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

60 Chapter3
INTRODUCTION TO FORMS DESIGN
GETTING STARTED WITH FORMSPEC
Ability to Define More than 52 Single Character Fields per Form
This enhancement allows more than 52 single character fields to be defined for a Form.
Currently the field tag which is defined for a field at screen design (creation) time should
begin with an alphabetic character. This enhancement will allow several other characters
to be used for the field tag, thus increasing the number of single character fields that can
be defined for a Form.
The following are the other characters which can be used for the field tag (defined at screen
creation time):
Digits 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
Specials @,#,$,%,&,*,-,+,<,>,/,\,!,|,=,?,;,_
Field Menu Initialization
In the case where one of the characters listed above (a Digit or a Special) is used in a single
character field, the Field Name will be blanked out when the Field Menu is invoked for the
field the first time. The user should input a new name for the field in this case. With this
enhancement, a maximum of 80 single character fields can be defined for a Form.
Compatibility Issues
Forms created with previous versions of FORMSPEC can be used with this version
without any modifications.
Forms created with this version of FORMSPEC can be used with existing applications
without any modifications.
Forms created with this version of FORMSPEC can be used with previous versions of
FORMSPEC. However, some extra characters may appear near the bottom of the Form Menu
screen which should be ignored. These extraneous characters appear only once, the first
time the Form Menu is invoked for the form, and they do not affect the functionality in any
way.
Terminating FORMSPEC
You can terminate operation of FORMSPEC at any time by pressing EXIT. This returns
you to MPE control which then issues the MPE colon prompt (:).
However, if you have made any modifications and have not compiled the forms file,
FORMSPEC issues a warning. By pressing EXIT again you terminate operation of
FORMSPEC without compiling the file. Refer to "Forms File" for more information on
compiling the forms file.
Unexpected Program Interruption
In case of unexpected interruption due to hitting
BREAK or a terminal power failure,
control returns to MPE. Refer to Appendix G for the steps to recovery from such a
situation. Once you have recovered, the menu will be cleared to initial or previously
entered values. To ensure against damage to the file, reenter the information on all menus
pertaining to the form you were creating or modifying at the time of the program
interruption.