Sybase DataWindow .NET User Manual

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DataWindow Designer User’s Guide

DataWindow .NET

2.0

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DOCUMENT ID: DC00043-01-0200-01 LAST REVISED: March 2006

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Contents

About This Book.......................................................................................................................... xv

PART 1 THE DATAWINDOW DESIGNER ENVIRONMENT

CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer............................................. 3

About DataWindow Designer........................................................... 4

The DataWindow Designer environment.......................................... 4

About the PowerBar .................................................................. 5

Working with projects....................................................................... 6

Working with DataWindow objects................................................... 7

Creating new DataWindow objects ........................................... 8

Opening existing DataWindow objects...................................... 8

Running or previewing DataWindow objects............................. 9

Working in painters ........................................................................ 10

Using views in painters............................................................ 10

Using pop-up menus ............................................................... 15

Defining colors......................................................................... 16

Working with tools.......................................................................... 17

Using the file editor.................................................................. 17

Using the To-Do List................................................................ 18

Setting properties........................................................................... 20

Using toolbars ................................................................................ 21

Toolbar basics......................................................................... 21

Drop-down toolbars................................................................. 21

Controlling the display of toolbars ........................................... 22

Moving toolbars using the mouse............................................ 23

Customizing toolbars............................................................... 23

Creating new toolbars ............................................................. 28

Using online Help........................................................................... 29

Customizing keyboard shortcuts.................................................... 30

Changing fonts............................................................................... 31

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How your DataWindow Designer environment is managed........... 32

About the registry.................................................................... 32

About the initialization file........................................................ 33

CHAPTER 2 Working with Libraries.................................................................. 35

About libraries................................................................................ 35

About the Library painter................................................................ 36

Working with libraries..................................................................... 37

Displaying libraries and objects............................................... 37

Using the pop-up menu........................................................... 38

Controlling columns that display in the List view..................... 38

Selecting objects..................................................................... 39

Filtering the display of objects................................................. 39

Filtering the display of libraries and folders............................. 40

Opening and previewing objects............................................. 40

Copying, moving, and deleting objects.................................... 40

Setting the root........................................................................ 42

Moving back, forward, and up one level.................................. 42

Modifying comments ............................................................... 43

Deleting libraries...................................................................... 44

Optimizing libraries......................................................................... 44

Regenerating library entries........................................................... 45

Migrating libraries.................................................................... 45

Exporting and importing entries ..................................................... 46

Creating a deployment library (PBD file)........................................ 48

Including additional resources in the PBD file......................... 48

What happens at runtime........................................................ 49

Creating a library directory report................................................... 49

CHAPTER 3 Managing the Database................................................................. 51

Working with database components.............................................. 51

Managing databases...................................................................... 54

Using the Database painter............................................................ 55

Modifying database preferences............................................. 58

Logging your work................................................................... 59

Creating and deleting an Adaptive Server Anywhere database..... 60

Working with tables........................................................................ 62

Creating a new table from scratch........................................... 62

Creating a new table from an existing table............................ 63

Specifying column definitions.................................................. 64

Specifying table and column properties .................................. 64

Altering a table ........................................................................ 68

Cutting, copying, and pasting columns.................................... 70

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Closing a table......................................................................... 70

Dropping a table...................................................................... 70

Viewing pending SQL changes............................................... 71

Printing the table definition...................................................... 72

Exporting table syntax............................................................. 72

About system tables................................................................ 73

Creating and editing Sybase Adaptive Server temporary

tables................................................................................ 74

Working with keys.......................................................................... 75

Working with indexes..................................................................... 79

Working with database views......................................................... 81

Manipulating data........................................................................... 86

Retrieving data........................................................................ 86

Modifying data......................................................................... 87

Sorting rows ............................................................................ 88

Filtering rows........................................................................... 89

Viewing row information .......................................................... 90

Importing data ......................................................................... 90

Printing data............................................................................ 91

Saving data ............................................................................. 91

Creating and executing SQL statements ....................................... 92

Building and executing SQL statements ................................. 92

Customizing the editor............................................................. 95

Controlling access to the current database.................................... 96

PART 2 DATAWINDOWS

CHAPTER 4 Defining DataWindow Objects..................................................... 99

About DataWindow objects............................................................ 99

DataWindow object examples............................................... 100

Choosing a presentation style...................................................... 101

Using the Tabular style.......................................................... 102

Using the Freeform style ....................................................... 102

Using the Grid style............................................................... 103

Using the Label style............................................................. 103

Using the N-Up style ............................................................. 105

Using the Group style............................................................ 106

Using the Composite style..................................................... 107

Using the Graph and Crosstab styles.................................... 108

Using the TreeView style....................................................... 108

Building a DataWindow object ..................................................... 109

Selecting a data source................................................................ 110

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Using Quick Select....................................................................... 112

Selecting a table.................................................................... 113

Selecting columns................................................................. 114

Specifying sorting criteria...................................................... 115

Specifying selection criteria................................................... 115

Using SQL Select......................................................................... 121

Selecting tables and views.................................................... 122

Selecting columns................................................................. 124

Displaying the underlying SQL statement............................. 125

Joining tables ........................................................................ 126

Using retrieval arguments ..................................................... 129

Specifying selection, sorting, and grouping criteria............... 130

Using Query ................................................................................. 136

Using External.............................................................................. 136

Using Stored Procedure............................................................... 137

Using ADO DataSet..................................................................... 139

Choosing DataWindow object-wide options................................. 141

Generating and saving a DataWindow object.............................. 142

About the extended attribute system tables and

DataWindow objects....................................................... 143

Saving the DataWindow object ............................................. 144

Modifying an existing DataWindow object............................. 144

Defining queries........................................................................... 145

Previewing the query............................................................. 146

Saving the query ................................................................... 146

Modifying a query.................................................................. 147

What's next................................................................................... 147

CHAPTER 5 Enhancing DataWindow Objects................................................ 149

Working in the DataWindow painter............................................. 150

Understanding the DataWindow painter Design view........... 152

Using the DataWindow painter toolbars................................ 154

Using the Properties view in the DataWindow painter .......... 155

Selecting controls in the DataWindow painter....................... 156

Resizing bands in the DataWindow painter Design view...... 157

Using zoom in the DataWindow painter................................ 157

Undoing changes in the DataWindow painter....................... 158

Using the Preview view of a DataWindow object......................... 158

Retrieving data...................................................................... 159

Modifying data....................................................................... 161

Viewing row information........................................................ 162

Importing data into a DataWindow object.............................. 163

Using print preview................................................................ 163

Printing data.......................................................................... 165

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Working in a grid DataWindow object ................................... 166

Saving data in an external file...................................................... 168

Saving the data as PDF ........................................................ 168

Saving the data in HTML Table format.................................. 169

Working with PSR files.......................................................... 170

Modifying general DataWindow object properties........................ 171

Changing the DataWindow object style................................. 171

Setting colors in a DataWindow object.................................. 172

Specifying properties of a grid DataWindow object............... 173

Specifying pointers for a DataWindow object........................ 174

Defining print specifications for a DataWindow object .......... 174

Modifying text in a DataWindow object ................................. 178

Defining the tab order in a DataWindow object..................... 179

Naming controls in a DataWindow object.............................. 180

Using borders in a DataWindow object................................. 181

Specifying variable-height bands in a DataWindow object.... 182

Modifying the data source of a DataWindow object.............. 183

Storing data in a DataWindow object using the Data view........... 185

What happens at runtime...................................................... 187

Retrieving data............................................................................. 187

Prompting for retrieval criteria in a DataWindow object ........ 187

Retrieving rows as needed.................................................... 188

Saving retrieved rows to disk ................................................ 189

CHAPTER 6 Controlling Updates in DataWindow Objects........................... 191

About controlling updates............................................................. 191

What you can do ................................................................... 192

Specifying the table to update...................................................... 193

Specifying the unique key columns.............................................. 193

Specifying an identity column....................................................... 194

Specifying updatable columns ..................................................... 194

Specifying the WHERE clause for update/delete......................... 195

Specifying update when key is modified...................................... 197

Using stored procedures to update the database........................ 198

CHAPTER 7 Working with Controls in DataWindow Objects....................... 201

Adding controls to a DataWindow object ..................................... 201

Adding columns to a DataWindow object.............................. 201

Adding text to a DataWindow object ..................................... 202

Adding drawing controls to a DataWindow object................. 203

Adding a group box to a DataWindow object........................ 203

Adding pictures to a DataWindow object............................... 204

Adding computed fields to a DataWindow object.................. 205

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Adding buttons to a DataWindow object ............................... 210

Adding graphs to a DataWindow object................................ 213

Adding InkPicture controls to a DataWindow object.............. 213

Adding reports to a DataWindow object................................ 214

Reorganizing controls in a DataWindow object............................ 214

Displaying boundaries for controls in a DataWindow object . 215

Using the grid and the ruler in a DataWindow object............ 215

Deleting controls in a DataWindow object............................. 216

Moving controls in a DataWindow object .............................. 216

Copying controls in a DataWindow object............................. 216

Resizing controls in a DataWindow object............................ 217

Aligning controls in a DataWindow object............................. 218

Equalizing the space between controls in a DataWindow

object.............................................................................. 218

Equalizing the size of controls in a DataWindow object........ 219

Sliding controls to remove blank space in a DataWindow

object.............................................................................. 219

Positioning controls in a DataWindow object............................... 221

Rotating controls in a DataWindow object ................................... 222

CHAPTER 8 Displaying and Validating Data .................................................. 225

About displaying and validating data............................................ 225

Presenting the data............................................................... 226

Validating data....................................................................... 227

About display formats................................................................... 227

Working with display formats ....................................................... 228

Working with display formats in the Database painter .......... 228

Working with display formats in the DataWindow painter ..... 230

Defining display formats............................................................... 231

Number display formats ........................................................ 233

String display formats............................................................ 235

Date display formats.............................................................. 235

Time display formats............................................................. 237

About edit styles........................................................................... 238

Working with edit styles................................................................ 240

Working with edit styles in the Database painter................... 240

Working with edit styles in the DataWindow painter.............. 242

Defining edit styles....................................................................... 242

The Edit edit style.................................................................. 242

The DropDownListBox edit style........................................... 243

The CheckBox edit style........................................................ 244

The RadioButtons edit style .................................................. 245

The EditMask edit style......................................................... 246

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The DropDownDataWindow edit style................................... 249

The InkEdit edit style............................................................. 251

Defining a code table ................................................................... 251

How code tables are implemented........................................ 252

How code tables are processed............................................ 253

Validating user input.............................................................. 254

About validation rules................................................................... 255

Understanding validation rules.............................................. 255

Working with validation rules........................................................ 256

Defining validation rules............................................................... 257

Defining a validation rule in the Database painter................. 257

Defining a validation rule in the DataWindow painter............ 260

How to maintain extended attributes............................................ 263

CHAPTER 9 Filtering, Sorting, and Grouping Rows ..................................... 265

Filtering rows................................................................................ 265

Sorting rows ................................................................................. 267

Suppressing repeating values............................................... 269

Grouping rows.............................................................................. 270

Using the Group presentation style....................................... 272

Defining groups in an existing DataWindow object............... 276

CHAPTER 10 Highlighting Information in DataWindow Objects ................... 285

Highlighting information................................................................ 285

Modifying properties when designing.................................... 285

Modifying properties at runtime............................................. 286

Modifying properties conditionally at runtime............................... 289

Example 1: creating a gray bar effect.................................... 290

Example 2: rotating controls.................................................. 291

Example 3: highlighting rows of data..................................... 292

Example 4: changing the size and location of controls ......... 294

Supplying property values............................................................ 295

Background.Color.................................................................. 297

Border.................................................................................... 298

Brush.Color ........................................................................... 299

Brush.Hatch........................................................................... 300

Color...................................................................................... 301

Font.Escapement (for rotating controls)................................ 302

Font.Height............................................................................ 303

Font.Italic............................................................................... 304

Font.Strikethrough................................................................. 305

Font.Underline....................................................................... 306

Font.Weight........................................................................... 306

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Format................................................................................... 307

Height.................................................................................... 307

Pen.Color .............................................................................. 308

Pen.Style............................................................................... 308

Pen.Width.............................................................................. 310

Pointer................................................................................... 310

Protect................................................................................... 311

Timer_Interval ....................................................................... 311

Visible.................................................................................... 311

Width..................................................................................... 312

X............................................................................................ 312

X1, X2.................................................................................... 313

Y............................................................................................ 313

Y1, Y2.................................................................................... 314

Specifying colors.......................................................................... 314

CHAPTER 11 Using Nested Reports ................................................................. 317

About nested reports.................................................................... 317

Creating a report using the Composite presentation style........... 319

Placing a nested report in another report..................................... 321

Placing a related nested report in another report.................. 321

Placing an unrelated nested report in another report............ 324

Working with nested reports......................................................... 325

Adjusting nested report width and height.............................. 325

Changing a nested report from one report to another........... 326

Modifying the definition of a nested report ............................ 326

Adding another nested report to a composite report............. 327

Supplying retrieval arguments to relate a nested report to

its base report................................................................. 327

Specifying criteria to relate a nested report to its base

report............................................................................. 329

Using options for nested reports ........................................... 330

CHAPTER 12 Working with Crosstabs.............................................................. 333

About crosstabs ........................................................................... 333

Two types of crosstabs.......................................................... 336

Creating crosstabs....................................................................... 337

Associating data with a crosstab.................................................. 338

Specifying the information..................................................... 338

Viewing the crosstab............................................................. 341

Specifying more than one row or column.............................. 343

Previewing crosstabs ................................................................... 344

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Enhancing crosstabs.................................................................... 344

Specifying basic properties ................................................... 345

Modifying the data associated with the crosstab................... 346

Changing the names used for the columns and rows........... 346

Defining summary statistics................................................... 347

Cross-tabulating ranges of values......................................... 350

Creating static crosstabs....................................................... 353

Using property conditional expressions................................. 354

CHAPTER 13 Working with TreeViews............................................................. 357

TreeView presentation style......................................................... 357

Creating a new TreeView DataWindow ....................................... 359

TreeView creation process.................................................... 359

Creating a TreeView DataWindow........................................ 359

Adding and deleting TreeView levels........................................... 363

Selecting a tree node and navigating the tree.............................. 364

Sorting rows in a TreeView DataWindow..................................... 365

TreeView DataWindow Design view............................................ 366

Setting properties for the TreeView DataWindow........................ 367

Setting general TreeView properties..................................... 368

Setting TreeView level properties.......................................... 369

Setting detail band properties................................................ 371

