Stonefield Query 3.3 Video

We posted a 25-minute video showing some of the new features in Stonefield Query version 3.3.

Stonefield Query SDK Version 3.3 Released

We released version 3.3 of the Stonefield Query SDK today. Other versions, such as for Sage Accpac ERP, Sage Pro, ACT!, and so on will be released over the next few weeks; watch our blog for release information.

The list of new and enhanced features in version 3.3 is extensive; see the online versions of the end-user help and SDK help for complete details. Here are the major new features.

Report Designer

• The new Formula Editor allows you to create your own formulas without using the Advanced Report Designer or customizing the data dictionary.
• The new Show percentage of total option in the Format page of the Field Properties dialog automatically adds a new column to the report showing the percentage that the field is of the subtotal in detail lines, of the next level of grouping in subgroup footers, and of the grand total for group footers.
• Turn on the new Show totals in group headers option in Step 5 of the Quick Report Wizard and the Options page of the Reports Explorer to display group totals in the group header rather than the group footer.
• Stonefield Query now supports Crystal Reports reports. You can add them to Stonefield Query using the External Report Wizard.
• The Preview window is no longer modal, meaning you can open multiple instances. Also, the new Preview reports in tabbed pages setting in the Options dialog allows you to determine whether different preview windows are used when you run more than one report or whether the reports appear as different tabs in the same preview window.
• There are several new output options available. You can specify that a timestamp is added to the file created to prevent overwriting existing files, that the file emailed to someone shouldn't be deleted after the email is sent, and what filename to use for the emailed file.
• Previous versions of Stonefield Query create a report as a PDF file when emailing the report to someone. You can now specify the type of file used as an attachment.
• You can now specify that each group in a report should be output to a separate file or email and that the email address should come from a field in the report itself. This can be used, for example, to email invoices to customers; the report is grouped by customer name and includes the customer's email address, so each customer's records are emailed to them.
• You can now sort fields in database order or alphabetical order in Step 2 of the report wizards.
• You can now tell Stonefield Query to display in the Tables drop-down list only those tables related to tables already appearing in the selected list.
• Reports are now stored as export files with an SFX extension in a folder structure that exactly matches the folders in the Reports Explorer.
• The new Send summary queries to database engine setting in the Options dialog allows you to specify whether Stonefield Query or the database engine does data summarization. This may significantly improve the performance of certain types of reports.
• The new Run report with no records option in Step 5 of the report wizards and the Options page in the Reports Explorer allows you to run a report when there are no records that match your conditions.

SDK

• The data dictionary now supports versioning. This is useful if tables and fields were added to or removed from the database between versions and you have some users using an older version and some using a newer version but they're all using the latest version of your customized Stonefield Query. To prevent users from selecting tables and fields that may not exist in their version of the database, you can specify the version number for each table and field that doesn't exist in all versions.
• Stonefield Query now supports scripting in VB.Net and C#.
• Like us, you may have a blog or news feed describing changes to your application. However, most users don't read blogs. So, Stonefield Query now includes a built-in news reader. If you fill in the URL for News Feeds configuration setting with the URL for an RSS feed, the news reader is available to your users.
• The Create Help Files function in the Configuration Utility now runs Stonefield Query and automates the generation of all customized screen shots, so there's no need to do that manually any more. That can save you a considerable amount of time.
• You can now refresh a single database rather than all databases if you wish by selecting the Refresh Database function from the Objects or shortcut menus.
• The new Number of Days for Demo Version configuration setting allows you to create a shorter demo period than the default 30 days if you wish.
• The code window opened when you right-click the code for a script and choose Zoom now supports find capability. Right-click in the code window and choose Find from the shortcut menu. Also, when you choose Build Expression from the shortcut menu, the Stonefield Query Expression Builder is now used.
• A new Test button in the database properties page of the Configuration Utility allows you to test that the connection settings are correct.

Southwest Fox Sessions and Speakers Announced

We announced the speaker and session lineup for Southwest Fox 2009 today. This year was the hardest yet selecting from the list of proposals because we had a record number of submissions. Once again, there are great topics such as using Visual Earth in VFP applications, implementing MySQL, getting the most out of FoxCharts, and adding full-text search to your applications.

Registration is now open, so be sure to sign up today for a fun three days in Phoenix in October. Take advantage of the “Southwest Fox Stimulus Plan”: if you register before July 1, you save $125 and get a free half-day pre-conference session, a $99 value. With sessions on Web development, source control, and refactoring legacy code, the hard part will be picking which one to attend.

We also offer an early-bird special: register before September 1 and save $50.

We're looking forward to seeing you in October!