase "
sees TIME$ in the formula it will update AGE. The same trick of using TIME$ as a dummy ☓ ☓ ,ð:®JþÝJþ " ðparameter can be used for any user function associated with a field which you want updating without having ☓ Ŷ¼ PÒExJþ%§Jþ " ðto edit the record, but note that the record must be n p p displayedd p for updating to occur. See g q q 14.5.3þq for a method ¼ ¥¬ BXJPBJþ0qJþ " òof ensuring that r r all p r records in the current subfile are updated on opening the database. 2 X Jþô ô ¬ ¥L B0µcáIþã Jþà/ ð6.4 Calculations on a column of a reportsô L ŶÔ ‘×fl‰Iþ½Iþ " ðThere is an option on the œ œ Print œ submenu called † † on " † " Numeric field " † sIþ† which is normally shaded. It only becomes Ô Ŷ Ì˪XIþ⇩Iþ " ðavailable when you highlight one or more Numeric or " º º Calculated field no º s for printing. You can then access a ⇦ ¨Âµ"Iþ”QIþ " ðwindow listing all the fields (if any) in the record which are of these two types. Associated with each field ⇦ ¥¬ BÀìHþ Iþ " ðare six ind " " check-boxld " es which can be selected to include the following in the report:− ielt t s s t ¬ %\ F'åsœHþSÊHþ " ð-bo8 @ can" Count \ %\ F◰È~eHþ^“Hþ " ðt 8 s @ " Sum \ %` F×⇨/Hþi^Hþ " ð 8 @ " Average ` %h F_Ó“ùGþt(Hþ " ð 8 @ \ " Standard deviation h ¥t Fß5flÃGþòGþ " ð 8 @ _Ó" Maximum u s t u t ¥t Fת™Gþ⇩¼Gþ " ð 8 ß5@ " " Minimum s t u axit u u t Ŷ¤ ,óýKGþÝzGþ " ðThe " " check-box " es are shaded until a field is included in a print selection. They then become “live” and any or ¤ Ŷ‘ ÄÙGþèDGþ " ðall of them may be chosen by clicking with SELECT. The information requested is then added to the report “ ê ê ‘ ¥H BxsàFþóGþ " ðfooter ê when printing takes place. H yV4 - ¹ 6 ¥ä ÂìŒ K`þ€z`þø" ü 6 6 6 ¹ ¹ ¹ 6 Page ¹ 6 6 ä yV4 L. ¼ 7 ¥ä ÂìŒ ïKSþÏzSþø" ü 7 7 7 ¼ ¼ ¼ 7 Page ¼ ¼ 7 7 7 ä yV4!Kàê °0 · h RÖ€NèDþ.GEþ|E ò ü ü · · Ch 7 − Using extra indices · h ™Ð @ÁÝ—Dþ½ÇDþ " ð ü The record data is stored in a file called fi fi le ☓ fi ☓ Database fi ☓ ata ☓ inside the database’s application directory. The order of Ð ™¨ Ä»èbDþÈ’Dþ " ð ü records within fl fl Database fl is determined purely by the order in which the records are entered. To access the ¨ ™ ¯ó,DþÓ[Dþ " ð ü records in a logical order we need one or more M M iti ý M ý indices ý M as M . "
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Powerbaseti"
has no Ŷ Ŷ sorting Ŷ facilities other than the ™Ð ؼþöCþÞ%Dþ " ð ü ability to sort a + + - - + - validation + - table, - or, under certain circumstances, a report. All data ordering is achieved by Ð t R4^ ÁCþéïCþ " ð ü the use of es ý ý indices ý 4m . t ™Ô 4m¼oCþ†fiCþ " ð ü The most important û û indexby û is his û û index“ û 0. This is always called “ ÿ ÿ PrimaryKey ÿ ” and is created as part of the Ô ™ä ☓¶Ç9Cþ§hCþ " ð ü process of setting up a database (see e¡ ¡ 4.5¡ ). You will find the file n ¢ ¢ s ÿ ¢ ÿ PrimaryKey ÿ ¢ ¢ inside the database directory. ä ™ü âÒCþ²2Cþ " ð ü Other, ŷ ŷ subsidiaryt ŷ , ’ ý ý indices ý are stored in the database’s £ £ tor ý £ ý Indices ý £ ”. £ directory* and all have an icon bearing an “I”. ü ™¼ †¡ÝÍBþ½üBþ " ð ü When a database is opened any u ý ý indices ý in this directory will be loaded automatically. ( ý ý Indices ý operate in ¼ ™ ‹è–BþÈÆBþ " ð ü memory − to achieve maximum speed − not from disc.) Changes to the database update the ý ý indices ý and È RëóaBþÓ‘Bþ " ð ü closing the database (or quitting "
(4þêV4þ " ðwhich case the number of fields per record will vary. P € uâ3þU4þ " ð(3)Ú The way in which each record is terminated varies from one system to another. The last item € Ŷ° xØ€¬3þ`Û3þ " ðof data in a record is not followed by a comma but by a line ™ + ® ™ terminatorn ™ + ® . On RISC OS systems ° x œ⇧v3þk¥3þ " ðthis is the line-feed character (ASCII value 10) and on PCs it is usually the carriage-return x Ŷä œ„@3þvo3þ " ðcharacter (ASCII value 13). You might, however, encounter < + ® < CSV filesII < + ® in which o C + ® C both C + ® these ä %D B¡
3þŴ93þ " ðcharacters are used, i.e. LF CR or CR LF. D Ŷ¼ fi$ Å2þìó2þ " ð(4)Ú 93þ ⇧ + ® ⇧ Separator C ⇧ + ® other than commas are sometimes used. The Tab character (ASCII value 9) is often ¼ Ŷä è‹•2þ÷½2þ " ðused and such files are called > + ® > TSV files > + ® . c + ® Powerbase + ® allows you to separate data items and ä ¥ø Bè"Y2þ⇦2þ " ðterminate lines (see (3) above) with s + ® any è + ® character or character pair. + ® ® + ® ’ + ’ or⇩ + ⇩ ’ ø ☓ ¢™2þmB2þ " ð(5)Ú Some applications which accept a CSV file as input expect the first line to contain the names ☓ x é—Ý1þx 2þ " ðof the fields which comprise the subsequent records, e.g. if each record consists of a name and x ¥ð B ·£§1þ◰Ö1þ " ða four-part address this if ‰ + ⇩ ‰ ’ header record ‰ + ⇩ ’ might read:−s+ ⇩ ’ ‰ ⇩ ’ cor⇩ ’ ’ › › ‹ ‹ › ð ¥Ð B…™öe1þÖ“1þ " ð “NAME”,“STREET”,“TOWN”,“COUNTY”,“POSTCODE” + + ‹ › Ô + ‹ › TR+ ‹ › “PO ‹ › ‹ › ‹ › "
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Ð Ŷ¨ 8I$1þ)S1þø" ðPowerbase "
is able to save data in the form of true < < CSV files1þ < or files using another data separator. If the ¨ ⇦ D®Tî0þ4 1þ " ðseparator is a comma then the file created is of type &dfe and its icon displays the letters CSV. If another ⇦ … T¹_¸0þ?ç0þ " ðseparator, eg. Tab, is used (see (4) above) then the file is of the ordinary Text type, i.e. &fff. Files of these … Ŷ €Æjŵ0þJ±0þ " ðtypes may also be used to enter data into a &f"
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Powerbase "
database. In what follows we will, for convenience, Ŷ— $œuL0þU{0þ " ðrefer to them all as “I < < CSV files, < ” whether or not the separator is a comma. The choices on the main menu — ¥¸ Bx³€0þ`E0þ " ðwhich control these actions are omm Export CSVa and " ? ? CSV options ? . ¯ ¯ ¸ ¥p B€A›µ/þô/þà/ ð8.2 Setting the V ? ¯ ? CSV options ? ¯ ¯ p fl fl p ŶÄ dìÏb/þ¯’/þ " ðThe main-menu choice ti fl ? fl ? CSV options ? fl he fl leads to a dialogue box which lets you specify all the file Ä ☓ TkÚ,/þº[/þ " ðcharacteristics described earlier. Selection of the first three option buttons causes a saved file to have, ☓ ¥T Bø åö.þÅ%/þ " ðrespectively:−fl ptifi fi use‡ ‡ fi T %T FîÔ8µ.þä.þ " ð•/þ= quotes round non-numeric fields (see (1) above) T ¥☓ F—C.þ#®.þ " ð•.þ= a header record specifying the field names (see (5) above).¬ ‡ fi " fi ☓ ¥d FèNI.þ.x.þ " ð•= null fields included (see (2) above). fi ) a d Ŷà É¡.þŴ6.þ " ðNote that the field names referred to in (b) are, by default, the e D D Ì D Ì tags Ì D .þ D of the corresponding me"
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Powerbasere"
fields, à Ŷ0 ÌV¬Ñ-þ… .þ " ðbut may be changed to the E E f t Î E Î ie Ŵ E Î Ŵ descriptor Ŵ E Î s Î E E by altering the setting in the Î à à Print optionssc à E window. The “ “ field 0 Ŷ¤ …±·œ-þ–Ê-þ " ðseparator “ and ” ” record terminator ” may be changed by means of menus which appear when you click on the ¤ | 4LÂe-þ¢“-þ " ðpop-up menu icons. Each of these menus includes a writable entry allowing you to define your own | ¥l B‘ŷÍ/-þ^-þ " ðseparator and/or terminator of one or two printing characters. tab± ± l ô3 ± ¥P BÀ·ì+þlW+þà/ ð ü 8.3 Exporting data as a CSV filer± P … üì(Æ*þõ*þ " ðHaving set up your options as described above, creating a CSV file is very like printing a list. First highlight … ☓ Üè3‘*þ¿*þ " ðthe fields to be exported by clicking on each with ADJUST. Remember that the order in which the fields are ☓ ŶÈ ´¹>Z*þ ⇨*þ " ðhighlighted is important. Next choose n – – h A – Export CSVd – he from the main menu. A window appears featuring the Ne Ü Ü È Ŷ¨ ,êI$*þ)S*þ " ðQuery panel Ü . Type in the Ŷ Ŷ search formulam Ŷ to determine which records are exported. Finally, enter the name of ¨ ŶÄ @µTî)þ4 *þ " ðthe file and drag the file icon to a filer window. By default the file is saved in ter PrintJobsµ he as usual, and you Ä ŶÈ @è_¸)þ?ç)þ " ðmay simply click on ed Export or type Return. Experiment with saving < < CSV files < with different settings of the on ? ? È ¥“ B¤•jŵ)þJ±)þ " ðCSV options ? and then loading the resulting files into Edit t to examine them. ² ² “ ¥⇦ B ù}!)þý_)þà/ ð8.4 Using < ² < CSV fileslt < ² to — ² — import data — ² ² ⇦ Ŷ— €º¹Î(þ−ý(þ " ðIf you drag a CSV file onto the record display of an open database the options window (see ? ? CSV options ? ) — ⇦ ⇦ëÄ—(þ¤Ç(þ " ðappears with a changed title and some additional icons, one of which displays the pathname of the CSV file. ⇦ Ŷ¸ …íÏb(þ¯’(þ " ðClicking on ith$ $ Import $ will make o"
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Powerbaseay"
try to create new database records from the file. If you decide not ¸ Ŷ“ È Ú,(þº[(þ " ðto do this you should click on % % Cancel % . If you do wish to import the data there are some important “ ¥P B—1åö'þÅ%(þ " ðconsideration which will now be explained.( ( P ¥X B&3ȇ'þxÔ'þä) ð8.4.1 Ensuring that the correct options are selected(þ( X Ŷ¬ Dxœf'þ{”'þ " ðIf the CSV file originally came from a ) ) Powerbase i ) application the settings in the ed ? ? CSV options ? window ¬ Ŷ— X‡¦0'þŷ_'þ " ðshould be exactly the same as they were when the file was exported. The exception to this is the s* * Quotes * — Ŷ— §±ú&þ’)'þ " ðbutton which is shaded on import because wa + + Powerbase o + doesn’t need it. If the CSV file came from a PC or — ŶÌ DÀ¼Ä&þ†ó&þ " ðanother RISC OS application you might have to load it into , , Edit t. , to find out what a − − separator þ − and er Œ Œ terminator Œ Ì %$ B—¦ lj&þ§½&þ " ðare used. $ ☓ 0Ëz=&þZl&þ " ðThere are three more option switches at the bottom of the window. One causes each record to be displayed ☓ ⇦ ,ØŶ&þe6&þ " ðas it is imported. The import process is slower with this turned on but much more informative if you like to ⇦ Ŷ“ H\‘Ñ%þp &þ " ðknow how things are progressing. The second switch, when selected, œ œ strips any trailing spacesk œ in the “ € …½œœ%þ{Ê%þ " ðimported data-fields. Some database programs pad all fields to their maximum length by adding spaces to € Ŷ T¦e%þŷ“%þ " ðthe end of the data where necessary. If you import such a file into s . . Powerbase . you will find that the caret ☓ tx±/%þ’^%þ " ðwill always be at the far right of the field even though visible characters do not fill the field, and some ☓ Ŷ— 4j¼ù$þ†(%þ " ðqueries won’t work properly. Setting the t- - Strip spacesble- switch before importing the file overcomes the — ☓ HæÇÃ$þ§ò$þ " ðproblem. The third option switch determines how Sequence number fields are handled. If the switch is ON ☓ | ’Ò™$þ²¼$þ " ðimported sequence numbers are ignored and new ones assigned in accordance with the field’s sequence | ¥‘ BîÝW$þ½ŷ$þ " ðnumber counter. With the switch OFF sequence numbers from the CSV file are imported without alteration. / / ‘ ¥¤ BXùÀþ#þp5$þä) ð8.4.2 Directing imported data to the correct fields,³ ,³ / le ´ ,³ ´ / lt/ ,³ ´ / ,³ ´ Xù´ ¤ Ŷ¬ t−›Ç#þsö#þ " ðIf no fields on the ect record screen are highlighted (i.e. with ADJUST) and the CSV file does not contain a Ç#þ † † ¬ ¥¸ B¸fi’#þ~À#þ " ðheader record s † (see 0 0 8.10 ) then the import process proceeds according to the following rules:− : : † 1 1 : ¸ ŶÔ N Q@#þ1o#þ " ð• = The first CSV field will be read into the first pr 3 1 3 : Powerbase 1 3 : 3 : À 1 1 : field for which importing is allowed Ô t Ô \
#þ<9#þ " ð(Graphics fields, Buttons or fields which are merely labels will be ignored). The next CSV t ¥€ BüzgÔ"þG#þ " ðfield will be read into the second 4 1 4 : Powerbase i 4 1 : field and so on. € Ŷ† ö事"þŒÁ"þ " ð•d)= If the end of the CSV record is reached before all the relevant fields have been filled (we 1 : data † Ŷ´ ÈèÅ\"þ¥⇧"þ " ðunderflow"þ 1 : ) then the next CSV record will start a new e a 5 1 5 : Powerbase n 5 1 : record, i.e. the reading won’t ´ Ŷ‘ †¥Ð&"þ°U"þ " ðget out of step. It does not matter, therefore, if the CSV file omits null items 6 1 6 : at the end of a ‘ ¥@ BÀ] Ûð!þ» "þø" ðline´ 6 1 : . : 1 @ Ŷ´ ²Å.¯!þÞ!þ " ð•he= If all relevant fields are filled before reaching the end of the CSV record ( fl 1 fl data overflow fl 1 ) 7 1 7 ´ Ŷ☓ ,ô9y!þ¨!þø" ðPowerbase r 7 1 ignores the remainder of the line and skips to the beginning of the next CSV record ☓ ¥— B DC!þ$r!þ " ðbefore starting a new 8 1 8 Powerbase 8 1 record. This is also to keep the operation in step. in1 — Ŷ† ì„÷ñ þ× !þ " ðThere will be occasions when you don’t want to fill the 8 "
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Powerbase "
fields sequentially as just described. † ¥ B|U¼ þâê þ " ðThere are two ways of making the process more specific:− w,³ ,³ he ´ ,³ ´ we,³ ´ ´ equ9 9 Ŷ ²µj þ”− þ " ð•U= Highlight the required ; 9 ; Powerbase p ; 9 fields with ADJUST before starting the import. Data will | ‘äÀ4 þ c þ " ðthen be read only into the highlighted fields, all other fields being ignored. The order in which | x ÀËþ þ«- þ " ðthe fields are filled is the order in which you highlighted them. The rules given above about x ¥` B4 ÖÈ þ¶÷ þ " ðunderflow and overflow of data still apply.þ þ9 he ? ? ` 6¢ 5 ? Ŷ 6¢Û( þ»W þ " ð ü •he= Give the file a header record containing the Ì ? Ì tagsÎ Ì ? or r Î ? Î ¢ Ŵ ? Î Ŵ descriptor Ŵ ? Î s Î ? of required fields in the < < ? Ŷ☓ 8Üæò þÆ! þø" ðPowerbase s < ? record. (There is nothing to prevent you manually adding such a header to a CSV ☓ Ŷ— pñ¼ þÑë þ " ðfile which did not originate from a ‘ @ ? @ Powerbase @ ? application.) Importing then occurs just as if — Ŷà Ôyüŷ þܵ þ " ðthose fields were highlighted. The à ? à Print optionshi à ? window must reflect whether the Ì ? Ì tags Ì ? or ort Î ? Î ust Ŵ ? Î Ŵ à ¥´ B\2Q þç þ " ðdescriptor Ŵ ? Î s T Î ? of fields are used. ,³ ,³ ? ow ´ ,³ ´ ? he,³ ´ ? ´ ? ? ? ´ ¥ð BÀ-ºÿ þŒ. þ " ðDo not use both a è è headerþ è pt > > and > highlighting. l9 9 ´ ´ 9 ,³ ,³ ´ 9 ,³ ´ 9 ´ 9 9 ´ A A ð ¥d Bè ‡¦ þMÝ þä) ð8.4.3 A A A Importing plain text files A A ghA d Ŷ— —«po þPfi þ " ðIt was previously explained that files created with B B Export CSV B can have separators other than a comma. — Ŷ… $G{9 þ[h þ " ðSuch files will be of type &fff (plain text) instead of &dfe (CSV). They can still be imported into a C C … Ŷ⇦ ™ŷ þf2 þø" ðPowerbase C C database but a certain amount of caution is needed because there are other circumstances in ⇦ ŶÐ ä’Íþqüþ " ðwhich a text file might be dropped on the r ¹ ¹ record window ¹ . A properly-written s U U scriptt U file (see Ch 9d b ) would be Ð Ŷ‘ 貆–þ|Æþ " ðrecognised as such and therefore cause no problem, but any text file dropped onto the appropriate type of p ® ® ‘ Ŷ¬ øç§aþ‘þ " ðExternal fields ® (i.e. a Text or ° ° Text Block ° ) field would become linked to that field instead of being treated like ¬ | P²+þ‹Zþ " ða CSV file. If you are importing data from a plain text file and your record contains fields of the | Ŷ† Ôؽõþ‡$þ " ðaforementioned types be sure to drop the file on the window background, not on the ® ® External fieldi ® . You are † ¥| BØDÈ¿þ¨îþ " ðstrongly advised to use proper < < CSV files < if at all possible. tD D | ¥L B^«fþ[‡þä) ð8.4.4 What if the imported data won’t fit?D L ☓ ¼´~/þ^^þ " ðThere are two situations in which this can happen. The database might not contain enough free records to ☓ ⇦ @ë⇨ùþi(þ " ðhold all the imported data and so you get a “Database full when reading CSV file” error. To avoid this either ⇦ Ŷ… PT“Ãþtòþ " ðmake sure the database is big enough before you start or place a suitable value in the E E Increment for … ŶÀ D¢fl™þ¼þ(# ðexpansion wE icon in the er ¡ ¡ Change length window… ¡ . The latter is accessible from the enF F Utilities rF submenu of the À %( BȪWþ⇩ŷþ " ðicon-bar menu. ( Ŷ… øx]þ=5þ " ðThe second situation is where an item is too long for the destined database field. When importing data "
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… Ŷ ÇhÐþHÿþø" ðPowerbasebm"
maintains a file called G G . ¢ G ¢ TooBig G ¢ tua ¢ inside the database’s n H H tin H PrintJobspo H H directory. Anything which won’t ⇦ ¾sŒþSÉþ " ðfit in the target field is written to this file together with information about where it was intended to go. No ⇦ Ŷ† ÄÇ~dþ^›þ " ðwritable ob"
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Powerbase "
