Append current record

[Tim Kiebert]

Re: Append current record

.....There is no action script for "open table" that I can find.

Bill

No, but there is an action to enter a record by xbasic.

Records - Xbasic Enter Record

[[email protected]]

Re: Append current record

You're absolutely correct Tim. I'm still having a problem though, understanding what "the current record" is. The help files lead me to believe it's the one I'm working on, which is logical to me.

from the help files;
records based on values from the active session's current record.

If I begin data entry in a form, how can that not be the current record? Or is the current record the one previously saved prior to the one I am now entering?

Bill Belanger

[Tim Kiebert]

Re: Append current record

Bill, it is as you suspect. If you are working in a form the current record is the one that you are viewing or editing, including a new record. I just tested the 'Xbasic Enter Record' action script from a button on a form. Whether I was viewing an existing record, editing an existing record but not yet saved, or entering a new record and not yet saved the values used were that of the record visible in the form. Are you still having problems with this action as far as getting the correct record's values?

[[email protected]]

Re: Append current record

Tim,
Didn't see your reply until just now. After reviewing all the helpful tips, I decided on using the xbasic add record routine. It's almost exactly like the "set field" script step I was used to in Filemaker and works as expected. The "xbasic" scared me away at first, but it's just a regular action script. Thanks for that tip.


Bill Belanger

[Tim Kiebert]

Re: Append current record

Your welcome, glad to hear you are on your way again. Although in my testing the action script seemed to handle grabbing data from an unsaved record I would recommend that you commit the record before 'appending' the data to the second table.

Once you have it working the way you want take a minute and look under the hood at the xbasic. What you will find is pretty much the kind of script that Tom suggested earlier in this thread.

[[email protected]]

Re: Append current record

Yes, I believe you and Tom were saying the same thing. I just like the action script because it walked me through the steps. I intend to begin looking under the hood. But I believe there's a reason they added the "X" before the "basic" :-)

Bill

[leowyc]

Re: Append current record

Sorry, I has one question: even though I did not save the record but why it still appears in my table and even it is just a blank record? This creates many blank records in my table by just switching the form between design mode and form view but nothing else. The only thing that changed is the auto-incremented ID.

I put cancel() in the form event OnSave and I thought this will make the user save the record only when he push a Save button. I don't know what is going wrong. What I want to do is add a new user and save the record only after I push a Save button.

Please advice.

Thank you.

[Beltronics]

Re: Append current record

Bill
I use an operation to append records. I'm not as good as you at programming but what I do is tell the action script to only append unique records. That does it for me.

[Tom Cone Jr]

Re: Append current record

Leow,

There are situations in which Alpha Five will save a record for you automatically. Often this occurs in set based forms when the user shifts focus from fields in one table to fields in a different table. Recommend you study how the "default form" for your table or set behaves.

The OnSave event fires AFTER the record has been saved. If you want to block an empty record you have to use an event that fires BEFORE the save. Try the CanSave event. I believe the help file discussion on the CanSave form method illustrates how you can use this event to run a script that will validate the record before commiting it to disk.

[leowyc]

Re: Append current record

Tom,

Thanks for your reply.

I'm sorry as I've given the wrong event name. I put cancel() under CanSave event instead of OnSave. That's the reason I wonder why it still save the record automatically.

Let me clarify my program. I have a simple form to add a new record to a table. In order to enable the form to be ready for a new record to be entered every time it is initiated, I put parentform.new_record() in OnInit event. And every time after the Save button is pushed, I call a parentform.new_record() again for it to be ready for the next new record and reset cancel in CanSave event for the form.

However just like what I said even I do nothing but just switch between design mode and form view, I still get blank records saved into the table. Any thought?

I will examine the default form and see if I can solve this problem.

Thank you very much.

[Tom Cone Jr]

Re: Append current record

I suspect the OnInit event is firing each time you switch to view mode from design mode.

A better approach that many use is to open the form with a button push event script. The button's onPush script LOADS the form but keeps it hidden. Then a new record is begun in the hidden form. Then the form is displayed. This can be done with Action Scripting.

If you don't use the OnInit event script then the form can be used for multiple purposes. Not just for entering, but also for editing or viewing.

If you wish we could look more closely at your specific form. Zip your database files and post them here as an attachment to your next reply. Use the "Go Advanced" button to get to the Manage Attachments dialog.

[leowyc]

Re: Append current record

Tom,

Thank you for your respond and help. Here I attach my sample test database. Please have a look at "New Relationship" form. I don't know if I design in a correct way because I'm a newbie to A5. But basically what I want in my program is just to add new, view, delete and modify.

Thanks again for your help!! :)

[Tom Cone Jr]

Re: Append current record

Leow, I stand by my original advice. The OnInit event is firing each time you shift from design to view mode. This is triggering a new record to begin. I am not sure why the CanSave event for the form is not catching and blockiing the save. I recommend you abandon the use of the OnInit event to begin your new records. I recommend you remove the cancel() from the canSave event for the form.

You will benefit from experimenting with the default form for your table or set. Right click the table or set name in the control panel to get to the default form.

-- tom

[leowyc]

Re: Append current record

Tom,

Thanks for your quick reply.

If I remove cancel() from CanSave event means that A5 will automatically save records for me? This is not what I intended to do.

Anyway, I will take your advice to experiment with the default form and see if I can get this resolved.

Thank you. :)

[Tom Cone Jr]

Re: Append current record

Here's a more traditional approach for you to experiment with and possibly learn from. Unzip the attachment to a new (empty) folder.

I've modified:

Main_menu form
New_Relationship form
New_Relationship_form script

Let me know if you have questions.

Incidentally, in my own work here I find using short names very advantageous. My personal goal is to limit names to 10 chars. This is especially important for table names, field names, and index tag names.