Posts by DecSoft

Hello Donald,

HTML is an standard, however, the pieces we can add into HTML like controls, Javascript, style, etc., can be absolutely different from one application to another. Yes; maybe we can try something like that, since we can figure the output of an App Builder's similar product, but for sure the results not merelly the ammount of work in order to try something like that.

But this is not something related with HTML nor app's builders. If we thinking in Delphi, for example, we can't get a Delphi project from an executable file. Any decompiler can do something like that. We can get something like resources (Bitmaps, etc.) in the same way we can get it decompiling an HTML/APK file, but we never get the Delphi project again.

Anyway may you have some idea to do something and I can help you in that task... just post here whatever you wanted sir. :)

Hello Donald,

If someone uses Cordova to build an HTML application then we can get such HTML from their APK file, at least if they are not encrypted (I am not sure if this can be does or not at this time). However, converting an HTML application (and their Javascript, CSS and other possible stuff) into an App Builder's project... I think can be very, very difficult. Probably imposible if we expect a "complete" result.

Yes; we can start thinking in an HTML parser who try to understand what kind of controls are used and then try to reproduce in some way such controls, but, this, that can be an incredible work, may can works with an HTML application produced by App Builder, in other words, how we can imagine what kind of HTML and controls other applications can uses? Because there is not an standard or something like that.

Maybe I don't understand very well your question Donald, but, if I am not wrong, probably it's not possible to acchieve something like that Donald. Again, maybe I don't understand very well your question and can't imagine what exactly you need.

Hello Donald,

David or anyone,

If i wanted to create an estimating app, not a real complicaated one so that I need to tap into some server database somewhere, but rather a fairly small system with data that would be stored from a csv file or ??

I am not completely sure if understand your question (no doubt my poor english strikes again) but if you wanted to have some data source files for your application, in order to load such data and do something with that, probably the best suitable format for the source files can be JSON. We can take a look at the various JSON* samples included in App Builder.

In fact, we we load a JSON file, their objects are available "as is" in App Buidler. For example, note this JSON file used in the JSON app sample:

Once we get that file using an HTTP Client control, for example, we can access to their data very quickly:

The ID, Name and LastName are now into the appropiate variables, directly from the JSON response. Said that, probably a way to convert CSV to JSON using Javascript exists out there. I will take a look and try to provide such ability.

The app would then use dropdown selectors to choose various data values from the list. Each selection then selecting other button info that is filtered by the last selection, Usually there would be from 3 to 5 selections to make to get to the right item you wanted. Once you go there it would then return to you the price and a few other pieces of data.

This is perfectly possible Donald and in fact it's a common practice, so, what we need is to prepare the required Select controls, feed them with the appropiate data, and uses the Select control's events to be ready when the user choose certain option. Maybe a sample of this can be found in the Datatime application included by App Builder. When we select a year from the Years Select, we uses their Change event to update the contents of a Month Select control, and, in the same way, we use this last control Change event in order to update another Day Select.

Now you would take those selected items and data and put them into a list of information that could be added up and other factors used to modifiy the numbers. All math functions.

You know App Builder have dozens of Maths' related actions and even a Math action which can be used to evaluate math expressions. So it's a question of dealing with the various Select variables and these actions.

Finally all this would be produced as a report that could me email or text to someone using the phone share features.

Probably the best option is to send the mail by yourself using certain server script. Made an HTTP call from App Builder it's quite easy and we can provide such call with the appropiate data, as you can see in the application samples who uses the HttpClient control. The server script receive the required data (email address, user name, etc.) and can compose the email or receive it composed by our application.

I know out there are some APIs to send emails directoy from Javascript, but this APIs have a price (logical on the other hand) and probably we can avoid their use at least in our case by use a more or less simple server script.

What would be the best tools to use to create such a thing here?

What would be the best sample to start with?

I think you can familiarize with the App Builder's samples before start. I mentioned some of them above and probably they are sufficient to be ready to create your own application. Maybe the most complicated part is the files we talking above. I don't know if that files already exists, if you can create it using JSON (to be more easy to process), etc. But I am here if you need some help Donald.

I feel that connecting to a mysql server would be my first choice but not sure nor do I have the knowledge set to do that.

Remember the included Database sample. They are not too complicated, but shown us how to retrive information from a MySQL database, how to shown that information to the user, and how to insert, update and delete existing information. Again, if you have ANY question, do not hesitate to post here and I will try to help you. :)

Hello Walter,

You know I am busy with App Builder, between other things, but, as always, count with me if you need some particular help.

Hello,

Hi David,

I did not do anything and it started working.
Thanks.

Ok. If you found the problem again follow the above instructions.

Hello edunt,

Such error message is produced by another server running in your machine. You have two options: shutdown the server to allow the App Builder's server to work, or change the App Builder's server port number from "9999" to "9998", for example.

Hello,

Thanks for the links edunt!

Hello Nelson,

We can shown various alerts at the same time, but, these cannot be "stacked". May you want to try with the npTray plugin, which allow us to shown "balloons" or notifications into the application's icon tray. These "balloons" or notifications are integrated by default in the new Windows 8 (and greater) notifications system. The notifications cannot be staked, but appear in both: the application's tray icon and also inside the Windows notifications system.

