You can create FMS forms by using either the Form Editor or the Form Language Translator. Use the Form Editor if you want an interactive utility that allows you to see the form as you type it in and work on it. Use the Form Language Translator if you prefer а programming-language style of working, if you do not have а video terminal, or if you have many similar but slightly different forms to create. The Form Language Translator is optional software that is purchased separately.

The product of either the Form Editor or the Form Language Translator is а binary form (stored in а form file), which you subsequently put in а form library or make memory resident.

Once you have created binary forms, you must put them in form libraries or in an object module (which becomes memory resident). Either operation makes the binary forms available to the Form Driver and your application program at run time.

The Form Librarian is the utility that manages form libraries. If you choose to use а form library, you must start by making а new library file with the Form Librarian's create operation. This operation makes а new library file and puts one or more binary forms in it. If you want to add а form to an existing library, you use the insert operation. If you want to exchange one version of а form in а library with а newer version of the same form, you use the replace operation. Replace removes the old version of the binary form and replaces it with the new version. The extract operation copies а binary form from the library and puts it in а form file. The delete operation removes а form altogether. The Form Editor can copy а binary form from а library and make it available for modification.

When the application requires а form at run time, the Form Driver reads the form directly from а form library file that is stored on а disk. You do not link the form library with the application, but you do name the form library in а Form Driver call. Storing forms in form libraries makes it easy to change and manage forms. You do not need to relink the application every time you change а form. Relinking would be necessary if you used memory-resident forms. You can store all your forms in one place. Also, by using form libraries instead of memory-resident forms you can keep the size of the program image smaller.

On the other hand, you may prefer some of the advantages of memory-resident forms. Because you link memory-resident forms with the application program, they are brought into memory when the program is brought in. Since а form library directory does not have to be searched, access to forms by the Form Driver or the application is faster than if the forms were stored in libraries. Memory-resident forms also save you from having to manage additional pieces of the application-that is,form libraries. You create а linkable file of memory-resident forms by using the Form Application Aids utility.

Writing and compiling the application program is, of course, an indispensible step. You will find several other manuals particularly helpful when you write the application program. The VSI FMS Form Driver Reference Manual provides complete reference information on all the Form Driver calls. It also describes the Form Driver's interactions with your program and with terminals. The VSI FMS Language Interface Manual provides information on programming FMS applications in each of seven languages. The Introduction to VSI FMS introduces some concepts and supplies exercises to help you get started with FMS.

During the program development process, you may also find some FMS features helpful. For example, the Form Driver offers а Debug mode that reports status conditions of Form Driver calls.

The Form Application Aids utility also offers some helpful services. You can get listings of form descriptions and of form library directories. You can also get COBOL-like and DATATRIEVE-like field data structure descriptions that you can include (with minor editing) in your source program. See Chapter 6, Form Application Aids.

If you choose to use user action routines (form-associated subroutines), refer to Chapter 2, Form Characteristics and to the VSI FMS Form Driver Reference Manual for help in writing them. Remember that you must associate each user action routine with the appropriate form when you create the form.

As with any other application program, you must compile the application program and user action routines to produce object modules suitable for linking. Also, if you have user action routines, you must link with your program an object module containing the names and vectors of all the routines to be called. You can generate such an object module by using the Form Application Aids. The Form Driver uses these vectors to locate user action routine addresses in memory at run time.

You can test forms at several stages in the development cycle, with either of two utilities.

While you are using the Form Editor to create and modify forms, you can use the Test phase to display а form as an application program would and to type data into fields and display field help.

You can also test forms by using the Form Tester utility, which allows testing on either VT52-, VT100-, or VT200-compatible terminals. The Form Tester lets you test forms in the same way as the Test phase of the Form Editor.

You will probably find it convenient to use the Form Editor's test capability when you are already working with the Form Editor. If you are not in the Form Editor, you will probably prefer to use the Form Tester. You can test forms created with the Form Language Translator by using the Form Tester.

Once you have done the following, you must link the application and all its pieces with the Form Driver:

The VSI FMS Form Driver Reference Manual provides information on linking the application.

Fields in FMS are specified by field pictures. А field picture is а contiguous sequence of field-validation characters and optional field-marker characters. Field-validation characters are characters that define data positions within а field and describe valid input for each position in that field. FMS validates data entered into fields at run time by comparing the characters entered with these undisplayed field-validation characters (see Figure 2.5, “Background Text, Field-Marker Characters, and Field-Validation Characters” and Table 2.1, “Field-Validation Characters”). Field-marker characters can be included in а field when the form is created. Field-marker characters, however, do appear on the screen at run time and are used to make the form more readable (see Table 2.2, “Field-Marker Characters”). Field-marker characters are the constant part of the field.

А field picture, therefore, specifies both the size of а field, and the set of data characters allowed to be input. Field-marker characters are never returned to the program as part of а field's value.

Field pictures must include at least one field-validation character.

All others are invalid for any picture.

Date and time fields are special predefined fields provided by FMS. Whenever а form is displayed or refreshed, the system date and time is placed in any date or time fields respectively. Date and time fields are normally display only fields, but that attribute can be changed to allow the terminal operator to enter the date or time. Date and time fields are specified with one of а set of predefined field pictures.

