DataEase 7.2: The first step on the way forward, and the last of an era.
DataEase 7.2 is a very much improved version of DataEase 7 and hopefully the answer to a lot of what you have asked for and maybe even some more! It is a compilation of the features and improvements you have been telling us since DataEase first hit the market. Added to these we have added our own wish list to release a product that we think is simply the best DataEase 7 ever. The changes range from a new look and feel to powerful new features. They include:
New Technology
DataEase 7.2 is the first relational database to use the latest 64 bit File System. This together with the adoption of Microsoft's compiler and libraries has resulted in a huge number of improvements, such as: a new look and feel, improved workflow, easier installation and maintenance, and the manipulation of many more records and users.
New look and feel
In DataEase 7.2 the entire products look and feel has been reworked. Not one dialog, menu, function or toolbar has been left untouched. And the result we hope, is an effective and modern version of this popular, versatile and flexible application development tool.
New Welcome dialog
DataEase is an interactive application development system where a developer or user can work in several applications at ones. In the previous versions of DataEase it has been quite hard work to open and manage ones applications. In 7.2 we have added a completely new Welcome dialog that help you manage your applications.
The 6 last applications accessed will be listed under the Recent button, you will have instant access to 6 sample and tutorial applications as well as a button for immediate creation of New applications and browsing for an existing application.
New Open Application Dialog
In 7.2 we have completely changed the approach to opening and creating applications. In 7.1 you would have to decide you action and then you had no way of changing your mind if you had made the wrong choice. In 7.2 you can effortlessly change your mind, browse your application, rename, delete, open recent or create a new application as well as a new application directory from the dialog.
If you create a new application, you will also get a preview of the different styles available for the application.
New Login
The login dialog has always been kind of dreary and it has stayed the same since DataEase Express and 1991. We felt it was time to change it and as this is the first welcome most users will have with an implication we thought it should look inviting and welcoming. We hope it do.
New catalogue display
The new modernised catalog gives you a snapshot of your whole application in much more detail. You can now view all fields on a form/table by just clicking on their plus boxes.
Furthermore you now have the ability to include information about each section of your application (down to field level) on the new application help box on the left hand side of the catalog (an editable html file where you can include colours, pictures, logos, etc) - very useful for annotating changes to your application.
New System forms
It is amazing how some things has stuck in DataEase since Express, like the system forms. They have looked the same for almost 20 years, so it was high time that they got a fresh up.
New Look on all dialogs.
DataEase for Windows has always struggled with a slightly dated look. In 7.2 we have upgraded the code to take full use of the latest possibilities in the operating system. Dialogs have also been very small and fields and dropdown to small, due to an attempt to stay compatible with 800x600 screens. We are targeted a new and progressive market, and we feel that the usability of the tool is more important than the ability to do the development on an outdated computer.
New Styles
One of the strongest and least used features in DataEase for Windows, is styles. We think that the main reason for this is that the styles that has been supplied with Windows has been ugly and dated. Over the years, the styles has been ignored during development so for a lot of the newer functionality styles was enabled at all. In 7.2 we have decided to rectify this, and have made sure that all objects are styleable, and we have also made completely new contemporary styles.
New relationships diagram
You can now view your relationships in a diagram. You can also view it in a tabular format which allows you to sort, edit and enter new relationships. Use your mouse to move the columns around and sort the data. Sorting goes down to several levels so you can choose to sort by relationship Form1 name first, Form2 name second, then Field1 and so on. The first click sorts the form in ascending order, the second in descending and the third clears the sorting.
However if you still prefer the old way of seeing your relationships you can toggle between both views by clicking on the toggle icon - if you would like to always view the old style instead just select the "Old style system forms" option from the Application Preferences dialog box.
The CDF (Custom Defined Functions) is now also presented in a tabular format allowing you to sort, edit and create new functions.
Enhanced Table View
You can now modify all display properties of your columns and rows, including background and font settings. Highlights can indicate locked, deleted records, selected sets, updated rows and current row position. You can also create a striped or checked table in cyan and yellow just because you like it!
New image types
A number of new image types are now supported: JPEG2000, FlashPix, PhotoCD, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, RLE, DIB, EPS, GIF, PNG, TGA, IMG, DXF, PCX and DCX.
New look on all dialog boxes
It was our impression that the entire product looked dated. With the change to a more modern compiler and framework, we could finally take advantage of the latest operating system functionality.
The dialogs in DataEase has been more or less the same since Express, a product that was optimized for use on 800x600 screens. This meant that drop downs, and list boxes was very cramped. We have had a complete run through of the entire product and updated all the dialogs etc. We hope that result is enticing.
New icons
A new set of icons and general cosmetic changes were created to go with the new look and feel of DataEase 7.2.
Mouse wheel support
Use the mouse wheel to scroll up and down your documents. This is particularly useful when scrolling through the new spin list choices!
Background Image
You can now choose to have an Image - a Company Logo, perhaps - as a backdrop to a document.
Easier installation and maintenance
Tabbed preferences
The Application Preferences Screen has been enhanced, enabling you to have more control over DataEase's behaviour. Settings that used to be found in .ini files have now been placed onto the Preferences screen. Application Preferences are split between three tabs:
• Application User Interface - defines Grids, Lines, Labels, Custom Toolbars.
• Application Data Administration - defines Locking Strategy, Search Paths.
• Application Default Document - defines Window Sizes, default form behaviour.
No more ini files
The previously customisable ini settings have now been implemented in the Application Preferences dialog box, so that you can toggle between the different settings much easier than before.
