Sca Micro Templates Release 2 Manual

Release 2

Little templates toadd a lot to yourClarion applications

2009 Carlos Gutirrez - Sistemas deComputacin Accesibles del Noroeste, SC

SCA Micro Templates for Clarion Release 2 2009 Carlos Gutirrez

Table of ContentsIntroduction .............................................................................................................................. 4

Installation ................................................................................................................................ 5

Downloading ......................................................................................................................... 5

Installing ............................................................................................................................... 6

For users of Release 1 ............................................................................................................... 7

Browse to Clipboard to Excel..................................................................................................... 8

What it does ......................................................................................................................... 8

How to add it to your application ........................................................................................ 10

Template Prompts Reference .............................................................................................. 13

Additional information ........................................................................................................ 14

The Invisible Calculator ........................................................................................................... 16

What it does ....................................................................................................................... 16




Entry controls Cleartype fix and settings ................................................................................. 19

What it does ....................................................................................................................... 19




Auto Next-Tab......................................................................................................................... 23

What it does ....................................................................................................................... 23




Browse Header Sort ................................................................................................................ 27

What it does ....................................................................................................................... 27




Browse Reverse key order ....................................................................................................... 32

What it does ....................................................................................................................... 32





Multiple record insert with refresh ......................................................................................... 34

What it does ....................................................................................................................... 34




Refresh window button .......................................................................................................... 35

What it does ....................................................................................................................... 35




Date Range Button .................................................................................................................. 38

What it does ....................................................................................................................... 38




Multi-DLL applications ............................................................................................................ 41

Adding the templates to solutions using multiple applications as dlls .................................. 41


IntroductionWhen we deploy a new application and do the training, we like to observe how people interactwith the application. Sometimes we can identify small modifications to our windows that willsave hours to the user. This also applies to the development process, if we find we are doingsomething time after time, we must do something to automate it.

Thats how our Micro Templates were born. Some of them save time to the users, and somesave time to the developer.

Youll find that our templates are very simple to implement and to use. Many are globaltemplates that are populated only once in each application and they do their job in all theprocedures.

If you have an idea for a new template or a new feature, please contact us at:http://clarion.sca.mx, by mail to: [email protected] or post it to: http://clarionsca.uservoice.com

http://clarion.sca.mx/mailto:[email protected]://clarionsca.uservoice.com/


InstallationDownloading

Please visit our site http://clarion.sca.mx and selection the option Downloads RegisteredSubscribers. You must be logged in with the user name and password you used whenordering the subscription, otherwise, the folder will look empty.

http://clarion.sca.mx/


Installing

The name of the setup program is SCAMicro2Install.exe; it handles installing andregistering the templates. It detects which Clarion versions you have installed and lets youchoose one. It supports Clarion 5.5, 6.x and the new structure of Clarion 7.x.

The installer can install the templates to Clarion 4 and 5. We havent tested with those versionbut they may work. If you find compatibility problems with these versions, please contact uswith the exact problem details and we will try to fix them.

If you have more than one Clarion version installed, just run the setup program again as foreach Clarion installation.

The setup program complies with the Clarion 3rd Party Association standards for Clarion 7 andClarion 6 and older.

This table shows the installed files and the actions performed by the setup program (pathsshown are an example; they may be different in your Clarion installation):

Folder\Files Clarion 6 and older Clarion 7Template\sca2.tpl

C:\Clarion6\3rdParty \Template

C:\Program Files\Softvelocity \Clarion 7\Accessory \Template

Libsrc\scainvca.clw scabrwxl.incscabrwxl.clw scainvca.inc

C:\Clarion6\3rdParty \Libsrc

C:\Program Files\Softvelocity \Clarion 7\Accessory \Libsrc

Examples\scaexam.app theexe.apponedll.app basedll.appcleartype.bmpscamicro.dct sca32.icoscaedit.ico scadelete.icoscaclose.ico scacancel.icoscaaccept.ico scaadd.ico

