For the first time ever, Microsoft has made a beta
release of Visual FoxPro available to the general public (i.e. anyone with an
internet connection). Check out the Visual FoxPro website, http://msdn.microsoft.com/vfoxpro
or click
here
for a link to this *free* download.
We were honored to have two speakers this month,
who each presented a session which they will be giving at next week's Great
Lakes Great Database Workshop in Milwaukee. We really appreciate them
taking the time to come an speak for us.
The first session was on automating MapPoint 2002, by Steve Bodnar, founder of
Geeks and Gurus, Inc., a Detroit-area software development company.
Steve showed us what MapPoint is, what you can do with it interactively, and
most importantly, what you can do with it programmatically using Visual FoxPro
and VFP data. Steve's session included several examples of practical
uses for MapPoint and automation with MapPoint. This session made it
clear just how valuable this tool can be, especially for anyone in a service
industry, or writing software for service industries. (contact Cathy
for link to .zip file)
The next session was presented by Rick Schummer, a partner in Geeks and Gurus,
author, and conference speaker. His session covered several techniques
for becoming more productive with Visual FoxPro. He pointed out several
of the tools and productivity features of VFP itself, which are either
overlooked by developers, or possibly even unknown to them. Rick also
showed us some ways to enhance and manipulate these tools to increase their
usefulness. In addition, he mentioned a couple third party tools, and
some customizations that you might make to the development environment.
Integrating these tools and techniques into your day-to-day development could
save you days, or even weeks, over the course of a year. (contact Cathy
for link to .zip file)
Next month we will hold elections for officers of
GRAFUG. All offices will be open to nomination (from the membership, of
course):
President
Vice-President/Vice-All
Treasurer
Secretary
If you would like to volunteer for any of these positions, or submit a
nomination, please contact me at potjerm@optimalinternet.com. We are
also looking for a volunteer to bring doughnuts for December. We don't
have a topic lined up yet, either, so if you have any suggestions, please let
me know.
As always, if there's anything that you'd be willing to present, or there's a
topic that you would really like to cover at a future meeting, please send me
an email and let me know.
I hope you find this information helpful, and if you have any comments, please
send them to me. I look forward to seeing everyone at the next GRAFUG meeting!
Mike Potjer
GRAFUG President
http://www.grafug.com
http://www.foxcentral.net
potjerm@optimalinternet.com