This is the instruction set for PsdbView ( Ver 3.83 ) , see the 'recent.txt' file for any late additions . *********************************************************************** The database access dynamic link library ( Dbf.Vbx ) is the property of Psion PLC and is used with kind permission . *********************************************************************** ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The program is the property of Mark Stevenson , and remains so at all times . It is supplied on condition that it is not disassembled or reverse engineered in any way . No responsibility will be accepted for any failure of the program to perform as described or any loss of data as a result of using this program or its files . Email - mkstevo@nildram.co.uk """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 1.The program will only open Psion format .Dbf database files , NO OTHER files will work . If you try to open any other file format you will get the message "invalid file format" . Unfortunately Dbase files have the same .Dbf file extension but these will NOT work . 2.The program has 4 main windows , a Menu and a Button bar . Whilst adding or updating records the large window is replaced by 2 smaller windows . The main window is where the database record is displayed , if the information will not fit in this you can scroll the text up and down by means of the scroll bar at the right . Directly underneath this main window is the status display , this should normally display the name of the file currently in use , double click here to display the MRU list ( most recently used ) and the file open commands . Under this and to the right should be an indication of the position of the current record in the file ( IE Record 121 of 547 ) . Underneath the status window and to the left is the search entry box , note that no searches can be carried out until some text has been entered in here , the search commands on the button bar and the menu will be disabled whilst this box is empty . The search entry box is a drop down list , clicking on the arrow in the corner will bring up a list of all the search requests entered during the time the program has been active , this search list is cleared when ever the program is shut down . To the immediate right of the search entry box is a label "search request" , double clicking here will bring up the search options menu . 3.The button bar is at the top of the main window , the commands here are First ( Alt+f ) first record , Back ( Alt+b ) move back one record , Next ( Alt+n ) next record , Last ( Alt+n ) last record , Search ( Alt+s ) , Jump ( Alt+j ) jump to specified record , Update ( Alt+u ) update the current record , Add ( Alt+a ) add a new record , Cancel ( Alt+c ) cancel updating or adding records , Save ( F2 ) save updated or added records ( Note the cancel and save buttons are invisible until required ) . 4.The menu bar has the following commands . 1.File 1.New file ( Ctrl+n ) Creates a new , empty database file . You will be asked for a file name , this must be different to any existing files . Immediately after creating the new file it will be opened for you , you will need to add records using the Add command and also enter the Field labels ( this is important , enter some field labels - you can hide them from view if you wish but you should enter some labels ) 2.Open file ( Ctrl+o ) Open an existing file . 3.Open recent This has a sub menu containing the 4 most recently used file names ( or as many as have been opened if less than 4 ) . If you have not successfully opened any files yet this menu command will not be displayed at all . When the program loads it takes the top file on this list ( if at all ) and opens it for you automatically . If this file has been moved or deleted the "invalid file format" message will be displayed , with the file name that PsdbView tried to open . Any files which have been on the MRU yet have been moved or deleted should be removed from the MRU , to prevent you from trying to reopen them . To open any file on the MRU , simply click on it , this should move it to the top of the MRU list and any other files will move down . If you open a file not yet on the MRU then it should be added to the top of the list , the fourth file ( if there is a fourth ) will move off the list and all others move down . ( This is how the MRU SHOULD work anyway !! It has been rather troublesome in the past !! ) 4.Close file Closes the currently open file . 5.Save as ( Ctrl+a ) Saves the currently open file to a new file , this new file must not already exist . If a group find is active ( see later ) you will have the option to save only the records in the active group or all of the records in the file . Saving only the active group is a handy way of splitting one large file into several new smaller files . YOU MUST HAVE AS MANY LABELS AS YOU HAVE FIELDS . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The reason for this is that when the new file is created it needs to know how many fields to copy , this is done by counting the labels. No label for a field ? that field will not be copied , simple as that . 6.Compress file This removes deleted records from the database file , releasing wasted space . 7.Merge in file ( Ctrl+m ) Merges an existing file onto the end of the currently open file . Does not alter the file that was added . 8.View This displays a sub menu which alters the font of the main window you can also hide or display the field labels ( Ctrl+l ) . The font size + style set here will be saved when the program is closed , the same font size + style will be used for the print command . This sub menu can be displayed by double clicking on a blank area in the main window . 9.Print ( Ctrl+p ) Prints the current record , or all records ( either all records in the active group or all records in the file dependent on whether a group is currently active ) . When the print command is activated the print dialog is displayed , here you can select the printer device . Any alterations made here will alter the default printer due to a limitation of the print dialog . If you need to make any changes here , remember to reset the default printer before printing in any other applications . 10 Exit ( Ctrl+F4 or Alt+F4 ) Exits the program . The MRU , font and Instasearch settings are saved . 