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Create a Custom Main Menu for Your Application
A custom main menu that greets you when you open an application is classier and easier than using Sesame's default command tree to open databases. Sesame 2.0 introduced the application startup form — a special kind of form that replaces the Sesame splash screen when you open the application. It makes an ideal platform for a custom main menu, and you can add one to your application in half an hour. We show you how.

Q&A to Sesame — Lookup Tables
This introductory article tells you all about what happens to your lookup table when translating a Q&A database containing one. You'll get tips on what causes Sesame lookups to fail when they worked fine in Q&A, how to replace lookup table retrievals with smarter combo boxes — even how to dispense with the lookup table altogether.

Spruce Up Your Table View Subforms
Let's face it, your typical Sesame table view subform isn't likely to win a beauty contest anytime soon. Mostly it has to do with color. No matter what you try, you can't get rid of that drab default gray around the thing. Fortunately, there's a way to fix that — and it's surprisingly easy.

Simplify Sesame Update Deployments
Perhaps the best reason why an alternate network setup beats the standard one is when Lantica announces a new interim release with new features and bug fixes. The more users you have, the more risk prone a typical deployment can be. Find out what you can do to guarantee that all users — and the server — are using the same interim release version.

_______________You ask. We answer.

• Search All Fields for Single or Multiple Value(s) — Two easy ways to search for data no matter where it occurs on the form, without having to type search criteria into multiple fields.

• Manage Your Tabbed Forms — A clever trick that tells you if a tab has data in it without having to actually open the tab.

• Designing and Naming Tabs — A primer on adding tab pages to a form along with the best reasons for doing so.

_______________Technical tidbits you can use today
 

• Convert All Checkboxes to Bi-State — Sesame checkboxes have three states by default. But folks often don't need or want the unchecked or "No" state. They want either "Yes" or nothing. Normally, you have to program each checkbox to make it bi-state, but here's a trick where one program automatically converts all checkboxes to bi-state — including those you may add later.

• Which Tab Am I On? — It's easy to lose track of which tab page you're on when they all look pretty much the same. Here's how to instantly know which page you're on without having to color the tabs differently.

• Duplicate Names Cause Runtime Compile Error — Under certain conditions you can wind up with a layout element that's named the same as the form. You'll get odd behavior, such as the programming testing OK but producing a compile error in Sesame runtime. Here's how to fix the problem.

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