dbFront offers up to three (soon four) ways to perform searches on your tables: Simple, Advanced, and Full-Text search (Enterprise Only). Today we look at a quick overview of these features using the Expense Reporter app created in dbFront. Coming in the next release of dbFront: Custom Quick Search buttons.

The Simple Search

Do not let the name fool you as the Simple Search feature in dbFront is quite powerful. The feature is available on all table views as a Search box on the top right section of the banner:

On smaller table sizes, dbFront will filter in real-time as you type in your search criteria in the field. On larger tables that cannot be loaded into memory, dbFront will wait for you to hit Enter before executing the Search; this is...

The newest anything always seems best, until you put it to the test...

We have been testing the 1.2.2 branch of dbFront these past 6 months, and it has stabilized to the point where it is ready to replace dbFront 1.1.5 as the new Stable release. With 38 new features and 89 fixes, dbFront 1.2.2 represents a significant improvement over previous versions of dbFront.

dbFront 1.2.2 is Stable

The 1.2.2 branch of dbFront continues the theme of adding user requested functionality. The three most significant features are:

• Home Screen: Adding a Home Screen to database applications helps users get to work faster,
• Crystal Reports: Allow users to download or print complex and powerful Crystal Reports,
• Custom Layout: Optionally allow Power Users to create their own custom layout for any...

We are working on a series of fully functional and free sample database applications. Our first application is an Expense Reporter. This Expense Reporting application demonstrates the advanced topics of Workflow and Auditing.

The Expense Reporter includes all of the database scripts and support files so it is easy to modify to meet your specific needs.

Features

Expense Reporter is a free and open source dbFront application that allows your employees to submit expense reports which would pass through management and finance for approval and processing.

• Todo List: Lists open Expense Reports for the current user: Employee, Manager, Approver, or Payor.
• Expense Form: Specify the Department, Employee, Authorization Number, Purpose and more...
• Expense Details: Including Expense Account, Type, Amount and Tax information.
• Expense Mileage: Automatically calculates claimed...

We have been busy these past three months and the results are in. We have moved from PayPal to FastSpring which gets us: international tax handling, self-serve PO handling, more payment options, better subscription support, a client account portal and access to the Impact affiliate network. We have also moved to email based licensing for all license types except trial licenses.

Survey Update

Last time we sent out a survey but the response was not so great so we are trying again. The interim results are mixed but so far the results say that:

• Most respondents use dbFront daily,
• Use an even mix of External and Internal reporting.
• 40% use Single-Sign-On,
• A strong majority use SQL Server,
• There is little interest in a direct subscription version of dbFront,
• And the most appreciated...

In this post you will find information on: price changes, new features including support for Crystal Reports, and how we are growing to better serve the needs of the dbFront community. There is also an opportunity to win a free year of support or a new Pro license. All you need to do is fill out a 15 question survey. Our goal is to make dbFront a standard part of the toolkit for DBAs and Database Analysts. The survey is intended to help us reach that goal.

Rising Inflation

The crazy inflation levels have forced our hand with some basic essentials nearly doubling in price. The updated pricing is available on the dbFront licensing page at www.dbFront.com/licensing

Expanding Features

Earlier this year, dbFront added direct support for printing...