[filePro News] April 2007

Thu Apr 12 15:16:52 PDT 2007

Welcome to a new year with filePro and fP Technologies!

We look forward to sharing many new developments with you
this year. Keep reading for the latest news and events here at
fPtech

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Spring Sale
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It is time to clear the dust and cobwebs out of your system
Now through April 30th, update your filePro software and save!

Take advantage of our Spring Cleaning sale and receive 10%
off all software upgrades.

This special pricing will be in effect until April 30, 2007.

Product pricing is available on our website at
http://fptech.com/Products/pricing.shtml

You can reach sales at 1.800.847.4740
by fax at 607.655.5654
or e-mail sales at fptech.com

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fP Technologies News
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New Interactive Customer Support Interface

fP Technologies has launched its new Web Based Support
Interface, allowing 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.net/Support/suppform.shtml

You will be required to login to submit requests and view
your open and closed support incidents.

****Logging In*****

Developers can login using their normal account number and
password used for the developer section of the website.

If you don’t have a developer login, contact sales at fptech.com
and they will review your account status and create your support
access record for you with a temporary password that you will be
requested to change once you login.

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*****

You can
**access any support activity that has been logged into our support system.

**view New, Open, and Closed incidents.

**add notes to any incidents. These additional notes are sent to support
for review and attachment to the referenced incidents.

**view a history of all notes relating to an incident.

And best of all--
**add a New Support Request which our support staff is notified of
immediately.

Less Waiting and More Detail.

Please remember, however, that our support staff is only on
duty 9 AM – 5 PM Eastern Time. Your support requests and
communications will be handled promptly during those hours.

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Product News
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*****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,etc.
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-
http://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 at fptech.com ), or
through the filePro forum to be added to the SOAP
discussion forum.

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.

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Tips and Tricks
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*****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 (make sure your cursor is somewhere on the line
you want to copy first):

F8 c ENTER ENTER ENTER

I know it looks really dumb, but once you do it,
you'll use it over and over, I promise.

*****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.

However, many don't know that you need to put a " in front
of any numeric value you want to find. Otherwise filePro
will take you to the line number you seem to be wanting.

F9 "23 will take you to the first occurrence of the digits
23 not to line 23

These tips and tricks submitted by John Esak of The Valar
Group- http://www.valar.com -author of The filePro Survivor
Series- http://www.valar.com/survivor_series/

*****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.
LOCAL - A long variable can be LOCAL and will only be
available in the processing table where it is defined.
Declare local myvariable(10,allup)
Declare myvariable(10,allup)

GLOBAL - A global variable may be passed from table to
table as you connect processing. It is defined in the
first table and then all other tables just reference
that variable by using DECLARE EXTERN
Declare global myglobal(10,mdyy/)

EXTERN - Indicates the variable is expected to be passed
from another table where it is listed as GLOBAL. The
definition of the variable isnever supplied in the
DECLARED EXTERN form.
Declare extern myglobal

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.
Declare unknown, bigvariable

Use the .g version of a LOCAL or GLOBAL variable to
make sure the value is passed from level to level to
@done. It is the ,g that keeps the variable between
records, not the GLOBAL part.

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- http://www.vss3.com/

For more information and more tips, come visit the filePro
Forum at http://www.fptechforum.com

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Contact Information
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*****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, try entering a
zero (0) for the account number.

If you have forgotten your account number please email
sales at fptech.com to request your account information.

Developers can easily label their licenses through the
license download area:
http://fptech.com/Developr/maclic.shtml

This can be used to assign a 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
by phone: 1.800.847.4740
by fax: 607.655.5654
by mail: PO Box 290352, Tampa, FL 33617-0352
by email:
Sales: sales at fptech.com
Support: fpsupport at fptech.com

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Endnotes
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Do you have any questions or comments relating to this update?
Have any tips or tricks you'd like to submit for future updates?
Email me at ljkelly at fptech.com or call me at
1-800-847-4740.

As always--thank you for using filePro!