July 1, 2002
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| Manage data remotely with your PDA |
| Quickly construct mobile databases with Pendragon Forms 3.2 |
Doctors, sales reps, scientists, real estate agents and even the armed forces are quickly recognizing the benefit of personal digital assistants (PDAs). One of the primary reasons for the increase in PDA interest is simple — what was once collected on paper forms and manually keyed into a database can now be collected electronically with a PDA and automatically synchronized with the database. This in itself eliminates the time consuming and often error-ridden process.
Simply purchasing a PDA is not enough. In order to wield the true power of the mobile technologies, a software application that communicates between the handheld device and central data source is needed. Many shrink-wrapped, industry-specific tools are available, but they often do not meet unique business requirements. In these cases, custom applications must be designed. Many companies are finding that rapid application development (RAD) tools give them the ability to create mobile data collection tools internally, eliminating the need to outsource programming and therefore cutting costs.
One such RAD tool is Pendragon Software Corporation’s Forms 3.2. The program’s user-friendly look and feel is designed so even beginners can hit the ground running. Install, design, distribute and voilá, a mobile data collection tool is built in under 30 minutes.
Its ease of use is certainly not indicative of any lack in functionality. Pendragon Forms offers 23 field types and 18 field attributes. The tool also provides a number of design settings to control interface behavior as well as synchronization rules that manage how records will be transmitted between the PDA and database.
While the majority of users will find that the built-in components are sufficient, unique specifications can be created with the native scripting language. Scripts can perform such tasks as calculations, validation of user input, and setting of properties to enforce business rules.
By default, the standard version of Forms synchronizes with a Microsoft Access database on the local PC. A new Access database table is automatically created and configured to accumulate collected data, making this utility usable by even those who have no experience with databases. Although the tool utilizes Access, a full version of the application is not needed. The tables created by Pendragon Forms are viewable with the free Microsoft Access runtime version and no additional third-party software is required.
Forms also works with existing databases. It can seamlessly integrate with enterprise databases such as Oracle and SQL Server, a step probably requiring a technical professional. If companies are planning a widely distributed form, they may want to consider Pendragon SyncServer, a tool for synchronizing across LAN/WANs, or Pendragon Forms Enterprise Edition, a platform that enables users to create and publish mobile database applications on the web.
For trial or full license copy of Pendragon Forms: www.pendragonsoftware.com
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