field may be longer than 246 characters and if an item of imported data exceeds this a † ŶÌ Ð¾⇨.þi]þ " ðnote will be made in the it I I TooBig I file advising you to define an ® ® External field ® (m ° ° Text Blockh ° or Text) for such Ì ¥, B⇦e “øþt'þ " ðdata. J J , ¥h Bæëwflþ'Öþä) ð8.4.5 Advanced features of B J B CSV importo B J J h Ŷ“ |Jhþ*–þ " ðBy selecting a radio button in the ? ? CSV options ? window you can make each record of a saved CSV file “ ŶРЯU2þ5aþ " ðinclude the B ÷ ÷ primary key ÷ of the J "
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Powerbaseþ"
record. Try creating < < CSV filesV < with and without this option set Ð ŶÔ Í`üþ@+þ " ðand compare the files using ncl N N Edit÷ N . If such a file is dragged onto a ¹ ¹ record windowec ¹ re"
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PowerbaseV "
will attempt to Ô ŶÜ \·kÆþKõþ " ðlocate records with the nd K K same us K N ÷ ÷ primary Q ÷ Q key ÷ Q s Q as the records in the CSV file. If a matching key is not found a Ü ☓ …«v‘þV¿þ " ðnew record will be created to receive the data. If it is found then the CSV data goes into the same record, ☓ %X BÐgŴZþa⇨þ " ðoverwriting any data which the target fields already contain. X Ŷ— ȱ4 þ8þ " ðAnother radio button allows data to be exported with the da † † Powerbase † record numbers included. Importing — € Ô`?Óþ þ " ðinto another (or the same) database places the data in records having the same record numbers, again € ⇦ áJ‡þ*Ìþ " ðoverwriting data which may already be present in the target fields. One use for this might be to export a set ⇦ ☓ 0fiUgþ5„þ " ðof data, load it into an editor and do some extensive searching-and-replacing, then put the modified data ☓ %< B@T`1þ@`þ " ðback into the original database. < ⇦ €çàþóþ " ðThe above operations are mutually exclusive (that’s why they’re selected with a pair of radio buttons). They ⇦ Ŷ† ìÞ ªþþØþ " ðshould be used with great care since they use CSV importing to M M modify existing records M rather than creating † Ŷ¤ \¢)tþ £þ " ðnew ones. They are only useful for transferring data between "
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Powerbase b"
databases which have the same ÷ ÷ ¤ ŶÀ ìí4>þmþ " ðprimary eco ù ÷ ù key ÷ ù field ù or in which related records have identical numbers. The first case can lead to trouble if the ÷ ÷ À Ŷ H}?þ 7þ " ðprimary key ÷ isn’t unique, since the record located by "
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Powerbase, "
and into which the CSV data is read, ¥… B úJÒþ*þ " ðmight not be the correct one. 'P 'P ÷ O O 'P You have been warned!yO 'P t u'P … Ŷ° t¨ý€þݯþ " ðThere is an option button in the nd ? ? CSV options ? window called R R With field data corR which only becomes active ° Ŷ¸ p¬Kþèyþ " ðwhen the Q Q With header … Q button is selected. With the switch selected the £ £ header record £ of a saved CSV file ¸ ⇦ ÀàþóCþ " ðcontains not only the field names but also the field lengths and types. Again it is suggested that you create a ⇦ Ŷ— ' ßþþþ " ðfile and look at it in S S EditV S . Each item in the header begins with a number. This is the field length in — ŶÜ ¼íY¡þ Øþ% ðcharacters, i.e. the maximum allowed length in the "
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Powerbaseþ"
record field. Next comes a it K K H H K ¤EaK H e hH character which Ü ô¸ L6 Ŷ¨ ô¸*)þ
Xþ " ð ü separates the length from the field name. Another mI I ¤clI separates the field name from the concluding number ¨ Ŷ¬ ¼í5óþ"þ " ðwhich determines the field type. (The type numbers may be inspected by looking at the T T ValStrings T file in the An"
directory.) < Ŷ† ¨œókþÓŒþ " ðA file created in this form is L L not fie L meant to be dropped onto the window of an open database. It should be † Ŷ´ \™þ5þÞdþ " ðdropped onto the "
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Powerbase "
icon on the icon-bar when no database is open. ¨œ"
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Powerbase "
will attempt to ´ Ŷ¼ ä³ þé.þ " ðconvert the to ¤ ¤ file into a functioning databasese. ¤ . All the fields will be ranged on the left of the ¹ ¹ record windowwe ¹ , ¼ Ŷ¤ ìÆÊþôøþ " ðone beneath another and the to ÷ ÷ primary key ÷ will consist of the first four characters of the first field. Don’t try ¤ Ŷ¸ ´¹ “þÿÂþ " ðto create databases containing ¥ ¥ Check boxan ¥ , Button or e ® ® External field ® s using this method; it’s only meant for ¸ ¥H B@T*^þ
™þ " ðthe most basic type of database.isU U H ¥´ B0=ýþ½;þà/ ð8.5 t < U < CSV files < U and + U + da - U + - validation + U - table - U ssU ´ Ŷø €yªþYÙþ " ðYou can save the contents of a + + - + - validation + - tabled - as a CSV file (see ¸ V V 5.6V ). You can also import data into a U + + + - + - ø Ŷ† Hz☓tþd£þ " ðvalidation + - table - by dropping a CSV file onto it, the procedure being just the same as that described for † ¥T B\•>þomþ " ðimporting into database records. CSU U u U T % B +Üþ þ " ð yV4 83 ¿ 9 ¥ä ÂìŒ ÜL,þ¼{,þø" ü 9 9 9 ¿ ¿ ¿ 9 Page ¿ 9 9 ä yV4 d4 À : ¥ä ÂìŒ +M þ | þø" ü : : : À À À : Page À À : : : ä yV4!Kàê ô7 Î ¼ RÜnÙéþ¹Hþ|E ò ü ü Î Î Ch 9 − Mail-Merging with -M \ Î \ Impression \ Î and \ ] Î ] Ovation ] Î nÎ ¼ ™¸ ®hŒþHÉþ " ð ü Although the title refers to “ C C Mail-Merg C ing” the process to be described is more accurately termed “ ⇧ ⇧ Data- ¸ ™† ÒsdþS›þ " ð ü Mergacc ⇧ ing” as it is by no means limited to merging names and addresses into letters; any kind of textual data † ™ Ñ~.þ^]þ " ð ü from a "
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application can be merged into any kind of document in
G G ion § G § Impressiond G § n § or I I G ¨ I ¨ Ovation I ¨ ¨ or many T Rd☓⇨øþi'þ " ð ü other editors and wordprocessors. T R<−†–þ Öþà/ ð ü 9.1 ce C C Mail-merg C ing with ^ ^ C I ^ I Ovation I ^ th ^ * _ _ I _ I ™ü ¨ÝØDþ¸sþø" ð ü Ovation I _ _ expects data for merging to be supplied as a CSV file (see a a Ch 8ataa ). An example file (s a ` ` e I ` I Ovation I ` CSV ` ) is ü ™Ä ìáãþÃ=þ " ð ü supplied with this version of s"
documentation on such files. The process for C C mail-merg C ing with su e e pr I e I Ü h Rmþäœþø" ð ü Ovation I e e is described below. þW W h ô R Ŷçþ–Jþä) ð ü 9.1.1 Preparing an I W I h ª W I ª Ovation I W ª g ª W document for C W C mail-merg C W ingª W ocu f f C I f I ô ™¤ ÙºÜ þŒ þø" ð ü Ovation I f f has a very easy method of specifying where the merged data is to go into the document. Whenever ¤ ™¨ D®Å¦ þ¥Õ þ " ð ü you reach a point where you wish to insert a "
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Powerbase "
field type Ctrl I. A window headed “Merge tag” ¨ … 8ŴÐp þ°fl þ " ð ü will appear inviting you to enter a number. The number required is the field number in the CSV record … ™È ä×Û: þ»i þ " ð ü (which is d Z Z not V r Z necessarily the field number in the whi"
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Powerbaset "
record). If, for instance, you wish to merge the È ‘ —êæ þÆ3 þ " ð ü second field from each line of your CSV file enter 2 and type Return. You will see that “[Merge2]” has been ‘ — 4ÐñÎÿýÑýÿý " ð ü inserted into the text at the caret. Continue typing, inserting other fields as required. The fields do not need — “ äÝü—ÿýÜÇÿý " ð ü to be in numerical order (you can insert field 2 before you insert field 1) and the same field may be inserted “ Ô RLôcÿýç’ÿý " ð ü many times. Styles and effects may also be applied to the Merge Ì Ì tagss. Ì . Load g g MergeTest t g to see how this looks. g i i Ô x R÷ê ÿýŒ@ÿýä) ð ü 9.1.2 Merging the data from ÿý j i j Powerbaseÿý j i i x ™ …ƽÒþý‡ÿý " ð ü With k k MergeTest k loaded open the main ÿý l l ü I l I Ovation I l l menu, go to the l m m File m submenu and choose n n Printgon . Select the o o ™Ì (=Ȇþý¨Ëþý(# ð ü Mail merge o option button and drag p p Ëþý I p I Ovation I p CSV p to the writable icon to the right of the button. The Ì ™¤ ¼±Ófþý³”þý " ð ü pathname of the file will appear in the icon. Click on q q OK q and the document will be printed once for each ¤ ™È ÑÞ0þý¾_þý " ð ü record in the CSV file, merging new data into the document each time. r r d i I r I Ovation I r CSV do r contains 10 records so È ‘ \™éúýýÉ)þý " ð ü if you just want to see the process in action without actually printing 10 sheets of paper set your printer ‘ -d RÔôÄýýÔóýý " ð ü manager to print to a file instead of to the printer itself. d ™Ì @Ó§sýý¢ýý " ð ü If you examine s s ter I s I Ovation I s CSV s you will see that each field is enclosed in quotes. This is only necessary of the Ì ™ ¼N²=ýý‹lýý " ð ü fields contain literal commas (see « « 8.1« ). Look at the first record, for example, and note the comma in ™Ä ?½ýý‡6ýý " ð ü “(Gr.aktis,aktinos; ray or beam)”. Without the quotes t t I t I Ovation I t ea t would interpret the comma as a field Ä x R ®ÈÑüý¨ ýý " ð ü separator and the merging would get out of step for that record. ýý x À RÀëÄ_üýDfiüýà/ ð ü 9.2 s C C Mail-merg C ing with ë u u G u G Impressionl G u u À ™X ⇦Ä üýà;üý " ð ü The following de U U scripth U ion applies to ‹ ‹ G ‹ G Impression G ‹ Publisher ‹ and › › th G › G Impression G › Styleh › . The older › “ “ G G “ G Impression G “ II “ is X ™ä d ×ûýëüý " ð ü also supported. on"
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and v v " G v G Impression G v v are able to communicate directly with each other without the ä ™ Ä»¡ûýöÏûý " ð ü need for a CSV file. This task is performed by a module called E E Impulse E II which Computer Concepts have … H⇨!kûýŒûý " ð ü placed in the public domain to encourage its adoption as a standard means of transferring data between … ™Ø ⇦Á,5ûý dûý " ð ü RISC OS applications. The n E E Impulse E II module is included in the w w Resources t w directory inside the e"
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Ø L R¤−7ÿúý.ûý " ð ü application directory.
y y L ¤ R@¦úýÊÜúýä) ð ü 9.2.1 Preparing the ppl x x y . G x y G Impressioný G x y x y document ey ¤ ™È ⇦⇦ínúý͇úý " ð ü Since the merged data is not being supplied from a pre-generated CSV file ý z z G z G Impressions G z pl z needs to request È ™¬ (Ðø8úýØgúý " ð ü specifically each "
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field that it wants to merge into the document. It is probably best to create the ¬ † RÝúýã1úý " ð ü document without worrying about the merged data at first, then insert the necessary commands afterwards. t£ £ † Ô RLC¶±ùý„àùý " ð ü Wherever you want data from a m"
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£ Powerbase "
£ record to appear in the document proceed as follows:− £ £ ª ª e ¢ ¢ ª Ô -t V>¥ pùýéfiùý " ð ºn ö² (1)Ú Place the caret at the point where the data is to be inserted. t ‘9 ¢ ª ™☓ F È)÷ý¨X÷ý " ð ºn ö² ü (2)Ú Click MENU over the frame, go to the ” ” ¢ ª Utilities ” ¢ ª 2)ŵ ŵ ¢ ª r ŵ ¢ ª submenu ( ŵ ŵ ¢ ª Misc ŵ ¢ ª in „ „ ¢ ª G „ ¢ ª G Impression G „ ¢ ª II „ ¢ ª ) and choose ◰ ◰ ¢ ª ☓ R€mÓóöý³"÷ý(# ð <¼ ö² Merge command◰ ¢ ª A dialogue box will appear. ª ¢ ¢ ª K K „ K ¼ V
Ù&²öýáöý " ð ºn ö² (3) „ " Type the following:− K K ¢ ¢ ª ¢ ª ¨ ¢ ¨ ª ¢ } } ¢ ¨ ª ¼ h R ¿1|öý«öýº ð ºn ö² :Powerbase GetField NAME e } ¢ ¨ ª ¨ ¢ ª h ™´ 2'☓:öýdiöý " ð ºn ö² ŵM This is on the understanding that your ¬ ¢ ª ¬ Powerbase ¬ ¢ ª record contains a field whose tag is NAME ´ ™à è⇨•öýo3öý " ð <¼ ö² and that you want the contents of that field inserting into the eld G ¢ ª G ª ¢ ª G Impression G ¢ ª ¢ ª document at that à -h R|¯ŒÎõýzýõý " ð <¼ ö² point. Note the spaces and the initial colon. These are essential. h È Vâ«í…õýÍ»õý " ð ºn ö² (4) nd " Click on coŶ Ŷ ¢ ª Set rtiŶ ¢ ª or type Return. You will see “<NAME>” appear in the text. ª ¢ ¬ ¢ ¬ È è V@Kõý zõý " ð ºn ö² (5) Îõý" Repeat for all the other Powerbase fields to be inserted in the document. All take the form:− ¬ ¢ n ª ¢ ª ¥ ¢ ¥ ª ¢ ⇦ ⇦ ¢ ¥ ª è h R ¿› õýs8õýº ð ºn ö² :Powerbase GetField <tag>xt⇦ ¢ ¥ ª ¥ ¢ ª h ™¼ FæÇôýÆöôý " ð ºn ö² 5) ŵM and in each case the tag, enclosed in angle brackets, will appear in the text.a — — ¢ ª * — ¢ ª All the data in a ¼ | ü]ñ’ôýÑÀôý " ð <¼ ö² given document must come from the same database. It might be easiest if you open the | ™Ü øßü[ôýÜ⇩ôý " ð <¼ ö² required database and arrange the desktop so that you can see both the ¹ ¢ ª ¹ record windowex ¹ ¢ ª and the G ¢ ª G the ¯ ¢ ª G ¯ Ü ™¨ Ã&ôýçTôýø" ð <¼ ö² Impressione G ¢ ª ¯ e. ¯ ¢ ª document. Clicking MENU over a field makes its tag appear in the second menu ¨ 8 RÈj ðóýò ôý " ð <¼ ö² item. ª ¢ 8 \ Rle®óýEÝóý " ð ºn ö² (6) Save the the document! ¢ ¢ ’ ’ \ h Rb>HUóýø⇧óýä) ð ü 9.2.2 Merging the data’ ¢ ° ° † † ° h ™H : óýûLóý " ð ºn ö² (1) s i" Make sure e fi † fi ° 8 G † fi G ° Impression G † fi ° fi † ° has been “seen” by the filer. n fl † fl ° ’ G † fl G ° Impression G † fl ° th fl † ° doesn’t need to actually be on H ☓ R à&èòýóý " ð <¼ ö² the icon-bar at this point but it doesn’t matter if it is. G ° † ° ‡ † ‡ ☓ | Vfi—y¦òýYÕòý " ð ºn ö² (2) as " Open the f"
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† ‡ Powerbase "
† ‡ database. | ™☓ ÚÖÌdòý¬›òý " ð ºn ö² (3) ° " Drop the o † ‡ ⇦ G † ‡ G Impressionn G † ‡ i † ‡ document on the ° ¹ † ‡ ¹ record window ¹ † ‡ . If ¡ † ‡ ¡ G † ‡ ¡ G Impressione G † ‡ ¡ ¡ † ‡ isn’t already running "
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† ‡ ☓ ™ Ô×.òý·]òýø" ð <¼ ö² Powerbase "
† ‡ will run it for you. The document will be loaded and displayed. Finally "
will assume that the relevant field has been ¸ … ç²ßýôàßý " deleted and data present in that field in the old database will not be transferred. A tag which is present in the … %☓ BÔº |ßýÿªßý " new database but not in the old is assumed to be a newly-introduced field and will therefore be left blank. ☓ Ŷ† TÅÒ*ßý²Yßý " When the process is complete you will find that the R R new R database contains all your old data but in the new † ⇦ ‘ÂÝôÞý½#ßý " record format. Links to validation tables are preserved but formulae for self-calculating fields will need to ⇦ ¥° CèPè¾ÞýÈíÞý " be re-initialised by opening the formula window for each and clicking S S OKS (see T T 6.1.1T ).Æ Æ Æ ° B€O Ô< Æ X R€OÆÝýFYÝýà/ ü ü 10.4 Merging two databasesÆ Æ X … tÃÈÜýâöÜý " ü Two databases may be merged provided they have the same record structure. With the first database open, … ™À €ê‹ÜýíÀÜý " ü select ÷ ÷ Merge database ÷ and drag the second database to the arrow icon in the displayed window. "
can provide three levels of ot » » password protection » . None of the sample databases has any M M ¨ ŶÈ €½ŵÂýb6Âý " ðpasswordect M s set, so you may examine the s M M password M -setting dialogue box which is accessed by choosing ex Set M M M È ŶÌ TÅ™ÑÁým Âý(# ðpassword M s c from the Miscellaneous submenu. If # M M password M s have been defined then an attempt to open the Ì Ŷ (v—œÁýxÊÁý " ðdatabase leads to a request for a b M M passwordtte M . This is not readable as you type it in; all the characters are Ŷ¸ p¬£eÁý◰“Áý " ðreplaced by hyphens. If t r"
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Powerbase i"
does not recognize the supplied Áý M M passwordyph M it beeps and prints an error ¸ Ŷ¬ D−®/Áý‰^Áý " ðmessage in red then prompts for the ord M M password an M to be re-entered. Three attempts are allowed, after which ts ‹ ‹ ¬ ¥@ Blþ¹ùÀý−(Áýø" ðPowerbaseo ‹ will shut down. @ Ŷ¸ pèl¨ÀýL×Àý " ðThe lowest M M passwordùÀý M level is Readt d . It is intended to let users examine the database but otherwise keep them ¸ Ŷ¸ t½wrÀýW¡Àý " ðout of mischief. A user opening a database with the aba Read ee ¸ M M passwordut M will be allowed to browse and search, ¸ ŶØ (ŵ<ÀýbkÀý " ðexamine val + + ass - + - validationl + - table - s and print lists, but not much else. Many of the buttons on the } } keypad } will be Ø Ŷ É™Àým5Àý " ðshaded (the same ones as are shaded during printing and û û indexil û ing, in fact) and so are some menu items. In Ŷ 4ܗпýxÿ¿ý " ðparticular, the whole of the Miscellaneous o submenu is unavailable, thus preventing the user from getting at ¥H B¨•£Œ¿ý◰É¿ý " ðthe other M M passwordava M s! H Ŷ¼ €ÞVI¿ý6x¿ý " ðThe next level, Write , allows more operations. Everything on the ¼ } } keypad } is allowed, including the altering, ¼ ŶØ îa¿ýAB¿ý " ðcreation and deletion of records. You may also create l ý ý indices ý and create and edit ¿ý + + and - + - validationa + - table - s. What you Ø Ŷ –lݾýL ¿ý " ðcannot do is change - M M passwordnl M s or alter the size and structure of the database by means of options on the %( B€'w§¾ýWÖ¾ý " ðicon-bar menu. ( Ŷ¸ XŒ*V¾ý
