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Frequently Asked Questions

Description

This page lists some of the frequently asked questions for desktop applications.

Problems Opening CHM Help Files Located on Other Computers

If you have had problems opening CHM help files on other computers, it may have been caused by recent Microsoft security fixes. One symptom is a message beginning "Action Cancelled...". Apparently, opening a remotely located help file can expose your system to attack. The following registry can solve the problem, by allowing you to open CHM files on your intranet. There is more information at http://www.grainge.org/index.htm#authoring/ms05-026/ms05-026_update.htm.

Backup your registry first!

Create a key named:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\HTMLHelp\1.x\ItssRestrictions

Give it a new DWORD value named MaxAllowedZone
Set the DWORD value to 3.

.CHM Help Files Do Not Work Properly

Recently, a new Microsoft feature has caused some downloaded help files to display an "Action Cancelled" message when you attempt to view a topic. The solution to this problem is to open Windows Explorer, right click on the help file, and select Properties, then click Unblock.

Why do I get repeating field values in One-to-Many reports?

This is typically caused by placing fields from both parent and child tables in the same details band in your report layout. For more information see Designing Reports for Sets with One-to-Many Links.

Why do small rectangles appear where data should be?

The small rectangles indicate that the field is not wide enough to print the data. To display the data properly:

Highlight the field, right click and select Properties...
Display the Format tab.
Adjust the values in the Width and Decimal places fields.

How to place a date on a form the user cannot change

Display the Table/Sets tab of the Control Panel.
Select the table that contains the date field and click Design > Field Rules.
Select the date field from the drop down list at top.
On the Data Entry tab set the Default Mode value to "Simple Default Expression".
Set the Default Value field expression to DATE().
Scroll down and set the Skip expression to .T. .
Click Save and exit from Field Rules.

Alpha Anywhere will place the current system date into this field when it is created. Afterwards, the current user will not be able to change it because the field will not accept focus.

How do I display accented characters?

Accented characters will appear with their proper accents if copied and pasted from other applications (such as Microsoft Word) into Alpha Anywhere text and memo fields.

How do I change the table associated with a layout?

Right click on the layout and choose Copy to....
Pick the new table/set that you want to associate with and click OK.
Note that if you select "<More...>" at the bottom of the list, you can also change databases.

Disappearing Tabs

Why did my Report tab or Code tab disappear? To redisplay any of the tabs on the Control Panel, right click on a tab and place a check mark next to its name.

Email

Sending/Receiving Email in Alpha Anywhere

Item: Comment
Email Settings: Your email settings in Alpha Anywhere should be exactly the same as they appear in your regular email application (such as Outlook, Eudora). If you experience problems sending/receiving email through Alpha Anywhere, you've probably incorrectly entered the settings for your email account.
E R11; mail Attachments: Email attachment are saved in an "attachments" folder associated with your application or in the A5V5 folder, depending on how your email script is set up.
Bad Email Addresses: When you send email using the Alpha Anywhere email client, it's no different than sending email from your regular default client. if you send email to a "bad" address you'll receive an "undeliverable" notification when you check your mail.
Web E R11; mail, MSN, AOL: The Alpha Anywhere email client can't be used with MSN, AOL, or Web email accounts, due to their proprietary security technology. The general rule of thumb is, if you can use a "regular" email client (such as Outlook, Eudora) to send/receive email with your account, then A5 should be able to do the same.
Can I Import Sub R11; folders from Outlook?: The import genie does not support Outlook sub-folders. You'd have to move the data into your inbox or sent items and import from there.

Help Options

Creating Alpha Anywhere help screens

For each field there's an option on the object properties help tab. You can define help for a field by chapter and topic. e.g. if you have a form, "customer_info," and a field, "company_name," you can have help for the chapter "Customer information," topic "Company Name," that is called when you press F1 on the company_name field.