TreeView DataWindow samples.................................................. 371

Data Explorer sample............................................................ 372

Data Linker sample ............................................................... 375

CHAPTER 14 Exporting and Importing XML Data........................................... 379

About XML ................................................................................... 379

Valid and well-formed XML documents................................. 380

XML syntax............................................................................ 381

XML parsing.......................................................................... 382

XML support in the DataWindow painter...................................... 383

The Export/Import Template view for XML................................... 384

Creating templates................................................................ 385

Saving templates................................................................... 387

Header and Detail sections................................................... 387

Editing XML templates................................................................. 390

XML declaration .................................................................... 391

Document type declaration.................................................... 392

Root element......................................................................... 393

Controls................................................................................. 394

DataWindow expressions...................................................... 394

Attributes............................................................................... 395

DataWindow Designer User’s Guide xi

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Composite and nested reports.............................................. 395

CDATA sections.................................................................... 397

Comments............................................................................. 397

Processing instructions ......................................................... 398

Exporting to XML.......................................................................... 398

Setting properties on the Data Export page.......................... 399

Selecting templates at runtime.............................................. 408

Importing XML.............................................................................. 408

Importing with a template...................................................... 409

Default data import................................................................ 413

Tracing import ....................................................................... 416

CHAPTER 15 Working with Graphs................................................................... 419

About graphs................................................................................ 419

Parts of a graph..................................................................... 420

Types of graphs..................................................................... 421

Using graphs in DataWindow objects .......................................... 425

Placing a graph in a DataWindow object............................... 425

Using the graph's Properties view......................................... 426

Changing a graph's position and size.................................... 427

Associating data with a graph ............................................... 428

Using overlays....................................................................... 437

Using the Graph presentation style.............................................. 439

Defining a graph's properties ....................................................... 440

Using the General property page in the graph's Properties

view ............................................................................... 440

Sorting data for series and categories................................... 442

Specifying text properties for titles, labels, axes, and

legends........................................................................... 442

Specifying overlap and spacing............................................. 445

Specifying axis properties ..................................................... 446

Specifying a pointer............................................................... 448

PART 3 APPENDIXES

APPENDIX A Identifiers ................................ ....... ...... ....... ...... ...... ....... .............. 451

Rules............................................................................................ 451

Reserved words ........................................................................... 452

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APPENDIX B The Extended Attribute System Tables .................................... 453

About the extended attribute system tables................................. 453

The extended attribute system tables.......................................... 454

Edit style types for the PBCatEdt table........................................ 457

CheckBox edit style (code 85)............................................... 457

RadioButton edit style (code 86)........................................... 458

DropDownListBox edit style (code 87).................................. 459

DropDownDataWindow edit style (code 88).......................... 460

Edit edit style (code 89)......................................................... 461

Edit Mask edit style (code 90)............................................... 463

APPENDIX C St arting DataWindow Designer from the Command Line....... 465

Starting DataWindow Designer from the command line .............. 465

Index ........................................................................................................................................... 467

DataWindow Designer User’s Guide xiii

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DataWindow .NET

About This Book

Audience

How to use this book

About DataWindow Designer

DataWindow Designer is a tool that creates DataWindow objects for use in applications. A DataWindow object is an object that you use to retrieve and manipulate data from a relati onal database or other data sou rce. The following DataWindow object retrieves and updates employee data.

DataWindow Designer provides built-in connectivity to a broad range of desktop and server-based databases. It includes the EAS Demo DB (a Sybase Adaptive Server® Anywhere database) to create reports and other DataWindow Designer objects.

When you work in DataWindow Designer, you work in a graphical environment—and working with data in this environment means you do not need to understand SQL, the standard programming language for talking to databases. DataWindow Des igner creates all SQL statements behind the scene s as you build your DataWindow objects and other objects graphically.

Painters

In DataWindow Designer, you do most of your work in the DataWindow painter, where you “paint” your DataWindow objects. DataWindow Designer also has painters where you work with databases, libraries, and SQL statements.

The DataWindow Designer environment

When you start DataWindow Desi gner the first time

4 DataWindow .NET

In DataWindow Designer, you always work within the context of a DataWindo w pr oject. Infor mation abou t the proj ect is s tored in a tex t file with the extension .dwp. The DataWindow objects you create are stored in binary files called libraries. Library files have the extension .pbl.

To create a new project and a library to hold your DataWindow obje cts, click the New button on the PowerBar and select Project from the Project tab page.

CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer

If you have used DataWindow Design er before

When DataWindow Designer starts

You can open an existing project by selecting Open Project or Recent Projects from the File menu, or Open Project from the pop-up menu in the System Tree.

When DataWindow Designer starts, it opens in a window that contains the System Tree on the left, a menu bar at the top, and the PowerBar below the menu bar. The following figure shows an open project in the System Tree:

You can create new objects, open existing objects, change libraries, access the database, and perform other tasks by usi ng pop- up men us in the Sys t em Tree, menus on the menu bar, or buttons in the PowerBar.

About the PowerBar

What it is

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 5

From the PowerBar you can create new projects and objects and open existing objects. You can display text on each button to help you identify them, as shown in the following illustration:

Working with projects

Buttons on the PowerBar

Customizing the PowerBar

About PowerTips

From left to right on the PowerBar, here are the buttons and what you can do after you click a button:

This PowerBar button Lets you do this

New Create new projects and DataWindow objects and open tools Open Open existing objects Preview Preview DataWindow objects System Tr e e Show or hide the Syst em Tree To-Do List Keep track of object creation tasks and use links to quickly get

you to the place where you co mplete the tasks Library Manage your libraries using the Li br ary painter DB Profile Define and use named sets of parameters to connect to a

particular database Database Maintain databases and database tables, control user access to

databases, and manipulate data in database s using the Database

painter File Editor Edit text files Exit Close DataWindow Designer

You can customize the PowerBar. For example, you can move it to different locations and add buttons for operations you perform frequently. For more information, see “Using toolbars” on page 21.

In the PowerBar, when you leave the mouse pointer over a button for a second or two, DataW indow Designer di splays a b rief descript ion of the b utton, calle d a PowerTip. PowerTips display in DataWindow Designer wherever there are toolbar buttons.

Working with projects

You can create a new project, add existing libraries to a project’s library list, create a new library , and open a dif ferent project to work on objects in a library in that project. The libraries in your current library list display in the System Tree. You can open the DataWind ow objects in any library on your current list.

6 DataWindow .NET

CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer

❖ To create a new project:

1 Click the New button in the PowerBar, or select File>New from the menu

bar.

2 On the Project page in the New dialog box, select the project icon and click

OK.

3 Browse to the location where you want to store the project and type a name

for the project.

4 Do the same for the library, or simply click Finish to create the library in

the same folder as the project and with the same name.

❖ To add existing libraries to a project:

1 Right-click the project icon in the System Tree and select Properties. 2 Click the Browse button to navigate to the folder where the libraries

reside.

3 Select one or more libraries, click Open, then click OK in the Library List

dialog box.

❖ To create a new library:

1 Right-click the project icon in the System Tree and select New Library. 2 Browse to the location where you want to create the library, type a name

for the library, and click OK.

❖ To open a different project:

• Right-click the project icon in the System Tree and select Open Project, or select File>Open Project from the File menu.

Working with DataWindow objects

In DataWindow Desig ner, you can:

• Create new DataWindow objects

• Open existing DataWindow objects

• Run or preview DataWindow objects

After you create or open a DataWindow object, it displays in the DataW indow painter and you work on it there.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 7

Working with DataWindow objects

Creating new DataWindow objects

To create new DataWindow objects, use the New button in the PowerBar.

❖ T o cr ea te a new object :

1 Click the New button in the PowerBar, or select File>New from the menu

bar. 2 In the New dialog box, select the DataWindow tab page. 3 Select an icon and click OK.

The DataWindow wizard helps you create a new DataWindo w object. For

more information about using the wizard, see Chapter 4, “Defining

DataWindow Objects.”

Opening existing DataWindow objects

There are several ways to open existing objects. The quickest way is to double-click its icon in the System Tree, or select it from the list of recent objects on the File menu. The recent objects list includes the eight most recently opened objects, but you can include up to 36 objects on the list.

❖ To modify the number of recent objects:

1 Select Tools>System Options from the menu bar. 2 In the System Optio ns di al og bo x (G en eral t ab p a ge), modify the number

for the recent objects list. You can also use the Open button in the PowerBar to open a DataWindow

object. The DataWindow object must be in a library on your current library list.

❖ To open existing objects:

1 Click the Open button in the PowerBar, or select File>Open from the menu

bar.

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CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer

2 In the Open dialog box, select one or more libraries in the Libr ary pane and

then select the object you want to open.

3 Click OK.

The object opens in the DataWindow painter.

Running or previewing DataWindow objects

To preview a DataWindow object, use the Preview button in the PowerBar.

❖ To run or preview an object:

1 Click the Preview button in the PowerBar, or select File>Run/Preview

from the menu bar.

2 In the Run/Preview dialog box, select one or more libraries in the Library

pane and then select the DataWindow object you want to preview.

3 Click OK.

The DataWindow object displays in DataWindow Preview mode. This mode has a Painterbar from which you can sort, filter, import, and retrieve rows, insert and delete rows, get information on row activity, and zoom in and out. To return to the DataWindow painter, click the X in the Painterbar .

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 9

Working in painters

The DataWindow Designer painters are listed in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1: DataWindow Designer painters

Painter What you do

Database painter Maintain databases, control user access to databases, manipulate

DataWindow painter

Library painter Manage libraries Query painter Graphically define and save SQL

Select painter Graphically define SQL SELECT s t at ements for DataWindow

Using views in painters

Most of the DataW i ndow Des igner painter s have views. Each vi ew provides a specific way of viewing or modifying the object you are working on or a specific kind of information related to that object. Having all the views available in a painter window means you can work on more than one task at a time.

data in databases, and create tables Build intelligent objects called DataW indow objects that pres ent

information from the database

SELECT statements for reuse

with DataWindow objects

objects

View s are displayed i n panes in the painter window . Some views are stacked in a single pane. At the bottom of the pane there is a tab fo r each view in the stack. Clicking the tab for a view pops that view to the top of the stack.

Each painter has a default l ayout , but you can disp lay the vi ews you choose in as many panes as you want to and save the layouts you like to work with. For some painters, all available views are included in the default layout; for others, only a few views are included.

Each pane has:

• A title bar you can display temporarily or permanently

• A handle in the top-left corner you can use to drag the pane to a new

location

• Splitter bars between the pane and each adjacent pane

10 DataWindow .NET

Displaying the title bar

For most views a title bar does not permanently display at the top of a pane

(because it is often unnecessary). But you can display a title bar for any pane

either temporarily or permanently.

❖ To display a title bar:

1 Place the pointer on the splitter bar at the top of the pane.

2 To display the title bar permanently , click the pushpin at the left of the title

After you display a title bar either temporarily or permanently, you can use the

title bar’s pop-up menu.

❖ To maximize a pane to fill the workspace:

• Select Maximize from the title bar’s pop-up menu or click the Maximize

CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer

The title bar displays.

bar or select Pinned from its pop-up menu. Click the pushpin ag ain or select Pinn ed again on the p op-up menu to hi de

the title bar.

button on the title bar.

❖ To restore a pane to its original size:

• Select Restore from the title bar’ s pop-up menu or click the Restore bu tton on the title bar.

Moving and resizing panes and views

You can move a pane or a view to any location in the painter window. You might find it takes a while to get used to moving pan es and views aroun d, bu t if you do not like a layou t, you can alway s revert to th e default lay out and start again. To restore the default layout, select View>Layouts>Default.

To move a pane, you select and drag the title bar of the view that is at the top of the stack. If the pane contains stacked views, all views in the stack move together. To move one of the views out of the stack, you drag the tab for the view you want to move.

❖ To move a pane:

1 Place the pointer anywhere on the title bar of the view at the top of the

stack, hold down the left mouse button, and start moving the pane.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 11

Working in painters

A gray outline appears in the pane:

2 Drag the outline to the new location.

The outline changes size as you drag it. When the pointer is over the middle of a pane, the outline fills the pane. As you drag the pointer toward any border, the outline becomes a narro w rectangle adjacent to that border . When the pointer is over a splitter bar between two panes, rows, or columns, the outline straddles the splitter bar:

When you move the pointer to a corner

When you move the pointer to a corner, you will find that you have many places where you can drop the outline. To see your options, move the pointer around in all directions in the corner and see where the outline displays as you move it.

3 Release the mouse button to drop the outline in the new location:

To move a pane here Drop the outline here

Between two panes On the splitter bar between the panes Between a border and a pane At the side of the pane nearest the b order Into a new row On the splitter bar between two rows or at the

top or bottom of the painter window

Into a new column On the splitter ba r be tween two c olumns or at

the left or right edge of the painte r window

Onto a stack of panes On the middle of the pan e (if th e pane was no t

already tabbed, tabs are created)

12 DataWindow .NET

❖ To move a view in a stacked pane:

• Place the pointer anywhere on the view’s tab, hold down the left mouse button, and start moving the view.

You can now move the view as in the previous procedure. If you want to rearrange the views in a pane, you can drag the view to the left or right within the same pane.

❖ To resize a pane:

• Drag the splitter bars between panes.

Floating and docking views

Panes are docked by default within a painter window, but some tasks may be easier if you float a pane. A floating pane can be moved outside the painter’s window or even outside the DataWindow Designer window.

When you open another painter

If you have a floating pane in a painter and then open another painter, the floating pane temporarily disap pears . It reap pears when the o riginal painter is selected.

CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer

❖ To float a view in its own pane:

• Select Float from the title bar’s pop-up menu.

❖ To float a view in a stacked pane:

• Select Float from the tab’s pop-up menu.

❖ To dock a floating view:

• Select Dock from the title bar’s pop-up menu.

Adding and removing views

Y ou may want to add additional views to the painter window . If there are some views you rarely use, you ca n move them into a stacked p ane or r emove them. When removing a view in a stacked pane, make s ure you remove th e view and not the pan e .

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 13

Working in painters

❖ To add a new view to the painter window:

1 Select View from the menu bar and then select the view you want to add.

The view displays in a new pane in a new row.

2 Move the pane where you want it.

For how to move panes, see “Moving and resizing panes and views” on page 11.

