Newbie Formula Question

One of the fields of my report uses the formula below:
Trim({Names.LAST_NAME}) &", " & Trim({Names.FIRST_NAME})
If the First_Name field is blank then the whole name appears blank on the report. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks for any help.

Moved to Report Design forum.
NULL's are valid results and CR stops processing the formula if one if returned.
Search for ISNULL and you'll find answers.
Short answer is:
if NOT ISNULL {Names.LAST_NAME} then (Trim({Names.LAST_NAME}) &", " & Trim({Names.FIRST_NAME})) "" else
Don

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Newbie formula question for displaying text

Post Author: maxair21
CA Forum: Formula
Thanks for you help in advance. I'm using Crystal XI and I'm trying to write a formula that will display text if a certain parameter is met. I believe I need to user the IF Then Else to accomplish this. For Example: If X = 0 Then display "Active" Else display "Inactive" I hope that made sense. Thanks,Eric

Post Author: maxair21
CA Forum: Formula
Thanks so much for you help. I thought I was doing it right but I kept receiving an error so then I started to second guess myself. It turned out that I was using quotes("") when I shouldn't have been using quotes. Thanks again.

General place for newbie datamodeler questions?

With the production release of SQL Developer Data Modeler I'd assume that this forum will draw a bunch of new users. Is there a better place to ask some pretty simple, newbie like questions that won't bother the more seasoned members?
For instance, I am working in a Rails environment, which has some stringent naming conventions, one of which is that all of the primary key columns are numeric and called "id", with the foreign key linked columns called <table_name>_id. When engineering a logical model to a relational model, the added foreign key columns are all "id#". Is there a way I can define a naming rule to keep me from having to redo the relation column names?
Also, we have a standard set of columns (mostly Rails related) which appear in every table. Can I define a generation rule which automatically includes these tables?
Thanks

Thank you. I will try changing that setting.
IS there a setting which tells the relational model to automatically create pk and fk indexes? I haven't seen one, and manually setting them up is a tedious task. --sw

Newbie script question... consecutive numbers with update.

complete newbie type question... this is also my first post. ( I am using CS3)
does anyone have a script which can make it so I can add numbers into the text consecutively.
for example, if this is my text "the big fat dog sat on the very wide mat, but was then displaced by a unfriendly cat."
and I wanted to place a number 1, number 2, 3, etc at points in the text so it read, "the big fat dog1 sat on the very wide mat2, but was then displaced by a unfriendly cat3." but later wanted to add another number and have later numbers update themselves, so the text then said, "the big fat dog1 sat on the very wide mat2, but was then displaced3 by a unfriendly cat.4".
by inserting the three, the previous three became four.
Has anyone got something which might be useful in this regard.
Many thanks
Steve

i wanted to avoid footnotes as they leave a bar at the bottom of each page.
i wanted a script to do something similar to footnotes but not much further.
does anyone have just a simple script that can do what I asked?
Steve

Newbie XSan question - authenticating a computer from XSan Admin

Hello - I have a very newbie XSan question!
I have 2 computers that connect to an XSan. 1 I am having no problems with. The other I am unable to connect with.
When I look in XSan Admin the 2nd computer (the one that is not working) is not authenticated.
So I click on it and choose Authenticate. I enter what I know is an Admin username and password for the computer I am attempting to connect. The dot next to the computers IP turns green with 3 dots in it and then it turns gray again. It just does not connect.
What is the problem?
Is it licensing?
Thanks
Taj

You need a different license ID for each machine, plus the admin machine. Do you have that?

This Newbie Has Questions

Hi there. I am a newbie to Apple. I purchased the iBook last month and of course, when the MacBook (which had the features I wanted) came out, I rushed out and got one and I'm very pleased with my purchase - but I have a few "newbie" questions:
1) Printing on a PC based Linksys seems to be a nightmare. I can't get anything printed on the shared HP 2600N and HP1012 printers. I literally have to disconnect them from the PC and plug the USB directly to my MacBook to print. It seems like there should be a better, easier and MacFriendly way of doing this - anyone have an easy solution?
2) I'm going to purchase Windows XP so I can run my windows programs on this computer. Does anyone have any pre-installation advice?
3) I have a blackberry device that worked fine with my iBook, but does not work with my MacBook - any suggestions or is there a software compatibility patch?
4) I transferred everything from my old Mac to my new Mac with no problem. How can I migrate my contacts from Entourage to the Address Book?
5) I notice that sometimes the MacBook "stalls" or doesn't work fast in some functions...is it just me - I expect the machine to jump quickly...but sometimes I get that annoying pinwheel when opening programs.
Thanks for your help!

