Getting the most out of the
Visual DataFlex 9 Sample Applications

A Data Access Worldwide White Paper
by Dennis Piccioni

August 28, 2002
Last Edited: April 10, 2003

Visual DataFlex 9.0 comes with more up-to-date sample applications than any previous version of Visual DataFlex (VDF). These sample applications demonstrate many useful features and methods that developers want to incorporate into their applications. This paper tells you where in the samples specific features and techniques are used. Some of the techniques described here are new to revision 9.0.

Contents

This paper is divided into 2 main sections, each of which contains mostly the same information, but it is organized in different ways.

1. How Do I?

This section breaks down the samples by specific features used in the Visual DataFlex Samples and points you to the places in the samples that the feature is demonstrated.

• Feature List
• Sample Technique Details (explanations and locations of features used in samples)

2. Samples Overview

This section lists each of the Visual DataFlex Samples and explains what features and techniques are demonstrated in that sample.

• Additional Reading
• Contacting Data Access Worldwide

1. How Do I?

Feature List

Click on the link below to see details on where in the VDF 9.0 samples any particular technique or feature is used.

ActiveX

• Calendar control
• Internet Explorer control
• Media Player

Coding

• Hungarian notation
• Short object referencing & object neighborhoods

Database

• Auto Incrementing
• Custom Save & Delete Confirmation
• Database API
• Dynamic Constraints
• Form View for Single Data File
• Form View with Related Data Files
• Form View with Related Tables and a non-related "suggestion" Data File
• dbGrid with Additional DEO Control to Display Extra Row Information
• Index, creating dynamically
• Simple Validation
• Data file, creating dynamically
• Validate_Save
• View with Child Table
• Updating order totals during data entry and update/backout

Data-Aware Controls & Classes

• dbComboForm
• dbEdit
• dbForm
• dbGrid
• dbList with CheckBoxes
• dbSpinForm
• dbTabDialog
• dbTabDialogView

Email & Internet

• FTP: cFTPTransfer
• MAPI

Menus & Toolbars

• Custom menus
• Custom cToolbar

Non-Data-Aware Controls & Classes

• Set (Array subclass)
• Grid
• ImageList
• OpenDialog
• Radio, RadioGroup
• TabDialog
• TreeView
• SaveAsDialog

Reporting

• BasicReport reports
• Crystal Reports reports
• WinPrint reports

Miscellaneous Topics

• Anchors for resizing components
• BusinessProcess Object (BPO)
• Combining Workspaces
• Embedded resources
• Embedded SQL
• Errors
• Help: Windows Help
• OEM to Ansi conversion
• Password_State
• Status Panel
• XML

Sample Technique Details

This section details the use of specific features and techniques in the VDF samples.

• Each broad section is divided into subtopics that discuss where a particular feature is shown in the Visual DataFlex samples.

• Each sub-topic starts with an entry like this showing you how to access the example:

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: Customer Entry view

where:

Workspace: the workspace name: open in VDF IDE using File > Select Workspace
Component: the component name: open in VDF IDE using File > Open Component

• If necessary, an explanation is added to the subtopic. If no explanation is given, the code or documentation of it, such as comments in the code, is assumed to be self-explanatory.

• ActiveX

• Calendar control

Workspace: Cool Stuff > COMSamples workspace
Component: 'Calendar Popup Example (non-data aware)' view

• Demonstrates calendar popup ActiveX control using a non-synchronized prompt and a synchronized prompt.
• To see an HTML explanation page for the ActiveX samples, run the application, open the Internet Explorer Sample view and click the Sample Info button.

Workspace: Cool Stuff > COMSamples workspace
Component: 'Order Entry w/ data aware Calendar contr' view

• Demo of Order Entry View with embedded data-aware Calendar ActiveX control.

• Internet Explorer control

Workspace: Cool Stuff > COMSamples workspace
Component: 'Internet Explorer Sample' view

• Demo of Internet Explorer ActiveX control.
• To see an HTML explanation page for the ActiveX samples, run the application, open the Internet Explorer Sample view and click the Sample Info button.

• Media Player

Workspace: Cool Stuff > COMSamples workspace
Component: 'Media Player' view

• Demo of Windows Media Player ActiveX control.
• Shows use of custom toolbar for a view.
• To see an HTML explanation page for the ActiveX samples, run the application, open the Internet Explorer Sample view and click the Sample Info button.