The following date fields are available:

The following time fields are available:

Table 2.3, “Date Field Formats” and Table 2.4, “Time Field Formats” summarize the date and time field formats and their corresponding field pictures.

FMS allows you to specify the order in which fields are to be accessed at run time, when your program requests the Form Driver to get all fields in а form. The order specified is also the order in which field data is positioned in the record returned to your program. You do not need to use this ordering; it is only а convenience. You can always have the Form Driver return the values of the fields one at а time in any order you choose. If your program does request the Form Driver to get all field values at once, the cursor is moved to the first field in the form, and the program waits for the operator to enter data for that field. When the operator presses the NEXT FIELD function key (usually ТАВ), the cursor moves to the next field in the form, according to the order that you specified. This process is repeated until the operator indicates that the form is complete.

Field attributes are characteristics of а field. You assign field attributes when you create а form, and they become active at run time. Some field attributes control data display, some control data alignment and padding, and others control the way an operator puts data in fields at run time. The complete list of field attributes is:

2.4.1.8. Fixed Decimal

The Fixed Decimal attribute specifies а field with а fixed decimal point separator and special field justification rules. In fixed-decimal fields the part of the field to the left of the decimal separator is treated as right justified, while the part of the field to the right of the decimal separator is treated as left justified. In а fixed-decimal field, the cursor is first positioned over the decimal point separator, and characters are entered into the left side of the field. As each character is entered, the other characters to the left of the decimal separator are shifted one position left to make room for the new entry. When the left side of the field is complete, the operator types in the decimal separator, either а decimal point or а comma, and then proceeds to enter data into the right side of the field. The decimal separator in а fixed decimal field is not returned to the application program as part of the field's value (see Figure 2.6, “Fixed Decimal Attribute”). The field-picture rules for fixed-decimal fields are listed below.

• The field-validation characters must be all 9s or all Ns.

• At least one period or comma must be included.

• The rightmost period or comma becomes the active decimal separator.

• At least one field-validation character must be on each side of the active decimal separator.

• Any number of other field-marker characters are permitted.

The attributes Left Justify, Right Justify, and Fixed Decimal are mutually exclusive. The default for FMS fields is Left Justify.

Form attributes are characteristics that apply to an entire form. The list of form attributes is:

Line attributes are characteristics that apply to entire lines in а form. FMS line attributes are double size, double wide, and scrolled.

Any number of lines in а form can be given line attributes. Although the lines in а single scrolled area must be adjacent, you can define more than one scrolled area in а single form. By default, lines in а form are defined to be normal size and nonscrolled.

Video attributes are visual characteristics that can apply to any part of the form. FMS allows you to specify the full range of video attributes supported by VT100/200 terminals. VT100/200 video attributes include Blink, Bold, Reverse, Underline, and Character Set. Combinations of video attributes can be assigned on а per character basis except for fields, which must be assigned video attributes as а unit. On VT100 terminals without the advanced video option, only the Reverse or Underline attribute is displayed, depending on whether the cursor is а block or underscore, respectively. Figure 2.7, “Underline Video Attribute” shows the Underline video attribute.

FMS has alternate character sets, double size and double wide lines, ruling characters, and AST reentrancy. In addition, FMS display several forms on the screen simultaneously. FMS requires more complete control of the terminal to handle the additional screen characteristics than FMS V1 did.

FMS V1 queried the terminal directly for terminal type, options (such as Advanced Video Option), and current screen characteristics. This operation did not allow type-ahead; you could not enter commands or data while FMS was preparing for form display.

To allow type-ahead, FMS queries the operating system for terminal attributes and screen characteristics. Type the following VМS command to make sure that VMS knows your terminal attributes and screen characteristics before running your application:

$ SET TERMINAL/INQUIRE@

The operating system queries your terminal, and records its characteristics. Do not type ahead until the operation is complete. You might consider putting the SET TERMINAL/INQUIRE command in your login command file.

At any time you can type the following VMS command to display the characteristics of the current terminal:

$ SHOW TERMINAL@

If your terminal characteristics differ from those the operating system has recorded, your FMS application may not perform correctly. FMS also expects that the ANSLCRT and DEC_CRT attributes are set appropriately. See the VSI OpenVMS Command Language User's Guide for details on terminal characteristics.

You can select а name for the form on which you are working. If you do not give а name to the form in the Form phase, FMS uses the name of the input file as the form name. If the file name begins with а numeric digit, FMS appends the letter F to the beginning of the name to make it suitable as а form name. See Section 2.4.2.1, “Form Name” for naming rules. When the Assign Form Attributes questionnaire is displayed, the cursor is positioned next to Form Name. You type in the name that you want for the form and then press ТАВ to move the cursor to Help Form Name.

You can specify the name of а help form that you want to associate with the form on which you are working. А help form is not required. See Section 2.4.2.1, “Form Name” for naming rules.

To give the name that you want to the help form, move to the appropriate field (using ТАВ) in the Assign Form Attributes questionnaire and type in the name of the help form.

You can specify the background (black or white) that the form will have when the application program is running.

To select screen background, move to the appropriate field (using ТАВ) in the Assign Form Attributes questionnaire and type the number of your choice.

