daveinmb
03-16-2004, 09:05 PM
Hi, I have been reading these forums for the past two years trying to learn as much as I can and have recently upgraded from 4.0 to 5.0 Pro. Now I am finding that I have to relearn everything all over and unfortunaly there are not many posts for me to learn from so I hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions that may seem very basic to most of you.
1) I really liked the Password function in 4.0 and the way it managed the passwords thru the Project Global Lists.
In 5.0 it appears that the passwords must be entered into the actual script or as in the help tip:
Tip: Alternatively, you can store your password list in a text file, and when your application is run, populate a table with the contents of that text file. For an example of reading a text file to a table, see How do I read specific lines from a text file.
My questions here are: How secure is it to store passwords in a txt file? I understand that the whole package can be as an exe that extracts. Is there a way to set the exe to unpack in a hidden folder somewhere else perhaps? Is there another option similar to that in 4.0? And does anyone have any sample code. (I learn best from playing with samples.)
Also... *** This one is driving me crazy because I know it is simple, but how do I place an input field on the page leading to the protected page and eliminate the popup password box. Again, if anyone has any sample code I would appreciate a peek at it.
2) I find the creating a 30 day trial concept very interesting but I was wondering how you could turn it into a full version with no expiry date. Again any samples would be greatly appreciated.
3) I am very interested in the database plugin. Unfortunately money is a little tight so I was wondering... Do these plugins ever go on sale? Is it fairly simple to use for a beginner? I currently use MS Access which is simple to use but very limited compared to APMS.
Is there any sample code available to see. I downloaded the demo, (actually I think I have tried every demo, so thanks to everyone that has provided them, it makes life much easier for many of us!) but it is an exe so I can not view the code to see what I am getting myself into.
I would like to do a project that will allow me to build a list of customers email addresses from a database query and broadcast an email to all of them without using a CC function that would display everyone's email address on the list. I tried doing this with Blat a few years ago and gave up with no luck.
Perhaps someone can write an email plug-in that would fully exploit the potential of email. I am sure it would become one of the most popular plugins since email is so popular and important these days.
4) I am trying to add volume controls to the video sample from the help menu. (Best help I have ever seen written by the way, with great examples!) I have done everything exactly as it says, but I can't get it to work. Any suggestions?
5) One last tip to beginners and those switching from 4 to 5. Don't forget to use double slashes in your paths! I spent hours trying to figure out why a link to MS volume control kept defaulting to the project file and would copy the .exe to the folder. It worked fine but obviously not what anyone wants.
And anyone thinking of upgrading... do it as soon as possible. It was a little intimidating at first but once you get into it you will be right at home. APMS 5 is loaded with goodies and even more possibilities than 4.0 if you can imagine that. I personally have found it not quite as stable as 4.0 was (It has crashed on me a few times and 4.0 has NEVER crashed on me once! This may not necessarily be the software as it could be something unique to my system that does not like this version (using XP-Pro with 1 gig memory). If it is a bug, I am sure that APMS writers will have it perfected in no time anyways. Just be sure to back up frequently or change the autoback up to about 5 minutes.
The sooner you upgrade the happier you will be. I know I am!
If I don't respond to this post right away please do not think I am not reading the responses. I am a full time Mr. Mom with my own business so I don't have a lot of time but I do read everything posted on this forum. (Usually a few times. lol!)
Thanks for any help!
Dave
1) I really liked the Password function in 4.0 and the way it managed the passwords thru the Project Global Lists.
In 5.0 it appears that the passwords must be entered into the actual script or as in the help tip:
Tip: Alternatively, you can store your password list in a text file, and when your application is run, populate a table with the contents of that text file. For an example of reading a text file to a table, see How do I read specific lines from a text file.
My questions here are: How secure is it to store passwords in a txt file? I understand that the whole package can be as an exe that extracts. Is there a way to set the exe to unpack in a hidden folder somewhere else perhaps? Is there another option similar to that in 4.0? And does anyone have any sample code. (I learn best from playing with samples.)
Also... *** This one is driving me crazy because I know it is simple, but how do I place an input field on the page leading to the protected page and eliminate the popup password box. Again, if anyone has any sample code I would appreciate a peek at it.
2) I find the creating a 30 day trial concept very interesting but I was wondering how you could turn it into a full version with no expiry date. Again any samples would be greatly appreciated.
3) I am very interested in the database plugin. Unfortunately money is a little tight so I was wondering... Do these plugins ever go on sale? Is it fairly simple to use for a beginner? I currently use MS Access which is simple to use but very limited compared to APMS.
Is there any sample code available to see. I downloaded the demo, (actually I think I have tried every demo, so thanks to everyone that has provided them, it makes life much easier for many of us!) but it is an exe so I can not view the code to see what I am getting myself into.
I would like to do a project that will allow me to build a list of customers email addresses from a database query and broadcast an email to all of them without using a CC function that would display everyone's email address on the list. I tried doing this with Blat a few years ago and gave up with no luck.
Perhaps someone can write an email plug-in that would fully exploit the potential of email. I am sure it would become one of the most popular plugins since email is so popular and important these days.
4) I am trying to add volume controls to the video sample from the help menu. (Best help I have ever seen written by the way, with great examples!) I have done everything exactly as it says, but I can't get it to work. Any suggestions?
5) One last tip to beginners and those switching from 4 to 5. Don't forget to use double slashes in your paths! I spent hours trying to figure out why a link to MS volume control kept defaulting to the project file and would copy the .exe to the folder. It worked fine but obviously not what anyone wants.
And anyone thinking of upgrading... do it as soon as possible. It was a little intimidating at first but once you get into it you will be right at home. APMS 5 is loaded with goodies and even more possibilities than 4.0 if you can imagine that. I personally have found it not quite as stable as 4.0 was (It has crashed on me a few times and 4.0 has NEVER crashed on me once! This may not necessarily be the software as it could be something unique to my system that does not like this version (using XP-Pro with 1 gig memory). If it is a bug, I am sure that APMS writers will have it perfected in no time anyways. Just be sure to back up frequently or change the autoback up to about 5 minutes.
The sooner you upgrade the happier you will be. I know I am!
If I don't respond to this post right away please do not think I am not reading the responses. I am a full time Mr. Mom with my own business so I don't have a lot of time but I do read everything posted on this forum. (Usually a few times. lol!)
Thanks for any help!
Dave