HP 3000 Manuals

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

INPUT FORMS MENU 

The Input Forms Menu, shown in Figure 5-15, is used to specify one or
more forms whose data is to be written to the output file.  You can
specify as many input forms sequences as there are forms in the forms
file, or you can specify as few as one input forms sequence.

Each input forms sequence may contain a single form name or it may
contain up to 10 form names.  The first form in the sequence (or the only
form) is the reformat identifier.  All reformat identifiers must be
unique to the reformat file.  Subsequent form names in the sequence need
not be unique.


          Figure 5-15.  Input Forms Menu 

Fields 

Forms in Input   The form names in any input forms sequence must be
Sequence         existing forms in the forms file named on the Forms File
                 Menu for this reformat file.  (Refer to Figure 5-11.)

Care must be taken when you specify a sequence of forms.  The form names
following the reformat identifier must be in exactly the same order as
the forms appear in the batch file.  (Each data record in the batch file
is entered on a single form and the name of this form is included with
the data in the batch file.)  To illustrate, assume the following input
forms sequence:

     FORMA (reformat identifier)
     FORMB
     FORMD

And assume the first three records of data in the batch file were entered
on forms in the sequence:

     FORMA
     FORMB
     FORMC

The data entered on FORMA of this sequence will not be written to the
output file.  This is because of the method used by REFORMAT to match
batch file records with input forms sequences in the reformat file.

REFORMAT:

 *  Reads records from the batch file in sequential order from the
    beginning.  (Assume the first record was entered on FORMA.)

 *  Checks all reformat identifiers in the reformat file until it finds
    FORMA. (Assume FORMA is found as the identifier for the sequence
    FORMA, FORMB, FORMD.)

 *  Reads the next record from the batch file.  (Assume the next record
    was entered on FORMB.)

 *  Checks form names in the input forms sequence following FORMA.
    (Assume the next form in the sequence is FORMB, and the check is
    satisfactory.)

 *  Reads the next record from the batch file.  (Assume the next record
    was entered on FORMC.)

 *  Checks next form name in the input forms sequence after FORMB.
    (Assume this form is FORMD; the form names do not match.)

 *  Skip data record written on FORMA.

REFORMAT then takes the next record in the batch file, in this case, the
record written on FORMB, and searches the entire reformat file for a
reformat identifier, FORMB. If such a reformat identifier is found, it
checks the rest of the input forms sequence (as described above) to make
sure that all forms in the sequence match the forms on which the batch
records following FORMB were entered.

When a match is successful, each batch record is discarded as it is
processed.  If the match is unsuccessful, only the first batch record in
a sequence is discarded.

MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation