Studiotips.net is a fantastic resource providing searchable, on-line Studio tips, code snips, tutorials, demos, and utilities. Many resources are free, including a Studio 101 tutorial and Omnis Ultra-thin client tutorial, but you can sign up to receive even more goodies, including the StudioTips library containing many Omnis code snippets and useful programming tips. StudioTips is created by Doug Kuyvenhoven of Vencor Software, who is one of the many "great guys" we have in the Omnis community. Note you must be a member to download the StudioTips library. So maybe you should think about signing up..!

And if this wasn't enough, Doug has just created an Omnis library containing an object class (called oZipUnzip) that allows you to zip and unzip files inside Omnis itself (at present on OS X only, but he's hoping to create a win version). This along with the new version of StudioTips is available to download from the studiotips.net web site.

New Omnis tech notes... In the past week or so we have added a new batch of Omnis Tech notes, many of them created by our Support team in response to real developer's problems or questions. We hope that you will find them of interest and useful in your application development projects. The new ones and a complete list of tech notes is here.

Here is a summary of the latest ones:
• Direct HTTP access in Omnis (TNWE0016)
• FormFile operation parameters (TNWE0017)
• Beginners guide to Abstraction and Inheritance
   (TNOO0004)
• Storing Report Job Setup Parameters (TNPR0009)
• How to display PDF files directly in Omnis Studio
   (TNGI0021)
• Manually changing the sort order of list lines (TNGI0020)
• Adding colors and icons to lists (TNGI0019)
• Using the .NET Objects component (TNEX0003)

And the web team always like to point you to www.bored.com, especially useful if you're all alone in the office over the holiday period (like us of course ;-). We accept no responsibility for the content of external websites.

Omnis Studio 4.3 is the latest version of our Rapid Application Development tool, which is now available to download from this site. Omnis Studio 4.3 contains several new features and numerous smaller enhancements and fixes - it fully supports Windows Vista and Mac OS X "Leopard", includes native support for PostgreSQL, has improved Unicode datafile conversion, enhancements to the Omnis VCS, as well as a better experience for web developers and end users using Web Client. And we've added .NET support for good measure! The following is a summary of the most significant features included in Omnis Studio version 4.3.

Windows Vista and Mac OS X 10.5  Omnis Studio 4.3 fully supports Windows Vista and Mac OS X 10.5, or "Leopard", for development and Runtime versions.

.NET Objects  Studio 4.3 allows you to call functionality within the Microsoft .NET Framework or third-party class libraries; .NET support is provided via the .NET Objects external component, which is available in the WIndows SDK.

Unicode Data File Conversion  The Unicode version of Studio 4.3 has a full data file converter which converts the Character-based data in your Omnis data files and rebuilds the indexes. (You should read the info about Unicode in the release docs -Whatsnew43.pdf- prior to using Unicode Studio 4.3 and converting their data.)

PostgreSQL DAM  There is a brand new Omnis DAM that supports connections to the PostgreSQL database, an open source relational database system released under a BSD-style license, providing Omnis developers with yet another alternative to other database systems.

Studio 4.3 on Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" showing the new graph types in the Graph2 component - click here to view

Omnis VCS  The Method Inspector is a new tool in the Omnis VCS that allows you to examine the methods in a class, and look at the code in each method. The VCS also supports scheduled builds and provides support for library names in superclass names.

New Graph types  Gauge and meter style graphs have been added to the Graph2 component, plus several other enhancements have been added.

Linux enhancements  There has been a number of enhancements made to the Linux version of Omnis Studio mainly to improve printing, as well as improvements in font handling and other user interface elements.

Windows Web Client Installer  There is now only one Web Client installer for Windows which supports all browser types (it installs plug-ins for IE & Netscape style).

Omnis Studio 4.3 is now available to download from this web site -- DVD media containing installers for all platforms will be available after the web release.

Mark Phillips of Mophilly & Associates has created an interactive map on the ZeeMaps web site showing where Omnis developers are located in all parts of the world. The ZeeMaps site was created using Google Maps and allows a network of people to show how they are geographically located. The question that really interested Mark was "where are my fellow developers?", so that's why he created the map and posted a note to the Omnis List inviting developers to add markers for themselves.

There are now over 260 entries on the map, and the number continues to grow. The majority of Omnis developers who added markers are located in Europe, North and Central America, as well as a dozen or so in Australia and New Zealand. One claims to be in Antartica (obviously a Linux fan). There are developers in South Africa and South America, and many other parts of the world, so Mark encourages all developers to join the map.

How to add your marker: Go to the Omnis map at: http://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=305. Click on "Login" and enter "omnisian". To add a new marker, click "Add Marker", or to change an existing marker, click on your marker to display the information bubble. Click on your name in the top of the bubble, and a dialog should appear. Make the desired changes and click "submit". There is a color coded legend to allow you characterize your business activity (Consultant, In-house developer, etc).

If you have any questions about the map or adding your marker, you can post a note to the Omnis List or submit your question via the contact page on www.mophilly.com.

About Mophilly & Associates: Established in 1998 and located in Southern California, Mophilly & Associates are primarily involved in software development for business systems, in a wide range of industries, including mineral, oil and gas management, accounting, inventory, real estate management and investment, and the performing arts. Their principal developer is Mark Phillips, a highly experienced Omnis developer, a very active member of the Omnis community and a frequent speaker at Omnis conferences in North America and Europe.

One of their main products is the Molu Software Update Service which is intended for small businesses who support Omnis based applications and want a cost effective method for updating their end user installations. The Molu Software Update Service is a complement to the Omnis VCS, completely automating the delivery of application updates, while automating the registration and activation of client installations. For more info, see: www.mophilly.com

The observant amongst you will have noticed that the Omnis web site has undergone a slight makeover to coincide with the release of Omnis Studio 4.3 (which happened on Nov 26th). Obviously, we added several new pages about the new features in Studio 4.3 and updated several other pages, including the info about the Omnis Developer Partner Program (ODPP), plus we added a new style sheet with (we hope) a clearer layout and site navigation. We'd love to hear what you think of the new look site, so please email the webmaster with your comments.

One interesting addition (and we hope you'll find this useful) is a page of images and animated thumbnails for you to use on your web site to promote Omnis and the Web Client. As Omnis developers, we hope you would like to promote your favorite development environment, by adding an image or two to your site with a link back to the Omnis site. There's a whole collection of different images and styles to choose from, including Flash-based animations - there's even an Omnis wallpaper to style your own desktop!

Please take a look at the Omnis Promotional page and maybe you can help us spread the Omnis word! And if you use these images on your site, please remember to add a link back to the Omnis web site. Thank you!

Based in the UK, Catalina Software specialise in software for the Distribution & Logistics industry, covering a wide variety of business activities from warehousing to manufacturing, and HGVs to limousines. They are specialists at integrating their products with other systems such as vehicle tracking, distribution planning and postcode/address lookup systems. Their logistics solution is called Freedom and is tailored to the Same-day courier and chauffeur industries. It covers all business functions, including initial job booking (via telephone or web), scheduling the job, communicating with the driver (including two-way data), tracking the vehicle, invoicing the customer, and paying the driver.

We have recently published a new Success Story about this Omnis solution; click here to view it, and take a look at the other new case studies while you're there.

"By using Omnis Studio to develop and support Freedom, Catalina Software are able to leverage faster development and easier on-going support - Omnis Studio is key to the profitability of our business."
Graeme Whiting, Managing Director and founder of
Catalina Software Ltd, based in the UK.
More info: www.catalina-software.co.uk