• Coding

• Hungarian Notation

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: All programs, views and other components

• All object, class, variable and property names in Order use Hungarian notation.

• Short Object Referencing & Object Neighborhoods

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: All programs, views and other components

• All object references no longer use the Self syntax.
• Object Neighborhoods (order): object referencing is simplified via the use of object neighborhoods.

• Database

• Auto Incrementing

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: DataDictionaries

• Customer, Vendor, OrderHea, & other data files have auto incremented unique numeric ids that are auto-incremented from a system file. These are incremented in Database Builder under Field Settings > Other > Auto Increment.
• Order Header DataDictionary decrements auto-incremented field (OrderHea.Order_Number) in Procedure Deleting if system file counter is equal to last order number.

• Custom Save & Delete Confirmation

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Order Entry' view

• Custom save and delete confirmations are coded in these following functions in oOrderEntryView:
  • Function Confirm_Delete_Order
  • Function Confirm_Save_Order

• Database API

Workspace: Cool Stuff > DataDefinition
Component: All

• This sample application contains sample code to go along with the Data Definition in VDF white paper. Please read this white paper for detailed information on this topic.

Workspace: Utilities > Conv2000
Component: 'Conversion' View

• Uses DataFlex API to determine number of records in data file, which fields are of type date.

• Dynamic Constraints

Workspace: Sample Applications > Contact
Component: 'Contacts' view

• Allows user to dynamically toggle constraint on or off using Radios.

• Form View for Single Data File

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Customer Entry View' view

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Sales Person Entry View' view

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Vendor Entry View' view

• Form View with Related Data Files

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Inventory Item View' view

• Form View with Related Data Files and a non-related "suggestion" Data File

Workspace: Sample Applications > Wines
Component: 'Wine Entry' view

• dbGrid with Additional DEO Control to Display Extra Row Information

Workspace: Sample Applications > Contact
Component: 'Contacts' view

• The 'Call Notes' dbEdit has same server as the 'Call Detail' dbGrid. It shows notes for the currently active record in the 'Call Detail' dbGrid.

• Index, creating dynamically

Workspace: Cool Stuff > Embedded SQL
Component: All

• This sample application contains sample code that works with any Connectivity Kit that supports Embedded SQL. Please read the Embedded SQL User's Guide for detailed information on this topic.

• Simple Validation

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: Vendor DataDictionary

• Vendor DataDictionary uses simple validation for Vendor.State field.

• Data File, creating dynamically

Workspace: Cool Stuff > DataDefinition
Component: All

• This sample application contains sample code to go along with the Data Definition in VDF white paper. Please read this white paper for detailed information on this topic.

• Validate_Save

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: Inventory DataDictionary

• Checks for inventory stock during Validate_Save.

• View with Child Table

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Order Entry' view

• The Order Entry view has order (OrderHea) information at the top and a dbGrid for order detail items (oOrderDtl_Grid) at the bottom. What makes this a true "child table" is that you cannot enter into oOrderDtl_Grid unless a OrderHea record is saved. This is enforced by the following code:
  • Child_Table_State is True in oOrderDtl_Grid
  • Function Child_Entering in oOrderDtl_Grid
  • Function Save_Header in oOrderEntryView

Workspace: Sample Applications > Contact
Component: 'Contacts' view

• Demonstrates 2 detail dbGrids from 2 separate child data files in header/detail scenario.

• Updating order totals during data entry and update/backout

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: OrderDtl DataDictionary

• During order detail entry, totals are dynamically adjusted by Procedure Adjust_Display_Total, which is called as Field_Exit_msg from OrderDtl.Price and OrderDtl.Qty_Ordered.
  • See the Methods tab of Database Builder to view the code for Procedure Adjust_Display_Total
  • See Database Builder > Field Settings > Other > Exit Method for OrderDtl.Price and OrderDtl.Qty_Ordered

• Data-Aware Controls & Classes

• dbComboForm

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Order Entry' view

• dbEdit

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Customer Entry' view

• dbEdit for Customer.Comments on Comments dbTabPage.

Workspace: Sample Applications > Contact
Component: 'Contacts' view

• The 'Call Notes' dbEdit has same server as the 'Call Detail' dbGrid. It shows notes for the currently active record in the 'Call Detail' dbGrid.

• dbForm

• Almost every sample application contains dbForms, the most frequently used data-aware control.