C:\Clarion6\3rdParty \Examples\SCA\MicroTemplates

C:\Documents and Settings \All Users\Documents \SoftVelocity \Clarion7\Accessory \SCA\MicroTemplates

Documentation\SCA Micro Templates Release2 Manual.pdf(This file)

C:\Clarion6\3rdParty \Docs\SCA\MicroTemplates

C:\Program Files \Softvelocity \Clarion 7\Accessory \Documents \SCA\MicroTemplates

Images\iehand.cur scadrop.icoscamicrologo.bmpscarefresh.icoscacopyexcel.icoscaexcel.ico

C:\Clarion6\3rdParty \Images

C:\Program Files \Softvelocity \Clarion 7\Accessory \Images

Bin\SetClarion3rdPartyRed.exe

C:\Clarion6\3rdParty \bin

Addins\AccessoryMenu.addinMicroTemplates.addinSCA.AddinSCA.resources

C:\Program Files \Softvelocity \Clarion 7\Accessory \Addins

Extra Actions: Template registration

RED file configuration:*.tp? =%ROOT%\3rdParty\template*.* =%ROOT%\3rdParty\images*.clw = %ROOT%\3rdParty\libsrc*.inc = %ROOT%\3rdParty\libsrc

Template registration

Add links to website anddocumentation to the Help Accessory menu.


For users of Release 1Release 1 and Release 2 are two independent template chains. We did it this way becauseRelease 2 doesnt include the template XP Control enable and the template Auto Next Tabwas restructured to work only as a global template.

So, you can keep all your applications developed with Release 1 that use these features, andinstall Release 2 for your new applications.

The template Browse Header Sort in Release 2 is identical to version 1.07 of Release 1.

You can get the latest (1.07) Release 1 version if you have a subscription to Release 2, or justcontact us and we will email it at no cost (please send us your name and the mail address youused to buy Release 1).

The feature XP Control enable is now included in Clarion 6 and newer (XP/Vista manifest). Ifyou need this for Clarion 5.5 and Release 2, please download the file XP and Vista manifest forClarion 5.5 from the Free Clarion Templates section of our site: http://clarion.sca.mx.

http://clarion.sca.mx/


Browse to Clipboard to ExcelWhat it does

Excel is the new Paper. Many users dont feel they have the information in their hands untilthey have it an Excel sheet.

This global extension template adds a menu option to the popup menu (right click) of all thebrowses in the application. The menu option copies the browses data to the clipboard, andprompt the user to automatically paste and format it in a new Excel sheet.

If the user clicks on No, the data can still be pasted manually in the Excel sheet in anyposition:


If you prefer to have the feature more visible to the user, there is a Button Control Templatewhich can be populated for each browse:


How to add it to your application

In your application use menu option Application Global Properties (or use the icon),then Extensions button Insert, scroll down until you find Browse to Clipboard to Excel(or type scabrw to use the locator in Clarion 6), and the button Select:

Thats all. The global template detects all browses in the application and adds an option to thebrowses popup menu.

If for some reason you need to disable the template for one procedure, open the procedureExtension, add the extension Browse to Clipboard to Excel and click on the Disablecheckbox:


If you want to have a button visible near the browse, open the window in the WindowFormatter, click on the Control Template button ( ), select Refresh Window Button, andthen place the button where you want it:


If the window has two or more browses, youll be prompted to choose the browse to whichthe button will be linked before placing the button in the window:


Template Prompts Reference

Global Extension:

Disable: Disables all code generation for this template in all procedures.

Add popup menu option to all browses: Enabled (default) adds a menu option to all browsesin the application. Disabled, it only adds the global class to the application. In this case, theButton Control Template should be populated to each browse where the feature is wanted.

Menu option text: Text for the popup menu option.

Icon: Icon for the popup menu option.

Procedure Extension:

Disable: Disables all code generation for this template in current procedure.

Button Control Template:


Add popup menu option: This option cant be edited if the global Add popup menu option toall browses is enabled. If you disable the global option, you can choose if the option is addedto the browses popup menu, or only use the button.

