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qBase V1.1 Query for dBase, Clipper, and Foxbase .DBF Files Copyright 1990 Santa Clarita SoftWorks Santa Clarita, California 1. What is qBase? qBase was developed for quick and intuitive query reporting of existing dBase type .DBF files. The user can design and structure a custom inquiry in a matter of seconds with a printed report generated as an option. There is no other demand placed upon the user other than supplying their own .DBF files and a minimal amount of database structuring knowledge. This program will not change the user's files in anyway. It will only read the original, create a temporary index, and delete that temporary index. It will require at least 512k of memory with minimal requirements for free disk space. qBase was developed and compiled with Clipper version Summer 1987, a Nantucket Corporation trademark. 2. Using qBase. First step in using qBase is to path or place QBASE.EXE in any directory. To execute qBase, key in QBASE with or without a DBF filename (i.e. C:/>QBASE DRAWMAST) screen similar to Figure 1 will appear. Given any existing dBase type file, qBase will detect the presence of that or any other .DBF file in the current directory and the query starts from that point. -- FIGURE 1 -- qBase Query for dBase/Clipper/Foxplus Files ╔═════════════╗ ║DRAWINGS.DBF ║ ║DRAWMAST.DBF ║ ║MASTER.DBF ║ ║MRP.DBF ║ ║PHONE.DBF ║ ║PRODUCT.DBF ║ qBase Version 1.1 ║PROGRAMS.DBF ║ Copyright 1989 ║PURCHASE.DBF ║ Santa Clarita SoftWorks ║SCHEDULE.DBF ║ PO Box 802664 ║STKROOM.DBF ║ Santa Clarita CA 91380-2664 ----------> ║TIMECARD.DBF ║ ║WORK.DBF ║ ╚═════════════╝ Use Cursor to Locate File, Enter to Query, ESC to Quit Select the desired file (TIMECARD.DBF) by moving the light bar to the file's name and hit the enter key. A screen similar to Figure 2 will appear. Page 1 -- FIGURE 2 -- Select Report Fields ╔═══════════════╗ ║ EMPLOYEE ║ ║ JOBNUMBER ║ ║ HOURS ║ ║ MONTH ║ ║ WEEK ║ ╚═══════════════╝ ╔═══════════════╗ ║ Enter - Select║ ║ F5- Tags All ║ ║ F6- Untags All║ ║ ║ ║ Sort Menu ===>║ ╚═══════════════╝ REPORT FIELDS The window title 'Report Fields' is the user's selection menu for what fields will appear in the final report. To select the desired fields hit the enter key while the field is highlighted by the light bar, or hit the F5 function key to mark all of the data fields for the final report. A checkmark will appear to the right of the selected reporting data fields. To access all of available fields in the user's file, scroll down or up with the cursor keys to view additional data fields. If you wish to alter the selection after marking, simply press the enter key while highlighting the checkmarked field and the field will be untagged and will not be presented in the final report. To unmark all of the fields, press the F6 function key to globally remove the checkmarks and return to a clean slate. After selection of the fields, press the right arrow cursor key to move to the next window for sort selection. During the qBase session, the parameters that you are setting for the query are being echoed at the top half of the screen. The message will give a string that will be dynamically changed when you make the change, and continued on to be printed on the final report. Page 2 SORT FIELDS Figure 3 depicts how the screen should appear after the Report Field selection has been completed. The datafield list will appear as it did in Report Fields window. -- FIGURE 3 -- Select Report Fields Select Sort Fields ╔═══════════════╗ ╔═══════════════╗ ║ EMPLOYEE √ ║ ║ EMPLOYEE ║ ║ JOBNUMBER √ ║ ║ JOBNUMBER ║ ║ HOURS √ ║ ║ HOURS ║ ║ MONTH √ ║ ║ MONTH ║ ║ WEEK √ ║ ║ WEEK ║ ╚═══════════════╝ ╚═══════════════╝ ╔═══════════════╗ ║ Enter - Select║ ║ Order ║ ║ Erase - Enter ║ ║ Over Any Pick║ ║ <=== Menu ===>║ ╚═══════════════╝ This window will allow the user to select what order the data will appear in the final query. A sort order is not necessary for qBase and to by pass this window, use the right cursor key to move on to the next field selection menu. The light bar is used for selecting fields