When I first saw Shaun Sullivan’s code to create a .NET plugin in Raiser’s Edge I was a bit concerned. I tried out the code and after a bit of fiddling with it I managed to get it to work. Although I thought and still think that having an extra HTML page with the plugin as a user control was a bit of a hassle.
A much easier solution that I have done several times is to simply create a .NET class library with a form. When you start your plugin the form is shown directly in a new window.
One of my most long standing problems that I have had with RE:VBA is showing a form modally. This in itself is not difficult but as soon as you move away from Raiser’s Edge, bring up another window in front of the modal form and then go back to Raiser’s Edge, the modal form has disappeared. Because the form is modal you are not able to access the underlying window (let’s call this the parent window). This is a pain as the only way to bring it back is to place another window over the parent window and then minimize it. This is not hard to do but it is harder to explain to users and not very intuitive.
If you are using VBA to perform actions on opening, saving or deleting record you have the option of putting the code in two different places.
Perhaps the most obvious is when you log in to RE as supervisor you can go into the Visual Basic for Applications environment (found under the Tools menu) and capture your events in the System project. This is the “inside” solution as it resides inside the database and can be programed from inside the RE application.
The other option is to use the RE7VBA tool. This executable is found in the Raiser’s Edge directory along side RE7.exe. Running this program opens up a similar environment except that you can save your work in a file and compile it to a DLL. This is the “outside” solution for opposite reasons
What are the pros and cons of each? Continue reading VBA: Inside or Out?
Welcome to RE Decoded. My aim with this blog is to share some techniques used in the Raiser’s Edge API to solve day to day problems that the ordinary user may have. Feel free to add your own comments if you have solved a problem differently. Its the best way to learn.
This first entry is less technical than the other entries. I need to break you in gently.