4th Dimension User Reference Windows®/Mac™OS 4th Dimension® © 1985 - 2003 4D SA. All Rights Reserved. 4th Dimension User Reference Mac™OS and Windows® Versions Copyright© 1985 - 2003 4D SA / 4D, Inc. All rights reserved. The software described in this manual is governed by the grant of license provided in this package. The soft- ware and the manual are copyrighted and may not be reproduced in whole or in part except for the personal licensee’s use and solely in accordance with the contractual terms. This includes copying the electronic media, archiving, or using the software in any manner other than that provided for in the Software license Agreement. 4th Dimension, 4D, the 4D logo, 4D Server, 4D Runtime, 4D Compiler, 4D Backup, 4D View, 4D Write, 4D Draw, 4D, and the 4D logo are registered trademarks of 4D SA. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Apple, Macintosh, Power Macintosh, Laser Writer, Image Writer, and QuickTime are trademarks or registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. Mac2Win Software Copyright © 1990-2003 is a product from Altura Software, Inc. 4th Dimension includes cryptographic software written by Eric Young ([email protected]) 4th Dimension includes software written by Tim Hudson ([email protected]). All other referenced trade names are trademarks, registered trademarks, or copyrights of their respective holders. IMPORTANT LICENSE INFORMATION Use of this software is subject to its license agreement included with the software. Please read the License Agreement carefully before using the software. Contents Preface . .11 About the Manuals . 11 About This Manual . 12 Windows/Mac™OS versions . 12 Chapter Descriptions . 12 Conventions. 14 Using Hypertext . 14 Chapter 1 Introduction to the User Environment . 15 The 4th Dimension Environments . 16 The 4th Dimension Plug-ins . 17 The 4th Dimension Components . 18 4D Server and 4th Dimension . 18 The User Environment . 19 Tables and Forms . 20 The Current Selection . 20 Multi-tasking in 4th Dimension . 22 4th Dimension Desktop Files . 22 Choosing and Opening a Log File. 23 Password Protection . 26 Entering a Password-protected Database . 27 Using a Password-protected Database. 28 User Environment Menus . 29 Menu Bar . 29 Toolbar . 29 Custom Menus and Toolbars . 29 File Menu . 30 Edit Menu . 31 Use Menu . 32 Enter Menu . 33 Queries Menu . 33 Report Menu. 34 Special Menu . 35 Web Server. 35 Plug-ins Menu . 36 4th Dimension User Reference 3 Contents Help Menu . 36 Custom Menus for Forms . 36 Chapter 2 Managing Structure and Data Files . 39 4th Dimension Desktop Files . 39 Naming Directories . 40 Structure and Data File Locations . 40 Opening a Database . 42 Opening a Different Data File . 43 Opening a New Data File . 44 Segmenting Data Files . 45 Chapter 3 Data Entry . 47 Input and Output Forms . 47 Using Output Forms . 49 Output Form Modes . 49 Working with Output Forms. 50 Using Input Forms . 52 Enterable Areas and the Data Entry Order. 53 Accept Button . 55 Cancel Button . 55 Record Navigation Buttons . 56 Page Navigation Buttons . 57 The Delete Button . 57 Editing Data . 58 Interrupting Data Entry . 58 Entering and Modifying Different Types of Data . 58 Alpha Fields . 59 Numeric Fields . 59 Text Fields . 60 Date Fields . 61 Time Fields . 61 Boolean Fields . 62 Picture Fields . 63 QuickTime Compression. 66 Entering Data in Fields with Data Entry Controls . 67 Mandatory Fields. 68 Unique Fields. 69 Fields with a Validation Range. 69 Fields with an Entry Filter . 70 Fields with a Choice List . 71 Modifying Choice Lists . 72 Entering Data in Subforms . 74 4 4th Dimension User Reference Contents Choosing Tables and Forms . 76 Using the Choose Table/Form Dialog Box . 77 Using the List of Tables Window . 79 Chapter 4 Selecting Records . 81 Selecting All Records. 83 Selecting a Subset of Records . 83 Searching the Database . 84 Indexed and Sequential Queries . 86 Comparison Operators . 86 Simple and Compound Queries. 87 Using the Queries Menu Commands . 89 Query Editor . 90 Query by Example . 98 Query and Modify . 100 Query by Formula . 102 Chapter 5 Working with Records . 105 Adding New Records. 106 Input Forms . 106 Output Forms . 107 Modifying Records. 108 Input Forms . 109 Output Forms . 110 Global Updates . 112 The Formula Editor . 113 Deleting Records. 117 Deleting Records Using the Input Form . 117 Deleting Records Using the Output Form. 118 Deleting Locked Records . 119 Records Deleted in Another Process. 119 Chapter 6 Sorting Records . 121 Sort Levels . 122 Ascending and Descending Order. 122 The Order By Editor . 123 Sorting a Selection . 124 Sorting on a Formula . 126 Modifying a Sort Order . 126 Sorting While a Record Is Being Modified . 126 Sorting While an Index Is Being Built. 127 4th Dimension User Reference 5 Contents Chapter 7 Form Reports . 129 Standard Reports and Reports with Breaks. 130 Printing Standard Reports . 130 Printing Reports with Break Levels . 132 Chapter 8 Quick Reports . 135 Introduction . 135 Overview of the editor . 136 List Mode and Cross-table Mode. 138 Quick Report Basics . 139 Creating a New Quick Report . 139 Loading and Saving a Quick Report Design . 140 The Quick Report Wizard . 141 Using the Quick Report Editor . 142 Interface . 142 Contextual menus . 147 Selecting Rows, Columns, and Cells . 152 Adding and Modifying Text . 153 Adding Columns . 154 Inserting Columns . 155 Deleting Columns . 156 Replacing Columns . 156 Sizing Columns . 157 Moving Columns. 158 Associating Formulas to a Quick Report . 158 Modifying the graphic attributes of a report . 159 Specifying Character Font, Size, Justification, Style and Color Attributes . 160 Specifying the background color of cells.