The Prestwood eMag  |  www.prestwood.com |
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| March 2008 - Full Edition | Year 10 Issue 3
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| A computer community for power-users and I.T. professionals! |
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Table of Contents: |
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From The Editor Adam Lum |
Prestwood Software's Online Ticketing System by Adam Lum One of the sections of Prestwood Software's website which has been revamped is our online ticketing system -- My Tickets. The goal of the redesign was to allow clients to easily submit new tasks and view the status of existing tasks and projects as well as giving potential clients the ability to bounce new task or project ideas off of us. If you don't already have one, the first thing you'll want to do is get yourself a Prestwood account. It's easy to do and will not only allow you to submit a ticket through our ticket system but will enable you to view our extensive knowledge base, download demos of our commercial software, post questions to our message boards, and utilize our eStore. View Existing Tickets Select PSDP Online | My Tickets to view your submitted requests (your tickets). This will will bring you to a page where you can view all of your open tickets, closed tickets, and if you have a Development Project with us, tasks and defects that have been assigned to you. If you do not have any tickets and are requesting an estimate on a project or task you can click on one of submit (task, project, other) links to begin the process. You will be sent to a web form to gather a little information about the request. Submit a Ticket There are several ways to submit a ticket to use. If you wish to discuss a project or task with us, select PSDP Online | Request Free Estimate from the main menu. The key to successful outsourced projects and programming tasks is effective communication between the parties involved and with Prestwood Software and My Tickets (and PSDP online which will be again explained in upcoming articles in more detail), effective communication is achievable from beginning to end. View Full Article Open a Prestwood Support Account Have a software project mind and don't have the resources in-house to accomplish it? Open a Support Account Open a support account with us instantly online. If your business doesn't have a computer department or your computer department is over extended, Prestwood can help. Use your Prestwood support account for code audits, to get developer help, complete projects and for maintenance type work.  Mike Prestwood | From our Computer Community topic...Better Printing at Prestwood!Knowledge base articles, message board posts, etc. now print cleaner. A classic post from our P9 Book: Power Programming topic... Paradox 9 Power Prg Books -- buy back. by Mike PrestwoodWe still have a high demand for my book titled, "Paradox 9 Power Programming" by Mike Prestwood. So we're still doing our book buy back. If you've got one sitting on your shelf, please consider selling it to us.
American I.T. Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit American I.T. Board Now!
A classic post from our Data Flow Diagrams (DFD) topic... A 10 Minute Data Flow Diagrams (DFD) Quick Start by Mike PrestwoodDFDs document a process by documenting the flow of data throughout the process. They depict how data interacts with a system. They can be used to engineer a new process, document an existing process, or re-engineer an existing process. |
Monthly Analyst Lesson | Learn! Review! Keep Up! |
| Short tidbits pulled from our knowledge base each month. | M O N T H L Y L E S S O N | From our Data Flow Diagrams (DFD) Topic. DFDs document a process by documenting the flow of data throughout the process. They depict how data interacts with a system. They can be used to engineer a new process, document an existing process, or re-engineer an existing process. Traditional Data Flow Diagrams use four (4) symbols, a square, an arrow, a circle, and parallel lines. DFDs document a process by documenting the flow of data throughout the process. They depict how data interacts with a system. They can be used to engineer a new process, document an existing process, or re-engineer an existing process. Traditional Data Flow Diagrams use four (4) symbols, a square, an arrow, a circle, and parallel lines.
DFDs are also known as Data Flow Graphs, Bubble Charts, Petri Networks, Yourdon/DeMarco notation, and Gane/Sarson notation. | |
Analyst Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit Analyst Board Now!
