Visio 2013: How to trigger a change in databinding of all shapes - visio

I have a nice process overview for our ordering process in Visio. I have an external data source (SQL Server), which works fine. Every record in my data source represents one ordering process. Currently all my shapes of the process are linked to the first record of the data source.
Now I want to add a dynamic behavior. What I want to achieve is this:
A user provides the order reference in a textbox (order reference is a column in the data source)
Afterwards the user clicks a button
After the button click, the process is updated and all shapes are now linked to the external data source record, that matches the provided order reference
So in short: the user should be able to select which process that needs to be visualized.
I assume that this is common functionality, but I don't see how I can deal with this requirement. I've searched already some days on this issue, but without any success.
Can you help me with this issue?
Thanks a lot!

Problem solved :-)
Some old school VBA was required. Using the DataRecordSet object did the trick. It contains a method GetDataRowIDs that you can use to query the external dataset. Once you have the record to visualize, it's just a matter of dynamically updating the shapes with the correct record. Use macro recording to see how to do this.
MSDN: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/ms195694(v=office.12).aspx

Related

how to quickly locate which sheets/dashboards contain a field?

I am creating a data dictionary and I am supposed to track the location of any used field in a workbook. For example (superstore sample data), I need to specify which sheets/dashboards have the [sub-category] field.
My dataset has hundreds of measures/dimensions/calc fields, so it's incredibly time exhaustive to click into every single sheet/dashboard just to see if a field exists in there, so is there a quicker way to do this?
One robust, but not free, approach is to use Tableau's Data Catalog which is part of the Tableau Server Data Management Add-On
Another option is to build your own cross reference - You could start with Chris Gerrard's ruby libraries described in the article http://tableaufriction.blogspot.com/2018/09/documenting-dashboards-and-their.html

How to call a sas dataset by its label or where to check its name

I have a problem in dealing with SAS Enterprise Guide that runs on the server of my client.
I do not have access to the libraries so, in order to use the datasets the only thing we can do is to store them on the local disk C: of the computer and drag them to SAS.
We can not create libraries because the server does not read local paths.
Once you drag a table, let's call it "mydata" in SAS, the table is automatically renamed "mydata9865" with random numbers at the end and "mydata" is its label.
If you right-click the table and go to properties, you can't find the name of the table, just the label.
The only way I found to check the real name of the dataset is to open the Query Builder and check the name in the code preview.
The problem is that I am dealing with tables of millions of records and the machine I am using is very slow, so whenever I want to open the Query Building, just to check the table's name, it takes sometimes even an hour.
I am not a SAS expert, so I am sure there is a smarter way to do so. Is it possible for instance to use the table by calling it with its label?
data mydata2;
set mydata;
run;
instead of
set mydata9865?
Or is there some place I can rapidly check the name of the table without going through the query builder?
I tried to google it but I can't find anything, I hope someone will be able to help me!
Thank you in advance
Hover the mouse pointer over a data node to see it's attributes. The data set name is the File name: value.
For example:
In this example I had renamed the nodes created by two different queries to be the same (doable:yes, smart:maybe not). NOTE: A data node Label: is not necessarily the same as it's underlying data set's label metadata.
Regarding
use the table by calling it with its label?
Two nodes can have the same label, and is a a situation that defeats this approach.
Use the COPY task to upload your data explicitly. It sounds like you're not adding your data to the projects properly so SAS automatically assigns a name, rather than if you explicitly import or load your data.
Problem solved! I should have simply upload the data to the server with Tasks->Data->Upload Data Sets to Server but I didn't know this task so I didn't know it was possible to do it at all!
https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Enterprise-Guide/Importing-sas-data-sets-from-C-drive-into-SAS-EG-not-possible/td-p/135184
Thank you everybody for you help!

