Getting the Most from Lantica's Sesame Database Manager
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . September 2, 2010  9:43 pm. PST
T H E  M O N T H L Y  H O W - T O  G U I D E  F O R  S E S A M E  U S E R S / D E V E L O P E R S
 
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Vol. 7, No. 9
(New issues posted by 5th of month)
 

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Previous Issue Summaries
Title^Summary^Year^Month^Page^Type^FName^LName^Fullname^Keywords

September 2010 issue summary. . .

Let's Simplify Simple Merge Printing Tasks
 As powerful as WordMerge is, that’s what makes it overkill for the kind of merge printing many companies do — particularly former Q&A companies. Even though it's a drop-in one-size-fits-all program, WordMerge's technical innards and “moving parts” look like a Rube Goldberg machine that can befuddle those new to it. Yet in some ways WordMerge is actually underpowered. This month we offer up an alternative that's sure to discombobulate the WordMerge diehards:

  • It doesn't use MS Word or Word files.
  • Needs only what every PC already has on it.
  • Requires just a few lines of code for most merge printing tasks.
  • Gives users runtime option to print the merged doc straightaway or display it first for proofing/editing.
  • Retrieves and merges external (@XLookup) data into docs.
  • Merges subform data.
  • Supports If/Then/Else merges.
  • Doesn't require arcane data formatting switches ŕ la MS Word.
  • Merges to structured tables.
  • Automatically generates uniquely-named electronic file copies of merged docs.
     


_______________You ask. We answer.

  •  

  • Beware of Lookups to Fields with Semicolons — Is your looked up data winding up in the wrong fields? Here's what's happening.

  • Set or Change Highlight-on-Entry — If your data is getting randomly, mysteriously overwritten, this could be the reason behind it.

  • Set Up New PC to Run Sesame Well — The way new computers come equipped these days can explain why client/server connections get dropped. This handy checklist helps you isolate/prevent the problem.

  • Problems with Hidden .dat/.db File Extensions — Not having your file extensions show in My Computer/Windows Explorer can lead to Sesame apps not opening.

  • 'The Application is Locked and May Be in Use' — Why this happens and what you can do about it.

  • Fix Translated Non-Y2K Dates — How to update multiple date fields translated from a non-Y2K-compliant Q&A database.

  • Steps to a Successful Reconcile — Or how not to go about redesigning/ reconciling.

  • Renaming Reports — The difference between renaming a single report or renaming several at once.


_______________Technical tidbits you can use today

 

  • Rename Multiple LEs in One Go — The next time you need to rename a series of layout elements to the same name with an incremented numeric suffix (such as Stock#1, Stock#2, Stock#3) save time and energy by letting Sesame do it for you.
     


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How to Copy Programming Code from
Inside Sesame to paste into Sesame's Program Editor

You can copy programming code from Inside Sesame Acrobat PDFs and paste it into your Sesame Program Editor. With the PDF displayed, click the Text Select tool on your Acrobat Reader icon bar, as shown below:

Place your cursor at the beginning of the block of code you want to copy. Hold down the Ctrl key, then drag a "rubber band" around the code to select it. Right click and select Copy from the pop-up menu. (If the program continues on another page, do that page separately.)

In Sesame's Program Editor, select Edit | Paste to paste the copied code into the appropriate LE/Event slot.

Inside Sesame programming examples may contain styled quotes. If these are present, you'll get a lexical error when you Test the program. You'll need to replace these styled quotes with the plain straight quotes the Program Editor requires.

Sesame doesn't like slanted (styled) quotes: “SomeValue″
Sesame likes plain straight quote marks: "SomeValue"

To convert any styled quotes to plain quotes in the Program Editor:

  1. Copy one styled opening quote to the clipboard.
  2. Open the Program Editor’s Search | Replace box.
  3. Paste (Ctrl-V) the styled opening quote into the Find field.
  4. Type a plain quote (") in the Replace field.
  5. Click Replace All.

Follow the same steps to replace any styled closing quotes with plain quotes.

Retest the program.