Ŷ¾ý " ðThe top level is by Manager . At this level you are allowed to set and alter M M passwordop M s, as well as use all the ¸ € ´5 ¾ýO¾ý " ðicon-bar menu options. Passwords may be up to 10 characters long and are case-specific. Note that when € Ŷ¸ †Î@ê½ý ¾ý " ðyou are setting the two lower ones they can be read but the ca Manager t w ¸ M M passwordre M appears even here as a row ¸ Ŷ¸ \¥K´½ý+ã½ý " ðof hyphens. Take care not to forget it! If no s M M passwordars M s at all are set you have full Manager car rights so you ¸ ¥⇦ B0'V~½ý6½ý " ðmay ignore the M M password fu M facility altogether if you are the only user of the database. ⇦ Ŷ Ú -½ýé[½ý " ðIf you decide to use he M M passwordoge M s you may not wish to use all three levels of protection and are not compelled Ŷ´ 0÷¼ýô%½ý " ðto do so. You may set a ma Manager th level r M M passwordcom M only, leaving the other two blank. When you attempt to ´ Ŷ´ ¼ä Á¼ýÿï¼ý " ðopen the database in such circumstances the M M passwordher M -entry window appears because "
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can’t read ´ Ŷ“ h{*⇧¼ý
º¼ý " ðyour mind and doesn’t know whether you’re the Manager and wish to enter your as M M passwordad M or whether “ Ŷ† ¸£5U¼ý☓¼ý " ðyou’re a lower-level user being given limited access without needing a M M password M . If the latter you would † ŶÐ Å@ ¼ý N¼ý " ðsimply click on use Open te or type Return, thus entering a null rd M M passwordlat M . This would give you ý Write k access. If Ð ¥ B8¨Ké»ý+¼ý " ðyou set the ent Manager M and ord Write d o M M password M s then entering a null M M passwordhe M would give you Read access. Ŷ´ x‹þ–»ýÞÆ»ý " ðIt obviously makes no sense to set a low-level M M password w M and leave a higher level one blank! ce"
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´ Ŷ Øŷ b»ýé‘»ý " ðprevents you from doing this in the following way. If there is a ig O O bl O Read we O password´ O but no " P P fro P Write l P passwords a P "
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makes the Read and Write M M passwordass M the same. Similarly, if there is a ! ! Write ! Z»ý M M password M and no " " Q " Q 0 ŶÐ xò öºýÿ$»ý(# ðManager M " Q password Q these two are made the same. This means that setting only the # # Read rd# M M password M makes all Ð Ŷ¸ ò*Àºý
ïºý " ðthree identical. You are then admitted to $ $ Manager $ level when you enter this T M M passwordg o M - otherwise you could ¸ Ŷ´ ô¸5⇩ºý¹ºý " ðnever get d% % Manager ð % level access again! The rule is that when two or more a M M password wh M s are identical you are ´ ¥€ B—±@Tºý ◰ºý " ðalways given the higher level access when using that ºý M M password% M . ' ' € ¥h B⇩Ã#û¹ýÓ1ºýä) ð11.1.1 Individual w R ' R I.D.s and passwords R ' ar' h Ŷ ÀöùýÖò¹ý " ðIt is possible to assign a user an I.D. and a s ¼ ¼ personal password ¼ , thus giving the data even greater protection Ŷ ̳‰¹ýá¼¹ý " ðsince access to a specific database can be limited to those people who appear on an t i & & access-control list & . It Ŷ— ,u X¹ýìŷ¹ý " ðdoes not seem appropriate, however, to describe the workings of an ½ ½ access-control list ½ in a manual for — ☓ x×"¹ý÷P¹ý " ðgeneral consumption! Anyone wishing to set up a secure database for use by a limited number of specified ☓ Ŷ† t´"ì¸ý¹ý " ðusers is welcome to write to d ( ( Powerbasef ( Support, explaining their requirements. Appropriate information † %0 Blœ-¶¸ýå¸ý " ðwill then be provided. 0 ☓ ¼àd¸ýÀ›¸ý " ðIf a database is protected by an access-control list the Access window which appears when you attempt to ☓ … Øïë.¸ýË]¸ý " ðopen the database will display two writable icons instead of one. The first is for the user’s I.D., the second is … ŶÔ Ð¾öø·ýÖ'¸ý " ðfor the f a M M passwordd b M . Enter both and click on ) ) Openars) . A an error in either the I.D. or the M M passwordl d M will result in Ô ¥| BHâ÷ýáñ·ý " ðaccess being denied without informing the user which input contained the error. M ø ø | B°º DA ø ¥… B°º³¶ý3Z¶ýà/ ð ü 11.2 Options selected from the win M ø M password M ø -setting window ·ýø … Ŷ† ³ïȵýÏ÷µý " ðAs well as the icons for the us M M passwordned M s you will see eight option switches which may be used to enable or † Ŷ† (“ú‹µýÚÁµý " ðdisable certain features of d f"
Ø to maintain a log which records ¨ ☓ èÓd−¯ýDȯý " ðwhen the database is opened and closed and details of changes made to the records. The following changes ☓ ¥´ B Ioc¯ýO‹¯ý " ðare logged, details in brackets showing what is recorded in the tio S Ø S log file wi S Ø :−Ø Ø × × ’ý* * × ´ ¥ FgÂ!¯ý¢P¯ý " ð•ds= creation of a new record heD¼ is@ (d ÷ * × ÷ primary key ÷ * × of new record) ¥¬ F¦WÍë®ý¯ý " ð• = deletion of a recordts î+ hatÒõ ded@ ( ÷ * × ÷ primary key ÷ * × of record)Dy ¬ ¥à F îص®ý¸ä®ý " ð•¯ý= shifting a record to another subfile € × @ (¼ý ÷ * × ÷ primary key ÷ * × , old and new O * × O subfiles" O * × ) à %… FºBã®ýî®ý " ð• = changing a field in a record X™ ey@ (primary key, old and new field contents) … %€ FFöîI®ýÎx®ý " ð•if= changing a field in a group of records☓è (change, subfile and search formula) € ¥Ì Fòäù®ýÙB®ý " ð• = creating an les û * × û index û * × ®ýÞV & Òõ han@ (name of new rd û * × û indexri û * × ) Ì ¥Ð F¾KÞýä ®ý " ð• = balancing an û * × û indexgr û * × è Œ7 ge,Òõ and@ (name of û * × û index®ý û * × concerned) Ð ¥ Fj0¨ýïÖý " ð• = changing the ÷ * × ÷ primary key ÷ * × × $¯ nde@ (former structure of key) %x Fnÿrýú ý " ð•la= reformatting the databasede³ * @ (fact only − no details) x ¥€ Fºï%<ýký " ð• = merging data from another database)P (source of merged records)Ù * × Ù € ¥— F Ý0ý5ý " ð• = importing * × Ù CSV-type data ๠tru@ (source of imported data) × Ù Ù — Ŷ¤ 0ò◰Ĭýcó¬ý " ðTo start a S S log filey − S select the switch in the Passwords window. The file is normally created inside the database ¤ %8 B€b‰‰¬ýn½¬ý " ðdirectory under the name “Log” 8 Ŷ´ ØA=¬ý!l¬ý " ðAs long as the Ú Ú Log changesÚ switch remains selected the i S S log fileÙ S will be opened whenever the database is ´ Ŷ àçL¬ý,6¬ý " ðopened. The title of the database is recorded and the M M passwordcre M level at which entry was achieved. This takes ¥X BðÉWÑ«ý7 ¬ý " ðthe form of a number with the following meaning:- X ¥¬ B¨"
incorporates a ˨ý U U U U U script U U language U which lets you control some features from a hi V V ont U V U scripta U V fileat V . Using cri U U Ŷ⇦ $M†f¨ý|”¨ý " ðscriptj U files you can automate jobs which need to be done frequently. Print jobs are the most obvious ⇦ ŶÄ ¼±§0¨ý_¨ý " ðexample, and most of the U U scriptm U commands concern printing. ri U U Scriptd U files are plain text files (created with Ü Ü Ä ŶÀ ☓ò²ú§ý‹)¨ýø" ðEdit t Ü ) and are executed by dragging them to the main ar"
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window. All commands in a U U scriptn U file must À € ¨È½Ä§ý‡ó§ý " ðbe in upper-case, preceded by “!”, and may be followed by a parameter, separated from the command by a € ¥´ BpFȉ§ý¨½§ý " ðsingle space. The following commands may be used (parameters in square brackets are optional):− med d e b'Þ d 'Þ nal W d 'Þ W ´ Ŷ øÉ«5§ý[l§ýä) ð!SCRIPT W d 'Þ 'Þ d d All d U U script U files must begin with the line ! U U SCRIPT U t W W U "
window yourself. If à ¥¤ Bðú <¥ýëj¥ý " ðyou issue the command without a parameter the current selection will be cleared. ag g ren'ã g 'ã be ] g 'ã ] ¤ Ŷø r◰îâ¤ýfi¥ýä) ð!PRINTOPTS ] g 'ã <filename>g 'ã NTO'ã where <filename> is the name of a ã Ä Ä print options fileh Ä in the Ä ä ä op ä PrintReshe ä ä ø Ŷô èÁ«¤ý¡Ú¤ý " ðdirectory, sets the à à print optionsre à just as if the the file had been dragged from å å he å PrintRes fr å å to the "
™Ñ„ým –ý " ð ºn ö² (4)Ú The number of lines to be printed on each label. h — æ?—œ„ýxÊ„ý " ð ºn ö² (5)Ú The line which is to be replaced, if blank, by the last field in the selection. If nothing is entered — -h R$fi£e„ý◰“„ý " ð <¼ ö² here (2 commas together) then no substitution is performed. h Ä VÎÜ®/„ý‰^„ý " ð ºn ö² (6)Ú If ON is entered the the ÷ ÷ primary key ÷ will appear on the label (in brackets) as an identifier.l Ä ´ V‹·¹ù”ý−(„ý " ð ºn ö² (7)Ú If ON is entered blank fields will be skipped when printing. o orm~ ~ h '
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t ´ ™Ä ¸¯† ”ýL×”ýä) ð ü !DELETE t ~ '
<key> ~ '
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deletes the record whose ÷ ÷ primary key ÷ is <key>. The benefits of this command may Ä “ ¬Óoi”ýO—”ý " ð ü not be at all obvious. Suppose you have a text file giving details of records which must be deleted from the “ “ …äz3”ýZb”ý " ð ü database. If such a job is going to occur at all often it could be worthwhile to write a customised program to “ ™à ÒŶý“ýe,”ý " ð ü read the text file and generate the ot ÷ ÷ primary key ÷ of each record, then output the results as a "
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Powerbasehe"
U U script U à ⇦ \‘Ç“ýpö“ý " ð ü file with each key preceded by !DELETE. The whole batch of records can then be deleted by simply ⇦ ™À —¨œ’“ý{À“ý " ð ü dragging the U U script U into h"
will re-format the field to use the specified character. Only fields actually defined to %< BD‹ Noý€}oý " ðbe of type Date behave in this way. < ⇦ ÔíSýný3,oý " ðFields defined to be of type Time have the form hh:mm:ss, i.e a colon is used as the separator. As in the case ⇦ Ŷ† pè^Çný>öný " ðof dates, you may type any non-numeral you like during data entry and ý"
only supports the use of a single database. If there is a dormant copy of "
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¨ Ŷ‘ ⇦Ó¿lýfl@lýø" ðPowerbaseta"
on the icon-bar (i.e. one with “No data” under its icon) then double-clicking a database sends it ‘ € ä—ÊÛkýª
lý " ðto that copy rather than launching a new one. With the switch OFF double-clicking on a database closes € Ŷ… À•Õ¥kýµÔký " ðdown an already-open database before opening the new one. Even then you can load multiple copies of rat"
can merge directly into a suitably-formatted ï ï G ï G Impression G ï ï document by ì Ŷ— ÞZ]ý:5]ý " ðsimply dropping the document icon onto the ¹ ¹ record window ¹ . The dialogue box which then appears contains — Ŷ— ¨¶eÐ\ýEÿ\ý " ða writable icon which shows the application with which "
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Powerbasey "
will merge. This name is, by default, — `° \K Ŷ¨ `°|-[ý\\[ý " ð ü “al G G Impressionr G ”, but may be altered by users for their own purposes. An application which will receive data ¨ Ŷ° ¨¹÷Zýg&[ý " ðfrom na"
, given in the standard ° Ŷ… LÅhMý¥–Mý " ðformat recommended by Computer Concepts. Users wishing to write their own e E E Impulse E tasks to … Ŷ¨ LÐÐ2Mý°aMý " ðcommunicate with "
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Powerbasemm"
will need this information. They will also need details of the SWIs to which a E E ¨ ¥☓ BH<ÛüLý»+Mý " ðImpulse E will respond, and this information is obtainable from Computer Concepts. , , ☓ ¥` FÀ3‰«LýnÚLý " ð 8 {methods: ÜV GetPathname , ods¸ ¸ ` ¥\ FPŶ−uLýy¤Lý " ðept8 @ Selection <string>¸ ý, , \ %D F☓±¤?Lý☓nLý " ðtio8 @ ParseQuery <string> D %@ FhI¯ Lý•8Lý " ðeQu8 ng>@ GetField <tag> @ ¥T F⇦öºÓKýŒLý " ð 8 eld@ GetRecord, " ¶ ¶ T ¥x Fð²Å‡Ký¥ÌKý " ð, 8 ¶ @ PutFx † † ¶ ile † ¶ ¶ † , , x ¥€ F ÉÐgKý°„Ký " ð¶ 8 , @ x 7 , 7 Expandý 7 , Code <string> , · · € ¥d FüÕÛ1Ký»`Ký " ð, 8 · @ Get 7 · 7 Expand 7 · ed <string> d ¥T F\þæûJýÆ*Ký " ðdý8 @ NextMatch · ûJý¹ ¹ T ¥T B ?!¾JýÑôJýä) ðDescription: ¹ ¹ ½ ½ ?'» '» ½ T ŶÐ —ØôŷJýÔµJý " ðGetPathname'» ½ specifies an “object” i.e. a "
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½ Powerbasepe"
½ database. If i"
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½ Powerbasewe"
½ has the required database open Ð ¥“ BÔxÿPJýßJý " ðit replies with the full pathname of the object, otherwise it returns an error message. Example of use:−th¼ ¼ ½ “ ¥† Bè RJý2>Jý " ð:Powerbase !Elements GetPathname (returns pathname of Ö ¼ ½ Ö !Elementsme Ö ¼ ½ ) ¼ ½ ¼ ½ † ¥t B@R¥ÍIýŶüIý " ðR6 points to pathname when calling task is decoding reply.¿ ¿ pat'¾ '¾ ¿ t Ŷ´ p£X|Iý8«Iý " ðSelection <string> '¾ ¿ tells "
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¿ Powerbaseio"
¿ about a field, or group of fields, in which the caller is interested. The ´ Ŷ¬ ¸ÓcFIýCuIý " ðfields are specified as a list of Ì ¿ Ì tags" Ì ¿ , separated by any suitable character (e.g. “/” or “,”). The same separator ¬ Ŷ ðJnIýN?Iý " ðmust appear at the very end of the tag-list. "
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¿ Powerbase t"
¿ replies with the maximum data-length of the ¥\ BжyÚHýY Iý " ðcombined fields in the selection. Example of use:−À ¿ À \ ¥T BÀèÌ—Hý¬ÇHý " ð :Powerbase Selection NAME/SYM/Z/¿ À —HýÀ T ¥h B⇦S WHýÿŶHý " ðR6 points to a string which gives data-length.  " 'Á 'Á  h Ŷ° “ÒHý²4Hý " ðParseQuery <string>'Á  informs "
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 Powerbaseue"
 of the criteria to be used in selecting records to transmit to the ° Ŷè ¸ÝÏGý½þGý " ðcaller. The parameter is a standard e "
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 Powerbasell"
 et Ŷ  Ŷ search formula Ŷ  and "
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 Powerbase "
 replies with the title which è ¥| BÜÀè−GýÈÈGý " ðwould normally appear at the head of one of its printed lists. Example of use:−y aà  à | ¥L B0=;XGýGý " ð:Powerbase ParseQuery GP=T à à L ¥D B€í‰GýnEGý " ðR6 points to returned title. 'Ä 'Ä D Ŷ¨ øðAÅFý!ôFý " ðGetField <tag>r'Ä requests from "
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PowerbaseGý"
the data in the specified field of the next record which matches the ¨ Ŷ† ôL•Fý,¾Fý " ðpreceding ParseQuery command. When
"
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Powerbasepe"
replies to the GetField command the calling task should † Ŷ† ¥WYFý7⇦Fý " ðrespond with an en E E Impulse_bas E FetchData, specifying the address and length of the buffer to be used, and then † ¥Ð B†Gb#FýBRFý " ðwait for an E E Impulse E _receive event (reason code &204) before reading the buffer.   Example of use:−Fý aitØ Ø E × × Ø Ð ¥\ B— µáEý”Fý " ð:Powerbase GetField NAMEea× Ø er.Ø Â 'Å 'Å \ Ŷ‘ Ôç EýèÎEý " ðGetRecord [<key>]'Å (The square brackets signify that the key is optional: they are not part of the command.) ‘ Ŷ— ¨¤jEýó—Eý " ðSent without a key it requests from " "
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Powerbase "
the next record which matches the preceding ParseQuery — Ŷ´ ¤Ø 4EýþbEý " ðcommand. If the ¨¤ ÷ ÷ primary key ÷ of a record in the database is appended then "
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Powerbasehi"
will return the record ´ ☓ ¸ß)þDý -Eý " ðcorresponding to that key. The key must be separated from the GetRecord by a space. The calling task must ☓ Ŷ† ,☓4ÈDý÷Dý " ðfollow the procedure described above for GetField. orr"
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Powerbase T"
will transmit the fields specified in the † x P?‹Dý ÁDý " ðSelection command, using the same separator as was used in that command. Receipt of data may be x | ☓J\Dý*⇧Dý " ðfollowed by another GetRecord command, returning the next matching record and so on, a zero-length | Ŷ ضU&Dý5UDý " ðresponse signifying that there are no more matching records. If using Q Q keys co Q to request specific records you Ŷ† ¸Í`ðCý@ Dý " ðshould end by sending *** as a key to tell "
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Powerbase m"
that the dialogue is finished. This command and the † ¥¼ B kºCýKéCý " ðone below operate only on Subfile 0 of the "
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Powerbasete"
database.   Example of use:−og ishÚ Ú manÙ Ù Ú ¼ ¥\ B`%¾xCýfi§Cý " ð:Powerbase GetRecord ACTIlÙ Ú
that the caller wishes to write a record to the current "
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Powerbase "
database. It Ä Ŷ⇦ 4a Cýü/Cý " ðshould be sent as message type &200. A Selection command should have been previously sent to tell r"