• dbGrid

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Order Entry' view

• See View with Child Table section

Workspace: Sample Applications > Contact
Component: 'Contacts' view

• See View with Child Table section

• dbList with CheckBoxes

Workspace: Sample Applications > Wine
Component: 'Available Wines' lookup

• dbSpinForm

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Order Entry' view

• dbTabDialog

Workspace: Sample Applications > Wine
Component: 'Wine Entry' view

• dbTabDialogView

Workspace: Sample Applications > Wine
Component: 'Wine Maintenance' view

• Uses dbTabDialogView with separate DDOs for each dbTabView.

• Email & Internet

• FTP: cFTPTransfer

Workspace: Cool Stuff > InetTransfer Sample Application
Component: All

• The Download a File from an FTP Server view is a complete view for downloading files from an FTP site.
• The Upload a File to an FTP Server view is a complete view for uploading files to an FTP site.

• MAPI

Workspace: Cool Stuff > MAPI
Component: All

• Contains 2 programs:
  • New Mapi Sample: full MAPI sample application.
  • ComposeMessage: shows how to send a MAPI email message without a user interface.
• Has 6 custom classes that are added to the IDE Controls Palette on MAPI tab page.
• Included Order Sample Customer Entry view with email enhancements.

• Menus & Toolbars

• Custom menus

Workspace: Sample Applications > Wine
Component: Wines.mn

Workspace: Sample Applications > Wine
Component: NewMapi.mn

• Custom cToolbar

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: OrderToolbar.pkg

• Custom toolbar with popup menu (DFBaseEditPullDown) for views.

• Non-Data-Aware Controls & Classes

• Set (Array subclass)

Workspace: Utilities > Conv2000
Component: 'Conversion' view

• Uses Sets for list of selected data files and list of fields in current data file that are of type date.

• Grid

Workspace: Utilities > Conv2000
Component: 'Conversion' view

• ImageList

Workspace: Sample Applications > Wine
Component: 'Wines Entry' view

• ImageList for icons to use on tab buttons of dbTabPages.

• OpenDialog

Workspace: Cool Stuff > InetTransfer Sample Application
Component: 'Upload File to FTP Server' view

• Radio, RadioGroup

Workspace: Sample Applications > Contact
Component: 'Contacts' view

Most reports use Radios and RadioGroups for selection criteria. See the Reporting section for details.

• TabDialog

Workspace: Sample Applications > Contact
Component: 'Contacts Maintenance' report view

• TreeView

Workspace: Cool Stuff > OrgTreeView
Component: 'Organization TreeView' view

• Demonstrates a database-connected TreeView.
• Most methods have elaborate comments explaining what they do.

• SaveAsDialog

Workspace: Cool Stuff > InetTransfer Sample Application
Component: 'Download File from FTP Server' view

• Reporting

• BasicReport reports

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Customer Listing (Basic Report)' report view

• Uses selection criteria for output to screen or printer and ordering by customer number or name (using Radios in a RadioGroup).

• Crystal Reports reports

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Print Orders (Crystal)' report view

• Uses selection criteria for output to screen or printer (using Radios in a RadioGroup).

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Print Orders by Customer' report view

• Uses selection criteria for choosing to print detail or summary (using Radios in a RadioGroup).

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Standard Customer Listing (Crystal)' report view

• Very complex Crystal Reports sample report view.
• Uses selection criteria for:
  • Sort by customer number or name (using Radios in a RadioGroup), in ascending or descending order (using a CheckBox).
  • Output to window, printer, file or email (using Radios in a RadioGroup).
  • Limit customer numbers (choose starting & ending).
  • Limit customer names (choose starting & ending).
  • Export to a specified file name and choose an output format for the file ("Word for Windows", "Excel 2.1", "Excel 3.0", "Excel 4.0", "Excel 5.0", "Rich Text", "Text", "Record Style", "Comma Separated", "Data Interchange Format (DIF)").

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Crystal Report Info' report view & 'Crystal Report preview in DF Dialog' report view

These are 2 ReportViews that are not compiled into the Order Sample application, which do some very cool stuff:

• Crystal Report Info - allows dynamic choosing of any Crystal Reports report and analyzes it to display the report's Selections, Sort Order and Formulas.
• Crystal Report preview in DF Dialog - allows dynamic choosing, running, previewing, resizing and exporting of any Crystal Reports report.