1) Printing on a PC based Linksys seems to be a
nightmare. I can't get anything printed on the
shared HP 2600N and HP1012 printers. I literally
have to disconnect them from the PC and plug the USB
directly to my MacBook to print. It seems like
there should be a better, easier and MacFriendly way
of doing this - anyone have an easy solution?
The problem is probably a driver issue.
Printing to a printer on a XP PC from a Mac running 10.4.x
http://www.ifelix.co.uk/tech/3015.html
You may need to use a third-party driver such as the HPIJS drivers or the Gimp-Print drivers, but this is not the case with all printers.
2) I'm going to purchase Windows XP so I can run my
windows programs on this computer. Does anyone have
any pre-installation advice?
Ensure you get a full version (not an upgrade version) and it comes with XP SP2 already.
Do not install Boot Camp on a critical machine and make regular backups of your data, this is beta software and there are bugs and issues.
5) I notice that sometimes the MacBook "stalls" or
doesn't work fast in some functions...is it just me -
I expect the machine to jump quickly...but sometimes
I get that annoying pinwheel when opening programs.
Are these Universal or PPC only applications?
iFelix

Formula Question: What is the formula to find how many duplicates I have in my table of data. e.g Sally, Sally, Sally, Tom, Tom, Ben. Answer by formula Sally 3, Tom 2, Ben 1

Example of Data:
A1
2222222345
2222222345
2222222345
2222222345
2222222346
2222222346
2222222347
2222222347
2222222347
2222222347
2222222347
2222222347
Examplae of answer I would like the formula to provide:
I also can not manually type coullum A I need the formula to auto full that aswel. As there is to much data.
A2
B2
2222222345
4
2222222346
1
2222222347
6

Hi Jessica,
Here's my take on it, using the sample data in your original post, and using the same solution with the names in your question.
In the Data table, column A contains the list of numbers in your original post. I've rearranged them in random order to demonstrate that the order of entry does not matter for this method.
Data::Column B contains the names in your question, each assigned to one of the numbers in the body of your post.
Column C contains an index showing the first occurrence of each distinct number in Column A. This index is used to fill both columns in the Summary by Number table.
Column D contains an index showing the first occurrence of each distinct name in Column Bt. This index is used to fill both columns in the Summary by Number table.
Both formulas are the same, except for the columns referenced (highlighted in the second formula below).
Formula: Data::C2: =IF(COUNTIF($A$2:A2,A2)=1,MAX(C$1:C1)+1,"")
Formula: Data::D2: =IF(COUNTIF($B$2:B2,B2)=1,MAX(D$1:D1)+1,"")
Both formulas require that row 1 be a Header Row, and that the contents of C1 (and D1) be Text, nothing, or a zero. Both formulas are filled to the end of their respective columns.
Summary by Number contains two formulas.
A2: =IF((ROW()-1)>MAX(Data :: $C),"",LOOKUP(ROW()-1,Data :: $C,Data :: $A))
B2: =IF(LEN(A2)>0,COUNTIF(Data :: A,A2),"")
Both are filled down to the end of their respective columns.
The first formula checks if its row number minus 1 is greater than the maximum value in the index column. If that is TRUE, there are no more values to look up, and the formula returns an empty string (which appears 'blank'). If it is FALSE, the LOOKUP the value in Data::column A corresponding to the value of ROW()-1 in Data::column C.
The second formula checks the LENgth of the entry in the column to its left. If the length is greater that 0 characters, there is a countable value in the cell, and the formula passes control to COUNTIF, which counts the number of times that value is found in Data::column A. If the length of the value in the cell to the left is zero, then the cell contains an empty string, and the formula passes control to the part after the last comma, which enters an empty string in the cell containing the formula.
The formulas in Summary by Name are identical to these except for the (bolded) references. These are incremented to the right; C -> D, and A -> B to match the Data:: columns containing the names and the names index.
Regards,
Barry

Newbie wireless question (slightly off-topic)

I didn't want to post this here as it's not entirely an Airport-specific question. I posted this to the iBook forums, but nobody there has answered so my apologies if this is not welcome here. (Any moderators can remove it if that's the case.)
I've been using computers extensively for over a decade, but I'm a total newbie to wifi. I just set up a wireless network in my house and would appreciate some advice/feedback.
My main concerns are whether or not my network is reasonably secure. I know there is no such thing as perfect security, but I don't know if what I've done is good enough or not.
I don't have an Airport base station, but I do have a D-Link Airplus G and an Airport card in my iBook. I have WEP set up on the router and I have enabled MAC filtering, listing only my desktop and my iBook, excluding all others from the network.
I'm fairly certain that nobody in my neighborhood is going to get into my machines this way or be able to sniff my network data stream, but am I right in assuming that nobody can "piggyback" on my Internet connection too? Presumably, if everyone but my own machines are MAC-filtered and kept out, then the Internet connection is also protected. Is that how it works?

