SIMPOL Documentation

Special Features

In comparison with the simpler Address Book example from the previous chapter, the SIMPOL Business application adds a number of new capabilities:

  • Switching forms and selecting a related record in the target table

  • Using preventfocusmode in an application to control user access to the data

  • Using the onsave event to do calculations when saving a record and to hide some buttons and enable others on the form

  • Using the onchangerecord event to detect entering data-entry mode to disable and show buttons on the form

  • Using the ondelete event to ensure that all the related detail records in ORDERDTL can be deleted before allowing the record in ORDERMST to be deleted

  • Adding, editing, and deleting records in a detail block

  • Using a Graphic Report for an invoice

  • Using a Quick Report as a sales report

  • Using a labels definition to output customer mailing labels, includig using a call to the new choicelistdialog() for the output destination

  • Integrating record view, table view, form view, field selection lists, the filter GUI, and the Quick Report GUI

  • Getting the user to select a record using the new drilldown() function

  • Using a serial number table to retrieve a unique serial number for reliability even in a network environment

  • Showing one value in a combo box list but assigning an alternate

  • Using the correct public data directory on modern Windows operating systems

All of these features are well-documented in the source code of the SIMPOL Business application. However we will still discuss a few of the more interesting features in the following sections.