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Spring 2007 News |
Specials --
News --
Tips and Tricks --
Contact Infomation --
End Notes
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We look forward to sharing many new developments
with you this year.
It is time to clear the dust and cobwebs out of your system-- Take advantage of our Spring Cleaning sale and receive 10% off
all software upgrades. Product pricing is available on our website at http://fptech.com/Products/pricing.shtml You can reach sales at 1.800.847.4740
New Interactive Customer Support Interface fP Technologies has launched its new Web Based Support Interface. This allows you to submit support requests directly into the live database of our technical support staff. There is a quick link on the home page and there is also a link on the support page. If you wish to create a bookmark now, the address to the support login page is http://www.fptech.com/Support/suppform.shtml You will be required to login to submit requests
and view your open and closed support incidents.
Once the support account is active, you will be able to modify your support record profile which includes contact information, email address, and phone numbers. All support accounts have the ability to change their passwords to the customer support interface. This allows developers to have separate passwords for the developer area and the support area in case they have different security reasons or administrative personnel. Once Logged In
Less Waiting and More Detail. Please remember, however, that our support staff
is only on duty 9 AM – 5 PM Eastern Time.
Product News - SOAP SOAP is a message protocol that can be used to send and receive XML formatted requests and replies. Those XML request and replies can be used to transfer data, they can be used to run remote procedures, they can be used to request specific operations on the data sent, ... SOAP can be used with different transport protocols, but is most commonly used with HTTP or HTTPS. We have added a SOAP area to the filePro forum (www.fptechforum.com) for discussion, testing, and suggestions related to a Java SOAP application that we developed and which will be part of a planned XML related enhancement package for filePro. The application has allowed one filePro application to be certified as SOAP-capable so we know that it works for its so far limited purpose. It is our desire to use this forum area to enhance this tool so that it will serve the needs of the wider community of filePro developers and customers. All interested parties should contact Lauren Kelly via phone (1.800.847.4740), email (ljkelly@fptech.com), or through the filePro forum to be added to the SOAP discussion group. The Java application and documentation will be made available to all registered participants.
Advanced Training Opportunities fP Technologies will be offering Developer Workshops throughout the year. These would provide filePro Developers 2 or 3 days of topic specific training in a more relaxed setting. Watch for more details in the upcoming weeks.
Fast copy of a processing line Before you modify a long complicated line of processing, copy it quickly so you can refer to it as you make your changes. Do this by pressing the following keystrokes as fast as you
can. Tip about Goto/Find in Define Processing Everyone knows that
you need to put a ~ in front of whatever label you want to
find on a prc table. These tips and tricks submitted by John Esak of The
Valar Group, Declared Variables Declared variables make programming with filePro clearer, more flexible and easier than ever. Defining a declared variable Long Variable names are an excellent way to manage the many variables you need to process with filePro. Maximum number of characters in a long variable name is 64. Avoid using filePro commands as long variable names, names like: select, sort, end, exit, screen, input, will certainly confuse your programming. The case of the variable does not matter to filePro. If the variable is MYVARIABLE in one place and MyVariable in another, that is the very same variable. There are two types of declared variables.
Each of these define the variable for use for the current record. If the variable must be passed from record to record, the ,g option is added to the definition just like when you make a dummy variable. Declared local myvariable(10,allup,g) Declared global myglobal(10,mdyy/,g) Use DECLARED GLOBAL to pass variables from scan processing to output processing, from input processing to CALL or CHAIN tables. By defining a set of variables to be used to seed a table and a set that represent the output, you can easily develop library tables that can be called to provide function and reduce redundancy. For example, a table that offers printer selections, or a table that is used to authorize a user. These can be used from many different tables if they are designed to accept a few variables and output to a set of variables for passing back to the calling table. Undefined variables It is possible to use a DECLARED variable with no defined length or edit. This will load data up to 32,767 into one variable. (This limit will vary by version so watch it.) This can also eat up memory, so use this type of variable sparingly or not at all.
Sample line: aa=xx*".06"; tt=xx+aa is made much clearer when the variables reflect the meaning: salestax=total*".06";gross_sale=total + salestax now isn't that more meaningful as a series of commands. To display or print long variables, the value must be assigned to a field or dummy variable. It is still only possible to put field numbers or dummy variables on screens or reports. But you will find there are many more variables used in processing than what you ever need on the actual screen or output. Now go forth and use the long variables to make your processing more understandable. This tip provided by Nancy Palmquist of Virtual Software Systems. For more information and more tips, come visit the filePro Forum at http://www.fptechforum.com
Updating Your Records Keeping your record up to date means that orders can be filled even
faster and that you will receive all of the most up to date filePro
news and special offers. filePro users can update their records on-line
at http://fptech.com/Developr/emaildb.shtml
You will need your account number and email address. If you do not have an account number If you have forgotten your account
number Developers can easily label their licenses through the license
download area: This can be used to assign an end-user name and email, but the fields may also be used to fill in a system name (ie Home Laptop) and secondary email addresses. Need to Reach Us? filePro users can reach fP Technologies
Do you have any questions or comments relating to this update? Email me at ljkelly@fptech.com or call me at 1-800-847-4740. As always--thank you for using filePro!
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