You can specify how wide the form will be in the running application. The form can be either 80 columns or 132 columns wide.

To select the screen width you want, move to the appropriate field (using ТАВ) in the Assign Form Attributes questionnaire and type the number of your choice.

You can choose one of five character sets to appear in the form at run time. The US, UK, and RULE character sets are standard on every VТ100-family terminal. SET1 and SET2 character sets on the VT100 require optional hardware. Refer to your VT200 User Guide for information about the use of the multinational character set and the compose character function. See Chapter 2, Form Characteristics for more detail about character sets.

To select the character set you want, move to the appropriate field (using ТАВ) in the Assign Form Attributes questionnaire and type the number of your choice.

You can specify the area to be cleared at run time when the form is displayed. You indicate the area by specifying the first and last lines. Initial default values are 1 through 23. These fields are right justified with the zero fill attribute. If either initial value is deleted, the Form Driver supplies а value of zero. An error message will be displayed if only one value is left at zero.

Refer to Chapter 2, Form Characteristics for more detail.

To specify the screen area to clear, move to the First Line field (using ТАВ) under Screen Area to Clear in the Assign Form Attributes questionnaire and type the number of the first line. Then move to the Last Line field and type the number of the last line.

If you choose field highlighting, the field on which the cursor is positioned at run time blinks, appears in bold type, appears in reverse video, is underlined, or has any combination of these attributes. See Section 2.4.4, “Video Attributes” for more details.

To select the type of highlighting that you want (or No Highlighting), move to the appropriate field (using ТАВ) in the Assign Form Attributes questionnaire, and type Х. You must erase the Х in the No Highlighting field before selecting any specific highlight attributes. To use Clear as the highlight, erase the No Highlight and all other highlight attributes.

The highlight option fields are supervisor only fields. If the NO HIGHLIGHTING field is Х, then the highlight option fields cannot be accessed. If the NO HIGHLIGHTING field is BLANK, then the highlight option fields are accessible. The default is NO HIGHLIGHTING.

If а form will have user action routines associated with it, you must provide the names to those user action routines. Remember that user action routines are routines that you associate with а particular form and FMS invokes at run time when the operator presses а function key or HELP. Refer to Chapter 2, Form Characteristics for more information on user action routines.

To name user action routines for а form, move to the appropriate field (using ТАВ) in the Assign Form Attributes questionnaire, type Y, and press RETURN. The Form UAR questionnaire appears on the screen. Move to the appropriate fields in the questionnaire and type in the names of the user action routines. Move to the appropriate fields to type in associated data that is made available to the user action routines at run time.

If you choose to assign initial field attributes, any new fields you create during the current editing session will have those attributes. In other words, you can preselect characteristics for the Form Editor to assign to fields. Those characteristics become active at run time and in the Test phase.

To assign initial field attributes, move to the appropriate field (using ТАВ) in the Assign Form Attributes questionnaire, type Y, and press RETURN. The Assign Initial Field Attributes questionnaire appears on the screen. Again move to the appropriate field and type Х for each initial field attribute that you want to assign. For Clear Character, type in the character that you want to be displayed in fields at run time. For Default Value, type in а data or numeric string that you want to appear in the fields when the form is displayed. For Help Text, type in а help string up to 80 characters long. For Field Character Set, choose one of the character sets offered.

Pressing GOLD ADJFLD breaks the current field into two adjacent fields. The cursor is positioned in the newly created, second field.

An error is signaled and the adjacent field operation fails If the cursor is not in а field or If the field is not at least two characters long.

You can use ADJFLD (adjacent field) in the Layout phase to create fields next to one another. The field to the left of the cursor is marked modified by the Form Editor and retains the original attributes assigned to it. The field to the right of the cursor is marked as а new field, and default attributes are assigned to it. You can then edit the attributes of the new field using the Assign phase.

Pressing GOLD RESET cancels an active select, gold, or scroll function. The cursor does not move.

Pressing CENTER centers the contents of а line or the contents of а select area. Leading and trailing spaces surrounding text on а line are not counted as characters. An error is signaled and centering fails if the action would write over existing characters that are not spaces. To center one or more lines, use the select operation. If select is not active, the entire current line is centered.

You can assign different character sets to parts of а form. All VT100s come with character sets that FMS calls US, UK, and RULE.

To define an area of the screen to have а specified character set, press GOLD CНARSET after defining а select area. You receive а prompt, which you can reply to with US, UK, RULE, SETI, or SET2. Typing SAVE saves the last character set that you choose. If select is not active and the cursor is in а field, the entire field is used as the select area. If select is not active and the cursor is not in а field, the current character is used as the select area.

If an error occurs during processing, the error is signaled using the current signal mode (Terminal Bell or Quiet). The error message is not displayed unless you press HELP. Pressing any other key restores the character set prompt.

You use keypad keys as well as keyboard keys to position the cursor in the Layout phase.

The cursor symbol, а rectangle or an underscore, blinks at the current screen position.

Up a Line

Pressing UPLINE moves the cursor up one line. The cursor remains in the same column on the new line. If you try to move the cursor above the top line of the screen, an error is signaled.

When you move from а normal line to а double-size or double-wide line, or vice versa, the screen column position does not change, but the column number does.

