The iPeX data string
If you look at any database item in AUTHORS.GDB, you will find that there is one field which contains a strange combination of characters, such as: "%@P@AUTHORS ,025025/000000142150+0". This line of characters tells iPeX what to display. iPeX clips a part of a picture from a graphics file and pastes it to the screen displaying a Database item (see image below). iPeX needs to get the information about where the graphics image is, how much of the graphics file to clip, and where to paste it. The combination of characters described above is the "iPeX data string" that contains all the necessary data. Let's take the following iPeX data string as an example:

%@P@AUTHORS,025025/000150130150+0

The data string means the following:

%@ iPeX identifier The first two characters are the iPeX identifier. All the iPeX data strings should begin with these two characters.

P (or I) graphics format iPeX supports two graphics formats: PCX and ICN. The third character of the data string (P or I) defines which format is used in the graphics file to be displayed.

@ (or %) display/hide data string The fourth character of the data string tells iPeX whether or not to hide the data string. If you want the user of the database to see the iPeX data string, put @ in this place. If you do not want to display the data string, put % in this place. The %' setting (Hide the string) is mainly used with Label field (See below for "Label field or Text field").

AUTHORS Graphic file name The name of the graphic file is written in the data string from the fifth character on. Since the data string already indicates the file format (PCX or ICN) by P or I, you don't have to enter the file extension .PCX or .ICN.

025025 where to paste The 6 digits after the comma character defined where to paste the image on the screen. (3 digits each for X- and Y-coordinates of the its upper-left corner).

000150130150 how to clip

The 12 digits after the foreslash character defined the part of the graphics file that will be clipped and displayed. The first 6 digits describe the position of the upper-left corner of the square box that will be clipped (3 digits each for X- and Y-coordinates). The following 6 digits describe the width and height of the box that will be clipped (3 digits each for its width and height). If you use the whole picture of the graphic file, you do not need to clip. In that case you can skip this part, beginning with the /.

+0 specifies multiple images You can paste several images on one data card by using iPeX data strings in more than one field in the database. If one image is displayed in the same location as another image, you can specify how the new image is to be displayed relative to the old image. The digits 0 to 7 after +' character in the iPeX data string specify how that image is to be displayed (see figure below).