Project database
Enhanced Form Editor
Using the Form Editor, you can build complex forms with objects distributed into multiple views which can then be hidden or shown as needed. The Form Editor’s user experience has been greatly enhanced in 4D v18 R2. You can now instantly know if views are in use, thanks to a button in the Form Editor toolbar that opens the Views palette.
In project databases, this button can have two different aspects:
- Light gray outline: All objects belong to the default view.
- Solid dark gray: If at least one object belongs to view other than the default view.
At the same time, several actions have also been provided to simplify form design. For example, initially only a single view is created: the default view. You can then create as many additional views as needed and move objects into them. You can not only select a specific view to work in, but you can also delete a view if it becomes unnecessary (e.g., it doesn’t contain any objects).
Programming-related features
Take control over the work area
With 4D v18 R2, graphic system elements such as the macOS dock or the Windows taskbar are taken into account so you can use the entire available work area. An optional parameter to the SCREEN COORDINATES command has been added: Screen work area. This way, you can be sure that your application’s windows are in a viewable area (especially in SDI mode on Windows).
Store user aliasES in the journal
The behavior of the SET USER ALIAS command has been extended in 4D v18 R2 by letting you know who did what. Now when an alias is set, it’s also stored in the journal. This lets you retrieve the correct user, even if several users share the same computer and/or system account. The user name is displayed in:
- the MSC’s Activity analysis and Rollback tabs,
- the dialog displayed with the CHECK LOG FILE command,
- and in the JSON file generated by LOG FILE TO JSON.
Emails
Receive emails with POP3
4D v18 R2 provides the first part of a feature to receive emails. Now, you can locally download your emails and remove them from your email server via POP3 thanks to the new POP3 New transporter command. The Post Office Protocol (POP) is an internet standard protocol to retrieve email from a mail server. This standard is useful for actions such as connecting to a POP3 server, retrieving messages to process them automatically (to store in your local database), and deleting them from the server. Additionally, several methods have been added allowing you to handle your emails:
- getMailInfoList(): Returns information about all of the messages in your mailbox.
- getMailInfo(): Returns information about a single message.
- getMail(): Lets you download specific messages by passing a message number returned by getMailInfoList() as a parameter.
- delete(): Flags specified messages to be deleted during the session closure.
- getBoxInfo(): Returns the number of emails in your mailbox and the size of the mailbox.
4D Write Pro
Manage formulas inside documents
4D v18 R2 includes a set of commands so you can manage formulas inside your 4D Write Pro documents:
- WP Get formulas: Retrieves all of the formulas within a specific target (the full document itself, and also more specific parts of a document such as the body, the second section, the left header, etc.),
- WP Insert formula: Inserts an expression as a formula object within any given range,
- WP Compute formulas and WP Freeze formulas: Can be used in a very similar way (i.e., using a target). Re-evaluate all of a document’s expressions or simply freeze only expressions belonging to the footers.
Delete pictures
Deleting inline or anchored pictures can now be done with the new WP DELETE PICTURE command. Simply retrieve the picture you want to delete by its ID (using WP Get element by ID) or by its position (using WP Get elements), then call the command.
4D View Pro
Manage rows and columns
4D v18 R2 includes new commands for managing columns and rows. These commands allow you to better adapt your documents to meet your needs. Columns and rows can be added and removed, or have their size, visibility, and header labels defined with the following commands:
- VP INSERT ROWS or VP INSERT COLUMNS: Add rows or columns by passing a range containing the first column or row as a parameter and the number of rows or columns to add.
- VP SET COLUMN COUNT and VP SET ROW COUNT: Define the number of columns and rows displayed. By default, a 4D View Pro sheet contains 100 columns and 1,000 rows.
- VP DELETE ROWS or VP DELETE COLUMNS: Remove specific rows or columns.
- VP SET COLUMN ATTRIBUTES and VP SET ROW ATTRIBUTES: Specify column width or row height; add a page break for printing; hide or show columns or rows; enable or prohibit resizing columns or rows by users; change column or row header labels.
Lock rows and/or columns
4D v18 R2 is shipped with a new command: VP SET FROZEN PANES to help you create panes. If you have a large table of data, it can be useful to keep an area of a worksheet visible while you scroll to another area. With this command, you can create up to 4 panes in your area: one on the left, one above, one on the right, and one below.