Permanent Variables and the Server

Panorama X
1

Hi Jim, I wonder how permanent variables will be treated for server connected databases. I am considering how to use permanent variables in databases that will eventually be server-connected.
Will the permanent variable be saved with the server database or just locally?

If with the server database, then all users will have access to the same permanent variable and it would not be useful for saving individualized data for various users.

If saved locally, then each user could have their own value for the permanent variable. This could useful for certain things, but also might put the data at risk of loss if, for example, a forced synchronization is done or the copy of the database is replaced (something I have done in Pan 6 when a user has certain problems.)
Related question: the help entry for the dbinfo( function says “the permanent variables will not be listed if the database is in user or custom mode (the database must be in author mode).” I cannot recall user mode, custom mode, or author mode in Pan X. I know those were Pan 6 terms, but do they apply in PanX?

2

Permanent variables will be handled the same as they were in Panorama 6, they are local to each computer. There is a separate feature, server variables, for variables that need to by shared by all users of a database. The basic operation of server variables is the same as it was in Panorama 6, but the coding is slightly different, the changes should make it much easier to learn.

Don’t forget that in Panorama X you can also permanently save information locally using preferences. Preference information is stored outside the database, so even if you completely replaced the file in the Finder, the preference values would not be touched. (You mention force synchronization, but that should not affect local permanent variables, either in v6 or X.

No, Panorama X does not have user, author or custom mode. This is a documentation error in dbinfo(. However, the dbinfo( function results can be restricted by the security settings in the Database Preferences Security panel.