Special Info

[Bruce MacPherson]

Can I get the user information and place that in a field during data entry.

If so the next step is can I do it if a record is modified.

Apparently the system(Alpha 5) I have set-up sucks. However I think I am being sabotaged by an angry employee. I want to track what is being done by whom to save the rep of A5.

Let me know please.

Note: I am not a real power user so be clear

Thanks alot

[JohnZaleski]

RE: Special Info

Bruce,
I don't know how you deal with users on your system. So I'll assume that the user ID is located in a global variable called userid. You could add a field to any Alpha table called user. In the on enter event of a form you could place an in line xbasic line of code that says:
user.value = var->userid.

If the userid is a global variable that is always present, I believe you could have a field rule for the user field with var->userid as a default. In either case you can make it invisible to your users but visble to you for later analysis.

[Alan Anthony]

RE: Special Info

There is a system variable "A_FIELD_VALUE" which is assigned in enter or change mode and is the value entered into a field before either the cursor leaves the field or the record is saved. You could save the the old info and the system variable in a different table along with the userid of employee. I am not a power user either, this is something I read.

[Jerry Hartness]

RE: Special Info

Bruce
I believe there is an article on Dr. Peter Waynes website
that has a program with the information you want.

www.learn alpha.com

Jerry

[Dan Blank]

RE: Special Info

One thing I do is to make everyone log on. The Name log on field is a global varable and the password is also a global variable. It searches the user table. If there is a match the user is able to see his/her menu choices.

Then in all my tables I have 6 additional fields:
UserE for user entered
UserChngd for user changed
DateE for date entered
DateChnged for date changed
TimeE for time entered
TimeChngd for time changed.

Then in Field rules the *E fields are assingned the default value of the global variable for thier logon on name, date, and time. For the *Chngd Fields they are calculated fields based on the global variable for thier logon on name, date, and time.

These all work in the back ground the user never sees them. Then when a user starts complaining I go look at that record and see who did what and when.

I had one employee who kept adding records to my inventory to make my inventory inaccurate. He got pretty embarassed when I pointed out what he did and previously denied it.

Hope this helps
Dan

[Peter.Greulich]

RE: Special Info

Dan,
That's pretty clever (or pretty sneaky - depending upon your point of view). I guess the one weakness in your method is that "UserChngd" only records the very last person to change a record. So there is always the slight danger of blaming the wrong person for the saboage. I suppose a fanatic could use the OnSave event to send your info to a special table to record changes and saves for all tables. Come to think of it, I guess there is a lot of ways to track what users do - for better or worse.

[Finian Lennon]

RE: Special Info

Hi Peter:

You don't need to be a fanatic ..... not long after we released the first version of our appointment scheduler we started getting calls from a particular client alleging that appointments were disappearing regularly from the scheduler. "The patient just showed up and there was no appointment in the scheduler ..."

Almost immediately I put in a separate table to record all deletions (coded for who, when, appointment details and nature of deletion. In the scheduler appointments are deleted (in a clear) or deleted and re-created (during modifications and reschedules) so it's important that we can determine how and why a record was deleted. We also have a table to separately record the details of all saved appointments, again with who when etc.

I wouldn't be able to sleep without those tables as they enable us, in the vast majority of cases, to clearly determine exactly what has transpired and show that, when an appointment disappears, it's usually because a user cleared it deliberately. However, without the table we'd have a hard time defending ourselves from careless or forgetful staff members or mischief makers.

BTW, those calls stopped right after the first time I was able to go back in and say "That appointment was cleard by you on .... at ...."

Finian

[Dan Blank]

RE: Special Info

Hi Peter:

You are correct about the records being changed more than once and maybe blaming the wrong person, however, in my case it was a person adding records to show my inventory greater than it was. So that is where the user entered field paid off. Also with inventory I sort of treat my main inventory file like a general ledger file. Additions and subtractions have to be made through a receiving module and a shipping module.

Another method of deducing changed records is with daily backups. When a problem surfaces you check the changes made against the back ups. Then through deducing you build a trail of all the changes.

As for deletions, the user can delete records, but only the database administrator can pack the tables. So the database gets backed and archived, up before it get packed. Then I can go back an undelete any records in the table. Again leaving myself away to build an audit trail.

Of course A5v5 will make the audit trail a lot more user friendly. That will be nice.

Dan

[CALocklin]

RE: Special Info

I get the feeling you really want to get the Windows user name. This would require using a Windows API call. I don't know if anyone on this board has ever fully implemented this. The closest I've seen can be found by searching for: (cut and paste this to the search box)

declarestruct gary smith

[csda1]

RE: Special Info

Cal,

I have tried a variety of user information API calls with varying results depending upon A5 version.

Ver 4.03 almost always fails (and once fails, requires a reboot to clear things it seems)
Ver 4.5 seems to work with some things, but still fails others
Ver 5.x seems to work all the time.

This includes things like the windows directory, System directory, Temporary directory, User name, Computer Name, and similar.

I have a DOS program that gets all this info (including the MAC address and workgroup) but there are issues calling the DOS program from A5 depending on which Win OS you are running.

Regards,

Ira J. Perlow
Computer Systems Design & Associates
[email protected]

[Finian Lennon]

RE: Special Info

The GetMachineName function available on www.learn alpha.com works consistently on Win NT and Win 2K so that might be a possibility also.

Finian

[Peter.Greulich]

RE: Special Info

Hello again Dan & Finian,

You both are right of course. Don't take my use of "fanatic" too seriously. I can appreciate the necessity of an audit trail. I've been lucky in my company - lots of honest mistakes and no saboteurs as of yet. But gradually, I am tighteneing up my application. I have been doing this part time for about 10-years, and finally I am learning the right way to build (im my case rebuild) an application. I wish I had learned from all of you about 5 or 6 years ago. My usual method in most endeavors is: Build it once, tear it apart, and rebuild it - this time the right way. Whew! Live & learn, if ever so slowly.

[whanigsberg]

RE: Special Info

Hi Finian,

I can't find it and I even remember reading it. Can you help?

Thanks,
Bill

[Finian Lennon]

RE: Special Info

Hi Bill:

I don't remember the name of the article but a search on DeclareStruct would probably find it.

In the meantime, here's the version (written by Peter Wayne) that I use:
'===========
function GetMachineName as C()
declarestruct text c255text
declarestruct length L1length
Declare kernel32 GetComputerNameA L(text)(length)
temp.text="" 'create a dot variable, or pointer, to text
len.length=255 ' do same with length
result=GetComputerNameA(temp,len) 'pass 2 pointers to GetComputerNameA
GetMachineName=temp.text
end function
'=========

so the line
name=GetMachineName()
will return the Computer name.

Finian

[JerryBrightbill]

RE: Special Info

Thanks Finian for the post.

I too have been looking for a copy of the function script. Just tried it on a computer running original version Win95 and it returns the correct value. I am also going to test it on other computers running Win98 and WinME to see if any problems occur.

It sure will be useful to easily track users in a networked app.

Jerry