A classic post from our Language Basics topic... Get GMT Server Offset by Mike PrestwoodYou can use JavaScript to set an IIS App var to the GMT server difference. Then use that number in your code. |
Monthly ASP Classic Lesson | Learn! Review! Keep Up! |
| Short tidbits pulled from our knowledge base each month. | M O N T H L Y L E S S O N | From our Language Basics Topic. Code Snippet of the Month This function uses Split to count the number of strings within a string. Function GetStringCount(AString, AChar) Dim MyArray Dim ArrayCount MyArray = Split(AString, AChar) GetStringCount = UBound(MyArray) End Function From our Tool Basics Topic. Question: Can you edit Access and MS SQL Server views? Answer: Although this question really depends on the provider, in general, the answer is no to MS Access views and yes to MS SQL Server views so long as you open the RecordSet editable. | |
ASP Classic Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit ASP Classic Board Now!
| Thread Starter | Replies | Last Post | Topic | | Coding ASP Classic on Linux Hello all,First, I should let you know that I am not an experienced ASP coder and, honestly, don't have lots of experience with Microsoft products. I've b... | 4 | No apologies for the confusion. Actually, I didn't do a very good job of explaining myself.&nb... 3/3/2008 | ASP Classic Setup & Configuration |
A classic post from our WebForms Coding Tasks topic... How to open a URL in a pop-up window. by Bryan ValenciaEvery now and then you want a link to open not only in a new browser, but you may want to give the new window the appearance of a pop-up window.
This ASP/Javascript method gives you a lot of control and is easy to figure out and implement. |
| Short tidbits pulled from our knowledge base each month. | M O N T H L Y L E S S O N | From our WebForms Coding Tasks Topic. Code Snippet of the Month First, you must add the System.Net.Mail namespace to your project. There are 2 objects we use to send the email, a MailMessage, and an SMTPClient. This code works from C# projects or from ASP.NET projects. Make sure your mail server is set to relay messages for whoever might be sending the message. In my case my webserver is sending through my exchange server so I had to tell exchange to relay for my webserver. using System.Net.Mail; -- MailMessage thisMessage = new MailMessage("from@here.com","to@there.com"); thisMessage.Subject = "Sending a quick email."; thisMessage.Body = "A rolling stone gathers no moss.";
SmtpClient thisMailer = new SmtpClient("mailserver.com"); thisMailer.Send(thisMessage);-- From our Language Basics Topic. An attribute is a "shorthand" mechansim for having additional metadata included in your assembly. Attributes cause additional metadata to be included in your assembly and, utilized when reflected over by another class. For your convenience, many, many useful attributes are pre-defined.
In C#, attributes are designated by enclusure in square brackets. For example, the [DllImport] attribute allows .NET to utilize Win32 DLLs. Another example is the [Serializable] attribute, which causes your class to be persisted to disk. From our C# Topic. Definition of the Month: Struct A value type used to encapsulate a small set of related data. A Struct encapsulates a small set of related data. Although it can contain many of the characteristics of a class such as methods, events etc., they are usually very limited in number. If several such members are used implementing this as a class should be considered. A struct can implement an interface, but it cannot inherit from a class or another struct | |
C# Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit C# Board Now!
A classic post from our General .Net Concepts topic... Storing your .NET Application Settings by Adam LumStoring settings and configuration information for your .NET application can be achieved in a number of ways including using the app.config file and the ConfigurationManager class, using the registry, and in your own custom configuration file. |
Coder Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit Coder Board Now!
A classic post from our DBA & Data topic... Corporate Database Administration by Jeffrey K. TyzzerCorporate database admin standard first published by Prestwood Software in 1996. |
| Short tidbits pulled from our knowledge base each month. | M O N T H L Y L E S S O N | From our DBA & Data Topic. A locking mechanism that allows other users to edit a record that is currently being edited. Essentially, last in wins or edits are discarded usually with an error. | |
DBA Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit DBA Board Now!