Workspace: Sample Applications > Wine
Component: 'Wine Reports' report view

• Uses selection criteria for choosing report type (using Radios in a RadioGroup), which actually chooses among 2 different reports to print.
• Uses selection criteria for choosing print mode (using Radios in a RadioGroup): List All Wines, List only Unopened, List only Opened.

• WinPrint reports

  Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
  Component: 'Customer Listing (WinPrint)' report view

• Uses selection criteria for:
  • Output to screen or printer (using Radios in a RadioGroup).
  • Ordering by customer number or name (using Radios in a RadioGroup).
• Has button for Printer Setup.

Workspace: Sample Applications > Contact
Component: 'Contacts List (from Wizard)' report view

• This is a sample view created entirely using the IDE Report Wizard.
• Uses selection criteria for:
  • Output to screen or printer.
  • Limit contacts last names (choose starting & ending).
  • Limit contacts by company (choose starting & ending).
  • Limit contacts by status (choose starting & ending).

Workspace: Sample Applications > Contact
Component: 'List Contacts (Summary)' report view

• Uses selection criteria for:
  • Output to screen or printer (using Radios in a RadioGroup).
  • Limit contacts last names (choose starting & ending).
  • Limit contacts by company (choose starting & ending).
  • Limit contacts by status (using Radios in a RadioGroup).
  • Choose output sort order (using Radios in a RadioGroup).

Workspace: Sample Applications > Contact
Component: 'List Contacts (Detail)' report view

• Uses selection criteria for:
  • Output to screen or printer (using Radios in a RadioGroup).
  • Limit contacts last names (choose starting & ending).
  • Limit contacts by company (choose starting & ending).
  • Limit contacts by status (using Radios in a RadioGroup).
  • Choose output sort order (using Radios in a RadioGroup).
• Uses a CheckBox for choosing to create a new page for each contact (page break).

• Miscellaneous Topics

• Anchors for resizing components

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: All

• Most components in this sample are resizable via anchors as appropriate.

• BusinessProcess Object (BPO)

Workspace: Sample Applications > Contact
Component: 'Contacts Maintenance' report view

• Uses a BPO to import data from a text file and writes status data to statlog data file during processing.
• Uses a BPO to delete duplicate records from contacts data file and writes status data to statlog data file during processing.

• Combining Workspaces

Workspace: Sample Applications > Big
Component: All

• Demonstrates how to combine application components from different workspaces into a single application.
• Creates a larger single application from several: Order, Contacts, Wines.
• Uses single filelist with data files from all 3 applications included.
• Custom menu, combines views and reports from all 3 applications.

• Embedded resources

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Order Entry Sample Application' program

• Uses multiple bitmaps as embedded resources. These can be seen by opening the program in the IDE, then clicking on the Application Properties button below the program outline and clicking on the Bitmaps tab page.
• The embedded bitmaps are used on the program toolbar and the Help > About dialog.

Workspace: Sample Applications > Wine
Component: 'Wines Program' program

• Uses multiple icons and bitmaps as embedded resources. These can be seen by opening the program in the IDE, then clicking on the Application Properties button below the program outline and clicking on the Icons and Bitmaps tab pages.
• The embedded bitmaps are used on the program toolbar and the Help > About dialog.
• Each individual view uses a specific icon by setting its Icon property to one of the embedded icons (e.g. Wine.ico).

• Embedded SQL

Workspace: Cool Stuff > Embedded SQL
Component: All

• This sample application contains sample code that works with any Connectivity Kit that supports Embedded SQL. Please read the Embedded SQL User's Guide for detailed information on this topic.

• Errors

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: 'Order' view

• Generic Errors: Specific error numbers in code were replaced with generic errors.
• See Function Save_Header in oOrderEntryView.

• Help: Windows Help

Workspace: Sample Applications > Order
Component: All views

• Has a WinHelp help file
• Has customized Help_Ids.inc file.
• Uses Help Id's from Help_Ids.inc to pop up specific help topics for each view.

• OEM to Ansi conversion

Workspace: Utilities > VDFOEMAnsi
Component: 'OEM Ansi Converter' dialog

• This is the source code for the OEM Ansi Wizard available from the Database Builder Database menu. You may view and analyze this code at will, however, the code is not extensively documented and not supported by DAW technical support.