You have the choice of either allowing Alpha Anywhere to name the help file, or naming it yourself. If you let A5 name the help file it creates a table with a version of the name of your database, e.g. "a_mydatabase_help.dbfs"

QLinker

"The specified module could not be found. Error occurred at line: 11630"

If you encounter the above error message when trying to import or export from Alpha Anywhere to QuickBooks, run the following commands:

Select Start
Select Run...
Type cmd and click OK.
Type regsvr32.exe "c:\program files\a5v5\qlinker\a5qlinker.dll" and click Enter.
Close the DOS window.

The a5qlinker.dll will now be registered.

Runtime

Activation
Alpha Anywhere Runtime does NOT require activation.
Installing on client machines
The current version of Runtime requires you to use a 3rd party program, or simple zip files, to install the runtime and your app on your client's machines.
What is the process for multiple site deployment on different servers?
If you want each user to have full rights, then you need to purchase a license for each user.
If you want each user to have the ability to run a previously created app, then you need to purchase a Runtime license. the runtime license allows you to install A5 on as many client machines as you want. There are no limits on the number of times a runtime can be installed.
For the runtime, how many users on each network will access your application at the exact SAME time? If less than 10, then a 10 user runtime will do. If less than 20, then a 20 user runtime will do. If more than 20, you will need an unlimited user runtime.

What do SDI and MDI mean?

SDI
Single Document Interface. SDI support having one screen open at a time. SDI does not permit navigating to another screen when the current screen is open.
MDI
Multiple Document Interface. This is the 'normal' windowing behavior where you can have as many open windows as you want, i.e.: as many copies of a form as you desire, switching back and forth between windows and programs. MDI allows a user to be in the middle of one process, and at will, minimize it and go on to other processes.
SDI gives you the ability easily control the users path through the application, allowing them to only have one form open at a time.

Sending Databases

How do I send selected database files to a client?

Select the Send Database command from the Tools menu.
Click the unmark button to unmark all files
Click the mark button, and mark just the application files.
Send this to your client, and tell them to unzip.
This will unzip just your application, but not overwrite any of the existing data.

If you've added fields to any of the tables, then you'll need to go through a much more complex update procedure.

Tips

Default Browse

If you have memo fields, or long character fields in the browse, the default browse in Alpha Anywhere is two lines high so you can see more of your data.

If you want single line high browses, you should create a custom browse layout that sets the browse row height to the height you want.

If the browse does not have memos, only long character fields, you can select the View/Settings/Layouts category to set additional options.

How can I include a browse in an email?

The following demonstration uses the AlphaSports sample database.

Create the following function:

function line_items as C ()
dim tbl1 as P
dim tbl2 as P
dim items as C
tbl1 = table.get("invoice_items") 
tbl2 = table.get("product")
tbl1.fetch_first() 
items = "" 
while .not. tbl1.fetch_eof() 
   items = items + tbl1.product_id + tbl2.description + crlf() 
   tbl1.fetch_next() 
end while
line_items = items
end function

Create an email template. Include this calculated field in the template:
```
<<line_items()|>>
```

Preview the email. This is what you get:

P031 SIP Binoculars
P009 TrueNorth Compass
P059 EuroPal Pocket Knife
P034 Reeler's 40 # Fishing Line 200'
P103 Fast Trak Cross Trainers (Men)

Of course, you will want to elaborate on the line_items() function to include additional info, including the extended totals for each items, etc.

How to Copy a Desktop Workspace

To copy a desktop workspace with data:

Open the workspace.
On the Control panel, select Tools > Zip Workspace.
Select all files and click Zip Files.
Copy the new zip file to its new location and unzip the contents.

To copy the workspace design (without data), select all files except:

.ASX
A temporary file containing the indexing information generated by a query against a set
.DBF
Table data
.CDX
Table indexes
.FPT
Memo field data, which may include text or graphics
.MPX
A temporary file containing the indexing information generated by a query against a table

How to Export Data from Excel to Alpha Anywhere

In Excel, save your data in .DBF (dBase IV format).
In Alpha Anywhere, select File > Add Table/Set... .
Click the 'open folder' icon to navigate to and select the .DBF you created in Excel. Click Open.
Select the new table in the Table/Set Names list and click Add >.

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