A classic post from our Delphi for Win32 topic... Rubicon Delphi Info Search by Wes PetersonFind Delphi info at the Rubicon Delphi and C++Builder search page. A classic post from our Delphi for Win32 topic... Displaying graphic images in DBGrid components by Joshua DelahuntyAn example of work I did to display a graphic (+ text) in a single column of a DBGrid based on two tables in a Delphi 2006 Application (not limited to later versions of Delphi) |
Monthly Delphi Lesson | Learn! Review! Keep Up! |
| Short tidbits pulled from our knowledge base each month. | M O N T H L Y L E S S O N | From our Language Details Topic. Code Snippet of the Month Simple example of using sets in Delphi. Sets are similar to arrays and are convenient to use with 'in'. procedure TForm1.Button7Click(Sender: TObject); var ValidStrings: Set of Char; begin ValidStrings := ['Y', 'N', 'X']; If 'Y' in ValidStrings then ShowMessage('Yes, Y is valid'); end; From our Using Controls Topic. Question: How do you specify which color to use with TColorGrid from the samples page? Why isn't it documented? Answer: Use the public methods ForegroundColor and BackgroundColor. For example, in the OnChange event of a ColorGrid component you could do the following: procedure TForm1.ColorGrid1Change(Sender: TObject); begin Edit1.Font.Color := ColorGrid1.ForegroundColor; Edit1.Color := ColorGrid1.BackgroundColor; end; None of the components on the "Samples" page are documented. | |
Delphi Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit Delphi Board Now!
| Thread Starter | Replies | Last Post | Topic | | Creating simple PDF files Is there a free unit, component or tutorial for creating PDF files? I only need very basic features. Just be able to insert some simple text and pictures in a P... | 4 | Like Dan, I like Primo PDF - a lot. It is so simple to install and use, and the PDFs it produces ar... 2/12/2008 | Delphi Object PASCAL |
A classic post from our Beginners Corner topic... JavaScript Event Model by Mike PrestwoodDescription of the JavaScript event handlers. |
Monthly JavaScript Lesson | Learn! Review! Keep Up! |
| Short tidbits pulled from our knowledge base each month. | M O N T H L Y L E S S O N | From our JavaScript and AJAX Topic. JavaScript is a platform-independent, event-driven, interpreted programming language developed by Netscape Communications Corp. and Sun Microsystems. Originally called LiveScript (and still called LiveWireTM by Netscape in its compiled, server-side incarnation), JavaScript is affiliated with Sun's object-oriented programming language JavaTM primarily as a marketing convenience. They interoperate well but are technically, functionally and behaviorally very different. From our JavaScript and AJAX Topic. Question: How is JavaScript syntax like C / C++? Answer: The languages have enough in common to make learning one easy if you know the other. By the same token, the differences are subtle enough to trip up those proficient in both. Here's a short list comparing C and JavaScript: - Terminating JavaScript command lines in semicolons is optional; in C it's mandatory. Recommended practice is to use them religiously in both languages (and Java as well).
- Both JavaScript and C are case-sensitive; 'doThis' is different from 'DOTHIS'. Experienced programmers learn to love this feature, which drives beginners nuts.
- Both JavaScript and C are block-structured computer languages and employ curly brackets -- '{' and '}' -- to delimit blocks.
- Both JavaScript and C employ quotation -- enclosure in single or double quote marks -- to designate text strings.
- Arrays in both JavaScript and C are zero-based; the first element is myArray[0], not myArray[1].
- Both JavaScript and C employ '==' for comparison, '=' for equality, and '!' for negation. In fact the set of JavaScript operators is essentially borrowed from C (right down to the deprecated ternary construct a ? b : c).
- Both JavaScript and C employ the symbols /* to designate a comment */. JavaScript also permits the use of '//' for short comments, as in C++.
Finally, JavaScript's statements are a strict subset of C++'s, offering a smaller selection of identical looping and conditional constructs. | |
JavaScript Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit JavaScript Board Now!
