Adding a file to a contral panel

[BDennis]

When I try to add a file, or a number of files, to a control panel I cannot do it.
I have an empty control panel, I go to file, add.
I get a box "add table/set/card stack". I can select the file there, but the option is to "open" not to add. When I click on the option open nothing happens.
I want to add a file to a control panel, I guess I am doing something dumb, but cannot see how to do it.
Any help will be appreciated.

Brian.

[forskare]

RE: Adding a file to a contral panel

Brian,

The control panel consists of several tabs, Tables/sets; Forms; Browses, etc. You may not see all the Tabs. To view the tabs, right click on a tab, any tab and slected the tabs you want to view.

You cannot create a 'file' in the control panel, Only tables, set, forms browses, etc. Click on the tab that you want to create, such as Tables/Sets. Right click on the white space and follow the prompts. If you want to create a new table, select 'new'.

ken

[Ohlen Cartmell]

RE: Adding a file to a contral panel

What version are you using?

To add a table to a database, click the tables tab in the control panel and then right click on an empty space. A menu will open and one of the choices is to add a table or set to the database. Select the table and it's added.

[BDennis]

RE: Adding a file to a contral panel

Thanks for the help.
Following your help, I get a box saying add table/set. I can find and select the table I want. The options on that box are "open" and "cancel". Nothing about "add". Whatever I do I cannot get the selected table into the control panel.
I am using Alpha 4 V4, on window me Portuguese version, which might be making the difference.

Brian

[CALocklin]

RE: Adding a file to a contral panel

When you get the window that gives you the Open/Cancel choices, select the table or set that you want to add by clicking on it once. This should put the name of that table/set in the "File name" box next to the Open button. Now click the Open button and the table/set you selected will be added to the control panel.

Option: Select the table/set by double-clicking it and it will be added immediately.

I have always presumed that this is just a standard "file open" dialog window and nobody bothered to rename the button.

[BDennis]

RE: Adding a file to a contral panel

Thanks for the help.
My system does exactly what you say, up to the time I click on the open button on the form. Then the form closes, and nothing else happens, the table/set selected does not get added to the control panel.
Hey, have just found something else, following your proceedure I can get a table to appear in the control panel. If afterwards I click on a tab other than the "table/sets" tab, and then click on the table/sets tab the table is shown in the control panel. Trouble is that it doesn�t stay there. If I close the control panel, then reopen it, the table has gone and the control panel is empty again.
Any help will be appreciated.

Brian

[BDennis]

RE: Adding a file to a contral panel

Further to the problem above, it seems I can only do that with a set, other table do not get to the control panel
Brian.

[BDennis]

RE: Adding a file to a contral panel

Ken,
Thanks for the response,
I am still mixed up with files and tables.
I want to add an existing table which is my data subdirectory of A5V4 to a control panel. I can creat a new table ok.
Brian

[Tom Cone Jr]

RE: Adding a file to a contral panel

Brian,

This sounds silly, but are you certain you're using the full version of Alpha Five, and not the runtime version?

If both are installed on the same pc it's easily possible to sometimes open one instead of the other...

The runtime version will not let you add tables to a database, I don't believe.

-- tom

[forskare]

RE: Adding a file to a contral panel

Brian,

Along with what Tom suggested, we're guessinig at what your doing. Could you tell us, stp by step what you're doing. What do you mean, "My system does exactly what you say"? What do you mean by, "up to the time I click on the open button on the form." ? Are you opening the form? Are you right clicking on the form name and the clicking Open?

A form can't exist w/o the existance of a table. Es muy imposible!!

"Then the form closes, and nothing else happens." What's supposed to happen? Does the form close by itself?

"If afterwards I click on a tab other than the "table/sets" tab, and then click on the table/sets tab the table is shown in the control panel." Yup, that's the way it's supposed to work. A table or set WILL stay in the control panel until you delete it.

"If I close the control panel, then reopen it, the table has gone and the control panel is empty again. How do you close the control panel? Do you mean, close the application but not A5? Once created, a table and set WILL be in the Tables/Sets tab of the control panle, until you delete it.

I know this sounds very basic, but you need to enlighten us. Tell us exactly what your doing.

Let's start with the installation of A5. What version did you install? To what directory? Did you also install Runtime? IF so, did you install it to the same directory as A5? If so, uninstall A5 and Runtime and install each to their own directory.

kenn

[BDennis]

RE: Adding a file to a contral panel

Ken,
Thanks for your time to try and help.
I am running Alpha 5 Version 4.5 I nstalled it from the CD, as per the recommended proceedure.

