Extending the good work of First Class version 2, but with a native look and feel on both Windows and Mac.
David Kesler
  • Overview
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    First Class for All has been developed to give Windows and Mac users an opportunity to access the Master List of African Violets that is maintained by the African Violet Society of America.

    First Class version 2 (FCv2), a Windows program, was first introduced in 2002 by Joe Bruns and has had many improvements added since, but it was never designed to run on a Mac.

    In 2016, I, David Kesler, volunteered to develop a program for the Mac. FC4M is the result of that effort. As the developer, I would be remiss if I did not point out the outstanding support that Joe gave me. Everything that I needed to implement his vision for FCv3 was given to me as a starting point. I cannot overstate the importance of his help in the development of the user interface of this new product. FC4M was written with a development tool that allows for multiple operating system support. This means that FC4M, with a small amount of tweaking, could run on a PC. Joe agreed that coming out with a new FC v3 that he would have to write, would not be the best use of his time.

    It seemed prudent to keep the basic workings of the program as close to the FCv2 system as possible. Since many African Violet grows are familiar with FCv2, I will point out the differences between the programs along the way. While I own a license for FCv2 and used it both before and during development of FC4M, I may not get all of the facts exactly right as it concerns the capabilities of FCv2.

  • System Requirements
    FCA will run on just about any modern Mac or Windows computer. Windows 7-10 on PCs and macOS 10.9 or greater on a Mac are the versions officially supported. You will need at least 200 Mbytes of hard disk room, you will need an internet connection for installation and for program upgrades and database updates. Your monitor must be at least 800 by 600 pixels. FCA needs no other software to run on a Mac, however, to keep the data current you would need to purchase an update password annually.


    *FCA will not run on any iOS device, however there is a First Class Viewer that can be purchased separately from the Apple App Store to access the descriptions and pictures of the Master List.

    *FCA. will not run on any Android device, however there is a First Class Viewer that can be purchased separately from the Google Play store to access the descriptions and pictures of the Master List.

    **FC4M will not run on any Cray device, sad, isn’t it.
  • Main Screen - AVML tab
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    This is a picture of the main screen. It will give you access to the “African Violet Master List“. The “AVML” tab is automatically enabled when the program is launched. This is the screen that you will access information on cultivars if you know any part of the name of the plant.



    Points of interest: (see the bubbles on the screen)

    1. Enter the plant’s name or portion of the name. As you enter more characters, the list displayed will become smaller and smaller as the plants that don’t match the letters you have entered are eliminated from the list. Once you see the plant that you desire, just click on that plant and its information will be displayed. If there is only one plant that matches what you entered, it will automatically selected and displayed. You can use backspace to remove characters from the search line.

    2. Click the “X” to erase all the letters in the search box. You will then see the entire list of cultivars in the box below.

    3. The small arrows allow you to scroll through the last 20 plants that you have searched for. To clear this list click on Edit in the Menu bar and then Clear History.

    4. The large outward facing arrows will display FCA in full screen mode. The inner facing arrow that appear in Full Screen mode will return the window to its original size.

    5. This area displays information about the version number of the program, the current database date and whether there is a database update available that has not been installed on you local system. This will be displayed in red.


    Here are some of the differences between FCA and FCv2 on the AVML tab:

    1. New picture layout. All the available pictures are display when the cultivar is selected. One of the four is shown in a large window, but all are show in thumbnail size. You can drag new pictures from your finder directly into the top and bottom thumbnail area. Exporting a photo is easy too, simply choose the thumbnail you want to export then control-click on the main picture. A dialog window will be displayed. You can designate the location you want to send the exported picture.

    2. Full screen mode. You can toggle the window size between normal (800x600 pixels) and full screen size. This is a great addition for most of us.

    3. History is increased to keeping the last 20 plants in the history file. This makes it easy to review the plants you have selected. You can move forward and backward in history.

    4. You can enter notes directly on the screen and they are saved automatically when you move to another cultivar.

    5. Automatic uploading of any new program upgrades as they are posted on the internet. Of course, you must be connected to the internet to take advantage of this feature, but a lot of thing have change in the world since 2002 and internet connectivity is one of them. The data that the program accesses is stored on your local hard drive, so you don’t have to have internet connection to use the program once it is loaded and run the first time. You will need to have the internet to receive database updates that are posted every two months or so. When an update is posted and you are connected to the internet, there will be a notice at the bottom right of the screen reminding you of its availability.

    6. Although not pictured, many of the actions that require using a Menu option to accomplish in FCv2, have been streamlined into the FCA screens. Examples are: entering notes, adding and deleting user photos, exporting pictures.




