Author: Ted Roche
Posted: 2016-07-22 at 10:49:38
Thank you for contacting ProFox Support Request. Your delight with
FoxPro is important to us.
In order to better serve you, please supply the following information.
While these steps seem onerous, 83.7% of people who want to contact
ProFox support find these steps solve the problem without the need to
post to ProFox, so this is the fastest path to solving your problem.
1. Have you turned it off and back on again?
Most problem with computers occur because of some transient condition
caused by a faulty process gumming up the works, an update in the
background causing strange behavior, a file lock that failed to
release, or a runaway task that has consumed all of a resource.
Restarting the computer often solves this problem. If you cannot
reproduce the problem after rebooting, it's unlikely anyone else will
be able to, either.
If you are working with a separate client and server machines, restart
them both.
2. Search for the problem on the internet or the ProFox archive.
If you haven't tried to search for solutions, consider doing that
before posting to the forum. It's likely your issue has been seen
before, and a solution can be found on the internet. Note that profox
has a searchable archive, and your solution is likely in there.
The exact text of the error message is a good search term to start
with. Omit the information specific to your app, like the table or
field name or record number.
If that fails, consider asking for help on the list. The following
steps will lead to a faster, more accurate solution and then we can
all get back to work.
By writing an email that includes steps 3 through 7, most people
realize they failed to try something else, and fix their problems
before having to post. There's no faster solution than the one you
don't have to wait for.
3. Describe the steps you have taken.
In order to reproduce the problems you see, others need to be able to
take the same steps.
If you can't reproduce the problem, say that.
If it was working but then stopped working, say that.
If you've never gotten it to work, say that.
Attempt to provide a small code sample that shows the problem. a
simple CREATE TABLE, INSERT statements and then your demo code will
let others test the problem, and determine if their proposed solution
solves the problem. Right away, we'll all know if this is a problem
with your machine or configuration, or with everyone's.
4. Explain what you expect to see, and what you see instead.
"It doesn't work" is not a bug report. How can you tell it doesn't
work, and what did you expect it to do? If your SELECT statement
returns no records, it may be working fine, but not doing what you
expect. If it throws an error 1234, report the error number and any
messages. If it crashes the machine, describe what you see.
If you see this on only one machine, say so. If it happens on all the
machines, say that. If it works on the file server that has the data,
but not the workstations, please tell us that.
5. Describe the problem you are trying to solve
People often get themselves into trouble because they have come up
with a solution to a problem and the solution keeps throwing different
problems at them. It may be that your initial solution isn't the best
one, or may not solve the problem at all. You may not understand what
the command is doing, as some are badly misnamed. Explain why you are
doing what you're doing, and be open to suggestions that there are
better ways to get to the solution you need.
If you tell us "Don't ask why" or "Don't suggest I do it another way,"
you're asking us not to help. If we're smart, we won't.
6. Be nice.
People are voluntarily donating their time and expertise to solving
your problem. They may misunderstand or suggest inappropriate
solutions or miss clues you have provided. Be patient. You are likely
under a deadline and a little frantic. Understand that being rude just
decreases the likelihood that anyone will help you solve your problem.
7. Describe solutions you have tried, or resources you have used.
It's likely people will suggest the first answer found by searching
the internet. If you've already tried that, say so. If you've looked
up the error message, and tried the workarounds suggested, say that.
Otherwise, you're just wasting everyone's time.
8. Report if you find the solution.
The ProFox forum is only as valuable as the problems that are solved.
Report if you figure it out, or if a proposed solution fixes it.
--
Ted Roche
Ted Roche & Associates, LLC
_______________________________________________
Post Messages to: ProFox@leafe.com
Subscription Maintenance: http://mail.leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox
OT-free version of this list: http://mail.leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech
Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox
This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/CACW6n4vDR3y+U71T053JS3wWKvCH1GkPfsULsWjPec9yA4maiw@mail.gmail.com
** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.