Getting Started with Iron Speed Designer

Getting Started with Iron Speed Designer Presenter: Alan Fisher Presenter: Razi Mohiuddin

Etiquette Ask questions at any time via Question and Answer facility Moderator will queue them up and … … I will read aloud and answer so everyone can hear … in the order received This allows everyone to hear the question and is much faster We expect many questions during this webinar! Listening via computer (VOIP)? Turn up your computer’s volume! ... or put on a headset if you can’t hear … or dial in via landline telephone if you still can’t hear

What is Covered in this Course Part 1: Basic Application Creation & Configuration Part 2: Page Layout Customization Part 3: Advanced Application Configuration Learning More

Why use Iron Speed Designer? Speed application development Cut software development costs Reduce testing time Simplify maintenance It’s about acceleration

What does Iron Speed Designer do? Business process automation Reporting and tracking applications Workflow and scheduling applications Rapid prototyping Use Iron Speed Designer for "I can honestly say that Iron Speed Designer does cut your development time by more than half. … That's how productive I think the tool makes our developers." — Robert Rivera, Development Manager, Los Angeles County Health Department

What does Iron Speed Designer Do? ASPX pages C# and Visual Basic code-behind files Data access layer Stored procedures Iron Speed Designer builds Web applications… … straight from your database.

Application Development Philosophy Application Creation Database Preparation Application Wizard Configuration Menu Wizard Application Security Wizard Customization Page Layout Formulas and Code Fine Tuning Coarse Tuning

Part 1: Basic Application Creation and Configuration Preparing your database Use Application Wizard to create a web app Non-developers can create and configure apps No knowledge of code, ASPX or other .NET concepts required Knowledge of database schemas, foreign keys, and SQL is helpful

Prepare Your Database The better your database is structured… … the more Iron Speed Designer can do You’ll get more Web pages You’ll get more sophisticated master-detail Web pages It’s easier to extend your application It’s easier to maintain your data

Create Child Tables for 1-to-Many Relationships Child tables are used to create Master-detail (parent-child) pages Child table examples Orders.CustomerID  Customers.CustomerID (one customer may have many orders) OrderDetails.OrderID  Orders.OrderID (one order may have many line items) DBAs call this ‘normalizing your database’

Create Separate Lookup Tables Lookup tables are used to create Dropdown lists for data entry Display Foreign Key As Lookup table examples Order.ShipperID  Shipper.ShipperID (choose order shipping method: FedEx, UPS, USPS) Displays “Shipped Via FedEx” (instead of “Shipped Via 3”)

Create Database Views for Complex Queries Create Database views for Multi-table joins Complex queries: distinct, not, nested queries Create via Microsoft Enterprise Manager or similar tool Designer treats database views just like database tables Database view examples Current quarter sales (query filters based on time) Paid invoices (query filters based on status field) Iron Speed Designer is not a query construction tool !

Make Database Views Updatable if Possible Designer uses updatable database views to create Add Record page Edit Record page Edit Table pages Create updatable views in your database Cannot make an updatable view in Designer View must have primary key declared in database Update ‘flows’ through the view to underlying tables Iron Speed Designer is not a query construction tool !

Declare Primary Keys in your Database Primary keys are used to create Show Record pages Edit Record pages Edit Table pages Primary key relationship examples Orders.OrderID Shipper.ShipperID Not permitted to modify your database? Create a Virtual Primary Key in Iron Speed Designer

Create Virtual Primary Keys in Designer Use VPKs if you can’t add a primary key in your database Used mostly with database views Designer uses VPKs to create Show Record, Edit Record & Edit Table pages from database views Go to: Application Wizard’s Keys step OR Databases  New Virtual Primary Key…

Declare Foreign Keys in your Database Foreign keys are used to create Master-detail (parent-child) pages Every Designer-built page can be a master-detail page! Pages with data from multiple tables (multi-table joins) Display Foreign Key As Foreign key relationship examples OrderDetails.OrderID  Orders.OrderID Orders.ShipperID  Shipper.ShipperID Not permitted to modify your database? Create a Virtual Foreign Key in Iron Speed Designer Throw me a frickin' bone here! I'm the boss! Need the info! – Dr. Evil

Create Virtual Foreign Keys in Designer Use VFKs if you can’t add a foreign key in your database Used to create Master-Detail pages & Display Foreign Key As Go to: Application Wizard’s Keys step OR Databases  New Virtual Foreign Key…

Create an Application: Application Wizard Go to: Tools  Application Wizard… OR Files  New Application…

Application Generation Options Go to: Options… button in the Application Wizard OR Tools  Application Generation Options…

Application Generation Options 200+ options New Application Creation Options Applies to new applications Won’t change currently open application New Page Options Applies to new pages General Application Options Control creation options Applies globally with immediate effect

Demo: The Application Wizard Build an application in 2 minutes

Part 2: Page Layout Customization Drag and drop user interface layout Inserting rows and columns Using toolbox controls Changing cell attributes Using the Cell Editor No graphic design or programming skills needed No knowledge of HTML, ASPX, code or .NET required

Page Layout Customization Spreadsheet shows a ‘logical representation’ of page section Drag and drop to arrange controls Designer converts page layout to HTML (ASPX) <table> <tr> <td> structure You don’t have to know any HTML or ASPX!