| Thread Starter | Replies | Last Post | Topic | | Calendar mouseover on selec... Hello,could some one help... i am using the below code to create a rollover on cells that i want. ie selected date on a calendar. the code below allows me ... | 1 | Hi James,I realize you didn't get an answer to this JavaScript post on our message boards. You are f... 2/18/2008 | JavaScript |
Monthly Paradox Lesson | Learn! Review! Keep Up! |
| Short tidbits pulled from our knowledge base each month. | M O N T H L Y L E S S O N | From our Interactive Paradox: Queries (QBE) Topic. Code Snippet of the Month The first half is an inexact search and the second half tells it to limit the search to four characters. QBE Expression... mIkE.., @@@@ From our Interactive Paradox: Using Data Topic. A project alias, like public aliases, point to a folder. Project aliases are stored in the PDOXWORK.CFG file, which is loaded whenever you change working directories. From our Paradox Tables Topic. Question: I was just reviewing the Paradox Table Specs in your Paradox developer reference area. I found specs through Paradox 7 only, and I'm really interested in Paradox 10. Is it available? Answer: No. Actually Paradox 7 "table structure" is the latest very flexible table structure. The only table structures are 1...3.x, 4.x, 5, and 7. No such thing as a Paradox 9 or 10 or 13 table structure. From our Interactive Paradox: Getting Going Topic Tip of the Month You can disable the warning prompts that are displayed when you change working or private directories. Clear the check box for the Don't show warning prompts when changing directories option in the Preferences dialog (advanced tab). To do this, first display the Preferences dialog box by selecting Edit | Preferences. Then, select the Advanced tab and clear the check box for the Don't show warning prompts when changing directories option. | |
Paradox Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit Paradox Board Now!
| Thread Starter | Replies | Last Post | Topic | | Registry vs. pdoxwin.ini Every blinkin' time I enter Paradox 11 I have to clear the Welcome Screen (I uncheck the "show at startup" box) and reset the Developer's Preferences ... | 2 | Disabling pdxregcl.exe in the startup group items will allow you to set and retain the working direc... 5/4/2008 | Paradox Setup, Vista, etc. | | Free Paradox for Linux Book... I just posted the chapters I wrote for the book WordPerfect Office 2000 for ... | 1 | Very ineteresting. Looks like this may be a usefull source. 2/29/2008 | Paradox for Linux | | Insert image in report? Pdox 10 -
I'm trying to copy and paste a bitmap image into a report and I get -
"Unexpected General Protection Violation" when i run the report i... | 1 | I would suspect that the image you are attempting to insert is probably very large. How exactl... 2/24/2008 | Paradox Reports | Programming with QBE results Hi - My wife and I have taken over Administration of a large Amateur Theatre company in London - the only salaried position (as a jobshare). We have... | 2 | Hi Jon,I noticed you started subscribing to our monthly eMag but you still need to verify your email... 2/23/2008 | QBE & SQL | | Application running on Mult... Has anyone had any experience with running a Paradox 10 Application (via Runtime) on a Citrix Server or any multi-user environment. We are currently running ou... | 18 | The compile error simply means that you have an error in your script. Probably a typo or undec... 2/18/2008 | Paradox Setup, Vista, etc. |
A classic post from our Beginners Corner topic... A 10 Minute PHP Quick Start by Adam LumAn Introduction to PHP. Installing PHP on Your Computer and Running your First Script. |
PHP Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit PHP Board Now!
A classic post from our Computer Community topic... Member Points Program by Mike PrestwoodMember points information. |
PrestwoodBoards Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit PrestwoodBoards Board Now!
| Thread Starter | Replies | Last Post | Topic | | hi every body hi im kia , im majoring i n computer science and im in my first year , i realy like programing , but i find it somehow hard, but im for it :)ho... | 10 | Kia, you'll have us cryin... 3/19/2008 | Member Introductions | | programming with QBE results Hi - My wife and I have taken over Administration of a large Amateur Theatre company in London - the only salaried position (as a jobshare). We have inher... | 7 | Jonathan,I'm not sure how the SQL will turn out for you with the new BDE, so as an alternative, ... 2/25/2008 | Member Introductions | New Website HeaderToday I finished simplifying our website header. What do you think? Is it better?Specifically... The top ... | 3 | RT: By the way, how did you like the last two eMags? Did you take a look at them? I think they're a ... 2/6/2008 | Just Conversation |
PSDP Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit PSDP Board Now!
