Re: [libreoffice-users][windows] list boxes not stable
In response to Alexander's request that problems be better delineated: On 06/22/2011 06:29 PM, Tom Cloyd wrote: Yes indeed. But then I started over, so I could have a subform. At that point, using the form wizard was the only way I could see to get one. Still is, dammit. #1: No way to add subform to existing main form, using any control creation icon, menu item, or whatever. One must recreate main form and THIS time take the subform creation option. But none of the drop down boxes work on Containers Items Also sometimes the record shows 1 of 4 or 1 of 3 then back to 1 of 2 ( it was random) I could not get this to repeat. - you are absolutely right about this faulty form - I just think that it has become corrupted - IMHO delete and start again. #2. Actually, no. It's not corrupted. It's dead on arrival. The problem is easy to recreate: Use a view or query as source table for main form, and/or subform, and/or one or more of the list boxes. I'm doing all three in this flawed form. I don't know what happens if a view is ONLY used, say, in the subform, or a list box, only. I do know that doing all three broke the form, and did again tonight when I tried to recreate this mess. Totally using raw tables fixed all problems. Corrupted? Good thought. I wonder why I didn't think of that? It sure looks like that could be the problem. I haven't yet knowingly had that problem with Base, so I didn't think of it. On opening either form, the icons on the left (on my system) were greyed out, so I could not enter the design / edit mode - which may be a problem with my system - and has thus so far prevented me from designing a form something similar for myself. I realise now (thanks to you - with a form to play with) that you must close the form, return to the front page, right click the form and enter it in Edit mode. Yes. Opening it first, there is no way to go to edit mode. If you think you might want to edit the form, after opening it, you must first open it in edit mode, then switch to execute mode. You can then switch back to edit mode if desired. Not a bug. A feature. A bad one, at that. One should be able to access edit mode from any form interface, as in MS Access. But this is hardly a show-stopper. Hope this helps! Tom Cloyd, MS MA t...@tomcloyd.com (435) 272-3332 St. George/Cedar City, Utah -- Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to users+h...@global.libreoffice.org In case of problems unsubscribing, write to postmas...@documentfoundation.org Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/users/ All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted
Re: [libreoffice-users][windows] list boxes not stable
Dear Tom Base reminds me of a great strategy game I used to play (well still do occasionally! ) called MUST, where you click on every thing, but, unless you click in a particular sequence nothing happens. However, when you know the sequence its so simple, so obvious - that's Base I assume /I got that field by: 1. using the form wizard to quickly generate a set of text boxes linked to each field in my main table - containers. 2. rearranging the boxes. 3. changing the label field from IDContainer to something more human - record ID. / When I use the Wizard (on Forms), to generate a new form, it generates a spread sheet style page with field names ( i.e. IDContainer) as headers, no text boxes - nothing to play with, nothing would re-arrange - if only it would!. So I now have a completely blank page with just the field names as headers contained within a box. When I click on each header, I only get a drop down box to Add a column, delete a column etc. You see it's the very 1st step (that very 1st sequence) - I just cannot see it. When I use Lotus Approach, the design wizard generates all the Fields individually in the first place, I can pick them up, move them around and place where I like, delete, edit etc etc. - simple - You can make professional Forms very quickly. I am sure that this must be possible in Base. Again when you say / Here, I ran the table through a view, to attach aliases to each field that needed one, then used the view as the form source, and so automatically got the alias as a text box label. / Its easy to say, but unless there are buttons that says: make aliases and Attach aliases through a view, use view as form source (and there is not), I am no closer. /Does that answer your question? (This is all so simple that I have to wonder if somehow I completely misunderstood your question. If so, please try me again.) / Help!, I take up your offer - that's why I need a step by step walk through to make my 1st (movable) field box. regards John B MS XP pro sp3 LO 3.3.3.1 3.4 On 23/06/2011 01:29, Tom Cloyd wrote: John, On 06/22/2011 04:23 AM, John B wrote: Dear Tom I have had my own problems with Base - still to be resolved, but I thought I would check out your trials. I downloaded your file to my desktop, auto-loaded and up came 2 forms:- containers - Old Containers items Result:- the drop down boxes in containers - old, works 100% Yes indeed. But then I started over, so I could have a subform. At that point, using the form wizard was the only way I could see to get one. Still is, dammit. But none of the drop down boxes work on Containers Items Also sometimes the record shows 1 of 4 or 1 of 3 then back to 1 of 2 ( it was random) I could not get this to repeat. - you are absolutely right about this faulty form - I just think that it has become corrupted - IMHO delete and start again. Corrupted? Good thought. I wonder why I didn't think of that? It sure looks like that could be the problem. I haven't yet knowingly had that problem with Base, so I didn't think of it. On opening either form, the icons on the left (on my system) were greyed out, so I could not enter the design / edit mode - which may be a problem with my system - and has thus so far prevented me from designing a form something similar for myself. I realise now (thanks to you - with a form to play with) that you must close the form, return to the front page, right click the form