Hello Donald,

Yes; the "SetAttribute" action allow us to set any arbitrary attribute for a control / HTML element. But probably this action is required only in certain specific scenarios like the Storage sample application. Yes; we can set the text color of an Input control with "SetAttribute" like below:

But we have a shortcut for that by using the "SetStyle" action:

And, we can also play with CSS classes, which is probably a better decision. For example, supose we have a CSS file to be added into our application or just use the app's "Inline CSS" option to prepare this CSS class:

Then we can use the "AddClass" action to set the color of the Input control:

So as you can view we have different options and approach in order to set the text color of a control, if the control have a text and they are allowed to be changed.

The SetAttribute dialog shows 3 inputs but when clicking the second one it does not give a drop down of choices so I am assuming any attribute could be changed if it applies to the object?

Yes; any attribute is any attribute: for example, we can add our own attributes or "data" attributes in order to be checked and retrieved later using the "GetAttribute" action. Anyway may it's a good idea for the second input in such action's editor to have a list with the most used attributes. The next App Builder release must include something like that.

Hello,

No problem! Take also a look at this video Donald:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDZpVhUIxTo

Probably the video explain a little more the point. :)

Hello Donald,

Yes; basically we can access the Code tab by first select one or more controls. Once a control is selected we can click the Code tab or just press the F12 key to access the control's events code. This is about controls.

Talking about the app we can access their events code by clicking outside the app's view or any other control and then click the Code tab or just press the F12 key.

And finally, talking about the app's views we can access their events code by clicking inside the view (the white part in the designer) and then click the Code tab or just press the F12 key.

Below an image which may can help:

Hello Donald,

Thanks for that but I have lots of questions. Maybe I do not have certain tools showing.

No problem. Probably my poor english didn't allow me to describe the things like I wanted.

I cannot find either of those two pieces of code you show. I see no such thing as a show event. I see nothing called a Load Event.

First of all I commit a mistake here: there is not a "Load" event in the File Input control, but a "Read" event, as you can see below:

About the View's Show event, here is:

The above pieces of code are the only one in the Storage application sample.

The only link I can see between the label and the file input is in the property called Visual Input. What is a Visual and how does it work with the label?

The Label control is associated with the File Input control using the Label's Input property as you see. Basically, a Label can be associated with an Input control using the Label's Input property. Doing this when the Label control is clicked, the associated Input control get the focus.

But the File Input control is something special. When a File Input control are clicked they show us a dialog in order to pick a file. So, if we associated a Label with a File Input control, when the Label is clicked, the file's dialog appear. This means we can hide the Input control (like we do in the sample) in order to use only the Label control instead to pick a file.

The image src value, is that the source image in image properties? I see nothing called src.

When we deal with Image controls, normally, we use their Image property to set an image path or URL. In this scenario we do not use the "src" attribute at all. The "src" attribute exists for the HTML "img" tag and determine the path or URL of an image. But, again, normally we don't use the "src" attribute. Instead of this we simply use the "Image" property.

However, the Storage application sample shown us how to select a file and then store it into the app's local storage. But what we save in the local storage is the "Base64" codification of an image, not a file, not an URL, but the "Base64" codification of the image. So, when we want to show that "Base64" codified image into an Image control, we can't use the "Image" property.

For this reason we use the "src" attribute of the "Image" control with the "SetAttribute" action. What we set in the "src" attribute is the "Base64" codification of the image. And this is the way, because the "src" atribute is capable to store such information ("Base64") and shown the image like we wanted.

Now please, Donald, if you have any other question just post here: I want to help you in everything you wanted.

Hello Donald,

Yes; of course. May this application sample need to be explained a little. In fact they are based in a File Input control. The Label control is associated to such input, then, when the user click the label, it's the same that if the user click the File Input control. This is doing in such way in order to hide the File Input control (you can't view in the application at runtime) and use only the Label control to allow the user to look for image files.

So, when the user click the Label, in fact the File Input click behaviour starts and allow the user to choose an image file. If you take a look at the "Load" event of the File Input control, you can see how we use this event for two things: firstly shown the selected image in the Image control, using the Image's "src" attribute; and secondly store the selected image into the app's local storage:

The sample application has only another piece of code in the view "Show" event:

As you can see, what we doing here is to look into the app's local storage for a previously saved image, and, if found it, set the Image control with that saved image using the Image's "src" attribute.

And this is basically what this sample application shown us: how to use the File input control to choose a file (and how to use a Label control to receive the user click and fire the File input open file dialog) and how we can use the File input's "Load" event to store the selected file into the app's local storage.

If you have any further question jus post here Donald. :)

Hello Donald,

Thanks. Various programs I can remember uses something like that. The App Builder Welcome page is mainly based in the Delphi Welcome page. As you know App Builder is developed with Delphi and I am a Delphi user from years ago, so, I think the Welcome page is useful for App Builder so I add to it.

I am thinking to use this forum for announces, etc., so the topics can appear into the App Builder's Welcome page.

Thanks again! :)

Hello edunt,

Sorry, I say delete your application's compiled directory ("MyApp_Compiled", for example), so you can compile the application from scratch again.