Questions and Answers

Advanced Revelation Version 2.1 introduces a number of new features and changes to existing processes. With the introduction of new features, a whole new set of questions is also introduced. The following is a list of questions about the product, the answers to which are not covered in the documentation.

If you have questions that are not covered here or in the documentation, please contact Technical Support at (800) 367-1878. The fax number is (206) 643-7609. You can also reach Technical Support through CompuServe, just enter GO REVELATION at any ! prompt.

Q) I'm using version 1.02 of the SQL Server Bond. Can I use version 2.1 of Advanced Revelation?

A) No. You must use version 1.1 of the SQL Server Bond with version 2.1 of Advanced Revelation.

Q) When I try to upgrade my ASCII and dBASE bonds, a message (I113) displays asking if I want to replace my current version of the bonds with version "" of "bond name"? Why doesn't the new version number display? Should I go ahead with the upgrade?

A) Go ahead and upgrade the bonds. There is a problem with the version numbers and the ASCII and dBASE bonds, but the upgrade will be performed correctly. See the following question.

Q) How do I know if I upgraded my ASCII and dBASE bonds? The version numbers do not appear in the WHO window.

A) In version 2.1, the version numbers for the ASCII and dBASE bonds do not appear in the WHO window. If the release version is blank, the optional module disk has been applied, and the date correctly displays the date the optional module disk was applied.

You can also edit any one of the following records in the VERBS file. When the record is displayed, press [Ctrl-PgDn] and [Ctrl-End]. Look for a number like that in column two below. Your bond was upgraded if the number in column two matches the number in the record.

Q) When I bring up the WHO window I see asterisks instead of my bond names. Are my bonds installed or not?

A) Your bonds are installed. Changes to the system cause GETCONFIGURE to produce incorrect results when you have print drivers installed.

Q) I added a Quickdex to my file. Now there is a record called %LOCAL.GROUP% in my dictionary. What is it?

A) %LOCAL.GROUP% keeps track of the language set assigned when the Quickdex or Rightdex is created. The first value stores the language set used for Quickdex on the dictionary, while the second value stores the language set used on the data portion. If the dictionary or the data portion of the file don't have a Quickdex then a "-" will appear in the appropriate value.

Q) I've just done a FILECOPY and the command stack has several ATTACHes and DETACHes. This didn't happen before I upgraded, why the change?

A) Changes to indexing now make it possible to copy the indexes associated with a file along with the file. The ATTACHes and DETACHes you see relate to getting the !datafile copied to the new location.

Q) I have a utility I wrote that plays with indexing. It doesn't work in 2.1. Why?

A) Without additional information, it is hard to say. However, chances are good that your utility expects to have a !INDEXING file. In 2.1 the !INDEXING file is no longer used. Check to see if the program is checking for !INDEXING. If so, you can remove the check.

Q) I was playing with language sets and now when I enter commands at TCL they don't work.

A) Chances are you've changed the lower case and upper case entries (fields 7 and 8 in the language set) so they don't match. Try entering your commands in upper case. If this works then edit the language set so upper case and lower case match. (That is "A" and "a" match up, "B" and "b" match up, etc.)

If that doesn't work you should restore your system from a backup.

You might be able to log in under a different user name (one that uses another language set) and modify the appropriate language set.

Q) I just changed language sets and now I can't write to a file. The error message I get talks about a different language set being used to build the index. What is happening?

A) Your file has a Quickdex on it. Quickdex stores the keys to a file in a record called %RECORDS%. The keys are stored in sorted order. The sort order is dependent on the language set active at the time the index is created. Because you've changed language sets Quickdex has no way of knowing how to sort the key. To preserve the integrity of the index the write is not allowed allowed.

Q) I've just changed the active language set and now my reports are not sorted correctly. The error messages tell me that the files have indexes that were built under a different language set. What is happening?

A) Advanced Revelation uses the index to satisfy the sort request. Because the index was built under a different language set (with its own sort order) the sorting is based on that language set.

Q) I'm trying to execute a QBE (or an SQL) statement and I get an error message. The syntax of my statement is correct. (The messages are usually "out of string space" errors or errors 250-253.)

A) You're probably running with little memory. Try using CONTROL_ON to add PROTECT.MFS to the file before using QBE or SQL. This will keep the system from having to compile the SQL modules on-the-fly.

Q) I can't run the QBE lesson in the tutorial. Why not?

A) A last minute change to QBE invalidated part of the QBE lesson. You can fix the problem by following these steps:

• Press [F5]
• At TCL, enter: ATTACH TUTOR
• Access the Advanced Revelation Main menu
• Select Tools-Capture-Modify
• At the Modify Capture window press [F2]
• Select QBE from the Keystroke Sets popup
• Cursor down to row 49. The row currently reads:

  @S TUT.MSG,1//{F6}7{CR}/@

  it should read:

  @S TUT.MSG,1//{SHIFT-F8}/@

• Cursor down to row 63. The row currently reads:

  @S TUT.MSG,1//{F6}5{CR}/@

  it should read:

  @S TUT.MSG,1//{F6}2{CR}/@

• Press [F9] to save your changes.

