Gyrus Knowledge Base
Article Number:		04002137
Article Title:		Numeric values with non-U.S. formatting multiplied by 100

Training Wizard 97 (all 32-bit versions)
Training Wizard 98 (all 32-bit versions)
EvalTracker (all 32-bit versions)
Import Utility (all 32-bit versions)

When using Training Wizard on a client machine whose numeric format uses something other than a period for the decimal point character, floating point values (for example, the training hours field on the course screen) loaded from the database will sometimes be multiplied by 100.

There are two defective behaviors that cause this problem. Both problems are caused by 3rd party software used with Training Wizard. There is a solution or a work around in all cases, but one case in particular is somewhat difficult to workaround.

The first defective behavior is caused by the OCX control used to display the floating point numeric values within Training Wizard. The control would not recognize any decimal point character other than a period. If a number using a decimal point character other than a period was placed into the control, the control would display that number multiplied by 100. The control has been patched by the vendor and the new OCX control is being shipped as part of Training Wizard 2001 3.0.23. Upgrading to Training Wizard 2001 3.0.23 or later is the solution for the first defective behavior.

The second defective behavior is caused by the ODBC driver. When querying the Training Wizard database, some ODBC drivers will return a floating point number formatted properly using the number format defined in the Control Panel on the client machine. Other ODBC drivers will not. When Training Wizard is used with one of the ODBC drivers that does not properly format the floating point data, the number is not interpreted correctly and is displayed as the correct number multipled by 100. Currently, we know of only two ODBC drivers that do not return properly formatted floating point numbers:

• The ODBC driver used with the Sybase SQL Anywhere database. Contact has been made with Sybase to resolve this issue but to date they consider the behavior of their ODBC driver a correct behavior and not a defect. Sybase has made it clear that we should modify our application to handle and properly format numeric data according to whichever format is selected on the client machine. Because we have found that the majority of ODBC drivers do properly format numeric data, no modification to Training Wizard is planned to rememdy this situation. If you are using Training Wizard with a Sybase database, and your client machines have non-U.S. numeric formats, your workarounds are:
  • Use U.S. numeric formats on the client machine.
  • Migrate to the Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle 8 database platform.
• The Oracle ODBC driver used with Oracle 7.x databases. Note that the Oracle 8.x drivers provided by Oracle do not exhibit the defective behavior (i.e. they correctly format the numeric data). Also, the ODBC driver for Oracle 7 that is provided by Microsoft within their MDAC components (we looked at the driver with version 2.573.3711.00) does not exhibit the defective behavior. If you are using Training Wizard with an Oracle 7 database, and your client machines have non-U.S. numeric formats, your workarounds are:
  • Use U.S. numeric formats on the client machine.
  • Migrate to the Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle 8 database platform.
  • Use the Microsoft ODBC Driver for Oracle 2.573.3711.00 or later. Note that you must configure Training Wizard with an Alternate Connection to accomplish this.

04002103 - NEW: DBMS Alternate Connection
04002143 - Summary Of Changes In Training Wizard 2001 3.0.23

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