HP 3000 Manuals

USING VPLUS/V AN INTRO. TO FORMS DESIGN Self-Paced Training Guide

INTRODUCING FORMSPEC 

You must first log on to the HP 3000.  Then, in order to design forms
with VPLUS/V, you must run FORMSPEC. You enter the following command in
response to the MPE colon prompt:

     :RUN FORMSPEC.PUB.SYS  RETURN 

When this command is accepted, FORMSPEC is in control.  You use FORMSPEC
to perform the following functions:

 *  Create and name a forms file to contain your forms.

 *  Name each form and specify the sequence in which it is displayed.

 *  Design the form layout for each form.

 *  Specify the attributes for each field in a form, unless you use the
    default field attributes supplied by FORMSPEC.

 *  Compile the forms file so that it can be used by an application.

Block Mode 

FORMSPEC operates in block mode.  In block mode, all data typed in
unprotected areas on the screen is sent to FORMSPEC at one time when you
press ENTER, rather than line-by-line as with RETURN. FORMSPEC issues
"menu" screens on which you type any necessary information into
"unprotected" areas of the screen.  (Unprotected areas are highlighted.)
You move to the start of each successive field by pressing TAB. The next
sections, in which you design increasingly complex forms, describe in
detail the information you enter on the FORMSPEC menus.

FORMSPEC Function Keys 

Before running FORMSPEC, you should understand how your terminal function
keys are used for FORMSPEC. The functions executed when you press these
keys coorespond to the labels displayed on the terminal screen by
FORMSPEC, as shown in Figure 1-2.


          Figure 1-2.  Function Key Labels for FORMSPEC 

The FORMSPEC labels and their functions are:

PREV FORM        Press this key to display the previous Form Menu.

NEXT FORM        Press this key to display the next Form Menu.

FIELD TOGGLE     Press this key to enter processing specifications on the
                 Field Menu.

REFRESH          Press this key to redisplay the current menu in its
                 initial state.

PREV             Press this key to display the previous menu.

NEXT             Press this key to display the next menu.

MAIN/RESUME      Press this key to request the Main Menu or to return to
                 current menu.

EXIT             Press this key to exit from FORMSPEC.

The use of each function key is described in more detail in later
sections.

Menu Sequence 

The menus issued by FORMSPEC have a basic sequence that can, however, be
varied through use of the function keys PREV FORM or NEXT FORM, PREV or
NEXT, and the MAIN/RESUME key.  In addition, the Main Menu provides great
flexibility in selecting what you want to do, whether it is adding a
form, modifying an existing form, or changing the characteristics of all
the forms in the file, called globals.  Figure 1-3 illustrates the basic
FORMSPEC menu sequence.

Terminate FORMSPEC 

You terminate FORMSPEC and return to MPE control by pressing the function
key labeled EXIT, which is  f8 .  The next time you run FORMSPEC and ask
for an existing forms file, you continue forms design wherever you left
off.

Note that you should compile the forms file before exiting from FORMSPEC.
This insures that any additions or changes to the forms design are
translated into machine-readable form so that the file can be used by a
data entry program.  A compiled forms file can still be modified since
the form definitions are kept in two versions:  a "source" version for
easy modification and a "compiled" version for data entry.

When you run FORMSPEC again after terminating, the Main Menu is issued so
that you can select what you want to do.  For example, if you want to
view and/or change an existing Field Menu, you select the menu by the
name of the field and the form in which it appears.  FORMSPEC then
displays the selected menu.  Or, if you want to continue adding forms,
simply request "Add a Form" and a blank Form Menu is displayed.  Forms
are kept in alphabetical order, but this does not necessarily determine
the order in which forms are executed.  The sequence in which forms are
executed is part of the forms design itself and can be varied easily.


          Figure 1-3.  Menu Sequence in FORMSPEC 

MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation