V 3.1 beta - Behavior change - does a show all

[Carl Underwood]

Hello,

I didn't know quite how to word this question - In V3.0 beta, when you accessed the MySQL tables via Dadabik interface, you were presented with a short menu.

Now, in V3.1 beta, it looks like the user is presented with the first table in the table list and an automatic Show All.

Is there a way to change this behavior back to the V3.0 beta?

I've combed thru config.php and can't seem to find a configuration value that modifies this behavior.

Otherwise, this is a great release!

Thank you

 

[Debbie Sontag]

Carl

I tested this on my dadabik_sample database installation and it worked fine -- all functions appear to work as expected.

1... Rename the index.php file to form.php.
2... Do a global search/replace on all files in your dadabik directory to change all instances of index.php to form.php. After the global change, you will need to edit footer.php to set the home link back to index.php.
3... Do another global search/replace to change all instances of footer_form.php to footer_index.php.
4... Copy over your old index.php file and make any changes necessary (I did not need to make any changes when I tested this).

NOTE: If you do not have an editor capable of making global changes to your pages, the files where the replace must occur are:
index.php
install.php
include/business_logic.php (and .bak)
include/config.php (and .bak)
include/footer.php (and .bak)
include/footer_index.php (and .bak)
include/header_admin.php (and .bak)


Debbie
(Latest version of DaDaBIK when this message was posted: 3.1 Beta)

 

[Carl Underwood]

Hi Debbie,

I tried the suggestions to no avail. But, thinking I had something weird lurking in my directory structure on my server, I copied the MySQL tables (w/o the dadabik_ added tables) to a new directory on a different server running the same version of Apache (V2.0.49) and MySQL (V 4.0.18).

I then installed a second instance of DadaBIK to this new directory. Ran the Install.php script.

Same behavior.

So, as a workaround for the time being, I gave my users a shortcut on their desktop that links them directly to the Search form (http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/inservices/?function=show_search_form&table_name=testreport2) or the Insert records form ( http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/maint/index.php?function=show_insert_form&table_name=testreport2).

FWIW, V3.0 under Apache V2.0.49 and MySQL V4.0.18 seemed to work OK - i.e. didn't do a Show All when the index.php was accessed the first time arount.

HTH.

Perhaps I should grab your test files and see if it does the same thing.....worth a shot.

Thank you,

Carl Underwood

 

[Carl Underwood]

Forgot to mention - PHP 4.3.6 with Pear 1.3.1 is the version of PHP...

Thanks

 

[Carl Underwood]

Here's the issue - from the changelog - it's by design:

"DaDaBIK starts now displaying the records of the first table available, without showing the home page menu. All the application (except from the administration area) uses now just one file index.php, easily renameable to embed it in a pre-existent Web site."


Can a config value be put into config.php that would let us select whether we wanted the home page menu or a "show all" of the first table available.

That would seem to be the solution.

Thanks,

Carl Underwood

 

[Debbie S]

Carl

Hmmmm. I don't understnd why it wouldn't work. The steps I provided were EXACTLY what I did and produced the menu page with all other functions working as expected in 3.1. What, in particular did not work?

I have an idea of how your suggestion for a config.php setting could be implemented -- will talk to Eugenio about it so we're not both working on the same thing.


Debbie
(Latest version of DaDaBIK when this message was posted: 3.1 Beta)

 

[Debbie S]

Carl

Man ... I feel like an idiot. I should have known better, but we all make mistakes. To change the behavior back to the menu style main page is soooooooo simple I kick myself for not realizing this sooner. Here's what you do:

DaDaBIK Main File Setting in /include/config.php:

The name of the main file of DaDaBIK which performs all functions. If you like the default view to show all -- leave the default option of index.php as is.

If you prefer to have the old menu format as the initial page:
1 --- rename the index.php file to form.php (or whatever you choose)
2 --- copy over your old v3.0 index.php and change EVERY instance of:
href="form.php?
with:
href="'.$dadabik_main_file.'?
3 --- change the variable $dadabik_main_file to form.php (or whatever you renamed the v3.1 index.php file to in step 1) and you will have the original menu page back.

Sorry for causing any confusion. This should work just fine -- let me know how it turns out.


Debbie
(Latest version of DaDaBIK when this message was posted: 3.1 Beta)

 

[NovaWeb]

I wanted to go back to the old menu style, too.

I followed your instructions, and it worked like a charm. Thank you!