It is in it�s own directory as I see it, looking "my documents", "Files", In subdirectories from that are:- A5doc, books, Data, Samples, Templates.
To my knowledge I have not installed Runtime, I have not purchased or downloaded that, and don�t think I have it.
I want to have my application, and it�s data files in the data directory, as I understand that is the best way.

When I start Alpha 5, I have the main screen with an empty control panel with no tables in it.

If I go to "my computor", "files", look at the data subdirectory of A5V4, I see the files that I want to add to the control panel, so that I can build the application.
I saved these files to a floppy before I felt that I had to uninstall Alpha completely because weird things were happening. I was getting multiple icons of the same data files on the main windows screen. I uninstalled using the correct, I think, uninstall from Alpha, and tried to double check by using Nortons uninstall.
Then I reinstalled Alpha from the CD.

So I have the main Alpha screen, with an empty control panel.
I click on "file" top lh of screen. From that drop down menu, I click on "add".
A form appears, "add table/set/card stack".
I can use that form to show the files in the data subdirectory that I want, if I click at the bottom "files of type" then "all files".
If I click on a file, that file anme appears in the window second from the bottom, labled "name of file".
If I double click on that file name, and then click on the button "open", the form "add table/set/card stack" closes, or disappears.
The file does not appear in the control panel. (which is now the only thing on the main screen.
I can not get the file to appear as an icon in the control panel, unless it is a set, see below.

If I do the same as above, but click on a set from the list of files in the form "add table/set/card stack", the following happens:-
- the form disappears, the control panel remains empty. If I then click on any tab other than the table/sets tab, then afterwards on the table/sets tab the icon for that set appears in the control panel. If I highlight the set icon in the control panel, and try and see the default browse or form I get error message "unable to open memo file", (there is a memo file in that set).
Now I have a control panel with an icon in it, which is a set.
If I close the control panel, by clicking on "x" top RH corner of the control panel, the control panel closes, or disappears.
I now have only the A5 main screen - empty.
If I click file, top lH corner, the control panel appears, same one I think, same name, etc, now empty, no files or icon showing in it.

All I really want to do is get a file from a subdirectory of A5V4 to the control panel so I can start rebuilding this application. Didn�t realise how that could be complicated.

Thanks for all your help,

Brian

[forskare]

RE: Adding a file to a contral panel

Brian,

I just took a very brief look at your last post and don't have time right now to really go through it but here's a few pointers. Your application files should be in a separate directory or folder from A5. There's really no need to save them to a floppy unless you want the floppy for a backup.

When you open a5, you will get a list of the last dtatbases which were accessed. If none show, you either have to create a new database or open an existing one.

To add a table, click on the Table/set tab and the right click anywhere on the white space or the rest of the control panel. When saving the table, you were not saving it to the right path. When saving teh table, pay attention to teh path which appears in the popup window. go to your C drive and save it in a new folder specifically for the app.

This will solve much of your problems. Unless some beats me to it, I'll take a closer look at your post this evening.

kenn

[BDennis]

RE: Adding a file to a contral panel

Ken,
Thanks for the help.

I have, I think, my data files and application, in a directory which is separate from A5, it is called data and is one level down from A5.

Yes, when I open A5 I get a list of databases. I would like to organize these and maybe eliminate some of them, but don�t see a way of doing so; but that is another subject.

If I try to add a table to a control panel which is showing, I can not do it. That is my problem that I have now.

Which pop-up box are you refering to when I save a table. Here I didn�t think I was trying to save a table; I don�t want to change/make additions to a table, I am trying to add a table to a control panel of a database.
In any case I thought that saving a table, assuming additions or changes, would leave that table where is was.

Brian.

[BDennis]

RE: Adding a file to a contral panel

Hi folks,
I think I have got it to work, with all of your help. I found another directory with the same name on the computor. So I guess things were getting saved/altered, etc to the wrong place.
Having sorted that out, it looks as though it does work as it should.
So thanks to you all, you especially Ken, for pointing me in the right direction.

Brian.

[forskare]

RE: Adding a file to a contral panel

Brian,

Glad you're making progress. FWIW, I don't store my apps in a sub directory of A5. I keep each app in a separate folder, completely separate from A5. I simply don't want to take any chances if I should have to uninstall and re-install A5 and when it comes time to upgrade, say to v5, you'll need to move the folders from the A5 folder since v5 will install to a new directory and you certainly don't want the old A5 directory hanging around, at least I don'tsee a need for it. (Unless of course you want A5v4.5 around for awhile.) Furthermore, when you open the apps with A5v5, your app is now another level down.

No doubt there are some who will disagree but for me, it's a cleaner way of doing business. You could create a folder and call it MyApps and then in that folder, create sub folders for each individual database you create.

I presume you've answered your last questions. If not, ask again and I or others will answer them.

kenn