Interactive Design Tools
Xpert's Interactive Design Tools are a powerful suite of graphical, menu driven programs that allow you to manage your mission critical client/server applications. These 5GL tools set Xpert apart from other Information Management Systems for school districts and governmental organizations. The tools empower you to control and manage your system to best serve the needs of your organization or district, today and in the future.
Tools Include:
Unique design supports specific program parameters based upon the user, site, or system defaults. Each program performs a hierarchical search to determine security, screen definition, file presentation, screen defaults, and on-line help. This provides unparalleled design and operation flexibility by providing what appears to each user as custom programming.
Define Files:
- RDA delivers Xpert with our powerful database engine, optimized for your business environment.
- Add data elements to files as needed and "on the fly" without complicated conversions.
- Xpert comes installed with common data element types such as:
Account Code
Zip Code
Date/Time
Signed and Unsigned Decimal Value
Plain Text
Formatted Dollar
Variable Text
Phone Number
Social Security #
Scrolled Text
Scrolled Lists
Short & Long Integer
Button
Boolean
Float Value
- Variable Text types do not require a "fixed length" and varies with each data element
- Define User defined data elements for issues such as PO ID's and other unique input fields or data elements
- Each file can support an unlimited number of keys including user defined keys
- Each file key can support an unlimited number of user defined key parts
- Xpert can support other popular database engines
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Define Virtual Fields
This very powerful tool creates user-defined fields via special calculations or expressions. Use these fields in running reports, defining security, displaying information on screens, and in calculating other virtual fields.
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Define Screens
Xpert includes a full complement of functional screens to manage the various aspects of your organization’s business applications.
- You can easily do "take offs" of existing screens for site-wide use, or individual use
- Application programs perform a hierarchical search to determine which screen to display
- Define powerful expressions for each screen resource using the Define Screen Expression Parser. Xpert evaluates the expression at the time the program calls the screen. It then determines if the resource should or should not display based upon the expression results.
- Screens can be used as a security feature or to suit individual preferences
- User-defined size of displayed Scrolled Lists & Text
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Report Writer
This tool provides produces output forms, reports, or data. Sophisticated functions are available to provide the flexibility to create unique output.
The following sub-systems make up the Report Writer:
- Virtual Fields - User defined fields or calculations for the specific report. Compute fields at time of report select or output.
- Define Files - Improves performance by limiting the amount of data sorted and searched in each report.
- Define Sort - Gathers information describing the key parts of the sort file. These key parts determine the sorted sequence of the report.
- Define Output - Output information to a printer, screen, existing file, or new file. Define and perform alignment tests if necessary.
- Define Display - Manages the output definition of the report whether it is a file or form.
- Select Records - Simple or Complicated expressions used to select/exclude data.
- Control Breaks - Defines the hierarchy of specific fields that used for header/ footer information upon a change in field value.
- Accumulators - User -defined types including: Average, Min/Max, Frequency, First/Last/Previous Occurrence & Summation for presenting report totals and subtotals.
- Report Setup - Determines report criteria such as:
Use of Report Range Screens
Report Chaining
Sort file Saving
Report Interruption
- Report Range Screens - Define to allow more flexibility and control when processing reports/output.
- Define Output Devices - Supports all features of printers including landscape and color printing.
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Define Security
- Manage Xpert to meet the evolving needs of complex environments. Track security at the following levels:
Module file
Process
Record Field
- Use Complex expressions or simple Boolean values to define the required level of security
- Enhance security with the Transaction Processing function, which tracks who, did what and when.
- Define Screens enhances security by managing user screens
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Transaction Processing
This tool tracks who did what and when. It creates a record for every activity within the Xpert system, even viewing information.
- Undo complete or partial transactions
- Track original and resulting information
- On-line Help
- On -line Help is available for all applications including the tools.
- Print On-line Help content if desired.
- Help includes tutorial and reference information.
- On-Line Help supports Site and User Defined Notes.
- User defined notes are accessible only to note's author
- On-line Help updates from RDA do not affect Site or User Notes
- Use On-Line Help tools to create help for new modules developed by the User.
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Define Screen Defaults
This function allows you to define and redefine default information for invoking screens or programs. This improves efficiencies by having input screens default with pertinent information for the current work session.
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Define Maintain Masters
- Each file in Xpert is available for maintenance via the Maintain Masters function.
- Control the presentation of information by using the Define Maintain Masters feature.
- Control file information displayed on the browse list.
- Define the file search criteria, limiting the number of records displayed on the browse screen.
- Define definitions by user or site.
- The Print Browse feature provides a very simple report writer for those “quick & dirty” reports needed by your staff.
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Import / Export
The Import / Export Function facilitates moving data into and out of the Xpert database system. It works with fixed length or variable length data and user-defined delimiters. Special ease of user features along with the Report Writer makes transferring or converting data relatively straightforward.
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Define Menus
- Define Menus provides you with the capability to execute any Xpert program or operating system command from the Xpert Menuing system.
- Implement special "Hot Keys" to satisfy power users.
- Perform Operating system functions with the click of a button instead of complicated command line syntax.
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