This tutorial's goal is to introduce
the ability to jump from one database's form to a form in another
database as a
new feature in HanDBase Forms version 4.0.This feature's main function is to allow for more complex
database
designs by allowing databases to be interrelated via forms in the edit
view.In this tutorial, the necessary
steps to configure HanDBase Forms on the handheld device to take
advantage of
this new feature will be detailed.Then,
the results of properly configuring a set of database's forms will be
examined.Finally, additional resources
will be provided should any further information be needed.
To take advantage of the ability to
jump to and from forms, HanDBase and HanDBase Forms version 4 first
needs to be
configured on the handheld device.The
first step in doing so is to launch HanDBase in the manner most
appropriate for
the particular model of handheld being used.Once running, the steps in configuring are:
Step #1:
Once HanDBase is opened, the first
step
is to create a database on the handheld device or select an existing
database
while in list view.For the purpose of
this tutorial, a sample database has been created with the fields:
Database Name=Roster
Field 1 - Name=Name, Type=Text
Field 2 - Name=Gender, Type=Popup
Field 3 - Name=Grade Level, Type=Popup
Step #2:
a)Once
a database is set up with the necessary fields, the
next step is to associate a form with it to be used in edit view.
b)To
do this, with the database selected, select the
"details" option in menu popup at the lower right of the screen.
c)In
the resulting dialog, choose the "forms" option
on the right side of the wheel and tap “ok”.
d)The
next action to occur will be an automatic transfer into
the HanDBase Forms program.
e)Select
"new" to create a form for the
database.
f)The
next window that is visible provides the opportunity to
define the initial parameters of the form, such as the background
color, types
of buttons, etc.
g)Once
finished with this task, select the "ok"
button to move to the editing window of the Forms program.
h)In
this window, various UI (user interface) controls such as
text fields, buttons and checkboxes are able to be defined, associated
with a
field in the database and placed graphically on the screen.
Step #3:
a)In
the next step, UI elements of labels can been created and
placed on the form to correspond to the field names in the database.To do this, press the “New” button and choose
the appropriate options from the popup list.
b)In
this case, choose to place Label elements.
c)Next,
a text field has been created for the "Name"
field and positioned next to the "Name" label.
d)Popup
items were also created for the "Gender" and
"Grade Level" fields and placed near their respective labels.
Step #4:
Once the form is created for the
"Roster" database, it will later be linked it to a second database
titled "Schedule".In
HanDBase, create the "Schedule" database with the following field
structure:
Database Name=Schedule
Field 1 - Name=Name, Type=Text
Field 2 - Name=Course_1, Type=Popup
Field 3 - Name=Course_2, Type=Popup
Field 4 - Name=Course_3, Type=Popup
Field 5 - Name=Course_4, Type=Popup
Field 6 - Name=Course_5, Type=Popup
Field 7 - Name=Course_6, Type=Popup
Field 8 - Name=Course_7, Type=Popup
Step #5:
a)Following
the creation of the "Schedule" database,
select it in the list view of HanDBase 4 and select the "Menu /
details" option.
b)Again,
select "forms" on the right side of the
resulting window and click “ok”.Define
the parameters such as background color, etc and click "ok".In the form layout window, create UI element
labels to match each of the field names.
c)Next,
define a text field UI element and position it near
the "Name" label.
d)After
doing so, create pop-up UI elements that are
associated with fields from the "Schedule" database and place them
near their respective labels.
Step #6:
a)Since
the databases with forms have been created, the next
step will be to create a UI control in each form that will jump from
database
form to database form.
b)To
add this control, open the form associated with the
"Roster" database as described above.
c)Select
the "Roster" form and select
"open".
d)Next,
add a button UI element.
e)Configure
the button as described below:
-General
Tab
oData
Source = None
oCaption
Source = Other
oCaption
= “View Schedule”
-Layout
Tab
oBe
certain to adjust the width to accommodate the width of
the label
-Actions
Tab
oAction
1 = Jump to Form in other Database
oDatabase
= Schedule
oForm
= Schedule
oRecord
= Open First Record
Note that in the Actions Tab, the
"action" has been set to "Jump to Form in Other DB".Choosing this option creates the contextual
items beneath it, in which the database to jump to is selected, along
with the
form and which record to go to.The
option can be made to open the first record, open the last record,
create a new
record, open first/last record or create.
f)Next,
create a button UI element in the Schedule database's
form.
g)Set
the action properties of the button to "Jump to Form
in other DB", database to "Roster", form to "Roster"
and Record to "Open Last Record".
Step #7:
After setting up HanDBase Forms 4 to
use the ability to jump from one form to a form in another database as
described in the previous steps, the following behaviors in the
software can be
observed:
Pressing the “View Schedule” button in
the Roster database will now jump to the form in the Schedule database.Pressing the “Back” button in the Schedule
database will jump to the form in the Roster database.
To summarize, this tutorial has
introduced jumping from one database's form to another database's form
as one
of the many new features in HanDBase Forms 4.Additional resources, if needed, can be found at:
