Home
dBworx Tutorial:
To get you acquainted with dBworx, let's build a simple customer file:
STEP 1:
If it's not already running, start dBworx by double-clicking the dBworx icon on the desktop or by clicking on Start, Programs, dBworx. You should see the main screen appear:
STEP 2:
Click the "Create new file" button on the top left side of the screen and enter "customer" as the "Save As" name for your file:
(The "Design Data file" screen opens automatically at this point to allow you to enter the field definitions for your new file) ...
STEP 3:
Click the "Append Record" button (creates a blank "field definition" record) and enter the field description for the first field as "Customer ID" (Notice that as you enter the description in the box in the lower left part of the screen, the characters are echoed in the "Current Record" list box above and in the list box on the right):
STEP 4:
Enter a field type of "a" (for alphanumeric) and press ENTER to move to "Field Size". We don't need to input anything else for this field, so just click "Append Record" to start a new definition record (the "Customer ID" record is stored automatically):
STEP 5:
Enter "Customer Name" as the field description of the second field, enter "a" for field type, then click "Append Record" to store this record and start a new one:
STEP 6:
Next we'll set up a record called "Phone No.", with a field type of "a" -- then click "Append Record".
STEP 7:
For this record, enter "Current Balance" as field description and "c" (for "Currency Field") as the field type. We could also have used "N2" as the field type since it's equivalent to "c" -- a numeric field with two decimal places. Key a "t" under "Total Flag" to tell dBworx to keep a running total for this field. Incidentally, dBworx isn't case sensitive as far as Field Type or Total Flag is concerned -- you can use either upper or lower case letters ("t" or "T").
STEP 8:
The next three fields are almost identical -- they're all "currency" field types and all of them have a "t" under "Total Flag". The field descriptions (in order) are:
30-day Balance
60-day Balance
90-day+ Balance
STEP 9:
The last field is a "formula" or calculated field. Enter "Balance Due" as the description, "f" as the field type, and "t" under "Total Flag". We also need to provide the "formula" for dBworx to use to calulate the value for this field, so under "Value" key in:
@Current Balance>+>@30-day Balance>+>@60-day Balance>+>@90-day+ Balance>
The ">" symbols in the formula are "separators" that have to be placed between the different elements, while the "@" symbols designate dBworx fields. So the formula above actually says to take the value in the Current Balance field and add it to the value in the 30-day Balance field, then add that to the value in the 60-day Balance field, and so on.
STEP 10:
At this point you've finished the "setup" or design of the customer file -- clicking the "Save/Exit" button will save your file setup and return you to the main or "Entry" screen (Note: clicking "Cancel/Exit" restores your file setup to the way it was when you entered the design screen -- in our case it would leave you with an empty file with no fields defined).
And now we'll enter a sample customer record ....
STEP 1:
You should be back to the main or entry screen at this point -- click the "Append Record" button to create a new blank customer record:
STEP 2:
Enter a Customer ID of 101 (in the "Current Field" box in the lower left of the screen), then press ENTER to move to the next field (Customer Name).
STEP 3:
Input the remaining fields --
Enter "Universal Supply Co." for Customer Name and press ENTER
Input "111-222-3333" for Phone No. and press ENTER
Key "156.00" for Current Balance and press ENTER
Press ENTER to skip over the 30-day Balance field
Key "14.60" under 60-day Balance and press ENTER
Press ENTER to leave the 90-day+ Balance blank
(The Balance Due field is calculated automatically)
That finishes this tutorial -- please check the Help file and the examples for further information on how to use dBworx...
Home