Getting ID fields from the primary table into the linked table via Form

As an amateur coder for some years I have generally used sub forms when dealing with linked tables to make the transfer of ID field from primary to sub nice and simple...
However in my latest project the main form is a continuous form with a list of delivery runs (Date, RunName, RunCompleted) etc... Linked to this primary table is a delivery list containing (SKU of product, Qty etc...). I use a simple Relationship between the two tables.
Now, On the main (RUNS) form at the end of each row is a button that opens the DELIVERIES form and displays all records with matching RUNID
This is fine for displaying pre-existing data but when I want to add new records I have been using the following code attached to the OnCurrent event:
Me.RunID = DLookup("[RunID]", "tbl_BCCRuns", "RunID = " & Forms![frm_BCC_Runs_list]![RunID])
I have also used:
Forms![frm_BCC_Deliveries].Controls![RunID] = Forms![tbl_BCCRuns].Controls![RunID]
(Note: above done from memory and exact code may be incorrect but that's not the problem at hand)
Now... Both these options give me what I need however...
I find that as I am working on the database, or if you open certain forms in the right order (a bug I need to identify and fix clearly) you can open the DELIVERIES form without the filter (to view all deliveries for arguments sake) and the top entry (usually the oldest record) suddenly adopts the RUNID of the selected record back in the main form.
Now, my question is this, and the answer may be a simple "no" and that's fine, I'll move on...
Is there a better way, a way I am not familiar with or just don't know about due to my inconsistent Access progress, to transfer ID's to a form without risking contamination from improper use? Or do I just have to bite the bullet and make sure that there is just no possible way for that to happen?
In effort to alleviate the issue, I have created a Display Only form for viewing the deliveries but there are still times when I need to access the live historical data to modify other fields without wanting to modify the RUNID.
Any pointers greatly appreciated...
Since you only want to pull the RunID if the form is on a new record row, do a check to verify this is a new record.
If Me.NewRecord Then
Me.RunID = DLookup("[RunID]", "tbl_BCCRuns", "RunID = " & Forms![frm_BCC_Runs_list]![RunID])
End If
Could also consider a technique to synchronize parent and child forms when both are subforms on a main form (the main form does not have to be bound) https://www.fmsinc.com/MicrosoftAccess/Forms/Synchronize/LinkedSubforms.asp

