DB Popup dilemma

[handbase@avisys.net]

My Windows application users have a shopping list of over 10,000 items, from which they can automatically extract a wide variety of unique sublists of a few hundred items for use in the field. The Windows application, using the HandBase Desktop command line, sends each sublist to the user's smartphone device for field use. After use in the device, the annotated sublists are sent back to the Windows application via sync or email, where they are converted and used.

Note: the users own the HandBase Desktop, but do not actually use the Desktop, or make any HandBase configuration or database creation --- all that is done by the Windows application.

THE PROBLEM:

The sublists sent to the device need a DB Popup field which is populated with data from a separate database customized to the unique sublist --- that is, each sublist has a completely different set of pop-up data requirements.

Since the users do not create databases, the desktop command line must use a single PDB file as the USEEXISTING "format" for the sublist going out to the device. As things are structured with HanDBase, the file name for a DB Pop-up field is hard-coded in the USEEXISTING "format" PDB file. Since the user can have many sublists as device databases, he also needs many DB Popup databases, since they all are unique.

So my problem is that I need multiple unique DB Popup databases to match the unique sublist (parent) databases. But the sublist databases all derive from one USEEXISTING "format" database, which holds only one DB Popup file name.

The ideal would be that a user could have sublist databases named AAAA, BBBB, CCCC, etc., etc. and DB Popup databases AAAAPOP, BBBBPOP, CCCCPOP, etc., etc., each matching the requirements of the parent. But that seems far outside the HanDBase structure.

Is my only option having to train the users to edit the DB Popup field in each sublist to change the database name to match the current sublist name + "POP"? (Creating even more support activity)???

Or, am I missing something here that would solve my problem???

Thanks much for your input,

Jerry

It's interesting that the JFile database facility for Palm allowed the unique population of popups in the CSV file that creates the database. I used JFile for Palm very successfully and my users loved it. RIP Palm

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A command line similar to the following would be used to also send a separate pop-up database to the device.

SmartphoneDesktopPath := HanDBaseDeskTopPath;
SmartphoneCommand := 'CONVERT:TOPDB';
SmartphoneOutFileString := CurrDir^ + '\' + 'Smartphone\' + TargetNameOnly + '.PDB';
SmartphoneOutfilePath := 'OUTFILE:' + '"' + B1 + SmartphoneOutFileString + B2+ '"';
SmartphoneDBName := 'DBNAME:' + '"' + B1 + TargetNameOnly + B2 + '"';
SmartphoneTemplatePDBPath := 'USEEXISTING:' + '"' + B1 + CurrDir^ + '\' + 'Smartphone\FIELDFORMAT.PDB' + B2 + '"';
SmartphoneUserNameParam := 'AUTOINSTALL:' + '"' + B1 + CurrentSmartUserName + B2 + '"';
SmartphoneOtherParameters := 'HASQUOTES FIELDNAMES';


Command := SmartphoneDesktopPath + SP +
SmartphoneCommand + SP +
SmartphoneInFilePath + SP +
SmartphoneOutFilePath + SP +
SmartphoneDBName + SP +
SmartphoneTemplatePDBPath + SP +
SmartphoneUserNameParam + SP +
SmartphoneOtherParameters ;

Rtn := WinExec(@Command[1], sw_SHOWMaximized);

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