Monthly Tech Lesson | Learn! Review! Keep Up! |
| Short tidbits pulled from our knowledge base each month. | M O N T H L Y L E S S O N | From our Removable Storage Technology Topic. A disk image of an ISO 9660 file system usually with a .ISO extension. ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and standard 9660 describes a standard for storing data on a CD or DVD.
An ISO image (or .ISO file) is a single computer file that is a copy of an existing file system (all files including all the filesystem metadata (boot code, structures, attributes, etc.). An ISO image can contain the entire contents of a CD or DVD.
From our Removable Storage Technology Topic Resource Link of the Month: Virtual CloneDrive (Mount ISO Image File) There are several programs that allow you to mount an ISO image file and this free one seems to work well on Windows XP and Vista. CloneDrive also supports other common image formats such as BIN, CCD, etc. | |
Tech Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit Tech Board Now!
Monthly Tester Lesson | Learn! Review! Keep Up! |
| Short tidbits pulled from our knowledge base each month. | M O N T H L Y L E S S O N | From our Testing, QA, QC Topic. A process employed to ensure a certain level of quality in each deliverable such as a requirements specification, a design specification, the final delivered software, etc. A process employed to ensure a certain level of quality in each deliverable such as a requirements specification, a design specification, the final delivered software, etc. For software developers, the software development process is the process employed to ensure a certain level of quality. Prestwood Software Development Process (PSDP) is such a process. To learn more about PSDP, go to the PSDP Process Page. | |
Tester Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit Tester Board Now!| Topic | Threads | Posts | Last Active Thread | | Testing | 1 | 0 | No Subject! |
V.FoxPro Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit V.FoxPro Board Now!
A classic post from our HTML Language Reference topic... HTML font tag by Mike PrestwoodThe tag specifies the font face, font size, and font color. |
Monthly Web Design Lesson | Learn! Review! Keep Up! |
| Short tidbits pulled from our knowledge base each month. | M O N T H L Y L E S S O N | From our Artistic (design, layout, etc.) Topic. Question: What browsers and resolutions should I test my website with? Answer: As of early 2008, we test each website we build with the latest release of Internet Explorer, FireFox, and Safari. Sometimes we also include Opera but not usually. Also, if desired, we sometimes test with older versions of browsers but not usually. The minimum resolution we test "regular" websites is 1024x768 (and higher). We no longer support 800x600. | |
Web Design Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit Web Design Board Now!
| Thread Starter | Replies | Last Post | Topic | | Need help creating a voting... I have to create a "Voting" poll on the front page of my homepage. Also want to create something that will store the votes that are selected. Maybe ev... | 1 | Hi David, Yes, I don't like the ones that use another website either. So that means you need to inst... 2/18/2008 | Website Design HTML, XML, CSS, Graphics |
A classic post from our Win Users topic... Remove Temporary Windows Files by Vicki NelsonClear up space on your hard drive by deleting temp files left behind by Windows. |
Monthly Win Users Lesson | Learn! Review! Keep Up! |
| Short tidbits pulled from our knowledge base each month. | M O N T H L Y L E S S O N | From our Windows Vista Topic. Memory caching scheme introduced with Windows Vista that tracks what kind of applications you use and loads them into RAM so they can be launched faster. SuperFecth can use ReadyBoost to add to the available cache using a ReadyBoost compliant USB 2.0 flash drive. SuperFetch and ReadyBoost speed up virtual memory transactions. From our Windows Vista Topic. The act of isolating or unbinding one computing resource from another. Windows virtualization adds virtualization services to the core Windows operating system at a fundamental level. From our Win Users Topic Resource Link of the Month: Primo PDF Convert to PDF from any application by simply 'printing' to the PrimoPDF printer - it couldn't be easier! Within minutes, you can create high-quality PDFs by converting from Word, Excel, and virtually any other printable file type.
- Completely FREE PDF Converter - not just a trial version.
- Print to PDF from virtually any Windows application.
- Create PDF output optmized for print, screen, ebook, or prepress.
- No annoying pop-up ads, no registration requirement - no catch!
- High-quality, easy to use PDF creator for all users.