and enter it in Edit mode. Yes. Opening it first, there is no way to go to edit mode. If you think you might want to edit the form, after opening it, you must first open it in edit mode, then switch to execute mode. You can then switch back to edit mode if desired. But this is really annoying as you should always be able to edit / personalise the form on the fly, hence the design / edit icon should never be greyed out. It seems the only way to achieve this is to always open in edit mode!. Agreed on both counts. An interface design flaw, IMHO. In MS Office, you can always turn on design mode, and that's a good feature, I think. When you have time, perhaps you could send me a step by step account of how did you make your 1st field? record ID on the form, I have clicked on everything that looks a likely target but no luck so far. I have many dBase files I would like to import, but Base has proved to be such hard work; and I hope it will be more stable than your 2nd form. This field and its label appear on the first form - containers - old. (old because I gave up on it when I could find no way to attach a subform to it. I could create it, but could not make it appear - a problem to which no one has yet offered a solution. You can see the created subform in the form navigator - ItemsForm.) I
Re: [libreoffice-users][windows] list boxes not stable
John, On 06/22/2011 04:23 AM, John B wrote: Dear Tom I have had my own problems with Base - still to be resolved, but I thought I would check out your trials. I downloaded your file to my desktop, auto-loaded and up came 2 forms:- containers - Old Containers items Result:- the drop down boxes in containers - old, works 100% Yes indeed. But then I started over, so I could have a subform. At that point, using the form wizard was the only way I could see to get one. Still is, dammit. But none of the drop down boxes work on Containers Items Also sometimes the record shows 1 of 4 or 1 of 3 then back to 1 of 2 ( it was random) I could not get this to repeat. - you are absolutely right about this faulty form - I just think that it has become corrupted - IMHO delete and start again. Corrupted? Good thought. I wonder why I didn't think of that? It sure looks like that could be the problem. I haven't yet knowingly had that problem with Base, so I didn't think of it. On opening either form, the icons on the left (on my system) were greyed out, so I could not enter the design / edit mode - which may be a problem with my system - and has thus so far prevented me from designing a form something similar for myself. I realise now (thanks to you - with a form to play with) that you must close the form, return to the front page, right click the form and enter it in Edit mode. Yes. Opening it first, there is no way to go to edit mode. If you think you might want to edit the form, after opening it, you must first open it in edit mode, then switch to execute mode. You can then switch back to edit mode if desired. But this is really annoying as you should always be able to edit / personalise the form on the fly, hence the design / edit icon should never be greyed out. It seems the only way to achieve this is to always open in edit mode!. Agreed on both counts. An interface design flaw, IMHO. In MS Office, you can always turn on design mode, and that's a good feature, I think. When you have time, perhaps you could send me a step by step account of how did you make your 1st field? record ID on the form, I have clicked on everything that looks a likely target but no luck so far. I have many dBase files I would like to import, but Base has proved to be such hard work; and I hope it will be more stable than your 2nd form. This field and its label appear on the first form - containers - old. (old because I gave up on it when I could find no way to attach a subform to it. I could create it, but could not make it appear - a problem to which no one has yet offered a solution. You can see the created subform in the form navigator - ItemsForm.) I got that field by: 1. using the form wizard to quickly generate a set of text boxes linked to each field in my main table - containers. 2. rearranging the boxes. 3. changing the label field from IDContainer to something more human - record ID. The same field is handled a little differently in the next form, the one we both agree must be corrupted. Here, I ran the table through a view, to attach aliases to each field that needed one, then used the view as the form source, and so automatically got the alias as a text box label. Does that answer your question? (This is all so simple that I have to wonder if somehow I completely misunderstood your question. If so, please try me again.) Re: importing dBase files: I think I would consider outputting the dbase tables in CSV, then inputting them to calc. From there it's easy to import them via by doing a copy of the spreadsheet table, then a copy/append to a blank table in Base. While I've not seen this functionality documented, I haven't looked for it either, as I discovered it early on. I would also like to use the Create form instead of the wizard - it looks a better option than the wizard with its grid system for lining up fields. But I cannot make head nor tale of it. Well, getting started with it isn't hard. You can put various controls on your form - usually it would be text boxes, and ideally some list boxes, and point them to records on the table you've attached to the form. I just find it simpler to let the form wizard do this for me, then modify the result to suit me. Hope some of this helps. Thanks for your response. t. regards John B MS xp pro sp3 LO 3.3.3.1 - On 22/06/2011 08:59, Tom Cloyd wrote: My list box disaster just don't quit. To this point, I've learned that the only quick, simple way to get a list box onto a form is to use the list box wizard. Last night it worked. Tonight it worked. Then, it stopped. I now have a form with 5 list boxes. Three have spontaneously, quite without reason, disabled themselves. They passively display the value in their source table pointed to by the key value in the linked main
