Setting Field values

[DRW]

I frequently have situations where I need to set/update values for fields that don't physically appear on either a form or browse screen and which can not be suitably set using default values or calculations established as part of the table filed rules. Based on my limited Alpha experience, it seems that unless a field appears on the form or the browse screen there is no simple way to affect its value apart from the field rules. I thought that I could use an Action Scripted event to accomplish this via the Set Field Value action, but Alpha won't permit the selection of a field control as the object of the event unless it pysically exists on the form or browse screen. Help?

A simple Example:
I might have a table containing a field that is used to indicate where the source entry of the data was made. This field would be set or updated with one value if the entry is made in Form/Browse A, and a different value if the entry is made in Form/Browse B. This a field that I don't want the end user to see or have any interaction with so it would not be placed on the form or the browse screen. How can I affect the value of this field in this circumstance?

[Stan Mathews]

Re: Setting Field values

This a field that I don't want the end user to see or have any interaction with so it would not be placed on the form or the browse screen.

Being on the form and being visible are separate matters. You can get and set the values of field objects on a form whether they are visible or not. You can set the values of the underlying table fields without their being on the form.

[DRW]

Re: Setting Field values

Stan thanks for your response.

I am aware that being on a form and the visibility of a control when placed on the form are two separate issues and that field values can be manipulated for either.

"You can set the values of the underlying table fields without their being on the form."

This is precisely where I am missing the magical connection. I'll try to clarify. Say I have a simple table with fields: CustID, RefDoc, Date, Amount, and Source. When records are entered by means of a Browse, I want to explicitly set the value of Source dependent upon which Browse is used to enter the record, without Source needing to be planted in the browse view. If the record entry originates from a Browse called SalesOrder, I want to set Source as 'SO', and if the record originates from a form called CounterSales I want to set the value as 'CS'. If Source isn't put into the Browse display as a column then how do I control setting its value since it won't appear on the list of available controls from which to pick for defining Set Field Value browse event?

[Al Buchholz]

Re: Setting Field values

Add the field to the form/browse and then set the hide property on.

[DRW]

Re: Setting Field values

Ok, placing a field control on a form and setting it to hidden in order to be a ble to then have the ability explicitly control its value outside of the actual data entry process strikes me a as a somewhat inelegant and convoluted. I suppose for many 'Form' situations it would workable. But how does one make a browse column hidden? There is no Column property setting that I can find that adresses 'hidden'. So I try to define a Browse event on the simple Browse I previously described using Action Scripting to hide a field control (column). It doesn't seem to work. I pick 'Hide Object' as the action and then try to pick a specific object (in this case field) to be added to the list of hidden objects. But Alpha shows no objects that can be selected to be added to the list. I checked the help file and it suggests that 'hide object' action should work with a browse. I can't get it to.

[Tom Cone Jr]

Re: Setting Field values

Douglas, another solution involves a bit of xbasic script. How do your users save a record? Do you require them to push a button? Is it possible for the browse and the form to both be open at the same time?

-- tom

[Stan Mathews]

Re: Setting Field values

But how does one make a browse column hidden?

Edit the width of the column. Make it .0001 or so. Won't be hidden but will be difficult to see.

[Al Buchholz]

Re: Setting Field values

Edit the width of the column. Make it .0001 or so. Won't be hidden but will be difficult to see.

Oops about the hidden property of the browse field. Another option is to grab the right side of the column title and drag it to the left side.

I think you can set the width to zero.

I've done via the object explorer...

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Setting Field values

Douglas,
I'm wondering if this is what you had in mind. The example has 2 forms and a browse. The code is in the Field Rule Record event OnSaveRecord. When the user saves the record, it updates the field:Source in the Main table with the name of the object where the entry was made and also places an entry into the Audit table.

Hope this helps

[DRW]

Re: Setting Field values

Mike, thanks so much for posting your example. Its very close to what I have in mind and provides me with some ideas of how to approach my problem using xbasic.

My immediate need was/is to effect field value updates much like your examples, except the data entry operations would be performed totally within either an embedded browse or named browse without the use buttons to invoke either the create or save operations. In other words the user would strictly be adding records in a browse/tabular format and the Source field would get updated upon simply saving a row by moving to another or new record row or exiting the browse and saving the changes.

I played around a bit with trying to get Browse events to accomplish the objective with mixed results. Alpha demonstrates some interesting peculiarities with how it deals with Browse events. I'm scratching my head still trying to deduce the logic of how/why Alpha produces the odd results that I encounter. Figure if I beat my head against the wall long enough the light bulb will come on. But I'm kind of thinking that I will ultmately need to resort to xbasic code much along lines of your examples in order to correctly and consistently accomplish my needs.

I have one caveat regarding your examples with respect to the persistency of events coded as table field rules. Doesn't that approach mean then that the event(s) will always be triggered all instances whenever the table is acted upon in a create or change mode? I would not want this to be the case as I can envision circumstances where data modifications might need to be made to records without regard to the values contained in the Source field - in which case I wouldn't want the event updates to be invoked and risk unintended alterations to the Source field. So, I am presuming that the event programming would instead need to be attached to directly to the specific form or browse wherein I want those event updates to occur.

[Tom Cone Jr]

Re: Setting Field values

Douglas, I think you're looking at the situation correctly. The CanSave event for the browse object in your form would be a good "hook" to tie your script to.