Sesame Library | Sesame Default Retrieve and Sort Specs

As you probably know, Q&A lets you name and save your Retrieve and Sort Specs for re-use or for use by automated (macro-driven) procedures. We wanted Sesame to have the same capabilities, so it was one of the first features we incorporated into the product.

You create a Sesame Retrieve Spec in the same manner as in Q&A-you type your criteria in the applicable database field(s), then save the Spec to any name you choose.

Sesame's Sort Spec, however, is not created in quite the same manner as in Q&A. In Sesame, you click on the field(s) you want to sort on using a new Sort window (available in the Retrieve Spec window) and simply specify an ascending (default) or descending sort with a mouse click. No more 1,AS, 2,DS, and so forth. You just move the fields up or down in the Sort window to select the sort order you want. (We feel that this is much more intuitive than the Q&A way.) Then, just like in Q&A, you can name and save the specification.

Here's where the new feature comes in to play. Every Q&A consultant has been asked at one time or another why Q&A displays records in the order it does. The answer is simple-Q&A retrieves and displays them in the order that it comes across them in the file (working from the beginning of the file to the end). This order changes as you delete and add new records and Q&A rearranges the file to remove or add new space for more or fewer records. The third record that comes up one day may have been moved by Q&A to a different position in the database the next day depending on what you've done with or to the database since your last search. Q&A users would often like to display only a subset of the records when they first open a database. For example, only the records of current customers, only the inventory items that are in (or out) of stock, only the records for the Chicago office, or only the customers who owe money.

All these things can be accomplished in Q&A by creating and saving a Retrieve and Sort Spec for each one and then loading these specs before running the search. (Alt-F8, load the saved Retrieve Spec, F8, Alt-F8, load the saved Sort Spec). Powerful, but a lot of work for some users. More advanced Q&A users might automate these steps using macros. Q&A 5.0 power users might even set up macros running from a custom menu based on the user ID. Sesame approaches this issue by letting you go a step further. You can create then select a Retrieve and/or Sort Spec that Sesame will treat as the default and automatically apply whenever you open a specified database. Of course the default spec is overridden by any spec you type in or select from a list.

And of course, like all other new Sesame enhancements, you won't have to use it if you don't want to. But for me at least, what a time-saver it will be to open my billing database and be presented with just the records of current customers in descending date order of their last charges.