Search

Edition: Futurama Website/Futurama Export/Futurama Webservice

Module: Futurama Editor

User: Developer

Prerequisites

- Working with objects

 

Description

This page describes a number of functionalities that are more advanced and therefore are more suited for an experienced developer. It also covers functionality that is not specifically tailored to an object but is more general by nature.

  • Import/export between Excel and Futurama.
  • Resetting objects.
  • Creating a testfile.

Import/export between Excel and Futurama

This is typically used when filling DataTables or to retrieve the contents of a DataTable for further manipulation in e.g. Excel. It is possible to import data straight from Excel to the DataTable.

  • Determine the type of the data in the table in Excel. Are they numbers, strings, dates etc.
  • In the Futurama Editor create a DataTable of the same type.
  • Make sure the number of rows and columns of the DataTable correspond to the number of rows and columns in Excel.
  • Select and copy the table in Excel.
  • In Futurama click in the Index column on the first element.
  • Select the button 'Paste from Excel' and the data will be pasted.

If the dimensions of the table in Excel are larger than the dimensions of the DataTable a message will appear stating "The number of columns/rows of copy data is greater than the number of columns/rows in DataTable. Paste anyway". Selecting OK will paste the data as far as the dimensions of the DataTable allow . The values in the exces columns/rows in Excel will be omitted.

If the dimensions of the table in Excel is smaller than the dimensions of the DataTable the pasting will take place without further notice. The exces columns and/or rows in the DataTable will keep their existing values.

If the type of the data in the table in Excel is different than the type of the DataTable it is not possible to paste the data. An error will appear stating "Error pasting data. The index/DataTable types do not match the type of the pasted data.". In this case verify the data is valid (e.g. not a combination of numbers and strings) and adjust the type of the DataTable if necessary.

Vice versa is also possible. To export the data in a DataTable follow the following steps:

  • Select a DataTable.
  • Proceed to the Result Window.
  • Click on the Copy button below the Result window (next to the auto-checkbox). Note that selecting the values in the DataTable followed by Ctrl-C will not work.
  • Proceed to Excel.
  • Press Ctrl-V. The data will appear.

Resetting objects

When creating a typical Futurama application it is most often needed and efficient to import data from files outside the application. This can be a database, a webservice, an XML file that is located somewhere else etc.. When the Editor is opened the information from these sources can be viewed and used. It is however custom that while the editor is opened, the outside information is altered because new data is added or existing data is changed. When this is done, the alterations are not immediately visible in the Futurama Editor; it retains the old data in it's memory. The object which reads from the outside source therefore has to be refreshed/reset. One way to do this is to close the Futurama application and re-open it. A more convenient way is to 'Reset' the object that refers to the outside source. This is typically the DatabaseView object and the object that contains the ReadFile formula which reads the contents of an external XML file. To reset these objects, just select it and do a right-click. Next select 'Reset'. The new information now can be seen in the Editor.

Creating a testfile

A number of objects in Futurama construct or show XML-data. These are the XmlBuilder, the WebReference and the XmlNode. The XML they either construct or contain can be verified in the Result Window when evaluating the object. This is, however, only useful when the XML is small. When the XML tends to be larger, it is more convenient to generate a file containing the XML-data. This file then can be examined in a dedicated editor such als NotePad++. To generate an XML-file the Futurama Editor offers the context menu-item Debug|Create Testfile. See the pages of the objects mentioned above for more details.

Feedback

If you have any questions about this subject or if you want to provide us feedback please send us an e-mail.

Updated: 2014-06-27