  • Search tab
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    The Search screen is a very flexible way to find cultivars when you do not have their name. You can enter as many or few of the following parameters or requirements that you want:

    Name
    Hybridizer
    Type
    Addition Information (different groups, i.e. ANZ, CA, DAVS, RUSS/UKR, TX, user)
    Blossom description
    Foliage description
    Limited to registered cultivars only
    Limited to cultivars that have photos only
    Limited to cultivars that have notes only

    In the Name box you can put individual words to match in a search. You can also exclude individual words that you do not want to be in the matched search.

    In the example here, we are going look for all the cultivars the were hybridized by Mr. or Mrs. Pittman and have the words “blue” or “pink” in their names. You can see that there are 28 cultivars that match the request. If you were to put “blue pink” in the name box, the system would not match any cultivar to your request.

    To exclude words in the name, consider the following example:
    “blue & pink /bells” is entered in the name box.

    The distilled version of how the Name box will accept words is:
    1. Words connected with “&” will “hit” if any of those words are present in the Name of the cultivar.
    2. Words connected with a “/“ will eliminate any cultivar whose Name contains those word(s).
    3. Words connected with a space must match exactly as entered to produce a “hit”.
    4. These rules only work on the Name box.

    With the plants that are shown in the screen, both “Jolly Blue Bells” and “Jolly Pink Bells” would be eliminated from the list.

    The more boxes you put information in, like selecting “Standard” for type, the fewer matches will be made.


    Here are some of the differences between FCA and FCv2 on the Search tab:

    1. The first 4 items in the Main AVML description also apply to this screen.

    2. You can include multiple individual words in the search.(Name box only)

    3. You can exclude multiple individual words in the search.(Name box only)

    4. The system will inform you with the number of matches as you have defined them, like plants with pictures only, and the number of matches without that limitation. You can then choose to continue with the selection as you requested or allow the broader match to be displayed.
  • Print tab
    Points of interest:

    1. FCA will allow the user to specify the number of labels that should be printed for each cultivar. (see Screen Capture 1)

    2. Clicking the small question marks under the report pictures will display a detail help page for using the labeling function of the system, including the small up and down arrow buttons found on the label reports. CLICK HERE to see the help document. (see Screen Capture 1)

    3. The Entry Form is a new report that will allow for you to print your entry form for a show right out of FCA. If the show organizer has a capable bar code reader, they will be able to scan your entries directly into the AVSA entries program. There is a detail help document that describes exactly you can use this new and exciting feature. CLICK HERE to see the help document. (see Screen Capture 2)

    4. Under the sub-tab “Descriptions”, as seen in Screen Capture 3, you can put the necessary information for each plant that you are going to be entering in a show. The system will use your information to generate the Entry Form. CLICK HERE to see the help document, it will explain how to use the “Notes” information.

    5. In Screen Capture 4 and 5, you can see that the font and size can be changed. When changing the font or size of print the little up/down arrow next to the box that represents the shape and size of the text area on a label will allow you to move up and down in the list of plants. You can see the result of clicking the down arrow in the last two screens shown. You can check to make sure that the information that you have requested on the “Include on Label:” check box section will actually fit on the label size you are to use. Note: the label marked “Photo” only shows the text side of the label. The last two screen shots illustrate scrolling through the cultivar list to check that the current setting are sufficient to have all the selected information actually print properly on the label.

    6. Screen Capture 6 illustrates the “The Grooming Schedule” report set-up. This pop-up window allows for the entry of the event name and date. I have put the text and timing based on Ms. Bartholomew’s schedule. You can edit the text for each time period before the event as you please. This will allow for your particular method of show preparation. CLICK HERE to see the report that is produced by the input on the last screen. You can print any number of grooming schedules for different shows.

    The Print tab in FCA is much like the PCv2 with a few notable exceptions:

    1. You can notice on the screen(Screen Capture 1.) that there is a column named “# of Labels” in the print list box. Unlike the FCv2, you can designate how many labels you want to print of any of the cultivars in the list. This eliminates the need to copy the same plant multiple times to the print list. In fact, FCA will not allow you to have multiple lines of the same cultivar in the print list simultaneously.

    2. Screen Captures 1 & 2 illustrate that the Print Options, i.e. the format of the report selection, is laid out completely different from FCv2. There is a slider bar underneath the report type window that scrolls the selections into view. This method will allow for putting new reports into the system without changing the screen layout.

    3. There are two additional reports not found in FCv2. They are an Entry Form report and a Grooming Schedule report. (See Screen Capture 2) Printing labels to a dedicated label printer has not been included in FCA.