One downside of the new format is that the table pull-down menu and other options are displayed in the lower right-hand corner. When the start page shows table results, that will push the selection options out of view, requiring vertical and/or horizontal scrolling.

The new format may work well enough where most users of a dbase will ordinarily want only to view records (rather than input/edit/search), and where there is only one table. But for other situations, I think the old format is preferable.

-- Jeff

PS: For future versions, I'd like to have the choice of start page as a built-in configuration option, so people don't have to go find version 3.0, extract a file, and modify it. (It wasn't a problem for me, since I happened to have version 3.0 already.)

 

[Debbie S]

NovaWeb wrote:

> One downside of the new format is that the table pull-down
> menu and other options are displayed in the lower right-hand
> corner. When the start page shows table results, that will
> push the selection options out of view, requiring vertical
> and/or horizontal scrolling.

The table pull-down and other options have ALWAYS been in the bottom right corner - this is not new in v3.1.

> The new format may work well enough where most users of a
> dbase will ordinarily want only to view records (rather than
> input/edit/search), and where there is only one table. But for
> other situations, I think the old format is preferable.

I've implemented the new format on a database containing 8 tables with no complaints from any users - so it really depends on the users and what they want. One change I made was the addition of the "Home, Insert, etc." links to the header file so they can immediately see the options for working on the database. These links are available from the top of the page and the bottom.

As for horizontal scrolling, web designers should always consider this and try to avoid this situation from happening wherever possible. Because DaDaBIK allows some fields to not display in the results view, most situations can be resolved by displaying key fields in the results view and utilizing the details feature of the program to see more info.


Debbie
(Latest version of DaDaBIK when this message was posted: 3.1 Beta)

 

[NovaWeb]

Debbie S wrote:

> The table pull-down and other options have ALWAYS been in the
> bottom right corner - this is not new in v3.1.

Yes, that's correct - and my point may not have been clear. The standard bottom-right location for the pull-down menu and options is quite logical; it can always be found, and doesn't detract from the information displayed on the page.

But when the displayed records are wide or long (or both), the menu and options are not readily visible, and the user must scroll to find them. So for the initial page, when the user's first tasks are to select the appropriate table and then the type of action desired, I thought it's more functional to have the pull-down menu and basic options readily displayed by themselves, without the distraction (and possible scrolling) of records on that page.

That may simply be a personal preference. Others may well find it more useful to start with the display of records from one table. I'd just ask that, for future versions, the option be made available in the config file.

> As for horizontal scrolling, web designers should always
> consider this and try to avoid this situation from happening
> wherever possible. Because DaDaBIK allows some fields to not
> display in the results view, most situations can be resolved by
> displaying key fields in the results view and utilizing the
> details feature of the program to see more info.

Yes, that's certainly the desirable outcome. Horizontal scrolling drives me crazy (on any website), and I try to avoid it as much as possible. However, I have some clients who like to have many data fields displayed in the "show all" and "search results" modes, including email addresses (which are long). The result is that, even after reducing column width and making word-wrap adjustments, the full display is still wider than the browser window -- which in turn pushes the menu options off the visible page. That's another reason why I prefer an initial page where those menu options are prominently displayed to users.

----

Thanks again for providing the info on how to restore the old-style display, and for your follow-up comments.

-- Jeff

 

[rombout]

Trying to upgrade from version 2.1 to 3.1...

silly as it seems, I don't really understand the instructions to change the behaviour:

step 1: am I to rename the index.php into form.php? or should I change the names only in the references in the config.php?
step 2: seems only logical to me in case I've renamed the index.php into form.php. That however leaves me with the question why you mention the config.php in the first place. What am I to change there?
step 3: in which file do I change this variable?

 

[Debbie S]

rombout

step 1 ... To use menu style page like older versions, rename the index.php file to something else as the instructions above state. To use the old style, you need an index.php for the menu and the form.php (or whatever you name it) for handling all the main functionality and displays.

step 2 ... is not about the config.php file -- this is explaining what changes need to be made to your menu style page. Config.php file reference was only for explanation of the main file variable feature.

step 3 ... Change the $dadabik_main_file variable in config.php to whatever name you chose for your file in step 1.

Debbie
(Latest version of DaDaBIK when this message was posted: 3.1 Beta)

 

[rombout]

Debbie S wrote:

> step 3 ... Change the $dadabik_main_file variable in
> config.php to whatever name you chose for your file in step 1.
>
that's where I went wrong....I didn't realise you were talking about the config.php here...

thanks, it works perfect now.