Support News

January 2004 Edition

Feature Spotlight: Enhanced Management Console
Q&A with Technical Support: These Days AREN’T a Changin’
Smart Tip of the Month: Trading Characters
Third Party Software: MSDE Query Tool
Support Bookshelf: SQL Forums


Feature Spotlight

Enhanced Management Console

Beginning in package 131, the MetaCommunications Management Console is enhanced to provide comprehensive system management tools for Microsoft SQL server. In the new Management Console, the system administrator can perform a variety of tasks which were previously only done through the Microsoft SQL Enterprise Manager. These tasks include:

  • Creating database maintenance plans to insure scheduled backups of your Virtual Ticket/Job Manager database.
  • Managing Microsoft SQL Server memory settings.
  • Manually backing up and restoring your databases.
  • Managing Microsoft SQL Server Agent jobs.

The new Management Console supports Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine. The enhanced system management tools provide systems using MSDE with a graphical interface for managing their system.

For more information about the Management Console and MSDE visit:
http://www.meta-comm.com/customers/docs


Q&A with Technical Support

Is there a method for preventing users from changing the date on their time card in Job Manager?

For various reasons, it may be necessary to allow only certain users to change the date displayed in the Job Manager Time Card. To allow changing the date in the Time Card by a user group, a SQL Trigger can be implemented which allows only users of a specific group in Job Manager to change the date which is displayed on their time card. When a user who is not a member of the Job Manager group attempts to change the date, they are prompted with an error message informing them this action is not allowed.

For detailed information about this trigger and an example, visit:
http://www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16148


Smart Tip of the Month

Trading Characters

It may be necessary to repeatedly insert the same string of characters into a Virtual Ticket character field. Suppose you want to retrieve information from a Virtual Ticket database field for display on a web page. You wish to insert some HTML tags such as <b> and </b> into a Virtual Ticket character field to indicate where bold formatting should begin and end on the web page. You can use a simple MetaScript to replace some pre-determined placeholder characters with the correct string of HTML. Here’s how:

  1. Determine a series of characters to be used as placeholders for the HTML tag for bold on <b>. For this example we will use two exclamation points (!!). Also determine where you would stop bold formatting, </b>. We will use %% as placeholders for bold off.
  2. Create a field on a test form called FormatField. Create it as a memo field. For this example, this is where we will enter our information.
  3. Create a variable field on your form. Name it and enter GetChars(); into the Calculate As field.
  4. Enter the following MetaScript into the Global MetaScript area:

function
GetChars()
{
re = /!!/gi;
te = /%%/gi;
str = Field( 'FormatField' );
newstr = str.replace(re, "<b>");
bldstr = newstr;
blddstr = bldstr.replace(te, "</b>");
SetField("FormatField", blddstr);
}

This script looks for the characters !! and %% and replaces them with <b> and </b> where ever they are found in the desired field.

The following:
The !!dog%% likes to chase his !!tail%%.
Will appear as:
The <b>dog</b> likes to chase his <b>tail</b>.

In fields with heavy content, this automated character replacement script helps prevent user error and reduce the number of characters entered by the user. Once the user tabs from the field, the MetaScript executes, replacing the specified characters with the bolding headers.

For more information visit:
http://www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16150


Third Party Software

MSDE Query Tool

Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE) is provided without the database management tools provided with the standard edition of Microsoft SQL Server. As we learned earlier in this month’s edition, the MetaCommunications Management Console provides users with many of the tools necessary for managing your MSDE databases.

To perform SQL queries of a MSDE database, MSDE.biz provides MSDE users with a query tool called MSDE Query Tool. This free download allows users to execute the same types of scripts and queries that can be created using the standard Microsoft SQL Query Analyzer.

MSDE Query is available at: http://www.msde.biz/msdequery/download.htm


Support Bookshelf

SQL Forums

The following SQL forums provide a place for users to post and read threads from other SQL users, and receive assistance when creating SQL scripts and performing SQL administrative tasks.

http://www.sqlmag.com/forums/ - This forum is organized into categories of threads such as Administration, Tools, Data Access, etc.

New MetaCommunications Knowledge Base Articles this month:

16146: Upgrading MSDE 2000 to Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition.
http://www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16146

16147: Using MSDE Query Tool for querying MSDE databases.
http://www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16147

16148: Creating a privilege group for changing the Job Manager Time Card date.
http://www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16148

16150: Using MetaScript to replace information in a character field.
http://www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16150




Miss an issue of the MetaCommunications Support News? All back issues are available at:
http://www.meta-comm.com/support/support_news.htm.

Have an idea or topic you would like covered in the MetaCommunications Support News? Send your ideas, topics and comments to:
support@meta-comm.com

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