Monday, July 19, 2004
Build 343: Refresh and Full Install
The Full Install includes two new Styles: Logo and Shaded Logo. Foxfire! now provides two default templates with logos that may be modified. The UI to change them has not been completed but it is controlled at the Preference Level in a field in FFPREFER called pf_logo.
If you want to have a global logo, however, you can simply modify the system variable ff_userlogo in FFCONFIG.PRG.
A new update to the Mind's Eye Reporting engine has also been included. This fixes several positioning problems that previously were occurring when using lines with grouped variables and more.
Note: A lot of the changes in this build are removing older platform-specific functionality. This will make it easier for those users who like to go through the source code to follow everything.
Fix: Back color editing error when editing MULTJOIN.
Fix: Request Output option is now selected in output tab. Earlier versions always defaulted to Screen.
Fix: Group footer captions are now set to Float to properly align with over items.
Fix: When modifying report layout, and the report already exists, the dialog wasn't always clear to read.
Fix: Bug for modifying joins in earlier build.
Fix: Error when creating a new data item and typing in the expression box in the Quick Item Editor
Fix: When adding data items to request, data items with similar names (Cars Age vs Cars Age at sale) can now be added. Previously it was preventing these additions from going in.
Fix: Fixed Edit button in Filter editor tab. It wasn't doing anything.
Fix: The undocked workbench now refreshes properly.
Fix: Problem when running reports after upgrading from older versions. fld_line was not being populated properly.
Fix: Resolved problem with missing API library.
Enh: New RequestLabel property in ffApplication object that defaults to Request: or to lb_request if present.
Enh: Added Data Group field to quick data item editor Enh: Automatically filling in Report Header 2 when creating a new data item on the fly. Upd: Ensure that Request Label in preview respects lb_request setting. Upd: Removal of DOS Shell for editing non-Windows reports. All report layouts will be using the Windows layout in Foxfire! 8.0.Upd: Removal of character reports and ensured that PDF output worked when not going to the screen.
Upd: Output screen now shows all of the Styles available. The full install now features new styles with Logos for both the shaded view and the Presentation template. Upd: Every user now has access to a Zoom dialog Upd: All textboxes and edits may be zoomed. Upd: Updated all forms using older classes to using proper base classes. Upd: User is able to edit the name of the request directly in the Preview area. Upd: When editing directly in the preview area, the width of the textbox is displayed properly. Upd: Enhanced Resize for output options so buttons all fit right under Layout text.Upd: Added Detect and Repair to the Help menu. Use this whenever you aren't sure about the status of your files or you are getting errors about missing variables. It ensures all structures are correct and up to date.
Upd: Updated Detect and Repair method to work with windows font settings.
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Monday, July 05, 2004
New Email Settings
pcMType - Mail Type (either S for SMTP or M for MAPI. This is driven by the variables pg_mailfmt, pf_mailfmt and then finally rq_mailfmt)
plUseCDO - Set to .T. if you want to try and send the message using CDO (collaborative data objects). This only works with Windows 2000 and above OSes.
pcMServer - SMTP Server. Driven from pg_msgsvr , pf_msgsvr and rq_msgsvr
pcMFrom - Sender Email Address. Driven from pg_msgfm,pf_msgfm and rq_msgfm
pcMSender - Sender Name. Driven from pg_msgsdr , pf_msgssdr and rq_msgsdr
plDisplay - Logical setting for Outlook or MAPI Mail applications. If set to .T., the message will be displayed before sending
pcMUser - SMTP Server user name. Driven from pg_msgusr , pf_msgusr and rq_msgusr
pcMPwd - SMTP Server User Password. Driven from pg_msgpwd , pf_msgpwd, and rq_msgpwd
pcMSubject - Message from subject. Defaults to "Email from Foxfire!" but driven from pf_msgsubj and rq_msgsubj
pcMNote - Message note. Defaults to "Your request is attached." but driven from rq_msgnote.
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Foxfire! 8.0 Build 342
Build 342 was primarily intended to be a bug-fix release (which means you should be able to grab the Refresh and it should run ok). But of course, we've put in some new goodies. If you come across problems, please download the full install first.
We are moving forward with internal testing but want to ensure everyone has an opportunity to grab the latest.
Fixes and Cosmetic Updates
Fixed problems with editing cross-tabs.
Added support for full font editing with support for underline and strike-thrus.
Fix for ffconfig editing.
Fix errors when editing the style.
Upd: Group Header tab now uses revised headers to make it clearer what is being edited.
Upd: The Table field in the Edit Data Item dialog is now a drop-down, making it easier to select from the existing tables in the system.
Upd: When you Right-click on report groups, we only show commonly used items such as Group, Ungroup, Reset Page # and New Page.
Fix: Problem with removing sorts on items. Now if you remove the group, it will un-hide the Data Item if it is hidden.
Fix: refresh problems with output tabs. In earlier versions, the Output options dialog would not refresh properly.
Upd: Set up environment so users can run Request Editor outside of Request Manager. This is useful if you decide to rebuild the Request Editor yourself in code. We'll document this in more detail a bit later.
Fixes for errors when hitting Apply in Data Item Editor.
Fixed problem when you removed the only filter in a request, it didn't properly remove.The Expression Editor has been enhanced with better support for Real vs. Plain language expressions. We're about 90% there so please give us your feedback.
The Batch Builder menu option has been moved to the View menu and renamed Batch Folders. Update to ensure that View menu updates properly when exporting, importing or batching. This way, you can easily Hide it again. Removed Save As Batch from File menu.
Fix: When right-clicking on Data Items in the Request Manager, it now goes to the Data Items tab instead of the first one.
Fix: Batch folders did not disappear when clearing checkbox
Fix: Ensured that dictionary description is invisible if set.
Upd: Default to display Data dictionary description is now on.
Upd: Updated Export object so that request output file is not cleared after running RunExport method.
Enhanced Font Support
Individual data items now use the WindowsStyle settings from the data dictionary. (There was a change in FFFRXGUI to support it even if NOT on second line). What this means is that if you have set up custom font selections in the Data Dictionary, Foxfire! will use them even if the data item is NOT on the second line.
Support for font styles now includes Bold, Italic, Underline and StrikeThru for both basic data items and dynamic request items.
Support for new font choices for runtime and data item fonts.
Enh: Added pg_dispdesc to FFCONFIG builder for easier access. The New FFCONFIG Builder works really well with this. If you haven't used it before, download the Full Install and try it under Tools System Administrator.Enh: New Export and Email functionality. You can now right-mouse click on a request and choose Export and Email to batch email your request all in one step. A real time saver. Note the new email variables in the FFCONFIG file though before trying to do anything.
What Is Not Fixed or Updated
Dialogs found when using the Batch Builder. We are revising these and attempting to incorporate automated support for the Windows Task Scheduler. The interface there is inconsistent so please be aware of its fragility. The next build shoud resolve this.
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