Choosing multiple attributes for a record

[KDR]

I'm an A5v9 newbie, coming from . . . wait for it . . . Paradox for DOS. For the most part, things are going very well. (It probably helps that I looked into Delphi once or twice, though I never got too far in.) However, I'm trying to achieve something, and I'm stuck. I'm sure it's because of my PdoxDOS outlook on things.

Basically put, the application I'm developing is tracking high school exchange students. One of the things I need to keep in each student's record is the hobbies and sports that student is interested in. (This is to help match a student to a potential host family -- being able to search for a student interested in a particular hobby is a huge help.)

The various hobbies and sports are kept in a table with two fields -- one is the interest itself, and the second is the category (Sport, Musical, or Other) that the interest belongs to. A table is used because at least once a year we come across an interest or hobby we've never heard of before. It's much easier to simply add a record to a table than it is to re-design a form, etc.

In PdoxDOS, I had a child table that contained two fields -- the StudentID and the Interest. It was a 1:M relationship, with multiple interest records for each student ID.

I populated that child table by scanning (a Paradox function that iterates through every record in a table) the interests into a Dynamic Array (an array with an alpha index whose size can grow and shrink as necessary) and presenting the choices to users performing data entry in a dialog box. The users simply selected the appropriate interests, and the selected interests were then entered into individual records in the child table.

I'm not married to the idea of a child table in A5. It could just as easily be a memo field in the student record, with each interest enumerated, separated by commas. That's simply a structure question. (Though the child table might still be the best approach for querying on multiple interest matches.)

Where I'm falling down is how to present the choices to the user, and how to get those choices into either the student record or a child table.

Any pointers (including one liners to look at such-and-such a function) would be greatly appreciated.

[Al Buchholz]

Re: Choosing multiple attributes for a record

1. child table is a good idea
2. field rule table lookup to build and select the list

Look at Alphasports and the invoice line table and how items from the product list are chosen.

[KDR]

Re: Choosing multiple attributes for a record

Thanks, Al, I'll take a look at that as soon as I can.

[rmcgaffic]

Re: Choosing multiple attributes for a record

Al,

Is there any easier way to accomplish this than clicking on each line and selecting the interest from the Lookup list.

What I was hoping for was something like the following:

1. A browse on my form of all available interests with a checkbox beside the interest description.

2. The user would check those entires that pertained to the student

3. The child records would somehow be created.

Another way of doing this might be something like this:
Student_Id
Interest1 (Y/N)
Interest2 (Y/N)
Interest3 (Y/N)
etc.

This might reduce the storage space required, but my problem is that Alpha does not, to my knowledge, permit an inverted browse: that is one in which the columns become the rows, essentially creating a checklist.

I know this could be built by placing a type-in field for each interest on the form, but I was hoping for a way that would minimize form maintenance if the interests subsequently changed.

I am generally fairly happy with the Alpha Browse and even though ComponentOne offers an ActiveX control to do what I want, I am unwilling to give up Alpha's databinding.

So let me rephrase the issue: is there a easier way of creating a check list. I know that Alpha Five has a XDialog control:

Check Box-List Box Control

A check box-list box is a control type that displays a list of choices in a list box. Each entry has a check box to the left of the entry.   The user can select multiple entries in the list box by checking the check box for each entry that he wants to select.

The check box-list box control would be useful, for example, if you want to prompt the user for a list of fields in which to perform a search.

You can turn a list box into a check box-list box, by changing the '^#' directive to '^$', or '^$$'.

I would like the checkbox list box to appear on my form, not to be a dialog window which is what the code for the documentation illustrates. Can this be done on a desktop form without resorting to a dialog window?

I am also concerned that the check-box list box control is creating a text string either of TTT's and spaces or an enumeration of individual values such as Purple, Green, Yellow. Is there code to convert the values in this string to either child records or if a single parent record is used, make each T a Y, and each space a N in individual fields in the parent record.

Where have you seen this functionality before? The contact record for Microsoft's Outlook -- just click on the Categories button.

Bob McGaffic
Pittsburgh, PA

[reynolditpi]

Re: Choosing multiple attributes for a record

Wow...you guys just saved me a long drawn out explanation of what I need. I am looking to do the exact same thing Bob has explained above but in a different context.

Thanks for saving me some time:)!!!
Tony

[KDR]

Re: Choosing multiple attributes for a record

Bob:

YES! That's pretty much exactly what I was talking about. It's basically how I have it presented in PdoxDOS, though I think I have it where the user can simply select multiple items in a list (could be having memory fade, though, and I'm not at the office so I can't check the old app right now). I can't seem to figure out how to do something of this nature in Alpha Five.

[reynolditpi]

Re: Choosing multiple attributes for a record

I think I may have figured something out. I am playing with the embedded dialog supercontrol using a checkbox listbox. So far it does exactly what we are looking for. However, I have not done much with it yet so there will probably be some snags.

