====================================== FoxPro Developers Network of San Diego ====================================== FoxDev TipsLetter #02-02 3 February, 2002 Website: Editor: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS: * What Happend to January? * Calendar * Dues Change Barbara Peisch * Tech Tips: VFP7 SP1 Available Ken Levy Keyboard Shortcuts Dan Covill Setting Environment Variables our man in Rumania * Links: Where Can I Find...? New Links * Other Stuff: Utilities Wanted Thad V'Soske Hacker's Guide Status Whil Hentzen Drew Speedie in Orange County * Administrivia ====================================================================== WHAT HAPPENED TO JANUARY? You may have noticed that this is the February issue, and January didn't arrive. That's because I never got to it. Look at it this way, you didn't miss much! [DC] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DUES CHANGE by Barbara Peisch Since its inception, FPDN has kept dues at $25 per year. Unfortunately, we must raise dues, starting March 1, 2002 to $35 per year. This increase is necessary because of some additional expenses we've taken on, for example, hosting our new web site. In addition, we have some great guest speakers lined up for this year, but we need to share the expense for bringing them here. Even at this increased rate, our dues are equal to Orange County, and lower than Los Angeles. However, we are offering a way for you to keep your dues for 2002 at the current level of $25. Anyone who pays their dues by March 15, 2002, regardless of their anniversary date, will be renewed at the old rate of $25, until their anniversary date in 2003. If you are interested in this offer, please send your $25 now to: FoxPro Developers Network 3138 Roosevelt St. Suite O Carlsbad, CA 92008 Please make sure your check clearly states whose membership it is covering. You can make checks payable to FPDN. -BP www.peisch.com ====================================================================== CALENDAR: Feb 6 - Web Connection Part 2 ----------------------------- Barbara Peisch will complete the presentation on Web Connection, focusing mainly on how to deploy a web application created with Web Connection to a live server. March 6 - David Greene ---------------------- David Greene always has great presentations, and this month, he'll be showing us some tricks with bit manipulation, including how to store a long list of properties using a single string of bits. April 11 - Doug Hennig (Special date) ---------------------- Topic to be determined Coming later: ------------- We're negotiating for appearances by Drew Speedia, of Visual MaxFrame fame, and Mike Stewart from Microsoft. Due to the speakers' schedules, these dates may well be different from our usual date. We'll keep you posted. ------------------------------- Escondido meetings are at Bergelectric, 2222 Meyers Avenue. All meetings are at 6:30 pm. Take the Nordahl exit from Highway 78 (west of I-15). Head South, cross Mission at the lights. Next right onto Meyers Ave. Berg Electric is a one-story building on the right, just before Oper Street (there's no sign). ====================================================================== TIPS ====================================================================== VFP7 SERVICE PACK 1 by Ken Levy From: Ken Levy Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2002 2:03 PM Subject: Visual FoxPro 7.0 Service Pack 1 Released http://msdn.microsoft.com/vfoxpro VFP 7.0 Update: Service Pack 1 (SP-1) provides the latest updates to Microsoft Visual FoxPro 7.0. SP-1 contains various enhancements and stability improvements which are all documented with the download. This service pack combines them into one integrated package, and it includes a number of other changes designed to improve the reliability and performance of Visual FoxPro 7.0. Service Pack 1 addresses fixes in the following list of areas of Visual FoxPro 7.0: * Accessibility * COM * Controls * Debugger * Designers * Engine * IDE * Language * OLE DB Provider * Projects * Setup Notes: Service Pack 1 is available today from the Visual FoxPro Web site and is free, not available to order on CD, download file size is 11.4 MB. MSDN Universal, MSDN Enterprise, and MSDN Professional customers will receive Service Pack 1 automatically. Before installing the Service Pack 1, you will need to have access to the original Visual FoxPro 7.0 CDs or the network from which you installed Visual FoxPro 7.0 because Visual FoxPro 7.0 uses Microsoft Windows Installer 1.2 technology for its setup program. Service Pack 1 is the same download for all language versions of Visual FoxPro 7.0 (English, German, Spanish). Ken Levy Visual FoxPro Product Manager http://msdn.microsoft.com/vfoxpro http://foxcentral.net [Editor's Note: I downloaded and installed it with no hitches. Two things Ken didn't say: a. You can download Windows Installer 2.0 and install it before you install the SP1. If you do this, then you won't need the VFP CDs. b. You get a new function ExecScript(), which will execute VFP code you provide