Building an Application – Page 6 – 4GL APPLICATION FRAMEWORK

MENU INPUT

Shifts the focus to the open menu in the current window and puts the application user in control of the interface.

Syntax

MENU INPUT [PURGE]

Parameters

PURGE

Specifies that unprocessed input received before the MENU INPUT command was executed is to be ignored. Eliminates the possible effects of inadvertent keystrokes or mouse actions before the application user is actually placed in control of the interface. PURGE is often used when the application user is required to confirm some action.

Comments

If the open menu is a pop-up menu that has not yet been displayed, MENU INPUT automatically displays the menu before requesting input.

The input focus remains within the menu until a selection is made or the menu is cancelled. Accelerator keys are ignored while the menu has focus. When the input request ends, the system variable ThisMenu returns information about the selected item.

See Also

MENU CLOSE

Closes the open menu in the current window.

Syntax

MENU CLOSE [object]

Parameters

object

Can be
name
The name of the menu to be closed.
(expr )
A character string, or an expression that evaluates to a character string, used at run time as the name of the menu. Using expr enables one MENU CLOSE command to specify different menus, at the risk of encountering an ambiguous name.
If name or expr is omitted, MENU CLOSE closes the current menu in the current window. When name or expr is specified, MENU CLOSE closes the open menu only if its name matches the specified name.

Comments

A MENU CLOSE command implicitly causes any form, display, or menu open in the window to be closed.

The MENU CLOSE command with a menu name is effective only if the menu in the current window bears the exact name specified in the command.

Closing a menu removes that menu from the window. The window remains without a menu until a MENU OPEN command is executed.

See Also

FORM CLOSE

ThisMenu

FORM SET FOCUS

Sets the focus on a particular form field.

Syntax

FORM SET FOCUS Â«objectÂ»

Parameters

object

Can be
formfield
The name of a field within an open form. To specify a particular instance of a form field, append the instance number in brackets.
([exp1 ],[exp2 ],[exp3 ])
Positive integers or expressions that evaluate to positive integers, that identify a particular form field to receive focus. Exp1 identifies the form number; exp2, the field number; exp3, the instance of the form or form field in the display. At a minimum, exp2 must be specified.
Focus is placed on the specified field, or on the first available instance of the specified field. If all form fields specified in the command are unavailable, focus moves to the next available field.

Comments

Focus is positioned at the specified form field. If the field is unavailable, the focus moves to the next available field.

Example

form set focus fAddEmp.EmpNum[5]

form set focus (2,2,5)

See Also

FORM SET

SET CURSOR

FORM REPORT

Writes the values of the fields in the current form or display to the current output device.

Syntax

FORM REPORT [ PAGESIZE n]

Parameters

PAGESIZE n

The number of lines ( n) that constitute one “page” of output. The default PAGESIZE is 66 lines.
The output is padded with blank lines if the specified page size is greater than the number of lines in the form. PAGESIZE is independent of the size of the window or the terminal screen.

Comments

The form does not need to be displayed before FORM REPORT is executed.

Note: FORM REPORT works with Zim Version 4 windows only.

Example

form open fCustomer

change fCustomer from Customers where CustCode = “12345”

set output CustFormOut

form report

set output terminal

form close

The current form is stored, with the contents of its form fields, in an application document for later printing.

See Also

FORM CLOSE

Closes the current form or display in the current window.

Syntax

FORM CLOSE [object]

Parameters

object

Can be
name
The name of the form or display to be closed.
( expr)
A character string, or an expression that evaluates to a character string, used at run time as the name of the form or display. Using expr enables one FORM CLOSE command to specify different forms or displays, at the risk of encountering an ambiguous name.
If name or expr is omitted, FORM CLOSE closes the current form or display in the current window. When name or expr is specified, FORM CLOSE closes the open form or display only if its name matches the specified name.

Comments

A WINDOW CLOSE command implicitly causes any form, display, or menu open in that window to be closed.

The FORM CLOSE command with a form name is effective only if the form in the current window bears the exact name specified in the command.

In a standard window, closing the form or display clears the fields of the form or display from the window. The window remains empty of content until another FORM OPEN command is executed.

See Also

MENU CLOSE

WINDOW CLOSE

FORM SCROLL

Causes scrolling under application program control.

Syntax

FORM SCROLL [ Â«formÂ»] [action]

Parameters

form

The name of the form to be scrolled. Form must have an established scrolling association. More than one form can be scrolled at a time.

action

Can be

UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, PAGEUP, PAGEDOWN, HOME, END, JUMPUP, JUMPDOWN, JUMPLEFT, or JUMPRIGHT

If action is omitted, action is assumed to be implicit in the last user interface event that occurred. If the last event does not correspond to a defined SCROLL key, no scrolling occurs.

