database design report

[summergirl]

I'm using Fm Developer 5.5. Initially I really liked the database design report (DDR), but now I'm not so sure. Maybe it's just ignorance on my part...

1. In the DDR file, is there a way to sort the field names in the list that shows up on the left side of the fields tab? My file has 488 fields, and they're all showing up in the DDR in the order I created them. I tried to sort the fields by field name in the original db before I created the DDR, but that didn't work. Also tried to sort the fields in the DDR report itself, but couldn't locate a field name that worked.

2. Is there a way to print just one page of the report? My define fields report takes 30 pages, and I want to print only page 25.

Any tips and suggestions most welcome!

Mary Z

[SteveB]

The DDR is a real piece of c..p. I gave up trying to do anything with it. Unless they've changed, it has no documentation. My suggestion is to get Analyzer Pro from Waves In Motion. It uses the output from the DDR and is a real improvement..

[IdealData]

The DDR is generated from a file in the DDR folder called FMDB_Report.fp5.

You should modify this file to suit your needs. Add some scripts, get the page layouts right etc. But DON'T modify the structure.

Beware that if you mess it up you'll need to reinstall from CD - so make a copy before you start !

[IdealData]

I've tried Analyzer - it's just too damned slow !.

My system (40+ files) takes over 24 hours to analyze, even then the resultant file is too large to realistically produce some reports as the sorting takes too long.

[ccosner]

To answer question 1 in the original post, since this is problem that is easily fixed:

In the relationship "script Objects of Current DB" specify the sort order to rely on the field "Object Alternate Display Name" (ascending, presumably). Then your fields will sort alphabetically, no matter how they appear in the source databases.

I'm using this to clean cruft out of a legacy system--looking for items no longer in use. I added the following script to get around the problem of the portal always popping back to the first field when you select a field. This way you can churn through the fields without too much scrolling. With a single file having over 1000 fields, this saves me a lot of scrolling.

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go to field script Objects of Current DB::Record Display Current in Portal

go to portal row (select, first)

# are we on the first record anyway?

if (script objects of current db::record serial id = global script current object id)

go to portal row (select, next)

exit script

end if

# now scroll down to the highlighted field

loop

go to portal row (select, exit after last, next)

if (same as above if statement)

go to portal row (select, next)

exit script

end if

end loop

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I hope I've typed it in correctly. In any case, if you understand scripting, you get the idea. You could add a step to execute the "Portal Go to This Field" script as well, to just move right to the details view for the next field.