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what fields to expect and what separator is to be used. ag"
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Powerbaseon"
will then reply with a Ⱥ 0N ⇦ Ⱥ.Aýú\Aý " ð ü GetRecord command (reason code &201) which the caller should acknowledge with message type &202, ⇦ Ŷ‘ T¶%ø@ý'Aý " ðspecifying the maximum length of the data which will be sent. Wait for event &203 which is a request by whi"
ý " ðVertical format in reports tÛ 16-18, 44-45 #á s ø #á ø l ¥, B 3 nª ý á ýä) ðW ø #á , %L F(¦As ý!¢ ý " ð“White space” in report, removing Ô± 17-18 L %P F(¦L= ý,l ý " ðWild-cards, use in search formulae R 10, 15, 48 P ¥T F(¦W ý76 ý " ðWindow destination for printing¸ 12/ #á / T ¥D F(¦ZÐýB ý(# ðWrite / #á password €: 42 D % B mœýMÊý " ð % B xeýX“ý " ð % B ◰/ýc^ý " ð yV4 `R û ü ¥| ÃìŒ WSý7ŵýø"
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€ ⇦ ð Ô à} < @à D Ô @à ø @à ÿÿÿÿ B Ô @à ø @à D Ô à} ø à} ÿÿÿÿ B Ô à} ø à} D < à} < @à ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ B < @à < à} 2 4& 4& ` | $ $ $ | ¿ Ŷ ÄC ð> ÿú¯ | ¼+ è ¬I ¨I | 4, ÄI xJ tJ | x- x- x- x- \A Ŷ ÔŶ ⇦ŷ | | L ' O óÿ[< ðØÿÿ 7! A4 Portrait 7! L p °³ ï…óÿ»¯ PLÿÿ ÿÿÿÿ°³ ï…óÿ»¯ PLÿÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L ' fi æÿ[< ?Ùòÿ 7! A4 Port DPS 7! L p °³ >™æÿ»¯ flLòÿ ÿÿÿÿ°³ >™æÿ»¯ flLòÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L kc fi æÿ¶x ?Ùòÿ 7! A4 Port DPS 7! L p ð >™æÿì flLòÿ ÿÿÿÿ ð >™æÿì flLòÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L ' í Ùÿ[< ‰Ùåÿ 7! A4 Por 2col 7! L p °³ ™™Ùÿek îLåÿ ÿÿÿÿ°³ ™™Ùÿek îLåÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p p ø ™™Ùÿº¯ îLåÿ ÿÿÿÿø ™™Ùÿº¯ îLåÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L ' <Ìÿ[< ÝÙØÿ 7! A4 2col DPS 7! L p °³ Ü™Ìÿek =MØÿ ÿÿÿÿ°³ Ü™Ìÿek =MØÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p p ø Ü™Ìÿº¯ =MØÿ ÿÿÿÿø Ü™Ìÿº¯ =MØÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L kc <Ìÿ¶x ÝÙØÿ 7! A4 2col DPS 7! L p ð Ü™ÌÿÀ§ =MØÿ ÿÿÿÿ ð Ü™ÌÿÀ§ =MØÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p p `4 Ü™Ìÿì =MØÿ ÿÿÿÿ`4 Ü™Ìÿì =MØÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L ' áÄÂÿ±ÿ ,ÚËÿ 7! A4 Landscap 7! L p °³ ŴQÃÿs …MËÿ ÿÿÿÿ°³ ŴQÃÿs …MËÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L ' ŷ⇦¹ÿ×™ чÂÿ 7! A5 Portrait 7! L p °³ &ºÿ7 1Âÿ ÿÿÿÿ°³ &ºÿ7 1Âÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L ' Õ⇦¬ÿ[< va¹ÿ 7! A4 Port DP* 7! L p :Ø uÿ»¯ ÖÔ¸ÿ ÿÿÿÿ:Ø uÿ»¯ ÖÔ¸ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿ p L kc Õ⇦¬ÿ¶x va¹ÿ 7! A4 Port DP* 7! L p ð uÿ…Ç ÖÔ¸ÿ ÿÿÿÿ ð uÿ…Ç ÖÔ¸ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿ p L ' $⇨flÿ[< Åa¬ÿ
7! A4 Port DP* 7! L p :Ø Ä ÿ1⇧ %Õ«ÿ ÿÿÿÿ:Ø Ä ÿ1⇧ %Õ«ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿ p L kc $⇨flÿ¶x Åa¬ÿ 7! A4 Port DP* 7! L p ”
Ä ÿ…Ç %Õ«ÿ ÿÿÿÿ”
Ä ÿ…Ç %Õ«ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿ p L ' s⇨‹ÿ[< bflÿ 7! A4 Port DP* 7! L p :Ø ›ÿ1⇧ tÕfiÿ ÿÿÿÿ:Ø ›ÿ1⇧ tÕfiÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿ p L kc s⇨‹ÿ¶x bflÿ 7! A4 Port DP* 7! L p ”
›ÿ…Ç tÕfiÿ ÿÿÿÿ”
›ÿ…Ç tÕfiÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿ p L ' Â⇨Ŷÿ[< cb‹ÿ 7! A4 Port DP 7! L p :Ø bŷÿ1⇧ ÃÕ’ÿ ÿÿÿÿ:Ø bŷÿ1⇧ ÃÕ’ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿ p L kc Â⇨Ŷÿ¶x cb‹ÿ 7! A4 Port DP 7! L p ”
bŷÿ…Ç ÃÕ’ÿ ÿÿÿÿ”
bŷÿ…Ç ÃÕ’ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿ p | | L kc O óÿ¶x ðØÿÿ 7! A4 Port DPS 7! L p ð ï…óÿì PLÿÿ Ŵ ð ï…óÿì PLÿÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ |üóÿ p ¨ î
ŷ9þÿ ä=ÿÿ⇦ î
ŷ9þÿ ä=ÿÿ ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ŷ ŷ O\ ð) <Q W ð T ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ¨ p ð ï5óÿì ïpóÿ€@ ð ï5óÿì ïpóÿ ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L ' fi æÿ[< ?Ùòÿ 7! A4 Port DPS 7! L p ⇦ °³ >™æÿ»¯ flLòÿ °³ >™æÿ»¯ flLòÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ %Œæÿ p p °³ >6æÿ»¯ >qæÿ€@ °³ >6æÿ»¯ >qæÿ ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L kc fi æÿ¶x ?Ùòÿ 7! A4 Port DPS 7! L p Ä, ð >™æÿì flLòÿ ð >™æÿì flLòÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ .‰æÿ p p ð >6æÿì >qæÿ€@ ð >6æÿì >qæÿ ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L ' í Ùÿ[< ‰Ùåÿ 7! A4 Port DPS 7! L p DG °³ ™™Ùÿ»¯ îLåÿ °³ ™™Ùÿ»¯ îLåÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÙfiÙÿ p p °³ ™6Ùÿ»¯ ™qÙÿ€@ °³ ™6Ùÿ»¯ ™qÙÿ ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L kc í Ùÿ¶x ‰Ùåÿ 7! A4 Port DPS 7! L p ô` ð ™™Ùÿì îLåÿ ð ™™Ùÿì îLåÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ úrÞÿ p p ð ™6Ùÿì ™qÙÿ€@ ð ™6Ùÿì ™qÙÿ ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L ' <Ìÿ[< ÝÙØÿ 7! A4 Port DPS 7! L p ☓n °³ Ü™Ìÿ»¯ =MØÿ °³ Ü™Ìÿ»¯ =MØÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ j“Ìÿ p p °³ Ü6Ìÿ»¯ ÜqÌÿ€@ °³ Ü6Ìÿ»¯ ÜqÌÿ ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L kc <Ìÿ¶x ÝÙØÿ 7! A4 Port DPS 7! L p <⇨ ð Ü™Ìÿì =MØÿ ð Ü™Ìÿì =MØÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ö»Ìÿ p p ð Ü6Ìÿì ÜqÌÿ€@ ð Ü6Ìÿì ÜqÌÿ ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L ' ⇧¿ÿ[< ,ÚËÿ 7! A4 Port DPS 7! L p “£ °³ +‰¿ÿ»¯ …MËÿ °³ +‰¿ÿ»¯ …MËÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ `£¿ÿ p p °³ +7¿ÿ»¯ +r¿ÿ€@ °³ +7¿ÿ»¯ +r¿ÿ ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L kc ⇧¿ÿ¶x ,ÚËÿ 7! A4 Port DPS 7! L p ¼º ð +‰¿ÿì …MËÿ ð +‰¿ÿì …MËÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ”Ŷ¿ÿ p p ð +7¿ÿì +r¿ÿ€@ ð +7¿ÿì +r¿ÿ ÿ ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ p L ' Ú²ÿ[< {Ú¾ÿ
=îÿ " (c) rse® The keys with double arrows let you make longer jumps through a file. The number of | t H›5Øíÿîÿ " records skipped is shown in the writable icon between them and has a default value of 10. t Ŷ— PŶ@¢íÿ Ñíÿ " As there are only 10 records in » » » Friends ave » these keys will have the same effect as the “first” — t Ä◰Klíÿ+œíÿ " and “last” keys, unless you make the interval smaller. Click in the icon, delete the 10 and t ¥h BL¶V6íÿ6eíÿ " enter 5 or 2, then try the double-arrow keys again. 2 ¾ ¾ h ¥< B¼¢ñèìÿ¡ íÿä) 2.2 Searching for a record ¾ < ☓ øÌıìÿ¤àìÿ " The fifth button on the second row of the keypad shows a question mark followed by a “record card” icon. ☓ Ŷ† €çÏ{ìÿ¯ªìÿ " We will call it the Á Á Search Á button. When clicked with SELECT a small window opens on the right-hand side † † ütÚEìÿºtìÿ " of the keypad. This is the Search window and contains a writable icon in which to enter the key of the † ⇦ ,íåìÿÅ>ìÿ " record you wish to display. In this database keys are made up from the first 4 letters of the surname plus the ⇦ ⇦ $ÈðÙëÿÐìÿ " initial so, if you wanted to call up the record for Bloggs Fred you would need to enter BLOGF. Do so then ⇦ Ŷ ôîû£ëÿÛÒëÿ " click on à à Find (à or type the Return key on the keyboard) and the record will be displayed. Note that the key is %< CTanëÿæ†ëÿ " shown in the window heading. < Ŷ† |Ó¹ ëÿ−Këÿ " If you enter the key of a non-existent record fl fl Powerbase fl displays the record which most nearly matches the † ¥⇦ B$Äæêÿ¤ëÿ " key, but flashes the key field to warn you that what is being displayed is not what you asked for.Ë Ë ⇦ ¥< B°¯×ŶêÿWÄêÿà/ 3 Editing the DatabaseË < ⇦ 8É*Dêÿ
sêÿ " This part of the tutorial involves changes to the data. Make a working copy of the disc and put the original ⇦ Ŷ ¼´5êÿ=êÿ " in a safe place. If you are using a copy of co Ä Ä Friends rie Ä on the RAM disc then the floppy disc won’t be altered, ¥h BüJ@Øéÿ êÿ " but it’s still not a good idea to work with the original disc. isc À À h ¥H B@5#éÿÓµéÿä) 3.1 Modifying records À • • H ☓ TÅöGéÿÖvéÿ " Point the mouse at any field and click SELECT. The red text caret will appear in the field. The contents of ☓ € °⇩éÿá@éÿ " the field may now be edited with the aid of the keystrokes which are standard for all RISC OS writable € ¥X Cd¿ Üèÿì
éÿ " icons. i.e. • e r: : : X %D Fz5w„èÿWÅèÿ " Ctrl U ‰A clears the field. D %` Fzfŵ`èÿb•èÿ " Delete ¶= removes the character to the left of the caret. ` %d F⇩€™*èÿmYèÿ " Copy zR removes the character to the right of the caret. d %` Fz—ôçÿx#èÿ " Shift Copy „ë deletes the word to the right of the caret. ` %h GæÆ£¾çÿ◰íçÿ " Ctrl Copy Òý deletes everything from the caret to the end of the line. h %d GÞ/®⇦çÿ‰·çÿ " <=⇦ and => ⇨ ¾Û move the caret left/right by one character. d ¥t Fç¹Rçÿ−Ŵçÿ " Shift <=⇦ and Shift=>⇨ 1 move the caret left/right by one word. : t ¥ F2iÄ çÿ¤Kçÿ " Ctrl <=⇦ and Ctrl =>⇨ ÞI move the caret to start and end of the field. d Ŷ— À/×æÿçÿ " Having modified one or more fields you may be wondering what you have to do to make Î Î Powerbaseŷ Î save — Ŷ— o:¡æÿÐæÿ " the modified record so that the changes won’t be lost. You don’t need to do anything! Ï Ï Powerbase Ï will — B$Û Ð ¥‘ B$Û¿ òÿflLòÿ " ü ensure that your changes are saved when you display a different record or close the database. Í Í ‘ ¥H BÞ‹¢ÄñÿRûñÿä) 3.2 Recovering data after a mistake) ð Í H ☓ 8ºu™ñÿU¼ñÿ " You may edit the wrong field by mistake and want to restore the previous contents. Call up Bloggs Fred’s ☓ … ⇦Ü€Wñÿ`ŷñÿ " record and change the address from “12 Woodland Road Exeter” to “12 Woodville Road Exmouth”. Now … Ŷ† Ç⇧!ñÿkPñÿ " click MENU over the first line of the address. The second entry on the main menu (uÑ Ñ FieldelÑ ) contains a short † Ŷ¼ 辄ëðÿvñÿ " group of letters called the Ð Ð tag Ð Ð of the field, in this case ADD1. Follow the right-pointing arrow to the Ò Ò Ò Field Ò ¼ ŶÀ P½¡µðÿŴäðÿ " sub-menu and choose the last entry; Ó Ó Undo changesÓ Ó . The contents of the field will revert to “12 Woodland À Ŷ¤ ˬðÿ…®ðÿ " Road”. Notice that Ô Ô only Ô the first line of the address is affected; the town is still “Exmouth”. If you want to ¤ %p Bð?·Iðÿ–xðÿ " restore that field as well click MENU over it and follow the procedure just described. p Ŷ— @ÁjøïÿJ'ðÿ " There might be occasions when you make a hopeless mess of a record and want to discard Õ Õ all Õ the changes — ⇦ ÌòuÂïÿUñïÿ " and revert to what you started with. You could, of course, “undo” each field separately as we just did for the ⇦ Ŷ… 8⇩€…ïÿ`»ïÿ " street address and town but there’s a quicker way. Look near the bottom of the main menu, (just above Ö Ö … Ŷ¨ †§⇧VïÿkŶïÿ(# HelpelpÖ ) and you will see that here too is an Ó Ó Undo changesgesÓ option. Choosing this undoes all the alterations ¨ %( B€'„ ïÿvOïÿ " you have made. ( Ŷ¤ `ìIÏîÿ)þîÿ " It is important to realise that these facilities depend on the fact that Ø Ø Powerbase Ø holds the currently-displayed ¤ ☓ øÌT−îÿ4Èîÿ " record in memory and will therefore only work if the altered record has remained on display from the time ☓ ⇦ …í_cîÿ?‹îÿ " you started changing it up to the point where you decided to “undo”. If you have looked at another record or ⇦ Ŷ— Xvj-îÿJ\îÿ " clicked on × × Force update× × in the meantime then the changes will have been written to the disc and thus — ¥` B´—u÷íÿU&îÿ " become “permanent”. Ù Ù ` ¥D B¦>XfiíÿÕíÿä) 3.3 Adding and deleting records Ù D Ŷ† Ôê+gíÿ „íÿ " To add a new record we use the Ú Ú Add record Ú button which looks like a plus sign and an index card. Clicking † ⇦ Û61íÿ`íÿ " on this offers a blank record into which you can type new data. You don’t have to complete all the fields, in ⇦ Ŷ¸ tóAûìÿ!*íÿ " fact the only field into which you ] ] must ] type something is the NAME field. This is the ^ ^ key field ^ ; the one from ¸ ⇦ Ì×LÅìÿ,ôìÿ " which the key, mentioned earlier, is derived. If you leave the key field blank then nothing will be written to ⇦ %( BÔý W•ìÿ7¾ìÿ " the database. ( ☓ ÔÌ
>ìÿêlìÿ " Type the name “Bodmin George”, then go to the beginning of the file and step through it record by record. ☓ ☓ (¸ìÿõ6ìÿ " You will find that your new record has been inserted in the correct place, i.e. the sequence goes: Badgery, ☓ %4 B$( Òëÿ ìÿ " Bloggs, Bodmin, Cavendish. 4 ☓ t·Ó€ëÿ³¯ëÿ " Now try deleting the record you’ve just added. There is a “dustbin” button which will do exactly that, but ☓ Ŷ †ÚÞJëÿ¾yëÿ " don’t use it just yet. Make sure that the unwanted record is on the screen and click the button to the _ _ right _ of ☓ ÙéëÿÉCëÿ " the dustbin. You will now find that Bodmin’s record has vanished; the names now run straight from Bloggs ☓ %T Bt3ôÞêÿÔëÿ " to Cavendish, just as they did before you added Bodmin. T Ŷ† ¨q§™êÿ¼êÿ " This looks a bit Û Û too Û easy. Suppose you clicked the keypad button by mistake and deleted an important † ⇦ $ã²Wêÿ‹ŷêÿ " record? No problem; what you have just done has been made easy because it’s far less drastic than it looks. ⇦ Ŷ† ¨¡½!êÿ‡Pêÿ " The record hasn’t really been deleted at all. Click the button Ü Ü above Ü the one you used for “deleting”. This † € D☓Èëéÿ¨êÿ " shows a green right-pointing arrow and a card index icon. “Bodmin” will reappear. You will soon find, € Ŷ¸ àÃÓµéÿ³äéÿ " however, that it appears to be the ` ` only ` record in the file! Don’t worry; nothing has been lost. A fl fl Powerbase fl ¸ Ŷ üãÞéÿ¾®éÿ " database is treated as six separate a a a subfiles a numbered 0−5. When you first open the database you are looking ☓ ÀéIéÿÉxéÿ " at Subfile 0 and the heading of the record window shows this. If you look at the heading now you will see ☓ %< B \ôéÿÔBéÿ " that it has changed to Subfile 1. < Ŷ¤ P®§Âèÿñèÿ " The buttons on either side of the bin carry pictures which suggest their true functions. They do Ý Ý Ý not Ý Ý delete ¤ Ŷ Lâ²…èÿ‹»èÿ " records; they merely s c c move o c records from one subfile to another. The right button moves the displayed record ☓ ê½Vèÿ‡Ŷèÿ " to the next subfile in sequence. Thus, in the above case the “Bodmin” record has been moved from subfile 0 ☓ ☓ ‘ªÈ èÿ¨Oèÿ " to subfile 1. A record in subfile 1 would be moved to subfile 2 and so on. When it gets to 5 the next click ☓ ☓ ÁÓêçÿ³èÿ " moves it into subfile 0 where it was originally. As you may have guessed, the left button moves records in ☓ %d BtÞ´çÿ¾ãçÿ " the opposite direction, i.e. from subfile 1 to 0 or from subfile 0 to 5. d Ŷ $ï’cçÿq‹çÿ " If you d d do d want to lose a record for good you consign it to the dustbin. As this button’s action is more drastic Ŷ… ´ŷ†-çÿ|\çÿ " than that of the other two you are given a chance to change your mind. A window headed Þ Þ Powerbase: … Ŷ¼ üק÷æÿ&çÿ(# please confirm: Þ will appear displaying the question ß ß Delete record permanently? ß Clicking à à OKà causes the ¼ ¥¨ C,´²Áæÿ‹ðæÿ " record to be deleted, á á Cancelá removes the warning window from the screen leaving the record untouched. ¨ ü ¥P BàÔnåÿîLåÿà/ ü 4 Printing Lists E E P ¥† BhñÁÌäÿ¡ûäÿ " Before E Power E base can produce a list it must be told:−› › f f › † ¥† Ft{äÿTªäÿ " • 2 which c ¢ f ¢ › fields ¢ f › should appear on the list f › › hic g g † ¥⇦ Gv"Eäÿ_täÿ " •äÿ2 which £ g £ records £ g should appear on the list g â â ⇦ ¥@ BÄôøãÿÊ.äÿä) 4.1 Making the field selection â @ ☓ ¤ÒíÀãÿÍïãÿ " Specifying the fields you want is extremely easy. To include a field point at it and click with ADJUST. The ☓ € Ø—ø⇩ãÿعãÿ " selected field will then appear with its foreground and background colours reversed. If you change your € ☓ `ÂUãÿã◰ãÿ " mind you can de-select it by clicking on it again with ADJUST. The order in which you select the fields is ☓ … ☓é ãÿîMãÿ " the order in which they will appear in the printed list. Take care with this as there is nothing on the screen to … Ŷ¼ |èéâÿùãÿ " indicate what order the fields will be in. Field selections may be saved (using “ “ Save selection“ from the ” ” ” Print ” ¼ ¥… B|I$³âÿââÿ " submenu) and reloaded for future use. For now select the name and the first 3 fields of the address. ã ã … ¥H B ´Zâÿ·‘âÿä) 4.2 Choosing which records to print ã H ☓ 8óÚ"âÿºQâÿ " Specifying which records to print is somewhat more complicated, although efforts have been made to render ☓ Ŷ‘ ☓ÑåìáÿÅâÿ " it as simple as possible. With the mouse pointer in the record window click MENU. This displays the main ¡ ¡ ‘ Ŷ DÉð¶áÿÐåáÿø" Powerbase ¡ menu from which you should choose å å Printinå . A small window appears in which you can specify Ŷ¤ 0Úû€áÿÛ¯áÿ " the criteria which must be met by records for inclusion in the list. If you just click over the iaæ æ Print æ button (or ¤ ⇦ Ì×Káÿæyáÿ " type Return) without entering anything, you will obtain a list of the whole database (or, more accurately, of ⇦ %T B|¶áÿñCáÿ " the the whole of the current subfile). Try this first. T ⇦ ü³ÄÃàÿ¤òàÿ " When the search is complete the list will be displayed in a window. If you point to a record in the list and ⇦ Ŷ† ´àÏ™àÿ¯¼àÿ " double-click with SELECT ¤ ¤ Powerbase ¤ will display the chosen record in the main record window. Note that † … L²ÚWàÿºŷàÿ " the caret is placed in the field you were pointing to on the list. This is very useful if you spot errors in the … ⇦ |Çå!