After doing a write-up about saving scenarios, I figured I would create a simple application with Xport Wizard showing how to save and load comments from an XML file.

The only issue with an application like this is maintaining the data that people submit. To edit or delete comments, I have to go the XML file to delete records.

This example also illustrates a few workarounds that I often use when I build applications like this.

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Adjusting for browser caching: A browser will cache web service connections that a SWF executes, so you have to compensate using a random variable. In my Xcelsius file, I append a “?” plus a RAND function, which ensures that each time I execute my web service, the URL is different.

Prohibiting user clicks: After you submit a comment, you will notice that the send comment button is disabled. In addition, when you view previous comments, you can not click and modify the input text area. To achieve this, I use background components with the capture mouse events feature checked. This invisible background component is layered over the components I want to display but not allow a user to click on.

If you browse through the example, you will probably find a few other interesting ways that I leverage light Excel logic with component properties to achieve the desired functionality I wanted in my dashboard.

To learn more about Xport Wizard, visit http://centigonsolutions.com/xportwizard