ProFox February 2016

profox@leafe.com

56 participants
80 discussions

Re: [NF][RANT] I need to stop playing 20 questions...
by Ken Dibble 26 Feb '16

26 Feb '16

> >>And there's the fact that software, on its own, never wears out, >>and the architecture of the platforms on which it runs doesn't >>change very much at all. There are no technical reasons why I >>shouldn't have been allowed to continue to run Office 97 on Windows >>7, only financial ones. (I figured out all the registry hacks >>necessary to run it on an NT-style OS long ago.) > > I had no problems installing and have no problems using Office > 97 on Windows 7. My issues were: 1. If you want to run as a restricted user, then: A. You must set "full control" permissions on the software directory; it won't save normal.dot there if you don't. B. Excel spreadsheet equations have to be specifically enabled in the registry or they won't work. C. There are issues with other specific Office 97 features, such as the "gallery" or whatever it's called for browing graphics, all of which require registry hacks. 2. We use RightFax network fax software. Several years ago an update to that software broke its ability to use the "print to the fax printer" metaphor with that version of Office. 3. Minor problems also occur for which there is no work-around, but which I could live with if I didn't need the fax feature: A. Office toolbar often fails to load on boot-up, or interferes with other things loading, such as anti-virus software. B. Spell-check doesn't work properly at times, and you can't save new spellings to the "dictionary". In my work environment it was really the fax issue that hosed it for me. That being said, the ongoing clamor from the spreadsheet people for "modern" features was eventually going to sink me anyway. Ken Dibble www.stic-cil.org

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Re: [NF][RANT] I need to stop playing 20 questions...
by Ken Dibble 26 Feb '16

26 Feb '16

>I see this as a spectrum of commercial relationships ranging from >mutually-beneficial to predatory. And the question of whether you >"have to" upgrade certainly has an effect on that. Well the "have to" thing is fungible of course. We don't "have to" do much of anything. We can "choose" to live in the woods and hunt and trap and fish and depend largely on a barter economy with our neighbors and raise sled dogs to sell for a little cash here and there (see the US "reality" TV series "Yukon Men"). That choice, however, comes with its own imperatives that cannot be chosen and must be lived with. If we "choose" to work in a business that must communicate regularly with other businesses and government agencies in the United States, then in most cases, one of the imperatives is using Windows computers. Linux and the limited array of software for it won't cut it. Apple is far too expensive, and the range of available software is too narrow. The stuff we produce and consume has to work, fully and completely, with standard MS Office software. The complexity of our fiscal structure requires extremely robust accounting software that is only available on Windows servers. And then there are federal HIPAA and state confidentiality requirements that preclude cost-effective use of "cloud-based" stuff. The point is that my options are highly constrained. I am over a barrel and these vendors know it, and they soak me for it, and it makes me angry. We all have to cope with change, but most of the "change" that occurs in the software world deliberately made as a way to generate income and cut costs for vendors. We have faster and more powerful computers and yet software slows down because the vendors suck up that increased capacity with cheap, shoddy programming. They introduce new features that only a handful of customers want but which we are all required to pay for. If I ask for something new I am quite willing to pay for it. If I think I will need "support" I am willing to pay for it. I object to predatory support policies that require me to pay continuously for support I never use. I acknowledge that these support packages sometimes come with "free" upgrades. Sometimes the "upgrades" are necessary, such as tax-law adjustments for accounting software. Sometimes they aren't, at least from the point of view of what I need the software for. They become necessary as a marketing strategy because the manufacturer deliberately breaks something so it won't work on a newer OS. And there's the fact that software, on its own, never wears out, and the architecture of the platforms on which it runs doesn't change very much at all. There are no technical reasons why I shouldn't have been allowed to continue to run Office 97 on Windows 7, only financial ones. (I figured out all the registry hacks necessary to run it on an NT-style OS long ago.) If people choose to follow a business model where they sell people the same thing over and over, they should accept the imperatives that come with that choice, and they should sell groceries or natural gas or other consumables, or machines that wear out. If your product is neither consumed nor wears out, then the only ethical option for making more money is to offer new features that people may want but are not required to buy, or to create entirely new products. Making money by deliberately breaking your product and forcing your customers to buy a new copy is illegal for everything except software. It should be illegal for software too. And that oughta be about enough out of me. :) Ken Dibble www.stic-cil.org

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Re: [NF][RANT] I need to stop playing 20 questions...
by Ken Dibble 26 Feb '16

26 Feb '16

> Yes, you may know what you really want (but not always) and > really need (not nearly so often the case). You are the guy with > the money, and you are the guy who makes the decisions, and none of > this guarantees that you are not about to make a totally stupid > decision, or one that is severely lacking, or one that could be > much better if you would listen to the professional in the area > instead of fighting him. This coming from the guy who regularly rants about having to stop using decades-old software because somebody else decided, in their vast wisdom, that something newer is better. None of us is perfect, and none of us is perfectly consistent, and we are all driven more than we like to admit by emotional responses to frustration and pressure when we respond to others. That includes me. Still, I continue to refuse to accept the notion that software is a service that the service provider is allowed to change without my permission, and then stand there with a mercenary smirk and tell me I will really be better off if I buy his latest and greatest, even if his latest and greatest is slower, or harder to use, or less reliable than what I had before. I buy a hammer. It works great for pounding nails. Somebody invents a jackhammer. I don't need a jackhammer to pound nails. If I find I need a jackhammer, I will buy a jackhammer, separately. The guy who invented the jackhammer has no right to break my hammer and force me to buy a jackhammer, even if the jackhammer, and subtle variations on it, is the only thing he is capable of inventing for the rest of his life, or the life of his company, and the only way he can continue to feed himself and his stockholders is to take my stuff that I paid him for away from me and force me to buy something else. And for anyone who tells me that I only bought a "license" to use the software, I would simply point out that common law in most places doesn't allow the creation of contractual arrangements that don't provide equitable benefits to both sides. A EULA is a contractual arrangement in which the user pays money in return for which they are allowed to attempt to use something that may or may not work, and may or may not damage their data, in return for which the manufacturer guarantees nothing and incurs no obligation whatsoever. Unenforcible almost anywhere, if push comes to shove. In other words, pffffffft on yer EULA. Ken Dibble www.stic-cil.org