àÿÅPàÿ " data whilst examining a list. A double click on the offending item offers the record with the caret correctly ⇦ ¥D B«ðëßÿÐàÿ " positioned for editing. D ⇦ Ø࣌ßÿ◰Éßÿ " Most queries involve printing only some of the records, not the whole database. To target a particular group ⇦ Ŷ¨ Ìï®dßÿ‰›ßÿ " of records we need to enter a i i search formulau i which will distinguish the records we want to print from all the ¨ € XŶ¹.ßÿ−]ßÿ " rest of the records. Search formulae can be quite complex and a more detailed treatment is given in the € ¥ä CP-ÄøÞÿ¤'ßÿ " Manual. Only a few simple examples are shown here. Enter the following and then click ï ï Print ï :− í í è è í è ç ç è í ä ¥T B€Q/³ÞÿâÞÿº ADD2=Exeter Þÿç è í r è í í í T Ŷ† …ÆŒmÞÿz†Þÿ " The report window appears showing just one record: the one for “Bloggs Fred”. ADD2 is called the Þÿ ð ð tag ÒÞÿ ð of † Ŷ ô¬¥7ÞÿŶfÞÿ " the field. The label which appears beside a field on the screen is called its ñ ñ descriptor ñ and you might have ¥¬ B`•°Þÿ‘0Þÿ " expected such labels to be used to refer to fields in search formulae. This is not done for two reasons:− ò ò ò ¬ %h Fb•c°ÝÿCßÝÿ " (1)Æ Descriptors can be inconveniently long for use in this way. h Ŷ¨ º_ÎjÝÿ®−Ýÿ " (2) 2) Fields don’t necessarily ó ó ò ó have ó ò descriptors. Of the 5 address fields only the first has a ¨ t 8ŵÙ4Ýÿ¹cÝÿ " descriptor (Address). Since every data field needs a “handle” of some sort so that we can t t (häþÜÿÄ-Ýÿ " include it in search formulae we give each a tag, which is never more than 4 characters. t ¥€ Bü‰ïÈÜÿÏ÷Üÿ " Clicking MENU over a field makes its tag appear in the second menu item. ò ô ô ô € € x}¢wÜÿŵ¦Üÿ " The record for “Bloggs Fred” is, however, not the only one with an address in Exeter. There is another € | tÒAÜÿ™pÜÿ " (“Sunningdale Samantha”) but with Exeter in ADDR3 rather than ADDR2. You can print both on the same | ¥| B@ ¸ Üÿ—:Üÿ " list by using the formula:− ô ö ö @ õ õ ö ÷ õ ö ÷ | ¥h B ÞÃÕÛÿ£Üÿº ADD2,ADD3=Exeter e÷ õ ö õ ö õ ö û û h Ŷ¬ |â.‘Ûÿ¿Ûÿ " Notice the way the alternative tags are separated by commas. We call this a ø ø û tag list÷ ø û . A record will be printed ¬ Ŷ† àÀ9ZÛÿ⇨Ûÿ " if any one of the tags in the tag list is matched. The part of the search formula after the = sign is called the e ù ù û † ¥Ü B ÆD$Ûÿ$SÛÿø" target ù û and here too we may specify several in a ú ú û target list ú û . Try the following:− û ý ý ü ü ý þ ü ý þ Ü ¥l B"¯ÞÚÿ•Ûÿº ADD3=Exeter,Anytownþ ü ý ü ý ü ý l ¥h Bd º¨ÚÿŒ×Úÿ " and also:− ADD ÿ ÿ h ¥` B ¿ÅrÚÿ¥¡Úÿº ADD2,ADD3=Exeter,Anytown 2ÿ own ` € à~0-Úÿ\Úÿ " The first of these examples prints the records for “Soap Joe” and “Sunningdale Samantha”, the second € € |;÷Ùÿ&Úÿ " prints these two and “Bloggs Fred” as well. What the second formula is saying is “Print all the records € %d BH¦FÁÙÿ&ðÙÿ " which have either ‘Exeter’ or ‘Anytown’ in either the ADD2 or ADD3 field”. d ¨Ë ( Ŷ¨ ¨Ë åÿîLåÿ " ü The characters we want to match don’t, of course, always make up the o entire field. You can also search for ¨ ¥¬ BàÕèäÿùåÿ " part of a field. Suppose you wanted the records for people called Peter, Fred and Jean. Enter the formula:− ¬ ¥H B8>Ì„äÿ¬Åäÿº NAME{Peter,Fred,Jean H € ´⇨Eäÿ_täÿ " and you will find that the records for “Badgery Peter”, “Bloggs Fred” and “Ford Jean” are printed. The € Ŷ ☓°⇩äÿj>äÿ " curly bracket (“{”) means “contains”. i.e. the name field doesn’t have to j j consist j j of Peter, or Fred or Jean, ¥€ BHb”Ùãÿuäÿ " but has to k k contain k k one of these names somewhere within it. € ¥0 BØux€ãÿ(·ãÿä) 4.3 Hard copy 0 Ŷ† tuKIãÿ+xãÿ " So far you have displayed reports in a window. If you want to send them to your printer run !Printers , † Ŷ— hZVãÿ6Bãÿ " switch on the printer, then click MENU over the displayed report. The Save as text option leads to a — Ŷ âaÝâÿA ãÿ " standard Save box from which you can drag the file icon to
oÎÿ " (3)Æ Double arrows move through the file by longer jumps The right double arrow takes you | h $☓5
Îÿ9Îÿ " from ACTINIUM to BISMUTH and the left one back to ACTINIUM. The “fast forward/ h x hy@ÔÍÿ Îÿ " rewind” value is shown in the box between these “fast wind” buttons. It is initially set to x ¥Ð BlÇKfiÍÿ+ÍÍÿ " 10 but can be altered by clicking in it with SELECT and entering a new value. ‡ I #I #I ‡ #I ‡ #I ‡ I #I ‡ ‡ ‡ Ð € …u¶XÍÿ„Íÿ " At either end of the file “wrap around” occurs. If you are at the last record (ZIRCONIUM) one record € p ,ÙÁ"Íÿ¡QÍÿ " forward takes you to ACTINIUM again. Similarly, one record back from ACTINIUM goes to p %$ B!ÌìÌÿ¬Íÿ " ZIRCONIUM. $ Ŷ ⇦ÓœÌÿ_ÊÌÿ " The second row has buttons marked like the “play” and “stop” controls of a cassette player. w h Play li allows an lï € “ lï] Øÿ=MØÿ " ü automatic flip-through of the records without the need to touch any other buttons. When you get to the place “ Ŷ¤ …ähè×ÿHØÿ " you want, click on Stop . If the records go past too quickly you can slow the process down by increasing the ¤ ⇦ ôÇs²×ÿSá×ÿ " number in the central icon of the top row of buttons. (This is normally used to set the “fast-wind” interval; ⇦ ¥\ B‘Þ ~|×ÿ^«×ÿ " see above.) \ ¥D CÄ:a#×ÿZ×ÿä) 2.2 Key fields, Keys and Indices D ☓ <ã4ìÖÿ×ÿ " When using the six buttons on the top row of the keypad you will have noticed that the records appear to be ☓ ⇦ °Û?¶Öÿ åÖÿ " arranged alphabetically by the name of the element. The actual order in which records occur in the file is in ⇦ Ŷ¸ P„J€Öÿ*¯Öÿ " fact nothing like alphabetical, but the order in which they are te z z accessed rd z is determined by an ôÿ { { index { which ¸ ☓ ¸ÇUJÖÿ5yÖÿ " forces them to appear in alphabetical order. Every database must have at least one index, but you can have ☓ %¼ C´¥`Öÿ@CÖÿ " as many extra ones as you wish (subject to memory and disc limitations). ¼ ☓ ÔØÃÕÿóñÕÿ " The second row of the keypad has two buttons featuring a blue arrow with a key symbol. Click on the right ☓ | 0fi ™Õÿþ»Õÿ " one and the record for HYDROGEN is displayed! If you now experiment with the top row of buttons as | ☓ Hï)WÕÿ ŷÕÿ " before you will find that the records no longer appear in alphabetical order of name but in order of ATOMIC ☓ € hÃ4!ÕÿPÕÿ " NUMBER instead. What we have done is change to a different index. If a database has several indices the € Ŷ Àà?ëÔÿ Õÿ " “key” buttons allow you to cycle through them in opposite directions. (Since # # Elements # has only two indices € Ô~JµÔÿ*äÔÿ " the two buttons have exactly the same effect.) When you change to a different index the screen always € %P B¤âUÔÿ5®Ôÿ " displays the first record as determined by that index. P ŶÔ \Þ.Ôÿè\Ôÿ " An index is built from | | keys | which are derived from a particular } } key field } . The two indices used by $ $ $ Elements $ Ô x §øÓÿó&Ôÿ " are based on the NAME and ATOMIC NUMBER fields. The way in which the key stored in the index is x ⇦ øí ÂÓÿþðÓÿ " derived from the key field differs in the two cases. For the NAME index the first four letters of the name are ⇦ ☓ 8É)…Óÿ »Óÿ " used. Since no two elements have names beginning with the same four letters this gives a unique value for ☓ t ŷ4VÓÿŶÓÿ " the key. (Two letters would not be enough because of names like CHLORINE and CHROMIUM.) The t x ¸⇦? Óÿ OÓÿ " ATOMIC NUMBER index is based on the whole 3-digit maximum length and the ordering is numeric. x € wJêÒÿ*Óÿ " Whenever a record is displayed the key is shown in the window title (# characters are for padding and € %0 BôvU´Òÿ5ãÒÿ " should be ignored.) 0 Ŷ dÍcÒÿè’Òÿ " The record screen shows which fields are key fields and which are not. The labels, or fi fi descriptors fi , of fields ⇦ ê-Òÿó[Òÿ " are normally black. Where the fields are key fields they are shown in dark blue instead and the field used by ⇦ ☓ À ÷Ñÿþ%Òÿ " the current index has its descriptor in red. Note also that the background colour of the NAME field is pale ☓ Ŷ ¨¿)ÁÑÿ ðÑÿ " yellow whereas the rest are white . This indicates that NAME is the req ~ ~ primary ~ key field. The primary key is Ŷ† €Þ4⇧ÑÿºÑÿ " more important than the others. The index based on it is the only one which a database must have and is the † ¥T BR?UÑÿ ☓Ñÿ " one selected when a database is first opened. " " T ¥< C¼¢"üÐÿÒ2Ñÿä) 2.3 Searching for a record " < ☓ @ÁõÄÐÿÕóÐÿ " The fifth button on the second row of the keypad shows a question mark followed by a “record card” icon ☓ Ŷ— Æ •Ðÿà½Ðÿ " We will call it the % % Search % button. When clicked with SELECT a small window, the Search window, opens — ☓ ” YÐÿëÐÿ " to the right of the keypad. It contains a writable icon in which to enter the key of the record you wish to ☓ € 4Ü#ÐÿöQÐÿ " display. Suppose you want to see the record for the element NITROGEN. If the current index is the NAME € Ŷ† Pí!íÏÿ Ðÿ " then enter NITR and either type the Return key on the keyboard or click the & & Find & button with SELECT. The † Ŷ hí,·Ïÿ æÏÿ " required record quickly appears. If you enter the key of a non-existent record fl fl Powerbase fl displays the record ⇦ ¨Ý7ŴÏÿ°Ïÿ " which most nearly matches the key, but flashes the key field to warn you that what is being displayed is not ⇦ ☓ ⇦ BKÏÿ"zÏÿ " what you asked for. You don’t necessarily need to type the whole key; NIT would do in this case, but NI ☓ %\ BLxMÏÿ-DÏÿ " would be ambiguous (there are elements called NICKEL and NIOBIUM). \ x Ôá ÄÎÿàòÎÿ " To find NITROGEN when the ATOMIC NUMBER index is active you would need to know that the atomic x Ŷ— ° ‰Îÿë¼Îÿ " number of nitrogen is 7. Change key, enter this number and type Return or click on ' ' Find. ' The required — ☓ ÌÔXÎÿöŷÎÿ " record appears. Abbreviated keys are not allowed in this case for obvious reasons; if you want element 103 ☓ %H Bä!"ÎÿQÎÿ " (LAWRENCIUM) it’s no good entering 10 (NEON)! H € |ÄÔÐÍÿ´ÿÍÿ " You might want to examine a group of related records, e.g. the six similar elements LITHIUM, SODIUM, € x àxߌÍÿ¿ÉÍÿ " POTASSIUM, RUBIDIUM, CAESIUM and FRANCIUM which are known as the Alkali Metals. You x Ŷ ¬êdÍÿÊ›Íÿ " could, of course, look up each in turn by entering its key but there is a better way. Click on the ( ( Use filter( € €·õ.ÍÿÕ]Íÿ " button on the keypad. The button becomes ticked and the Filter window opens on the right of the keypad. € Ŷ† ´… ùÌÿà'Íÿ " This button is what we call an ) ) option switchtc ) and is used to turn a particular feature ON or OFF. The six † Ŷ† “U ÃÌÿëñÌÿ " elements referred to all occur in group 1 of the Periodic Table of the elements so type * * GP=1* * into the † d ¬ Ŷ¤ d¬ Ëÿ…MËÿ " ü writable icon. and click on CA+ + Filter + . The record for CAESIUM is displayed. If you experiment with the ¤ ⇦ ¤ä·èÊÿ–Ëÿ " buttons on the top row of the keypad you will find that they behave as if the six Alkali Metals were the only ⇦ ☓ Tk²Êÿ¢áÊÿ " elements in the database; all the rest have been “filtered out” so that you access only the ones you are ☓ Ŷ dÍÍ|Êÿ«Êÿ " interested in. To return to normal operation either click the , , Cancel , button on the Filter window or turn off ¥@ B☓éØFÊÿ¸uÊÿ " the switch on the keypad. % % @ ¥< B°¯ëåÉÿk$Êÿà/ 3 Editing the Database% % < ☓ XÁ'›ÉÿÂÉÿ " This part of the tutorial involves changes to the data records. Make a working copy of the disc and put the ☓ Ŷ† àx2]Éÿ…Éÿ " original in a safe place. If you are using a copy of - - Elements ts - on the RAM disc the floppy disc won’t be † ¥‘ Bä•='Éÿ VÉÿ " altered, but it’s not a good idea to work with the original disc. 0 0 ‘ ¥8 C@5 ÎÈÿÐÉÿä) 3.1 Modifying records 0 8 ⇦ èâó„ÈÿÓÅÈÿ " Pointing the mouse at any field and clicking SELECT places the caret in that field. The contents of the field ⇦ ¥à BLKþ`ÈÿÞ•Èÿ " may then be edited in the standard way for RISC OS writable icons. i.e. & : : à %D Fz5±Èÿ’>Èÿ " Ctrl U ‰A clears the field. D %` Fzf¼ÙÇÿ†Èÿ " Delete ¶= removes the character to the left of the caret. ` %d F⇩€Ç£Çÿ§ÒÇÿ " Copy zR removes the character to the right of the caret. d %` FzÒmÇÿ²†Çÿ " Shift Copy „ë deletes the word to the right of the caret. ` %h FæÆÝ7Çÿ½fÇÿ " Ctrl Copy Òý deletes everything from the caret to the end of the line. h %d FÞ/èÇÿÈ0Çÿ " <=⇦ and => ⇨ ¾Û move the caret left/right by one character. d ¥t FçóËÆÿÓúÆÿ " Shift <=⇦ and Shift=>⇨ 1 move the caret left/right by one word. : t ¥— Fêtþ”ÆÿÞÄÆÿ " Ctrl <=⇦ and Ctrl =>⇨ lÞI move the caret to start and end of the field. t & & & — | ìiiPÆÿIÆÿ " Changes made to a record cause the record to be written back to the database whenever you display a | Ŷ† Ø°tÆÿTIÆÿ " different record or close the database. There is a button on the keypad called . . Force updateate. but you don’t † ¥@ BÅäÅÿ_Æÿ " normally need to use it. 1 1 @ ¥< CVb⇧ÅÿÂÅÿä) 3.2 Using the scratchpad 1 < ☓ Ðj5TÅÿ◰Åÿ " It is sometimes necessary to copy the contents of one field into another, either in the same record or a ☓ Ŷ† d¾@ Åÿ MÅÿ " different record. This can be done with the aid of the / / scratchpad / which is controlled by the two buttons at † ⇦ ÌKèÄÿ+Åÿ " the ends of the third row on the keypad. Place the caret in the field you want to copy and click on the left ⇦ ⇦ èèV²Äÿ6áÄÿ " button. This stores the contents of the field on the scratchpad. Moving the caret to another field and clicking ⇦ ⇦ d»a|ÄÿA«Äÿ " the right button copies the data from the scratchpad into that field, over-writing its previous contents. You ⇦ ☓ “¬lFÄÿLuÄÿ " may continue to “paste” the data into new fields as often as you like. Only when you click the left button ☓ ⇦ häwÄÿW?Äÿ " again are the contents of the scratchpad changed. Data pasted into a field will not be allowed to overflow; if ⇦ ⇦ ÜŒŵÚÃÿb Äÿ " too long for the field it will be cut to the permitted length. As an added precaution you can’t paste into a ⇦ ¥€ B☓9™¤ÃÿmÓÃÿ " field if there is nothing on the scratchpad so accidental blanking of fields is avoided. 2 2 € ¥8 B>2pKÃÿ ŵÃÿä) 3.3 Undoing mistakes 2 8 ☓ ÜCÃÿ#CÃÿ " You might edit the wrong field by mistake and want to restore the previous contents. Click MENU over the ☓ Ŷ ì´NÞÂÿ.Ãÿ " field. The second entry on the main menu contains the 3 3 tag ag 3 of the field. Follow the right-pointing arrow to Ŷ° 89Y¨Âÿ9×Âÿ " the 4 4 Field e4 sub-menu and choose 5 5 Undo changes5 . The previous contents of the field will be restored. ° Ŷ… 0}drÂÿD¡Âÿ " Similarly, if you make a mess of a whole record and want to go back to the way it was you can choose 6 6 … ¥H B†¸o<ÂÿOkÂÿ(# Undo changes io6 from the main menu. H ⇦ ð¶"ëÁÿÂÿ " It is important to realise that the Undo facilities will not work if you have looked at another record before ⇦ Ŷ ,Ì-µÁÿäÁÿ " using them (or clicked on Force update ). You can only recover data which has been altered in or removed ¥t B8³8Áÿ®Áÿ " from the currently-displayed record. 7 7 t ¥8 Cèf&ÁÿË\Áÿä) 3.4 Adding new records 7 8 ¥t C|îîÀÿÎ Áÿ " First we will add a new record for a fictitious element as described below:−, , t %` F`L¡‡ÀÿŴÌÀÿ " " 8 NAME ME⇦◰ @ TASMANIUM ` %\ GØY¬gÀÿ…„Àÿ " ⇦ìÿ8 SYMBOL su€4 Ts @ Ts \ ¥P FÀ„·1Àÿ–`Àÿ " TOM8 ATOMINU, C NUMBER08 l« 108 P Ŷ‘ x”jà¿ÿJÀÿ " The second button on the second row of the keypad has a plus sign and a “record card” icon. This is the tto8 8 ‘ Ŷ☓ œuª¿ÿUÙ¿ÿ(# Insert 8 button. A blank record will be displayed with the caret in the NAME field. Enter TASMANIUM ☓ ¸y Ø
