Table Sets, Multiple Forms, and Form Aliases

[phxUser]

Glad forum questions are still being submitted for A5V11!

I have a set defined with two tables (Table1 and Table2; linked as "One to Many" to Table1). I've created two forms for these tables based upon the set definition; Form1 to update Table1 and Form2 to update Table2. A button on Form1 opens Form2 and it does indeed display records from Table2 as designed. My problem is with buttons on Form2 to Add, Change, Cancel, Save and Delete records in Table2. I initially used pre-defined buttons for these actions. Why not? Should be simple, no? No. The Change, Cancel and Save buttons work fine on the record displayed in Form2; however, the Add and Delete buttons work on the displayed record in Form1. Definitely NOT my intention! I was quite surprised when I confirmed "Delete Record" in Form2 (thinking it was the Table2 record displayed on Form2) and I lost not only the two records in Table2 associated with the record in Table1, but the Table1 record as well. Turns out I was confirming deleting the Table1 record and, of course, the two records in Table2 were also deleted because of the referential integrity of the tables.

I placed some UI Message Boxes in the various buttons on Form2 and displayed a value using a field name common to both tables (FIRST_NAME) to see what gives.

p = parentform.this
tp = topparent.this

Both "p.FIRST_NAME" and tp.FIRST_NAME displayed the value on Form2 from Table2. Displaying the current record number however, shows the record number of the record in Table1; which, I'm guessing, explains why the Add and Delete buttons don't work on Table2. They're referencing the record in Table1.

I suppose someone is going to tell me I have to add records to Table2 from an embedded browse in Form1 (rather than opening a new form for that purpose); however, I AM wondering why, from Form2 "topparent.allow_change()" and "topparent.commit()" work on Table2 but "topparent.new_record()" and "topparent.delete_record()" apply to Table1?

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Table Sets, Multiple Forms, and Form Aliases

I've created two forms for these tables based upon the set definition; Form1 to update Table1 and Form2 to update Table2. A button on Form1 opens Form2 and it does indeed display records from Table2 as designed. My problem is with buttons on Form2 to Add, Change, Cancel, Save and Delete records in Table2.

If you are wanting to work with table 2, why have you based the form to work on table2 on the set which has table1 as the parent and is "governed" by the record in parent table1? If you want to work on table2, base the form on table 2. you can't isolate the records in table2 from the the record in table1 when you base the form on the the tabl1-table2 set. The parent record of this set will always be the record of table1.

[Stan Mathews]

Re: Table Sets, Multiple Forms, and Form Aliases

however, I AM wondering why, from Form2 "topparent.allow_change()" and "topparent.commit()" work on Table2 but "topparent.new_record()" and "topparent.delete_record()" apply to Table1?

All four commands work on the set upon which the form is based, not on the individual tables. If you view the default browse for the set where there are multiple child records for each of one or more parent records it is common to think of those records as individual. In reality there is only one parent record for each linked child record.

[Stan Mathews]

Re: Table Sets, Multiple Forms, and Form Aliases

I suppose someone is going to tell me I have to add records to Table2 from an embedded browse in Form1 (rather than opening a new form for that purpose)

Not at all but it is the most common method. I believe there are examples in the code archive of data entry to a set using xdialog or opening a separate form based on the child table. The key, no pun intended, is to capture the linking field value and pass that to the newly opened form so that it can be used to make the record entered in the child table link to the proper parent record.

[phxUser]

Re: Table Sets, Multiple Forms, and Form Aliases

Stan, I believe that is how I ultimately solved my problem. I associated Form2 with Table2 rather than the set and passed the linking field value in a variable when the button on Form1 is pushed to open Form2. Seems to work. Thanks.