Software Built for Change

PowerVista understands that every successful organization is exceptional. That's why each PowerVista application is built to be customized to meet customer needs. PowerVista software applications are developed using PowerVista Bridge, a comprehensive rapid application development environment. PowerVista Bridge, combined with the application's Style Library and source code for each application, allows every customer to customize applications for their specific needs. 

Organizations searching for software begin by expecting to find an excellent fit - they expect 'everyone' to have identical needs. At some point, it's apparent that each organization is unique. Which is good, because otherwise there wouldn't be room for competition! This is why there are many applications for the same vertical market, and the primary reason that companies outgrow applications. It's why many organizations spend several times more on customization than on the original software purchase. PowerVista starts with this understanding, and then builds on it to make the perfect application -- especially tailored to you! Customization is easy, reliable, inexpensive and continues to extend the application to meet your growing business. 

Each application is based on its own set of Regeneratable Styles. This Style Library is installed with the PowerVista Bridge development environment. Source code for PowerVista applications is installed with the development environment. Source code is also available for download on the PowerVista web site. The combination of the Style Library, the source code and  PowerVista Bridge create a comprehensive development environment usable by any level programmer to customize PowerVista applications. A licensed PowerVista application such as RollCall or GlobalFamily can be customized and released with no run-time charges. 

How are Customizations Made?
A very common customization is to add a field (column) to a database table, and then allow the end-user to enter data in that field. PowerVista RollCall is used as an example below to demonstrate the simplicity of the process.

Setup the Development Environment

Download and install PowerVista Bridge (Download PowerVista Products). Press the 'Open Project' button and navigate to the RollCall project (a sibling folder to the installed PowerVista Bridge environment). Use the Generation-> Load Style menu option to associate the RollCall Style with the RollCall project. Check the 'Set as Project Default' checkbox.

Add a Database Column to the Schema

Double-click on the project entry for 'Schema'. Position the highlight on the Field (database column) entry above the new field and Select 'Manual Entry' to add a new Field. Fill in the information for the new field and press 'Save'. Add additional fields if needed. When you save the Schema resource, PowerVista Bridge will automatically create a set of files to convert the existing database and all its data to the new layout. This includes ODBC databases such as MySQL, Access and SQL Server. The next time the application is opened, the conversion occurs, and the new column is available for use.

Add the Field to a Window

Right-click the window to add the new field. If the target window was created using a style, select the 'Regenerate...' option. If it was created manually, select the 'Open...' option. The example below shows adding a field to the Student Window in RollCall. When the 'Finish' button is pressed, the new field will be added to the window.

View the Change

Press the 'Run Application' button to open the current project (in this case, RollCall) and view or test the changes made.

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Last Modified: 9/04/2004