Re: [libreoffice-users][windows] list boxes not stable

John,

On 06/22/2011 04:23 AM, John B wrote:
> Dear Tom
>
> I have had my own problems with Base - still to be resolved, but I 
> thought I would check out your trials.
>
> I downloaded your file to my desktop, auto-loaded and up came 2 
> forms:- containers - Old & Containers > items
>
> Result:-
> the drop down boxes in  "containers - old",  works 100%
Yes indeed. But then I started over, so I could have a subform. At that 
point, using the form wizard was the only way I could see to get one. 
Still is, dammit.
> But none of the drop down boxes work on "Containers > Items"  Also 
> sometimes the record shows 1 of 4 or 1 of 3 then back to 1 of 2 ( it 
> was random) I could not get this to repeat.  - you are absolutely 
> right  about this faulty form - I just think that it has become 
> corrupted - IMHO delete and start again.
Corrupted? Good thought. I wonder why I didn't think of that? It sure 
looks like that could be the problem. I haven't yet knowingly had that 
problem with Base, so I didn't think of it.
> On opening either form,  the icons on the left (on my system) were 
> greyed out,  so I could not enter the design / edit mode - which may 
> be a problem with my system - and has thus so far prevented me from 
> designing a form something similar for myself. I realise now (thanks 
> to you - with a form to play with) that you must  close the form, 
> return to the front page, right click the form and enter it in Edit mode.
Yes. Opening it first, there is no way to go to edit mode. If you think 
you might want to edit the form, after opening it, you must first open 
it in edit mode, then switch to execute mode. You can then switch back 
to edit mode if desired.
> But this is really annoying as you should always be able to edit / 
> personalise the form on the fly, hence the design / edit icon should 
> never be greyed out. It seems the only way to achieve this is to 
> always open in edit mode!.
Agreed on both counts. An interface design flaw, IMHO. In MS Office, you 
can always turn on "design mode", and that's a good feature, I think.
> When you have time, perhaps you could send me a step by step account 
> of how did you make your 1st field? "record ID" on the form, I have 
> clicked on everything that looks a likely target but no luck so far.  
> I have many dBase files I would like to import, but Base has proved to 
> be such hard work; and I hope it will be more stable than your 2nd form.
This field and its label appear on the first form - "containers - old". 
("old" because I gave up on it when I could find no way to attach a 
subform to it. I could create it, but could not make it appear - a 
problem to which no one has yet offered a solution. You can see the 
created subform in the form navigator - "ItemsForm".)

I got that field by:

1. using the form wizard to quickly generate a set of text boxes linked 
to each field in my main table - containers.
2. rearranging the boxes.
3. changing the label field from "IDContainer" to something more human - 
"record ID".

The same field is handled a little differently in the next form, the one 
we both agree must be corrupted. Here, I ran the table through a view, 
to attach aliases to each field that needed one, then used the view as 
the form source, and so automatically got the alias as a text box label.

Does that answer your question? (This is all so simple that I have to 
wonder if somehow I completely misunderstood your question. If so, 
please try me again.)

Re: importing dBase files: I think I would consider outputting the dbase 
tables in CSV, then inputting them to calc. From there it's easy to 
import them via by doing a copy of the spreadsheet table, then a 
copy/append to a blank table in Base. While I've not seen this 
functionality documented, I haven't looked for it either, as I 
discovered it early on.

> I would also like to use the "Create form" instead of the wizard - it 
> looks a better option than the wizard with its grid system for lining 
> up fields.  But I cannot make head nor tale of it.
Well, getting started with it isn't hard. You can put various controls 
on your form - usually it would be text boxes, and ideally some list 
boxes, and point them to records on the table you've attached to the 
form. I just find it simpler to let the form wizard do this for me, then 
modify the result to suit me.

Hope some of this helps. Thanks for your response.

t.
> regards
>
> John B
> MS xp pro sp3
> LO 3.3.3.1
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
>
>
>
> On 22/06/2011 08:59, Tom Cloyd wrote:
> > My list box disaster just don't quit.
> >
> > To this point, I've learned that the only quick, simple way to get a 
> > list box onto a form is to use the list box wizard. Last night it 
> > worked. Tonight it worked. Then, it stopped.
> >
> > I now have a form with 5 list boxes.  Three have spontaneously, quite 
> > without reason, disabled themselves. They passively display the value 
> > in their source table pointed to by the key value in the linked main 
> > table fie.d. BUT, the display is now a ghostly gray. I have had to 
> > change the background color just to see it at all. They also no 
> > longer are a part of the tab order and you cannot click into them at 
> > all. Also, the drop down no longer works at all. It is now just a 
> > data display field, not a list box. Worthless. I have poured over 
> > their properties for over an hour, trying to find the problem. No luck.
> >
> > Another formerly working list box appears still to work, but will not 
> > update the main record field to which it is linked (this is the 
> > problem I was having last night, before I started using only the 
> > wizard to make list boxes).
> >
> > Finally, I find that I can no longer CREATE functioning list boxes, 
> > using the wizard, which puts me out of the list box business altogether.
> >
> > I just rebooted, hoping it might help, but it didn't (small chance!).
> >
> > You can download this troubled database for examination HERE 
> > <http://www.tomcloyd.com/misc/storage_containers.zip>. Look at the 
> > "storage containers > items" form.
> >
> > You'll see that my subform is working fine, The three 
> > brown-background list boxes are now duds. The "quadrant" list box 
> > appears to work but actually does nothing to the main table. The 
> > "macro-container" list box is recently created, and does exactly what 
> > the brown boxes do: nothing.
> >
> > Any ideas, anyone?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > No virus found in this incoming message.
> > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> > Version: 9.0.901 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3714 - Release Date: 
> > 06/19/11 19:33:00


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