Bernie Metzger

Setting Column Attributes at Runtime If you want your DataWindows to look consistent, you have two basic choices. The first one - always code the DataWindow expressions the same in all your DataWindows. However, there are drawbacks to this: you have to make sure your entire development team is aware of the standards, and you have to have methods to ensure their use and document the standards for future developers. In spite of such precautions, it's likely your DataWindows will stray from the standards you've set up. The second and better approach is to put the standards in your base DataWindow. Randy Howie of the American Skiing Company has done this with a function to set the protection and background mode on DataWindow columns at runtime. His function takes two arguments, as_columnName and as_expressions. The expression is the same kind you would use in the DataWi... (more)

RoboHelp Office 2000

Help has arrived! I've have been using RoboHELP for about four years. I first bought it as a special at a Powersoft trade show in 1995. The price was right, it sounded like a cool product and I didn't know anything about creating help files. I create help files, mostly as technical help documents for the programs I write for my clients, and needed something that was easy to use. It looked like a good place to start. It was, it turned out, a good place to stay. When I was presented with the opportunity to write this review, I was a bit overwhelmed. This is a very broad product wit... (more)

Slick Tricks - Rolling Credits with a DataWindow

Rolling Credits with a DataWindow John Fauss sent in this rather cool application of DataWindow technology along with this comment: "I've read your PBDJ column for the past three+ years and look forward to it each month, as I almost always learn something new. It's time for me to pay you back for all that I have learned from your column." John's slick trick is quite interesting. The code and pbl that demonstrate this trick are available for download at www.PowerBuilderJournal.com. John has created a "rolling credits" user object, suitable for use in a Help/About window or other... (more)

Slick Tricks

Localization...What Day Is It? When you need "today's date" in a client/server application, or a Web application for that matter, what date do you use? I had this discussion recently with Ed Foshko at Fidelity Investments. You might think the answer is easy - just use the appropriate function to get the date. Life as usual isn't that simple. You have at least three choices: the local computer, an application server or a database. Let's say you have an application in which you wish to capture a user's ID along with the date and time a record was updated. When the update occurs, ma... (more)

Slick Tricks

Localization...What Day Is It? When you need "today's date" in a client/server application, or a Web application for that matter, what date do you use? I had this discussion recently with Ed Foshko at Fidelity Investments. You might think the answer is easy - just use the appropriate function to get the date. Life as usual isn't that simple. You have at least three choices: the local computer, an application server or a database. Let's say you have an application in which you wish to capture a user's ID along with the date and time a record was updated. When the update occurs, ma... (more)