T

[rmcgaffic]

Re: Choosing multiple attributes for a record

Guys,

Here's another way to accomplish the same objective:

Your form displays two lists:

Available Interests
Baseball
Basketweaving
Football
Tennis

Selected interests
Soccer
Squash

Between the two lists are two buttons for < and for >. Come to think of it, make that four buttons:

<<
<
>
>>

The idea is that you click on an item in Column A, click on >, and it moves to column B.

You can also remove an item by selecting it from Column B, click on <, and it moves back to column A.

Surely this is a design pattern is doable using Alpha Five. Anyone have any code samples showing how this can be done.

For me, the issue is not simply writing a text variable string to a character or memo field, but parsing out those concatenated values into individual fields.

In other words, I may need to quickly find all students with an interest in Soccer. I don't want to do substring searches to find the word Soccer. Rather I want a logical field called Soccer or a child record with a value of Soccer.

Alpha's Check Box - List Box examples are great as is its ActionScript for Display an XDialog box, but they leave me hanging -- what am I supposed to do with the resulting text string.

Bob McGaffic
Pittsburgh, PA

PS: Here's a link to do this with Microsoft Access
http://www.tek-tips.com/faqs.cfm?fid=6326

Here are two methods to create the functionality similar to the form wizard where you can move selected items between list boxes, or move all items between list boxes.  

The first example uses a a class module the second uses a standard form module.  The class module only requires the user to write 6 lines of code because all functionality is encapsulated in the class.  The form module requires the user to include a new table and modify the list box rowsources.

The code works with multi column listboxes, multiselect listboxes, and list boxes built on a value list or query.

Does anyone know of XBasic code to do the same thing in the interest of not reinventing the wheel?

Here's another link from Microsoft itself, the code looks easier than the above.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/177117

[Tom Cone Jr]

Re: Choosing multiple attributes for a record

Here's an example I've cobbled together that assumes the selected "interests" have been obtained from the user and stored in a crlf-delimited string. The script "pop_child_recs" shows how to iterate through the string creating separate records for each interest. Hope this helps.

-- tom

[Al Buchholz]

Re: Choosing multiple attributes for a record

Here's an example I've cobbled together that assumes the selected "interests" have been obtained from the user and stored in a crlf-delimited string. The script "pop_child_recs" shows how to iterate through the string creating separate records for each interest. Hope this helps.

-- tom

Tom
Nice work (again) :D

[MikeC]

Re: Choosing multiple attributes for a record

Bob (and others),
I have seen "multiple" ways to do as you want, all provided in samples here on the messageboard....even the dual list box Bob referred to in his last post. I am out of time to even search my own help file in which I know I have these samples. Do a search for them. I will check back here later today and locate the ones I have if need be.

But yes Bob, "Surely this is a design pattern is doable using Alpha Five." And with a lot less code than that first Access link you provided.

Even a browse with a logical checkbox field for the "interests" would suffice I imagine. Bring up the Student wanted, Select one or more from the "Interests" browse and then assign the interests to the student....how to store these values is another issue, but as has been stated, even a memo field could be used.

[KDR]

Re: Choosing multiple attributes for a record

Mike,

I've been searching (advanced search) and I can't find the examples you mention. I'm probably not putting the correct criteria into the search.

I love the two-column approach, though checkboxes would be just as welcome.

I will keep searching, of course.

--Kevin

[rmcgaffic]

Re: Choosing multiple attributes for a record

Kevin,

I searched over my lunch hour and also came up with nothing. I did a good search on "move list box to list box" and came up with lots of hits for Microsoft Access. But nothing for Alpha Five on this forum or on the web.

But the same search on Google returned our thread!

Hopefully, some veteran user can suggest alternative search terms or links to these alternatives.

Bob McGaffic
Pittsburgh

[reynolditpi]

Re: Choosing multiple attributes for a record

I have found my solution (I think).

I wanted my users to be able to add custom search criteria for exercises. I have several programmed in such as "implement used" where they can check off the thing/s used during the exercise (dumbbells, physioball, for example)

So, I have set up 4 "user defined criteria" boxes (frames) in my criteria check box area. There are 10 checkboxes inside each frame area. Beside each checkbox I have a button I have formatted to look like underlined plain text (therefore it looks like a text label beside the checkbox.

I have created a table that stores the names of each custom search criteria.

I have created a separate record for each button in this table that contains a uid and the text to be displayed in the button.

When my exercise form loads, it fetches through the table containing the names for the user defined criteria and writes it to the text of each button.

If a user wants to change the "text/label" they click on it (since it is a button that looks like a label) and enter the new name. It then writes the new name to the button and changes the entry in the table containing the names for the custom search criteria.

I have also included a hotspot over the text in the frame that when clicked allows the user to change the text for the frame. This value is also stored in my custom search criteria table.

It appears to work well...for now.
T

[rmcgaffic]

Re: Choosing multiple attributes for a record

Tony,

A picture is worth a 1000 words. Your description would be easier to visualize with a screen print.

Thanks,

Bob McGaffic
Pittsburgh