in sorting the final query. Use the Enter key to mark the first field in the sort order. A number '1' (EMPLOYEE) will appear to the right of the that field designating it as the first field in the ascending sort order. To add another field for the sort order, hit the Enter key while highlighting the desired field and a number '2' (MONTH) will appear to the right. Continue to select fields for the sort order by the light bar and enter key until the final sort order has been determined and marked with a numeric character. To change the sort order, simply place the light bar on a previously selected field and use the enter key to erase all of the numeric marks and start over. Finalized the sort order by using the right cursor key to move into the Criteria selection menu. Page 3 CRITERIA FIELD To construct the query, the third window as pictured in Figure 4 is used for selecting what field will be the 'subject' for criteria. Press the enter key on the a select field (EMPLOYEE) and arrowhead will appear to the right point to the field name. To change this 'subject' field, hit enter on the same field to blank out the arrowhead, or hit the enter key on another field for a new selection. There can only be one field selected in this stage. -- FIGURE 4 -- TIMECARD.DBF is sorted on EMPLOYEE, MONTH Where Select Criteria Field ╔═══════════════╗ ╔═══════════════╗ ╔═══════════════╗ ║ EMPLOYEE √ ║ ║ EMPLOYEE 1 ║ ║ EMPLOYEE ║ ║ JOBNUMBER √ ║ ║ JOBNUMBER ║ ║ JOBNUMBER ║ ║ HOURS √ ║ ║ HOURS ║ ║ HOURS ║ ║ MONTH √ ║ ║ MONTH 2 ║ ║ MONTH ║ ║ WEEK √ ║ ║ WEEK ║ ║ WEEK ║ ╚═══════════════╝ ╚═══════════════╝ ╚═══════════════╝ ╔═══════════════╗ ║Enter - Select ║ ║ Query ║ ║F10 To Query ║ ║NONE for ALL ║ ║<=== Sort Menu ║ ╚═══════════════╝ If no query to a specific condition is required, hit F10 function key without marking any field will give a complete display and report of the database. Hitting the F10 function key with marked a field, a fourth window will appear as shown in Figure 5. The fourth window is a menu for possible logic operators queries. Page 4 -- FIGURE 5 -- TIMECARD.DBF is sorted on EMPLOYEE, MONTH Where EMPLOYEE Select Criteria Field ╔═══════════════╗ ╔═══════════════╗ ╔═══════════════╗ ║ EMPLOYEE √ ║ ║ EMPLOYEE 1 ║ ║ EMPLOYEE ║ ║ JOBNUMBER √ ║ ║ JOBNUMBER ║ ║ JOBNUMBER ║ ║ HOURS √ ║ ║ HOURS ║ ║ HOURS ║ ║ MONTH √ ║ ║ MONTH 2 ║ ║ MONTH ║ ║ WEEK √ ║ ║ WEEK ║ ║ WEEK ║ ╚═══════════════╝ ╚═══════════════╝ ╚═══════════════╝ ╔═════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Equal to Not Equal to ║ ║ Greater Than Between ║ ║ Less Than Sounds Like ║ ║ Greater Than/Equal Contains ║ ║ Less Than/Equal BLANKS or 0 ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════╝ All Records Equal to (=) The logic condition commands are listed below require no explanation, but there are some noted features about qBase's use of them: Equal to - Will collect all records meeting criteria, and if in a character field, keying only a single character will identify all records beginning with that character. Blank entry will present all records. Greater Than - All records greater than and not including the subject. Less Than - All records less than and not including the subject. Greater Than/Equal - All records greater than and equal to the subject. Less Than/Equal - All records greater than and equal to the subject. Not Equal to - All records not exactly equal to the subject. Between - All records between a set of limits, and not including the two subjects. Sounds Like - All phonetic sound 'alikes' based on the Soundex algorithm. Contains - All records containing sub-string, either as a whole record equaling the sub-string or in part. Blanks or 0 - All blank records or containing zero (0). Page 5 Select the operator by highlighting the logic command and hitting the enter key. A prompt will appear requesting the operator to input specific data (EMPLOYEE = CURREY) for the query. Upon completion of the data entry hit enter and a continuation window will appear on the left side of the screen (Figure 6) asking the user if additional parameters are to be added to the