Problem Populating a Dialog from Tables and Loading Primary Keys

[DaveF]

I have a dialog with first/previous/next/last navigation buttons. I�m using the action script �Load Primary Keys� in the onDialogInitialize event. This works fine when the dialog is run by itself and not launched from another component.

I also want to open this dialog from a grid and pass the dialog a primary key value. I want the dialog to populate the controls with the data for the primary key value that I�m passing to it. I�m using �Populate Dialog from Tables� to automatically populate the controls for the given primary key. This works as well.

My problem is that I want to use both �Load Primary Keys� and �Populate Dialog from Tables� when the dialog is opened from a grid so that it will populate the dialog with the correct row and also allow the user to navigate to other rows using the nav buttons. When I use both action scripts, the �Load Primary Keys� seems to override the �Populate Dialog from Tables� and always displays the first row. It doesn�t matter which order I call them. I have even converted the �Load Primary Keys� action script to xbasic and removed the line of code that navigates to the first record - "{dialog.object}.navigateRecord('first').

Does anyone know how to do this? I haven�t spent too much time looking through the �Load Primary Keys� xbasic code because I�m hoping there might be a more elegant way.

Thanks

[-Jinx-]

Re: Problem Populating a Dialog from Tables and Loading Primary Keys

Hi Dave,
I was messing with this a while ago
http://msgboard.alphasoftware.com/al...d+primary+keys
Check out post #17

[DaveF]

Re: Problem Populating a Dialog from Tables and Loading Primary Keys

Hi Jinx,

That is exactly what I'm already doing, but since it worked for you, I'm wondering if I could have forgotten to save the child dialog. I sometimes forget to save the child and wonder why my changes did not take effect when I launch the child from the parent. I'm so used to not saving minor tweaks and such during testing because A5 uses the component in memory, but when you are testing a child component by opening it from a parent, the changes have to be saved. I will go back and try again. I was hoping this was possible without having to hardcode and modify the action script code in the onDialogInitialize.

As for the line of code to remove, I had inserted an "if" statement which checks to see if I passed an argument which means the dialog was opened from the grid. If not, then it performs the line of code. If so, it skips over it.

Thanks

[-Jinx-]

Re: Problem Populating a Dialog from Tables and Loading Primary Keys

Even with it working when I tested it, I still had an annoyance. Even though it loaded the proper record, when I clicked a nav button it reindexed to the first record in the grid. Have you found a way to make it keep it's place and have it actually go to the next or previous record from the one you loaded?

[DaveF]

Re: Problem Populating a Dialog from Tables and Loading Primary Keys

Yes, but it's a little tedious.

First, you do not need to use the �Populate Dialog from Tables� action script to initialize the dialog with data for a given row if you are already using the �Load Primary Keys� action script. You should just use one or the other.

If the dialog should be positioned at the beginning of the table, you do not need to do anything. The action script works �as is�. If you are positioning the dialog to a row other than 1, you will need to figure out the row number or index number for the primary key. The index must be based on the same order as your "Load Primary Keys" action script. You can loop through the result set using "rs.data" and "rs.NextRow" to calculate the index number for your primary key value.

Replace the following line:

javascriptSetPrimaryKeys = javascriptSetPrimaryKeys + "{dialog.object}.navigateRecord('first');"

with:

javascriptSetPrimaryKeys = javascriptSetPrimaryKeys + "{dialog.object}.navigateRecord(� + index + �);"

Replace the following line:

var currentKey = {dialog.object}._primaryKeyList[0].d1;

with:

var currentKey = {dialog.object}._primaryKeyList[zero-based index].d1;

The second line change will take a little more work because it is embedded in a "%txt%" directive. The �zero-based index� must be the actual numeric index number minus 1. For example, if you want to populate the dialog with data for row number 10, the JavaScript output for the two line changes above would be as follows:

javascriptSetPrimaryKeys = javascriptSetPrimaryKeys + "{dialog.object}.navigateRecord(10);"

var currentKey = {dialog.object}._primaryKeyList[9].d1;


Hopefully in the future, Selwyn will add an option in the "Load Primary Keys" builder to initially position the dialog at a given key value so we do not have to do all of this work.

[-Jinx-]

Re: Problem Populating a Dialog from Tables and Loading Primary Keys

Hopefully in the future, Selwyn will add an option in the "Load Primary Keys" builder to initially position the dialog at a given key value so we do not have to do all of this work.

When I corrisponded with him over this he seemed to think the idea of doing what we are doing was strange and didn't see a need for it. Basically, he said "why?" and I said "why not?" haha. Maybe I was the first and only one that was bugging him about it or something. A few more little birds in his ear might be a good thing.

[DaveF]

Re: Problem Populating a Dialog from Tables and Loading Primary Keys

I will see what I can do. I like providing a user option that automatically brings up the record you were last accessing. It's nice when you have several dialogs based on the same master table like an employee table for example.

Does anyone else out there want a new property added to the "Load Primary Keys for Parent Table" action script that allows you to specify which record to initially display? If left blank, it would work like it does now and display the first record.

[scowans]

Re: Problem Populating a Dialog from Tables and Loading Primary Keys

Hi All,
I'm trying to modify my Load Primary Keys action script with the lines of code from post #5 above but, i'm having trouble locating the below line of code to change it. I'm trying to accomplish the same (use navigation options within a dlg and have the same starting record in dlg window from the grid row when the dlg is initialized). Dave mentioned that it is embedded in a "%txt%" directive. Any advice on how to access this or any other solutions? Thanks

var currentKey = {dialog.object}._primaryKeyList[0].d1; change to
var currentKey = {dialog.object}._primaryKeyList[zero-based index].d1;