WEP and MAC filtering are better than nothing, but you can do better. These are my suggestions:
1. Use WPA with a pre-shared key (PSK) and TKIP encryption on your Netgear router, along with an alphanumeric passphrase of at least eight characters not found in any dictionary. The equivalent setting on your Mac is "WPA Personal". Unlike WEP security (which an expert can crack in under half an hour), WPA security is currently unhackable by any practical means as long as you use a non-dictionary passphrase. One last point - WPA security requires all your wireless Macs to be running MacOS 10.3 or newer.
2. MAC filtering is (these days) essentially useless as a wireless security method. Using "packet sniffing" of traffic on your wireless network to find out what MAC addresses are used by computers on your network, and a PC that allows its MAC address to be cloned so that it is identical to the MAC address of one your own wireless computers (which is possible with most PC wireless network adapters) even an amateur hacker can defeat MAC address filtering in minutes.
By the way - I don't think your posted message here is off topic. In my opinion, the Airport discussion forums are the best place to post any questions related to usage of wireless networks. Questions of this nature are virtually never specific to any Mac model.

Variable and Formulas Question

Hi folks,
I use BOXI r2 sp 4 and I have a general question re: variables and formulas in Webi reports.
Billing Year Month and Cost of Service are standard time dimensions and measures that I use in my Webi reports and they were created at the semantic level.
Normally, I create cross tab reports with the Billing Year Month along the horizontal axis and the Cost of Service in the Body (Business Unit or Department would be placed along the vertical axis).
For some reason, when I use formulas/variables to modify the standard time dimensions (like changing Billing Year Month to Year), the values for the Cost of Service are returned incorrectly.
Example.
Semantic object: Billing Year Month = (yyyy-MM) returns correct values
Report variable: Substr([Billing Year Month;1;4) returns incorrect values
Can anyone please explain this problem?
Thanks,
Wannetta

Hi John,
The attribute of the Billing Year Month at the semantic level is a character type.
After reading your response, I realize that I may not have been clear regarding the problem.
The following formula does return the correct value in and of itself.
>=Substr([Billing Year Month];1;4
If I create a variable and then drag it onto my crosstab, it returns the correct value ONLY within the header.
When I drag the cost of service measure onto the crosstab; the header values remain the same but values in the body either disappear or the change to reflect incorrect values.
I thought one of the prime features of Webi was the ability of the Report Developer to create variables/formulas and use them in the headers to manipulate the semantic "measures" in the body (read: output) at the report level.
Is this a matter of semantic design or does Webi not possess this capability?
Or, is the issue entirely different?
Thanks!
W.

Newbie saving question in Illustrator

I know this is a newbie question. I designed a logo in Illustrator. Is there a way to save just the logo for exporting into other applications (ie Pagemaker or Photoshop) without having the white artboard?
Thanks
Brad

I don't know Pagemaker but with Photoshop I simply select all, copy and then paste in Photoshop - transparency will be maintained. If you paste as a Smart Object you retain the ability to edit the Illustrator artwork in Illustrator and update the PS file.

ASO OTL Formula Question

I am attempting to create a scenario that presents lagged data (ie in march show the data for February). Sample of formula.
CASE
WHEN IS ([Jan],[Time].CurrentMember)
THEN ( ([Dec],[2008 Actual]))
WHEN IS ([Feb],[Time].CurrentMember)
THEN ( ([Jan],[2009 Actual]))
WHEN IS ([Mar],[Time].CurrentMember)
THEN ( ([Feb],[2009 Actual]))
WHEN IS ([Apr],[Time].CurrentMember)
THEN ( ([Mar],[2009 Actual]))
WHEN IS ([May],[Time].CurrentMember)
THEN ( ([Apr],[2009 Actual]))
WHEN IS ([Jun],[Time].CurrentMember)
THEN ( ([May],[2009 Actual]))
WHEN IS ([Jul],[Time].CurrentMember)
THEN ( ([Jun],[2009 Actual]))
WHEN IS ([Aug],[Time].CurrentMember)
THEN ( ([Jul],[2009 Actual]))
WHEN IS ([Sep],[Time].CurrentMember)
THEN ( ([Aug],[2009 Actual]))
WHEN IS ([Oct],[Time].CurrentMember)
THEN ( ([Sep],[2009 Actual]))
WHEN IS ([Nov],[Time].CurrentMember)
THEN ( ([Oct],[2009 Actual]))
WHEN IS ([Dec],[Time].CurrentMember)
THEN ( ([Nov],[2009 Actual]))
END

Question 1: Is there a problem with what you have? Does it work? Is it slow? are you looking to do it better?
Question 2: Do you have Year and Scenario in the Same dimension? If you do, you should change that and break them out, that is not a good design methodology
If they were separate you could do something simple like
CASE
WHEN IS ([Time].CurrentMember, [Jan])
THEN ([Actual], [Dec], [Year].CurrentMember.lag(1))
ELSE ([Actual], [Time].CurrentMember.lag(1)
END

DTP - Formula - Question

Hello,
I want to create a new formula in DTP (DSO to Cube).
The new formula should fill new key figure. In long description the formula should look like:
= summation ((If(.....
The question is about "summation". The only area where I can change is in key figure directly.
Question:
Is it not possible in formula? Is it even necessary in formula?
Thanks for input.

