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CSDA Code Utility
(for Alpha Five)

Current version 2.72 - 25 February 2010

Use the CSDA Code Utility!
Isn’t it time you stop wasting your time?

The CSDA Code Utility is an add-in/add-on that
was designed to save
any Alpha Five database developer,
novice or advanced,
desktop or web server side
code or non-code writer,
time in Alpha Five application development.

If you are an advanced end-user that operates
from Alpha Five's Control Panel, it will help you too!
It works with Alpha Five Version 6 and up

>>Demonstration Video (flash, 14 minutes)<<

If you'd like to try it, request a free trial license!
Ready to purchase? Click Here to Order!

The newest & most significant time
saving feature since Desktop Restore!
"Code Jump" (screen shot)
This allows CSDA Code Utility Pro users to open up or jump to, in design mode, any object having the same name as the word at the current cursor in the code editor.

Normally, when you reference a function, form, operation, table, set etc. in your XBasic code, and want to change that referenced item, you normally have to

Go to the Control Panel
Change the Control Panel tab to object type
Scroll down
Find the entry
Select it
Click design

....or with the CSDA Code Utility - 1 click and you are there!
(Now repeat 200 times a day!)

The CSDA Code Utility - Standard version
has several time-saving features
(for those who develop any application in Alpha Five database)

New to version 2.36 and up. A5 Title window title and Windows taskbar now show current database to make it easier to identify when several A5 windows are open
New to version 2.35 and up. Window Saves of web component design windows and Alpha DAO Import/Export
New to version 2.34 and up. Global Find now uses selected text as default. New Global Web App Find and Global Table Data Find
New to Version 2.32 and up - Dialog box "skins"! Now you can have alternative dialog box formats for each database!
New to Version 2.14 and up - Customize the buttons and add your own utilities.
New to Version 2.09 and up - Backup of Data Dictionaries at regular intervals!

Save and Restore Alpha Five Desktops – This remembers each Alpha Five session window, whether it is in view or design modes, the Code Editor tabs and all text in the Interactive window, and the cursor position of all Code Editor tabs. It also remembers the current record being displayed for each open form or browse. The next time the database is opened, that database's windows are all restored automatically. You can also save alternative desktops for each database to allow different Alpha Five window setups for various needs.

And if you crash Alpha Five often (not a typical occurence of Alpha, typically just from 1 problem to solve, or from interfacing to Windows API or Active X controls which are often less than documented), or just need to restart, 1 click closes and reopens Alpha, restoring your environment and saving a tremendous amount of time restoring your setup. And even if you don't need to restart Alpha Five, it still saves the hassle of setting up your development environment each time you start Alpha Five.

Provides quick backup of data dictionaries, and optionally, data (even if currently being shared). This allows you to restore an earlier code version in case you "mess" up your application (so typical during development!).

Alpha Five windows navigation

Add menu buttons for other 3rd party utilities and your own tools

The CSDA Code Utility - Pro version
has all of the above features and also
(for those developing in Xbasic or Action
Basic and/or needing development logging)

New to version 2.59 and up. Now adds "Code Jump" for code editor
New to version 2.55 and up. Now adds "Comment out all debug lines" for code editor
New to version 2.49 and up. Now adds Variable Display for code editor
New to version 2.416 and up. Now adds docking of dialog box and preserves Script update date/time stamp when doing "Save & Debug"
New to Version 2.10 and up - For XBasic coders - Add and remove debug statements and save with ease!

Provides code timing (more accurate than profiling), easier debugging, global searches, multiple code windows, variable dimensioning and other support for the code editor

Creates a log of Alpha Five development (useful for work documentation) – Provides database logging with time/date stamp of open, saves and closings of the Alpha Five Desktops with Alpha Five windows and code editor tab lists and optional comments.

Some quotes from users:

We have been using the CSDA Code Utility Pro at Proctor & Peake, Inc. for a couple of months. The A5 Desktop Restore feature alone makes your product a must-have for anyone who keeps more than 2 windows open in Alpha Five at once. It takes you right back to where you left off! The easy-to-use debug and timer utilities are excellent tools for Xbasic developers at every level of expertise.

Anyone who is developing applications with Alpha Five should watch the 15-minute video on your web site. It really shows how the CSDA Code Utility Pro can be used to save time and frustration on common tasks that developers perform every single day. - Frances Peake - Proctor & Peake, Inc, USA
The code utility has helped me in ways I hadn't imagined possible. Seeing and using what has been developed is an inspiration to A5 developers and has set the bar higher for integrated products. (Helping with time tracking is money in the bank. Developing more efficient code is priceless.) - Al Buchholz, Bookwood Systems LTD., "Alpha Five / Quickbooks Integrator", USA
...the ability to add custom buttons to your utility is awesome. - Tim Kiebert, Geelong Citrus Packers - Alpha Five Developer, Australia
It's a great tool....I think it's fantastic.... This magnificent tool does in seconds what I had to do but only sometimes did, because it took me so much time and attention....This is an elegant way to get your work organized so you can apply your techniques to your application and not worry about the environment - Ton Spies - Alpha Five Developer, Netherlands
This is a much needed utility especially when Alpha thinks a file is in use (which drives me crazy) and you can edit indexes, structure or field rules without a restart. It will speed up development.
I tested CU today and I must say I like it. I'm now busy with code where I have to do a lot of restarts. It's very efficient.
It is a real time saver when you do a lot of work with declare, declarestruct, (in my case) where you have to restart Alpha Five a lot of times to reinitialize the structures after a change. It starts A5 in exactly the same state as where you left it. It saves me approximately 45 seconds each time for a new start and open of all the windows and editor. It depends on the project but in a trial and error session I have sometimes 30 - 40 restarts a day. ((40 * 45 sec.)/60) = 30 min.
The new feature (A5 window navigation) is neat, too!

Downloads
To run the program, download the Self-Installer or Zip versions and install
To use the program, you must have one of the following

A trial license number, or
A purchased license number, or
If Alpha Five is operating in "Trial" mode, the CSDA Code Utility will also operate in trial mode (and does not require a license number)

Any other use will operate in a "Limited mode"

CSDA Code Utility Self-Installer	(self-installer exe - includes pdf documentation - installs to all A5 version 6 and up)
CSDA Code Utility Program Zip	(zip version - includes above documentation - requires unzipping and running A5 to open installation database. See documentation for more details.
CSDA Code Utility Documentation	Acrobat pdf documentation file
CSDA Code Utility Demonstration	14 minute Flash demonstration video

If you haven't yet upgraded to
Alpha Five Database Version 10,
now's the time to
download the free Alpha Five trial as well!

CSDA Code Utility (for Alpha Five)

Current version 2.72 - 25 February 2010

The CSDA Code Utility - Standard version has several time-saving features (for those who develop any application in Alpha Five database)

The CSDA Code Utility - Pro version has all of the above features and also (for those developing in Xbasic or Action Basic and/or needing development logging)

Some quotes from users:

CSDA Code Utility
(for Alpha Five)

The CSDA Code Utility - Standard version
has several time-saving features
(for those who develop any application in Alpha Five database)

The CSDA Code Utility - Pro version
has all of the above features and also
(for those developing in Xbasic or Action
Basic and/or needing development logging)