⇦ ¸y¬ Ëÿ…MËÿ " ü here and type Return. The caret will jump to the SYMBOL field. Enter Ts. You will now need to press ⇦ ⇦ ⇦Í·èÊÿ–Ëÿ " ü Return twice to get to ATOMIC NUMBER (One press takes you to the un-named field after NAME where ⇦ | ¸C²Êÿ¢áÊÿ " the origin of the element’s name is given.) Alternatively you could point the mouse at the ATOMIC | ☓ XåÍ|Êÿ«Êÿ " NUMBER field and click SELECT. There is no need to press Return after entering a field in order to accept ☓ ☓ ¬⇦ØFÊÿ¸uÊÿ " the data; it’s just the most convenient way of getting to the next field. When entering data into widely- ☓ %d C|]ãÊÿÃ?Êÿ " scattered fields it is more convenient to use the mouse to move the caret. d Ŷ† <é„¿ÉÿvîÉÿ " Having entered the data click any of the first row of buttons so a different record is shown. Now use 9 9 Search 9 † | dŒ¡⇨ÉÿŴ¸Éÿ " to find TASMANIUM by name (its key will be TASM). Change to the other index and find it by atomic | ⇦ <ã¬SÉÿ…ŵÉÿ " number. In both cases try moving to the record just before and just after the new one, noting that it has been ⇦ | ⇦· Éÿ–LÉÿ " placed in its correct position in both indices: between TANTALUM and TECHNETIUM in the NAME | ¥€ BÔ ÂçÈÿ¢Éÿ " index and at the end of the ATOMIC NUMBER index. B B B € ¥< C"x¥‰ÈÿUÅÈÿä) 3.5 Data Input Validation B < ☓ ôxWÈÿXŷÈÿ " When entering the above data you may have noticed that the NAME field will only accept capital letters and ☓ Ŷ… ‘é◰!ÈÿcPÈÿ " the ATOMIC NUMBER field will only accept numerals. Any others are simply ignored. We call this feature Ŵ Ŵ … ¥< B⇦–‰ëÇÿnÈÿø" character validation Ŵ . < Ŷ …½AŒÇÿ!ÉÇÿ " Another level of data validation, which we will now illustrate, is called e ŵ ŵ table validationion ŵ Make an entry in ☓ $éLdÇÿ,›Çÿ " the GROUP field. Type X, for example, then try to move to another field by either typing Return or clicking ☓ ☓ ìW.Çÿ7]Çÿ " the mouse. You will find that you can’t do so; you get an error message instead. This is because the GROUP ☓ Ŷ “ÊbøÆÿB'Çÿ " ðfield is linked to a ◰ ◰ validation table☓ ◰ which means that only entries which appear in the table may be used in ⇦ ‘°mÂÆÿMñÆÿ " that field. Fields linked to validation tables are distinguished by using dark green, instead of black, as the ⇦ %, B†hx…ÆÿX»Æÿ " foreground colour. , Ŷ ☓Å+;Æÿ jÆÿ " To see what the validation table contains, place the caret in the GROUP field then click on the : : List values: € Hn6Æÿ4Æÿ " button on the keypad. The validation table will be displayed in its own window. Only items in the left € ☓ PÏAÏÅÿ!þÅÿ " column of the table may be entered in the GROUP field. Element 108 would be a transition metal, so enter ☓ ¥l BÜL−Åÿ,ÈÅÿ " T. You will now find that r § § Powerbase § accepts your data. l Ŷ… ÔQÿGÅÿßvÅÿ " Both character validation and table validation may be turned off and on by means of a switch on the ; ; … ŶÜ \☓
Åÿê@Åÿ(# Preferences < ; < ; < ; < window. To get at this window click MENU over the N = = Powerbase = icon on the icon-bar and Ü Ŷ¼ —´ÜÄÿõ
Åÿ " choose ico; ; Preferences < ; < ; < < from the icon-bar menu. The rather large window which appears has a collection of ¼ Ŷ `Ú ¦Äÿ ÕÄÿ " option switches down its left-hand side. The sixth of these (> > Validate input> ) is normally ON to indicate that Ŷ´ d¾+pÄÿ flÄÿ " validation is in effect. Click to turn it off then click on @ @ Accept@ . The A A PreferencesA window will be removed ´ ¥— B<O6:ÄÿiÄÿ " from the screen and you will find that input is no longer being validated. C C — ¥8 CÂ
³´ÿêá´ÿ " (1) "g Ensure that s 8 s Impression s 8 has been “seen” by the filer. (You need not actually load it.) ¨ ŶÐ ÂÛ}´ÿõ«´ÿ " (2) ¨ Open the t 8 t Elements t 8 database and drop u 8 u MergeTest d u 8 onto the record window. The Data merge Ð %, Bx} G´ÿ v´ÿ " window will appear. , Ŷ¨ ‹+´ÿ @´ÿ " (3) w w Click on v 8 v Merge wv 8 . You will see that data relating to the record for ACTINIUM has been ¨ ¥h Bdä6Û³ÿ
´ÿ " inserted into the s w 8 w Impression w 8 document. h € "‰A¥³ÿ!Ô³ÿ " (4) n The arrow and double-arrow buttons, identical to those on the keypad, may be used to € %` B…VLo³ÿ,fi³ÿ " move through the database merging different records into the document. ` %⇦ F¦âW9³ÿ7h³ÿ " (5) t A search formula may be used to restrict the operation to records matching certain criteria. ⇦ Ŷ¬ „Ëb³ÿB2³ÿ " (6) ma rtax 8 x Print x 8 may be used to print the document with the currently-merged data. To print a set of ¬ ¥Ô CðúmͲÿMü²ÿ " documents, one for each matching element, select y 8 y Print alltcy 8 then click on z 8 z Merge z 8 . 8 8 Ô % C x–²ÿXƲÿ " \ Ŷ¤ uJ ±ÿ*N±ÿ " ü During data-merging ca { { Impression { editing is disabled; you can’t place the caret in the document and the ¤ Ŷ° ¬sUé°ÿ5±ÿ " mouse pointer appears as a red and blue cross. Clicking on ³ ³ Cancel ³ or closing the Data merge window ° %4 B¬Ç`³°ÿ@â°ÿ " restores normal editing. 4 Ŷ† ¸Ób°ÿó‘°ÿ " For more information on data-merging, including instructions on how to prepare the ´ ´ ´ Impression ´ document, † ¥\ Bx ,°ÿþZ°ÿ " see ,°ÿ} } Ch 9 } in the Manual.7 7 \ ¥4 B@ß1˯ÿ± °ÿà/ 6 Closing downݯÿ7 4 Ŷ“ ôÊmx¯ÿM§¯ÿ " A database may be closed down by choosing the lq q Close database q entry from the icon bar menu. When you “ ☓ H¼xB¯ÿXq¯ÿ " do so, all the indices stored in memory are saved to disc and the database is closed. You do not have to do ☓ ⇦ ¬–◰ ¯ÿc;¯ÿ " anything to save the database itself to disc since it has been there all along. Only the current record is in ⇦ %☓ B¼ó‰Ö®ÿn¯ÿ " memory at any one time and this is automatically written back to disc when it has been changed in any way. ☓ ⇦ àØAŶ®ÿ!´®ÿ " Also saved automatically is the link file which holds the relational links between the main database and the ⇦ %T B⇦LO®ÿ,~®ÿ " validation tables. The tables themselves are also saved. T Ŷ¤ Xmÿýÿß,®ÿ " There’s also an ata Abandon database ic entry on the icon-bar menu. This too will close your database but ¤ Ŷ‘ 8É
ÿ³9ÿ " icon on the icon bar. In fact you don’t even need to close the previous database before doing this; oin „ „ … ¥D B01ÞÔ¬ÿ¾ÿø" Powerbase „ will do it for you. D Ŷ† ÔØ’◰¬ÿq²¬ÿ " When working with a database on the RAM disc da – – Powerbase – will issue a warning that the data is not secure † %x BÌ؆M¬ÿ||¬ÿ " and that you need to drag it from the RAM disc to a floppy or hard disc before switching off. x ¥“ B†[Oü«ÿ/+¬ÿ " To terminate [ — — Powerbase e — itself use the r r Quit ur option on the icon bar menu. “ yV4DrawÉ DrawPlus | ý» •z $ †C | ý» •z $ n Çf
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á ŵâE ï á BâE ï áæ ïd ã áE ïe ã á ŵâE ï•ýèŷ Bad pointer passed to 'Wimp_BorderWindow' in R1. A Redraw block should be passed You have exceeded the maximum number of indirected icons in a window. Please attempt to reduce the number used, or contact me. ³ Qã_ ºÿ_-éW ã …å ’å ° á ’åŴâø’èX …åd…â8 Ŵè`Fà`ŷà `FâpGàpà pGâ€Hà€⇦à €⇦â‘Ià‘⇨à ‘⇨â‘…â\ flå< ã0◰âÖ ïWOb9 j á… å“ å †ç PáOЙþ_½òfi á ã ã0Œä sãÿflýP…â Ŷèþÿëøÿÿê€ @-é@…â ã Ŵå ãç ï€ýè Qã$ ºÿ_-é -éÀ’è áñÿÿë -é †å ‘å °‘å °€à €â [á
á ã ’åç ï •bÿfl½è⇨ Bad pointer passed to 'Wimp_SendHelp' in R1. A Help_Request block should be passed rks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks Homerton.Bold
!PrintLbls I wrote to be able to print labels of a standard rather
superior to draft printed labels usually found on mailshots, council letters
etc. etc. The idea was to take a simply-structured file and convert it to
labels that were in outline fonts, to allow maximal impression on
recipients.
I decided that it was best to use the outline fonts for this, and
also to use the RISC-OS printer drivers, despite all the problems this may
cause.
I decided on Comma Separated Value files for input: this is fairly
standard for many applications, and is easy to create and understand. (it is
also incidentally the format for !1stMail merging)
Version 0.90, which was uploaded to various bulletin boards and
dated 23 May, was very poor and only just worked in a very limited fashion.
It allowed user-selectable fonts for the first line, middle lies and last
line. it also allowed the first line to be bigger (or smaller). However, it
assumed that the user used the same labels as I did and that they set up the
printer driver right! (This printer driver problem still exists).
Then, I was sent a letter by someone who was having trouble with it,
because they were using it on a two-stock label page with a laser printer.
Therefore, I decided that since it might be used, it ought to be usable.
Versions 1.00 and 1.10 came into being on the same day. Version 1.00
allowed setting up by writing a text file containing the label measurements.
In 1.10 (this afternoon) I added a window, sprite and icons so that
measurements could be entered straight into the program.
Version 1.11 allows the user to set the indentation per line,
allowing labels to be printed with each line starting at the same position
on the left. It is even possible to get the address to slope backwards by
using a negative value. There has been some internal tidying up, including
bugfixes if a ridiculous point size is entered, or no units are put on.
Version 1.11 does not require that you open the window at any time if you
have set up the options as you like them. I have also added an auto-revise
option, which checks every second for a change in the list of fonts. If it
finds a difference, it re-assembles the font menu. If you remove all the
fonts, PrintLbls will complain!
Version 1.12 uses version 2.00 of the sliding heap manager and hence can be used alongside applications such as PowerBase &c. that also use SlidingHeap 2.00. Also, the labels setup window now enforces that measurements (apart from those in points and millipoints) are given only to 3 signifcant figures: avoiding long trails of decimals that may occur when units are converted.
Version 1.20 features error handling within the error handler (wow!), RiscOS 3 awareness (non-use of InterfaceManager, downloading/declaring fonts to PostScript printers) and allows the use of fractional point sizes (e.g. 11.5pt).
Using !PrintLbls
----------------
The input file is a simple CSV file. Each 'record' for a single
person (or other entity) is terminated by a 'null', e.g. a linefeed or a
carraige return. Each line for the address is separated by a comma. If the
first character of a line is character 34 (") then all commas are skipped
until a second 34. This allows commas to occur in a line, and also fits in
with many programs' idea of a CSV file.
Here is an example record:
Steven Haslam,"112, Keighley Road",Colne,Lancashire,BB8 0PH
In !Edit, each record would be a separate line in the file.
The filetype can be either &FFF (text) or &DFE (offical CSV
filetype)
!PrintLbls is loaded by double-clicking on its icon in the Filer.
When it has loaded it checks that some fonts are present, and if some are it
checks them against the list it holds of fonts to be used. If any fonts are
to be used that are not present, you will be informed and a present font
will be substituted. (0.90 may have contained a font in itself that was
added to the Path, this is not done with 1.10).
So, you should now have the PrintLbls icon on your icon bar. Click
on it with SELECT and you will get the main window. This contains: a load
target for a CSV file, a box with information about the current printer
driver, a 'Print' button, a box with information about the current fonts and
a 'revise font list' button and also a 'Set up labels' button.
To load a CSV file, drag it to the lad target (the large arrow). The
text icon will change from "« None »" to the file name, or "Data from
TaskName" if it has been dragged straight from a task (e.g. !Edit).
If you have a printer driver installed, then you can 'press' the
Print button and the labels will be printed through your printer driver. If
all the labels can not be fitted onto one page, then more than one page will
be used.
Alternatively, if all your options have been set up as below, you
can simply drag your CSV file to the icon on the icon bar. A confirmation
box will ask you if you want to print it as the current printer resolution.
Therefore you do not have to open the window at any time.
It is unlikely that your labels will be the same size as they are by
default, or that you will want the same font types & sizes as I use. To
cahnge the label sizes, click on the 'Set up labels' button. This opens the
setup window. It contains a diagrammatic sprite of the label relative the
the top left of a page. The measurements are in writeable icons, click on
them and use the keyboard to alter them. Allowed units are: "in", "pt", "mp"
(millipoints), "mm" and "cm". All units are stored as millipoints
internally, so rounding errors may occur when using millimetres or
centimetres.
You will also see two writeable icons for how many labels there are
across and down the page. When printing, the program goes across before
going down, so you can use half a page at first and then another half later.
The 'Identation per line' icon allows the 'tabbing' of each line to
be changed. I generally use 0.1 or 0.2 inches. Setting this to 0 makes each
line start at the same place, setting it to a negative value allows the
lines to slope backwards!
There are three buttons at the bottom: 'Cancel' closes the window
and makes no changes to theinternal variables, 'OK' closes the window and
updates the internal variables as does 'Save' which also re-saves the
configuration file.
To set up the fonts, click MENU over the main window and go to
sub-menu 'Fonts'. This leads to a submenu containing 'Name', 'Address' and
'Last line'. You can have a font for the name, a font for the address and a
font for the last line (i.e. put the postcode {!} in bold). There are two
writeable icons in the main window that control the size (in points) of the
font used for the name and the address (including the last line). Presing
'Revise font list' rescans the fonts, useful if you load in more fonts while
the program is still running.
On the main window's menu is the option 'Remove CSV' which removes
the CSV file from memory
Also on the main window's menu is the sub-menu option 'Units'. This
controls which units are used by default in the setup window. Notice that
because clicking OK in the setup window changes the strings to real numbers,
rounding error may occur if the window has been displayed in metric measure
when the measurements are intended for imperial lengths. Notice that any
measuring system can be used in the setup window, you can even combine
points, millimetres, inches and centimetres all at the same time, although
this is not good for your sanity!
From the icon bar menu, there are three options: 'Info' leads to the
standard info box, 'Save setup' re-saves the configuration file and 'Quit'
has the expected effect.
Information kept in the configuration file is as follows:
The three font names, the two font sizes, the label measurements, the number of labels across and down, and the default units for the setup window. The 'setup' file (in the PrintLbls directory) is plain text.
Here is an example file, the | is not part of the file, but denotes
comments:
Homerton.Medium.Oblique | 'Name' font
Homerton.Medium | 'Address' font
Homerton.Bold | 'Last line' font
24 | 'Name' size (pt)
12 | 'Address' size (pt)
18000 | top margin (mp)
36000 | left margin (mp)
288000 | horizontal edge-to-edge (mp)
100800 | vertical edge-to-edge (mp)
14400 | identation per line (mp)
2 | labels on page horizontally
8 | labels on page vertically
in | preferred units for setup window
There is a problem with labels on dot matrix printers. Acorn's
printer drivers are page-based. This is not a criticism of the printer
drivers, it is entirely reasonable. However, most dot matrix printer labels
are continuous rolls, perhaps with perforations every six labels or so.
Therefore, it is best to define a special page size for them. It might also
be necessary to define a separate printer for them, so that form feeds come
out right: if the line feed value is 1/6th of an inch (70 line approx. on
A4), then you will need to work out the amount of lines per page and add to
job_prologue:
"<27>C" and then the character for the number of lines. This makes
the form feeding come out right. e.g. if it was 18 lines, do "<27>C<18>".
RiscOS 3 printer drivers now have a way of defining this! You need
to declare the text length of a page if you are using a DP-type printer.
Because of its nature, this problem *only* occurs with continuous
roll labels and sheets.