- New! Ability to merge PDF files upon conversion.
- New! Now supports Windows Vista.
This is the PDF creating tool we use here at Prestwood software!From our Windows Vista Topic. Question: How many processors can Windows Vista use? Answer: Vista targets consumers so it does have limits. Vista Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate OS support 2 physical CPUs; others support one only. There is no limit on the cores. So, for example, you could have 2 physical CPUs with 2 cores each and Vista Business will fully utilize all four processors. If you need more, use the Windows server OSes. From our Windows Vista Topic Tip of the Month If you want to make your application data available to multiple users on a Windows Vista PC you can place the data in a subfolder of the Public folder. Vista does not virtualize this folder and it is available to all users on a PC. You can also set the permissions on the files or folders you want to share to allow all users full permissions. | |
Win Users Message Board Ask this group a question! Select a topic below or Visit Win Users Board Now!
| Thread Starter | Replies | Last Post | Topic | | TMonthCalendar and OnGetMon... I've noticed a problem with the OnGetMonthInfo event of TMonthCalendar. (IE. MonthCalendar1GetMonthInfo(Sender: TObject; Month: Cardinal; var MonthBoldInf... | 1 | Try such a nice piece of code as Calendar.Date:=Calendar.Date+31; C... 9/4/2010 | Delphi VCL | | PrinterSetCurrent I have the following code on a form to switch printers behind the scenes. There is a table that lists the users printers and a field in that table that defines what the printer is used for (i.e.... | 0 | New! 9/2/2010 | ObjectPAL | | ReportPrintInfo DynArray Can anybody explain to me the syntax to use ReportPrintInfo - the syntax # 3 version that uses an array? I need to set the PrintToFile option to create a postscript file and it seems to only be availa... | 0 | New! 9/2/2010 | ObjectPAL | | ReportPrintInfo DynArray Can anybody explain to me the syntax to use ReportPrintInfo - the syntax # 3 version that uses an array? I need to set the PrintToFile option to create a postscript file and it seems to only be availa... | 0 | New! 9/2/2010 | ObjectPAL | | Printing forms as reports d... I have a 3 page form that I need to open as a report. When I open it, however, I only get the first page and a half. Any ideas? I have to do i... | 1 | Figured it out - has to do with the page size - ended up having to create 3 seperate reports but it ... 9/2/2010 | Paradox Reports | | Changing account records ba... Does anyone know how to write this Paradox 4.5 code into a Paradox 11 script?
This works in my old Paradox. It goes through a list of account names finds the account in another table and scans to pro... | 0 | New! 8/29/2010 | ObjectPAL | | Windows 7 Paradox 9 report ... I've successfully installed Paradox 9 on a windows 7 workstation linked to SBS 2008.However, when I went to amend a report by redefining a field, Paradox crashe... | 9 | I've tried everything suggested in previous posts. Sometimes it works and sometimes it crashes. My w... 8/24/2010 | Paradox Reports | | Server 2003 and BDE I have just thought I might move all my delphi stuff onto my 2003 server and then use remote desktop to access it however some of my apps give me a bdertl70 err... | 2 | Hi Owen,
I suspect a rights problem. The app/user needs full rights to the data folder and net dir. 8/16/2010 | Delphi Single User Apps | | Paradox 7 Update I know P7 is an ancient version but I dug the install disks out of a dusty drawer this morning and installed it in my XP machine. My question is whether I need ... | 1 | Never mind, I've applied the patch selectively. 8/11/2010 | Paradox Setup, Vista, etc. | | Diplaying javascript error ... | 0 | New! 8/7/2010 | ASP Classic - Handling Data |
Editor's Final Word| PAID ADVERTISEMENT - A Prestwood community sponsor! | The InterOffice Mac Notebook Sleeve for the MacBook AirTMThe InterOffice MacTM Notebook Sleeve is made from a high grade water proof and fade proof vinyl & has a scratch proof cotton twill lining. It has more padding (1/2 inch) than any of the competitors. There is also a zipper to provide a secure closure.
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