• Password_State

Workspace: Cool Stuff > InetTransfer Sample Application
Component: 'Upload File to FTP Server' view

• The oPassword_fm Form control has the password state set to True to mask the user password with asterisk characters (*).

• Status Panel

Workspace: Cool Stuff > DataDefinition
Component: 'Sentinel for Database API Sample' program

• This program is a customized Status Panel (Sentinel) program with a ProgressBar control.

Workspace: Cool Stuff > InetTransfer Sample Application
Component: 'Sentinel for InetTransfer Sample' program

• This program is a customized Status Panel (Sentinel) program.

• XML

Workspace: Cool Stuff > XML-Sample
Component: All

• Sample with 5 different views with an IE ActiveX control demonstrating different XML techniques.
• Each view has a "What does this sample do?" button that opens an HTML document that explains what the view does in detail.
• The code in each view is commented well.
• The following topics are shown in the 5 sample views:
  • Basic XML parsing.
  • Writing data from a DataDictionary object (DDO) to an XML document.
  • Reading XML document.
  • Writing data from one or multiple data files to an XML document.
  • Basic XSL transformation of an XML document and displaying it as an HTML document.

2. Samples Overview

List of Samples (click on a link to go to information about that sample)

Our samples are currently divided into 3 groups of workspaces:

• Cool Stuff
  • COMSamples
  • DataDefinition
  • Embedded SQL
  • INetTransfer
  • MAPI
  • OrgTreeView
  • XML-Sample
• Sample Applications
• Order Entry
• Wines
• Contacts
• Big
• Utilities
  • CodeMnt
  • Conv2000
  • VDFOEMAnsi

• Cool Stuff

COMSamples

General

• Demonstrates use of different ActiveX controls.
• To see an HTML explanation page for the ActiveX samples, run the application, open the Internet Explorer Sample view and click the Sample Info button.

Views

'Calendar Popup Example (non-data aware)' view

• Demonstrates calendar popup ActiveX control using a non-synchronized prompt and a synchronized prompt.
• To see an HTML explanation page for the ActiveX samples, run the application, open the Internet Explorer Sample view and click the Sample Info button.

'Order Entry w/ data aware Calendar contr' view

• Nice demo of Order Entry View with embedded data-aware Calendar ActiveX control.
• To see an HTML explanation page for the ActiveX samples, run the application, open the Internet Explorer Sample view and click the Sample Info button.

'Media Player' view

• Demo of Windows Media Player ActiveX control.
• To see an HTML explanation page for the ActiveX samples, run the application, open the Internet Explorer Sample view and click the Sample Info button.
• Shows use of custom toolbar for a view.

'Internet Explorer Sample' view

• Demo of Internet Explorer ActiveX control.
• To see an HTML explanation page for the ActiveX samples, run the application, open the Internet Explorer Sample view and click the Sample Info button.

DataDefinition

General

• This sample application contains sample code to go along with the Data Definition in VDF white paper. Please read this white paper for detailed information on this topic.

Embedded SQL

General

• This sample application contains sample code that works with any Connectivity Kit that supports Embedded SQL. Please read the Embedded SQL User's Guide for detailed information on this topic.
• Demonstrates really cool SQL stuff, like creating indexes on the fly, etc..
• Includes customized Status Panel (Sentinel) program with ProgressBar control ('Sentinel for Database API Sample' program).

INetTransfer

General

• Shows how to upload and download files from and to FTP servers.
• Includes customized Status Panel (Sentinel) program.
• cFtpTransfer and cHttpTransfer are added to the IDE Controls Palette on Internet tab page.
• Uses OpenDialog and SaveAsDialog controls.
• Demonstrates Form control with Password_State set to True.

MAPI

General

• Contains 2 programs:
  • New Mapi Sample: full MAPI sample application.
  • ComposeMessage: shows how to send a MAPI email message without a user interface.
• Has 6 custom classes that are added to the IDE Controls Palette on MAPI tab page.
• Included Order Sample Customer Entry view with email enhancements.

OrgTreeView

General

• Demonstrates a database-connected TreeView.
• Most methods have elaborate comments explaining what they do.

XML-Sample

General

• Sample with 5 different views with an IE ActiveX control demonstrating different XML techniques.
• Each view has a "What does this sample do?" button that opens an HTML document that explains what the view does in detail.

Views

Basic XML 1

• Basic XML Parsing.

Basic XML 2

• Writes data from a DDO to an XML document.