❖ To remove a view in its own pane from the painter window:

1 If the view’s title bar is not displayed, display it by placing the pointer on

the splitter bar at the top of the pane.

2 Click the Close button on the title bar.

❖ To remove a view in a stacked pane from the painter window:

• Select the tab for the view and select Close from its pop-up menu.

❖ To remove a stacked pane from the painter window:

1 If the title bar of the top view in the stack is not displayed, display it by

placing the pointer on the splitter bar at the top of the pane.

2 Click the Close button on the title bar.

Saving a layout

When you have rearranged panes in the painter window, DataWindow Designer saves the layout in the registry. The next time you open the painter window , your last l ayout displays. Y ou can also save customized layo uts so that you can switch from one to another for different kinds of activities.

❖ To save customized layouts for a painter window:

1 Select View>Layouts>Manage from the menu bar.

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CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer

2 Click the New Layout button (second from the left at the top of the dialog

box).

3 Type an appropriate name in the text box and click OK.

Restoring the default layout

You can restore the default layout at any time by selecting Views>Layout>Default.

Using pop-up menus

DataWindow Designer provides a context-sensitive pop-up menu that lists:

• Actions appropriate to the currently selected object or the current position of the pointer

• Where appropriate, a Properties menu item for accessing the Properties view or the Properties dialog box associated with the current ob ject or the current position of the pointer

The pop-up menu is available almost everywhere in DataWindow Designer when you position the pointer over an object and click the right mouse button.

Example

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 15

For example, the following screen shows the pop-up menu for a column in a DataWindow:

Working in painters

Defining colors

You can define custom colors to use in most painters and in o bjects you create.

❖ To define custom colors:

1 In a painter that uses custom colors, select Design>Custom Colors from

the menu bar. The Color dialog box displays:

2 Define your custom colors:

Area of the Color dialog box What you do

Basic colors Click the basic color closest to the color you want to

define to move the pointer in the color matrix and slider on the right

Custom colors palette

Color matrix Click in the color matrix to pick a color Color slider Move the slider on the right t o adju st the c olor's attributes Add to Custom

Colors button

Modify an existing color—click a custom color, then modify the color matrix and slider. Define a new color— click an empty box, define the color, and click Add to Custom Colors

After you have designe d the color , click this button to add the custom color to the Custom colors palette on the left

16 DataWindow .NET

Working with tools

In addition to painters, DataWindow Designer provides you with some other tools to help you with your work. You can open most tools from the Tools menu, the PowerBar, or the Tools page in the New dialog box.

CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer

Tool summary

Table 1-2 lists the tools.

Table 1-2: DataWindow Designer tools

T ool What you use the tool for

File editor Edit text files. For more information, see "Using the file editor"

To-Do List Keep track of object creation tasks and create links to quickly get

Database profile Define and use named sets of paramete rs to connect to a

Using the file editor

DataWindow Designer provides a text ed itor that is always available. Using the editor, you can view and modify text files (such as initialization files and tab-separated files with data) without leaving DataWindow Designer.

❖ To open the file editor:

1 Press Shift+F6 anywhere in DataWindow Designer. 2 Select File>Open File or click the Open icon (an open folder) on the

next.

you to the place where you need to complete the tasks. For information, see “Using the To-Do List” on page 18.

particular database. For informat ion , see Connecting to Your Database.

Painter bar to open the file you want to edit.

Setting file editing properties

The file editor has font properties and an indentation property that you can change to make files easier to read. If you do not change any properties, files have black text on a white background and a tab stop setting of 3 for indentation.

❖ To specify File Editor properties:

1 Select Design>Options to display the property page. 2 Choose the tab appropriate to the property you want to specify.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 17

Working with tools

Editing activities

The file editor provides a full set of basic editing facilities including:

• Opening, saving, and printing files

• Cutting, copying, pasting, and clearing selected text

• Finding and replacing text

• Undoing changes

• Commenting and uncommenting lines

• Importing and exporting text files

• Dragging and dropping text The file editor has a PainterBar that provides a shortcut for performing

frequently used activities. There is also a corresponding menu item (and often a shortcut key) for each activity.

T o see t he s hor t cut keys, s e lect Tools>Keyboard Shortcuts fr om the men u bar and use the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box.

T o move text, simply select it, drag it to its new location, and drop it. To copy text, press the Ctrl key while you drag and drop the text.

Using the To-Do List

Opening the To-Do List

The To-Do List displays a list of tasks you want to do in the current project.

❖ T o open the To-Do List:

• Click the To-Do List button in the PowerBar, or select Tools>To-Do List from the menu bar.

To-Do List entries

You can create an entry in the To-Do List at any time to remind you about any task you need to complete. You can create entries that are hot-linked to qu ickly get you from the T o-Do List to the DataW indow p ainter and the specific object you need.

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CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer

When you move the pointer over entries on the To-Do list, the pointer changes to a hand if it is over a linked entry.

You can export or import a To-Do List by select ing Impor t or Export fro m the pop-up menu. Doing this is useful if you want to move from one computer to another or you need to wor k with To-Do Lists as part of some other syst em such as a project management system.

Working with entries on the To-Do List

Table 1-3 tells you how to work with entries on the To-Do List.

Table 1-3: The To-Do List

To do this Do this

See linked entries Move the pointer over the entries. A hand di splays when the

entry you are over is linke d .

Use a linked entry to get to a painter or wizard

Add an entry with no link

Add a linked entry to the DataWindow painter

Change an entry’s position on the list

Edit or delete an entry Select Edit or Delete from the pop-up menu. Delete checked

entries or all entries Check or uncheck an

entry Export a To-Do List Select Export from the pop-up menu, name the To-Do List

Import a To-Do List Select Import from the pop-up menu, navigate to an

Double-click the linked entry or sel ect it and then select Go To Link from the pop-up menu.

Select Add from the pop-up menu.

With the painter open, select Add Linked from the pop-up menu.

Drag the entry to the position you want.

Select Delete Checked or Delete All from the pop-up menu.

Select an entry and then select Check/Uncheck from the pop-up menu.

text file, and click Save.

exported To-Do List text file, and click Open.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 19

Setting properties

In DataW i ndo w De sig ner, you set properties on pages t hat di sp l ay i n a t abb ed dialog box or in a view in a painter. In the DataWindow painter, you set object properties in the Properties view. In the Database painter, you set properties in the Object Details view.

For example, for a column in a DataWindow object, you can set several different kinds of properties (general, pointer, HTML, position, edit style, font, and display format) by clicking appropriate tabs in the Properties view.

How property pages work in the Properties view

How other property pages work

The Properties view is dynamically updated when you select another ob ject or control. If you select more than one object or control,

group selected

displays in the title bar, the properties common to them display, and you can set the properties for more than one control at a time.

In the Properties view, you can use a pop-up menu to specify where the labels for the properties display and to get Help on the properties.

The selections you make or the information you type into a box in the Properties view is saved when you tab to another field or open a different property page.

Properties dialog boxes that do not display in the Properties view have OK, Cancel, Apply , and He lp buttons. The Ap ply button is enabl ed when you make a change on one tab:

Use this button To do this

OK Apply the properti es you have set on all tabs and close the

property page Cancel Close the window and apply no new changes Apply Apply the properties you have set on all tabs immediately

without closing the property page Help Get Help on setting properties for the tab that displays

Displaying properties pages

You can display properties pages in a few ways:

• Select Vi ew>Properties fro m the men u bar in the DataWindow painter or View>Object Details in the Database painter

• If the Properties view is op en, s elect an object or co nt rol i n the Lay out or Control List views to dis play t he pr oper t ies of the object or control in the Properties view

20 DataWindow .NET

Using toolbars

Toolbar basics

CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer

• Select Properties from the pop-up menu of an object, control, library

name, or table or column name

• Select Object>Properties or Entry>Properties from the menu bar

(dependi ng on the painter you are working in)

• Click the Properties button in the PainterBar

T oolbars provide bu ttons for the most common tasks in Da taWindo w Designer. Y ou can move an d dock or float tool bars, customize them, and create you r own.

DataWindow Designer uses three toolbars: the PowerBar, PainterBar, and StyleBar. You can hide a toolbar by right-clicking in the toolbar area and clearing the check mark text to its name. If a toolbar is not hidden, it displays as shown in T a ble 1-4.

Table 1-4: DataWindow Designer toolbars

Toolbar Purpose Availability

PowerBar Opening painters and tools Always. PainterBar Performing tasks in the current

painter

StyleBar Changing the properties of text,

such as font and alignment

When a painter is open. Some painters have more than one PainterBar.

In appropriate painters.

Drop-down toolbars

T o reduce t he size o f tool bars, some toolbar button s have a down arro w on th e right that you can click to display a drop-down toolbar containing related buttons.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 21

Using toolbars

For example, the down arrow next to the Text button in the DataWindow painter displays the Controls drop-down toolbar, which has a button for each control you can place on a DataWindow object:

Default button replaced

The button you select f rom a drop- down too lbar replaces the default b utton on the main toolbar. For example, if you select the Picture button from the Controls drop-down toolbar , it replaces the Command button in the PainterBar .

Controlling the display of toolbars

You can control:

• Whether to display individual toolbars and where

• Whether to display text on the buttons

• Whether to display PowerTips

Choosing to display text and PowerTips affects all toolbars.

❖ To control a toolbar using the pop-up menu:

1 Position the pointer on a toolbar and display the pop-up menu. 2 Click the items you want.

A check mark means the item is currently selected.

❖ To control a toolbar using the Toolbars dialog box:

1 Select Tools>Toolbars from the menu bar.

The Toolbars dialog box displays.

2 Click the toolbar you want to work with (the current toolbar is highlighted)

and the options you want.

DataWindow Designer saves your toolbar preferences in the registry and the DataWindow Designer initialization file.

22 DataWindow .NET

Moving toolbars using the mouse

You can use the mouse to move a toolbar.

❖ To move a toolbar with the mouse:

1 Position the pointer on the grab bar at the left of the toolbar or on any

vertical line separating groups of buttons. 2 Press and hold the left mouse button. 3 Drag the toolbar and drop it where you want it.

As you move the mouse, an outlined box shows how the toolbar will

display when you drop it. You can line it up along any frame edge or float

it in the middle of the frame.

Docking toolbars

When you first start DataW in dow Desig ner, all the toolbars displa y one above another at the top left of the workspace. When you move a toolbar, you can dock (position) it:

• At the top or bottom of the workspace, at any point from the left edge to

the right edge

CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer

• At the left or right of the workspace, at any point from the top edg e to the

bottom edge

• To the left or right of, or above or below, another toolbar

Customizing toolbars

You can customize toolbars with DataWindow Designer buttons and with buttons that invoke other applications, such as a clock or text processor.

Adding, moving, and deleting buttons

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 23

You can add, move, and delete buttons in any toolbar.

❖ To add a button to a toolbar:

1 Position the pointer on the toolbar and display the pop-up menu. 2 Select Customize.

Using toolbars

The Customize dialog box displays.

3 Click the palette of buttons you want to use in the Select palette group. 4 Choose a button from the Selected palette box and drag it to the position

you want in the Current toolbar box. If you choose a button from the Custom palette, another dialog box

displays so you can define the button. For more information, see “Adding a custom button” on page 25.

Seeing what's available in the PowerBar

DataWindow Designer provides several buttons that do not display by default in the PowerBar , b ut which y ou can ad d. To see what is available, scroll the list of buttons and select one. DataWindow Designer lists the description for the selected button.

❖ T o mov e a button on a toolbar:

1 Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select

Customize.

2 In the Current toolbar box, sel ect the butto n and drag it t o its ne w position.

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CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer

❖ To delete a button from a toolbar:

1 Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select

Customize. 2 In the Current toolbar box, select the button and dr ag it outside the Curr ent

toolbar box.

Resetting a toolbar

Clearing or deleting a toolbar

You can restore the original setup of buttons on a toolbar at any time.

❖ To reset a toolbar:

1 Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select

Customize. 2 Click the Reset button, then Yes to confirm, then OK. Whenever you want, you can remove all buttons from a tool bar. If you do not

add new buttons to the empty toolbar, the toolbar is deleted. You can delete both built-in toolbars and toolbars you have created.

To recreate a toolbar

If you delete one of DataWindow Designer’ s built-in toolbars, you can recreate it easily. For example, to recreate the PowerBar, display the pop-up menu, select New, and then select PowerBar1 in the New Toolbar dialog box. For information about creating new toolbars and ab out the meaning o f PowerBar1, see “Creating new toolbars” on page 28.

❖ To clear or delete a toolbar:

1 Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select

Customize. 2 Click the Clear button, then Yes to confirm.

The Current toolbar box in the Customize dialog box is emptied. 3 Select new buttons for the current toolbar and click OK, or click OK to

delete the toolbar.

Adding a custom button

You can add a custom button to a toolbar. A custom button can:

• Invoke a DataWindow Designer menu item

• Run an executable (application) outside DataWindow Designer

• Run a query or preview a DataWindow object

• Assign a display format or create a computed field in a DataWindow

object

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 25

Using toolbars

❖ T o add a custom button:

1 Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select

Customize.

2 Select Custom in the Select Palette group.

The custom buttons display in the Selected Palette box.

3 Select a custom button and drag it to where you want it in the Current

toolbar box. The T oolbar Item C ommand dialog box displays. Dif ferent buttons disp lay

in the dialog box depending on which toolbar you are customizing:

4 Fill in the dialog box as shown in Table 1-5.

Table 1-5: Toolbar Item Command dialog box

Button purpose Action in Toolbar Item Command dialog box

Invoke a DataWindow Designer menu item

Run an executable outside DataWind ow Designer

Type

@MenuBarItem.MenuItem

in the Command Line box. For example, to make the button mimic the Open item on the File menu, type

@File.Open

You can also use a number to refer to a menu item. The first item in a drop-down/cascading menu is 1, the second item is 2, and so on. Separator lines in the menu count as items. Example:

@Edit.Align.4

Type the name of the executable in the Command Line box. Specify the full path name if the executable is not in the current search path.

To search for the file name, click the Browse button.

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CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer

Button purpose Action in Toolbar Item Command dialog box

Run a query Click the Query butto n an d s el ec t t he quer y fro m the

displayed list.

Preview a DataWindow object

Assign a display format to a column in a DataWindow object

Create a computed field in a DataWindow object

Click the Report button and select a DataWindow objectfrom the displayed list. You can then specify command-line arguments i n the Command Line box, as described below.

(DataWindow painter only) Click the Format button to display the Display Formats dialog box. Select a data type, then choos e an existing display format from th e list or define your own in the Format box.

