Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

[G Gabriel]

RE: Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

Finian:
As I indicated, I have no intention of re-opening that debate, devisive as it has been and evidently still is. I will only repeat my final comment that if you think xdlg is fundamentally superior, run with it! If it could do everything a form could do and more then abandon forms (again speaking to alpha staff) and stick with xdlg. What would be the point of having forms? I am not sure why is that hard to understand.
If alpha chose to enhance xdlg with certain features and denied those features to forms, then that just speaks to my point: by working on two parallel lines where the programming efforts are divided and the advancement in one is made at the expense of the other, you deny the user the benefit of having that added feature and bequest them to learn a different subject altogether to take advantage of that extra feature!! You might say: but there are features that you cannot possibly add to forms. Not true, the response from alpha is that the ultimate goal is to merge the two layouts into one. At the current time, whether they are two different tools that accomplish two different tasks vs they are tow different tools that accomplish the same task is a debatable matter, but not the subject of this thread.
Thanks for your input.
Gabe

[Finian Lennon]

RE: Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

You said:

""while you were trying to boast xdlg, you exposed one of it's major disadvantages:
You can not display an xdlg with a parent record and all the associated child ones in the same xdlg!!
My last word on that subject:""

Ordinarily I'd let this pass but, since you don't address what you said or acknowledge that your statement was incorrect, I feel bound to respond.

Your statement above is not just incorrect. It clearly shows that you don't understand even the most fundamental capabilities of xdialogs. In that case your observations about them need to be taken with a shovelful of salt, notwithstanding your invocation of God who, I feel sure, is not the least bit interested in this discussion.

And that is my last word.

Finian

[martinwcole]

RE: Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

I frequently have a table linked to itself, in a set, and it has a unique name - not an alias. All scripts, browses, etc. refer to it by its name, not by an alias.

[Cheryl Lemire]

RE: Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

Gabe,

Since you are talking about using different fields from the same table in different browses, why couldn't you program the double click event in the first 'location' browse so that when the user selects a location it filters/sorts the records in the 2nd 'task' browse?

Just a thought, I have not tested it.

Good luck
Cheryl

[G Gabriel]

RE: Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

Martin:
I am trying to limit the number of the tables in the set as much as possible, since as I indicated earlier the more tables you have in a set the more trouble you will have. Sure I could add as many instances of the same table and index each one differently, but again, from my own experieince and if you search the board you will find it to be true that more tables means more trouble.
Gabe

[G Gabriel]

RE: Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

Cheryl:
Thanks. You could but you won't be able to see the full picture all at the same time. You would have to go from the parent table to the child, double click, change the index to show all the tasks for that location then when you go back to the parent you would have to revert to the original index to see unique locations only.
Gabe

[G Gabriel]

RE: Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

Finian:
In your passion regarding xdlg you seem to have overlooked your own response:
You suggested that I have:
1-A Form with the child records, and
2-An xdlg with buttons that will change the index of the child records
In my response to you, I indicated that I do not need an xdlg to serve as a repository for buttons that change the index. I could have those buttons on the form itself, meaning I could have just A Form instead of A Form and An xdlg.
The flip side of the coin is would be: why can't you have xdlg only? that's the question I asked myself after submitting the response and as I thought about it: you cannot.
Can you have an xdlg with all associated child records (and grand-child records) and with some buttons on the xdlg that will change the index? Furthermore, as I indicated to Ira earlier, this is only a part of a bigger set, now can you have all of the above plus other fields from the other tables in a stand alone xdlg??
The "slide of hand" of magic in the xdlg is: variables. xdlg have variables, variables and more variables. Anything you could do with variables in an xdlg, you could do with variables in a form. In fact, Jim Chapman suggested doing just that.
In general, can you have an xdlg showing the parent record and child records? yes you can. Can you have on that xdlg buttons that will change the index of those child records? I could be wrong, but I don't think so. You would have to close that xdlg and open another one based on the new index, and if you do, what will happen to the parent records? will they show as unique based on the new index??
Can you have an xdlg that have parent, all their child records and all their grand-child records of all the tables in the set so as not to have any forms, just the xdlg? Maybe you can, if you are willing to DIM variables from here to China. You are correct in that my statement taken in general context is wrong, but in the context of this thread I do not see how you could accomplish your own suggestion with a stand-alone xdlg. Maybe there is something there for me to learn.
Thanks
Gabe

[csda1]

RE: Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

Gabe,


1 other suggestion. Have two forms displayed at the same time, adjust their sizes via Xbasic, and move records together in both by creating event handlers when records change for both.