Basic XML 3

• Reads XML document creates in Basic XML 2.

Basic XML 4

• Writes data from one or multiple data files to an XML document.

Basic XML 5

• Basic XSL transformation of an XML document and displays it as an HTML document.

• Sample Applications

Order Entry

General

• Most components are resizable via anchors as appropriate.
• All syntax and object-naming conventions are updated to VDF 9.0 level.
• Custom toolbar (cToolbar with popup menu (DFBaseEditPullDown) for views).
• Auto generated menus.
• All lookup lists have
  • pbHeaderTogglesDirection True
  • Auto_Server_State False
  • Auto_Index_State True
• Has custom program icon.
• Code is well commented.

Help

• Has a WinHelp help file.
• Has customized Help_Ids.inc file.
• Uses Help Id's from Help_Ids.inc to pop up specific help topics for each view.

Views

'Order Entry' view

• Header/detail type of view
  • child_table_state set to true
  • child_entering
• Enabling/disabling of buttons and DEOs based on having a record found or not.
• Spin button in dbGrid.
• Custom confirm methods for save & delete.
• Printing of current order from view.
• dbSpinForm and dbComboForm controls.

'Customer Entry View' view

• Shows tab dialogs.

'Inventory Item View' view

• Shows 2 related, but unconstrained data files in non-dbGrid form (as opposed to header/dbGrid form like Order Entry).

Data Dictionaries

Order Header DD

• Defaults date.
• Decrements auto-increment field if sysfile eq last order number in Deleting.

Order Detail DD

• Maintains totals in Update/Backout.
• Maintains and adjust totals and prices during entry.

Inventory DD

• Checks for inventory stock during Validate_Save.

Vendor DD

• Simple validation for states.

Reports

• Uses all 3 report types: BasicReport, WinPrint and Crystal.

• There are 2 ReportViews that are not compiled into the Order Sample app, which show some cool stuff:
  • Crystal Report Info - allows dynamic choosing of any Crystal Reports report and analyzes it to display the report's Selections, Sort Order and Formulas.
  • Crystal Report preview in DF Dialog - allows dynamic choosing, running, previewing, resizing and exporting of any Crystal Reports report.

Wines

General

• Uses multiple icons as embedded resources.
• Custom menu, instead of auto generated menus (nothing fancy, just a plain menu).
• Has custom program icon.
• Available Wines lookup list uses checkboxes.
• Contains a data file that is not related to any other file in the application. This file is used in a non relational way to provide a list of suggestions for another field.

Views

'Wines Entry' view

• Header/detail type of view using a dbTabDialog to show details.
• dbTabPages have icons on tab buttons.
• ImageList for icons to use on dbTabPages.
• Shows how to use a selection-list in a non-relational manner. The same list will also be used relationally in the Maintenance view.

'Wines Maintenance' view

• Uses dbTabDialogView with separate DDOs for each dbTabView.

Reports

'Wine Reports' report view

• Crystal Reports report with selection criteria.

Contacts

General

• Has custom program icon.
• Custom toolbar with really big buttons (the button text is beneath its image, making it larger).
• Custom menu with separate pulldown menus for Maintenance and Reports.
• Select Contact lookup list uses checkboxes.

Views

'Contacts' view

• Demonstrates 2 detail dbGrids from 2 separate child data files in header/detail scenario.
• Uses dbEdit connected to same server as call detail records that shows notes for the current record in the dbGrid.
• Shows use of non-data-aware radios (in RadioGroup).
• Allows user to dynamically toggle constraint on or off using radios.

'Contacts Maintenance' view

• Uses non-data-aware TabDialogs.
• Uses BusinessProcess object (BPO) to import data from a text file and writes status data to statlog data file during processing.
• Uses BusinessProcess object (BPO) to delete duplicate records from contacts data file and writes status data to statlog data file during processing.

Data Dictionaries

Calls DD

• Defaults date.

Reports

'List Contacts (Summary)' report view

• Winprint report with 3 different sets of possible constraints that can be toggled by selecting records from lookup lists or toggling radios.
• Has set of radios for selecting report sort order.

'List Contacts (Detail)' report view

• Winprint report with 4 different sets of possible constraints that can be toggled by selecting records from lookup lists or toggling radios.
• Has set of radios for selecting report sort order.
• Has checkbox for page break for each contact.