Down a Line

Pressing DOWNLINE moves the cursor down one line on the screen. The cursor remains in the same column on the new line.

When you move from а normal line to а double-size or double-wide line, or vice versa, the screen column position does not change, but the column number does.

If you try to move the cursor below the bottom line of the screen, an error is signaled. Pressing LINEFEED performs the same action as DOWNLINE. The cursor moves down one line on the screen in the same column.

Forward а Character

Pressing CHARFWD moves the cursor one character position to the right on а line or to the beginning of the next line if moving right would go over the last column.

Back а Character

Pressing СНАRВСK moves the cursor one character position to the left on а line or to the end of the previous line if moving left would go beyond the first column.

Pressing BACKSPACE moves the cursor one character position to the left on а line. An error is signaled if the cursor is at the left margin.

Next Таb Stop on а Line

Pressing ТАВ moves the cursor to the next fixed tab stop. The tab stops are 1, 9, 17, 25, 33, 41, 49, 57, 65, and 73. For 132-column forms, the additional tab stops are 81, 89, 97, 105, 113, 121, and 129. Tab stops that you set on your VT100 in SET-UP А are ignored.

From the last tab stop on а line, the cursor moves to the first tab stop on the next line. If the cursor is on the last line of the screen, an error is signaled and the cursor does not move. Tabbing moves the cursor only; the content of your form is unaffected.

Beginning of the Current Line

Pressing BLINE moves the cursor to the beginning of the current line. If the cursor is already at the beginning of а line, the cursor moves to the beginning of the preceding line, and so on. The action is rejected and an error is signaled if BLINE is pressed at the beginning of the first line of the screen.

Beginning of the Next Line

Pressing RETURN (or ENTER) moves the cursor to the beginning of the next line on the screen. If the cursor is on the last line of the screen when you press RETURN, an error is signaled and the cursor does not move.

End of a Line

Pressing ELINE moves the cursor to the end of the current line. If ELINE is pressed at the end of а line, the cursor moves to the end of the subsequent line, and so on. If the cursor is on the last line of the screen when you press ELINE, an error is signaled and the action is rejected.

End of Text

Pressing ЕОТ moves the cursor to the end of text on the current line. The cursor moves to the right of the last non-blank character on that line. If the cursor is in the last character position of the line, and that character position is occupied, the character position is actually one character position to the right. If you press ЕОТ when the cursor is at the end of а text line, the cursor moves to the end of text on the next line.

Bottom of the Screen

Pressing GOLD ВОТТОМ moves the cursor to the left bottom corner of the screen. If the cursor is already at the lower left, an error is signaled and the cursor does not move.

Top of the Screen

Pressing GOLD ТОР moves the cursor to the upper left corner of the screen. If the cursor is already at the upper left, an error is signaled and the cursor does not move.

Pressing CUT saves all the characters in the select area in the paste buffer. The select area on the screen is replaced with spaces. The characters in the paste buffer retain their video characteristics.

If no select area is currently active and the cursor is positioned in а field and CUT is pressed, the field becomes the select area; otherwise, the current character becomes the select area.

А select area can be defined for а scrolled area, but the entire scrolled area must be included.

An error is signaled and CUT fails if only part of а scrolled area is selected. After а cut the cursor is positioned at the top left corner of the previous select area.

Pressing GOLD D displays the date menu from which you choose а date field picture. Enter the number of the type of date field that you want. Press RETURN to insert the field picture of your choice.

The field picture that you choose is inserted to the right of the current cursor position on the screen. The cursor is positioned to the right of the newly inserted field.

You cannot edit the field picture after it has been entered. You must first delete the entire field, using CUT or DELLINE.

If an error occurs during processing, the error is signaled using the current signal mode (Terminal Bell or Quiet). The error message is not displayed unless you press НЕLР. Pressing any other key restores the Date menu.

Figure 3.8, “Date Field Menu” shows the date format menu that Layout displays on the last line of the screen.

АН characters and lines that you delete are retrievable from character and line buffers in the Form Editor. In other words, for every delete function, there is an undelete function. Undeleting what you deleted always restores whatever was most recently deleted.

Character to the Left of the Cursor

Pressing DELETE deletes the character to the left of the cursor. The character is stored in the character buffer and can be replaced by pressing GOLD UNDELCHR.

An error is signaled if DELETE is pressed when the cursor is at the leftmost character position on а line.

If you are in Overstrike mode, pressing DELETE replaces the character to the left of the cursor with а blank and moves the cursor one position to the left.

In Insert mode, the cursor and the characters to the right of the cursor are shifted left one position.

Pressing GOLD UNDELCHR places the deleted character at the current cursor position. The character remains in the buffer as well. If the buffer is empty, then an error is signaled, and the cursor does not move. The action of the cursor and other characters on the line is the same as If the character had been typed.

Character that the Cursor Is On

Pressing DELCHR deletes the character the cursor is on. The deleted character is stored in the character buffer and can be recovered by pressing GOLD UNDELCНR.

When you press DELCHR again, the character in the buffer is replaced with the most recently deleted character.

In Overstrike mode, the character position is replaced with а space, and the cursor moves one character position to the right on the line.

lf you are in Insert mode, the characters to the right of the cursor are moved one character position to the left. The cursor remains at its current position, and а space is added to the end of the line.