For more about specifying display formats, see Chapter 8, “Displaying and Validating Data.”

(DataWindow painter only) Click the Function button to display the Function for Toolbar dialog box. Select the function from the list.

5 In the Item Text box, specify the text associated with the button in two

parts separated by a comma—the text that displays on the button and text

for the button's PowerTip:

ButtonText, PowerTip

For example:

Save, Save File

If you specify only one piece of text, it is used for both the button text and

the PowerTip. 6 In the Item MicroHelp box, specify the text to appear as Micro Help when

the pointer is on the button.

Supplying arguments with DataWindow objects

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 27

If you define a custom button to run a DataWindow object, you can specify arguments in the command line in the Toolbar Item Command dialog box.

Table 1-6: Arguments for running reports

Argument Meaning

/l LibraryName Specifies the library containing the DataWindow object /o

DataWindowName

/r Previews the DataWi nd ow obj ect /ro Previews the DataWi nd ow ob ject bu t does not provi de design

/a "Arguments" Specifies arguments to pass to the DataWindow object

Specifies the DataWindow object

mode for modifying the DataWindow object

Using toolbars

The default command line is:

DataWindow /o DataWindowName /ro

Modifying a custom button

❖ To modify a custom button:

1 Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select

Customize.

2 Double-click the button in the Current toolbar box. 3 Make your changes, as described in “Adding a custom button” on page 25.

Creating new toolbars

DataWindow Designer has built-in toolbars. When you start DataWindow Designer, you see what is called the PowerBar . In each painter, you als o see one or more PainterBars. But PowerBar and PainterBar are actually types of toolbars you can create to make working in DataWindow Designer easier.

PowerBars and PainterBars

Where you create them

A PowerBar is a t oolbar t hat alway s displ ays in DataWindow Designer, unless you hide it. A PainterBar is a toolbar that always displays in the specific painter for which it was defined, unless you hide it. You can have up to four PowerBars, named PowerBar1, PowerBar2, and so on. You can have up to eight PainterBars in each painter, named PainterBar1, PainterBar2, and so on.

You can create a new PowerBar anywhere in DataWindow Designer, but to create a new PainterBar, you must be in the workspace of the painter for which you want to define the PainterBar.

❖ T o cr ea te a new toolbar:

1 Position the pointer on any toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select

New.

About the StyleBar

In painters that do not have a StyleBar, StyleBar is on the list in the New T o ol bar di alog b ox . You can define a toolbar wit h th e name StyleBar, but you can add only painter-specific buttons, not style buttons, to it.

2 Select a PowerBar name or a PainterBar name and click OK.

The Customize dialog box displays with the Current toolbar box empty.

3 One at a time, drag the toolbar buttons you want from the Selected palett e

box to the Current toolbar box and then click OK.

28 DataWindow .NET

Using online Help

DataWindow Designer has online Help that provides both reference and task-oriented information. Context-sensitive and reference information is provided in Windows Help format. Task-oriented information is provided in compiled HTML Help (CHM) format.

CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer

How to access Help

Learning to use online Help

Using the pop-up menu

You can get Help in any of the ways listed in Table 1-7.

Table 1-7: Accessing Help

Approach What it does

Use the Help menu on the menu bar or press F1

Add a Help button to the PowerBar and click it

In a wizard, click the Help button [?] in the upper right corner of the window

In a wizard, press F1 Context-sensitive Help for the current field displays. In the Properties view in the

DataWindow painter, select Help from the pop-up menu on any tab page

Click the Help button in a dialog box

Click the Online Books button on the Help window

Displays the Help contents.

The pointer displa ys wit h a questio n mark so that yo u can get context-sensitive Help. Point and click in a field you need Help on.

Displays a Help topic from which you can get He lp on the properties for the object or control whose properties are displaying in the Properties view.

Displays information about that dialog box.

Open the compiled HTML books

To get information on using Help, press F1 anywhere within online Help.

DataWindow Designer online Help provides a pop-up menu with shortcuts to features available on the Help menu b ar . T o display t he pop-up menu in online Help, click the right mouse button.

Sybooks CD and Web site

DataWindow .N ET books are also provided on the Syb ooks CD and the Sybase Product Manuals Web site. For more information, see “Other sources of information” on page xv.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 29

Customizing keyboard shortcuts

You can associate your own keyboard shortcuts with DataWindow Designer menu items.

Tip

Creating keyboard shortcuts means you can use the keyboard instead of the mouse in many situations, such as changing libraries, objects, or connections, by creating shortcuts for the File>Recent menu items.

❖ To associate a keyboard shortcut with a menu item:

1 Select Tools>Keyboard Shortcuts from the menu bar.

The keyboard shortcuts for the current menu bar display.

Keyboard shortcuts in a painter or tool

In a painter , the Key board Sho rtcuts dialo g box includes both menu items as well as additional actions that apply to the current painter or tool. These nonmenu actions are listed under Additional Global Shortcuts and Additional Painter Shortcuts.

2 Select a menu item with no shortcut or a menu item with a default shortcut

that you want to change and then put the cursor in the Press Keys For Shortcut textbox.

30 DataWindow .NET

CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer

3 Press the keys you want for the shortcut; the new shortcut displays in the

textbox.

If you type a shortcut that is alread y being used, a messag e notifies y ou so

that you can type a different shortcut or change the existing shortcut.

❖ To remove a keyboard shortcut associated with a menu item:

1 Select Tools>Keyboard Shortcuts from the menu bar. 2 Select the menu item with the shortcut you want to remove. 3 Click Remove. You can reset keyboard shortcuts to the default shortcuts globally or only for

the current painter.

❖ To reset keyboard shortcuts to the default:

• Click the Reset button and respond to the prompt.

Changing fonts

Table 1-8 summarizes the various ways you can change the fonts used in DataWindow Designer.

Table 1-8: Changing fonts

For this object or painter Do this

A table’s data, headings, and labels

Objects in the DataWindow painter

Library painter and MicroHelp

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 31

In the Database painter, display the table’s property page, and change the font properties on the Data, Heading, and Label Font tabs.

Select objects and then modi fy settings in the StyleBar, or, in the Properties view for one or more objects, change the font properties on the Font tab.

Select Tools>System Options from the menu bar and change the font properties on the System Font and Printer Font tab pages.

How your DataWindow Designer environment is managed

For this object or painter Do this

Interactive SQL view in the Database painter and the file editor (changes made for one of these apply to both)

Use the Printer font tab to set fonts specifically for printing. If you need to print multilanguage characters, make sure you use a font that is installed on your printer. Changes you make in the Tools>System Options dia log box and from the Design>Options menu selection are used the next time you open DataWindow Designer.

Select Design>Options from the menu bar to display the editor’s prope rty pa g e and cha nge the font properti e s on the Editor Font and Printer Font tab pages.

How your DataWindow Designer environment is managed

Your DataWindow Designer configuration information is stored in both the DataWindow Designer initialization file (DW.INI) file and the registry. When you start DataWindow Designer, it looks in the registry and the DW.INI file to set up your environment.

About the registry

Some DataWindow Designer features require the use of the DW.INI file, but many features use the registry to get and store configuration information. Normally, you should not need to access or modify items in the registry.

Information related to your preferences (such as the way you have arranged your views in the painters and the shortcut keys you have defined for DataWindow Designer menu items) is stored in HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Sybase/DataWindowDesigner/2.0.

Installation-related information is stored in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Sybase/DataWi ndowDesigner/2.0.

32 DataWindow .NET

About the initialization file

The initialization file is a text file that contains variables that specify your DataWindow Designer preferences. These preferences include information such as the last database you connected to and the PBL you are using. When you perform certain actions in D ataWindow Designer, DataWind ow Desi gner writes your preferences to the initialization file automatically.

CHAPTER 1 Working with DataWindow Designer

Specifying preferences

Format of INI files

Normally, you do not need to edit the initialization file. You can specify all your preferences by taking an action, such as resizing a window or opening a new application, or by select ing Design>Op tions from on e of the pai nters. But sometimes a variable does not appear by default in the options sheet for the painter. In this case, you can use a text editor to modify the variable in the appropriate section of the initialization file.

Do not use a text editor to edit the DataWindow Designer initialization file while DataWindow Designer is running. DataWindow Designer caches the contents of initialization files in memory and overwrites your edited DataWindow Designer initialization file when it exits, ignoring changes.

The DataWindow Designer initialization file uses the Windows INI file format. It has three types of elements:

• Section names, which are enclosed in square brackets

• Keywords, which are the names of preference settings

• Values, which are numeric or text strings, assigned as the value of the

associated keyword A variable can be listed with no value specified, in which case the default is

used. Some sections are always present by default, but others are created only when

you specify different preferences. If you spec ify preferences for another painter or tool, DataW indow De signer creates a new secti on for it at the end of the fil e.

Where the initialization file is kept

DW.INI is installed in the same directory as the DataWindow Designer executable file.

You can keep your initializatio n file in anoth er locatio n and tell DataWindow Designer where it can find it by specifying the location in the System Options dialog box. You might want to do this if you use more than one version of DataWindow Designer or if you are running DataWindow Designer over a network.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 33

How your DataWindow Designer environment is managed

❖ To specify a different location for DW.INI:

1 Select Tools>System Options from the menu bar. 2 On the General tab page, enter the path of your initialization file in the

Initialization Path textbox. DataWindow Designer records the path in the Windows registry.

DataWindo w Designer looks in the W indows Regi stry for a path to the file, and then looks for the file in the directory where DataWindow Designer is installed. If DataWindow Designer cannot find the initialization file using the path in the Registry, it clears the path value.

If DataWindow Designer does not find the initialization file when it starts up, it recreates it. However, if you want to retain any preferen ces you have set, such as database profiles, keep a backup copy of your initialization file. The recreated file has the default preferences.

34 DataWindow .NET

CHAPTER 2

Working with Libraries

About this chapter

Contents

About libraries

DataWindow Designer stores all the objects you create in libraries. This

chapter describes how to work with your libraries.

Topic Page

About libraries 35 About the Library painter 36 Working with libraries 37 Deleting libraries 44 Optimizing libraries 44 Regenerating library entries 45 Exporting and importing entries 46 Creating a deployment library (PBD file) 48 Creating a library directory report 49

DataWindow Designer uses libraries to hold objects. A library is a file

with the file extension PBL (pronounced pibble):

filename.pbl

In DataWindow Designer, you use the Library painter to work with the

objects and libraries you create.

What you can do in the Library painter

The Library painter workspace displays objects in all libraries on your

computer, bu t you can set the Library painter to di splay only objects in the

current library. In the Library painter, you can:

• Open objects in the current library to edit them in the appropriate painters

• Copy, move, and delete objects in any library

• Optimize libraries

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 35

About the Library painter

What you canno t do in the Library painter

You cannot create a library or rename a library in the Library painter. For information about creating a library, see “Working with projects” on page 6.

You cannot create new DataWindow objects or queries in the Library painter. You cannot open objects that are not in the current project.

About the Library painter

❖ T o open the Library p a inter:

• Click the Library button in the PowerBar.

Views in the Library painter

About the Tree view and the List view

The Library painter has two views that you use for displaying library files (PBLs) and the objects they contain. The two views, which are available from the View menu, are Tree and List.

By default, the Library pain ter displays one T ree view (on th e left) and one List view (on the right). When the Library painter opens, both the T ree view and the List view display the drives that are on your computer or mapped to it.

Tree view The Tree view displays the drives and folders on the computer and

the libraries and objects they contain.

List view The List view also displays the drives and folders on the computer

and the libraries and objects they contain, but the view has columns with headers. For libraries, the comment column displays any comment associated with the library . For objects, the columns display the object name, modification date, size, and any comment associated with the object. You can resize columns by moving the splitter bar between columns. You can sort a column’ s contents by Clicking the column header.

Displaying i tems in the Tree view and the List view

Most of the time, you select a library in the Tree view and display the objects in that library in the List view. You can set a new root or move back and forward in the history of your actions in the List view and the Tree view so libraries or other items display. For information about setting the root, see “Setting the root” on page 42. For information about moving back or forward, see “Moving back, forward, and up one l evel” on page 42.

36 DataWindow .NET

CHAPTER 2 Working with Libraries

About sorting the Name column

When you Click the Name column header repeatedly to sort, the sort happens in four ways: by object type and then name in bo t h ascen ding and descending order and by object name in both ascending and des cending order . Y ou may not easily observe the four ways of sorting if all objects of the same type have names that begin with the same character or set of characters.

Working with libraries

You work with librari es in the Library painter.

Displaying libraries and objects

What you see in the views

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 37

In the Tree view, you can expand items and see the folders, libraries, or objects they contain. In the List view, you do not see expansions and contractions of contents. The List view displays only contents. You cannot see any files that are not in libraries.

❖ To expand or collapse an item in the Tree view:

• Double-click the item. If the item contains libraries or objects, they display in the List view.

❖ To display the contents of an item in the List view:

• Select the item in the Tree view , or double-Click the item in the List view.

Working with libraries

Using drag and drop to expand items

You can drag and drop items to expand them and see the contents:

If you drag an item from a And drop it in a This happens

Tree view or List view List view The List view sets the item as the

root and displays the cont ents

Tree view or List view Tree view The Tree view expands to that item

For example, you can drag a library fr om the Tree view and drop it in the List view to quickly display the objects the library contains in the List view. For information about using drag and drop to copy or move items, see “Copying, moving, and deleting objects” on page 40.

Using the pop-up menu

Like the other painters, the Librar y painter has a pop-up menu that provides menu items that apply to the selected item in the Tree view or the List view . For example, from a library’s pop-up menu, you can delete, search, opt imize, print the directory , or displ ay library properties . From an object’ s pop-up menu, you can edit (go to the painter), copy, move, or delete the object.

Controlling columns that display in the List view

Y ou can cont rol whether to display t he last modification date, co mpilation date, size, and comments (if a comment was created when an object or library was created) in the List view.

❖ To control the display of columns in the List view:

1 Select Design>Options from the m enu bar. 2 On the General tab page, select or clear these display items: Modification

Date, Compilation Date, Sizes, and Comments.

38 DataWindow .NET

Selecting objects

In the List view, you can select one or more libraries or objects to act on.

❖ To select multiple entries:

• In the List view, use Ctrl+Click (for individual entries) and Shift+Click (for a group of entries).

❖ To select all entries:

• In the List view, select an object and then Click the Select All button on the PainterBar.

