A Few Highlights from Day Two Post-Conference Super Advanced R:BASE v9 eXtreme Class:

• New system variables: You could previously get this information using code but now there are system variables to instantly provide record number, record count, record number and count, record number and count with description, R:BASE version and Build and more.
• New Link Label: You can make easy hyperlinks in forms - a URL Link which includes a tab for HTML language
• New Auto Hint feature which shows the hint within the Status Bar position instead of a balloon.
• 51 Snazzy New Themes
• New Advanced Rich Text Control object - built in advanced RTF word processing software which can be used for mail merge or reports.
• New Enhanced Table Designer with help visible on every click.
• Cross Tab Report Features: You can add custom titles in cross tab reports by right clicking. You can also draw horizontal and vertical lines and add color.

Razzak also demonstrated a solution to provide rotated variable text on labels using the caption property command. Very slick!

Thank you Razzak and John for all your hard work to provide a great post-conference super advanced R:BASE extreme v9 class. All the cool new features and tricks we learned will make our databases shine.

A Few Highlights of Day One Post-Conference Super Advanced R:BASE v9 eXtreme Class:

• Best way to upgrade a database to version 9 is to unload the database using the old version software (after verifying no issues) then reload with version 9 software.
• Component IDs on forms are automatically assigned to each new form object. You can edit the component ID if you prefer a different name.
• Renaming forms/reports three ways: Use two slow clicks like Windows, press F2 key or right click to rename
• Highlight all forms in forms window (Control-A) and compress or assign THEMENAME to all forms at once.
• Hover mouse over custom form action to see code in a hint window
• In 64 bit version of version 9 R:BASE you can sort forms by form edited date which makes it easy to find a form you just edited.
• New form object - DB slider to adjust numeric values
• Object Inspector is now integrated into regular R:BASE (don't need Enterprise Edition any more)
• New drop down box on Object properties is a short cut to get to later tabs that you would normally have to scroll to see.
• Reports now have 2D and matrix (PDF417) bar codes included at no additional cost. (Razzak tried to take that one back after he saw how popular it was but we held him to it!)
• Background color mapping in Enhanced DBGRID highlights rows based on column values (ie - red background needs attention). You can use multiple colors to indicate multiple conditions including null. The color can be placed in a different column - not just the column with the specified value.
• Undocumented Feature in Enhanced DBGRID - PROPERTY TABLE tablename 'CLOSE' or 'OPEN' is just like SAVE ROW used with PROPERTY TABLE 'REFRESH'. However this will also cause the grid to re-open maintaining any sort or conditions that were set when it was opened.

Cascading List Views in Forms

Razzak showed a technique using a series of Variable List View controls in a single variable form. Each did a lookup, and the second and third each had a variable in its WHERE clause that refered to the variable set by a click in the earlier list view.

It created a drill-down interface, with a performance advantage over using DB Grids or other DB controls: None of the three tables involved was ever locked by a user (unless and until a double-click brought up an edit form).

That technique can be used in 7.6 or 8.0, also. But Razzak went on to show many new features of eXtreme 9.0. For example, more EEPs are possible, and it is easier to get to the EEP you want to edit. You can make the form "scroll up" like a window shade to gain screen real estate, or to hide private information when somebody walks up behind you.

2009 Project Bundle Up

For the first time ever we had a live auction. Much to the chagrin of Jan Johansen, he became the auctioneer. Many even followed his suggestion of bringing alcohol to be auctioned. The list of items included a suncatcher, vodka, many bottles of wine, power supply, and others. Over $360 for Project Bundle Up at the auction.

Curently as this moment we have collected approximately $1450 for Project Bundle Up. For many of you who couldn't make it to the conference, you can send a check to Donna Memon at R:BASE Technologies. Please write the check in order of "Project Bundle Up" or "Salvation Army".

Bill Downall receives the "Life Time Achievement Award"

Bill, to much of his surprise and delight, last night was awarded the RBTI “ Life Time Achievement Award”.

Bill received this awarded and is so busy “Blogging” that he has left himself out of this announcement. To be honest between his takings of notes, being one of two MCs’ and keeping us all up to date on this Blog it is an award WELL deserved, among all the other day by day items.

You can view these awards and other activities by following this link as well as viewing them on one of Bill’s earlier posts today.

http://picasaweb.google.com/RBASE10thYear


Thank you,
RBang

Custom Images on Form

The artistic John Minyo showed how to design (or find) custom bitmap images, and use them on radio buttons, checkboxes, speedbutton, or other controls. The custom images are files that store multiple images, all the same size, which represent the different states of a control: enabled, disabled, checked, selected, etc. Each image within the custom image file is a glyph.

He also showed how, in 9.0, to use these custom images in the Glyph/layout settings for the controls, to set which image goes with each state of the control. The halloween themed skeleton heads and pumpkins on speed buttons were a special highlight.

Documenting the Undocumented

Razzak showed what he described as 12 percent of the undocumented features of R:BASE eXtreme 9.0.