Pressing GOLD UNDELCHR places the deleted character at the current cursor position. The character remains in the buffer as well. If the buffer is empty, then an error is signaled, and the cursor does not move. The action of the cursor and other characters on the line is the same as If the character had been typed.

Beginning of а line

Pressing CТRL/U deletes all characters from the current cursor position to the beginning of the same line and replaces them with spaces. The cursor does not move. If the cursor is already at the beginning of the current line, the previous line is deleted. The operation fails if the cursor is in the middle of а field. Only entire fields can be deleted. The characters are stored in the line buffer, so you can do а GOLD UNDELLINE to get them back. UNDELLINE places characters to the left of the cursor if you deleted to the beginning of а line.

End of a Line

Pressing GOLD DELEOL deletes all characters from the current cursor position to the end of the same line and replaces them with spaces. The cursor does not move. If the cursor is already at the end of the current line, the next line is deleted. The operation fails If the cursor is in the middle of а field. Only entire fields can be deleted.

The characters are stored in the line buffer so you can do а GOLD UNDELLINE to restore them. UNDELLINE places characters to the right of the cursor if you deleted to the end of а line.

Line

Pressing DELLINE deletes the entire current line.

Pressing DELLINE in Insert mode causes all the lines below the deleted line to move up one line. The cursor can be located anywhere on the line being deleted. The deleted line is stored in the line buffer. А blank line is inserted on the bottom line of the screen. Pressing DELLINE in Overstrike mode deletes the entire line and replaces it with а line filled with spaces.

To retrieve а line deleted by а previous DELLINE, press GOLD UNDELLIN. In Overstrike mode, the characters are placed in the current line. GOLD UNDELLIN fails if you attempt to either cross а line boundary, write over characters that are not spaces, or press GOLD UNDELLIN when the character buffer is empty. In Insert mode, the screen is scrolled down а line and the retrieved line is placed on the screen. If the bottom line is not blank, an error is signaled.

Pressing GOLD S when the cursor is on а normal line, makes the line, and all characters on the line, double size. If the line is already double size, then the line becomes normal size.

А double-size character takes up four character positions. Two character positions are on one line and two character positions are on the line directly below that. The remainder of the lines on the screen are moved down one line and the bottom line is removed. The entire line is, in other words, made double wide and double high.

Since an 80-column form has а maximum of 23 lines, you can have only 11 double-size lines with а maximum of 40 (66 in 132-column mode) characters per line with the advanced video option. А 132-column form without AVO can have only 6 double-size lines with а maximum of 66 characters per line.

An error is signaled If the double-size line is too long (more than 40 or 66 characters for an 80- or 132-column form, respectively). An error is also signaled if the bottom line is not blank, because it cannot be deleted.

Pressing GOLD W when the cursor is on а normal line, makes the line, and all characters on the line, double wide. If the line is already double wide, then the line becomes normal width.

А double-wide character takes two screen positions. Characters and spaces are enlarged horizontally from one character position to two.

Up to 40 characters are allowed on а double-wide line in an 80-column form. For а 132-column form, you can have up to 66 characters on а double-wide line.

Press SELECT to define а select area for а line or box. А screen line, part of а screen line, or а rectangular area of the screen are all valid select areas for DRAW.

Press DRAW after you have pressed SELECT. А line is drawn around the perimeter of the select area. Corners and other intersecting characters are inserted automatically.

If the perimeter of the select area contains any characters other than spaces or other line-drawing characters, an error is signaled and DRAW fails.

Press SELECT, select the line or box, and then GOLD UNDRAW to delete lines or boxes. An error is signaled and UNDRAW fails If the select area has nongraphic characters.

You can enter the Assign phase directly from the Layout phase by pressing GOLD FLDATR while the cursor is in а field picture.

GOLD FLDATR allows you to assign attributes to the current field picture only.

When you complete attribute assignment for а field, return to the Layout phase by pressing RETURN.

Press GOLD MENU to return directly to the Form Editor menu.

An error is signaled and GOLD FLDATR is rejected If the cursor is not in а field.

Pressing GOLD OPENLINE inserts а line of spaces at the current cursor position by shifting the remaining lines on the screen down. You can be in either Overstrike or Insert mode and the cursor can be anywhere on а line.

If the last line of the screen is not blank, the Form Editor rejects the action, an error is signaled, and the cursor does not move.

The following modes are available in the Layout phase and indicate the following:

Only one mode of each pair can be active at а time.

You can choose modes through keys on your terminal's keyboard. Overstrike, Text, and Terminal bell are the default modes. Pressing GOLD INSERT, GOLD FIELD, or GOLD Q activates the alternate mode.

Pressing OVRSTRIK puts you in Overstrike mode, which replaces the character at the current cursor position with the new character that you enter, and moves the cursor one position to the right. If you delete а character in this mode, that character position is replaced with а space. Pressing DELETE in Overstrike mode moves the cursor left, but the remaining characters on the line do not move. This is the default input mode for Layout.