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SuperMover with two output lists?
by Joe Yoder 26 Feb '16

26 Feb '16

I am experimenting with the Super Mover Foundation Class and am wondering what would be involved in adding a second output list on the right side. The user would choose which of the two output lists is to receive items being moved from the left. There would be other ways to achieve what I need but the two right handed lists will be the easiest to understand. Is there a control like this available or do I need to figure out how to extend what is in the Super Mover class? Thanks in advance, Joe --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- multipart/alternative text/plain (text body -- kept) text/html ---

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VFP9 copy to clipboard causes VFP to 'hang' for long period
by Mike Copeland 25 Feb '16

25 Feb '16

I've had this annoyance for years...but it recently got really bad. When I have a code window open (like for a form method) and I highlight a word or string of word in the program code, as soon as I CTRL+C or click the copy icon on the toolbar, VFP goes to lunch..."Not Responding"...window goes white-ish. If I let it sit, long enough (like up to 5 minutes), it will eventually recover...until I commit the same mistake of trying to copy text to the clipboard. (Which I do in order to search for other occurrences, etc.) I had this trouble in the past and I finally decided to try the NUKE solution and deleted the FOXUSER.DBF file. BOING! Fixed that problem! Copy works like a big dog on steriods now! Unfortunately, it also dumped all of the other 3000+ settings and things VFP keeps track of for reuse later. Things like smartcomplete where you type "do<space>" and it pops up a list of all the programs you've recently run...which I depend on a lot! After a while, that good stuff builds back up and things are good again, but the COPY to clipboard seems to be even worse now (freezing for even longer periods.) So, my question: Is there a way, like PACKing or deleting a certain row in the FOXUSER file, to get the COPY to clipboard to work as it should but without loosing all the good stuff VFP remembers? (like projects recently worked on, etc.) Thanks for any guidance...heck I'll even take a LMGTFY or three if it helps! Mike Copeland

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[NF] SourceForge's DevShare (drive-by installers) eliminated
by Ted Roche 25 Feb '16

25 Feb '16

I had stopped recommending some downloads from SourceForge because the installers required excessive vigilance to avoid installing intrusive (and difficult to remove!) toolbars, DNS hijackers or other "utilities" that invaded privacy and interferred with basic computer operations. I'm pleased to hear they've dumped that program: https://sourceforge.net/blog/sourceforge-acquisition-and-future-plans/ It takes a lot of effort to restore a damaged reputation. Caveat emptor. -- Ted Roche Ted Roche & Associates, LLC http://www.tedroche.com

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[NF] ProTip: preventing GMail from sticking ProFox in spam folders
by Ted Roche 24 Feb '16

24 Feb '16

Folks: I use GMail for many of my mailing lists, including ProFox, and occaionally an email will be dropped into the Spam folder for some reason. It appears that Google has picked up on this and offers a feature where you can tell it that no email from the list should be dumped into Spam. Steps: 1. With an email from the list open, click on the menu link next to ProFox (of ProFoxTech) in the To: section. (hovering shows "Show Details") 2. Next to Mailing list: ProFox(tech)(a)leafe.com click the link: "Filter messages from this mailing list" 3. Leave the defaults in the dialog that pops up, and click in the lower right the link "Create filter with this search" 4. In the next dialog, click "Never Sent It To Spam" and then "Create Filter" How hard is that? Hat Tip to the Boston Linux/Unix list for the tip. -- Ted Roche Ted Roche & Associates, LLC http://www.tedroche.com

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[NF] Free Python Hadoop book
by Stephen Russell 24 Feb '16

24 Feb '16

I doubt that anyone is considering Hadoop but if you were interested in a free book there is a link below. http://conferences.oreilly.com/oscon/open-source-us/public/content/hadoop-w… -- Stephen Russell Sr. Analyst Ring Container Technology Oakland TN 901.246-0159 cell --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- multipart/alternative text/plain (text body -- kept) text/html ---

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NEED ROUTINE TO FILL OUT PDF
by jerry foote 23 Feb '16

23 Feb '16

Any suggestions on a routine to fill out a pdf file on my local machine (not from adobe) either free or with a modest cost. --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- multipart/alternative text/plain (text body -- kept) text/html ---

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Controling the order/timing of processing after doing a form
by Joe Yoder 23 Feb '16

23 Feb '16

The click method of a command button on my main form has the following code: DO FORM DrillDown.scx THISFORM.statistics The secondary form updates data in a table. The statistics method calculates statistics on the table and updates the screen When the main form command button calls the code above, the screen is not updated immediately. Another Debug button that calls the statistics method updates the screen properly. What do I need to add so that the screen gets updated properly? Thanks in advance, Joe --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- multipart/alternative text/plain (text body -- kept) text/html ---

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ProFox February 2016