• Magnifying glass to zoom in on small, hard to read things (Ctrl-Alt-M)
• PROPERTY REPORT CANCEL 'TRUE'
• Report | Breaks | DESC order
• Form Designer | Assign color: click on the title "Background Color" or "Font Color" on the toolbar
• In Enhanced DB Grid, set filter type to (None) for fast load, to "Column Values" for drop-down list
• Enhanced DB Grid, Hot Keys: Ctrl-F/F3 for Find, Ctrl-L for enhanced Filter dialog, Ctrl-S for show/hide DB Grid Columns 
• Data Browser | Table | Open | Select Column | right-click, calculate, options include all output options (Printer, text file, PDF, clipboard)
• Working with old code w/ PLUGIN commands, *.rbl, *80.rbl, eXtreme 9.0 will recognize and run correct 9.0 version
• Migrate your Custom Color defined in 7.6 or V-8 into eXtreme 9.0 (in old version: Settings/Custom Colors/Save to File. In new version, Settings/Custom Colors/Load from File)

Banquet Awards

First Timers
David Braunschweiger
Masahiro Kawata

Extra Mile
Mashahiro Kawata

Bug Finders Extraordinaire
Bill Downall
Dan Goldberg





Beta Testers
Mike Byerley
Brock Dewey
Paul Dewey
Bill Downall
Dan Goldberg
Gary Wendike

Developer of the Year
Mike Byerley
(Third straight year!)

Developers' Program Changes

Razzak announced that the R:BASE Technologies program for Authorized Developers will be discontinued at the end of 2009, to be followed by a new program, the details of which are yet to be announced.

R:Base is now Peachy!

Alexsey Chuyasov demonstrated the next integration facility, beyond what was not in the last year or two for QuickBooks. This is R:Accounting for Peachtree, a plugin interface that allows R:BASE to suck data out of Peachtree, or even for R:BASE to send financial transactions into Peachtree. The user interface is still being refined, but the live demonstration showed R:BASE building a report on data that came out of Peachtree, and separately, data entry into an R:BASE form, and the same transaction with details posted into the Peachtree.

R:Mail Delivers

John showed extensive improvements in the ease of use of R:Mail 9.0, through the R:Mail Editor's Advanced Rich View Editor. Now a database-driven automated email is easy to make look pretty, with a fully GUI editor that formats your message in HTML. Save the template, and your R:Mail plugin commands can reference the template, saving dozens of lines of code and making the message much easier to edit in the future. R:Mail 9.0 thus becomes much more accessible and useful for the end-user.

R:Charts 9.0

John Minyo walked us through the interface for creating a wide variety of good looking charts from table data. The examples used financial data, and the variations in graph type and styling options were seemingly limitless.

Most awesome: he demonstrated a chart that appears to scroll real-time data (like the Task Manager "performance" tab), by reiterating the plugin call in a timed loop, as rows were being inserted or deleted from the underlying table.

Enhanced DB Grid

Razzak showed off many cool features of the new-in-9.0 Enhanced DB Grid.

• Allow your users to search for/isolate any rows in the DB Grid with a filter bar at the top. 
• Allow users hot-keys for advanced changes to the layout and to advanced search criteria. 
• Preserve a set of selected rows in the grid, through other clicks and actions, until the user changes the selections. 
• Put look-up messages in balloons over data as the mouse hovers over those cells.

He also showed a live example of a government agency application that combined features of R:BASE eXtreme 9.0, R:Magellan 9.0, R:Mail 9.0, and R:SFTP Client 9.0, to do things like plot and display travel routes, retrieve huge files from distant FTP servers, and load their data into a database, and easy-to-use drag-and-drop user interfaces.

Product Showcase and Highlights

In a whirlwind tour of eXtreme 9.0 add-ons, Razzak explained that many of these will be built in -- embedded right within the RBASE code, and can be activated by simply buying a license.

R:PDF Form Filler was one new product, that enables you to link R:BASE tables and columns directly to the data entry fields on a PDF form. You can pre-fill the PDF form from R:BASE.

R:BASE Total Backup enables you to schedule complete (UNLOAD) backups of multiple databases. It can backup 7.6, 8.0, and 9.0 eXtreme databases.

R:Compiler 9.0 features some improvements for performance and for security. You can choose to include form and report definitions right within the compiled EXE file, rather than in the database. This can help minimize data that has to travel back and forth between workstation and server, and can also protect your EEP commands from examination and alteration by unauthorized individuals.

R:Scope will be able to check integrity of BLOB data for the first time.

Introduction of R:BASE eXtreme 9.0

What's special about 9.0?

Just a few highlights: (it's hard to keep up when Razzak is showing off things at full speed.)

Enhanced SQL Engine

Now development is all Visual C++

Single-Engine DLL with built-in File I/O Efficiency

Improvement Speed

Database Explorer

Enhanced XP/Vista Theme-Aware user interface

Redesigned toolbars, icons, look and feel of everything

Data Designer

Every ancient SQL command has a GUI implementation

R> Prompt

Improved console and history

Query Builder

much smarter than before

Form Designer and Report Designer

Hundreds of new features and enhancements

Editor and Debugger

better toolbars

integrated spell-check and thesaurus

enhanced R:Style

BLOB Editor

way beyond what you used to have

Output, File Gateway

improved security, encryption, and more

... and lots of other development productivity features

2009 Conference Day 1 Morning Sessions

Project Bundle-Up cheerleaders Jan Johansen and Tom Eldred introduced a Wizard of Oz theme -- Jan skipped to the front like Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road, swinging the Langenberger basket that traditionally holds donations. After all, it is the 70th anniversary of the movie The Wizard of Oz, and we all came to Pittsburgh to see the Wizard.

Jan introduced a new feature: the Pre-paid amnesty donation. For a $25 up-front donation, Jan and Tom will forgive a whole bunch of sports or political references, or cell phone noises.

A. Razzak Memon welcomed us all, despite the so-called poor economy. He said he doesn't really believe the economy is that bad. RBTI is grinding out new releases and improvements. Work goes on. They take care of customers. There was only a brief moment last spring when Razzak considered not having a developers' conference this fall, but he decided not to change what works.

So regardless what happens, RBTI will still be there. "We ain't going nowhere."