MAIN MENU

To add a form, simply type A in the selection box and press ENTER. In response, FORMSPEC displays a Form Menu, as shown in Figure 3-18 “Form Menu”, so you can define the form. For details of form definition using this menu, see the description below under "Form Menu".

If you specify S in the selection box and press ENTER, a blank Save Field Menu is displayed. This menu, as shown in Figure 3-24 “Save Field Menu”, allows you to specify a save field description. If you want to modify a save field, you use PREV or NEXT to locate the particular Save Field Menu specification. For more information, refer to the "Save Fields Menu" description.

If you specify T in the selection box and press ENTER, the Terminal/Language Selection Menu is displayed. This menu, as shown in Figure 3-31 “Terminal/Language Selection Menu”, allows you to specify the terminal or set of terminals as well as the native language (if utilizing Native Language Support) with which the forms file will be used. For more information regarding Native Language Support, see Section 8. (Refer to "Terminal/Language Selection Menu" below for detailed information.)

Type G in the selection box, but do not specify a form or field name. Press ENTER. The Globals Menu, as shown in Figure 3-26 “Globals Menu”, is displayed so you can make changes to the global characteristics of the forms file. It provides access to the Data Type Conversions Menu. (Refer to "Globals Menu" for detailed information.)

To display the Form Menu for a specific form, type G in the selection box, specify the form name, and press ENTER. (You can also locate the Forms Menu with PREV FORM or NEXT FORM. When the Form Menu is displayed, you can then change any specification on the menu. (Refer to "Form Menu" below for a discussion of the form description.)

The Field Menu for a specific field can be located by typing G in the selection boxes then specifying both the form and field name, and pressing ENTER.

You can display or change field descriptions either on the Field Menu or directly during the form layout. The field attributes (except for length and number) and processing specifications can be entered and changed directly on the Field Menu. Any new fields are added, existing fields deleted, or the number or length of fields are changed by changing the form layout. (For details, refer to the "Ease of Forms Design" discussion earlier.)

Type an L in the selection box, specify the form name and press ENTER to print a description of any form in your forms file. If you want to list all the forms in the file with a description of the file in general, simply type L but do not specify a form name. Press ENTER. Refer to the example listing in Figure 3-13 “Forms File Listing” The listings are printed on the standard list device (;DEV=LP, usually, the line printer) if there is no overriding MPE :FILE command. Consult Appendix E for information on the file equations and the JCW that VPLUS uses when listing forms files.

To delete a save field, specify D in the Main Menu selection box, specify the save field name, and press ENTER. The field will be deleted. You should be sure there are no references to the deleted field in the processing specifications of any other field (refer to Section 4).

You can delete an entire form from the forms file by typing D in the selection box on the Main Menu, specifying the form name, and pressing ENTER. If the form has an ARB associated with it, the ARB is deleted at the same time.

To copy a form, type C in the selection box. Then specify the name you want to give the new form, the name of the existing form to be copied, and, if the form to be copied is not in the current file, the name of the file containing this form. Press ENTER. If the form has an ARB associated with it, the ARB will also be copied.

You can compile the current forms file by typing X in the selection box on the Main Menu and pressing ENTER.

If the forms file has already been compiled, only new and modified information is recompiled unless a global attribute such as a save field, an item on the Terminal/Language Selection Menu, or an item on the Globals Menu has been modified. The new compiled version replaces the previous version. There is never more than one compiled version of a forms file at a time. You may however modify the source version without affecting the compiled version. For example, if the compiled version is being used for data entry, it is not altered in any way as you modify the source version. When the source is completely modified, you can compile it and use the newly compiled version for data entry. In that case, the previous compiled version is lost.

To compile to a fast forms file, type X in the Main Menu selection box exactly as you would for any compilation (or recompilation), but also supply the fast forms file name and press ENTER.

Form family relationships can be created by typing an R in the Main Menu selection box, and the names of the two forms which are to be "related" in the Relate fields and pressing ENTER. The forms must already exist and their form layouts must be identical. The forms must be distinct forms; that is, one form cannot be both the parent form and the child form. Furthermore, the child form cannot already be a child form or a parent form. Thus, it is also possible to relate forms which were never previously related. Family forms and their characteristics are fully discussed under "Form Families" earlier in this section.

To create, modify or delete an application-ready buffer (ARB), type B in the Main Menu selection box, and the name of the associated form in the ARB Menu field, and press ENTER. The form must already exist in the forms file and the data type conversion record must have been set up using the Globals menu. Construction of an ARB is discussed in detail later in this section.