Visual dBASE 7.5 - New Features

Summary

 As more details of the 7.5 upgrade become available they will be added to this page. So keep watching! Also, do not omit to look at dOutbox on the dBASE2000 web site.

New Logo

First things first, it has a splendid new logo for the "Splash" screen and the About box. So goodbye to the Borland Gold.

Bug Removal

 A high priority for v7.5 was to remove many of the bugs still in v7.01. You will find a long list of squashed bugs on the dBASE2000 web site. Some though will remain until v8.0 as they need more fundamental changes to the source code. Sadly, this includes the Report Designer, a little improved but still a relatively weak feature.

New Controls

 There ia a new Textlabel Control that will allow text to be placed on forms with minimal loss of GDI. The existing Text control remains for use where its HTM options are still needed. A DataModule object in a Form or Report when dragging a DataModule (DMD) file from the Navigator to the Form Designer or Report Designer.

Web Features

 New Web Wizards and Web Classes designed to build inter-active web sites running in Visual dBASE. These can be used with the included Apache software.

Extras

 Some third party software is on the v7.5 CD. This includes the Apache Web Server software, an Advantage Database Server ODBC (for easier use of tables with CDX indexes) and the latest version (5.1) of the Borland BDE.

Knowledge Base

 All the many "How" files, tutorial, example programs, FAQs and the dUFLP library are included. These are currently available for downloading from various sites but clearly it will be more convenient to have them altogether on the one CD.

Language Reference

 Re-issued, with only minor additions, as sheets in a supplied loose-leaf ring binder. This will allow fresh or revised pages to be included in each subsequent upgrade. Back to the good old days of the 1980s!

Getting Started Book

 Written by Ted Blue and already on sale separately in the US. Ted runs dBASE training courses and the book sets out to offer a practical step-by-step approach to application development using Visual dBASE. Although aimed mainly at beginners few if any experienced programers will fail to learn from it. As early readers have already discovered. Such a book has been badly needed and this one looks just right.

Review

 There is a full review of v7.0 on the Articles page and a footnote to cover v7.5 has now been added.