FoxPro Advisor Magazine Articles July 1995

• Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, version 3.0
• Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, version 2.5x, 2.6, 2.6a
• Microsoft FoxPro for MS-DOS, versions 2.0, 2.5x, 2.6, 2.6a
• Microsoft FoxPro for Macintosh, version 2.5x, 2.6a

NOTE: The "FoxPro Advisor" is published by Data Based Solutions, Inc., a publisher independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty or endorsement, implied or otherwise, regarding the accuracy or reliability of information published in the "FoxPro Advisor." Please contact Data Based Solutions if you have questions or want to order the "FoxPro Advisor."

SUMMARY

This article lists the table of contents of the July 1995 FoxPro Advisor, a magazine published by Data Based Solutions, Inc., 4010 Morena Blvd., Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92117. For more information, please call Data Based Solutions at 619-483-6400, or to place an order, please call them at 800- 336-6060. You may also contact them by Fax 619-483-9851 and Internet 70007.1614@compuserve.com.

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FoxPro News, page 6. Develop Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Applications in FoxPro. Imaging and Multimedia OLE Controls for Windows Developers. Customizable Business System for Visual FoxPro. Same (ProMatrix) Applications Run in FoxPro 2.x and Visual FoxPro 3.0 Customizable Medical Practice Software Now Available for Windows. Add Caller ID Information to Windows Applications.

Editor's View, page 8. Support is a Big Job. Microsoft's FoxPro product support facility is an impressive place. By Tamar E. Granor. Tamar talks about a visit to Microsoft and muses on volunteer software projects. Plus, why you should attend conferences.

Multi-User Programming, page 12. Visual FoxPro 3.0 Locking Strategies - Then and Now. Visual FoxPro offers new strategies for detecting and handling collisions. By Y. Alan Griver. Alan reviews the old ways to handle multi-user contention issues and describes the new methods provided in Visual FoxPro. Direct READs, Indirect READs, Semaphore locking, Concurrency issues, Pessimistic Row Buffering, Optimistic Row Buffering, Pessimistic Table Buffering, Optimistic Table Buffering.

Tips, Tricks, & Traps, page 18. By Drew Speedie. This issue's tips include some ideas for improving screens and forms, a routine to check on Windows resources, an update to an old tip, and more.

Tip: FoxPro 2.x., Visual FoxPro 3.0. Using RUN /N to call any Windows Application, such as Control Panel.

Tip: FoxPro 2.x, Visual FoxPro 3.0. Custom ORDER BY Situations. When two SQL SELECTs with a UNION will not do since it is limited to one order by clause. Ascending and Descending order.

Tip: Visual FoxPro 2.x. A Fix for Corrupted Project Files. Simple fix for the errors: "Project file is invalid" or "MEMO file is missing or invalid". Project FILE, SAVE AS ... with a new file name forces a rebuild of the supporting table.

Tip: FoxPro 2.x. Nested Arrays, Brackets, and #DEFINEd Constants. Compiler interprets nested array using brackets, along with #DEFINEd constant as a character string, resulting in error of "Variable xxx not found."

Tip: FoxPro 2.x, Visual FoxPro 3.0. PAD() Functions Work on Numerics and Dates, Too! Return is always a character string from PADC(), PADR(), and PADL().

Tip: FoxPro 2.x, Visual FoxPro 3.0. Push Buttons Instead of check boxes, Anyone? Check Boxes require prompts, which consumes screen real estate, so use push buttons with a symbol font checkmark for a prompt instead.

Tip: Visual FoxPro 3.0 Richt-Click Strikes Again! Right-Click empty portion of standard toolbar gives menu of toolbar choices for controls, queries, etc, to quickly see toolbars or add one.

Tip: FoxPro 2.x, Visual FoxPro 3.0. Simple Editing Bookmarks. Using EDIT, UNDO, or CTRL+Z to return to last edit within the editor. Also using a keyboard macro to insert '* BookMark <date> <time>' in order to later be able to find this place holder by using EDIT, FIND or Ctrl+F.

Tip: FoxPro 2.x, Visual FoxPro 3.0 Using \? and \! Replacements Visual FoxPro equivalents for push button default and selection on ESC key.

Tip: FoxPro 2.x, Visual FoxPro 3.0 Check Windows System Resources. Procedure to return the amount of free Windows Resources as a percentage, in order to prevent application errors.

FoxPro Fundamentals, page 22. Visual FoxPro 3.0. Persistent Relationships and Referential Integrity. Visual FoxPro's support for these makes your job easier. By Miriam Liskin. Miriam explains the various relationships available in Visual FoxPro and describes Visual FoxPro's approach to referential integrity rules. Persistent relationships, SET RELATION, RI, Cascade, Restrict, Ignore, Triggers, Stored Procedures, and database integrity.

