A QBFName is a special identifier that links a customized VIFRED data display or entry form with a particular database table or JoinDef. Choosing a QBFName as a query target in QBF allows you to automatically display and use the customized form when accessing its associated table or JoinDef.

When you use VIFRED to create a new form based on a database table or JoinDef, VIFRED automatically assigns a default QBFName to the new form that associates it with this table or JoinDef. The default QBFName is the same as the name of the form. Using the QBFNames operation on the Utilities submenu, you can change this default to another name, if you want. You can also create additional QBFNames for this same form that link it to additional tables and JoinDefs for use in QBF. This process does not create additional copies of the form, but rather allows you to use one form with many similar tables and JoinDefs through use of its various QBFNames.

If you archive a table containing outdated information and create a new table to use instead, you can continue to use the VIFRED form created for the old table by linking it to the new table through a different QBFName. For example, suppose a form called taskform was given the QBFName taskform1 when it was assigned to the Tasks table. You can now give it the new QBFName taskform2 when you assign it to the Newtasks table.

A single table or JoinDef can be associated with many different forms through the use of QBFNames. For example, if you are using the same table or JoinDef for more than one application, you must create a separate form in each application that differs from the others in the way the fields are displayed and arranged, the assignment of mandatory fields, and the instructions displayed in the window. VIFRED assigns a different QBFName to each separate form and links it to the common table or JoinDef.