Fly-out forms wanted

[Ian Copestake]

I have a customer table containing 2 sets of address fields, say billing and delivery. I would like the main record creation card just to show the billing fields. I would like all the delivery fields to fly out in some way from the main form. I want these fields to default conditionally to equal the billing fields.
I placed an action button on the main form that opens a second form containing the delivery fields.
The script is
"
DIM layout_ptr as P
layout_ptr = :Form.load("Main_Delivery")
layout_ptr:tables:main.filter_expression="SORTKY = '" + SORTKY.TEXT + "'"
layout_ptr:tables:main.order_expression=""
layout_ptr:tables:main.query()
layout_ptr.show()
layout_ptr.activate()
"
This doesn't work as I want, probably because the record has not yet been saved from the main form. But if it is saved first, the defaults no longer operate on the delivery form.
I tried using a sub-form instead, but this does not offer the 'fly-out' capability and cannot be resized.
Should I be making the delivery addresses a separate table within a set?
Or can the above xBasic be modified to work as I want (I have not learned xBasic yet).

[Tom Cone Jr]

RE: Fly-out forms wanted

Ian,

This is a case where you may want to use a tabbed subform, and put the delivery address fields on the second page of the tabbed object.

Unlike other programming environments with which you may be familiar Alpha Five forms are always 'bound' to the tables upon which they are based. If your primary address fields and your delivery address fields are in the same table, when you open your new form to enter the delivery address values, you've opened a second instance of the same table. That instance of the table doesn't 'know about' the first instance, and can't see the record you were working on because it hasn't been saved yet. Hope this explanation clarifies things for you.

-- tom

[Ian Copestake]

RE: Fly-out forms wanted

Thanks.
I've had a quick look at tabbed subforms.
(Confusingly, they are called Tagged Objects in the program and Tagged Subforms in the Help - there seem to be quite a few of these discrepancies in Help!).

So I could have fields that are only visible if you click on the second tab. But won't the object still take up all the space required by the fields on the main form?
If the size of each tab could be different that might solve it, but this doesn't seem to be the case.

I am aiming for a set of fields that are optional when creating a record. They appear only when asked for, and take up no screen space otherwise.
When they do appear, they may be set to default to equal others fields in the same record. (They must only default if the cursor enters the field).
I suspect you could have some code to save the record before the optional fields appear, in which case a separate form would know about them.
But if I understand it right, defaulting can only happen when the record is first created, so this would not work.

I have experimented with a set, and this would probably do the job. But is there a simpler way?

Regards, Ian.

[Tom Cone Jr]

RE: Fly-out forms wanted

Ian,

Once you get more familiar with Xbasic you will realize that there are several different ways to achieve what you're looking for.

I think the easiest way would be to put the delivery address fields in a separate table, along with a field (like customer number) to identify, uniquely, the customer to whom the delivery address belongs. Then link this second table one-to-one to the main table, using the customer identifier field as the key.

Base your form for the delivery address on the second table.

Put a button on the main form to open (load) the second form when the user needs to enter a delivery address. Pass the customer identifier field and default address values to the second form. There's an example of how to do this in the Code Archive message forum, it's called something like 'Passing Values Between Forms".


Another approach would be to use the same two table set I've just described, but base the data entry form on the set, instead of on the main table, alone.

Then drop a tabbed subform object on the form. Put the fields from the main table on tab page1, and the fields for the delivery address on tab page2. If you do this, check out the FAQ in the Tech support section of this board because the tabbed subform object probably will need to be tweaked to behave as you will want.

-- tom

[Ian Copestake]

RE: Fly-out forms wanted

Thanks again.
I've found the Passing Values example and will look at that.
Could you help me find the Tech Support section and the FAQ you mention?
Ian

[French]

RE: Fly-out forms wanted

It sounds to me like what you're after is a "conditonal object" for your form. Check out what the A5 documentation and help have to say about them and see if that isn't close to what you want.

[Tom Cone Jr]

RE: Fly-out forms wanted

Ian, sorry. My mind played a trick on me. The FAQ I had in mind is not here in Tech Support section of the alpha Five web site. It's the FAQ article at www.learn alpha.com

go here:

http://www.learn alpha.com/FAQs/FAQs.htm

-- tom

[Ian Copestake]

RE: Fly-out forms wanted

Thanks - that's helpful. Now I can at least have a sort of tabbed subform that is completely hidden when not needed.
But it still takes up space on the main layout.
What I was thinking of was a subform that has its own window, so that no space is taken up on the main layout (except for a button of some kind).
I think I can do this with a set of two tables - I just wanted to be sure there was no simpler way.
Ian

[JohnZaleski]

RE: Fly-out forms wanted

If your billing and delivery address fields are all the same size, a conditional object would not take up more space. If the only reason you are creating a second table is because of space on your main form, try using a conditional object.