Hello Steve,
Quote: Do you wrestle with the same thing; weeding out the unbound fields, rearranging the LE's, making sure the field numbers match, reading the server log to find out how many fields you missed?
The short answer is Yes. I go through the same things you go through in order to set up the import spec. So as you can imagine building that spec took a fair amount of time.
I do however know a few tricks.
When you are dealing with an import spec like this the first thing you want to do is export one record from your application with the Field Name Headers option turned on. This way you can open the ASCII file and see the order of the fields. I find it best to open it in a spreadsheet program that way each field is separated.
The next thing you do is choose Set All on the import spec. The first line will say "Ignore Column" you will want to turn that off. By choosing Set All you already have the order that you need, all you have to do is turn off the unbound elements.
Then starting from the top of the import spec go through and compare. Now note the names that appear in the spec window are the element names and the names in the export file are the actual field names. They may be different or they may be the same, So be careful. If the names don't match up, I usually go onto the next few and see if they match up. If they do then that first one matches up as well.
Take your time, do it slow and do it right. It is best to double check as you go, as it helps save you from getting to the end, running your import and finding out that you missed one along the way.
Quote: Also, how do you deal with the fact that the LE names "jump" to the top or bottom of the list when you click on them to select them? Is there a way to make them sit still?
I am not sure what you mean by this Steve, could you elaborate on what you mean?
Quote:Will a saved Import Spec need to be re-created if I 'move' an LE to a different position on the screen?
It does not need to be re-created, but it needs to be changed so that the order of the fields in the export file matches the order of the elements in the spec. The exception to this is if you move an unbound element. Also If you add an element to the form you will need to add it to the correct spot in the import spec.
Quote: "Export All" is fabulous, why can't I also just "Import All" and be done with it?
The reason you can't is because your export file only has the data from the bound elements in it. Now if your form only had bound elements then you could Export All and then Import All after turning off the ignore column.
-Ray