.

Dumb newbie hardware question! :)

Hi folks,
I'm new to the world of the blackberry and am just about to take the plunge with an unlocked sim-free BB Bold to use in the UK on Vodafone. I have read about the software differences between BIS and BES and would be going for a BIS set-up. My dumb newbie question is does the hardware come in BES and BIS versions or not?
Many thanks in advance and feel free to mock my foolishness
Solved!
Go to Solution.

hello, about BIS and BES it's explained on the website but it's clear that if someone sums it up for you it will be easier...
so BES is a type of contract between a company and Blackberry. The company IT buy computers, put Blackberry servers, and buy a fleet of Blackberry Devices for the people in the company to use them and get email through the Blackberry servers.
BIS is a type of contract between a common person and a carrier. The consumer goes to the carrier, and buys a Blackberry device, and a BIS plan that will enable him/her to :
phone/sms/mms
receive emails that have been configured on the BIS site
do data things if you subscribe to (like browse the web)
You can buy a Blackberry from a carrier that has a deal with RIM (the company that sells Blackberries). Or you can buy a blackberry alone, and then go and contact a carrier that has a deal with RIM.
phone/sms/mms
receive emails that have been configured on the BIS site
do data things if you subscribe to (like browse the web)
The search box on top-right of this page is your true friend, and the public Knowledge Base too:

NEWBIE SOA Question:Appl Development for SOA

This question may have been answered elsewhere; if so, my apologies.
As a newbie to SOA, I am trying to wrap my head around the question of how app. development for SOA differs from traditional models. For example, non-SOA environments there are few external considerations when coding a process,
but in SOA environments, I understand everything is a service.
Can someone provide a few code snippets as to how they would look in each environment?
I have read through several documents on SOA and have done the SOA tutorial, etc. but I have yet to see a side-by-side comparison of application code in SOA and non-SOA environments.
How would an architect plan the translation and mapping of business objectives and functional requirements into a technical solution for SOA, architecting the SOA solution ?
I would really appreciate any pointers (links to articles, etc.) in this direction. Thank you.
Gordon

Hello Gordon,
SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) - as the name indicates, it's design is based on services. SOA is another integration technique which is used for small scale integration. SOA is an approach to have software resources in an enterprise available and discoverable on network as well defined services. Each service would achieve a predefined business objective and perform discrete units of work. The services are independent and do not depend on the context or state of the other services. They work within distributed systems architecture.
Few links which may help you in understanding SOA and it's design patterns -
http://blogs.oracle.com/jeffdavies/2008/10/architects_dictionary.html
http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/soa/mastering-soa-series/part1.html
http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/soa/mastering-soa-series/part2.html
http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/soa/mastering-soa-series/part3.html
http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/soa/mastering-soa-series/part4.html
http://www.oracle.com/technologies/soa/docs/soa-bp-design-patterns-whitepaper.pdf
http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/erl_soa_design_patterns_app_sequences.html
http://www.oracle.com/technology/oramag/oracle/09-sep/o59architect.html
http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/tech_arch.html#soa
Regards,
Anuj

Newb HD questions...?

I'm a newb to HD and we've just got funding for a HD camera. The boss bought a Panasonic AG-HMC150P.
The question is about recording mode, in "p" or "i". Currently it is set for 1080/60i, its top setting. But it has a 1080/30p too.
Our products will be made to view on a TV screen ntsc, and a computer screen.
Is the "i" setting the best for us? ie: is there any advantage in us using the 30p setting?
Also, I have FCP6 and a colleague has FCP5 on a less powerful machine.
Whats the best way to hand him newly captured HD footage? Is it to render it out using H264 on my machine before passing it over?
We are hoping funding for software upgrade/machine will come soon for him.

Well, the short answer is "i" (interlaced) is only for display on older CRT "tube" televisions. "p" (progressive) is for display on computers and flat screen televisions. Typically you should try to stay progressive these days. 60i can be useful if you are going to slow-mo any shoots.
Do NOT convert your files to H.264 to send to another edit. H.264 is not a good codec for editing, use it for distribution of edited material only.
For sharing with FCP5 on a slower computer, consider using DVCProHD.

Newbie Formula Question

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