Pressing GOLD INSERT puts you in Insert mode, which places every character that you type at the current cursor position and moves the cursor one position to the right. Any characters to the right of the cursor are shifted right to make room for the inserted character. The character at the cursor position is also moved to the right. The last character at the end of the line is removed. An error is signaled If the last character on the line is not а space. Pressing DELETE in Insert mode causes the space to be closed up, and the characters to the right of the cursor shift left.

When а character is typed in any mode of Layout, the cursor is one character position to the right of the character just entered. If the cursor is in the last column of а line and а character is typed, the cursor cannot move to the right after inserting the character. However, the Form Editor behaves as though the cursor did move to the right. The column indicator in the status line shows the column one position greater than the line length. This condition is called the hanging cursor position. Characters cannot be entered but DELETE and the cursor movement functions are all valid.

Pressing ТЕХТ puts you in Text mode, which lets you input background text on the screen. This is the default input mode for Layout.

Pressing GOLD FIELD puts you in Field mode, which lets you create field pictures on the screen. You can type in only valid field picture characters, which are either field-validation characters (A, C, N, X, 9), or field-marker characters (B, $, -, %, #, etc.). See Chapter 2, Form Characteristics for tables of these characters.

Pressing GOLD Q changes the current signaling mode from Terminal Bell to Quiet and vice versa. If the screen background is specified "As ls," the screen is forced to black for Quiet signaling mode.

Terminal Bell signal mode is а 'beер." Quiet signal mode reverses the current screen background instead of beeping. The signal mode is visual rather than audio. The default signal mode is Terminal Bell.

Pressing GOLD PASTE inserts characters and spaces saved in the paste buffer into an area the same size as the cut. The characters are inserted left to right down the screen, and the cursor ends up at the lower right comer of the pasted area. The inserted characters cannot cross line boundaries or other nonblank characters. If characters would be overwritten, an error is signaled and the GOLD РАSТЕ function fails.

You can paste scrolled areas adjacent to one another, but the scrolled areas remain separate.

You can paste lines that are double size or double wide. An error is signaled if those lines are too long for the current line(s). Only entire lines maintain their line attributes when cut or pasted. If your screen width is 80 columns, your double-size or double-wide line can only be 40 characters long. А 132- column screen can have 66 characters in double-size or double-wide lines.

Pressing CTRLIR redisplays the current form. Refresh is useful after а system broadcast, static problems, or terminal line distortions. The cursor does not move.

Pressing GOLD п repeats а non-numeric character or an action а specified number of times. For example, if you wanted to repeat the letter 'А:35 times, press GOLD, then type the number '35'. The REPEAT prompt appears. Type the letter 'А.' You see the letter 'А: repeated 35 times.

The character and line DELEТE functions and UNDELETE functions can­ not be used with а repeat count. This feature provides а safeguard against deleting the contents of character and line storage buffers and making unwanted changes to the screen display. You cannot repeat numeric characters with а repeat function because numeric keys are used in the definition of а repeat sequence.

Pressing SCROLL begins the definition of а scrolled area. The normal, cur­ rent line becomes а scrolled line. The scrolled area is displayed in reverse video.

Use one of the following keys, that move the cursor up the screen, to expand а scrolled area up:

Use one of the following keys, that move the cursor down the screen, to expand а scrolled area down:

You can make а line scrolled either before or after fields and background text are on it. You must assign the double-size or double-wide attributes to lines before they can be made scrolled or included in а scrolled area.

The contents on any scrolled line in а scrolled area (fields and background text) are replicated automatically throughout the other lines of the area as you type.

An error is signaled and Scroll fails if any lines, other than the first line, in а scrolled area are not blank.

To expand an existing scrolled area, move to the first or last line of the scrolled area and press SCROLL and the valid keys mentioned above to expand it.

Pressing ENDSCROL terminates the definition of а scrolled area. The reverse video of the scrolled area during SCROLL is returned to the previous video characteristic.

GOLD RESET cancels scroll definition and restores the screen.

Pressing GOLD UNSCROL removes the scroll attribute from the current line and then deletes any characters on that line. The unscrolled lines are replaced with blank lines.

You can unscroll lines only at the top or bottom of а scrolled area. On the last remaining line of а scrolled area, GOLD UNSCROL removes the scroll attribute only. Any fields and background text remain on the line. You must use DELEТE if you want to delete the character on the line. An error is signaled if you try to unscroll а line that is not scrolled.

When you change the contents or attributes on any line of а scrolled area, all edits or assignment within that scrolled line are repeated automatically throughout the scrolled area.

Help is available during scroll definition to describe the active functions.

Pressing SELECT marks the current cursor position as а starting point for а select area. The end of the select area is the final position to which you move the cursor. А select area is marked in reverse video.

А select area is defined as а rectangular area of your screen that is acted upon by several of the following functions:

When the select area has been modified by one of the above actions, the selected screen area is restored to its former video characteristics. Figure 3.9, “Select Area” illustrates а select area.

During the definition of а select area, the cursor can only move between lines of equal length. Select areas cannot contain both normal-size and double-size lines. An error is signaled if such an attempt is made.

Pressing TSTPASTE allows you to see if the characters in the last cut fit where you want them to fit. Starting at the cursor, Test paste marks the out­ line of the impending paste in reverse video. If the paste does not fit, an error is signaled and the outline of the impending paste continues to be displayed. Typing any character restores the screen and does not effect the characters in the buffer.

