HP Data Entry and Forms Management System (VPLUS) Reference Manual (32209-90024)

Chapter 4 145
Advanced Forms Design
LENGTH CHECK
LENGTH CHECK
Used to specify the minimum length of a field value.
Syntax
MINLEN value ["message"]
Parameters
value The value can be a field, constant, save field, or a numeric expression, or it
may be an index retrieve operand within parentheses. Refer to "Statement
Syntax" earlier in this section for details.
message Specifies a custom error message.
Discussion
A value longer than the field cannot be entered because of the physical limit imposed by
the unprotected field area. For this reason, maximum field length need never be specified
as an edit check. You may, however, specify the minimum number of characters to be
entered with the MINLEN statement.
The value specifies the minimum number of characters allowed in the field. Note that this
length does not include leading and trailing blanks.
The system defined value $LENGTH may be specified. This value allows you to require that
the field be filled. The advantage of $LENGTH rather than the current field length is that
$LENGTH allows you to change the field length without changing the MINLEN specification.
The $LENGTH constant is equal to the length of the field when the forms file is compiled.
Example
1. For example, the minimum number of characters entered in a six-character field could
be specified as:
MINLEN 2
If the user spaces over three characters, types in one nonblank character, and leaves the
rest of the field blank, an error is diagnosed.
2. In another example, MINLEN is used to specify that the field must be filled. The following
statement forces the field to filled, leaving no leading or trailing blanks:
MINLEN $LENGTH
You can also use an indexed operand as follows:
MINLEN (LEN OF F1,F2,F3,F4,F5)
LEN must contain an integer value between 1 and 5, and the current value of the fields F1
through F5 must be positive. The minimum length depends on the value of LEN and the
respective values of F1 through F5.