Q) What are the DICT.VOC records RLIST_TEXT_1 through RLIST_TEXT_8?

A) These are special dictionary items used by R/LIST.

Q) I tried entering the following commands at TCL. The entire file displayed in the report. What am I doing wrong?

   SELECT VOC WITH F1 = 'rbasic' LATENT
   LIST VOC CASEINSENS F1

A) The CASESENS and CASEINSENS keywords apply to the selection criteria, not the display data. You must use the keywords with the original WITH statement:

   SELECT VOC WITH CASEINSENS F1 = 'rbasic' LATENT
   LIST VOC F1

Remember, the CASESENS and CASEINSENS keywords always follow the word WITH.

Q) I really like the case insensitive searches provided in 2.1. However, I don't like having to specify CASEINSENS all the time. Also, my users don't like the word CASEINSENS, they'd rather use NOCASE. What can I do?

A) You can make the default search mode case insensitive by setting the R/LIST case insensitive flag to "Yes" in the Query Processes window (access the window through the Management-Environment-Query menu).

You can change the name of the keyword (as you would any other keyword) by copying the DICT.VOC name to a new name. For example:

   COPY DICT.VOC CASEINSENS TO:NOCASE

Q) The printer drivers, as documented, allow users to select up three printers per user. Our network has 10 printers, and each user wants to be able to print to each printer. How can we do this?

A) The three printer limit is set by a row limit in the window. Just paint the template PRINTER_SELECT (stored in the COMMANDS file) and delete the row limit or change it to a higher number for the "Printer Type" prompt.

Q) I used to modify the KEYSTROKES record in the SYS.HELP file, per Technical Bulletin #59. The record doesn't exist anymore. What happened?

A) This record was moved to the new file SYS.TEXT_PARMS. Most system text was placed in this file, as part of the internationalization process.

Q) What is the new DOS file REVBTMSG?

A) This is a new file that stores the text displayed under the log on logo for example, "Processing, please wait"). This was also moved as part of the internationalization process.

Q) I'm using the replace refresh option, but the system refreshes my screen anyway. Is this a bug?

A) No. If you use the replace refresh option, you are responsible for setting the WINDOW_COMMON variable WC_VALID%. Set it to TRUE (1) to indicate that the window should be cleared, FALSE (0) to indicate that the window should not change.

Q) I've always disliked some of the system popups, but I've never been able to change them. Did all the system popups get soft coded too?

A) Yes, all system popups have been soft coded. To change a popup use the MAKEPOPUP window, specifying SYS.POPUPS as the file and then the name of the popup you want to change. For example, to change the popup displayed when you press [Ctrl-F6] (Related Windows) you change the RELATIONS popup.

Note: You can remove columns from a popup, and you can rearrange the columns in a popup, but you cannot add new columns to a popup.

Q) I am running on a monochrome VGA monitor and when I log on to Advanced Revelation, nothing displays (the screen is black).

A) This problem can be resolved by typing MODE C080 or MODE BW80 at the DOS prompt, prior to logging into Advanced Revelation.

Q) During the 2.1 upgrade I got a "string space format" error. What should I do?

A) There have been sporadic reports of String Space Format errors when performing the 2.1 upgrade. If you perform the upgrade a second time, the problem should disappear.

Q) I am in a non-Sysprog account, and I am trying to run the LH_VERIFY utility but I keep getting error W156 (LH_VERIFY is an unrecognized word). What is wrong?

A) The LH_VERIFY record is missing from the VOC file. It did not get copied in as part of the normal process of creating an account. The same or a similar error may appear when you use the TCL command PRINTPROC (when using the new print options) or when you execute R/LIST commands in a non-SYSPROG account. The R/LIST errors say something about the records RLIST_TEXT_3 through RLIST_TEXT_8 missing from the DICT.VOC.

There are two ways to correct this problem. Solution number one copies the record/s into the VOC or DICT.VOC file. Number two will prevent this from happening the next time you create an account.

1. Perform a SETFILE to the VOC or DICT.VOC (whichever file is indicated in the error message), and RECORDCOPY the record from the SYSPROG account into the VOC or DICT.VOC in the non-SYSPROG account.
2. From the SYSPROG account, edit the record NEW.ACCOUNT.VOC.LIST in the SYSTEM file. This is a list of all the VOC items to be copied to a new account. Add LH_VERIFY and PRINTPROC to this list. Then, edit the NEW.ACCOUNT.DICT.VOC.LIST in the SYSTEM file. This is a list of all the DICT.VOC items that should be copied to a new account. Add RLIST_TEXT_3, RLIST_TEXT_4, RLIST_TEXT_5, RLIST_TEXT_6, RLIST_TEXT_7, and RLIST_TEXT_8 to the list here. The next time an account is created, the appropriate records will be copied into the VOC and the DICT.VOC files in the new account.