Inserting Rows & Columns Right-click  Insert  Column  Left (Right)

Merging & Splitting Cells Right-click  Merge Cells Right-click  Split Cells

Navigating Your Page in Design Mode Every part of the page is customizable via the spreadsheet Page areas are nested Zoom in or out to page level you want Navigate via breadcrumb zoom level… … or via page control hierarchy

Using Toolbox Controls Drag and drop controls onto your Web page Toolbox controls are databound – there’s no code to hook up! Fields, labels and entire panels!

Configuration Wizard Quickly configure new panels from the Toolbox

Demo: Customize Page Layout Drag fields around the page Add a toolbox control Add a few fields and filters Add a detail panel to create a table-in-table panel Go to: Design Mode

Customizing Cell Contents with the Cell Editor Great for fine-grained tuning Saves time by showing HTML snippet of selected cell Enter any text and HTML you want Text: Dear <GEN:FieldValue Name=“FirstName”/>, HTML: <font color="red"> <GEN:FieldValue Name=“FirstName”/> </font> ASP: <asp:treeview id=“xxx” runat=“server”> JavaScript: <img src="logo.gif" onmouseover="alert('Welcome to Iron Speed!')" /> Third-party: <rad:RadGrid id="MyRadGrid" runat="server" /> But… don’t modify Designer’s GEN: tags unless you’re an expert

Formatting Cells with the Cell Editor Common formatting actions take just a button click Font, font size and colors Cell width Bold, italics, underline Vertical and horizontal alignment Cell borders Format the entire cell or specific areas within a cell Builds the cell’s Style attribute

Demo: Cell Editor Enter text and HTML into a cell Modify cell attributes Set Style = background-color:#ff7878; font-weight:bold; Omit the quotes; Designer will add these automatically

Part 3: Advanced Application Configuration Use Iron Speed Designer’s wizards and property sheets to configure your application No coding or page design needed! Property Sheet Application Security Wizard

The Property Sheet Go to: Design Mode  Select a control Iron Speed Designer properties control features Control types, Formatting, Pop ups, Rich text editor ASP.NET properties govern underlying controls Appearance, Behavior, Layout

Application Security Wizard Authentication (who can sign-in) Authorization (who can do what / role-based security)

Application Security Protocols Database – login and roles in database tables Active Directory – Microsoft Active Directory Server SharePoint – Microsoft SharePoint groups Windows Authentication – your network login credentials

Simple Sign-In Security (Database Authentication) The Users table in your database defines who can log in Users Table

Role-Based Security (Database Authorization) Must belong to a special group (role) to access page Many-to-many mapping of users to roles User Roles Table

User Roles Table Assigns users to roles Users can have multiple roles First field is the ‘user’ field Second field is the ‘role’ field Can contain other fields Role Names Lookup Table Defines roles First field is the Role ID field (referred to by User Roles table) Second field is the ‘Name’ field Can contain other fields

Applying Security to Multiple Pages Select which roles apply to which pages

Security Can Be Set on Individual Controls Use the Property Sheet to set security for individual controls

Demo: Simple Sign-In Authentication Use Application Security Wizard to select Users table Southwind.mdb has login info in Employees table (Optional) Select User Roles table Southwind.mdb uses EmployeeRoles table Filter by logged in user Filter Orders table by logged in employee

What Have I Not Covered? Workflow Workflow processing pages Sending workflow emails Formulas and Code Customization Formulas tab Code tabs and code customization Code Customization Wizard Databases tab Debugging Performance tuning Tracking and Event Logging Deployment Deployment Wizard Troubleshooting Wizard And much, much more…

Learning More: Training Videos Over 65 videos from basic to advanced Updated regularly http://www.ironspeed.com/videos 24 x 7

Learning More: Training Courses Designer 101: Getting Started with Iron Speed Designer Designer 201: Fundamentals of Iron Speed Designer In-depth, three-hour course Designer 301: Advanced Iron Speed Designer Formula & code customization topics Uses live examples Third-Party Training Courses Upcoming courses listed on Start tab in Iron Speed Designer http://www.ironspeed.com/products/TrainingCourses.aspx

Learning More: Online Help Over 1,020 help pages, regularly updated Google searchable on Iron Speed website Downloadable, printable http://www.ironspeed.com/products/OnlineHelp.aspx

Getting Support: Technical Forums Developers helping other developers – Free! Iron Speed does not provide support via forums Many questions are answered, but no guarantees Hint: provide as much detail as possible http:// www.ironspeed.com /forums

Getting Support: Iron Speed Technical Support Free for first 15 days of use and with paid support subscription Available during Iron Speed business hours Hint: provide enough detail to reproduce your problem http://www.ironspeed.com/Support1

Getting Support: MVP Consultants Independent consultants (not employed by Iron Speed) Must be licensed customer http://www.ironspeed.com/mvp/MVPs.aspx

Getting Started with Iron Speed Designer Thank you! http://www.ironspeed.com

Getting Started with Iron Speed Designer

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