2.Edit 1.Add records ( Ctrl+Insert or Ctrl+a ) Adds new records , the main window will split into two , one side showing the field labels and one the field text . Simply click on the required label ( or text position ) and you can then enter the text in the lower text entry area which replaces the search & position boxes . To move to another label or text position simply click on the required label/text position , pressing F12 will move to the next label/text position and F11 moves to the previous one . Once you have finished entering the text for this record either click on the Save command or press F2 , this will save the record and move you onto the next new record , once you have finished adding records either press cancel or try to save an empty record . To abandon any changes , press the cancel command ( Alt+c or Shift+Delete ) 2.Update record ( Shift+Insert ) This allows you to make changes to the record currently displayed . The procedure is exactly the same as that for adding records . When an updated record is saved , it moves to the end of the file and becomes the last record . 3.Add record based on current ( Ctrl+k ) This allows you to enter a new record , the fields are filled in with the field text of the current record . This is handy for entering large numbers of similar records . The current record is not affected , the new record is added to the end of the file as the last record . 4.Edit labels Allows you to edit the field labels , same procedure as Adding records . 5.Delete ( Delete ) Deletes the current record . If a Group is currently active you will have the option of deleting all records in the active group . 3.Search options 1.Search direction Sets the direction of the search command , the options are : Find next , Find Previous , Find first , Find last . Normally this is set to Find next , should you need to find the previous record when the search command is pressed , activate this . Obviously the Find first/last records ONLY , activate these options , only one of these options can be active at any one time . 2.Search case Normally the search will find text whether it is in upper case or lower case , if you only want to search for matching case only select the case dependent option . 3.InstaSearch This can be set to on or off . This setting is remembered when the program is closed . The InstaSearch is a way of activating a search by only typing a search request . Once the InstaSearch has been set to on , simply typing a search request in the search entry box will start the search ( 5 seconds after you finish typing the search request ) the first matching record will be found ( if any ! ) to find the next matching record - press the Enter key . To start a new search , simply type a new search request . While the InstaSearch is active should you wish to find the previously matching record press Shift+Enter . Should you have set the Search options to Find last or Find previous , the Instasearch will initially search from the last record towards the first , thus Shift+Enter will set the search going opposite to this ( IE from first to last ) . 4.Group find 1.Group find ( F3 ) This will search the whole file for records containing the search request . Any search , print , delete and save as commands will now be limited to this active group . This command will not work until a search request has been entered . 2.Cancel group ( F4 ) Cancels the active group and all records in the file are displayed. 5.Help This has some basic guidance on how to use some of the functions of the program . Pressing F1 will display the opening splash screen . 6.Searching for records 1.Simple searches Enter the search request ( the information to search for ) in the search box and press search . Depending on the search options set on the search option menu this will search for the next or previous record . It is possible to make PsdbView search for information which exactly matches the case of the search request as well as to find the first or last matching record . Once the search has been completed , the number of records found will be displayed and the first matching record will be the current one . 2.Insta-Searches If the Insta-Search option is set to on , a few moments after typing some text in the search request box a search will be activated automatically , this will be in the direction set by the search options menu . 3.Next / Previous searches Once some text has been entered in the search request box pressing the Enter key will start a search , in the direction set on the search option menu , but not accounting for any 'Find first' or 'Find last' options . Pressing Shift+Enter will search against the set search direction . Normally pressing Enter will search forward and Shift+Enter searches backwards . 4.Group searches A group is a powerful feature of Psdbview , it allows a group of similar records to be created . Simply type a search request and press F3 , this will search the whole file and create a group of all records which match the search request . Once a group has been created , all other searches will operate ONLY on the current group some other actions will also take place only on a group , Print , Delete and Save As . To cancel a group , either type a new search request and press F3 to create a new group , or press F4 to cancel the existing group . 5.Multiple search requests It is possible on very recent versions of PsdbView to type a dual search request , this enables you to search for records which contain only records which match both halves of the search request. To enter a dual search request , type the first half of your request , then type (space)and(space) the 'and' MUST be in lower case and the (space) should be replaced with an actual space . As an example :- paul and london would find only records containing both paul , as well as , london . The database access dynamic link library ( Dbf.Vbx ) is the property of Psion PLC and is used with kind permission . The program is the property of Mark Stevenson , and remains so at all times . It is supplied on condition that it is not disassembled or reverse engineered in any way . No responsibility will be accepted for any failure of the program to perform as described or any loss of data as a result of using this program or its files .