Mass Update & QBE

When you use the QBE or Mass Update buttons depending on what you intend doing, this Sheet opens up with the relevant Tabs showing

QBE : you can perform any complex query on the current Table to get subsets of your data - and save if need be for future use

Mass Update : you can select any or all columns of the current Table and define an expression and an eventual condition also to use to update your data

Stored Queries : you can load any stored queries (QBE or Mass Updates) and apply them to the current table

(only the current Table's queries are shown to avoid you looking around for the relevant ones)

General Technique to build your queries :

Both these features work from the current Table's COLUMNS - OPERATORS and FUNCTIONS

COLUMNS (expression) : are the current Table's fields

OPERATORS : such as = , > , < , <> , + , - , % , / , AND , OR etc ....

FUNCTIONS : such as LEFT(Expression,Length) - RIGHT(Expression,Length) - INSTRING(Text,Expression,1,1) - CLIP(Expression) - CLOCK() - TODAY() - SUB(Expression,Start Pos,Length) - UPPER(Expression) etc ....

In both QBE and Mass Update you can fill by hand the query expression or condition you need or use all supplied List Boxes to build it by double clicking on any record :

For example : if you want to build an expression for the column STATE containing 'AL' and the column InvoiceDate after the 1st Jan. '08 and before the 30th March '08 you simply use this technique :

Select and double-click on "INSTRING" from the FUNCTIONS list, this will place in the selected field (expression or condition) :

INSTRING(Text,Expression,1,1)

Select with the mouse "Text" and replace it with 'AL' in our example

Select Expression with the mouse then double-click on the COLUMN "STATE" to change the value

Now the field will show as

INSTRING('AL',CLIP(STATE),1,1)

Double-click on "AND" to add it at the end of your query

Double-Click on the COLUMN "InvoiceDate" to add it at then end of your query

Double-Click on ">" to add it at then end of the query

Enter by hand whatever value in quotes like this '01/01/2008' (depending on the format of that column)

Double-Click on "AND" in the OPERATORS to again add it at the end of the query

...... carry on till your query is built

ANY double-Click will automatically place the content of the list in the selected entry field - adding a SPACE before

All the Operators and Functions are not as User Friendly as we would have liked and we might change all this in a coming version depending on your reactions.

In all of these screens you have a "Cancel" red button to revert to the previous screen canceling any modifications done but still keeping in memory whatever you have already done.