Pressing GOLD Т displays the time menu from which you can choose а time field. Enter the number of the type of Time field that you want. Press RETURN to insert the field picture of your choice.

The time field that you choose is inserted to the right of the current cursor position. The cursor is positioned to the right of the newly inserted field.

You cannot edit the field picture after it has been entered. You must first delete the entire field using CUT or DELLINE.

If an error occurs during processing, the error is signaled using the current signal mode (Terminal Bell or Quiet). The error message is not displayed unless you press НЕLР. Pressing any other key restores the Time menu.

Figure 3.10, “Time Field Menu” shows the time format menu that Layout displays on the last line of the screen.

You can assign video attributes to parts of а form in а select area. If а select area is not active, the current cursor position or the current field become the select area.

Pressing VIDEO displays the VIDEO prompt on the last line of the screen. The select area is still in reverse video. Valid responses to the VIDEO prompt are:

You can enter more than one video attribute to the VIDEO prompt by separating them with commas or spaces.

The VIDEO prompt is redisplayed after you make а video assignment. You exit from video and return to editing by pressing ENTER on а blank line or by typing SAVE.

If an error occurs during processing, the error is signaled using the current signal mode (Terminal Bell or Quiet). The error message is not displayed until you press HELP. Pressing any other key restores the video prompt.

Field Name lets you select а name for а field in а form. The cursor is automatically positioned next to Field Name in the Field Attributes Questionnaire. The default name of F$nnnn, where nnnn is the four-digit sequence number in which the field being assigned was created, is displayed next to Field Name. To enter а different name, press LINEFEED to delete the default name and type in а new name (see Section 2.4.1.7, “Field Name” for information on field names).

Indexed fields are fields with the same name but with а different numerical index for identification. Indexed fields in FMS must have identical field pictures and attributes. Individual fields of an indexed set can be located any­ where on the screen.

To create а set of indexed fields using the Form Editor, create one field of the set, and make it indexed by assigning it an index value of 1. Mter assigning the field an index value of 1 in the Assign phase, return to the Layout phase and use the CUT and PASTE operations to duplicate this field for each element of the indexed set.

The two numeric values K and N shown next to Index Value in the Assign Field Attributes questionnaire represent the index value of the current field, and the total number of fields in the indexed set respectively. You can assign а value for K if you wish, but the value for N is computed by the Form Editor.

When you create indexed fields, the Form Editor assigns the index value K а default value based on the order in which the fields are created by the PASTE operation. You can re-order the field index values by specifying K explicitly. Note that the index values are required to be sequential from one to the number of indexed fields in the set. Any index values that are duplicate or out of range cause the form Editor to issue an error message when you try to save the form. The form Editor treats fields with an illegal index value as modified in order to make them easy to find in the Assign phase.

Note the following special properties of assigning an index value of K= О.

If а field is the only element of an indexed set and an index value of zero is specified, the field is changed to no longer be indexed.

If а field is an element of an indexed set with more than one member and an index value of zero is specified, а new default index value is assigned. This is useful for assigning а legal index value when the Form Editor has warned that the current value is duplicate or out of range, and you are not sure what alternative values are available.

Since indexed fields are required to have identical field pictures, the form Editor does not allow you to alter the field picture of an indexed field. To edit an individual indexed field picture definition, you must first remove the field from any indexed sets. This can be done by changing the field's name. However, you cannot replace the field in the indexed set (by changing its name back) unless it is once again identical to the other fields in the proposed set. Changing the field attributes for one field in an indexed set alters the attributes for all the other fields in that set (except for the field name and index value attributes, of course).

You can also create indexed fields by specifying identical field pictures in the Layout phase, and then assigning the fields the same name in the Assign phase. When you add а field to an indexed set using this method, however, the field name is rejected unless all the field attributes are identical.

Reordering fields in the Order phase does not effect the numbering of indexed fields.

To select an attribute, press ТАВ and BACKSPACE to position the cursor next to Autotab, No Echo, Display Only, Right Justify, Fixed Decimal, Zero Fill, Zero Suppress, Uppercase, Must Fill, Response Required, and Supervisor Only, and type an Х. To select а clear character, press ТАВ to position the cursor next to Clear Character and type in any displayable character. In response to the UARs question, type а Y to display а UAR questionnaire and type in names and associated data for one or more UARs that you want associated with this field at run time. The maximum number of Field UARs for а field is 15. Press REТURN to return to the Field Attributes questionnaire. The default is no UARs for а field. Type an N if you are not going to associate any UARs with the field.

The Default Value specifies а string that will be placed in the field initially, before the operator enters any data. If the operator does not alter the field, the default value will be returned to the application program. For example, if you are writing а program for an insurance company for displaying car policies, you can assign а Default Value of $100.00 to all policies. The terminal operator can change that value to $200.00 on the less common comprehensive policies.

Help Text for а field is а phrase or sentence that might be helpful to the terminal operator in filling in the field. Type in а line of information next to "Help Text." The terminal operator sees the Help Text when HELP (PF2) is pressed in а field at run time. Press RETURN to complete the Field Attributes questionnaire.

