Page has been tested for compliance with INDUSTRY (not MS-only) standards, using the free, publicly accessible validator at validator.w3.org. Mostly passes.You may find that the database which is part of Libre Office/ OpenOffice delights you as much as it has me. This page tries to help you use it.
Remember that Open Office, including ooBase, is free! But don't let that fool you. And it's not new. Big organizations, government and civilian, are adopting it as their standard office suite... and saving million$, but still Getting The Job Done.
There's more about ooBase in the main index to this material.
This page is "browser friendly". Make your browser window as wide as you want it. The text will flow nicely for you. It is easier to read in a narrow window. With most browsers, pressing plus, minus or zero while the control key (ctrl) is held down will change the texts size. (Enlarge, reduce, restore to default, respectively.) (This is more fully explained, and there's another tip, at my Power Browsing page.)
Page contents © TK Boyd, Sheepdog Software ®, 2/06-2/19
I'll go into more detail in a moment. For now a concise answer.
Anywhere you can put a string, you can put....
CONCAT('Fish','cakes')
First thing to know: There can only be two terms. That's okay, though, 'cause you can "cheat"....
CONCAT('One',CONCAT('Two','Three'))
Of course, you probably want to work with the contents of fields from your records. If your database has fields called FirstName and Lastname, then you can do....
CONCAT("FirstName","LastName")
(That, of course would give rise to things like FredBloggs... no space between the names, so you would actually, in practice, use the messier....
CONCAT("FirstName",CONCAT(' ',"LastName"))
Second thing to notice: When you refer to a field, put the name in quotation marks, "s. When you are specifying a literal, put it in apostrophes: 's.
Beginning with ooBase 2.4 there's a new way to concatenate: A double |. (That's two keystrokes, as in XX. The "|" key, on my US keyboard, is a shifted "\", just above the Enter key. I couldn't find it when my keyboard was set (Windows international settings) as a UK keyboard.>
So our earlier, refined FirstName-space-LastName becomes, from ooBase 2.4 onwards....
"FirstName"||' '||"LastName"
(No "CONCAT", no parentheses "()".)
Let's say you have a database with the following fields. For this simple case, they're all text fields. The first is the table's primary key.
.... and you want a list like....
Easy!
(Create the table, give it the data shown.)
Select the Queries part of the ooBase main project management page
Click on "Create Query In Design Mode"
If it isn't there straight away, select your table to be in the panel at the top of the query designer.
To get things started, select FirstName from the drop down list for "Field" in the first column of the design grid in the bottom of the query designer, and "EmployeeID" for the field for the second column.
Save and run the query.
Fiddle with it all until you get a sensible result! (Use the "Run query" button on the toolbar.)
Alter the field spec for the first column to....
CONCAT("LastName",CONCAT(', ',"FirstName"))
Save query, run query. Success! (I hope!)
(To make the column headings nicer, fill something suitable in on the Alias line in the bottom pane of the design window. Call the first column "Name", and things will "work" when you try what comes next.)
Want to do more? Create a report... you can use the Report Wizard... which reports on the query you just made, and sorts the output by Name.
If you are using ooBase 2.4, the following is ALL you need in the field box of the first column:
"FirstName"||' '||"LastName"
Is your life like mine? That page... which boils down to not much more than....
CONCAT("FirstName","LastName")
CONCAT("FirstName",CONCAT(' ',"LastName"))
... and...
"FirstName"||' '||"LastName"
... took TWO DAYS to get out the door. Sigh. You know the feeling!! (Please give a piece of my shareware, or even freeware, a try???)
This material is "browser-friendly"... in particular, you can (and I recommend that you do!) make your browser window narrow, so that you don't have to try to read long lines.
I dislike 'fancy' websites with more concern for a flashy appearance than for good content. For a pretty picture, I can go to an art gallery. Of course, an attractive site WITH content deserves praise... as long as that pretty face doesn't cost download time. In any case....
I am trying to present this material in a format which makes it easy for you to USE it. See the main index to this material for more information about the way it is posted.
PLEASE >>> Click here to visit editor's Sheepdog Software (tm) freeware, shareware pages <<< PLEASE
If you liked this ooBase tutorial, see the main index for information other help from the same author.
Editor's email address. Suggestions welcomed! - - - Want a site hosted, or email? I like 1&1's services.
Page has been tested for compliance with INDUSTRY (not MS-only) standards, using the free, publicly accessible validator at validator.w3.org. Mostly passes.
AND passes...
. . . . . P a g e . . . E n d s . . . . .