in a text file or a memo field. Lots of new possibilities here! DC] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS by Dan Covill Word processors have lots of "keyboard shortcuts", that in many cases are faster/easier than using the mouse. Many of these shortcuts work in VFP as well. Which ones, you say? Well, you won't find out in the VFP documentation. Some design-time shortcuts appear on the menus, but at runtime you and your clients are on your own. Here are some I've found. There are probably many more. In a Textbox or Editbox: Ctrl+RightArrow - beginning of next word Ctrl+LeftArrow - beginning of previous word Home - beginning of this line End - end of this line Cut & Paste (textbox or editbox): Ctrl+A - Select all text Ctrl+X - Cut Ctrl+C - Copy Ctrl+V - Paste Ctrl+Z - Undo last of the above Editbox only: PgUp - Up one screen (boxful) PgDn - Down one screen Ctrl+Home - Beginning of text Ctrl+End - End of text Combo/Listbox: Closed: Enter - Leave box, move to next control Space - Open box (drop down) Alt+DnArrow - Open box (arrows) - Move to next/previous control Shft+(arrow) - Move to next/previous choice (letter) - Move to matching entry Open: Enter - Close box Space - Close box Alt+UpArrow - Close box (arrows) - Move up/down in list Shft+(arrow) - Move up/down in list Home - Move to first entry End - Move to last entry PgUp - Up one screen in list PgDn - Down one screen in list In VFP7, look at the help section on "set keycomp", for differences in shortcuts between DOS and WINDOWS modes. Don't forget, your users spend far more time running your program than you do - they'll probably find these useful even if you don't. Let me know of any others you find. Dan Covill dcovill@san.rr.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SETTING ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES We all know(?) that GETENV("TEMP") returns the value of the TEMP environment variable, but is there a way to set it from VFP? The answer comes from Romania, via ProFox: "Solution to you problem it is very simple in this way:" declare integer _putenv in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSVCRT.dll string envvar WHAT = "TEMP=C:\" t = _putenv(WHAT) * if t is 0 everything is ok ? t ? getenv("TEMP") "You must by very carefully with the path to this DLL. Ther are diferent locatin of him under diferent operating system saw first locate the file msvcrt.dll and make the right declaration and after that is work perfectly." Lahman Marcel, Romania, Europa [I copied Marcel's comments exactly, not as humor but as an example of the efforts people from all over the world make to contribute to the VFP community. I can't imagine how I'd submit a tip in Romanian!! DC] ====================================================================== LINKS ====================================================================== This is a (semi) permanent list of places to look for technical help when you get blind-sided by the latest urgent requirement. We don't give specific URLs for MSDN articles because (a) they're too long and (b) they change too often! ------------------------------- MSDN ON LINE: There's a ton of stuff here, look at the Magazines tab, and read some of the regular columns. MSDN Library Look in Technical Articles | Visual Studio | Visual FoxPro MSDN Library: "Building Three-Tier Client/Server Applications with Visual FoxPro" ADO MSDN Library: ADO Jumpstart for Microsoft Visual FoxPro Developers John V. Petersen, April 1999 DNA (Distributed interNet Architecture): MSDN On-line: "Top Windows DNA Performance Mistakes and How to Prevent Them" FoxPro 2.6: http://members.aol.com/FoxProResources/fpfp.htm MTS: Microsoft Transaction Server MSDN Library: "Microsoft Transaction Server for Visual FoxPro Developers" ODBC: MSDN Library: "Using Visual FoxPro to Access Remote Data" ODBC drivers are part of MDAC - Microsoft Data Access Components - and are available for download at: "www.microsoft.com/data" VS Installer: MSDN Library: a. "Using Visual Studio Installer for VFP 6.0 Applications" b. "VFP 6.0 and VS Installer Tutorial" VFP Publications: www.advisor.com FoxPro Advisor www.pinpub.com FoxTalk magazine www.hentzenwerke.com Hentzen Publishing (Books, discussion, and downloads) VFP General: MS Developer Applications Forum on Compuserve http://go.compuserve.com/msdevapps The History of FoxPro (submitted by Steve Settimi) www.foxprohistory.org The Universal Thread http://www.universalthread.com The "Wiki" www.wikis.com fox.wikis.com fox.wikis.com/wc.dll?Wiki~FoxForumWiki Here is the most complete set of FoxPro links you're likely to find: http://www.cetus-links.org/oo_visual_foxpro.html Private websites with useful free info and downloads: www.prolib.de/foxlinks.afp (wOOdy Wondzinski) www.honeypass.com (Allen Pollard) www.ukfug.org.uk British user group www.lafox.org LA user group www.pinter.com/ Les Pinter www.vfug.org/ Virtual Fox User Group www.leafe.com Ed Leave, ProFox listserve www.jamesbooth.com www.foxforum.com www.foxfolk.com www.stevenblack.com www.craigberntson.com WEB Development: www.foxcentral.net