Filtering the display of objects

You can change which objects display in expanded libraries.

Settings are remembered

DataWindow Designer records your preferences in the Library section of the DataWindow Designer initialization file so that the next time you open the Library painter, the same objects and information are displayed.

CHAPTER 2 Working with Libraries

Specifying which objects display in all libraries

Initially in the Tree and List views, the Library painter displays all objects in libraries that you expand. You can specify that the Library painter display in all libraries only objects whose names match a specific pattern. For example, you can limit the display to DataWindow objects that begin with

❖ To restrict which objects are displayed :

emp_.

1 Select Design>Options from the menu bar and select the Include tab. 2 In the Options dialog box, specify the display criteria:

• To limit the display to entries that contain specific text in their names,

enter the text in the Name box. You can use the wildcard characters question mark (?) and asterisk (*) in the string: ? represents one character, * represents any string of characters. The default is all entries.

3 Click OK.

The Options dialog box closes.

4 In the Tree view, expand libraries or select a library to display the objects

that meet the criteria.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 39

Working with libraries

Overriding the ch oices you made for a specific view

In either the Tree view or the List view , you can overr ide your choice of o bjects that display in all libraries by selecting a library, displaying the library’s pop-up menu, and then clearing or selecting items on the list of objects.

Filtering the display of libraries and folders

In either the Tree view or the List view, you can control what displays when you expand a drive or folder, An expanded drive or folder can display only libraries, only folders, or both.

❖ To control the display of libraries and folders:

• In either view, select a drive or folder and then select or clear Libraries and/or Folders from the pop-up menu.

Opening and previewing objects

You can open and preview objects in the current project.

❖ T o open an object:

• In either the Tree view or the List view, double-click the object, or select Edit from the object’s pop-up menu.

DataWindow Designer takes you to the painter for that object and opens the object. You can work on the object and save it as you work. When you close it, you return to the Library painter.

You can preview DataWindow objects from the Library painter.

❖ To preview an object in the Library painter:

• Select Run/Preview from the object’s pop-up menu.

Copying, moving, and deleting objects

As your needs change, you may want to rearrange the objects in libraries. To do that, you need to be able to copy and move objects between libraries or delete objects that you no longer need.

40 DataWindow .NET

CHAPTER 2 Working with Libraries

❖ To copy or move objects using drag and drop:

1 In the Tree view or the List view, select the objects you want to copy or

move.

2 Press Shift to move the entries.

Otherwise, the objects will be copied.

3 Drag the objects to a library in either view (or if the contents of a library

are displayed in the List view, you can drop the objects there). If copying, DataWindow Designer replicates the objects. If moving,

DataWindow Designer moves the objects and deletes them from the source library. If an object with the same name already exists, DataWindow Designer prompts you and, if you allow it, replaces the existing object with the copied or moved object.

❖ To copy or move objects using a button or menu item:

1 Select the objects you want to copy or move to another library. 2 Click the Copy button or the Move button on the Painterbar, or select

Entry>Copy or Entry>Move from the menu bar. The Select Library dialog box displays.

3 Select the library to which you want to copy or move the objects and Click

OK.

❖ To delete objects:

1 Select the objects you want to delete. 2 Click the Delete button, or select Entry>Delete from the menu bar.

You are prompted to confirm the firs t deletion.

Being asked for confirmation

By default, DataWindow Designer asks you to confirm each deletion. If you do not want to have to confirm deletions, select Design>Options to open the Options dialog box for the Library pai nter and clear the Confirm on Delete check box in the General tab page.

DataWindow Designer records this preference as the DeletePrompt variable in the Library section of the DW.INI file.

3 Click Yes to delete the entry or Yes To All to delete all entries. Click No

to skip the current entry and go on to the next selected entry.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 41

Working with libraries

Setting the root

In either the Tree view or the List view, you can set the root location of the view.

❖ To set the root of the current view:

1 In either view, select V iew>Set Root from the menu bar , or select Set Root

from the pop-up menu.

2 If you want the root to be a directory or library, type the path or browse to

the path.

If you set the root to the Library List in both the Tree view and the List view, only the names of the libraries in the current project display in the Tree view and the List view.

Moving back, forward, and up one level

Y ou can also set a ne w root by moving back to where you were b efore, moving forward to where you just were, or for the List view, moving up a level.

❖ To move back, forward, or up one level:

• Select View>Back, View>Forward, or View>Up One Level from the menu bar, or select Back, Forward, or Up One Level from the pop-up menu.

The name of the location yo u are moving back to or for ward to is appended to Back and Forward.

42 DataWindow .NET

Modifying comments

You can use comments to document your objects and libraries. You can associate comments with an object when you first save it in a painter, and you can use the Library painter to:

• Modify existing comments for objects

• Add comments to objects that do not currently have any comments

• Modify the comments for a single object

• Modify comments for multiple objects using a shortcut

• Modify comments for a library

❖ To modify comments for objects:

1 In the List view, select the objects you want. 2 Select Entry>Properties from the menu bar, or select Properties from the

CHAPTER 2 Working with Libraries

pop-up menu. DataWindow Designer displays the Properties dialog box. The

information that displays is for the first object you selected. You can change existing comments, or, if there are no comments, you can enter new descr i ptive text.

3 Click OK when you have finished with the first object.

If you do not want to change the comments for an object, Click OK. The next object displays.

4 Enter comments and Click OK for each object until you have finished.

If you want to stop working on comments before you finish with the objects you selected, Click Cancel. The comments you have entered un til the most recent OK are retained. The new commen ts display in the Library painter workspace.

❖ To modify comments for a library:

1 Select the library you want. 2 Click the Properties button, or select Library from the pop-up menu. 3 Add or modify the comments.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 43

Optimizing libraries

Deleting libraries

❖ To delete a library:

1 In either the Tree view or the List view, select the library you want to

delete.

2 Select Library>Delete from the menu bar.

Restriction

You cannot delete libraries in the current library list.

The Delete Library dialog box dis pl ays , sh ow ing the libr a ry yo u select ed.

3 Click Yes to delete the library.

The library and all its entries are deleted. You cannot get them back.

Optimizing libraries

You might need to optimize your libraries occasionally. Optimizing removes gaps in libraries and defragments the storage of objects, thus improving performance.

Optimizing affects only layout on disk; it does not affect the contents of the objects. Objects are not recompiled when you optimize a library.

❖ T o optim ize a library:

1 In either Tree view or List view, choose the library you want to optimize. 2 Select Library>Optimize from the menu bar, or select Optimize from the

library's pop-up menu. DataWindow Designer reorganizes the library structure to optimize o bject

and data storage and index locations. Note that DataWindow Designer does not change the modification date for the library entries. DataWindow Designer saves the unoptimized version as a backup file in the same directory.

The optimized file is created with the default permissions for the drive where it is stored. On some systems new files are not shareable by default. If you see “save of object failed” or “link error” messages after optimizing, check the permissions assigned to the PBL.

44 DataWindow .NET

If you do not want a backup file

If you do not want to save a backup copy of the library, clear the Save Optimized Backups check box in the Libr ary painter's Design>Options tab dialog box. If you clear this option, the new setting remains in effect until you change it.

Regenerating library entries

When you regenerate an entry, DataWindow Designer recompiles the source form stored in the library and replaces the existing compiled form with the recompiled form.

❖ To regenerate library entries:

1 Select the entries you want to regenerate. 2 Click the Regen button, or select Entry>Regenerate from the menu bar.

DataWindow D es igner uses the source to rege nerate the library entry and replaces the current compiled object with the regenerated object. The compilation date and size are updated.

CHAPTER 2 Working with Libraries

Migrating libraries

When you upgrade to a new version of DataWindow Designer, your existing libraries need to be migrated to the new version.

Make sure PBLs are writable

If you make copies of your libraries before you migrate to a new version of DataWindow Designer, make sure that the libraries you will migrate are writable.

The library that is created when you create a new project contains the default application object, which is required for migration. If you add other libraries to the project and delete the default application library, DataWindow Designer cannot migrate the other libraries in the project to the current version.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 45

Exporting and importing entries

DataWindow Designer uses project (.dwp) files to manage libraries. The following sample has three libraries: lib1.pbl, lib2.pbl, and lib3.pbl. If you delete the library listed on the applib line, lib1.pbl, from the library list, you cannot migrate the project to the current version:

A library must be in the current library list for you to migrate it.

❖ T o migra te libraries :

1 Select Migrate from the pop-up menu for the project in the System Tree.

2 Click OK.

Save Format v3.0(19990112) appname "Default"; applib "lib1.pbl"; LibList "lib1.pbl;lib2.pbl;lib3.pbl"; type "DataWindow Designer";

The Migrate Application dialog box displays.

DataWindow Designer migrates all objects in the library to the current version.

Exporting and importing entries

You can export DataWindow object definitions to text files. The text files contain all the information that defines the DataWindow objects. The files are virtually identical syntactically to the source forms that are stored in libraries for all objects.

You may want to export object def initions in the following situations:

• You want to store the objects as text files.

• You want to move objects to another computer as text files.

Caution

The primary use of the Export feature is to export source code, not to modify the source. Modifying source in a text file is not recommended.

Later on you can import the files back int o Dat aWindow Designer for storage in a library.

46 DataWindow .NET

CHAPTER 2 Working with Libraries

❖ To export entries to text files:

1 Select the Library entries you want to export. 2 Click the Export button.

Select Entry>Export from the menu bar. The Export Library Entry dialog box displays showing the name of the

first entry selected for export in the File Name box and the name of the current directory. The current directory is the last directory you selected for saving exported entries or saving a file using the file editor.

DataWindow Designer appends the file extension .srd.

3 Specify the filename and directory for the export file. Do not change the

file extension. 4 Specify the encoding type you want the file to use. 5 Click OK.

DataWindow Designer converts the entry to the requested file format,

stores it with the specified name, then displays t he next ent ry you selected

for export.

If a file already exists with the same name, DataWindow Designer displays

a message asking whether you want to rep l ace the file . If you s ay n o, you

can change the name of the file and then export it, skip the file, or cancel

the export of the current file and any selected files that have not been

exported. 6 Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have processed all the selected entries.

You cannot see export files in the Library painter

Since export files are text files, the Library painter does not show them; it shows only libraries and directories.

❖ To import text files to library entries:

1 Click the Import button.

Select Entry>Import from the menu bar.

The Select Import Files dialog box disp lays show ing the curren t directory

and a list of files with the extension srd in that directory. 2 Select the files you want to import. Use Shift+Click or Ctrl+Click to select

multiple files.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 47

Creating a deployment library (PBD file)

3 Click Open.

The Import File Into Library Entry dialog box displays listing the libraries in the library search path.

4 Select the library you want to import the text files to. 5 Click OK.

DataWindow Designer converts the specified text files to DataWindow Designer format, regenerates (recompiles) the ob jects, stores the entries in the specified library, and updates the entries' timestamps.

If a library entry with the same name already exists, DataWindow Designer replaces it with the imported entry.

Caution

When you import an entry with the same name as an existing entry, the old entry is deleted before the import takes place. If an import fails, the old object will already be deleted.

Creating a deployment library (PBD file)

The DataWindow objects you build in DataWindow Designer can be distributed in a deployment library (PBD). Other DataWindow Designer, PowerBuilder, or InfoMaker users can open a PBL and copy or modify the DataWindow objects in it. They cannot open and modify objects in a PBD.

T o create PBDs for all the PBLs in your project, select Build Dep loyment from the pop-up menu for the project in the System T ree. PBDs have the same name as PBLs with the extension .PBD.

Including additional resources in the PBD file

When building a runtime library (PBD file), DataWindow Designer does not inspect the objects; it simply removes the source form of the objects from the library (leaving only the runtime version). Therefore, if any of the objects in the library use resources (p ictures and pointer s) and you do not want to provide these resources separately, you must list the resources in a resource file (PBR file). Doing so enables DataWindow Designer to include the resources in the runtime library when it builds it.

48 DataWindow .NET

A PBR file is an ASCII t ext file in which y ou list resource names (s uch as BMP, CUR, RLE, and WMF files) and DataWindow objects.

❖ To create a PowerBuilder resource file (PBR file):

• Using a text editor, create a text file that lists all resource files referenced

in your DataWindow objects. List the names of each resource, one

resource on each line, then save the list as a file with the extension PBR.

Naming resources

If the resource file is in the current folder, you can simp ly list the file, such as:

FROWN.BMP

If the resource file is in a different folder, include the path to the file, such as:

C:\BITMAPS\FROWN.BMP

What happens at runtime

When a resource such as a bitmap is referenced at runtime, the DataWindow server first looks in the PBDs that are defined for the application. Failing that, it looks in folders in the search path for the file.

CHAPTER 2 Working with Libraries

Creating a library directory report

A library directory report lists all entries in the current library, showing the following information for all objects in the library, ordered by object type:

• Name of object

• Modification date and time

• Size (of compiled object)

• Comments

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 49

Creating a library directory report

❖ To create the library directory report:

1 Select the current library. 2 Select Library>Print Directory from the menu bar.

DataWindow Designer sends the library directory report to the printer specified under File>Printer Setup in the menu bar.

50 DataWindow .NET

CHAPTER 3

Managing the Database

About this chapter

Contents

Before you begin

This chapter describes how to manage the database from within

DataWindow Designer.

Topic Page

Working with database components 51 Managing databa ses 54 Using the Database painter 55 Creating and deleting an Adaptive Server Anywhere database 60 Working with tables 62 Working with keys 75 Working with indexes 79 Working with database views 81 Manipulating data 86 Creating and executing SQL statements 92 Controlling access to the current database 96

You work with relational databases in DataWindow Designer. If you are

not familiar with relational databases, you might want to consult an

introductory text, suc h as A Database Primer by C. J. Date.

Working with database components

A database is an electronic storage place for data. Databases are designed

to ensure that data is valid and consistent and that it can be accessed,

modified, and shared.

A database management system (DBMS) governs the activities of a

database and enforces rules that ensure data integrity. A relational DBMS

stores and organizes data in tables.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 51

Working with database components

How you work with databases in DataWindow Designer

Tables and columns

Keys

You can use DataWindow Designer to work with the following database components:

• Tables and columns

•Keys

• Indexes

• Database views

• Extended attributes

• Addition al database components A database usually has many tables, each of which contains rows and columns

of data. Each row in a table has the same columns, but a column’s value for a particular row could be empty or

NULL if the column’s definition allows it.