Big

General

• Demonstrates how to combine application components from different workspaces into a single application.
• Creates a larger single application from several: Order, Contacts, Wines.
• Uses single filelist with data files from all 3 applications included.
• Custom menu, combines views and reports from all 3 applications.

• Utilities

CodeMnt

General

• This is the Code Maintenance utility to maintain the CodeMast and CodeType data files.
• Shows how to change workspaces, including calling the workspace selector (uses pre-VDF 8 code for doing this).

Conv2000

General

• This is the Conv2000 utility that was used to convert dates with 2-digit years to 4-digit years.
• Shows how to change workspaces, including calling the workspace selector.
• Has custom class for writing to a log file.
• Uses non-data-aware Grid control to display data files in filelist of selected workspace.
• Shows how to select items in a Grid, including selecting and deselecting all rows.
• Uses DataFlex API to determine number of records in data file, which fields are of type date.
• Uses vfind commend to loop through records of data files.
• Uses get_Field_Value and set_Field_Value to change data in date fields.
• Uses arrays (Sets) for list of selected data files and list of fields in current data file that are date fields.

VDFOEMAnsi

General

• Wizard that allows you to choose any workspace to convert data from OEM to ANSI and vise versa.

Terms

1. Hungarian Notation: Hungarian notation is a set of detailed guidelines for naming identifiers such as types and variables. The convention is widely used in many programming languages, especially in Windows programming. Hungarian Notation was first developed by Charles Simonyi at Microsoft Corporation. The link below is to a reprint of Simonyi's original publication describing Hungarian Notation in the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Visual Studio documentation.
   
   MSDN Library, Visual Studio (General), Technical Articles: Hungarian Notation
   URL=http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnvsgen/html/hunganotat.asp

Additional Reading

• You may want to check for an updated version of this white paper on our Web site from time to time. Our white papers are continually updated as new and updated information becomes available. For those papers, the Last Edited date is always listed at the top of the paper.

• Data Definition in Visual DataFlex, White Paper, Data Access Nederland, December 17, 1998, Location: http://www.dataaccess.com/WhitePapers.

• The Visual DataFlex Help.

• Embedded SQL User's Guide, Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF) document, installed with any DAW Connectivity Kit that supports Embedded SQL, such as the ODBC Connectivity Kit or the Microsoft SQL Connectivity Kit. Visit the download section of the Data Access Worldwide web site to download any of our Connectivity Kits.

• Visit the Visual DataFlex Home page on our Web site to learn more about Visual DataFlex.

• Visit the Data Access Worldwide Support Home page for information about all of our support offerings, including free support offerings, such as the Technical Knowledge Base, White Papers and Peer Support Newsgroups: http://www.dataaccess.com/support.

Contacting Data Access Worldwide

Data Access Worldwide
14000 SW 119 Ave
Miami, FL 33186
305-238-0012
Domestic Sales: 800-451-3539
Fax: 305-238-0017
email: sales@dataaccess.com
Newsgroup Server: news.dataaccess.com
Internet: http://www.dataaccess.com

Data Access Worldwide - Europe
Lansinkesweg 4
7553 AE Hengelo
The Netherlands
Telephone: +31 (0)74 - 255 56 09
Fax: +31 (0)74 - 250 34 66
Sales: info@dataaccess.nl
Support: support@dataaccess.nl
Internet: http://www.dataaccess.nl

Data Access Technical Support
800-451-3539 / 305-232-3142
email: support@dataaccess.com
Visit our Support Home page to see all of our Support options: http://www.dataaccess.com/support

Data Access Technical Knowledge Base    http://www.dataaccess.com/kbase
Many answers to technical problems can be found online in the Data Access Technical Knowledge Base. Here, you can access the same live data that Data Access Worldwide technical support and development staff use to enter and track technical articles. 

Copyright Notice
This document is property of Data Access Corporation. With credit to Data Access Corporation for its authorship, you are encouraged to reproduce this information in any format either on paper or electronically, in whole or in part. You may publish this paper as a stand alone document within your own publications conditional on the maintenance of the intent, context, and integrity of the material as it is presented here.

DataFlex is a registered trademark of Data Access Corporation.

NO LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall Data Access Corporation be liable for any special, incidental, indirect, or consequential damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or any other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use of or inability to use any information provided in this document, even if Data Access Corporation has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Because some states and jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above limitation may not apply to you.