Neblog

DesignBais requires very little maintenance but here are a couple pointers.

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DesignBais doesn’t have documented support for JavaScript or VBScript for customized client-side behaviors, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. Here’s a discussion on the topic.

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Using graphical elements familiar to end-users will enhance the value of your application and show that you really are taking that next step toward a real GUI. A toolbar is an example of the sort of thick-client UI feature that end-users are starting to expect in browser apps now.

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When adding an image in the Form Designer, the default Image File value is DBLOGO.JPG. When referring to images, we use this original Image File value, for example: DBIMAGESPEC<1> = "DBLOGO.JPG" This presents a problem as soon as another image goes on the form and you need to refer to it in code - which DBLOGO.JPG do you want?

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For fields that input and display time, the default output format is MTHS, which will show AM/PM plus the seconds. Most applications don’t require seconds, but there is no way to display data in DesignBais with a mask like MTH. A similar situation applies to dates where you want to input or display dates in a variety of formats, depending on circumstances. This article goes into detail about how to do this, code included.

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Consider referring to images indirectly, rather than using filenames directly in code.

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Greetings DesignBais developers! Nebula Research and Development recently entered into an agreement with DesignBais International to provide Professional Services to and on behalf of DesignBais International, on an as-requested basis. In case you didn’t know me before, I just wanted to introduce myself.

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Rather than putting application images directly into C:\db\images, put them in a folder under that. For example: C:\db\images\MyComp. This will help with upgrades, doing mass replacement of image files, etc. The default path used by DesignBais for images is images\ (with a trailing slash and relative to the base directory which is usually C:\db\. So, when referring to images, use only the subfolder and filename without an initial slash. For example: MyComp\filename.ext.

Welcome to the first product usage tip for DesignBais on this blog! Radio buttons are mutually exclusive, round check boxes. Selecting one of them unsets all of the others. DesignBais does not yet natively support radio buttons, but we can simulate them using the image technique for toolbars and other controls (to be discussed in another tip).

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DesignBais is a great product and perfectly suited to the Pick developer who doesn’t know or care about .NET, ODBC, sockets, ActiveX, Java, PHP, Perl, or any of these other tools that we discuss in public forums. I tend to say DesignBais is not for us, the geeks in the crowd, but that’s not entirely accurate.

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