As a company that builds software using Clarion, we often find it helpful to view our Clarion dictionaries (tables / fields) as diagrams. This is especially helpful when taking on an existing project, or when revisiting a project that you haven’t worked on for some time.
There are several tools on the market that offer similar functionality, but they never quite met our expectations. So in 2004 I started building Data Mapper as an in-house tool to assist our own product development.
Then in April 2006 several developers were asking on the Clarion newsgroups about what tool they could use to view graphical representations of their dictionaries. I replied and mentioned that I had built Data Mapper, and the rest (as they say) is history.
So what can it do?
In a nutshell, you open your Clarion Dictionary in the Clarion IDE, and export the Dictionary to a TXD file. You then import that TXD file into Data Mapper. Or, if you have Clarion 7 installed on your computer, Data Mapper will then be able to import your Dictionary (DCT) directly! Click here to see this in action.
You can then use Data Mapper to easily create powerful diagrams, showing your tables, aliased tables, fields, keys, relationships, etc. Then, when you have the diagram looking just right, you can save it as an image file, which you could then email to your colleagues, your friends, your mom, whoever.
Data Mapper can also save your diagram views, print several reports, print diagrams, save diagrams to PDF, and more!
What does it cost?
There are two versions of Data Mapper. When you install Data Mapper it will run in “Standard Edition” mode. This is 100% FREE to use for as long as you like.
You can however choose to upgrade to the Professional Edition. To do this you simply purchase a license, and we will email you an activation code to unlock additional functionality. The differences between the Free and the Pro Editions are explained here.
User Testimonials
“What a little jewel this is. In the first 5 minutes is made life much easier.” – DB, USA
“Bravo for the work done because it is excellent! Another MUST HAVE small tool for all of us. ” – Jean-Pierre Gutsatz, France
“Works like a charm, including all the relationships. I’ve got a bunch of 3rd party stuff but this tool is at the top of my list the second you released it.” – Darren Hans Bobella, USA
“It’d be way cool if Carl Barnes, Steve Stockstill and Gary could get together and collaborate on the ultimate DM replacement!” – Greg Berthume, USA
“What a fantastic tool!! I’ve got a project going right now for which I really need to be able to see the relationships visually. What a gem. For what I need, just being able to see the relationships visually makes things so much easier. Perfect.” – DB, USA
“This has real potential for larger projects, especially if more than one developer is involved, and for doing redesign and dictionary cleanup planning. It is a wonderful little project!” – Joe Tailleur, Canada
Useful Links
- Download Data Mapper
- View Online Documentation
- View Video Tutorials
- Other products by StrategyOnline
- The Blog
Frequently Asked Questions
Data Mapper
We support all versions of Clarion, from 5.5 onwards. At the time of writing this FAQ, that includes Clarion 5.5, 6.0 – 6.3, 7 and 8.
Clarion
From Windows Vista, you may experience problems running certain Clarion accessory installers, whereby they will not be able to detect your installed versions of Clarion. Please see the following link for more information, as well as a workaround:
If you are experiencing problems compiling our example applications using Clarion 5.5.h, please take a look at the following article:
DebugView is a free application that you can download from Microsoft, which enables you to view debug output from our products. This can be very helpful in tracking down problems.
By default, our products do not generate debug messages, so you will not see anything in DebugView. To enable debug messages, simpy tick the “Send messages to DebugView” option found on each of products’ Global Extension Templates, as shown below.
Once you have turned on the “Send messages to DebugView” option, recompile and run your APP. You should then see messages appearing in DebugView.
Our 3rdParty documentation is now available from within the Clarion 7 IDE.
After installing any of our Clarion 3rdParty products, you can now access our help system as follows…
From within the Clarion 7 IDE, simply click on the “Help” menu, then click on “Accessory”, then “StrategyOnline”. Then click on “Online Product Documentation”.