Tables often have relationships with other tables. For example, in the EAS Demo DB included with DataWindow Designer, the

Dept_id column, and the Employee table also has a Dept_id column that

Department table has a

identifies the department in which the employee works. When you work with the

Department table and the Employee table, the relationship between them is

specified by a join of the two tables. Relational databases use keys to ensure database integrity.

Primary keys A primary key is a column or set of columns that uniqu ely

identifies each row in a table. For example, two employees may have the same first and last names, but they have uniqu e ID numbers. The

Emp_id column in

the Employee table is the primary key column.

Foreign keys A foreign key is a column or set of columns that contains

primary key values from a nother table. For example, the primary key column in the

Department table and a foreign key in the Employee

Dept_id column is the

table.

Key icons In DataWindow Design er, columns def ined as keys ar e displayed

with key icons that use different shapes and colors for primary and foreign. DataWindow Designer automatically joins tables that have a primary/foreign key relationship, with the join on the key columns.

52 DataWindow .NET

CHAPTER 3 Managing the Database

Indexes

In the following illustration there is a join on the primary key for the

department table and a foreign key for the employee table:

dept_id column, which is a

For more information, see “Working with keys” on page 75 . An index is a column or set of columns you identify to improve database

performance when searching for data specified by the index. You index a column that contains information you will need frequently. Primary and foreign keys are special examples of indexes.

You specify a column or set of columns with unique values as a unique index, represented by an icon with a single key.

Y ou specify a column or set of colu mns that has values that are not unique as a duplicate index, represented by an icon with two file cabinets.

For more information, see “Working with indexes” on page 79.

Database views

If you often select data from the same tables and columns, you can create a database view of the tables. You give the database view a name, and each time you refer to it the associated

SELECT command executes to find the data.

Database views are listed in the Objects view of the Database painter and can be displayed in the Object Layout view , but a database view does not phys ically exist in the database in the same way that a table does. Only its definition is stored in the database, and the view is re-created whenever the definition is used.

Database administrators often create database views for s ecurity purpos es. For example, a database view of an Employee table that is available to users who are not in Human Resources might show all columns except Salary.

For more information, see “Working with database views” on page 81.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 53

Managing databases

Extended attributes

Additional database components

Extended attributes enable you to store information about a table’s columns in special system tables. Unlike tables, keys, indexes , and database views (which are DBMS-specific), extended attributes are DataWindow Designer-specific. The most powerful extended attributes determine th e edit style, display format, and validation rules for the column.

For more information about extended attributes, see “Specifying column extended attributes” on page 66. For more information about the extended attribute system tables, see Appendix B, “The Extended Attribute System Tables.”

Depending on the database to which you are connected and on your user privileges, you might be able to view or work with a variety of additional database components through DataWindow Designer. These components might include:

Driver information Groups Metadata types Procedures and functions Users Logins

For example, driver information is relevant to ODBC connections. It lists all the ODBC options associated with the ODBC driver, allowing you to determine how the ODBC interface will behave for a given connection. Login information is listed for Adaptive Server Enterprise (SYC) database connections. Information about groups and users is listed for several of the databases and allows you to add new user s and groups and maintain pas swords for existing users.

Managing databases

DataWindow Designer supports many database management systems (DBMSs). For the most par t, you work the sam e way in DataW indow Designer for each DBMS, but because each DBMS provides some unique features (which DataWindow Designer makes use of), there are some issues that are specific to a particular DBMS. For complete information about using your DBMS, see Connecting to Your Database.

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What you can do

Setting the database connection

Changing the database connection

Using the Database painter, you can do the following in any DBMS to which you have been given access by the database administrator:

• Modify local table and column properties

• Retrieve, change, and insert data

• Create new local tables or modify existing tables When you open a painter that communicates with the database (such as the

Database painter or DataWindow painter), DataWindow Designer connects you to the database you used last if you are not already connected. If the connection to the default database fails, the painter still opens.

If you do not want to connect to the database you used last, you can deselect the Connect to Default Profile option in the Database Preferences dialog box.

You can change to a different database at any time. You can have several database connections open at a time, although only one connection can be active. The database components for each open connection are listed in the Objects view.

The Database painter title bar displays the number of open connections and shows which is active. The title bar for each view displays the connection with which it is currently associated. Y ou can change the connection associated with a view by dragging the profile name for a different connection onto the view.

For more about changing the database you are connected to, see Connecting to Your Database.

Creating and deleting databases

When you are connected to Adaptive Server Anywhere, you can create a new database or delete an existing database using the Database painter.

For all other DBMSs, creating and deleting a database is an administrative task that you cannot do within DataWindow Designer.

Using the Database painter

To open the Database painter, click the Database button in the PowerBar.

About the painter

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 55

Like the other DataW ind ow Designe r painters , the Databas e painter co ntains a menu bar, customizable PainterBars, and several views. All database-related tasks that you can do in DataWindow Designer can be done in the Database painter.

Using the Database painter

Views in the Database painter

Table 3-1 lists th e views available in the Database painter.

Table 3-1: Database painter views

View Description

Activity Log Displays the SQL syntax generated by the actions you

execute.

Columns Used to create and/or modify a table’s columns (formerly

done in the Table painter).

Extended Attributes Lists the display formats, edit styl es, and validation rules

defined for the selected database connection.

Interactive SQL Used to build, execute or explain SQL. (In DataWindow

Designer 6 and earlier, some of this functionality was in the Database Administration painter.)

Object Details Displays an object’s propertie s. For some objects, properties

are read-only; for others, properties can be modified. This

view is analogous to the Properties view in other painters. Object Layout Displays a graphical representation of tables. Objects Lists the database interfa ces and profiles. For an active

database c o nnection, m ight also lis t all or some o f the

following objects associated with that database: grou p s,

metadata types, procedures and functions, tables, columns,

primary and foreign keys, indexes, users, views, driver

information, and utilities (the database components listed

depend on the data base and your user privileges). Results Displays data in a grid, table, or freeform format.

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CHAPTER 3 Managing the Database

Dragging and dropping

Database painter tasks

You can select certain database objects from the Objects view and drag them to the Object Details, Object Layout, Columns, and/or ISQL views. Just position the pointer on the d atabase object ’ s icon and drag it to the appropriate view.

Table 3-2: Using drag and drop in the Database painter

Object Can be dragged to

Driver, group, metadata typ e, procedure or function, table, column, user, primary or foreign key, index

Table or view Object Layout view Table or column Columns view Procedure or view ISQL view

Object Details view

Table 3-3 describes how to do some basic tasks in the Database painter. Most of these tasks begin in the Objects view. Many can be accomplished by dragging and dropping objects into di fferent views. If you prefer, you can use buttons or menu selections from the main bar or from pop-up menus.

Table 3-3: Common tasks in the Database painter

To Do this

Modify a database profile Highlight a database profi le and select Properties from

the Object or pop-up menu or use th e Prop erties butto n. Alternatively, use the Import and Export Profiles menu selections to copy profiles.

For more information, see th e sec tion o n impo rtin g and exporting database profiles in Connecting to Your Database.

Connect to a database Highlight a database profile and then select Connect

from the File or pop-up menu or use the Connect button. With File>Recent Connections, you can review and return to earlier connections. You can also make database connections using the Database Profile button.

Create new profiles, tables, views, columns, keys, indexes, or gr oups

Modify database objects Drag the object to the Object Details view. Graphically display tables Drag the table icon from the list in the Objects view to

Manipulate data Highlight the table and select Grid, T abular , or Freeform

Highlight the database object and select New from the Object or pop-up menu or use the Create button.

the Object Layout view , or highlight the table and select Add To Layout from the Object or pop-up menu.

from the Object>Data menu or the pop-up menu Edit Data item, or use the appropriate Data Manipulation button.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 57

Using the Database painter

To Do this

Build, execute or explain SQL

Define or modify extended attributes

Specify exte nded attributes for a column

Access database utilities Double-click a utility in the Objects view to launch it. Log your work Select Design>Start Log from the menu bar. To see the

Modifying database preferences

To modify database preferences, select Design>Options fr om the menu bar. Some preferences are specific to the database connection; others are s pecific to the Database painter.

Use the ISQL view to build SQL statements. Use the Paste SQL button to p a s te SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE,

DELETE statements or type them directly into the

and view’s workspace. To execute or explain SQL, select Execute SQL and Explain SQL from the Design or pop-up menu.

Select from the Object>Insert menu the type of extended attribute you want to define or modify, or highlight the extended attribute from the list in the Extended Attributes view and select New or Properties from the pop-up menu.

Drag the column to the Object Details view and select the Extended Attributes tab.

SQL syntax generated, display the Activity Log view.

Preferences on the General property page

The Connect To Default Profile, Shared Database Profiles, Keep Co nnectio n Open, Use Extended Attributes, and Read Only preferences are specific to the database connection.

The remaining preferences are specific to the Database painter. For information about modifying these preferences, see Connecting to Your Database.

Table 3-4: Database painter preferences

Database preference

Columns in the Table List

SQL Te rm inato r Character

What DataWindow Designer does with the specified preference

When DataWindow Designer displays tables graphically, eight table columns display unless you change the number of columns.

DataWindow Designer uses the semicolon as the SQL statement terminator unless you enter a different termi nator character in the box. Make sure that the character you choose is not reserved for a nother use by your database vendor. For example, using the slash character (/) causes compilation errors with some DBMSs.

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CHAPTER 3 Managing the Database

Preferences on the Object Colors property page

You can set colors separately for each component of the Database painter's graphical table representation: the table header , columns, indexes, primary ke y , foreign keys, and joins. Set a color preference by selecting a color from a drop-down list.

You can design custom colors that you can use when you select color preferences. To design custom colors, select Design>Custom Colors from the menu bar and work in the Custom Colors dialog box.

Logging your work

As you work with your database, y ou generate SQL statements. As you define a new table, for example, DataW indow Designer builds a statement internally. When you click the Create button, DataWindow Designer sends the SQL statement to the DBMS to create the table. Similarly, when yo u add an index, DataWindow Designer builds a

Database preference

Refresh Table List When DataWindow Designer first displays a table list,

What DataWindow Designer does with the specified preference

DataWindow Designer retrieve s the table list from the database and displays it . T o sa ve time, DataW ind ow Desig ner saves this list internally for reuse to avoid regeneration of very large table lists. The table list is refreshed every 30 minutes (1800 seconds) unless you specify a different re fresh rate.

SQL CREATE T ABL E

CREATE INDEX statement.

Y ou can see all SQL generated in a Database painter session in the Activity Log view. You can also save this information to a file. This allows you to have a record of your work and makes it easy to duplicate the work if you need to create the same or similar tables in another database.

❖ To start logging your work:

1 Open the Database painter. 2 Select Start Log from the Design menu or the po p-up menu in the Activity

Log view. DataWind ow Designer begins sendi ng all generated syntax to the Acti vity

Log view.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 59

Creating and deleting an Adaptive Server Anywhere database

❖ T o stop the log:

• Select Stop Log from the Desi gn menu or the pop-up men u in the Activity Log view.

DataWi ndow Des igner st ops s ending th e genera ted synt ax to the Ac tivity Log view. Your work is no lo nger logged.

❖ To save the log to a permanent text file:

1 Select Save or Save As from the File menu. 2 Name the file and click Save. The default file extension is SQL, but you

can change that if you want to.

Submitting the log to your DBMS

You can open a saved log file and submit it to your DBMS in the ISQL view. For more information, see “Building and executing SQL statements” on page

92.

Creating and deleting an Adaptive Server Anywhere database

In DataWindow Designer you work within an existing database. With one exception, creating or deleting a database is an administrative task that is not performed directly in DataW indow Designer. The one exception is that you can create and delete a local Adaptive Server Anywhere database from within DataWindow Designer.

For information about creating and deleting other databases, see your DBMS documentation.

❖ To create a local Adaptive Server Anywhere database:

1 From the Objects view, launch the Create ASA Database utility included

with the ODBC interface. The Create Adaptive Server Anywhere Database dialog box displays.

2 In the Database Name box, specify the file name and path of the database

you are creating. If you do not provide a file extension, the database file name is given the

extension DB.

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CHAPTER 3 Managing the Database

3 Define other properties of the database as needed.

If you are using a non- English database, you can specify a co de page in the Collation Sequence box.

For complete information about filling in the dialog box, click the Help button in the dialog box.

4 Click OK.

When you click OK, DataWindow Designer does the following:

• Creates a database with the specified name in the specified directory or folder. If a database with the same name exists, you are asked whether you want to replace it.

• Adds a data source to the ODBC.INI key in the registry. The data source has the same name as the database unless one with the same name already exists, in which case a suffix is appended.

• Creates a database profile and adds it to the registry. The profile has the same name as the database unless one with the same name already exists, in which case a suffix is appended.

• Connects to the new database.

❖ To delete a local Adaptive Server Anywhere database:

1 Open the Database painter. 2 From the Objects view, launch the Delete ASA Database utility included

with the ODBC interface. 3 Select the database you want to delete and select Open. 4 Click Yes to de lete th e datab ase.

When you click Yes, DataWindow Designer deletes the specified

database.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 61

Working with tables

When you open the Database painter, the Object view lists all tables in the current database that you have access to (inc luding tables that were not created using DataWindow Designer). You can create a new table or alter an existing table. You can also modify table properties and work with indexes and keys.

Creating a new table from scratch

In DataW indow Design er, you can create a new t able in any database to which DataWindow Designer is connected.

❖ To create a table in the current database:

1 Do one of the following:

• Click the Create Table button.

• Right-click in the Columns view and select New Table from the pop-

up menu.

• Right-click T ables in the Objects view and select New T able from the

pop-up menu.

• Select Insert>Table from the Object menu. The new table template displays in the Columns view. What you see in the

view is DBMS-dependent.Y ou use this template to specify each column in the table. The insertion point is in the Column Name box for the first column.

2 Enter the required information for this column.

For what to enter in each field, see “Specifying column definitions” on page 64.

As you enter information, use the Tab key to move from place to place in the column definition. After defining the last item in the column definition, press the Tab key to display the work area for the next co lumn.

3 Repeat step 2 for each additional column in your table. 4 (Optional) Select Object>Pending SQL from the menu bar or select

Pending SQL from the pop-up menu to see the pending SQL syntax. If you have not already named the table, you must provide a name in the

dialog box that displays. To hide the SQL syntax and return to the table columns, select Object>Pending Syntax from the menu bar.

