Calling form won't close with called form script

[Mike Wilson]

Good evening,

I've searched without success on this although I am certain it has been asked before. Although I am not aware that I have ever seen a resolved discussion on this matter.

Table1-Form1 with button with OnPush Event that opens Form2, based on table2, normal mode. Form2 OnInit event scripting is:

1: Close Form1
2. Script that effects Table1, (including table.zap()) then closes itself and reopens Form1.

There is only one script events on the button of form1= Open form2. When form2 opens the OnInit event is close Form1.

Why does it not happen that Form1-Table 1 closes so the script directed to the table can execute?

The exact reasons that I wish this is very longwinded and complex. The question much shorter so I'm starting here. Thanks.

[Tim Kiebert]

Re: Calling form won't close with called form script

Sounds like a timing issue.

I would try closing Form1 in the OnPush event of the button on Form1. Put the form close before opening form2

[CALocklin]

Re: Calling form won't close with called form script

Following up on Tim's idea, have you tried putting an xbasic_wait_for_idle() after the form1.close()?

The xbasic_wait_for_idle() should halt script execution until the form is actually closed. Without it, the rest of the script will try to proceed (and fail) before the form is completely closed.

This may take some trial and error work. The xbasic_wait_for_idle() should wait for ALL "ui" object changes to finish and that would include the startup of Form2 but Form2 is still in the OnInit stage so it isn't really open yet. This might be another reason to add the action to the button.

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Calling form won't close with called form script

Tim, Cal,

I tried all that. Didn't work. I solved it this way:

1. Form1 Button: Open Form2, Close Form1.
2. Form2 OnInit event:
Dim shared vTimer as L=.t. (form timer set to 0.5 sec)
3. OnTimer event:
Execute table1 change action conditional on vTimer = .t.
vTimer = .f.
Close Form2
Open Form1

Cal,
I'm going to try the way that was not working in v7 in v8, and might have been relieved with 'a5_wait...." and see what happens. 'cause the 'wait for idle' is out in v8, because the system is supposed to handle.

[Tom Cone Jr]

Re: Calling form won't close with called form script

Mike, since it's not necessary to open a form in order to change values in a table, I'm curious why you're going through all this trouble to open a form, run an automated procedure processing records in the table and then closing the form? -- tom

[G Gabriel]

Re: Calling form won't close with called form script

Tom/Mike:
I had the same question when I read the first post but hesitated to ask as Mike had already qualified the reasons as a "longwinded".

If I were to guess:
1-Mike wants to zap the table on which Form1 is based
2-He figured, he won't be able to do so as long as the form is open, so
3-He used form2 as an intermediary to run the script that zaps table1, then
4-Re-open form1

I must tell you, there are a lot of short cuts to this script if that was the intended behavior, but hate to pile speculations on top of speculations.

[CALocklin]

Re: Calling form won't close with called form script

cause the 'wait for idle' is out in v8, because the system is supposed to handle.

Careful. I don't recall it being said that it was "out" only something to the effect that it was not needed in most cases. Some people have even reported that it needs to be removed from certain places but I don't recall anyone saying it should never be used.

[G Gabriel]

Re: Calling form won't close with called form script

I must have missed several replies ahead of Tom's.
One other thing you could try is:
TABLE.IN_USE()
xbasic_wait_for_idle does not serve any purpose in v8 other than wasting a miniscule of execution time. It is moot. Take it out of your vocabulary.

[CALocklin]

Re: Calling form won't close with called form script

Be careful about saying "never" -- from the this thread: http://msgboard.alphasoftware.com/al..._wait_for_idle

I'm not sure about this.
I tried REMing out a couple of xbasic_wait_for_idle and my scripts stopped working properly.
I think we need more specific information on this one.
Ron

I just ran into an issue where I can�t get an xdialog (in v8) to work as I want without using "XBASIC_WAIT_FOR_IDLE()" or "UI_YIELD()".
In most cases I use "WAIT_UNTIL()" which works fine, but in this case "WAIT_UNTIL()" won�t do the job.
Both "XBASIC_WAIT_FOR_IDLE()" and "UI_YIELD()" work fine. Which of the two is recommended? And dose it make any difference which one is used?
Thank you,

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Calling form won't close with called form script

Gabriel's conjecture was a bullseye. So, here is the long winded part.

I'm coming into this database secondhand and faced with mitigating some poor design. The table is a lookup support table, 22 fields 4 sets of paired fields, holding values for lookups (list items). Overall, the table holds about 250 records, with the smallest field holding 5 values and the largest 60. The administrator has the privilege to add 'list' items through a form that 'adds a new record' for each addition. Since inception, the field with 60 list items has been added to the most, and other fields less. The outcome is that the table has some fields having a few initial consecutive records with values, and then large numbers of blanks prior to the newest entries. I'm requested to create a utility function that maintains the values in each field within consecutive records (removing the blanks). The administrator desires to keep the entry form for 'list' entries and not address the table directly (which would make life a lot easier).

My initial approach was to generate an array of the fields in the lookup table (named LookUps), using table.external_field_name_get() and for each field an array of the values for each field absent the blanks using table.external_content_get() filtered to isnotblank(). With these, then building a temporary table with the field values being consecutive, and the last step being to copy the temp table back to the original. I wrote the script, it worked great generating the temp table, but the trick was then to get the temp table back to the original when the execution of the function was initiated from the Form based on the originating LookUps table.

I worked it out by using using an intermediary form as Gabriel outlined and placing the initiation of the second table transfer component on that form. It worked out fine with this approach. The function rebuilt the LookUps table, cleaned out of many blanks, and reduced the table record count from 256 to 61. But after executing it several times, and running through my mind the process, I thought it silly to continue producing a "messy table" (owners words) and then cleaning it up. So I wrote a function that instead of adding a new record to the table for each new entry, a new record is only added for additions to fields that have record values at the end of the table (eof), and for the others, acquire the record number that holds the field's last entry, and change the next record that holds a blank to hold the added value. This keeps the field values in consecutive records and the table "clean" at the time of adding new values. It voids the need for the first function that cleaned the table, but some of it's scripting I used in producing the new function.

Wind over...

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Calling form won't close with called form script

Just to round out this thread, I found an interesting function named:

a5runXbasicAfterClosingWindows()

that the docs say is usefull when needing to have exclusive rights to a table, (ex: <tbl.pack() ). I'm thinking then table.zap() would also work, here, and this is just the place for this function.