Special Date Edit

Tue Oct 6 16:52:38 PDT 2015

Hi Richard,

>> Why not use the date edits supplied, if the date format is incorrect a
filePro edit error will appear.  This would force the entry of a proper date
with no missing information.

That's the problem, we do not have all the pieces that makes up a valid
date, only parts.  If we leave the date filed blank (which btw, is also
technically an invalid date), then that invoice will not be selected in any
range definitions and not show properly based on the limited good info we do
have for it.

>> From an accuracy standpoint, I would prefer seeing a real date entered at
the time the record is created.  

All the stuff is for archival only and is being imaged, therefore no current
account functions are being done to it.  They do want to see the record show
up properly at the right place when browsing in date order and be included
in a selections and indexes.  One such automatic index would be
VendorID+Date.  That is about the extinct of it.

Right now, I'm considering a custom edit that looks like a reversed date as
in YYYY/MM/DD of type character (not date).  The edit would enforce data
entry, but would allow all the way down to 0000/00/00.  This would sort,
select and index correctly.  One would have to convert it to a date format
in order to do math, which probably is not a big deal as most date match is
done via code.  Am I thinking correctly?  

Thanks,
Stanley

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Kreiss [mailto:rkreiss at verizon.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, October 6, 2015 4:29 PM
To: 'Stanley - stanlyn.com' <stanley at stanlyn.com>; 'Kenneth Brody'
<kenbrody at spamcop.net>
Subject: RE: Special Date Edit

Top Post:

Why not use the date edits supplied, if the date format is incorrect a
filePro edit error will appear.  This would force the entry of a proper date
with no missing information.

Your other choice is to use a real field (10,*) to hold the "date".  In
processing have a dummy field to use for any date related functions.  The
missing values will have to be filled in through programming to allow the
date functions to work.

One other question, are you sorting for a report or for an automatic index.
If it the later, you could create a -v select process and use the sort()
function using a check of the date field entered to see if it is missing any
values.  The sort field can be df(8,#).  With a edit of # you can have
leading zeros.  This would allow for your sorting.  As for date math, you
would have to put a real date value in (see above) for date math to work.

>From an accuracy standpoint, I would prefer seeing a real date entered at
the time the record is created.  When aging a receivable, there is a big
difference when an invoice is due when the terms are NET 10 days or Net 10
days EOM or Net 30.  If the invoice date is missing the actual date, and you
set it to the first of the month and run and aging on the 10th, all will
show as current.  However, the Net 10 EOM will never have the proper due
date as it will always be aged from the first of the month.  Invoice of the
1st of the month would be due on the 10th - Net 10 days, due on to 30th of
the month or the 1st of the following month and Net 10 EOM would be due on
the 10th of the following month.  

Of course the paragraph above is moot if all you are doing is you payables.
But then again, are your payment terms always the same?

The other problem I see is handling end of year items.

Richard Kreiss

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Filepro-list [mailto:filepro-list-
> bounces+rkreiss=verizon.net at lists.celestial.com] On Behalf Of Stanley 
> bounces+-
> stanlyn.com via Filepro-list
> Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2015 3:06 PM
> To: 'Kenneth Brody' <kenbrody at spamcop.net>;
filepro-list at lists.celestial.com
> Subject: RE: Special Date Edit
> 
> >> How do you expect date math to work?
> 
> For sorting, have the missing portion take on a 00 or 0000 if a year.
> 
> In other words day and month "00" would be the day or month before 
> "01",
and
> year "0000" would be the year before "0001"
> 
> I fully understand that 00/15/2015 is an invalid date, however I'm 
> looking
for a
> way that allows entry into a date field and sort before a date of
01/15/2015
> and 01/01/2015, whereas a date of 00/00/2015 would sort before 01/01/2015.
> 
> Another way of looking at it would be to sort it as a string in
year/month/day
> order.  Then sorting of these invalid values would be correct.
> 
> Any way to get an edit to do this instead of treating it as a string?
> 
> It should be noted that I do not like the idea of having invalid dates 
> in
the
> database, but we have a lot of invoices that needs entered where we 
> don't
have
> valid complete date info, instead we have fragments and those 
> fragments which we know to be true needs to be entered into the proper 
> placeholder,
ie.
> month, day or year part.  Then see those items in a report along with
invoices
> having good dates and selected as part of a date range.  As a string,
> 2015/01/00 sorts after 2014/12/31 and before 2015/01/10.
> 
> So maybe that is the answer, create an edit in year/month/day order.  
> Do
you
> see any issues with sorting, selecting a range, etc.?
> 
> Thanks,
> Stanley
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kenneth Brody [mailto:kenbrody at spamcop.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, October 6, 2015 1:24 PM
> To: Stanley - stanlyn.com <stanley at stanlyn.com>; filepro- 
> list at lists.celestial.com
> Subject: Re: Special Date Edit
> 
> On 10/6/2015 1:11 PM, Stanley - stanlyn.com via Filepro-list wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> >
> >
> > I need a special edit that allows the entry of bad dates AND allows 
> > for date math.  For example we have a lot of invoices that portions 
> > of the date is unknown like having a missing day part or a missing 
> > month part, or a missing year part.
> >
> >
> >
> > ??/02/2000
> >
> > 12/??/2000
> >
> > 12/15/????
> >
> > And any other combination,
> 
> How do you expect date math to work?
> 
> What's the day after "12/??/2000"?
> 
> How many days are there between "??/02/2000" and "12/??/2000"?
> 
> --
> Kenneth Brody
> 
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