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The Xbasic editor now has an Auto-complete feature. At first I thought it was annoying, but very quickly have learned to love it and even depend on it. |
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This same feature also shows you which parameter you are editing in a function (i.e., when you type DBSUM(, the expression format is shown, and the parameter needed is highlighted). Now we don't have to memorize the format of these functions! |
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Revert to and save scripts 10 levels back, so you can recover from keying errors. |
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The Xbasic Popup Editor is a great addition. Try this: Edit a form, then right-click on any object and select Events / Popup Editor. Now you have a
time-saving way to navigate among an object's events. |
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Indent/outdent sections of code. (Eliminates the tedious down arrow, home key, tab routine!) |
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View code for operations w/o running the operation. (No longer need to taint data to view code in the script recorder!) |
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Colored-coded editor makes it easier to see functions, and provides less eye strain. |
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The expression builder window is large enough to view the entire expression. |
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The expression window has an automatic evaluator, so you can see the result of your expression right away. |
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Set level field referencing, which lessens the need for LOOKUPX variants, which are slower than version 5's internal set references. |
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Script genie - You know that my [Susan Bush] favorite topic is "developing
applications without writing code". Now A5 will write even more for me. |
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Dialog genie - Now all my dialog boxes are forms and must be bound to a table. Can't wait to be free of that. |
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Print to PDF - Although it is listed as an end-user feature, V5 allows me to include this feature in my applications with little effort. |
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Integrated backup is much easier to incorporate and use. |
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More colors and button styles - I joke about my love of gray, and I
really am conservative when it comes to the appearance of my applications.
However, clients love to see color, even if it's just a tasteful touch here
and there. Further, colors can be used to identify and organize form data. |
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Security - Those clients who need it really need it |
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More image file types; ability to link to image files instead of embedding them. |
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Sort the list of field names when editing a layout, which is a big help with tables with a lot of fields. |
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A "function finder" that displays all functions for a given input (a great way to learn alternate ways to do things). |
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Select objects in edit mode by intersecting them, rather than having to completely encircle them. |
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Alpha added hundreds of functions, Xbasic methods and even properties to give you the ability to manipulate anything. |
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The Addins capability give developers an easy way into Alpha Five to help customize or add to the system. |
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XDialog provides a very flexible tool to create virtually any custom form that you want. |
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If you use form.view("name","dialog"), the window will appear in the middle of the screen. No need to specify the location. |
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The new and beefed-up genies, touted for the end users, are also a big help to the developers. Use a genie to build a complex XDialog box and you'll see how helpful they can be. |
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The new, well-written documentation brings everything up to date and
provides a bunch of good new reference tools. |
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When specifying a color equation in a form, the colors are listed - no need to worry about the syntax. Also, the color equation window has a list in which you add the conditions, so you don't have to create the IF statement. |
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Report.saveas() allows you to send a report directly to a file (HTML, RTF, PDF, text) without having to review or print it first. |
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The new features availabe in RTF fields greatly expand their utility and potential application. The defineable custom rulers and four tab justifications give a real boost to text formatting. |
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The ability to read and write to the Windows registry adds an easy and
important customization tool. |
