FreshenBrowse Challenge

[Mick Magnuson]

RE: FreshenBrowse Challenge

Whoops. Worked great until I added Tom Patten. Tried to enter a new phone # and kinda messed up. Fix: Removed the script from Phones3 OnInit and added

if var->currphone=""
add.push()
end
end if
phones3.index_set("ByPhone")
topparent.find(currphone)
phonetype.activate()

to the OnArrive of the Add A New Number button. Also made that button the first tab stop. Seemed to settle it down a bit.

[tlyon]

RE: FreshenBrowse Challenge

I disqualified myself, since I would use the browses to enter and remove data directly without use of a popup form. I also would not use a set in this case, since to resynch the browse, a query is going to need to be run, as in Dr. Wayne's example. Lightning Optimization works on this 'set' of data and non-use of a set would not be noticeable in terms of performance. One other difference I see is that I would not delete any records from the browse. I would flag them for deletion, then use a maintenance utility to do the deletion when the indexes where not in use, such as I now do with my nightly maintenance routines on other databases.

Tom Lyon

[Tom Cone Jr]

RE: FreshenBrowse Challenge

Tom,

I agree that in some applications it makes sense to use the browse for data entry, if you will concede that in others it's too difficult.

I also wouldn't argue that using the set probably doesn't make much sense for telephones (though it's becoming difficult to decide how many to allocate for each contact, since we now have beepers, cell phones, fax phones, home phones, work phones, direct lines, switchboards, etc. and so on). In a sales order application however being able to simultaneously delete the row from the browse when an item is dropped from an invoice is usually regarded as essential.

As for the queries, I think maybe other contestants will enter the 'lists' to demonstrate techniques which do not require them.

-- tom

[tlyon]

RE: FreshenBrowse Challenge

Right..if you have 15 columns in a browse, that's not very efficient data entry. A couple or three, yes, that's where I see it as being more efficient.

As for deletion, I normally use a flag that removes the record from an index, then delete the flagged record permanently during maintenance. Maybe I am doing something wrong, but whenever I have deleted records it seems I have more index problems, too.

The set isn't really an issue, except it doesn't fit with my methods quite as handily in this case.

I too, am curious to see the various methods others will use to get the goldarn browse refresh thing to work.

Tom Lyon

[Peter.Wayne]

RE: FreshenBrowse Challenge

Tom,
I just didn't bother to do the second case (dialog form), "leaving it as an exercise for the reader", as my old college texts would say. I don't think it
is in principle any different from the non-dialog case. So tell Ignatious Pickypicky that he has to do a little work on his own!

As for the logic, the delete record doesn't require the
sys_send_keys() because I am deleting through a form-level
method (browse1.delete_record()), rather than deleting in the
"backgroun" through the table. Deleting with a form-level method
should not require the sys_send_keys(). In fact, the OnActivate
event doesn't fire for after the deletion. The OnActivate event fires
after the Phone1 form is closed when a record is added.

Actually, I think you must have dozed off a bit during the recent A5
conference, because I covered this problem during one of my talks.
Your example is very clean, though, and I hope it puts the refresh-browse
issue to rest.

The problem with refreshing the child browse is that A5 creates
a query on the fly to display the child records for the parent. When a new
record is added to a child table outside of the displayed form, it then
becomes necessary to force A5 to recreate the query, something it would
generally not do in the interests of efficiency. As you describe, the steps
I go through in the "Save" button in the Phone1 form force the form
to regenerate a query.

Now let's see if your friend Ignatius P. will finish the project for the
dialog form!
- Peter

P.S. For those who weren't at the recent Alpha Five conference,
Tom was presented with a special plaque for all his services on
behalf of the users of this support forum. I understand that he's
taken his law license off of his wall and replaced it with the
Alpha Five plaque. The cognoscenti know there are lots of lawyers
in--where is it, Tennessee? Florida? I forget where Tom is--but only
one recipient of the Alpha Five Developers' Appreciation Award. And no
one deserved it more than Tom.

[Tom Cone Jr]

RE: FreshenBrowse Challenge

Dr. Wayne,

Thanks for the kind words, I can't wait to show them to Ignatious A. Pickypicky, even though it's likely he'll think you couldn't possibly be talking about me!

Now, back to my nap!

-- tom

[Mick Magnuson]

RE: FreshenBrowse Challenge

Still didn't work. Screw it. I'll leave it for the big boys.

[Tom Cone Jr]

RE: FreshenBrowse Challenge

Here's a third approach, offered to supplement the ideas already posted by Dr. Wayne and Steve Dentler. It's considerably less elegant, but seems to work ok. Hope it's of use.

-- tom cone

[Peter.Wayne]

RE: FreshenBrowse Challenge

Tom,
Ignatius must have been away when you posted the last solution. Your
solution works for the first 2 phone numbers in a browse but fails for
the 3rd, 4th, etc.
The code I submitted works in all cases (I know, I've been using
similar code in my office for over a year).
An alternative solution to the "add" button would be
to add directly in the browse and then edit in the form.
If I have time tonight I'll post that one. It's easier to
follow than the query manipulations I posted before.
Regards to you and Ignatius,
Peter

[Tom Cone Jr]

RE: FreshenBrowse Challenge

Thanks, you've given me something I can finally use to get Ignatius's attention. He promises to take a look soon.

In the meantime, you might want to check Steve Dentler's suggested approach. It resembles what you describe as an alternate to the query update solution.

-- tom

[Tom Cone Jr]

RE: FreshenBrowse Challenge

Dr. Wayne,

Ignatius tells me that he has discovered is 'first ever' mistake! Apparently the Save Edits button on the dialog form, Phones2, used an action script which closed that window before saving the record. If the order of the command statements in the Save Edits script is reversed, Pickypicky thinks his brute force approach will work in all cases.

-- tom

[Steve Dentler]

RE: FreshenBrowse Challenge

Tom,
I thought you might enjoy one more approach. Try the popup method.

[Tom Cone Jr]

RE: FreshenBrowse Challenge

Dr. Wayne,

Boy, has Pickypicky been grouchy. He sees that his earlier offering (Brute Force Approach) seems to work just fine except with called dialog forms. He's been fuming and stewing and downright tough to live with! Finally, this morning he's come up with a revised brute force approach which he thinks will pass muster.

-- tom

[tlyon]

RE: FreshenBrowse Challenge

I have no idea who's version i modified, but here is my entry. I paid no attention to preserving the record pointer after adding/editing a record. My main concern was refreshing the browse properly. I made several basic changes, inculding the set relationship (it's still a set, just modified), converted the dialog forms to popup forms and required an entry in the phonetype field for reasons I presume will be self-evident.

There are some serious flaws in my design, but since the main objective is browse refreshing, I let most things slide.

Tom Lyon

[Edward F. Schulz]

RE: FreshenBrowse Challenge

Hi Guys,
I have found that going from the form with the browse on will refresh
the browse everytime if you first switch to design modem than back to
form view. Is their a way to do this in xbasic?
efs