I think that about sums it up! Please feel free to contact me with
q%!8=0. q%!12=08 È− "Wimp_SetIconState",,q%BáL:V!Ý òmain_click(x%,y%,b%,w%,i%)` ȉ b% Êj$É 2: òopen_menu(mainM%,x%-64,y%)tÉ 4:~ ȉ i% Ê⇦hÉ 3: òwimpy_error(0,"Drag a CSV file, type Text (&FFF) or CSV (&DFE), onto this icon to load it.",£)‹É 9:† ç inputfile$="« None »" …¦Lòwimpy_error(0,"You must have loaded in a file in order to print it!",£)°Ìº
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(À Heap is not in valid memory •âþ@½èòfiã(À Heap ID corrupted (Bad signature) •âþ@½èòfiã(À Start of heap corrupted (Bad signature) •âþ@½èòfiã(À Top of heap corrupted (Bad signature) $ Block overflow in Sliding Heap (%*0)(À $ Anchor does not point to block (%*0)(À «Hz»BlckUnknown block @-é À†å á ã! ï qÿÿ{ •r €½èHeap checked out OK
*VerifyHeap will check the integrity of the given heap.Syntax: *VerifyHeap <address> @-é À†å á ã! ï qUþÿ{ €½è*HeapInfo will display information on the given sliding heap.Syntax: *HeapInfo <address> SlidingHeap is a memory manager that works by using `anchor points` into an area of memory; it is rather like Acorn C's `flex` library, however it is suitable for use in BASIC/ARM code programs. There is a set of BASIC procedures to interface with the sliding heap manager, which will also automatically increase and decrease the size of a WIMP task's memory area as required.For more information, contact Steven Haslam at one of the following addresses:E-Mail: FidoNet: 2:250/116.3, 2:254/27.0, 2:252/102.0, 2:254/405.0Snail-Mail:Steven Haslam 112 Keighley Road Colne Lancashire BB8 0PH @-é ã) ã. 0Sâ º0Sâ ºð-éñC±èñC¢è 0Sâûÿÿª sãð◰ýð½è0›â º0 -é1@±è1@¢è0€ý0 ½è0Câ0›â º@±è@¢è €ý0Câ0›â º ’ä ŵä €ý0Câ0›â €ý ’å Âä á0SâûÿÿÊ €ýè Ñä Âä0Sâ €ý ãùÿÿÎÿÿê -éÀâÁã…Á á °lâ ’ä0 á0Sâ) º0Sâ ºð-éðG±è €á4L áK☓á5\ á[Ŷá6l ákŷá7| á{á8… á⇧⇦á9† áœ⇨á:¬ á «⇩áñ¢è> á 0Sâëÿÿª sãðflýð½è0›â ºp -ép@±è €á4L áK☓á5\ á[Ŷá6l á kŷáq ¢èp—ýp ½è0Câ> á0›â º -é@±è €á4L á K☓á ¢è—ý ½è0Câ> á0›â ºà’ä €á ŵä —ý0Câ> á0›â —ý à’å €á Âä á0SâûÿÿÊ —ýè @-é Pá º0‘ä0Ŵä RâûÿÿZ €½è0‘ç0Ŵç RâûÿÿZ €½èerWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks ÿÿÿÿ D \ setuplabelsü o maink progInfo ð Ä " t p ´ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ Ŷ p üÿÿ¢ = 0 8 ÿÿÿÿ x èýÿÿŒ °ÿÿÿ> l_size 0 Àÿÿÿü ðÿÿÿ9a 'P ÿÿÿÿ z ¤ýÿÿÆ Ôýÿÿ Çm ÿÿÿÿ ¤ýÿÿL Ôýÿÿ Çŵ ÿÿÿÿ Ï †ýÿÿ Üýÿÿ=ñ ” „ U †ýÿÿ‡ Üýÿÿ=ñ ° ± ^ þÿÿ Hþÿÿñ Ë Ï à äþÿÿ‘ ÿÿÿñ ê î ~ àþÿÿ ÿÿÿñ H hÿÿÿ* “ÿÿÿñ ( , Ò ýÿÿŒ Týÿÿ 1 ÇG J ~ ýÿÿ6 Lýÿÿ 1 ÇP W ¦ ýÿÿ^ Lýÿÿ 1 Ç] b x \ýÿÿÄ …ýÿÿ Çh ÿÿÿÿ Ï Týÿÿs “ýÿÿ=ñ } ~ Set up label dimensionsPut units after the numbers!No. of labels acrossNo. of labels downa0-9;pptr_write,4,4;r7,14a0-9;pptr_write,4,4;r7,145cma0-9cminpt.;pptr_write,4,43cma0-9cminpt.;pptr_write,4,41cma0-9cminpt.;pptr_write,4,41cma0-9cminpt.;Pptr_write,4,4OKr6,14Cancelr5,14Saver5,14Indentation per linea0-9cminpt.-;pptr_write,4,4;r7,14ŷ À L ÿÿÿÿ ÿ ýÿÿ¤ = Ø ÿÿÿÿ ¬þÿÿ¬ Ðÿÿÿ Çê ë . °ÿÿÿæ èÿÿÿ= ñ ü H `ÿÿÿ☓ ÿÿÿ= ÿ ¡ Øþÿÿ Pÿÿÿ1 Ì ⇦ýÿÿ⇦ Ðÿÿÿ Ç/ 0 ä ´ÿÿÿ† ìÿÿÿ= 6 < ì `ÿÿÿd ÿÿÿ= B L ÿ ì ÿÿÿd Xÿÿÿ= ` m ÿ ì Ðþÿÿd ÿÿÿ= Ŵ › ÿ z ,ýÿÿB týÿÿ 1 ǧ fi ¼ýÿÿ² ôýÿÿ 1 ³ Ä ⇦ýÿÿ¬ tþÿÿ ÇÊ Ë . Tþÿÿæ …þÿÿ= Ñ Ù H þÿÿ| @þÿÿ= ß î ÿ H ´ýÿÿ| ôýÿÿ= ô ÿ > xþÿÿî ¨þÿÿ ÇName size: ,þÿÿî \þÿÿ Ç ÿÿÿÿ pþÿÿ, °þÿÿ=ñ $þÿÿ, dþÿÿ=ñ 9 > º 4ýÿÿfi lýÿÿ 1 Ç[ i PrintLbls controlr3,14Input filer1,14123456789012345678r7,14CSVsloadicon;r2,14r3,14Fontsr1,14Name fontpptr_menu,6,5;r7,14Address fontpptr_menu,6,5;r7,14Last address fontpptr_menu,6,5;r7,14Printr6,14Revise font listr5,14r3,14Printerr1,14none installedr7,14none installedr7,14Address size:24ptA0-9pt.;pptr_write,4,4;r7,1412ptA0-9pt.;pptr_write,4,4;r7,14Set up labelsr5,14 ¤ 4 ÿÿÿÿ ☓ Ìþÿÿ☓ = — ÿÿÿÿ
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ô The error trapper (wow!) î Ŷ òerror (&ô reserve a bit of memory methinks 2Þ chunk% 4096 <Þ messagebit% 256 FÞ menu% 128 PÞ sbtext% 128 ZÞ names$(10) dÞ basicinfo$(9,9) nÞ furthurinfo$(9,8) x Èœ "<SolarSys$Dir>.Library" ŵ …0ô best set this program up in the proper way „È− "Hourglass_On" òinitialise ªòloadtemplates ´ òicon ¾ òmenu È
òsetup ÒÈ− "Hourglass_Off" Ü æ=ô the WIMP poll and the WimpExt poll. Very useful module! ðõ úÈ− "WimpExt_PrePoll"$È− "Wimp_Poll",,chunk% ¸ reason%,È− "WimpExt_Action",task%,chunk%,reason%ȉ reason% Ê"É 1 : òredraw,)É 2 : È− "WimpExt_OpenLinked",,chunk%6*É 3 : È− "WimpExt_CloseLinked",,chunk%@É 6 : òmousepressedJÉ 7 : òstartsaveTÉ 8 : òkeypressed^É 9 : òmenuselectionhÉ 17,18 : òusermessagerË|ý £ŷà‘ŒNô completely useless procedure as there is no keyboard interaction as yet!¤Ý òkeypressed® ȉ chunk%!24 ʸ
Oô ######################################################################### ô general WIMP stuff (Ý òinitialise 2:È− "Wimp_Initialise",200,&4B534154,"SolarSys" ¸ ,task% <.È− "WimpExt_Initialise",,task%,%0101110010 F$(sbtext%)="Untitled" P save%=0 Zá d nÝ òloadtemplates x>È− "OS_File",17,"<SolarSys$Dir>.WimpSprs"¸,,,,wspritesize% ŵ Þ wsprites% wspritesize%+64 … ã X%=0 ¸ wspritesize%+60 ⇦ 4 „ wsprites%!X%=0 í ª?È− "OS_SpriteOp",256+10,wsprites%,"<SolarSys$Dir>.WimpSprs" ´ ¾<È− "OS_File",17,"<SSRes$Dir>.BIDefPic"¸,,,,bispritesize% È!Þ bisprites% bispritesize%+64 Ò!ã X%=0 ¸ bispritesize%+60 ⇦ 4 Ü bisprites%!X%=0 æí ð=È− "OS_SpriteOp",256+10,bisprites%,"<SSRes$Dir>.BIDefPic" ú9È− "OS_File",17,"<SSRes$Dir>.FIPic"¸,,,,fispritesize%!Þ fisprites% fispritesize%+64!ã X%=0 ¸ fispritesize%+60 ⇦ 4" fisprites%!X%=0,í6:È− "OS_SpriteOp",256+10,fisprites%,"<SSRes$Dir>.FIPic"@J<È− "OS_File",17,"<SSRes$Dir>.FIDefPic"¸,,,,fhspritesize%T!Þ fhsprites% fhspritesize%+64^!ã X%=0 ¸ fhspritesize%+60 ⇦ 4h fhsprites%!X%=0rí|=È− "OS_SpriteOp",256+10,fhsprites%,"<SSRes$Dir>.FIDefPic"ŷ‘7È− "OS_File",17,"<SSRes$Dir>.BIPic"¸,,,,spritesize%Œ7È− "OS_File",17,"<Planets$Dir>.00"¸,,,,sspritesize%¤(size%=spritesize%+64+sspritesize%+64®Þ sprites% size%¸ã X%=0 ¸ size% ⇦ 4 sprites%!X%=0ÌíÖ8È− "OS_SpriteOp",256+10,sprites%,"<SSRes$Dir>.BIPic"àêÞ fonts% 255ôã i=0 ¸ 255þ fonts%?i=0ílength%=9000 Þ indirect% length%&workspace%=indirect%06È− "Wimp_OpenTemplate",,"<SolarSys$Dir>.Templates":YÈ− "Wimp_LoadTemplate",,chunk%,workspace%,indirect%+length%,-1,"Info",0 ¸,,workspace%D*È− "Wimp_CreateWindow",,chunk% ¸ info%N]È− "Wimp_LoadTemplate",,chunk%,workspace%,indirect%+length%,fonts%,"Main",0 ¸,,workspace%Xchunk%!64=sprites%b*È− "Wimp_CreateWindow",,chunk% ¸ main%lYÈ− "Wimp_LoadTemplate",,chunk%,workspace%,indirect%+length%,-1,"Save",0 ¸,,workspace%v*È− "Wimp_CreateWindow",,chunk% ¸ save%€bÈ− "Wimp_LoadTemplate",,chunk%,workspace%,indirect%+length%,fonts%,"BasicInfo",0 ¸,,workspace%⇩chunk%!64=sprites%“/È− "Wimp_CreateWindow",,chunk% ¸ basicinfo%fibÈ− "Wimp_LoadTemplate",,chunk%,workspace%,indirect%+length%,fonts%,"BInfoHelp",0 ¸,,workspace%¨chunk%!64=bisprites%²/È− "Wimp_CreateWindow",,chunk% ¸ binfohelp%¼dÈ− "Wimp_LoadTemplate",,chunk%,workspace%,indirect%+length%,fonts%,"FurthurInfo",0 ¸,,workspace%Æchunk%!64=fisprites%Ð-È− "Wimp_CreateWindow",,chunk% ¸ furthur%ÚdÈ− "Wimp_LoadTemplate",,chunk%,workspace%,indirect%+length%,fonts%,"FurthurHelp",0 ¸,,workspace%ächunk%!64=fhsprites%î1È− "Wimp_CreateWindow",,chunk% ¸ furthurhelp%øÈ− "Wimp_CloseTemplate"á Kô damn interesting procedure that. I should really learn to use the SWI9ô call in WimpExt. I does it all in about err 1 line! * Ý òmenu4 $menu% ="SolarSys">menu%?12 = 7Hmenu%?13 = 2Rmenu%?14 = 7\menu%?15 = 0fmenu%!16 = &70pmenu%!20 = 40zmenu%!24 = 0☓‰menu%!28 = 0—menu%!32 = info%¢menu%!36 = &7000011¬$(menu%+40) = "Info"¶Àmenu%!52 = 0Êmenu%!56 = -1Ômenu%!60 = &7000011Þ $(menu%+64) = "Texture"èòmenu%!76 = 128ümenu%!80 = -1menu%!84 = &7000011$(menu%+88) = "Quit" ô very useful SWI call below$%È− "WimpExt_TickEntry",,menu%,1,1.texture%=¹8!È− "WimpExt_MenuWidth",,menu%BáLV Ý òicon`*ô so much quicker than Wimp_CreateIconjCÈ− "WimpExt_IconBarSprite",,,-1,"!SolarSys",,3 ¸ iconbarhandle%tá~⇦Ý òusermessage‹ã message%=0¸&FF ⇦ 4†(messagebit%!message%=chunk%!message%¦í°%ô so much variation. How excitingºÈ‰ messagebit%!16 ÊÄÉ 0 : òshutdownÎÉ 2 : òdatasaveØÉ &00502: òsendhelpâËìáö Ý òerror
!ô really high tech stuff here
î Ŷ ^ È− "Wimp_ReportError",Ä4,½(0))+ö$+" at line "+Ã(fi/10)+" - Error Code "+Ã(fl),&2,"SolarSys"( òshutdown2á<FÝ òredrawP ç ¬texture% …Z& È− "WimpExt_AutoRedraw",,chunk%d án ÌxLô work this one out if you can coz it doesn't make a lot of sense to me!ŵê Ŷ…ZîŶ ê ÷ Ŷ:È− "WimpExt_CloseLinked",,chunk%:òerror(ö$+" (internal code "+Ã(fi/10)+")."):á„sprite$="texture" ç sprite$<>"" …ªB È− "OS_SpriteOp",256+40,wsprites%,sprite$ ¸ ,,,width%,height%´Í¾*È− "Wimp_RedrawWindow",,chunk% ¸ flag%È È” flag%Ò ç sprite$<>"" …Ü !(chunk%+44)=!chunk%æ) È− "Wimp_GetWindowState",,chunk%+44ð X%=chunk%!48-chunk%!64ú È”X%+width%*2<chunk%!28 X%+=width%*2 Î È”X%>chunk%!28" X%-=width%*2, Î6 Y%=chunk%!60-chunk%!68@ È”Y%+height%*2<chunk%!32J Y%+=height%*2T Î^ È”Y%>chunk%!32h Y%-=height%*2r Î| startY%=Y%ŷ È” X%<chunk%!36‘ È” Y%<chunk%!40Œ; È− "WimpExt_SpriteOp",256,wsprites%,sprite$,X%,Y%,8¤ Y%+=height%*4® θ Y%=startY% X%+=width%*2Ì ÎÖ Íà È− "WimpExt_Redraw",,chunk%ê+ È− "Wimp_GetRectangle",,chunk% ¸ flag%ôÎþ÷ ŶÍá ô did you understand that?!?&0Ý òmousepressed:ç chunk%!12=-2 …D ȉ chunk%!8 ÊN É 4: !chunk%=main%X, È− "Wimp_GetWindowState",,chunk%b/ È− "WimpExt_CentreWindow",,chunk%+4l0 È− "WimpExt_CentreWindowV",,chunk%+4v+ È− "WimpExt_OpenLinked",,chunk%€ á⇩E É 2: È− "Wimp_CreateMenu",,menu%,(chunk%!0)-(32+menu%!16)/2,216“ áfi ˨Ͳ¼$ç chunk%!12<>-1 € chunk%!8=2 … áÆÐOô god knows why the procedure below doesn't work with this icon, damn thingÚ:ç chunk%!12=main% € chunk%!16=0 … òaction("basic") : áäî7ç chunk%!12=save% € (chunk%!8 € 64) € chunk%!16=0 …ø òdragbox á Í Kô basically the below code finds the action_XXXXXXXXXXXXX string in the*Kô validation string and sends it to the action(X$) procedure which then4Nô interprets it via a CASE...WHEN...ENDCASE structure. So much easier than>ô than the alternativeHç chunk%!12<>-1R ȉ chunk%!8 Ê\ É 4f( È− "Wimp_GetIconState",,chunk%+12p ç chunk%!36 € %101<<6 …z valid$=$(chunk%!44)☓" ç §valid$,"action_")>0 …‰2 action$=Á valid$,§valid$,"action_")+7 )—B ç §action$,";")<>0 … action$=À action$,§action$,";")-1)¢ ̬ action$=""¶ ÍÀ ÌÊ action$=""Ô ËÞÍèòaction(action$)òáü ô a stray ENDPROC no less! á $Ý òmenuselection .menu$=Ä255,"#") 85È− "Wimp_DecodeMenu",,menu%,chunk%,menu$¸,,,menu$ B ȉ Àmenu$,§menu$,"#")-1) Ê L É "Texture" V" ç texture% tick=0 ⇧ tick=1 `, È− "WimpExt_TickEntry",,menu%,1,tick j, ç texture% … texture%=£ ⇧ texture%=¹ t8 È− "Wimp_ForceRedraw",-1,0,0,&7FFFFFFF,&7FFFFFFF ~ á ⇦ É "Quit" : òshutdown ‹ Ë †á ¦ °Ý òshutdown º È− "WimpExt_CloseDown",task% Ä'È− "Wimp_CloseDown",task%,&4B534154 Îà Øá â ìNô all the below is not used in this version of the program so don't bother ö,ô reading it as it is pretty basic stuff
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ÿÿÿÀ fÿÿÿa % & ¸ &ÿÿÿ ŵÿÿÿa * + P ‹ÿÿÿª îÿÿÿa / 0 ú fiüÿÿÊ Îüÿÿ91 4 @ ¶ fiüÿÿò Îüÿÿ91 V j Basic Planetary InformationS09Sidereal PeriodF17Rotational PeriodF17Mean Orbital VelocityF17Relative DensityF17Relative MassF17Relative VolumeF17Relative Surface GravityF17Mean temperature #1F17Mean temperature #2F17w4;F17w4;F17w4;F17w4;F17w4;F17w4;F17w4;F17w4;F17w4;F17w4;F17S02S03S04S05S06S07S01S00S08S08S07S06S05S09S04S00S01S02S03Definitionsw0;action_definitionsFurthur Informationw0;action_furthurŷ ¨ \ ÿÿÿÿ ÿ ‘üÿÿÖ = ¸ ÿÿÿÿ Æÿÿÿà ôÿÿÿY Ò ÿÿÿÿ * ÿÿÿJ ÊÿÿÿY à ÿÿÿÿL , vÿÿÿü ÿÿÿY ÿÿÿÿL >ÿÿÿ lÿÿÿY , ÿÿÿÿ & ÿÿÿR @ÿÿÿY < ÿÿÿÿO Øþÿÿ☓ ÿÿÿY ⇧ ÿÿÿÿ & °þÿÿv ÜþÿÿY ¤ ÿÿÿÿS ( ☓þÿÿZ ®þÿÿY ÷ ÿÿÿÿS Bþÿÿ pþÿÿY ! ÿÿÿÿ * þÿÿì DþÿÿY 2 ÿÿÿÿH ¦ Ðýÿÿô þýÿÿY z ÿÿÿÿ Æ ýÿÿü ÌýÿÿY ‘ ÿÿÿÿ< Þ `ýÿÿæ ‰ýÿÿY Ì ÿÿÿÿ ú 2ýÿÿÊ ^ýÿÿY Þ ÿÿÿÿ4 à êüÿÿÄ ýÿÿY ÿÿÿÿ ø Àüÿÿ> êüÿÿY " ÿÿÿÿ* p <ÿÿÿ¾ êÿÿÿ ÇL M , ´üÿÿÜ þÿÿ ÇT U Ú ¦üÿÿº ªýÿÿ Ç^ _ Definitions of words.....Relative MassMass of the planet relative to the Earthwhere the value for the Earth is 1Relative VolumeVolume of the planet relative to the Earth where the value for the Earth is 1.Relative Surface GravityGravity on the surface of the planet relative to the gravity on the surface of theEarth where the value for the Earth is 1.Relative DensityDensity of the planet relative to water where the value for water is 1.Mean Orbital VelocityThe average speed the planet moves in its orbit of the Sun.Rotational PeriodTime taken for one complete rotation of the planet.Sidereal PeriodTime taken to travel once around the sun.SorbitSgravitySrotation t Ö ô ÿÿÿÿ ÿ ~ýÿÿÔ = — ÿÿÿÿ< " Àÿÿÿ. îÿÿÿY ¾ ÿÿÿÿ 4 €ÿÿÿd ®ÿÿÿY Ò ÿÿÿÿ € Bÿÿÿf pÿÿÿY ç ÿÿÿÿ À ÿÿÿ¾ 2ÿÿÿY ÿÿÿÿ v Àþÿÿf îþÿÿY ÿÿÿÿ Ò ŵþÿÿx °þÿÿY $ ÿÿÿÿ Dþÿÿ⇩ rþÿÿY / ÿÿÿÿ ⇩ þÿÿÔ 6þÿÿY 6 ÿÿÿÿ R ÈýÿÿV öýÿÿY H ÿÿÿÿ @ Âÿÿÿj îÿÿÿy Z k n ŵÿÿÿ— ®ÿÿÿy r ◰ l Bÿÿÿ pÿÿÿy ⇩ œ $ Ò ÿÿÿü 0ÿÿÿy ¢ ³ z Äþÿÿ¤ ðþÿÿy º Ë ⇦ ŷþÿÿ² ²þÿÿy Ò ã Œ HþÿÿÄ tþÿÿy ê û â
þÿÿ¢ 6þÿÿy ) b Ìýÿÿ… øýÿÿy + òþÿÿ☓ \ÿÿÿ Ç2 3 Ô ⇦ÿÿÿB òÿÿÿ Ç8 9 < ‹ÿÿÿª üÿÿÿ Ç> ? ® lþÿÿ Öþÿÿ ÇD E \þÿÿv Æþÿÿ ÇJ K P Lþÿÿ¾ ¶þÿÿ ÇP Q T ⇦ýÿÿÂ òýÿÿ ÇV W 6þÿÿ⇩ þÿÿ Ç\ ] æþÿÿ~ Pÿÿÿ Çb c : …ýÿÿ¨ öýÿÿ Çh i 8 @ýÿÿ‘ nýÿÿYa n ÿÿÿÿ Býÿÿ¼ rýÿÿ}á t u L ýÿÿ¼ >ýÿÿ}á y z L Úüÿÿ¼
