JFileVw

A viewer for JFile datbases

The JFileVw application is a Win95/WinNT standalone application which allows you to

database information that is destined for the Palm Pilot.

The JFileVw viewer works in cooperation with the JFile application on the Pilot.

Installation

GCM Environment

If you have installed the GCM (Generic Conduit Manager) on your desktop, the JFileVw app will recognize this at startup, and display a list of your database conduits on the right hand side. You can simply select a database from this list and you will see the data displayed in a grid on the left hand side. From here you can:

JFile requires GCM25 or higher to offer hotsync services to the user. Bothway hotsync allows you to make changes to the data either on the PC or the Pilot, and the two machines with exchange data during a hotsync to make the two versions of the database the same.

To install:

  1. create one or more databases on the Pilot
  2. hotsync
  3. run the CondMgr.exe
  4. select "Install JFile Conduit"
  5. click on "Update"
  6. run the JFileVw
  7. click on "Add/Remove"
  8. click on the "database-name" entry and "Remove it from conduit list"
  9. select the databases from the left hand list (the Backup directory) and "Add them to conduit list"
  10. hotsync
    1. at this point, you should check the HOTSYNC.LOG file to make sure that the conduit is working properly
  11. you can click on the database names in the right hand list to view and edit the data

NonGCM Environment

If you have not installed the GCM, the JFileVw app will start up and display the database files that it finds in your Backup directory. You can simply click on them to view the data in the grid on the left hand site. From here you can:

With the nonGCM environment, data is transferred from the Pilot to the PC during a hotsync, and deposited in the Backup directory. If you make changes on the PC, you can send them back to the Pilot using the "install" feature. These changes will over-write any changes you make on the Pilot between the time you sync'd and when you "installed".

[The current PilotDesktop only sends data from the Pilot to the PC once. If a file of the same name already exists, the PilotDesktop does not over-write it. This means that the data file in the Backup directory is often "stale". You can freshen it by deleting or renaming the datafile. A future version of JBaseVw will have some feature to try and deal with this problem.]

Operations

To view a database

To make a new database

To save the database

To add data to a database

To remove data from the database

To export data

To import data

To edit text

GCM enabled

To add a database to the conduit list

To remove a database from the conduit list:

NonGCM enabled

To install a database into the Pilot

CSV Files

This file type allows for the most flexibility with regard to import and export. In the Preferences dialog, you can select whether the first line of a .csv file contains the field names, or whether it contains the first line of data. Here is a typical .csv file with the first line as field names:

"Book Title",Author,Price
"A Tail of Two Cities","Charles Dickens",$14.95
"Murder in the Rue Morgue","Edgar Allan Poe",$3.95
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy","leCarree",$19.95
"""Mandingo""","Kipling",$10

The rules are:

JFile does not handle carriage-returns within a piece of data; don't do it.

If you use Basic, you can just Write #1 or Input #1. If you are using Quattro, Excel or Access, just create/use .CSV files.


Menus

File

Edit

Help


Preferences

Use first line of .csv file as field labels
During file read or write, the first line of the .csv file is treated as field labels. In the example file above, the fields labes are "Book Title", "Author" and "Price". Without this option, the first line of the file is treated like data. If field names are not available, the defaults are "Fld1", "Fld2", etc. Note: you cannot change field names on the PC; you must use the JFIle program on the Pilot.
Include field labels in Cut/Copy operation
This controls the use of field titles during cut &copy operations buggy
Auto open first database
When the program starts up, the first database is automatically opened not implemented yet
Display deleted records
In this mode, you can see records which have been deleted on the PC, but not yet deleted on the Pilot. Not very useful.
Select cell text on edit
When you edit a cell, the whole text will be selected. The normal mode is that the edit point is put at the end of the existing text.
Make backup copies of .csv files
When you save a .csv file, a trail of backup files will be kept. Note: whenever you save a .pdb file, a trail of backups is kept automatically. The number of backups is set by you in the CondMgr program.


Limitations

This build of JBaseVw does not allow you to edit the field names or datastructures. These must be modified on the Pilot itself. The reason is that the sync process becomes way to complex if we allow this feature.

Known Bugs

If you start to edit a cell in the spreadsheet, and then scroll the table, the edit cell gets left in the incorrect position.