Functional FoxPro, page 28. Visual FoxPro 3.0. Why Client-Server?. Client-server's scalability makes a compelling argument to do it. By Malcolm C. Rubel. Mac points to scalability as a prime reason to take advantage of Visual FoxPro's client-server capabilities. Discussion of reasons for us of client-server solutions to business problems as compared to performance. mobility, nomadic.

Form Designer, page 32. Visual FoxPro 3.0. Create a Default Form. Visual FoxPro's template forms let you base every form you create on a standard you define. By John V. Petersen. With form templates, you can create master forms and base new forms on these. Changes to the master automatically change the other forms. John shows you how to build our own base classes with native form and formset objects. Design, create class, Tools, Options, .vcx, class library, inheritance.

User Interface, page 36. FoxPro 2.x, Visual FoxPro 3.0 Keep Your Users Alert. With just a little code, you can let users know when data is ordered or if a filter is in effect. By Peter Sam. It's nice to tell users when data is ordered or if there's a filter in effect. This handy function adds a pair of pads to the menu bar for just that purpose. AlertPad.

Report Writer, page 40. FoxPro 2.x, Visual FoxPro 3.0 Too Many Relations? Design reports involving multiple one-to-many relations. By Gary Zaika. Some reports need to handle a lot of one-to-many relations. Gary presents a technique that works regardless of the actual data involved. Multiple one-to-many relations, reference to article in October 1993 FoxPro Advisor, SCAN ... ENDSCAN, SCATTER MEMVAR MEMO BLANK, CHR(13), group header.

Drag-and-Drop, page 44. Visual FoxPro 3.0. Life Is a Drag! Visual FoxPro makes it easy to incorporate drag-and-drop in your applications. By Andy Griebel. Drag-and-drop is a big part of the Windows interface. Discussion of when and how to use. DRAG() method parameter values, DragMode property, MROW(), MCOL(), DragDrop event, MouseDown method, DragOver event and method, DragIcon property, CUR files, event-driven programming.

Data Integrity, page 48. FoxPro 2.x, Visual FoxPro 3.0. Detecting Data Loss. Undetected data loss can have devastating consequences. By George Allen. Users might not always notice subtle errors that can lead to bad data. George provides valuable suggestions for catching these errors. FLUSH, UPDATED(), DOS ERRORLEVELS, SETVER, BACKUP, RESTORE, network environments, normal versus abnormal terminations.

Data Integrity, page 54. FoxPro 2.x, Visual FoxPro 3.0. Detect Corrupted Indexes. A simple technique lets you find broken indexes before they corrupt your data. By Bryant Ingram. Indexes do get corrupted. Bryant offers a function to test a table's indexes and find out if any index is corrupt. CHECKDBF, .CDX,

User Groups, page 56. Birth of a User Group. If there's no FoxPro user group in your area, consider starting your own. Here's what it takes. By Steven Miller. A FoxPro User Group can be a vital resource. Steve talks about the process of getting one started. Constitution, SIGs, Microsoft Mindshare User Group Program FoxPro contact is Kerri Grubb, kerrig@microsoft.com or corporate switchboard phone (206)882-8080, fax (206) 936-7329, APCUG.

Screen Builder, page 60. FoxPro 2.x. Add "QuickFill" to FoxPro. Make data entry easier for your users with fields that jump to the first matching entry. By Edward Leafe. QuickFill fields in Quicken(tm) make it easy to either choose an existing item or add a new one. Ed shows us how to do the same thing in FoxPro 2.x. INKEY(), WHEN, VALID, ON KEY LABEL, QFInit, ClrKey, QFWhen, invoice entry.

Developer's Toolkit, page 70. FoxPro 2.x, Visual FoxPro 3.0. That Message Rings a Bell. Give users audible and visual signs of a problem. By Shar Feldheim. We often need to display a message and sound the bell. Shar offers a function that does both with a single call. CHR(7), WAIT ... TIMEOUT, WAIT WINDOW NOWAIT, WindTone, Cherps, and Talkback.

FoxPro Advisor Q&A, page 74. By Tamar E. Granor, and Ted Roche. Tamar and Ted tackle questions on registering MSGraph, naming conflicts in Visual FoxPro, modal READs, and displaying multiple pictures. FoxPro 2.x, POPUP WINDOW MODAL screen, #READCLAUSES MODAL. FoxPro 2.x, Visual FoxPro 3.0, MSGRAPH and REGEDIT /V on network, REG.DAT. Visual FoxPro 3.0, A through J and M single letter objects, SELECT workareas, OOP, and memory variables, memvars, ALIAS FoxPro 2.x for Windows/Macintosh, Thumbnail image files in general field, gallery view, print preview, report layout, USE ... AGAIN, bitmaps, bmp, image controls.