Access: Forms, Subforms and Queries

According to the searching I've done over the past couple of days, what I'm trying to achieve should be fairly straightforward but nothing that I've found has solved my problems. This is my first time at using Access, or SQL at all. Apologies in advance for the length of the question.
Essentially I need to pick up a value from one table and multiply it by another in the another table, and then store the result in the second table, via forms and subforms.
The Problem:
I'm attempting to create a database of projects, part of which is a quotation tool. The database has several tables covering all the required inputs for our project managers, most of which are linked to the PKs of their parent tables.
My current attempt has a form (frmJobDetails) giving the details of the each project (linked to tblJobs). This form has two subforms:
frmJobRolesSubform details who's working on the project in what role ( and, notably, their sale rate.
frmJobProcessesSubform details the tasks, who's allocated to which task and the estimated number of hours to complete.
Both subforms link to their own tables (tblJobs_Roles and tblJobs_Processes respectively).
frmJobProcessesSubform obtains the people working on the project and their roles from frmJobRolesSubform so the manager can allocate a person to a task on frmJobProcessesSubform. This is done via a combobox: cboRole.
So far, so good.
I'm needing to obtain the sale rate of the person working on the given task so that I can calculate the cost of the task. Specifically, I'd like a field on the subform to calculate the cost of the task and then store it in tblJobs_Processes.
My Attempts
I've attempted to build a query (qryProcessCost) that calls cboRole, either as an expression in the Field cell or in the Criteria cell ([Forms]![frmJobsProcessesSubform]![cboRole]).
I'm aware this can't successfully when the form isn't active, but I'm getting Access' request for input for [Forms]![frmJobsProcessesSubform]![cboRole] when selecting from the subform. The query runs successfully when example values are hardcoded into the query. The query should, obviously, only return a single value.
I've tried setting the ControlSource of a textbox to [qryProcessCost]![dblProcessCost] (where dblProcessCost is the calculated field), but this can't then write to the table (as far as I can deduce). Also, I get a #Name? error in the cell and I can't seem to get to the bottom of that.
I've tried setting the RecordSource property of a combobox to SELECT [qryProcessCost]![dblProcessCost] FROM [qryProcessCost], and the ControlSource to the relevant field of the table. While this would be a clunky solution, it actually doesn't work anyway as it fails to pick up the value of [Forms]![frmJobsProcessesSubform]![cboRole].
I've tried using an intermediate textbox to determine what value cboRole is passing, and I'm happy with that - the primary key of the role assigned in frmJobsRolesSubform.
The Question:
I'm guessing that I'm probably going to have to resort to VBA at this point to get what I want but I'm unfamiliar with the Access VBA structures (though I've used Excel VBA a fair bit).
Anyone got any ideas, hints, suggestions or pointers?
Cheers in advance,
Aaron
In case anyone else has a similar problem, I've posted my complete solution below:
I implemented Gene's correction to my references, which provided something, but the query wouldn't update when the fields on the form were changed. As I noted in the question, I also really wanted it to be a text box rather than a combo box for usability reasons but wasn't sure how to have a Record Source and Control Source for a text box.
I ended up going round in circles, via VBA and macros and several types of error and happened upon a suggestion to use a DLookUp here. I hadn't been able to get them to work for this particular problem before, but I managed to make it work this time. Specifically, I put the DLookUp in the following macro:
SetProperty
Control Name txtBudgetCost
Property Value
Value =DLookUp("[dblCostRate]","[tblJobs_Roles]","[pkJobs_RoleID]="[cboRole])*[txtBudg‌​etHours]
This macro was used for the After Update event of the relevant fields on the subform.
Setting the value property of a field to a DLookUp meant that I could set the Control Source property of a the text box txtBudgetCost to the relevant field in the table, to obtain the desired behaviour.
Both cboRole and txtBudgetHours are fields on the same subform as the field txtBudgetCost.
The only problem with this solution is that, when the subform is viewed in the Datasheet view, a #Name? error is given for the new record row. I probably just need to enter some error handling somewhere, though I haven't given much thought for what it should be just yet.
Cheers,
Aaron

When a teacher add an assignment, all the student names appear. How to do it?

I have a task to create a database to track student results in a school. I came out with a set of relationships between the tables according to the 3 forms of normalisation(I hope I got it right. If not, please enlighten me).
One feature that I want to put in the Filemaker app is that when a teacher want to enter some assignment marks, he will just need to create a new submission record and all the student names in the class will appear.
I could not think how this feature can be done in Filemaker. I can only create a new submissions record and key in a student's score, then create another new record to do the same thing for a second student.
Can someone help? I am a teacher, not a Filemaker developer so please correct me if my database tables are done wrongly.
Update:
I will like the output to be like this
Spreadsheet is not suitable because it can't be used to search/sort easily.
I have a quick sample file here. It's an old sample and it uses a different (but similar) model. Basically the idea is that: You have a calculated field (I use a repeating field) to display the data. You also have a global repeating field that serves as an editing widget. Each time you go to a record you fill this field's reps with data from related records (using a OnRecordLoad trigger). This doesn't mean the field shows the same data for all records, because its conditional formatting rules are set to hide all data; so it only shows a piece of data when you actually enter one of its repetitions. This is the data that can be edited. And finally there's a trigger that fires each time you exit the field and posts your changes to the related table (adds, updates, or deletes).
The sample isn't quite complete because if there's fewer data columns than repetitions, you'd probably want to somehow lock the remaining repetitions; this part isn't done. Otherwise it works fairly well. In FM 12, however, it tends to freeze the app; I reported this to FMI, they acknowledged it, but I don't think it has been fixed already.