Joint effort by Microsoft, West-Wind, and the Universal Thread Lots of news and development info. These products all work well with VFP. AFP www.afpweb.com and www.afpages.com DotFox www.elsoftware.com FoxWeb www.foxweb.com Web Connection www.west-wind.com X-WORKS www.x-works.com Windows General Win32 API (with VFP examples) XML - What's New in XML for Microsoft Windows 2000 See also OLE DB drivers for XML in MDAC 2.6 at "microsoft.com/data" [Contributions solicited. DC] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW LINKS: We've added lots of new links, including Fox Central, a FoxPro History link submitted by Steve Settimi, and many more user sites with free info and downloads. ====================================================================== OTHER STUFF ====================================================================== UTILITIES WANTED by Thad V'Soske Our FPDN 'Utilities' page contains 2 utilities: http://www.foxdevsd.org/index.asp?page=ResourcesUtilities They sure could use a little company. If you have any helpful FoxPro related utilities that happen to be laying around collecting dust in your developers shop, and you would like to share them freely with the FoxPro world, please let me know. Better yet, send them to Eric Lendvai at eric@elsoftware.com and ask him to add them to the 'ResourcesUtilities' page. Your contribution will directly benefit our membership AND improve the value of our site to the Fox world. P.S. Our site is soon to become a new user group link on VFUG - and they claim to have over 33,700 members! We might even be featured in their March newsletter!! Thad V'Soske tvsoske@hanoverdirect.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- HACKER'S GUIDE STATUS by Whil Hentzen [Whil posted this on the ProFox listserve January 28th. DC] I tried scrounging around for instructions to post a Monday morning ProFox ad but couldn't find them, and, well, today is a bit busy around Chez Hentzen. (#5 came home from the hospital last night.) Anyway, the news is that we've got a pre-release CHM of Hacker's Guide to VFP 7 (Granor/Roche/Hennig/Martin) available, and the nearly final PDF of Debugging VFP Apps (Folsom) is ready as well. You can order either (or BOTH! ) online at our website and get access to download in blimtoseconds. If you are an owner of HackFox 6, there's an upgrade offer for HackFox 7 on the order form. If you bought from us, the upgrade automatically appears, otherwise, you have to provide proof of purchase via one of those "what's the 9th word" thingees. Debugging VFP Apps is at the printer and a full table of contents is available on our website already. Click on the Catalog link for more info. Now back to the kid..... Whil Hentzenwerke InterGalactic: http://www.hentzenwerke.com Latest Fox News: http://foxcentral.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DREW SPEEDIE IN ORANGE COUNTY by Barbara Peisch When Drew Speedie is here in May, he's going to offer some Visual Maxframe Training in Orange County. In case any of our members are interested, here's some information. I think the dates are May 14 - 16, but I'm waiting for confirmation on that. The training will be at the Brick Software training room in Orange County. (It's the same location where the user group meets.) Prices are: $695 per attendee, minimum 6 attendees $595 per attendee, minimum 7 attendees The agenda is: Overview of VMP 2002 n-Tier services: architecture, classes, builders, implementation How to set up the development environment How to create a new application Development of application-specific subclassing strategies Global application services and components How to build Single-table data-entry forms Creation of one-to-many data-entry forms Development of Picklist forms Creation of Report objects Selection criteria objects and forms How to use the optional security system Instruction about the various Developer Tools Along with dozens of miscellaneous tips & tricks Please note that the above is pretty much the Tutorials, but the actual class will cover numerous techniques not covered in the Tutorials. -BP www.peisch.com --------------------------Administrivia------------------------------- This newsletter is a service to all FoxPro developers, provided without charge by the FoxPro Developers Network of San Diego (FPDN). Anyone may subscribe (or unsubscribe) at our web site . The link is on the home page. The Resources button on the website will take you to the back issues of the newsletter. The editor (Dan Covill) is solely responsible for the content. E-mail him with YOUR tips, comments, or complaints. Editor: Dan Covill 858-272-2448 dcovill@acm.org Board of Directors: Eric Lendvai - President 760-734-4929 eric@elsoftware.com Art Bergquist - Vice Pres 760-740-0428 abergquis@cs.com Claude Nikula - Secretary 619-615-6318 crndev@home.com Barbara Peisch - Treasurer 760-729-9607 barbara@peisch.com Dan Covill - Director 858-272-2448 dcovill@acm.org Thad V'Soske - Director 619-544-9900 tvsoske@hanoverdirect.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------