inquiry. qBase is case sensitive; in this example, Currey will have to be all capitals (CURREY) to access all of Currey's timecard records. -- FIGURE 6 -- TIMECARD.DBF is sorted on EMPLOYEE, MONTH Where EMPLOYEE is equal to CURREY Select Criteria Field ╔═══════════════╗ ╔═══════════════╗ ╔═══════════════╗ ║ EMPLOYEE √ ║ ║ EMPLOYEE 1 ║ ║ EMPLOYEE ║ ║ JOBNUMBER √ ║ ║ JOBNUMBER ║ ║ JOBNUMBER ║ ║ HOURS √ ║ ║ HOURS ║ ║ HOURS ║ ║ MONTH √ ║ ║ MONTH 2 ║ ║ MONTH ║ ║ WEEK √ ║ ║ WEEK ║ ║ WEEK ║ ╚══════┌────────────┐ ╚═══════════════╝ ╚═══════════════╝ │Additional │ ╔═════════════════════════════════════════════╗ │Criteria? │ ║ Equal to Not Equal to ║ │ NO │ ║ Greater Than Between ║ │ .AND. │ ║ Less Than Sounds Like ║ │ .OR. │ ║ Greater Than/Equal Contains ║ └────────────┘ ║ Less Than/Equal BLANKS or 0 ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Record Criteria? CURREY Logical .AND. Three choices are given: NO - No Further Conditions Required AND - If Both Conditions are True OR - If Either Condition is True Selecting either of the last two choices will continue the process of selecting a second condition for the query report. The entry process is the same for the second condition operator, finalized with the enter key (Figure 7). Selecting .AND. in this case with MONTH BETWEEN 03 AND 06 shows: Page 6 -- FIGURE 7 -- TIMECARD.DBF is sorted on EMPLOYEE, MONTH Where EMPLOYEE is equal to CURREY and MONTH Select Criteria Field ╔═══════════════╗ ╔═══════════════╗ ╔═══════════════╗ ║ EMPLOYEE √ ║ ║ EMPLOYEE 1 ║ ║ EMPLOYEE ║ ║ JOBNUMBER √ ║ ║ JOBNUMBER ║ ║ JOBNUMBER ║ ║ HOURS √ ║ ║ HOURS ║ ║ HOURS ║ ║ MONTH √ ║ ║ MONTH 2 ║ ║ MONTH ║ ║ WEEK √ ║ ║ WEEK ║ ║ WEEK ║ ╚═══════════════╝ ╚═══════════════╝ ╚═══════════════╝ ╔═════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Equal to Not Equal to ║ ║ Greater Than Between ║ ║ Less Than Sounds Like ║ ║ Greater Than/Equal Contains ║ ║ Less Than/Equal BLANKS or 0 ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Lower Record Criteria? 03 Upper Record Range? 06 All Records Within a Range (||) The sorting (if any) and condition search process occurs with a screen similar to Figure 8 appearing with final query result. This inquiry screen can be scrolled by using the cursor, Page Up/Down, Home, End, and Tab keys. Page 7 -- FIGURE 8 -- ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ TIMECARD.DBF is sorted on EMPLOYEE, MONTH ║ ║ Where EMPLOYEE is equal to CURREY and MONTH is between 03 and 06 ║ ║ ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ EMPLOYEE JOBNUMBER HOURS MONTH WEEK ══════════════════════════════╤═══════════╤═════════╤═══════╤════════════ CURREY │ 14555101 │ 36.00 │ 04 │ 07 CURREY │ 14555101 │ 10.00 │ 04 │ 28 CURREY │ 14555101 │ 40.00 │ 04 │ 21 CURREY │ 14555101 │ 35.00 │ 04 │ 14 CURREY │ 14555101 │ 12.00 │ 05 │ 05 CURREY │ 14555101 │ 35.00 │ 05 │ 19 CURREY │ 14555101 │ 22.00 │ 05 │ 12 CURREY │ 14555101 │ 29.00 │ 05 │ 26 CURREY │ 14555101 │ 14.00 │ 05 │ 31 │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ F5 - Data Replace ENTER - Edit F7 - Print Report ESC- Return To print the report, function key F7 will pop a window print menu requesting optional printer commands (Figure 9). Default List and Menu Selection: Set Page Length: Default = 66 Margins: Default = Left: 05 Right: 80 Condensed Print Default = Off Page 8 -- FIGURE 9 ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ TIMECARD.DBF is sorted on EMPLOYEE, MONTH ║ ║ Where EMPLOYEE is equal to CURREY and MONTH is between 03 and 06 ║ ║ ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ EMPLOYEE JOBNUMBER HOURS MONTH WEEK ══════════════════════════════╤═══════════╤═════════╤═══════╤════════════ CURREY │ 14555101 │ 36.00 │ 04 │ 07 CURREY │ 14555101 │ 10.00 │ 04 │ 28 ┌──────────────────────────┐1 │ 40.00 │ 04 │ 21 │ qBase V1.1 │1 │ 35.00 │ 04 │ 14 │ Copyright 1989 │1 │ 12.00 │ 05 │ 05 │ Santa Clarita SoftWorks │1 │ 35.00 │ 05 │ 19 │ ----------------------- │1 │ 22.00 │ 05 │ 12 │ * Print Features Menu * │1 │ 29.00 │ 05 │ 26 │ Set Margins │1 │ 14.00 │ 05 │ 31 │ Set Page Length │ │ │ │ │ Set Condensed Print On │ │ │ │ │ Start