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.

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.

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 original HotSync 1.1/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. You can eliminate this problem by either using the GCM conduit, or upgrading to the most recent HotSync 1.1.]

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

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.

Other Operations

You can edit the database information on screen, by clicking on the cell, or hitting the F2 key. Edits operate as you would expect, except that the "enter" key is used to complete and edit. The light blue background indicates that you are in edit mode.

You can insert and delete rows in the database by using the Edit menu. [A delete will not cause renumbering of the database. An insert does cause renumbering. For most users, this is irrelivent.]

Modified records are marked with an exclamation mark in the first column. Once you have performed a hotsync with the Pilot, these exclamations will dissappear.

Preferences

In the File menu there is an option to view Preferences:

Use first line of .csv files as field labels

Include fields labels in cut/copy operation

Auto open first database

Display deleted records

Select cell text on edit

Make backup copies of database files

AutoSave on Exit

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.

Similarly, if you rename or add fields to a database, you must do a HotSync with the PilotToPC option set!