ACL™ – Helpful Keys (Scripting)
Most analysis programs offer the possibility of scripting in addition to the wide range of functions and commands. The scripting languages list here the sequence of commands and thus form the basis of standardization. Another great advantage of scripts is the enormous execution speed compared to manual processing. The script development requires some experience with macros or other sequential programming languages. In order to facilitate certain aspects, such analysis software like ACL ™ provides useful buttons in the script editor. In addition this "Function-Keys" can also be used in the filter and command line. In this post the "Function-keys" of ACL™ are explained briefly.
Insert Fields (Key „F2“)
We are now in the script editor of ACL ™ and create, with the help of the Function-keys. a few lines of code.
With this function, you can access all fields of the open table and add for example in a "Extract" command the selected fields. On the right side you can selectively restrict the data types of the fields to find the desired field faster.
Insert Project Item (Key „F4“)
All content / elements of this ACL project can be integrated with the key "F4" in the script. So you can select and insert table layouts, scripts, views, workspaces, and indexes. This can avoid typing errors, or calling non-existing elements.
Date and Time Selector (Key „F8“)
In ACL ™ the date is displayed with the format "YYYYMMDD" and also enclosed with reverse single quotes. This particular form of representation is generated directly from the system, if the date is inserted with the key "F8".
The date has now been inserted without much effort in the correct format.
Conclusion
When using these keys, you can speed up scripting and avoid errors that can be caused by manually entering. How do you specifically created scripts and what functionality ACL ™ delivers, I will describe in the next few weeks in a blog post.
Best Regards
Florian Popan
P.S. For any comments or questions, feel free to write us at info@dab-gmbh.de.