No more DENAME and DEPATH
The DENAME and DEPATH environment variables have been abolished - instead of DENAME, a header will be automatically created containing information about the computer, user and application name for each session. The DEPATH environment variable is no longer necessary and has been removed, because Locking Options and Shared Application Files have been moved to the application directory.
- NB! You can still use DENAME if you need to run multisession on the same machine in sepearte sessions i.e. Citrix etc where the identity of the machine will all be the same, but each session will be an independent procecss.
Multi-session support
Run multiple sessions of DataEase on one machine without setting up batch files and multiple DENAMES.
Much more error checking
A number of internal checks have been built in DataEase 7.1 and include checks on stack integrity when switching from the UI to prism, checks on 'other strings' integrity (now its 64k), checks on the use of Windows process ID to ensure you cant have two identical DENAMES, between many others.
Conflicting user name
The 'display conflicting user name' functionality has been reintroduced in DataEase 7.1 to show when a particular document is in use.
Registry settings done by install
Prior to DataEase 7.1 if you used DataEase in a network environment you may have had to adjust the Windows registry settings to optimise locking. This is mainly because Microsoft servers are not primarily designed or optimised for use with systems that lock at the record level rather than the complete document. DataEase 7 now performs these changes automatically for you.
Improved workflow
Default record
DataEase 7.1 introduces the ability to save a set of default record values and retrieve them as a 'template'. This can substantially speed up certain forms of record entry - typically when a large number of items 'almost always' contain the same value.
Skip locked record
Give users the option to skip around a locked record when searching/navigating (when lock records is set to exclusive).
"Record" numbers abolished
The Status Bar Record Number has been replaced with a Percentage indicator. This serves the same purpose as a Record Count - it gives you a useful indication of "where you are" in the file - e.g. 50% of the way through selected records, rather than the often confusing record number.
Script editor changes - save from anywhere
The need to switch to view your script first in order to save has been removed - you can now save it from anywhere.
Script editor changes - next/previous buttons
Next and Previous script buttons have been added to the editor toolbar, making navigation much easier.
Lock document in designer mode
The ability to lock records when in designer mode has been re-introduced in DataEase 7.1.
Many more records and users
You can now store and manipulate an astronomical number of records (12.5 quadrillion records on a 2GHz machine) and have some 200 plus users accessing your application, turning DataEase 7 into a true scalable solution.
New controls
All controls now display in 3D by default giving you a modern look and feel to your documents.
Embedded subforms and tabs
One of the most exciting new features of DataEase 7 is the ability to overlay subforms via tabs. You can now present data from different tables seamlessly in one screen - up to 81! This allows you to give your end user access to all key documents of relevance in one page instead of scrolling down pages and pages.
Multibox
The new multibox replaces the lookup choice field. It permits multi-column display - columns may be looked up by relationship and you can choose which columns to display and which are to be saved. You can remove columns from the display and swap their order.
The multibox will pick up the fields you select but only display the data of the bound field.
Spin list
As well as the existing drop down field box you now have the option of displaying different choices in a spin list which displays its rows in a scrollable box instead of a pop-up list. Click on the scroll arrows (or use your mouse wheel) to move around the choices.
Real World Forms
This will make wasted stationery a thing of the past. Here you can scan a form (or use a pdf or other image of a form) and bring it in DataEase to place your fields on top of each form field so it looks exactly the real form - when you print it you get your data placed exactly where they should go.
Proper Memo Fields
In DataEase 6, Memo Fields were implemented as a series of ordinary text fields - which led to great complexity in printing, imports, exports, external database links, and so on. They could be sized by the Application Designer to a maximum of 4000 characters.
In DataEase 7, Memo Fields are implemented as CLOBs (Character Large Objects).The new Memo Fields can contain up to 64k characters. It is not necessary to size them, since they are held as variable length records.
OML improvements
The .value property can now be used with all types of field.
Font now has a colour property.
Buttons now have a label property that allows the button text to be changed from within OML. Additionally, they can now be set to Shine and Shade.
A number of objects did not have fill or border properties. This has now been corrected.
Object standardisation
The properties across all objects have been standardised - this means that you can now change the properties of all objects, for example their font and colour.
Extended dot notation
In OML you can now refer to documents that are not currently open, for example:
OtherTable.FieldName.Value := "aaa" .
Actions as functions
The popular DFWACTS Custom Functions are now directly available to you as internal functions - in other words, they no longer need to be registered as Custom Functions before use. They can now be called directly from picklists in the DQL and OML Script Editor, and also from the Field Derivation Dialog Box.
Prompt from DQL
Many reports in DataEase require the user to input simple selection criteria - a name, or a number, say - before they are run.
DataEase 7 introduces a new DQL keyword - 'Prompt' - which can be used to generate a simple one-field Dialog Box, into which a user can type such a selection.
Compound indexes
You can create a compound index for up to 10 fields making each unique, giving you the power to create proper primary/alternate keys.
Migration Tool
As you will have seen above, the latest version of DataEase has had a major revamp not only in look and feel but also within its very core. Along with its use of the 64 bit file system, there are many other changes in the storage of both data and definitions. (As examples, in file structure the way memo fields and standard date fields are stored has been changed, and in objects lookup choice controls have been merged with multibox controls, and 3D and 'ordinary' objects have been merged)
This means that if you are using DataEase for Windows versions 6.x you will need to "migrate" your application to DataEase 7.2. To facilitate this process DataEase 7.2 includes a migration tool that will automatically upgrade a complete application from DataEase 6.x.
Migration from 7.0 and 7.1 is automatic.
By: Ulrik Jacob Hoegh - Krohn posted: 9th December 2009 - 13:48