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5 Click the Save button or select Save from the File or pop-up menu, then

enter a name for the table in the Create New Table dialog box. DataWindow Designer submits the pending SQL syntax statements it

generated to the DBMS, and the table is created. The new table is displayed in the Object Layout view.

About saving the table

If you make changes after you save the table and before you close it, you see the pending changes when you select Pending SQL again. When you click Save again, DataWindow Designer submits a

DROP TABLE

statement to the DBMS, recreates the table, and applies all changes that are pending. Clicking Sav e many times can be t ime consum ing when you are working with larg e tabl es, so y ou mi ght wan t to s ave onl y when you hav e finished.

6 Specify extended attributes for the columns.

For what to enter in each field, see “Specifying column extended attributes” on page 66.

Creating a new table from an existing table

You can create a new table that is similar to an existing table very quickly by using the Save Table As menu option.

❖ To create a new table from an existing table:

1 Open the existing table in the Col umn s vi ew by d ragging and dropping it

or selecting Alter Table from the pop-up menu.

2 Right-click in the Columns view and s elect Save T able As from the po p-up

menu.

3 Enter a name for the new table and then the owner’s name, and click OK.

The new table appears in the Object Layout view and the Columns view. 4 Make whatever changes you want to the table definition. 5 Save the table. 6 Make changes to the table’s properties in the Object Details view.

For more information about modifying table properties, see “Specifying

table and column properties” on page 64.

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Working with tables

Specifying column definitions

When you create a new table, you must specify a definition for each column. The fields that display for each column in the Columns view depend on your DBMS. You might not see all of the following fields, and the values that you can enter are dependent on the DBMS.

For more information, see your DBMS documentation.

Table 3-5: Defining columns in the Columns view in th e Database painter

Field What you enter

Column Name (Required) The name by which the column will be identified. Data Type (Required) Select a datatype from the drop-down list. All

Width For datatypes with variable widt hs, the numb er of cha racters in

Dec For numeri c datatypes, the number of decimal places to display. Null Selec t Yes or No from the Null drop-down list to specify whethe r

Default The value that will b e p laced in a c olumn i n a ro w th at y ou in sert

datatypes supported by the current DBMS are displayed in the list.

the field.

NULLs are allowed in the column. Specifying No means the

column cannot have is the default in a new table.

into a DataWindow ob je ct . The drop -do w n list has built-in choices, but you can type any other value. For an explanation of the built-in choices, see your DBMS documentation.

NULL values; users must supply a value. No

Specifying table and column properties

After you create and save a table, you can specify the properties of the table and of any or its columns. Table properties include the fonts used for headers, labels, and data, and a comment that you can associate with the table. Column properties include the text used for headers and labels, display formats, validation rules, and edit styles used for data (also known as a column’s extended attributes), and a comment you can associate with the column.

64 DataWindow .NET

Specifying t able properties

In addition to adding a comment to associate with the table, you can choose the fonts that will be used to display information from the table in a DataWindow object. You can specify the font, point size, color, and style.

❖ To specify table properties:

1 Do one of the following:

• Highlight the table in either the Objects view or the Object Layout

• Click the Properties button.

• Drag and drop the table to the Object Details view.

The properties for the table display in the Object Details view. 2 Select a tab and specify properties:

Select this tab To modify this property

General Comments associated with the table Data Font Font for data retrieved from the datab ase and displayed in

Heading Font Font for column identifiers u sed in grid, tabu lar, a nd n-up

Label Font Font for column identifiers used in freeform

CHAPTER 3 Managing the Database

view and select Properties from the Object or pop-up menu.

the Results view by clicking a Data Manipula tion but ton

DataWindow objects displayed in the Results view by clicking a Data Manipulation button

3 Right-click on the Object Details view and select Save Chan ges from the

pop-up menu.

Any changes you made in the Object Details view are imm ediately s aved

to the table definition.

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Working with tables

Specifying column extended attributes

In addition to adding a comment to associate with a column, you can specify extended attributes for each column. An extended attribute is information specific to DataWindow Designer that enhances the definition of the column.

❖ T o spe cify exte nde d attri butes :

1 Do one of the following:

• Highlight the column in either the Objects view or the Object Layout

view and select Properties from the Object or pop-up menu.

• Click the Properties button.

• Drag and drop the column to the Object Details view.

2 Select a tab and specify extended attribute values:

Select this tab To modify these extended attributes

General Column comments. Headers Label text used in free-form DataWindow objects

Display How the data is formatted in a DataWindow ob ject as well

Validation Criteria that a value must pass to be accepted in a

Edit Style How the column i s presented in a DataW in dow object. For

Header text used in tabular, grid, or n-up DataWindow objects

as display height, wi dth, and position. For example, you can associate a display format with a Revenue column so that its data displays with a leading dollar sign and n egative numbers display in parentheses.

DataWindow object. For example, you can associ at e a validation rule with a Salary column so that you can enter a value only within a particular range.

The initial value for the column. You can select a value from the drop-down list. The initial value must be the same datatype as the column, must pass validation, and can be

NULL only if NULL is allowed for the column.

example, yo u can disp lay column valu es as radio buttons or in a drop-down list.

3 Right-click on the Column property sheet and select Save Changes from

the pop-up menu. Any changes you made in the propert y sheet are immediatel y saved to the

table definition.

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Overriding definitions

In the DataWindow painter, you can override the extended attributes specified in the Database painter for a particular DataWindow object.

How the information is stored

Extended attributes are stored in the DataWindow Designer system tables in the database. DataWindow Designer uses the information to display, present, and validate data in the Database painter and in DataWindow objects. When you create a view in the Database painter, the extend e d attributes of the table columns used in the view are used by default.

About display formats , edit styles, and validation rules

In the Database painter, you create display formats, edit styles, and validation rules. Whatever you create is then available for use with columns in tables in the database. You can see all the display formats, edit styles, and validation rules defined for the database in the Extended Attributes view.

For more information about defining, maintaining, and using these extended attributes, see Chapter 8, “Displaying and Val ida ti ng Data.”

About headings and labels

By default, DataWindow Designer uses the column names as labels and headings, replacing any underscore characters with spaces and capitalizing each word in the name. For example, the default heading for the column

Dept_name is Dept Name. To define multiple-line headings, press Ctrl+Enter

to begin a new line.

Specifying additional properties for character columns

Y ou can also set two additional properties for character columns on the Display property page: Case and Picture.

Specifying the displayed case

Y ou can specify whether DataW indow Designer converts the case of characters for a column in a DataWindow object.

❖ To specify how character data should be displayed:

• On the Display property page, select a value in the Case drop-down list:

Value Meaning

Any Characters are displayed as they are entered UPPER Characters are converted to uppercase lower Characters are converted to lowercase

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 67

Working with tables

Specifying a column as a picture

Altering a table

You can specify that a character column can contain names of picture files.

❖ To specify that column values are names of picture files:

1 On the Display property page, select the Picture check box.

When the Picture check box is selected, DataWindow Designer expects to find picture file names in the column and displays the contents of the picture file—not the name of the file—in reports and DataWindow objects.

Because DataWindow Designer cannot determine the size of the image until runtime, it sets both display height and display width to 0 when you select the Picture check box.

2 Enter the size and the justification for the picture (optional).

After a table is created, how you can alter the table depends on your DBMS. You can always:

• Add or modify DataWindow Designer-specific extended attributes for columns

• Delete an index and create a new index

You can never:

• Insert a column between two existing columns

• Prohibit null values for an appended column

• Alter an existing index

Some DBMSs let you do the following, but others do not:

• Append columns that allow null values

• Increase or decrease the number of characters allowed for data in an existing column

• Allow null values

• Prohibit null values in a column that allowed null values

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CHAPTER 3 Managing the Database

Database painter is DBMS aware

The Database painter grays out or not ifi es you about actions that your DBMS prohibits.

For complete information about what you can and cannot do when you mod ify a table in your DBMS, see your DBMS documentation.

❖ To alter a table:

1 Highlight the table and select Alter Table from the pop-up menu.

Opening multiple instances of tables

You can open another instance of a table by selecting Columns from the View menu. Doing this is helpful when you want to use the Database painter's cut, copy, and paste features to cut or copy and paste between tables.

The table definition displays in the Columns view (this screen shows the Employee table).

2 Make the changes you want in the Columns view or in the Object Details

view.

3 Select Save Table or Save Changes.

DataWindow Designer submits the pending SQL syntax statements it generated to the DBMS, and the table is modified.

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Working with tables

Cutting, copying, and pasting columns

In the Database painter, you can use the Cut, Copy, and Paste buttons in the PainterBar (or Cut, Copy, and Paste from the Edit or pop-up menu) to cut, copy , and paste one column at a time within a table or between tables.

❖ To cut or copy a column within a table:

1 Put the insertion point anywhere in the column you want to cut or copy. 2 Click the Cut or Copy button in the PainterBar.

❖ To paste a column within a table:

1 Put the insertion point in the column you want to paste to.

If you are changing an existing table, put the insertion point in the last column of the table. If you try to insert a column between two columns, you get an error message. To an existing table, you can only append a column. If you are definin g a new table, you can paste a column anywhere.

2 Click the Paste button in the PainterBar.

❖ To paste a column to a different table:

1 Open another instance of the Columns view and use Alte r T able to display

an existing table or click New to create a new table.

2 Put the insertion point in the column you want to paste to. 3 Click the Paste button in the PainterBar.

Closing a table

You can remove a table from a view by selecting Close or Reset View from its pop-up menu. This action only removes the table from the Database painter view. It does not drop (remove) the table from the database.

Dropping a table

Dropping removes the table from the database.

❖ To drop a table:

1 Select Drop Table from the table's pop-up menu or select Object>Delete

from the menu bar.

2 Click Ye s.

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CHAPTER 3 Managing the Database

Deleting orphaned table information

If you drop a table outside DataWindow Designer, information remains in the system tables about the table, including extended attributes for the columns.

❖ T o dele te orpha ned table information from the extended attribute system

tables:

• Select Design>Synch Extended Attributes from the menu bar and click

Yes. If you try to delete orphaned table information and there is none, a

message tells you that synchronization is not necessary.

Viewing pending SQL changes

As you create or alter a table definition, you can view the pending S QL syntax changes that will be made when you save the table definition.

❖ To view pending SQL syntax changes:

• Right-click the table definition in the Columns view and select Pending

Syntax from the pop-up menu. DataWindow D esigner displays the pending changes t o the table definition

in SQL syntax:

The SQL statements execute only when you save the table definition or reset the view and then tell DataWindow Designer to save changes.

Copying, saving, and printing pending SQL changes

When you are viewing pending SQL changes, you can:

• Copy pending changes to the clipboard

• Save pending changes to a file

• Print pending changes

To copy, save, or print only part of the SQL syntax

Select the part of the SQL syntax you want before you copy, save, or print.

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Working with tables

❖ To copy the SQL syntax to the clipboard:

• In the Pending Syn tax view , cl ick the Copy button or s elect Copy from the pop-up menu.

❖ To save SQL syntax for execution at a later time:

1 In the Pending Syntax view, Select File>Save As.

The Save Syntax to File dialog box displays.

2 Navigate to the folder where you want to save SQL, name the file, and then

click the Save button.

At a later time, you can import the SQL file into the Database painter and execute it.

❖ To print pending table changes:

• While viewing the pending SQL syntax, click the Print button or select Print from the File menu.

❖ To display columns in the Columns view:

• Select Object>Pending Syntax from the menu bar.

Printing the table definition

You can print a report of the table's definition at any time, whether or not the table has been saved. The Table Definition Report contains information about the table and each column in the table, including the extended attributes for each column.

❖ To print the table definition:

• Select Prin t or Print Definition from the File or pop-up menu or click the Print button.

Exporting table syntax

Y ou can export the s yntax for a table to th e log. This feature is useful when you want to create a backup definition of the table before you alter it or when you want to create the same table in another DBMS.

To export to another DBMS, you must have the DataWindow Designer interface for that DBMS.

72 DataWindow .NET

❖ To export the syntax of an existing table to a log:

1 Select the table in the painter workspace. 2 Select Export Syntax from the Object menu or the pop-up menu.

3 Select the DBMS to which you want to export the syntax. 4 If you selected ODBC, specify a data source in the Data Sources dialog

5 Supply any informati on you are prompted for.

About system tables

CHAPTER 3 Managing the Database

If you selected a table and have more than one DBMS interface installed, the DBMS dialog box displays. If you selected a view, DataWindow Designer immediately exports the syntax to the log.

box.

DataWindow Designer exports the syntax to the log. Extended attribute information (such as validation rules used) for the selected table is also exported. The syntax is in the format required by the DBMS you s elected.

For more information about the log, see “Logging your work” on page 59.

Two kinds of system tables exist in the database:

• System tables provided by your DBMS (for more information, see your

DBMS documentation)

• DataWindow Designer extended attribute system tables

About DataWindow Designer system tables

DataWindow Designer stores extended attribut e information you provide when you create or modify a table (such as the text to use fo r labels and headi ngs for the columns, validation rules, display formats, and edit styles) in system tables. These system tables contain information about database tables and columns. Extended attribute information extends database definitions.

In the

Employee table, for example, one column name is Emp_lname. A label

and a heading for the column are defined for DataWindow Designer to use in DataWindow objects. The column label is defined as column heading is defined as the

PBCatCol table in the extended attribute system tables.

Last Name. The label and heading are stor ed in

Last Name:. The

The extended attribute system tables are maintained by DataW indow Designer, and only DataWindow Designer users can enter information into them. Table 3-6 lists the extended attribute system tables. For more information, see Appendix B, “The Extended Attribute Syste m Tables.”

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 73

Working with tables

Table 3-6: Extended attribute system tables

This system table Stores this extended attribute information

PBCatCol Column data such as na me, he ader an d label for re ports and

DataWindow objects, and header and label positions

PBCatEdt Edit style names and definitions PBCatFmt Display format names and definitions PBCatTbl Table data such as name, fonts, and comments PBCatVld Validation rule names and definitions

Opening and displaying syste m tables

You can open system tables like other tables, in the Database painter. By default, DataWindow Designer shows only user-created tables in the

Objects view. If you highlight T abl es and select Show System Tables from the pop-up menu, DataWindow Designer also displays system tables.

Creating and editing Sybase Adaptive Server temporary tables

You can create and edit temporary tables in the Database painter, SQL painter, or DataWindow painter when you use the PowerBuilder SYC native driver to connect to an ASE database. Temporary tables persist for the duration of a database connection, residing in a special database called “

You add a temporary table to the

tempdb databas e by assignin g a name that

starts with the # character when you create a new table in a PowerBuilder painter. (Temporary tables must start with the # character.)