If you responded "Y" to the UARs question in the Field Attributes Questionnaire, а second questionnaire called Field Completion User Action Routines is displayed (see Figure 3.13, “Field Completion UARs Questionnaire”).

You can assign up to 15 user action routines to а field. You paginate through this questionnaire in the same way that you do in the Named Data phase, by using ТАВ and BACKSPACE.

Statement items are used to specify the actual characteristics of the form entity being described. Statement items include names, coordinate specifications, text strings, and various attributes.

Form descriptions are prepared using any conventional text editor. The following sections give some general guidelines for writing form descriptions.

Figure 4.1, “Layout Sheet” is а layout sheet that you can use to graphically set up your form prior to writing а text file containing Form Language statements. The layout sheet helps you provide coordinates for your ТЕХТ and FIELD statements as well as helping you to see how you want to position items in а form.

FORM NAME='WELCOME'  !The name of the first displayed form.
HELP='HELP WELCOME'  !The help form for WELCOME,
BACKGROUND=BLACK     !Dark background.

The Form Converter accepts а valid TDMS form that is stored in the CDD as а CDD$FORM (i.e., with а CDD protocol of CDD$FORМ) with а CDD core level of 2.

The Form Converter will output а valid FMS form file (assuming the /NOOUTPUT qualifier is not used). It will also output informational messages to the SYS$ERROR device.

Assuming the /NOOUТPUТ qualifier is not used and the TDMS form is valid, this product will always attempt to output an FMS form file, regardless of the presence of any TDMS features that are not supported by FМS.

The TDMS to FMS Form Converter will ignore the following TDMS features that are contained in the ТDMS form being converted (appropriate informational messages will be issued to the user if the /LOG qualifier is specified - see Appendix A, VSI FMS Software Messages for the messages that will be issued):

In addition, the Form Converter will modify the following field attribute combinations to make them compatible with FMS:

The function keys that are active in the Form Editor phase are shown in the Figure 10.1, “Form Editor Keys”. To use the function on the upper part of а key, press that function key. To use the function on the lower part of а key, use а GOLD key sequence.

Table 10.1, “Comparison of V1 Form Utility Options and V2 Commands” shows the Form Utility options and the corresponding V2 commands and qualifiers.

The FMS/DESCRIPTION/DECLARATIONS command produces а data description of а form that can be used in а COBOL data division or in а DATATRIEVE record definition.

The format of the data description used in а COBOL data division or in а DATATRIEVE record definition has completely changed for FMS V2. V1 has two variables defined for each field; one variable for the field name, and one variable for the data. V2 defines only the data variable.

V1 variable names are built from а prefix, а form name, and а field name. V2 variable names are built from the field name only. COBOL programmers can use literals in the procedure division when referencing fields. Below is а section of a V1 data description that appeared in the V1 VSI OpenVMS FMS Software Reference Manual that shows the format of the FUT/CC output. The data description has а field named "PARTNO" in а form named "PARTS."

    .
    .
    .
 01 FORM-PARTS-DEF 
    03 FORM-PARTS PIC Х(6) VALUE "PARTS", 
    03 N-PARTS-PARTNO PIC Х(6) VALUE "PARTNO", 
    03 D-PARTS-PARTND PIC Х(9),
    .
    .
    .

In V2, the FMS/DESCRIPTION/DECLARATIONS command produces the same data description in the following format:

    .
    .
    .
 01 PARTS 
    05 PARTND PIC Х(9),
    .
    .
    .

In most cases, the output can be used without modification; however, in the case of scrolled or indexed fields, you may have to edit the output.

If you modify an upgraded V1 form, and you want to create а new data definition to reflect the changes, you must also modify the variable names in the new data definition to match the variable names in the rest of the application.

Scrolled Fields

In V1, scrolled fields are included in the data definition and are noted in the comments. The V2 data definition works for the general form wide field calls. In the V2 data definition, all scrolled fields are ignored. They are not defined or listed in the FMS/DESCRIPТION/DECLARATIONS output, and there are no corresponding messages to indicate that scrolled areas have been ignored.

Indexed Fields

The FMS/DESCRIPTION/DECLARATIONS command determines if an index field group is part of а table. А table is defined as follows: the first element of an indexed field is followed, in access order, by another first element of an indexed field that contains the same number of indexes. Only the first element of the indexed set is checked for access order; all other elements of the indexed set are ignored.

In the following example of а form description, the first elements of the indexed fields NUMBER_OF_SALES, and DOLLARS are sequential in access order. Both groups have three elements. Therefore, the indexed fields are defined as а table in the data definition.

Example Form
EMPLOYEE: ___________________

ТYРЕ OF SALE   NUMBER OF SALES   DOLLARS
   REТAIL:      __________       $----,--
WHOLESALE:      __________        ----,--
    OTHER:      __________        ----,--
    TOTAL:      __________       $----,--

Example Description

01 EMPLOYEE_SALES.
   05 EMPLOYEE                     PIC Х(20).
   05 FMS_TABLE_1 OCCURS 3 TIMES.  
      10 NUMBER_OF_SALES           PIC Х(5).
      10 DOLLARS                   PIC X(6).
   05 TOTAL_NUMBER_OF_SALES        PIC Х(6).
   05 TOTAL_DOLLAR_AMOUNT          PIC Х(7).