Regards,

Ira

[Peter.Greulich]

RE: Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

Here's another suggestion although it's a bit of work. You could populate a form's static text objects. You might need a corresponding button for each text object to do whatever you are trying to do, or you could pop. buttons directly if that matters, where the buttons might have one or more global scripts that perform appropriate actions on your records. It's a lot of work, but it allows complete control of your environment - and it doesn't matter what table or set the form is based upon.

-Peter

[Cheryl Lemire]

RE: Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

Gabe,

If you want to show all locations all the time in the location embedded browse and do not want to have to double click on a row to see the tasks for that location, you can use the OnRowChange event of the location browse to filter the records in the 2nd browse.

Cheryl

[G Gabriel]

RE: Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

Ira:
Thanks. Good idea BUT: if you open two (or more) forms based on the same table, they will be indexed according to the current index you use, unless you change the index as you activate a form which will alter the records in the one you departed from. Remember I would like to see everything without moving from one to the other. I thought about a form and subform but rejected it for the same reason.
Peter:
Thanks. Interesting idea. Lots of work like you said but it might be worth it.
Cheryl:
Thanks. It is not that I don't want to double click, the problem is if you change the index in the second browse to show all the tasks, by doing that you also change the index from showing unique location to showing all locations. So if there are say two tasks for one location, that means there are two records with the same location and two different tasks, if you change the index to show these two tasks, the index in the first browse (location) will also change since they come from the same table and then you will have two rows with the same location instead of unique locations.
As I said, and this is not criticism of alpha I do not believe any other database has that feature either, but it would be nice to be able to group in a form (or xdlg if you are so inclined) the same way you are able to do so in a report by grouping based on fields from the same table without having to add that extra dummy or alias table that will crowd the set and complicate matters.
Gabe

[martinwcole]

RE: Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

Gabe, setting a different index, order, and/or filter in a 2nd form, opened on the same table or the same set WILL NOT change/affect the "current form". Each form can be sorted and indexed and filtered uniquely. Obviously, if you change records on one of the forms, then you would have to resynch other forms.

[G Gabriel]

RE: Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

Martin:
If you have a form open with a sub-form both based on the same table and if you open the main form based on a certain index (filtered to show unique locations only) the sub-form will acquire the same index.
Alternatively, if you open two forms, you cannot open them simultaneously, you have to open one then the other: If you open the first one based on that filtered index for location, then open the second one based on a different index (showing all tasks and) and if you go down the browse in the first form that will not do you any good as fetching records in the first form does not automatically fetch them in the second form. What you could do however is to have an event in the first form that will filter the second form according to the location in the first and resynch the second and the third forms. I have not tried that and do not know if it will work as intended. It might, in which case you would substitute the forms with browses.
Gabe

[Cheryl Lemire]

RE: Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

Gabe,

If we miraculously find a way for you to accomplish your task with all the restrictions you have set forth ... what exactly do you intend to do with this form.

From the limited information you have disclosed, it sounds to me like you are trying to use a form to view the various records but do not really intend to do anything to the records once you find them?

Of course this assumption on my part has to be wrong, because if that were the case you would simply use a report to begin with and your issue would be resolved.

Perhaps if you can let us know what you intend to do with the results once you get them, maybe we can find a different way all together for you to accomplish your task.

Good luck
Cheryl

[martinwcole]

RE: Set structures: Dr Jeckel Mr Hyde

you can open the other forms as dialogs and position them

like f=form.view("form","dialog")

it would likely take a few to experiment with the code to open and position them where you want them, and then also refresh them as you change things on the parent - also,
you will have to close them, manually.

I think what you want is doable, but it would take a lot of experimenting to accomplish.