In this paper, I argue that you take a radically different tack. Instead, I suggest that you separate table-definition and ownership from the user interface.

The paper is rather long; to read it online (needs Adobe PDF reader), click here.

To download it and read it off line, click here. (This is a zipped version of the Acrobat PDF file; unzip it and then use Acrobat Reader to view the article.)

Please feel free to email your responses, questions and comments and we’ll add them to this page.

It isn't so easy and as elegant to do it in DfW, especially if you follow the advice in the first paper to split the user interface from the storage. This paper, the first in a series, discusses what’s lacking in Sapphire’s treatment of lookups in DfW, and a method of creating “pop-up” lookup boxes; the paper is based, in part, on an article that appeared in Dialogue Magazine in the Dec 95/Jan 96 issue.

The paper is accompanied by a database that demostrates the techniques discussed in the paper, some toolbar bitmaps, and a new single-function CDF that closes a document by name.

The paper is rather long; to read it online, click here.

To download zip files with the paper, the demo database and the documentation for the wizDocumentClose CDF, click on the links below:

• The paper.
• The demo database.
• wizDocumentClose() CDF libray (16-bit version for DataEase 5.x for Windows).
• wizDocumentClose() CDF library (32-bit version for DataEase 6.x for Windows).

The demo database includes the 16-bit version as part of the download. If you want to run the demo database under DataEase 6, you'll need to download the 32-bit separately and install it into the demo database.

Please feel free to email your responses, questions and comments and we’ll add them to this page.

Sapphire, however, did not make it easy for developers to include the libraries in their applications, nor is there much documentation available on strategies to install and register the libraries with your applications.

The DataEase developer community is helping out! If you jump on over to Kingston & Company's DataEase 6 page you’ll find a text file that can be imported into the Custom Functions form of a DataEase 6.x application with all of the CDFs that ship with DataEase—a fast and simple method of registering functions with DataEase. You can also find a White Paper there on various strategies for locating the dynamic link libraries (DLL files) that comprise the libraries.