Comments

The FORM SCROLL command causes the specified scrolling action to occur under program control. If no form name is specified, the command applies to all forms for which a scrolling association has been established with a FORM SET SCROLL command.

The number of members scrolled depends on the LoadOrder defined for the form. If LoadOrder is row-major, the scrolling is row-based. If LoadOrder is column-major, the scrolling is column-based.

See Also

FORM INPUT

FORM SET

WINDOW SET SCROLL

MENU DISPLAY

Displays the open menu in the current window.

Syntax

MENU DISPLAY [INPUT] [PURGE] [Â«objectÂ»]

Parameters

INPUT	Shifts focus to the menu, and requests input from the application user.
PURGE	Shifts focus to the menu, and requests input from the application user.
object	Can be menu The name of the open menu in the current window. menuitem The name of a particular menu item in the open menu. ([exp1 ],[exp2 ],[exp3 ]) Positive integers or expressions that evaluate to positive integers, that identify a particular menu or menu item. Exp1 identifies the menu number; exp2, the item number. (Exp3 is reserved for future use.) Exp1, exp2, and exp3 must be positive integers or expressions that evaluate to positive integers. At least one of exp1 or exp2 must be specified.

Comments

For a bar menu, the INPUT parameter is optional.

For a pop-up menu, the INPUT parameter is mandatory. Focus shifts to the menu and input is requested from the application user. The focus remains within the pop-up menu until a selection is made or the menu is cancelled.

Related Information

See Also

WINDOW DEACTIVATE

Makes an open window unavailable for viewing and interaction by the application user.

Syntax

WINDOW DEACTIVATE [window]

Parameters

window

Window can be
name
The name of an open window. The software looks up name in the currently accessed directories in the usual way. A compiled command using name contains the unambiguous name of the window (including a reference to an application directory) that was found at compile time.
(expr )
A character string, or an expression that evaluates to a character string, that is to be used at run time as a window object name. The parentheses must be entered.
A compiled command using (expr) can refer to many windows, at the risk of encountering an ambiguous window name (i.e., no directory specified when versions of the window are available in two or more directories).
If neither name nor (expr) is specified, the current window is assumed.

Comments

The WINDOW DEACTIVATE command deactivates the specified active window, removing it from the terminal screen. If the window being deactivated is the current window, it remains the current window.

The WINDOW CLOSE command automatically deactivates an active window before closing it.

See Also

WINDOW SET SCROLL

Establishes SCROLL keys for the current window.

Syntax

WINDOW SET SCROLL [Â«action keynameÂ»]

Parameters

action

Can be
UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, PAGEUP, PAGEDOWN, HOME, END, JUMPUP, JUMPDOWN, JUMPLEFT, JUMPRIGHT

keyname

Can be any of the following pre-defined key names:
F1 through F100, ESCAPE, RETURN, ENTER, UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, PAGEUP, PAGEDOWN, HOME, END,
JUMPUP (Ctrl-Up), JUMPDOWN (Ctrl-Dn),
JUMPLEFT (Ctrl-Lf), JUMPRIGHT (Ctrl-Rt),
TABFORWARD (Tab), TABBACK (Shift-Tab)
If keyname is a character string other than a pre-defined key name, each character in the string becomes a scroll key.
Any combination of keys can be specified in a single command.

Comments

A scrolling key can potentially also be defined as an accelerator key (using the WINDOW SET ACCELERATOR command).

Until you execute a WINDOW SET SCROLL command, no scrolling keys are in effect for the given window.

Once you execute a WINDOW SET SCROLL command that names keys, those keys remain in effect as scrolling keys, with their assigned scrolling actions, until changed or disabled by another WINDOW SET SCROLL command.

A WINDOW SET SCROLL command that names no actions or keys disables all existing scrolling keys for the current window.

See Also

ThisForm

ThisWindow

WINDOW SET ACCELERATOR

WINDOW CLEAR

Clears the client area of a window.

Syntax

WINDOW CLEAR [window]

Parameters

window

Comments

The WINDOW CLEAR command erases the contents of a window. The client area of a window appears blank. For text windows, the window is cleared by overwriting the client area with the specified fill character. The “window dressing” (border, buttons, etc.), and menu (if any) are not affected. Any form open in the window remains open, but ceases to be displayed.

See Also