Printing (LPT1) │ │ │ │ │ Print to ASCII │ │ │ │ │ Return to qBase │ │ │ │ └──────────────────────────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ TIMECARD.DBF Browse Module F7 - Print Report ESC- Return If printing is requested, the printer should be set on for continuous feed. The screen will remain in the inquiry mode of qBase. Some additional information about printing with qBase. This program is designed to be formatted by the user. Custom formats should fit within the media and printer limitations. Margins, page lengths, and condense printing should be set together to present the optimal report output. qBase has been developed and tested on conventional dot matrix and laser printers with consistent results. Printing formats have been designed to be "best fit", meaning, to get the most information in the least space with the best appearance. To return from the inquiry record screen, hit the ESC key and it will return qBase back to the Criteria Selection Menu (Figure 4). From this point, the user may start over with different criteria selections using the cursor keys switching between the other menus. Page 9 4. What is New in qBase, Version 1.1 (May 1990) A minor bug on the second criteria selection was corrected with a fix. Beeps on the printer menu were eliminated. Added features from qBase V1.0 (Jan 1990): a) Editing Mode - the user will be able to edit the data file after the query has been reported. (License Version Only) b) Global Replacements on a Query - find all records that meet a condition or set of conditions, replace that query field's data range with a new value. (License Version Only) c) Print to File - ASCII file with a .TXT extension in both Delimited and Text format. d) Access .DBF files from any directory or drive. e) Unlimited Fields Available for Reporting (V1.0 11 fields was max). f) Laser or Dot Matrix Printer Support Available g) First Menu can be by-passed by directly keying in the file name at the prompt (C:\>QBASE {filename.DBF} 5. Registration qBase V1.1 is released under the shareware concept. If you find continual use to be a habit, registration and $30.00 is requested. Santa Clarita SoftWorks P.O. Box 802664 Santa Clarita CA 91380-2664 Register users will receive a fully operating licensed qBase V1.1 with editing features and SCSW statements removed from printed reports. A 5.25" diskette and the printed version of this document will be included. This program is provided AS IS without any warranty, expressed or implied, including but not limited to fitness for a particular purpose. Santa Clarita SoftWorks hereby disclaims all warranties relating to this product, whether express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Santa Clarita SoftWorks cannot and will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or similar damages due to loss of data or any other reason, even if Santa Clarita SoftWorks or an authorized Santa Clarita SoftWorks agent has been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event shall the liability for any damages ever exceed the price paid for the license to use software, regardless of the form and/or extent of the claim. The user of this program bears all risk as to the quality and performance of the software. qBase is a Shareware product. As such, it is made available to the general computing public for evaluation. Users are licensed to operate qBase on their personal computers for the purpose of test and evaluation on a trial basis for a limited trial period. It is not possible to reasonably define any definitive limits of a fair and equitable time period for evaluation, therefore it is left to the user's judgement and sense of fair play as to the time required to make a decision as to its usefulness. If the user decides the program is not of sufficient merit to warrant purchase through registration with Santa Clarita SoftWorks, the program should be removed from their personal computer. Otherwise, if the program is deemed useful and is in regular use on the user's personal computer system, registration with Santa Clarita SoftWorks is required. Page 10