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Replacing Excel Help!

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    Replacing Excel Help!

    I work for a major UK Charity and I'm trying to get more of our staff using Alpha5. One department in particular uses Excel to plan and forecast sales/buying. Although I'm not totally new to Alpha5 my current job doesn't allow me to spend much time on it. I've tried to duplicate what the spreadsheet does with a lot of success but I need help on a couple of points.
    I have a set consisting of header with several fields and a transaction table. The transaction table has lots of calculating fields. There are also calculated total fields on the form of the set.
    The problem is that there are several fields that are consistently changed to see how the forecast changes - easy in Excel. For example we have three categories of shop and the numbers are often changed. I need an easy method whereby the users can change these fields and automatically update the transaction records relevant to the header table. I know I can have the fields included in each row of the transaction table but that would mean having some method of updating each row with the changed data. I tried creating variables for these fields thinking I could use these in the calculations within field rules but when I looked at the field rules I couldn't see the variables. Each Header has about 50 transactions.
    If necesary I can send sample but not straight away as I don't currently have access to Alpha5. It's at home.

    Thanks.


    #2
    RE: Replacing Excel Help!

    I waited to see if you received better advice, but no one has answered...

    Sometimes the variables you create don't show up in the expression builder. You can still use them by typing their names in rather than picking them from the list.
    There can be only one.

    Comment


      #3
      RE: Replacing Excel Help!

      Thanks Stan. I've managed to get a copy of the App. Perhaps it might give you and others a better idea of what I'm trying to achieve.

      Comment


        #4
        RE: Replacing Excel Help!

        I am able to see your form variables in the expression builder by selecting "Variable" from the list or using the F6 key.

        I was also able to construct a form calculated field by typing in VAR->markdownpercentage*VAR->cataqty and the expression builder was able to evaluate/validate it.
        There can be only one.

        Comment


          #5
          RE: Replacing Excel Help!

          Thanks again Stan.
          Yes I agree that you can see the variable and use it as you say. However I don't think I've explained my problem properly. Say the user creates a new record in the parent table then enters some fields in the transaction table. I say some fields because not everything is known at this stage plus the data could/will change. They have three categories of shops and may change the numbers around several times. They also have a budget to meet. In excel they could play around with the figures seeing how things panned out etc.
          If for example they start with a set number of shops in the three categories I can have them fill these in on every record in the child table. I wanted an easy way for them to change all the shop qty fields. My first thoughts were to have a variable for each category and include this in a calculated field in the field rules of the child table but when I tried this I couldn't see the variable. I'm not sure anyway whether this would be a good solution as I'd only want the current records to use the shop numbers. i.e. i wouldn't want other records to use the variable as that could cause errors. Is there an easier way to update these three fields for all the child records relating to the parent record on display.

          Comment


            #6
            RE: Replacing Excel Help!

            Another thought. I know I can update records and put new numbers into the category fields but is there a way this can be done so that the user just clicks a button and be presented with an input display for the three categories. I don't know enough about action scripting myself and certainly nothing in XBasic to try. Can you or anyone else on the board offer any suggestions. I've also updated the application. See attached. Newforecast Form.

            Comment


              #7
              RE: Replacing Excel Help!

              The request for a way to input multiple values at the same time sounds like a job for xdialog. I haven't delved into that area very deeply. This reply will bump your post back to the top. Hopefully someone else will pick up on it.
              There can be only one.

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