ýÿÿ}á ~ L ¦üÿÿ¼ Öüÿÿ}á ◰ ☓ L d ŵýÿÿ2 ´ýÿÿ91 ⇦ “ Furthur Information About The PlanetsOrbital InclinationOrbital EccentricityApparent Diameter From EarthReciprocal MassEscape VelocityOblatenessAlbedoMaximum MagnitudeAxial Inclination1234567890123456w4;F171234567890123456w4;F171234567890123456w4;F171234567890123456w4;F171234567890123456w4;F171234567890123456w4;F171234567890123456w4;F171234567890123456w4;F171234567890123456w4;F17Sl07Sl06Sl02Sl03Sl00Sl08Sl04Sl05Sl01Sl09NotesKRAKRAKRAKRADefinitionsw0;action_furdef~ T T Ä ÿÿÿÿ ÿ ‘üÿÿÖ = X ÿÿÿÿ ® ÀÿÿÿÞ òÿÿÿY w ÿÿÿÿ ò ÂÿÿÿÄ ðÿÿÿY ⇧ ÿÿÿÿ7 ¶ ☓ÿÿÿæ ¶ÿÿÿY  ÿÿÿÿ Ð ^ÿÿÿ☓ …ÿÿÿY × ÿÿÿÿG Ð 8ÿÿÿþ bÿÿÿY ÿÿÿÿG ° ÿÿÿº 4ÿÿÿY Z ÿÿÿÿ Ô Úþÿÿ⇩ ÿÿÿY j ÿÿÿÿP Ü ®þÿÿ¨ ØþÿÿY ¯ ÿÿÿÿP rþÿÿü þÿÿY Ò ÿÿÿÿ $ Hþÿÿv rþÿÿY â ÿÿÿÿP " þÿÿ BþÿÿY ÿÿÿÿP Üýÿÿ¶
þÿÿY E ÿÿÿÿ ( ²ýÿÿp ÜýÿÿY P ÿÿÿÿR ( ŷýÿÿ °ýÿÿY ‰ ÿÿÿÿR Æ Pýÿÿ ~ýÿÿY ³ ÿÿÿÿ ì ,ýÿÿ„ VýÿÿY Å ÿÿÿÿR È èüÿÿÌ ýÿÿY â ÿÿÿÿ ð Âüÿÿ ìüÿÿY ô ÿÿÿÿR î Œüÿÿ ÄüÿÿY * ÿÿÿÿR ÿÿÿ† èÿÿÿ Ç? @ ~ ÈýÿÿÊ æþÿÿ ÇG H ¬üÿÿ Rýÿÿ ÇO P ´ûÿÿè üÿÿL ´ûÿÿè üÿÿL Furthur word definitions .....Orbital InclinationAngle of inclination of the orbit relative to the Sun.Orbital EccentricityThe shape of the orbit : 0 means a circulr orbit and 0-1 an oval orbitwhere the greater the number is the more oval the orbit is.Reciprocal MassTaking the reciprocal of this number gives the mass of the planet asa fraction of the mass of the Sun.Escape VelocityThe speed a craft must travel away from the planet to escapefrom the planets gravitational force.OblatenessThe amount of flatness of the planet at the poles. A value of0 means a perfectly circular planet.Maximum MagnitudeMaximum relative brightness.Axial InclinationThe angle at which the axis of rotation of the planetis to the horizonal.SrecipSaxialSinclineà à Trinity.Medium à à Trinity.Bold rks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks — ¤ | x  €W l
ê ê ê( ê: ê` êq êŵ ê… ê« ê ê ê= êR ê☓ êè êR ê2 ê2 êý ê ê- ê7 êU ê@ êá/ êÚ ê ê êI êg ê” êæ ê êŴ* ê³# ê êH ê— êÂ ê •âòfiãæ Unknown WimpExtension operation €O-é ãx0 ã<◰ã ï€O½h¹ j …åÀ á ã0Sâ …çüÿÿÊ ã
sh•âŵ Ŵâ E s Ŵs q0 €•½è€O-é À†å †å Pã —†å PãÔflÅÝ Ï ã—…å ㆅå ã|•âŵ Ŵâ ï †å ã ï ãÔ"†å ï ãT%†å ï á ã ýè •â€O½èòfiã Can't kill WimpExtension module - some tasks are still using it. (This may be due to somebody trying to load a newer version of WimpExtension.) )a general-purpose module designed(maketask of programming inWimp environment easier. It provides SWI calls for 3D icons, iconbar sprites, linked windows, loading templates, indirected icons, window handling, pointer changes, colour menus, dragging icons, RAM templates, requester windows, help, menu handling, sprite handling, draw- handling, caret handling, font menus, immediate windows, heap management, saving s, moving memory, sorting, loading s, keyboard handling, etc...Documents should be available from Arcade BBS.If you have any ideas for improvements or whatever, please don't hesitate(contact me.I can be contacted at: Jon Ribbens 39 Nutkins Way Chesham Bucks. HP5 2BEor on Arcade BBS. TASK Qã
L flå Pá3 D flå PáÝÿÿ ãx"⇧å|"⇧å¸"⇧å ë×ÿÿê œå PãÔÿÿ—œå… åÝ ï ã—⇧å ïà Á ?@-é0 ã àã ã5 ïà"⇧uP qB qØB⇧u@Dr E⇧u s5 ä"⇧u` qB qÜB⇧u@Dr E⇧u s5 ŵr% q$%⇧u s5 ŵr& q(%⇧u?€ýx ™å?€½è@-é ’å ëüÿÿz€ýèB•âòfiãK•âòfiã•âòfiã•âòfiãn•âòfiãs•âòfiã •âòfiã!•âòfiã⇨•âòfiã&•âòfiãfl•âòfiã«•âòfi㺕âòfiãÅ•âòfiãË•âòfiãÒ•âòfiã6•âòfiãÛ•âòfiã•âòfiãP •â €âòfiãl •â €âòfiã´ •â €âòfiãÐ •â €âòfiãt •â €âòfiãà •â €âòfiãð •â €âòfiã8 •â €âòfiãl •â €âòfiãÐ •â €âòfiã WimpExtension is unable to claim memory Too many applications being handled by WimpExtension. X Request to WimpExtension from unknown application. Bad block passed to WimpExtension in R1. p)! Bad validation string. , WimpExtension has received an unknown Initialise call. Division by zero. #1 Title not indirected. WimpExtension does not support old-style window definitions. iew☓ Window definition won't fit. 8- You need at least ONE button in a requester window! Text object with font reference encountered before font table 8, Task is denied access to font menu routines. R0] Font menu is not available. Bad immediate window operation. Bad WimpExt_Heap operation. Heap corrupt. B DataSave in progress. . Wimp$Scrap not defined. Bad heap block pointer. Transfer failed. # DataLoad in progress. oo Unable to perform operation due to lack of memory. File too big. ,R Supervisor stack overflow. t Unknown WimpExt_DrawOp operation. Unknown WimpExt_SpriteOp operation. Couldn't set anti-alised icon's colour. Unknown WimpExt_ListOp operation. B Unknown WimpExt_BorderOp operation. Too many linked windows Window not linked g! Bad mode R" Icon not indirected text, or is deleted # Sprite area full $ Unknown WimpExt_MiscOp operation. % WimpExt_SpriteOp does not support the system sprite area. 7,& WimpExtension library command not found. itu( Unknown WimpExt_CreateDraw operation. ) No room to create object in WimpExt_CreateDraw. þ_-é Pãþ_½(6þÿ* Pã0 30 ã ` áp ဠᑠᗆå Pã Oâ @âÞ ïþfl½h P†å2 Uãþ_½ þÿ
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`œå Pã ñ•0N ê ê ê& ê ã FÀ@☓ ’à’ @À@D@Ŵ ã GÀPŶ ’à’ @ÀPŶPŴ ŴåÙýÿë8 ê ã@Ŵ ã ’à’ @ F Ŵ ã ’à’ @ Ŷ Ŵ ãpŴÅýÿë$ ê ã ãà’àN N ã à’àN F à’å -é ’åàNà ½èÎà á PáÆÿÿª ã ãà’ àN N ãà’ àN Gà’å -é ’åàNà ½èÎà á Pá´ÿÿªÆÿÿê0Йâþ◰ýxþ◰½èŵA-épÐä Wã :% WãpÁùÿÿpÐä% WãpÁõÿÿ
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` LþÿÿÈ ⇦þÿÿ=’ Ç 0 \þÿÿ— —þÿÿ1 ! ÿÿÿÿ& !Spotter: Import New Satellite DataElements File:r1Name of filer2r3r3Total number of elements sets:r1No. of updates to existing sets:r1No. of sets for new satellites:r19999r19999r19999r1r1Replace old dataSmyoptoff,myoptonr1Merge dataSmyoptoff,myoptonNewSmyoptoff,myoptonUpdatedSmyoptoff,myoptonSelectionSmyoptoff,myoptonOKr5(Click Menu to obtain selection list)" ¶ Î ^ ÿÿÿÿ üÿÿ 0 !Spotter>e ¬ ⇩ÿÿÿì âÿÿÿd×Welcomed> ÿÿÿ² Ðÿÿÿ` Ç!Spotter>î fiÿÿÿfi Îÿÿÿ` Ç!Spotter>$ 8ÿÿÿP hÿÿÿa Ç8 ÿÿÿÿ $ ÿÿÿP 4ÿÿÿa ÇX ÿÿÿÿ $ °þÿÿP àþÿÿa Çn ÿÿÿÿ $ |þÿÿP ¬þÿÿa Ç™ ÿÿÿÿ ... to the !Spotter applicationby Stuart Martin 1993Start the application from theicon bar menu.“ ŷ þ Z ÿÿÿÿ ☓ üÿÿ = 0 — ÿÿÿÿ
°üÿÿò ýÿÿ=’Ç⇨ • J èþÿÿj ÿÿÿ a ‹ “ r3r3Local Time Offsetr1Local Time - UTCr100r2;A0-90r2;a0-900.00r2;a0-9.r3Tracking Stationsr1No. of stations:r1000r1Station Name 4567890r2Edit Configuration FileR1Modify Stationr1Delete Stationr1Add New Stationr1000r2Save & Exitr5Exitr5Resetr5+r2;A+-2
" “ ÿÿÿÿ ¿ Ìûÿÿð = 0 !Spotter>e þ ´ÿÿÿ
ðÿÿÿ Ǹ È 8 lÿÿÿ0 fiÿÿÿ ÇË Ù @ lÿÿÿ¼ fiÿÿÿñ Ü å <þÿÿØ Zÿÿÿ Çì í | ÿÿÿX Dÿÿÿ Çð ( Äþÿÿ< øþÿÿ Ç " B Äþÿÿ6 øþÿÿó % 1 ( …þÿÿ: Àþÿÿ Ç; L B ‰þÿÿ6 Àþÿÿó O [ ( Tþÿÿ: ⇦þÿÿ Çe v B Xþÿÿ6 ⇩þÿÿó y Ŷ L xþÿÿº Öþÿÿ ’w• ” zýÿÿØ .þÿÿ Ç— − fi äýÿÿ‹ þÿÿó † ¨ ( âýÿÿ“ þÿÿ Dz É „ýÿÿ¶ Òýÿÿ ’wÌ Ò JüÿÿØ jýÿÿ a ÇÕ Ö ¢ ýÿÿ< Zýÿÿ ÇÙ ï . ÔüÿÿÔ ýÿÿ Çò ú Ü ÖüÿÿÐ ýÿÿó ý . †üÿÿÔ Ðüÿÿ Ç Ü fiüÿÿÐ Ðüÿÿó & . düÿÿÔ —üÿÿ Ç0 8 Ü füÿÿÐ —üÿÿó ; E " ⇩üÿÿ‘ èüÿÿ ’wO U ¦ èûÿÿv 6üÿÿ=’ÇX d ~ èûÿÿN 6üÿÿ=’Çg n Add New Stationr1Station Name:r1None_setr2;A~ r3Geodetic Coordinates (WGS 72)r1Longitude (deg):r10.000000000r2;A--9~/Latitude (deg):r10.000000000r2;A--9~/Height (km):r10.000000000r2;A--9~/Applyr1r30.000000000r2;A--9~/Geocentric Lat. (deg):r1Applyr1r3Cartesian Coordinatesr1X (km):r10.0000000r2;A--9~/Y (km):r10.0000000r2;A--9~/Z (km):r10.0000000r2;A--9~/Applyr1Add Stationr5Cancelr5, h Ò : ÿÿÿÿ ŷ üÿÿ = 0 !Spotter>e Âþÿÿ“ êÿÿÿ Ç † zÿÿÿ ¬ÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿ † Dÿÿÿ vÿÿÿ Ç+ ÿÿÿÿ † ÿÿÿ @ÿÿÿ Ç@ ÿÿÿÿ d Bþÿÿ Œþÿÿ=’ÇR Z ŵ Bþÿÿ2 Œþÿÿ=’Ç] d r4Remove Station12345678901234567890From station listConfirmr5Cancelr5b  v ‰ ÿÿÿÿR ☓ 4ÿÿÿ = 0 Save as:e Ò Dÿÿÿ
Thanks go to Professor T.S. Kelso at the US Air Force Institute of
Technology, on whose documentation and FORTRAN implementation of the various
NORAD orbit models much of the orbit side of this application is based. Without
this information, this application would have been a lot longer in coming, and
the quality of the predictions may also have suffered.
This application was written using the Acorn C Compiler, version 3.2b, but
without any use of the standard RISC_OSLib modules, which unfortunately do not
live up to the high standard of the compiler. Instead, I used the excellent
DeskLib, which made this, my first large RISCOS project, that much easier.
Thanks are then due to the many authors of DeskLib: Jason Williams (DeskLib
moderator), Edouard Poor, Philip Banks, Tony Bryant, David Pilling, Keith
Marlow & John Winters.
Thanks also go to the users of earlier versions of this application, in
particular Carl Cepurneek & Mike Tullet, whose feedback and suggestions have
been very helpful. Just because some suggestions have not been included in this
release does not mean that I have forgotten about them, but merely that I
haven't had time to implement them yet !!
Final thanks go to the people on Usenet groups comp.sys.acorn, and
comp.sys.acorn.tech, many of whom have taken the time to answer my frequent
queries to these groups, that have enabled me to write this application. Keep
up the good work !!
Stuart Martin, 15th May 1993.
derWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks
Obtaining New Elements
======================
Most satellites being actively operated are occasionally required to perform
orbit correcting manoeuvres. This is particularly true of the sun-synchronous
satellites. Also, the orbit perturbations included in these (or any) orbit
models are approximations only, and so eventually predictions from these
elements will not be very accurate. This means that although I have included a
recent large set of elements with this distribution, you will eventually need
to update them. Generally speaking, elements that are less than a week old will
give you a prediction error of up to a few seconds, which is adequate for most
people.
There are several places where you can get hold of regular elements updates,
and the sources I am currently aware of are listed below. If you hear of any
other sources of elements, please let me know as I would like to keep this list
as complete as possible as an aid to users of !Spotter.
Anonymous FTP
-------------
This is available to anyone on the Internet, or to anyone who can access
any of the numerous FTP Email servers. FTP to archive.afit.af.mil
(129.92.1.66), and change to directory pub/space. An update of the list
provided in this distribution is held in file 'tle.new', but several subsets
of this file exist, and some of these are:
tle.vis - Visible satellites only
tle.gps - GPS satellites
tle.sts - Most recent shuttle elements only (only updated when
a shuttle mission is in progress)
tle.met - Meteorological satellites
These files are updated weekly.
NETNEWS
-------
The file tle.vis is posted weekly to NETNEWS groups sci.space.news and
rec.radio.amateur.misc, usually on a Friday afternoon. Shuttle elements,
are usually posted seperately prior to and during a shuttle mission.
BBS
---
The most recent NORAD two line elements are updated several times weekly
on the Celestial BBS, and so this is the place to go if you really need the
latest data. The number is +1 513 427-0674, and may be accessed 24 hours/day
at 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, or 9600 bps using 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no
parity. This is in the US, and so can work out expensive for regular updates.
Stuart Martin, 3rd April 1993.
ks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks As a service to the satellite user community, the following description of the
NORAD two-line orbital element set format is uploaded to sci.space and
rec.radio.amateur.misc on a monthly basis. The most current orbital elements
from the NORAD two-line element sets are carried on the Celestial BBS, (513)
427-0674, and are updated several times weekly. Documentation and tracking
software are also available on this system. The Celestial BBS may be accessed
24 hours/day at 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, or 9600 bps using 8 data bits, 1 stop
bit, no parity. In addition, element sets (updated weekly) and some
documentation and software are also available via anonymous ftp from
archive.afit.af.mil (129.92.1.66) in the directory pub/space.
ks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks WonderWorks DrawÉ Draw … t ª þ X ð? € ⇦ ¬ È j È j ÿÿÿÿ B È j È j È j È j È j È j È j È j È j È j È j È j È j ¬ t t ÿÿÿÿ B t t t t t t t t t t t t t X ª† ¾ ª† þ ÿÿÿ @ ª† Æ The Earth Centred Inertial (ECI) ¬ ùÿ ý+ ýõ ÷ ÿÿÿÿ B ûŷ E± øò ÞD ÞD ün D± ùÚ ¦ úÚ O. ün ¯Œ ÿ øò ûŷ °Œ þ N. þ ¥ ûŷ E± ¬ j û7 ýõ ⇩ ÿÿÿÿ Ý B 0 =ô vó O ó O 8p >ô |Ü -É {Ü Y◰ 7p IX ò 7- uó 8- 0 IX ì Y◰ ì -É 0 =ô L 1 Ü q ü ÿÿÿ 1 à The Equatorial Plane @ — ´ Ô ÿÿÿ — ¸ (0° Lat) D ‘z € ‘º ÿÿÿ @ ‘ŵ Reference Frame ¬ Û þ ë •G ÿÿÿÿ Ì B u£ ŷ´ ó* ¿ ID CO > ÖF 3ü p> ãØ Gï hQ „ éÉ Ï< “° Pû flT ¹ ®ø # ü L[ u£ ŷ´ d l ñ ÿÿÿÿ  l ñ Ì [ ø7 .„ ] ÿÿÿÿ  ²È 6â \1 *D Ù‹ 0 ¡f ’U k: ê¥ G’ È œ( f ò¿ 1 u^ *C «⇩ Èò ⶠm¢
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êi%,s$ ¸ ç ?star_ptr%<>13 … Â ?star_ptr%-=32 Ì s$=¤sget(star_ptr%) Ö i%=0 à õ ê i%+=1 ô( ý i%=Named_stars% ☓ Star$(i%)=s$ þ çStar$(i%)=s$ … i%=star%(i%) ' òshow_obj(Alt(i%),Azm(i%),s$) Ì &5 òerrorbox(240,"No star named "+s$+" Known") 0 Í : Í D $star_ptr%="" Ná X bÝòfind_const lêi%,s%,f%,s$ v òshow_const(¹) € ç ?const_ptr%<>13 … ⇩ ?const_ptr%-=32 “ s$=¤sget(const_ptr%) fi i%=0 ¨ õ ² i%+=1 ¼# ý i%=num_const ☓ CN$(i%)=s$ Æ çCN$(i%)=s$ … Ð s%=const%(i%) Ú f%=const%(i%+1) ä" õ:s%+=1:ýY%(s%)>0 ☓s%=f% î' òshow_obj(Alt(s%),Azm(s%),s$) ø Ì= òerrorbox(240,"No Constelation named "+s$+" Known") Í Í $const_ptr%=""*á4>Ýòshow_obj(alt,azm,n$)H
