HP 3000 Manuals

GETTING STARTED WITH FORMSPEC [ HP Data Entry and Forms Management System (VPLUS/V) ] MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation

HP Data Entry and Forms Management System (VPLUS/V)

GETTING STARTED WITH FORMSPEC

You execute FORMSPEC in interactive mode by entering the following
command in response to the MPE colon prompt:

:FORMSPEC.PUB.SYS

FORMSPEC runs entirely in block mode. HP block mode terminals are placed
in block mode automatically by VPLUS/V; refer to Appendix G for a list of
supported terminals.

When you run FORMSPEC, it displays a series of "menus" on which you enter
the specifications to define the forms for a single application. Each
menu uses a fill-in-the-blanks type of format. Refer to the menu
descriptions later in this section for more information on all the
FORMSPEC menus.

With FORMSPEC, you press ENTER to record data; you use function keys to
move between FORMSPEC menus and for other tasks, as described below. You
can use your terminal editing keys to correct data typed into fields on
the FORMSPEC menus; refer to your terminal manual for more information.

Most of the capabilities of interactive FORMSPEC are also available with
batch mode FORMSPEC. (See "Using FORMSPEC in Batch Mode", Section 7 for
more information.)

Specify a Forms File

The first menu displayed whenever you run FORMSPEC is the Forms File
Menu, as shown in Figure 3-1. The letters v.uu.ff used for Figure 3-1,
and for all the examples shown in this manual, will be replaced by the
version number of VPLUS/V used on your system.

Figure 3-1. Forms File Menu

At the Forms File Menu, you specify the name of the forms file to be
created or modified, such as the example FORMSF2.PUB.ACCTG shown in
Figure 3-1; press ENTER. If the forms file does not exist, FORMSPEC
prompts you to press ENTER again to confirm that you want to create a
forms file.

Choose an Option

Once you have specified the name of the forms file and pressed ENTER, the
next menu is the Main Menu, as shown in Figure 3-2. Notice that the top
line, called the window line, contains useful information, which includes
the version number (v.uu.ff), the title of the menu (Main Menu), and the
name of the forms file (FORMSF2.PUB.ACCTG).

Figure 3-2. Main Menu

From the Main Menu, you have access to the menus of FORMSPEC with all of
their forms design features. You simply type the option desired in the
selection box and press ENTER. In Figure 3-2, option A is specified,
which selects "Add a form" and leads to a sequence of menus that allow
you to design a form simply and easily. This process is described later
under "Ease of Forms Design".

Many of the options, including L, D, C, and X, only require information
in the fields on the Main Menu in order to be executed immediately.
Option B lets you create and modify and application-ready buffer for a
particular form.

FORMSPEC Function Keys

In addition to the control provided by the Main Menu, the defined
function keys, shown in Table 3-1, allow you to select menus either for
initial definition or for modification of an existing forms file. The
combination of the Main Menu and function keys gives you the ability to
change any form, field, or global specification as you define the forms
file.

Table 3-1. FORMSPEC Key Labels

The function keys used by FORMSPEC should not be confused with the
function keys defined by an application or by ENTRY for use while the
application is executing, as discussed under "Advanced Forms Design"
later in this section. Although the two groups of keys are physically
the same programmable keys, their functions differ in most cases.

Menu Sequence

FORMSPEC displays its menus in a predetermined sequence. As each menu is
displayed, type in the specifications you want and then press ENTER. If
you do not want to enter a specification on a particular menu, or you
want to skip over one or more menus, you can use the menu sequence
control function keys (NEXT FORM, PREV FORM, NEXT, and PREV). These keys
allow you to select menus relative to the current menu in order to make
changes or additions. Figure 3-3 illustrates the relation between the
menus provided by FORMSPEC and the function keys that control menu
sequence.

You can move forwards or backwards through the sequence of menus to
locate a particular menu by pressing NEXT or PREV, respectively. If you
want to skip the field menus associated with each form, you can use the
PREV FORM or NEXT FORM. An alternate method is to request the Main Menu
with MAIN/RESUME, and then select an existing menu.

Although it is not technically a menu, the form layout associated with
each form is treated as the menu following the Forms Menu when NEXT is
pressed, and as the menu preceding the first Field Menu when PREV is
pressed.

The sequence control keys can also be used from the Main Menu. You can
go to the Main Menu at any time from any other menu by pressing
MAIN/RESUME. You can return to the menu from which you requested the Main
Menu by pressing MAIN/RESUME. In this case, the menu on the screen when
MAIN/RESUME was requested is treated as the current menu. If you have
just entered FORMSPEC and the Main Menu is displayed, pressing
MAIN/RESUME results in a display of the Globals Menu. From the Globals
Menu, NEXT FORM causes the first Form Menu to be displayed; NEXT causes a
Save Field Menu to be displayed.

NOTE The number of Field Menus displayed depends on the number of fields
you defined on the screen for the form. The system automatically
displays a Field Menu for each field named on the screen and
displays the default values for the field. When menus for all
fields on a form have been displayed, the Form Menu is redisplayed.
If you have no more forms to design, press MAIN/RESUME for the Main
Menu through which you compile the forms file. Otherwise, continue
defining forms by specifying the next form on the Form Menu.

Figure 3-3. Relation Between Menus & Function Keys

Creating an Application-ready Buffer (ARB)

The purpose of the ARB is to allow you to transform screen data into
application data and back again by converting data types between screen
and application, and by reordering the fields.

Once you have created a form and saved it in the forms file, you can
create an application-ready buffer (ARB) for it if you choose. Not every
form needs to have an ARB, you can create ARB's for selected forms only.
You can also create an ARB for a form at any time after you have created
the form itself, and you can delete an existing ARB and generate a new
one if you have made extensive changes to the associated form. Fields on
the form are mapped one-to-one to the ARB when you select GEN from the
ARB Menu. You can rearrange fields on the form using the Screen Design
Menu without affecting the ARB, and you can add and delete ARB fields
without affecting the form by selecting RES (Restructure) from the ARB
Menu.

Before you can generate and ARB, you must define the Data Type
Conversions you want to take place between the form on the screen and the
ARB. From the Globals Menu, you access the Data Type Conversions menu and
define the data conversion defaults. Screen and application data types
are listed under "Data Type" further on in this section. Creation of an
ARB is described in detail under "Using FORMSPEC to Create an ARB" in
this section.

At runtime, the ARB transforms the data as it appears on the screen into
a format that the application can use without further manipulation, and
converts application data back into a format suitable for display on the
screen.

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.

MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation