My Clarion Toolbox

If I haven't already stated my opinion elsewhere on this site, I will say on this page that Softvelocity's Clarion is my program of choice for rapidly developing database applications.  Especially with their latest version 6 and 6.1, the program allows application developers to quickly produce attractive, fully featured programs that can utilize just about any database backend you can name. 

Having said that, one of the things I like most about Clarion is the wide array of third party tools that you can use to quickly and easily improve your applications.  On this page I will start by telling you which third party add-ons I currently use and why.

6/2/2005 - Although this article deals primarily with third party software to make SoftVelocity even better, one "tool" that developers using Softvelocity's Clarion should definitely consider is a subscription to Clarion Magazine - Clarionmag.com This article was mentioned in this week's Clarionmag's news. 

For Starters - Nicetouch Clariontools 

Clarion has built in end user query capabilities that let users of your application easily filter screens and reports - this may be all many developers want to provide to end users.  However, Nicetouch Query Wizard has been in my tool box for quite some time and consistently has been the source of my most positive customer emails.  I can't imagine developing an application without it.  While you are their web site, you may also want to download demonstration versions of their other wizards.  Report Wizard will let you easily provide end users the ability to create their own list style (tabular) reports with just a few clicks.  The two end user reporting tools for Clarion that I own and use are the Nicetouch Report Wizard and the Fomin Report Builder (more on that tool later).  Now I have two other wizards in my tool box, also from Nicetouch.  The Spreadsheet Wizard will let your end users quickly create reusable spreadsheet layouts and then output their data to Excel or a number of other provided formats.  Did I mention that it is really easy to use the Query Wizard with the Report and Spreadsheet Wizards?  Well, it is!

I recently added a fourth Nicetouch Wizard to my arsenal - their View Wizard allows your end users to customize the columns displayed in a browse style screen and choose up to 4 sorting columns.  I resisted buying the View Wizard for quite awhile because I found the Xplore Templates from Icetips provided a lot of the capabilities I wanted - the ability to hide columns, sort by clicking on column headers and so on.  However, it was actually when I started using the List Format Manager included in the latest version of Clarion that I decided I wanted something different than Xplore - such as the ability to save browse formats with different names for easy selection and reuse, but I found the List Format Manager to be not exactly what I wanted - View Wizard provided what I found lacking.  

I have to mention that Nicetouch has another wizard - the Cross Tab Wizard, which features the same consistently attractive, easy to learn and easy to use interface, but I honestly have not yet found the application where I needed.  Maybe you do need this feature so check it out for yourself.

Another Essential - the Icetips Report Previewer

Whether you are using the reporting capabilities built in to Clarion, or are using, like I am both Nicetouch Report Wizard and Fomintools Report Builder - once you see the attractiveness and capabilities of the Icetips Report Previewer you are very likely to do what I did and add it to your Clarion Toolbox.  Yes, many Clarion Developers are happy with the "standard" report preview window but I have found the ability to search for text while previewing a report, and the ability to Tag pages for printing, and the ability to customize the Icetips Previewer with the included editor, make it an essential part of my applications.

More than 1 Way to Skin a Cat, and Provide Window Resizing

Again, Softvelocity provides good functionality in the ability to handle varying window screen size and different strategies can be used to allow for resizing of windows and controls without making a "mess" out of the end user's screen.  However, there are choices for this as well, and my choice is the EasyResizeAndSplit (ERS) template from IngasoftPlus.

I like the ease of use, the stability and flexibility of the EasyResizeAndSplit (ERS) template and recommend you consider it as well.

Slice and Dice - I mean, Import and Export 

Read the Review of my Choice for Importing Data - dpQuery from Ingasoftplus

Even if your program provides a variety of reports and may provide end user reporting as well, there are likely to be times when your end users will want to export their data to some other file format.  Softvelocity helps with the latest version by providing report output engines that enable your application reports to be saved as .PDF, .TXT, HTML and even XML.  Not bad!  However, currently other options such as .XLS, .DBF, etc are not available - without third party products.  Furthermore, if you have the need to let end user's import data from another data source, well again you see why it is great that there are such great third party tools available for Clarion Developers.  

For exporting data, the Nicetouch Spreadsheet Wizard mentioned above may be just fine.  I use it and like it, however, another alternative for exporting data is Easy List Print from Ingasoftplus.  ELP offers the ability to export with data to .xls, .rtf, .txt and .html with just a few clicks and you can make all options available to end users or pick and choose the output format you want them to use.  I prefer .xls files and recently had great support from Ingasoftplus in getting this feature working perfectly in a new application I am developing.  I appreciate their extra efforts to make sure the template allowed me to do all I wanted it to do.

(more to come, I am just getting started)

As far as Importing of data is concerned, until recently my toolbox contained Impex from Sterling Data and Super Import Export from Boxsoft.  These two each have their advantages and disadvantages.  Super Import/Export limits you to importing and exporting csv (comma separated values) files but is extremely easy to add to your applications.  Impex has a much wider range of file format choices, but I found it much more difficult to add to my apps.  Recently I have added a third option which will eliminate my need to use the other two options altogether.  dpQuery from Ingasoftplus gives both a wide array of data sources to choose from, but adds great ease of implementation. Furthermore, dpQuery allows for easily querying - and filtering of data to be imported.  Why is this important?  Well, for many of my applications it is not important to be able to filter data.  After all, my users are typically just importing data from some other program and will from the initial import forward be using my program to maintain their database.  However, in other cases end users want to import only a subset of data and may do so at frequent intervals.  For example, a user may have my software in use at multiple locations.  The head office wants to periodically import data from the remote sites and dpQuery allows them to selectively import the data using a data range or other filter.  

User and Procedure Security - Adding User Logins to Your Apps

When your applications need to have user logins, security levels and so on, there are several third party templates available to make implementing this functionality easier.  I own both SecWin from Capesoft and Gsec from Gitanosoftware.  Both provide similar capabilities, but I prefer Gsec because I find it easier to implement and like the attractive interface that is included in my applications "automagically".

Date Picking Calendars - Easy and Attractive with GCal

Clarion 6.1 includes a template to allow end users to pop up a calendar for date selection.  There is nothing wrong with it, but if you want to offer a calendar with a little classier look, and more options, then once again I recommend Gitanosoftware for their G-Cal template. 

Whether you call them Themes or Styles, Make your Clarion Applications Look Good

Yes, you can quickly develop functional, stable applications with Clarion, and the latest versions make it easier to dress up your application quickly and easily.  However, if you want to add a little more pizzazz to your apps I recommend two programs to your toolbox.  I have already reviewed the MakeOver styles templates from Capesoft, but I also often use the themes from Gitanosoftware and suggest you check out their Looks Good Package.

Traditional Drop Down Menus may be fine...

but why not add More Modern Menus to Your Applications?

Clarion developers have some third party templates available to allow them to easily add alternate menu navigation tools to their programs.  One of the first I ever used was is called Tearoff from Capesoft.  At just about $50, this easy to implement tool bar made it easier to provide a quick additional way for users to navigate the main parts of my application.  Tearoff even allows the end user to customize the tool bar. 

My current preference is for the PowerOffice new ExplorerBar.  Be prepared to spend more money as this costs $249, however, I think it adds a great look to your programs, is intuitive for the end user and a snap to add to your applications.

PowerOffice also offers a similar program which I owned before I bought ExplorerBar.  Their TaskPanel is more like Task Panel in Microsoft Office XP and is also easy to setup and use.  However, in my case user reaction to the ExplorerBar has been more popular and I personally prefer it for most applications.

Before settling on PowerOffice for TaskPanel and ExplorerBar (they programs were not available at the time), I had purchased the CoolLook template from CG Software.  I found that CoolLook took more time and thought to implement, but at the time I bought it there was nothing quite like it.  Still if budgetary constraints make you hesitant about purchasing the more expensive ExplorerBar or TaskPanel then maybe you should consider CoolLook. Right now it is priced at about $50.

One of the great things about using SoftVelocity's Clarion is the wide variety of third party vendors and products.  Just about anything you can imagine can be done with Clarion in your tool box.

Let your Customers Style Your Clarion Browse Screens - with the xRuntime Style Manager

Read the review of the tool I most recently added to my Clarion Tool Box and see if you might not want to add this to your applications.