Generic "Basic Data Entry" tools?

[Rose Edwards]

I'm starting out designing my first Alpha 5v4.5 application, and was perusing the forums here for ideas on how to design it efficiently. I ran across Tom Cone's marvelous "Basic Data Entry" versions in the code archive, which looks great as a start and a teaching tool. Thanks, Tom!

My question is: Is it possible to make the scripts completely generic? They are oh so close to being so, but some have code like:

parentform:idnum.activate() ' set focus

which requires that the form have a field named "idnum". It seems like it should be possible to get from the form the name of the first user-accessible field, and activate that instead of hard-coding the field name there. I've found how to list the form's children with .child(N), and figuring out which ones are fields with class(), but have not yet found how to determine which is the first one in the form. (child(1) doesn't do it, nor does the last child with class of "field").

I ask this because my application will have a number of forms for entering different kinds of data, and with this refinement, I would only have to copy the code, not copy, and remember to edit the field name wherever it appears in the code. Also, it would speed my development, and lend a better appearance to the applilcation if the record entry/edit forms all look the same - is is possible to build a "generic" form with the buttons and explanatory text, then copy it and attach it to the requisite table, and place the fields needed in?

Thanks again to Tom for a great example to steal^h^h^h^h^hborrow ideas from!

Greg McMullan, still posting from Rose's account

[Stan Mathews]

RE: Generic

Noble ambition and possibly possible.

Suppose you edit your object names as you create them and use a standard convention. Then "the name of the first user-accessible field" would always be the same.

[Jim Chapman]

RE: Generic

Hello Greg from Rosie's account,

>>My question is: Is it possible to make the scripts completely generic? They are oh so close to being so, but some have code like:

parentform:idnum.activate() ' set focus

[Rose Edwards]

RE: Generic "Basic Data Entry Forms"

Thanks, Jim and Stan.

I'm with Jim on the importance of field names, so will probably try his approach to the problem. Unfortunately, it doesn't really solve the problem of properly generic buttons and scripts, since if I understand you right I'd be trading something like:

parentform:idnum.activate() ' set focus

for something like:

Set_focus("idnum")

Which still requires me to edit scripts in each and every form.

It occurs to me that I can probably combine your ideas to limit the amount of editing that I do, by setting up a convention where I have a form-level variable in which I store the name of the first field, and my Set_focus() function reads that variable. That way, instead of at least 5 (I think - didn't really count them) instances of "idnum" that I'd have to change in the single-table BDE form, I'd only have to change one variable.

I'm still frustrated, though, because clearly Alpha knows what field is first on the form, and it seems to me that it should be possible for me to just ask it, which saves me the hassle of remembering to change the variable when my users want a different form design. I'll keep looking for the answer.

Thanks again, and stay tuned for more basic questions from me :-) I am sure that I'll have them while I get used to the Alpha 5 way of viewing the world.

Greg

[Tom Cone Jr]

RE: Generic

Greg,

I've checked the properties and methods of the form and its fields using Xbasic Explorer. I don't believe the tab order setting is exposed to us, even though it's known to Alpha Five. (I'm using ver. 4.03).

In the meantime, here's an extension to your idea concerning the possible use of a form level variable to store the 'first' field.

When your form is loaded, perhaps you could store the 'current' object name in the variable you mention, since the first field in tab order should receive focus when the form opens, right? If this is right, you ought to be able to reference the first field in your button scripts, by retrieving the current value from your variable.

-- tom cone

[Tom Cone Jr]

RE: Generic

Greg,

I took a few minutes to test the feasibility of my idea, and it seems to work ok. Had to use the OnActivate event for the form instead of the OnInit event.

Tracks changes in the arranged tab order just fine, returns the name of the object that's currently first in tab order even after the tab order is changed.

-- tom

[Rose Edwards]

RE: Generic

Lovely, Tom! As useful as I had anticipated from you, from reading your postings here.

It took me a fair while to track down the method used to do it, but for the benefit of people here who are as new with Alpha as I am, this xbasic code on the OnActivate event
for my form worked just as you described:

''XBasic
'code to try to find the name of the first field that 
'is entered in the form, to facilitate
' writing generic code

this.firstfieldname = this.active()

ui_msg_box("looking up", this.firstfieldname)

Actually, I haven't yet tested that I am actually storing the value in the variable, but I sure think that I am doing so.

Interestingly, when I read your suggestion, I looked more closely at the documentation for the .name() method, and saw code that says that it finds the name of the first object on a form. Unfortunately, I assumed that that would be the first VISIBLE object, or the first FIELD, but the following code shows me that it seems to be neither:

' let us print the name of the first object on the 
'form, per page 131 of the Xbasic manual:

obj = this.child(1)
ui_msg_box("First Object Name", obj.name())

In any case, it looks like this method will work with my version of Alpha Five (4.5, build 266), and it sounds like it will work for yours, as well. Perhaps when I get a little free time and some more pieces of code, I'll write up a submission for the code archive.

Thanks again!

Greg