After you create a temporary table, you can create indexes and a primary key for the table. If you define a unique index or primary key, you can execute

INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements for a temporary table. Selecting

Edit Data from the pop-up menu of a temporary table retrieves data that you store in that table.

Standard catalog query limitations

When you click Refresh from the pop-up menu for the Tables node in the Database painter or the Objects view of the DataWindow painter, the list of tables displays temporary tables even though they exist only in the database. However, once you refresh table definitions from the database, the Objects view can no longer list the index or primary key information of the temporary tables, and the Layout view can no longer display that information graphically.

tempdb”.

tempdb

74 DataWindow .NET

Working with keys

If your DBMS supports primary and foreig n keys, you can work with the key s in DataWindow Designer.

CHAPTER 3 Managing the Database

Why you should use keys

What you can do in the Database painter

If your DBMS supports them, you should use primary and foreign keys to enforce the referential integrity of your databas e. That way you can rely on the DBMS to make sure that only valid values are entered for certain columns instead of having to write code to enforce valid values.

For example, say you have two tables called

Department table contains the column Dept_Head_ID, which holds the ID of the

Department and Employee. The

department's manager . You want to make sure that only valid employee I Ds are entered in this column. The only valid values for

Department table are values for Emp_ID in the Employee table.

T o enforce this ki nd of relationshi p, you define a fo reign key for that points to the any value for

Employee table. With this key in place, the DBMS disallows

Dept_Head_ID that does not match an Emp_ID in the Employee

Dept_Head_ID in the

Dept_Head_ID

table. For more about primary and foreign keys, consult a book about relational

database design or your DBMS documentation. You can work with keys in the follo wing way s:

• Look at existing primary and foreign keys

• Open all tables that depend on a particular primary key

• Open the table containin g the primary k ey used by a particul ar foreign k ey

• Create, alter, and drop keys For the most part, you work with keys the same way for each DBMS that

supports keys, but there are some DBMS-specific issues. For complete information about using keys with your DBMS, see your DBMS documentation.

Viewing keys

Keys can be viewed in several ways:

• In the expanded tree view of a table in the Objects view

• As icons connected by lines to a table in the Object Layout view

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 75

Working with keys

In the following picture, the Department table has two keys:

Opening related tables

• A primary key (on

• A foreign key (on

If you cannot see the lines

dept_id)

dept_head_id)

If the color of your window background makes it hard to see the lines for the keys and indexes, you can set the colors for each component of the Database painter's graphical table representation, including keys and indexes. For information, see “Modifying database preferences” on page 58.

When working with tables containin g keys, you can eas ily o pen related ta bles.

❖ To open the table that a particular foreign key references:

1 Display the foreign key pop-up menu. 2 Select Open Referenced Table.

❖ To open all tables referencing a particular primary key:

1 Display the primary key pop-up menu. 2 Select Open Dependent Table(s).

DataWindow Designer opens and expands all tables in the database containing foreign keys that reference the selected primary key.

Defining primary keys

If your DBMS supports primary keys, you can define them in DataWindow Designer.

❖ T o cr ea te a primar y key:

1 Do one of the following:

• Highlight the table for which you want to create a primary key and

click the Create Primary Key drop-down toolbar button in PainterBar1.

• Select Object>Insert>Primary Key from the main menu or

New>Primary Key from the pop-up menu.

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CHAPTER 3 Managing the Database

• Expand the table’ s tree view , rig ht-click Primary Key , an d select New Primary Key from the pop-up menu.

The Primary Key properties display in the Object Details view.

2 Select one or more columns for the primary key.

Columns that are allowed in a primary key

Only a column that does not allow null values can be included as a column in a primary key definition. If you choose a column that allows null values, you get a DBMS error when you save the table. In DBMSs that allow rollback for Data Definition Language (DDL), the table definition is rolled back. In DBMSs that do not allow rollback for DDL, the painter is refreshed with the current definition of the table.

3 Specify any information required by your DBMS.

Naming a primary key

Some DBMSs allow you to name a primary key and specify whether it is clustered or not clustered. For these DBMSs, the Primary Key property page has a way to specify these properties.

For DBMS-specific information, see your DBMS documentation.

4 Right-click on the Object Details view and select Save Chan ges from the

pop-up menu. Any changes you made in the view are immediately saved to the table

definition.

Completing the primary key

Some DBMSs automatically create a unique index when y ou define a primary key so that you can immediately begin to add data to the tabl e. Othe rs req uire you to create a unique index separately to support the primary key before populating the table with data.

To find out what your DBMS does, see your DBMS documentation.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 77

Working with keys

Defining foreign keys

If your DBMS supports foreign keys, you can define them in DataWindow Designer.

❖ T o cr ea te a foreign key:

1 Do one of the following:

• Highlight the table and click the Create Foreign Key drop-down toolbar button in PainterBar1.

• Select Object>Insert>Foreign Key from the main menu or New>Foreign Key from the pop-up menu.

• Expand the table’s tree view and right-click on Foreign Keys and select New Foreign Key from the pop-up menu.

The Foreign Key properties display in the Object Details view. Some of

the information is DBMS-specific. 2 Name the foreign key in the Foreign Key Name box. 3 Select the columns for the foreign key. 4 On the Prima ry Key tab page, se lect the table and column containing the

Primary key referenced by the foreign key you are defining.

Key definitions must match exactly

The definition of the foreign key columns must match the primary key

columns, including datatype, precision (width), and scale (decimal

specification).

5 On the Rules tab page, specify any information required by your DBMS.

For example, you might need to specify a delete rule by selecting one of

the rules listed for On Delete of Primary Table Row.

For DBMS-specific information, see your DBMS documentation. 6 Right-click on the Object Details view and select Save Changes from the

pop-up menu.

Any changes you make in the view are immediately saved to the table

definition.

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CHAPTER 3 Managing the Database

Modifying keys

Dropping a key

You can modify a primary key in DataWindow Designer.

❖ To modify a primary key:

1 Do one of the following:

• Highlight the primary key listed in the table’s expanded tree view and click the Properties button.

• Select Properties from the Object or pop-up menu.

• Drag the primary key icon and drop it in the Object Details view.

2 Select one or more columns for the primary key. 3 Right-click on the Object Details view and select Save Chan ges from the

pop-up menu. Any changes you make in the view are immediately saved to the table

definition.

Y ou can d rop keys (remov e them from the databas e) from within DataW indow Designer.

❖ To drop a key:

1 Highlight the key in the expanded tree view for the table in the Objects

view or right-click the key icon for the table in the Object Layout view.

2 Select Drop Primary Key or Drop Foreign Key from the key’s pop-up

menu.

3 Click Yes .

Working with indexes

You can create as many single- or multi-valued indexes for a database table as you need, and you can drop indexes that are no longer needed.

Update limitation

Y ou can update a tab le in a DataW in dow object only if it has a un ique index or primary key.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 79

Working with indexes

Creating an index

In Adaptive Server Anywhere databases

In Adaptive Server Anywhere databases, you should not define an index on a column that is defined as a foreign key, because foreign keys are already optimized for quick reference.

❖ To create an index:

1 Do one of the following:

• Highlight the table for which you want to create an index and click the Create Index drop-down toolbar button in PainterBar1.

• Select Object>Insert>Index from t he main menu or New>Index from the pop-up menu.

• Expand the table’s tree view, right-click on Indexes, and select New Index from the pop-up menu.

The Index’s properties display in the Object Details view. 2 Enter a name for the index in the Index box. 3 Select whether or not to allow duplicate values for the index. 4 Specify any other information required for your database

For example, in Adaptive Server Enterprise, specify whether the index is

clustered, and in Adaptive Server Anywhere, specify the order of the

index. 5 Click the names of the columns that make up the index. 6 Select Save Changes from the pop-up menu. 7 Right-click on the Object Details view and select Save Changes from the

pop-up menu.

Any changes you made in the view are immediately saved to the table

definition.

Modifying an index

You can modify an index.

❖ To modify an index:

1 Do one of the following:

• Highlight the index listed in the table’s expanded tree view and click the Properties button.

• Select Properties from the Object or pop-up menu.

• Drag the index icon and drop it in the Object Details view.

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CHAPTER 3 Managing the Database

2 In the Object Details view, select or deselect columns as needed. 3 Right-click on the Object Details view and select Save Chan ges from the

pop-up menu. Any changes you made in the view are immediately saved to the table

definition.

Dropping an index

Dropping an index removes it from the database.

❖ To drop an index from a table:

1 In the Database painter workspace, display the pop-up menu for the index

you want to drop.

2 Select Drop Index and click Yes.

Working with database views

A database view gives a dif ferent (and u sually limited) perspective of the data in one or more tables. Although you see existing database views listed in the Objects view, a database view does not physically exist in the database as a table does. Each time you select a database view and use the view’s data, DataWindow Designer executes a SQL and creates the database view.

For more information about using database views, see your DBMS documentation.

Using database vi ews in DataWindow Designer

You can define and manipulate database views in DataWindow Designer. Typically you use database views for the following reasons:

• To give names to frequently executed

SELECT statement to retrieve the data

SELECT statements.

• To limit access to data in a table. For example, you can create a database view of all the columns in the

Employee table except Salary. Users of the

database view can see and update all information except the employee's salary.

• To combine information from multiple tables for easy access.

In DataWindow Designer, you can create single- or multiple-table database views. You can also use a database view when you define data to create a new database view.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 81

Working with database views

You define, open, and manipulate database views in the View painter, which is similar to the Select painter. For more information about the Select painter, see “Selecting a data source” on page 110.

Updating database views

Some database views are logically updat able and others are not. Some DBMSs do not allow any updating of views . For the rules your DBMS follows, s ee your DBMS documentation.

❖ To open a database view:

1 In the Objects view, expand the list of Views for your database. 2 Highlight the view you want to open and select Add To Layout from the

❖ T o cr ea te a dat a bas e view :

1 Click the Create View button, or select View or New View from the

pop-up menu, or drag the view’s icon to the Object Layout view.

Object>Insert or pop-up menu. The Select T ables dialog box displays, listing all tables and views that you

can access in the database.

2 Select the tables and views from which you will create the view by doing

one of the following:

• Click the name of each table or view you want to open in the list displayed in the Sel ect Tables dialog box, then click the Open button to open them. The Select Tables dialog box closes.

• Double-click the name of each table or view you want to open. Each object is opened immediately. Then click the Cancel button to close the Select Tables dialog box.

Representations of the selected tables and views display in the View painter workspace:

3 Select the columns to include in the view and include computed columns

as needed.

4 Join the tables if there is more than one table in the view.

For information, see “Joining tables” on page 84.

5 Specify criteria to limit rows retrieved (Where tab), group retrieved rows

(Group tab), and limit the retrieved groups (Having tab), if appropriate.

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CHAPTER 3 Managing the Database

For information, see the section on using the SQL Select painter in “Selecting a data source” on page 110. The View painter and the SQL Select painter are similar.

6 When you have completed the view, click the Return button. 7 Name the view.

Include view or some other identifier in the view’s name so that you will be able to distinguish it from a table in the Select Tables dialog box.

8 Click the Create button.

Displaying a data base view’s SQL statement

DataWind ow D esi gn er gen erat e s a

CREATE VIEW statement and submits

it to the DBMS. The view definition is created in the database. You return to the Database painter workspace with the new view displayed in the workspace.

You can display the SQL statement that defines a database view. How you do it depends on whether you are creating a new view in the V iew painter or want to look at the definition of an existing view.

❖ To display the SQL statement from the View painter:

• Select the Syntax tab in the View painter. DataWindow Designer displays the SQL it is generating. The display is

updated each time you change the view.

❖ To display the SQL statement from the Database painter:

• Highlight the name of the database view in the Objects view and select Properties from the pop-up menu, or drag the view’s icon to the Object Details view.

DataWindow Desi gne r User’s Guide 83

Working with database views

The completed SELECT statement used to create the database view displays in the Definit ion field on the General page:

View dialog box is read-only

You cannot alter the view definition in the Object Details view. To alter a view, drop it and create another view.

Joining tables

If the database view contains more than one table, you should join the tables on their common columns. When the View painter is first opened for a database view containing more than one table, DataWindow Designer makes its best guess as to the join columns, as follows:

• If there is a primary/foreign key relationship between the tables, DataWindow Designer automatically joins them.

• If there are no keys, DataWindow Designer tries to join tables based on common column names and types.

❖ T o join tables:

1 Click the Join button. 2 Click the columns on which you want to join the tables.

In the following screen, the Employee and Dep artment tables are joined on the dept_id column:

84 DataWindow .NET

Sybase DataWindow .NET User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

About This Book

About DataWindow Designer

The DataWindow Designer environment

About the PowerBar

Working with projects

Working with DataWindow objects

Creating new DataWindow objects

Opening existing DataWindow objects

Running or previewing DataWindow objects

Working in painters

Using views in painters

Displaying the title bar

Moving and resizing panes and views

Floating and docking views

Adding and removing views

Saving a layout

Using pop-up menus

Defining colors

Working with tools

Using the file editor

Using the To-Do List

Setting properties

Using toolbars

Toolbar basics

Drop-down toolbars

Controlling the display of toolbars

Moving toolbars using the mouse

Docking toolbars

Customizing toolbars

Modifying a custom button

Creating new toolbars

Using online Help

Customizing keyboard shortcuts

Changing fonts

How your DataWindow Designer environment is managed

About the registry

About the initialization file

About libraries

About the Library painter

Working with libraries

Displaying libraries and objects

Using the pop-up menu

Controlling columns that display in the List view

Selecting objects

Filtering the display of objects

Filtering the display of libraries and folders

Opening and previewing objects

Copying, moving, and deleting objects

Setting the root

Moving back, forward, and up one level

Modifying comments

Optimizing libraries

Deleting libraries

Regenerating library entries

Migrating libraries

Exporting and importing entries

Creating a deployment library (PBD file)

Including additional resources in the PBD file

Naming resources

What happens at runtime

Creating a library directory report

Working with database components

Managing databases

Using the Database painter

Modifying database preferences

Logging your work

Creating and deleting an Adaptive Server Anywhere database

Working with tables

Creating a new table from scratch

Creating a new table from an existing table

Specifying column definitions

Specifying table and column properties

Specifying t able properties

Specifying column extended attributes

Specifying additional properties for character columns

Altering a table