Find Text shuts down alpha

[G Gabriel]

I am not too crazy about using "Find Text" since it's a slow querry, but I decided to use it for the time being until I come up with a better routine.
The context:
A table of contact information with multiple telephone number fields (Home, Bus, cell etc.)along with a number of other fields.
The objective:
When someone calls and as a new record is being added with the caller's telephone number, a CanDepart event of the telephone field will search the current table for the same tel number for further actions.
The current solution:
Not the best,I have not given it too much thought as I am more focused on other aspects of this program development than this one item: Text Search will search for the number in All fields.
The problem:
This worked fine for a while, but now when you run the script, it will shut down alpha !!! I do not know if it is because the number of records increased or for some other reason. The app has maybe a hundred records or so, nothing astronomical.
The Question:
I have several questions:
1-Why does the program shut down? this is really the least of my concerns as I intend to abandon this script anyway.
2-What would be a better way to achieve the same objective?
I thought about breaking the script down into multiple ones and search telephone fields only (while we are on this subject, this would be a nice feature to add in V7: Search one field, all fields or certain fields). Before re-inventing the wheel I thought: a-maybe someone out there wrote a routine for simillar situation and b-I might end up with the program shutting down anyway if I continue with Text Search.
3-Other than Text Search, what else would you do to accomplish the same objective. I used exist() in a simillar app, works great. Any better ideas ??
Thanks.
Gabe

[AaronBBrown]

RE: Find Text shuts down alpha

Send me the script and I'll see if I can reproduce the problem.

[G Gabriel]

RE: Find Text shuts down alpha

Aaron:
The script is very basic:
topparent.locate()
will open the dialogue box for the text and run the text search. As I said, inititally it worked fine, but now it crashes the program.
Thanks
Gabe

[martinwcole]

RE: Find Text shuts down alpha

gabe, I take a different tack: in field rules, in code, in field events, in canwritefield event, you can insert a script that will check to see if that number already exists (not only in that phone field, but all phone fields,) and if so, display a warning including the "duplicates" asking them if they want to reenter, etc.

you can also take the same tack for names (last_first), etc.

having indexes will have it run very fast.

[AaronBBrown]

RE: Find Text shuts down alpha

Works fine for me.

[G Gabriel]

RE: Find Text shuts down alpha

Thanks Martin.
The only reservation with exist()is that you have to write a rather long expression to check in each telephone field and you have to have an index for each telephone field as well. Not particularly a big deal. I did use it for names in a comparable app and it works great.
You favor adding the script to the field rules as opposed to adding it to CanDepart. I have not tried it that way and do not know which is better. Any particular reason why it would be better in the field rules?
Thanks for your input.
Gabe

[G Gabriel]

RE: Find Text shuts down alpha

Aaron:
I do not know if this would be of any help, but the app stats are as follows:
a-Number of fields: 24
b-Number of charachter fields: 20
c-Most character field 20-40 characters
d-Number of records: 384

Can you try it on an app with a large number of records??
I am not suggesting that my app has a large number of records but as I said, it worked in the past and now the program crashes every time I use it. Packed and compacted, no luck.
Thanks
Gabe

[AaronBBrown]

RE: Find Text shuts down alpha

Send me the database and I'll look at it.

[G Gabriel]

RE: Find Text shuts down alpha

Aaron:
Thanks for your help.
I zipped my DB to Aaron. As it turned out since I was not using the latest built (needed to download few patches) and as I did so, now the system does not crash any more. I hope it stays that way.
The quest for a better way to accomplish the objective is still iopen and I welcome and appreciate any suggestions
Gabe

[Lenny Forziati]

RE: Find Text shuts down alpha

What would be a better way to achieve the same objective?

Is restructuring your tables an option? A seperate phone table with phone_number, contact_id and phone_type would be ideal.

[G Gabriel]

RE: Find Text shuts down alpha

Thanks Lenny.
I had a thread a while back where I wanted to do exactly what you are suggesting, only thing is when you create a form then you would have to put the tel numbers in an embeded browse, not an appealing feature to me. In fact in that thread I was wondreing if there is anyway to show fields from more than one record on a form without using an embeded browse, more like what you do in a web component by showing several records in a row. Any suggestions in that regard?
Thanks
Gabe

[martinwcole]

RE: Find Text shuts down alpha

gabe, you can put a small, single record embedded browse on a form, showing one phone. then at the onarrive and ondepart event, for example, resize and reposition the object.

as for using field rules, instead of form events, I wouldn't say one is better. But field rule scripts can handle scenarios in browses and embedded browses that browse events cannot. Also, if you give the user more than one form for the same table/set, that have the same conditions, field rules need only be written once.

[Stan Mathews]

RE: Find Text shuts down alpha

Creating a Multi_Record Form

[G Gabriel]

RE: Find Text shuts down alpha

Thanks Martin & Stan.
Stan, that's a good article. I was thinking along the lines of an array or a list as well.
Keep the good ideas coming.
Thanks
Gabe