How can I reset all settings?

users
#21

John

Hi Alex

I am hopeless. I tried the wizard in 3.3.3, sure enough the fields were
added but displayed as a spreadsheet (as is data) instead of a
re-designable format for just one record, AND the design /edit button is
greyed out (as are most of the other buttons) and at the top, the
wizard says "read only". There is also no matrix.

So bearing in mind what you said about creating / saving I did that in
the hope that when I re-loaded it, I could edit it, but no, it opens in
Word and not the Design module of Base.

It makes no sense ! - its hard work!

Also on some of my larger databases, on attempting to load, the software
froze (repeatable), the cure is to delete "soffice.exe" (Ctrl-Alt-Del)
and away it goes (it unfreezes) - I was so surprised.

Grrrrr

John B

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

>
> Hi John,
>
> Rather than start with a blank form, use the wizard to help you create
> one. After opening your ODB file, click on the Form icon on the left. In
> the uppermost pane, you should see the possibility to create a new form
> using the wizard. Choose this option. The wizard will give you the
> possibility to add the fields that you want to your form, one, several,
> or all of them. The default settings proposed can be changed once the
> form has been created.
>
> Be warned that there are currently bugs in the wizard that prevent the
> user from setting the background colour, or anything other than a
> background colour, and personalising the styles of the presentation of
> the fields in the form, but again, you should be able to correct these
> once the form has been created.
>
> Alex
>
>
>
>
>
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
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>

Is the dBase file a dbf? If so, you might try importing it into Calc.
dbf files are listed with various spreadsheet formats that you could
open/import. It depends on what you plan to do with the data if this is
viable option.

Personally I never liked database wizards because I needed fields they
did not provide. If select on "Create Table in Design View" a new window
will open and you can name your fields and select the type of data they
will contain. If you do not assign a key field when you first save the
table you will be asked if you want a key field (Normally you should say
Yes or OK).

#22

Hi :slight_smile:
Calc is probably missing a lot of the information stored in dbf files surely?
Relationships between tables, queries, sql statements, form, reports?

It might not be a bug but sounds well worth adding a feature request or
wish-list item for opening dbfs in Base.
http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/BugReport
I would just post a bug-report as normal but add "[wishlist]" into the
subject-line. The wiki page might have a better way of posting feature requests
tho.
Good luck and regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#23

Hi John,

I am hopeless. I tried the wizard in 3.3.3, sure enough the fields were
added but displayed as a spreadsheet (as is data) instead of a
re-designable format for just one record, AND the design /edit button is
greyed out (as are most of the other buttons) and at the top, the
wizard says "read only". There is also no matrix.

Not hopeless, just less experienced with the way the wizard works. Once
you understand that, it does get easier, apart from the BUGS ;-), which
really don't help novices out at all.

The grid form display is the default that the wizard selects for you in
Step 3 of the wizard where you get to choose the automatic layout of
your fields. In that dialog, you have the choice of 4 settings :

- Column layout, with labels to the left of the fields
- Column layout, with labels above the fields
- Grid
- Block layout, with labels above the fields.

As click between each of these choices, you will notice the arrangement
of your underlying form change.

You can then just click on "Finish" for the time being because the
intermediate steps provided thereafter are only relevant if you want to
prevent people from adding or modifying data (i.e. if you want a read
only form), or if you want to change the background colour of the form
(which is currently broken).

Save your form. Close it.

Now right-mouse button click on your form in the list of forms in your
main database file window. Choose "Edit" or "Modify" (I don't have an
English version to hand at the moment, so I'm guessing), the form should
then open in "Form Edit Mode". You can then go about setting page
defaults, background colours, fiddling with your form fields, etc.

By default, Labels and Fields are grouped together, so when you click on
them with the mouse, it is the whole group that is selected, with which
you can only do a rather limited set of operations (copy, paste, etc).
To edit one or the other of the members of the group, left mouse button
click to select, then right mouse button click on the selected group to
bring up a context menu where you will see Groups > Enter group. This
then lets you select the individual element of the group that you wish
to edit. You can even split the group if you wish, although be aware
that if you do that and then start moving things around, your label or
your field will not follow. Each element of the group can be modified
using a right mouse button click to select its properties.

An alternative to this is to use the "Form Navigator" which, when
activated, dispplays all of the elements on a form, including a
hierarchical view of any subforms you might have created.
Double-clicking on any entry in the Form Navigator should give you acess
to that element's properties.

Alex