    4. FCv2 has the ability to designate with which label to start printing. FCA extends that ability to allow the user to designate the ending label also. This will give you the ability to use all the labels on a sheet, even those left in the middle of a page. CLICK HERE to see the instruction for this.

    5. Choosing the Font and Size that is to be used on the report has been enhanced to show the three sizes of labels and how the information, as it is requested, will look on each of the label sizes (See Screen Capture 4 & 5). With this capability you can reduce or increase the font size to make best use of the print area on a label.

    6. You can combine a Saved list of plant with the current print list of plants.

    7. FCA allows the user to modify the Show Prep Schedule text. While Pauline Bartholomew’s schedule is the default basis of this report, it can be modified by the user to accommodate their particular needs. (See Screen Capture 6)

    Screen capture 1.
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    Screen capture 2.
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    Screen capture 3.
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    Screen capture 4.
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    Screen capture 5.
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    Screen capture 6.
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  • User Database tab
    The user database is a powerful part of FCA. You can enter the plants that you own, keeping notes and dates when things were done on each of them. But that is just the beginning. I use the database to print price labels for plants that are going in a sale. You can use the mini-labels and put your name or initials and a price as the name of the plant in the name box. By being able to specify how many labels you want to print of each item in the Print tab, it makes it easy to quickly print the price tags, as well as the nice cultivar labels with a picture printed on them.

    Points of interest:

    The Screen Capture 2 shows a plant that has been added to the User Database. Two notes have been entered already and a third is being built. In the “Text” box, the information that is built can be modified, deleted or added to before the “Add to Notes” button in clicked. This will allow for more detail to be entered. Ex. if the “Action” is “Showed/Received ….”, you could modify it to read
    “Showed/Received Blue Ribbon & Best in Class AVSA Convention”. Then click “Add to Notes”.

    Putting notes into a plant record can be done two ways. Enter them directly into the note box, or use “Build a Note”. Building a note will format the notes in an organized way. The action button contains many of the things that we do with our plants. Here is the current list:

    Bought Plant
    Bought Leaf laid down
    Given Leaf laid down
    My Leaf laid down
    Separated babies
    Potted
    Repotted
    Bloom Booster applied
    Hard Break
    Soft Break
    Showed/Received ....
    Sold
    Donated
    Given
    Died
    Crossed with .....
    Planted seed

    But you can add your own actions to the list!

    The Screen Capture 3 shows the result of adding the note built in the second screen.

    Differences between FCv2 and FCA:

    1. When exporting the user database from FCv2, the entire user database is included in the export file. In FCA you are allow to individually select which records/plants you want to include in the export file.

    2. FCA can import both exports from FCv2 and FCA. Obviously, FCv2 will not be able to import from FCA.

    3. Adding photos is a drag and drop proposition. As long as the image file is a jpg, png, jpeg format.




    I just might need to buy a Mac to be able to use all these features! Awesome!
    Susan Anderson
    Screen Capture 1.
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    Screen Capture 3.
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    Screen Capture 3.
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  • Update Database tab
    Keeping your subscription to the updates to the Master List is important. The updating FC4M’s local database works basically the same way as FCv2 works on a PC. When you see the red notice under the First Class STAMP on the AVML tab that will indicate that a new update is available. You must purchase these updates from AVSA. As you can see from the screen, there are 4 updates available that have not been applied to the FC4M database on the local machine. Two of the updates are included in the password that is entered, two are not. To have access to all four updates, you would need to contact the AVSA office to purchase a new annual subscription. CLICK HERE for subscription info (look for First Class 2 - Update at the bottom of the page.) First Class 2 and First Class for Mac use the same passwords. YOU DO NOT NEED A DIFFERENT PASSWORD FOR FIRST CLASS FOR ALL.

    Differences between FCv2 and FCA:

    1.FCA does not support updating your local database with new Master List update by way of CD. ONLY INTERNET UPDATES ARE SUPPORTED. Most modern Mac’s don’t even have a CD/DVD drive.

    Points of interest:

    1. By Clicking on the “Read Me” of a particular update line, the information that is supplied with this update is displayed.(See Screen Capture 2.)
    2. Clicking the “Load all available updates” button will automatically download and add all the updates that your password covers. The progress bar is provided to give you some idea of the time it may take to finish each update. THIS IS JUST AN ESTIMATE. SOME UPDATES MAY TAKE 15-20 MINUTES, DON’T KILL THE PROGRAM. THE 94% MARK CAN VERY GREATLY IN THE TIME IT TAKES TO COMPLETE.

    3. Screen Capture 3. shows a download in progress.

    4. You can view the pictures of the LAST download of the session by clicking on the cultivar name in the box above the photos.
    Screen Capture 1.
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    Screen Capture 2.
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    Screen Capture 3.
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