"Auto naming" a file

[Bill Hardister]

I have a service request application that has a button on the input screen that when pressed runs a script which creates two letters. The first is a hard copy and the second a text file. The user has to enter the name of the file for the text document. We name the document by taking the the first three letters of the employees last name and adding the record number and a .prn extension to create a unique file name. So, Jim Smith receiving request number 20134 would receive file Smi20134.prn. This adds a level of potential error I would like to remove. I know I could create a calculated field or variable that would create the file name for me. What I don't know is whether or not it is possible to have this data "fill in" the "Output file name" prompt that Alpha 5 displays on screen when it is time to enter the file name. Does anyone know if this can be done and how?

[Ken L Herrold]

RE:

Bill:

If you want the prompt to display YOUR file name and let the user see it and accept or change it, use the second parameter of UI_GET_TEXT(), the default.

ui_get_text( Title, Caption Text [, Default String [, Format String]] )

I.E.
dim v_name as c
v_name='BUILD you're variable here in xbasic 'i.e. SMI1234
ui_get_text("File Name", "Enter Here",v_name)

This will display the prompt with 'SMI12345' filled

Is that what you're after?

Ken

[Bill Hardister]

RE:

That's on the right track. When you set up a letter to print to a file, there is a blank where you can enter the file name you want the document to be saved as. Since I want each document to have a different name, I left that space blank. For this reason, Alpha automatically prompts for the file name each time the button is pressed. I can get the function you mentioned to display a default and prompt for a file name, but I still get the Alpha default dialog asking me to enter a file name and the default dialog is blank.

[Ken L Herrold]

RE:

Bill:

Thanks, I see what you're saying and, like you, the solution is beyond my experience.

Good luck.

Oh TOM === BILL === CAL can you help this guy?

Ken