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Visual CEAdd Your Own Customized Database to Your Handheld PCBy Randy Sly I upgraded to an HP 360LX H/PC a little over a year ago and one of the first things I noticed was that I had lost one of my favorite applications database. I had been using HP's 200LX, a DOS-based palmtop with an excellent suite of built-in applications. One of the most useful was its powerful, but simple user-customizable database program. My H/PC did not have one and I hoped that someone would soon come up with a database program for the Windows CE environment. Syware was the first to fill the void with Visual CE. Visual CE lets you create database forms on your desktop PC and download them to your H/PC. Each form is a compact database into which you can enter data from your H/PC, or download into it from your desktop. You can transfer data between your H/PC and any ODBC-compliant application, such as Visual Basic, PowerBuilder, MS Excel, Word, Access, etc. When the software arrived, I inserted the 3.5" floppy disk into the desktop PC and quickly installed Visual CE on my both my desktop PC and the HP 360LX connected to the desktop. The user manual provides two "Quick Tours" of the program: one on the creation of the database on your desktop PC and the other on the use of a database on the H/PC. Visual CE running on your Windows 95/98 desktop PC lets you design the database and forms. You build the database table on your desktop PC and create the form to be used for data collection. When you are finished with that, you download the whole thing, as a custom application, to your H/PC. Creating a database for my sermonsI'm a minister and on most Sundays I have to deliver a sermon. To test Visual CE I decided to build a database to track the sermons I give. As with any database, I started by determining which data fields I wanted to include. I wanted this database to include fields for the title of the sermon, topic, scriptural references, the "type" of sermon (Expository, Topical, Narrative, Dramatic, Teaching, Other), and a large note field to hold sermon notes or a general outline of the sermon. With Visual CE running on my desktop PC, I selected "Create Database" option from the File menu. Visual CE first creates a table to store the data (similar to the way Microsoft Access works). The table looks much like an Excel spreadsheet. The columns of the table represent the different data fields (Name, Topic, Reference, etc.). The rows of the table represent the individual records in the database. Visual CE prompted me to type in the names I wanted to give the data fields; decide whether each was a text, date, or number field; and determine the order I wanted them in. You don't have to make the database perfect on the first try. You can go back at a later time and add or delete columns to the database table. I used this capability several times as the application took shape and I thought of changes I wanted to make to the database. Designing the data entry form for my H/PCAfter completing the database table, and still on my desktop PC, I began building the data entry form for my application. The first prompt asks what database I would like to use as the basis of the application. I selected "Sermon List," the database I had just created, and pressed OK. Visual CE's forms design screen on the desktop PC has a gray background. Superimposed on this is a white dotted line in the shape of a rectangle, indicating the H/PC screen size. You design your form inside this dotted line. This rectangle can be set to default to the size of your H/PC's screen area, and can also be changed while designing an application. Visual CE displays one "Label" and one "Edit box" for each column (or field) in your database. The Label is simply the name you give the field (Name, Topic, Sermon Notes, etc.) The Edit box is one of the "controls" Visual CE uses to enter data into a data field. Visual CE defaults to an Edit box control, but you can change this to another kind of control. An example will help clarify this. As I mentioned above, my database has a text field labeled "Type" that I use to describe the style of the sermon (Expository, Topical, Narrative, Dramatic, Teaching, and Other). I could have accepted the Edit box control for this field, which would have let me type in the style of the sermon each time. Instead I chose to use a Drop-down list control, which lets me select the sermon type from a list (see Screen 1). I'm still entering text into a text field, but the Drop-down list control simplifies and standardizes the process by making me select the type from a list. There are six controls you can use to enter data:
Visual CE displays a Label and Edit box control for each data field. If you want to change controls, simply delete the Edit box and choose another one from the menu or tool bar. The control boxes are all easily customized and can be moved around the screen by click-and-drag using your mouse. The Visual CE form you create may not have drop-shadows, fancy fonts, or other graphic embellishments you find on desktop database programs. But, you end up with a functional database that has the fields you want, displayed on the screen the way you want them. Pressing the Tab key moves the cursor to the next data field in most database programs. With Visual CE you have the ability to change the tab order of fields. After finishing my application, I simply highlighted "Tab Order" and clicked on the fields in the order I wanted. When I changed to the "List View" option later, I noticed that "Tab Order" also affects the order in this display. Downloading my database to H/PCAfter finishing the data form, I downloaded the new application to my H/PC, opened it and found a screen that looked just like the one I had designed (see Screen 1, image inside dotted line). For someone who does not spend hours designing and developing software, it's a kick to do something like this and have it actually work.
Screen 1: Visual CE's forms design screen on the desktop PC has a gray background. Superimposed on this is a white dotted line in the shape of a rectangle, indicating the H/PC screen size.Importing a Visual CE database into AccessOne of Visual CE's great features is its ability to communicate with any OBDC-compliant program. I decided to try importing my H/PC "Sermons" database into Microsoft Access on my desktop PC. I opened Access, created a new blank database and selected "Get External Data" from the "File" menu. I then selecting the "Files of type" option and chose "OBDC Databases." I was able to bring my Sermons database into Access. The "Synchronize" feature on Visual CE allows me to update files from one of these programs to the other. The new version of Visual CE added another handy feature called "xBase file." The database used for a Visual CE application must reside in the Databases folder on the H/PC. You can use the xBase option to store the application anywhere in the system, including on a PC storage card in the card slot. This can be very useful for large databases or if your H/PC has limited RAM space. The main Visual CE database "engine" needs to be installed only once on the H/PC. It's a reliable, relatively small program , leaving you room for a number of custom databases. Since you are the one creating the database, you can experiment with an application; create it, install it, evaluate it, modify it, or discard it. The only serious limitation I found with Visual CE was the font size, which is fixed and quite small. This limitation made the form hard to read on my H/PC. After using Visual CE for just a few days, I see a large number of applications I could create with this great software. Its versatility and ease-of-use makes Visual CE a must for those wanting to dramatically enhance the productivity of their H/PC. Visual CE is on my computer to stay.
About the Author Randy Sly is Archbishop of the Eastern and Central Province of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church. He, his wife Sandy, and their three children: Dena, Debbie and David live in Olathe, Kansas.
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