> >Hi,
> >
> >I am hoping that someone in the group has come across the
> same problem
> >I am facing, and may share her/his solution with me.
> >
> >
> >I have an application which allows application users to
> insert, update,
> >delete records from a DB. Since there are multiple tables in
> the DB, I
> >decided to have a MDI application, where a parent form
> launches a child
> >form, thus grouping tables into related areas.
> >
> >The Child form makes use of TabControls so that a form may contain
> >numerous tabs, which share a IB_Query, IB_DataSource, IB_Grid,
> >IB_NavigationBar, IB_UpdateBar, IB_LoohupCombo, IB_LookupList. So as
> >you can imagine the code is as OO as possible.
> >
> >My problem is as follows.
> >
> >I now have the need to use bitmasking techniques for a
> particular field
> >in some tables of the DB. The bitmasks may represent things
> such as the
> >required level of detail to be logged (0 none, 1,
> exceptions, 2 general
> >errors, 4 Logical flow, etc) so if the user wishes to view logs for
> >exceptions and logical flow she/he can set the bitmask to 5, and the
> >application which uses the data will read the bitmask data
> and display
> >logs accordingly.
> >
> >For the application user to set this bit mask, as well as the other
> >required data on the same table, I would like some friendly
> way to do
> >this, ie say checkboxes for each possibility (thus, if the
> bitmask is 4
> >bits wide there can potentially be 7 checkboxes). I would
> like this 7
> >checkboxes to be linked to the selected record, so that
> IBObjects would
> >do the hard work in the background, as it is the case with
> IB_LookupCombo, IB_LookupList.
> >
> >We currently have a utility class that automatically creates
> checkboxes
> >on a TScrollBox and sets the state of each checkbox based on
> the mask
> >value it is provided. The utility class also provides the new mask
> >value should the user change one or more of the states. Is there
> >anyway we can utilise this class so when the record is
> updated it will
> >grab the mask value from our object (like IB_LookupCombo,
> >IB_LookupList). If not, is there someway to link checkboxes
> to a grid
> >so that it behaves in the same way as the IB_LookupCombo,
> IB_LookupList
> >( master detail scenario)? Or another solution?
>
> Geoff might have something in Enhanced Components that will do this...
>
> Otherwise, I'd just store (and maintain) a stringlist that is
> read and updated by your scrollbox control. Load it from the
> same dataset that is populating the data-aware controls.
> Match the indexes of the stringlist to those of your droplist
> and keep them in synch via method. Hold a parameterised
> ib_dsql to fire off update or insert statements as required,
> and refresh the lookup set afterwards. Put all of this into a
> procedure that runs at FormCreate and whenever you need to
> call it during the user session.
>
> From your description, I can't clearly see what would be
> embedded in a grid, since your array of bits isn't
> data-aware...if the users are setting the bits via checkboxes
> and the application is parsing them both ways, why would the
> users need to see the stored structure?
>
> Helen
>
>

Helen, thank you once more for coming to the rescue :-)

I am about to write a simple application so I can check if Geoff's Enhance
Components will do the trick.


danieL.

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