Additional information

If you want to change the text or look of the Paste confirmation dialog, go to Global Properties Embeds, scroll down until you find SCA Browse to Excel Before Parent Call, click onInsert, select Source and the Select button:

And paste and edit this code:

IF MESSAGE('Do you want to paste the data in a new Excel book and apply Autoformat?', |!Text 'Paste to Excel?', |!Title ICON:Question, |!Icon BUTTON:Yes+BUTTON:No, |!Buttons BUTTON:Yes) |!Default = BUTTON:Yes RETURN True ELSE RETURN False END

If you dont want a confirmation dialog, paste only this code:

RETURN True

If you dont like the icon the default icon:

there is an alternate one included in the images folder named scacopyexcel.ico: , oryou can use your own. Change it in the Global Extension or in the Button Control Templateproperties.

To read the browse data, the template uses the browse class methods It works with filters andcode in the .validaterecord embeds. It works with Page Loaded or File Loaded browses.


The Invisible CalculatorWhat it does

Users of financial applications are constantly using a desktop calculator or the WindowsCalculator to do some simple math operations, and then enter the result in a forms field.

The Invisible Calculator lets them do the math operations directly in the forms field, the userenters:

And when the Tab key is pressed, it changes to:


In your application use menu option Application Global Properties (or use the icon),then Extensions button Insert, scroll down until you find Invisible Calculator (or typescainv to use the locator in Clarion 6), and the button Select:

Thats all. The global template will be enabled for all numeric fields (pictures starting with@n) in all the windows in the application. It will also work for entry fields in Edit-in-placebrowses.


If for some reason you need to disable the template for one procedure, open the procedureExtension, add the extension Invisible Calculator (procedure) and click on the Disablecheckbox:


Global Extension:






The text typed by the user is passed to Clarion EVALUATE function, so an invalid expressionmay return zero. This also means that mathematical functions are available:

Numeric fields with DECIMAL alignment can cause problems if the user enters amounts withdecimals. Its recommended to change them to RIGHT alignment.


Entry controls Cleartype fix and settingsWhat it does

This is a Global Template that configures some properties of some controls in all theapplication, for example, it can make all ENTRY fields FLAT, color REQuired fields, show a hand( ) cursor when over buttons etc. (check Template Prompts Reference below for a full list).

Also, Clarion 6 and older have a problem with ENTRY field with a Truetype font in computerswhere ClearType is enabled:

Windows Vista and Windows 7 enable Cleartype by default in PCs with LCD monitors. Clarion 7fixes this problem, but as it may take a while for Clarion developers to port all applications toClarion 7, this template solves the problem:


In your application use menu option Application Global Properties (or use the icon),then Extensions button Insert, scroll down until you find Invisible Calculator (or typescaent to use the locator in Clarion 6), and the button Select:


Thats all. The global template will process al windows in the application. For Edit-in-placebrowses it will configure the font of the temporary entry fields created by the ABC classes.

If for some reason you need to disable the template for one procedure, open the procedureExtension, add the extension Cleartype and Entry controls settings (procedure) and click onthe Disable checkbox:



Global Extension:


Fix Cleartype for ENTRY/SPIN/DROP/COMBO: Replaces the font of those controls with aBitmap font

Bitmap Font: The font to use. It must be a Bitmap font.

Set Flat ENTRY/SPIN/DROP/COMBO/TEXT/LIST: Changes FLAT property for those controls toTrue

Set Boxed TEXT: Set the BOXED property for TEXT controls to true

Set color for REQ ENTRY/SPIN/DROP/COMBO/TEXT: Changes the color of those controls ifthey have the REQ property. It helps the users to identify what info must be entered beforepressing Accept (i.e. instead of pressing Accept to find out which fields are required).

Color: The color to use for required field. Default is:

Declare ColorReq() procedure: It declares a procedure to update the color of a control if youchange the REQ property programmatically, for example:

IF PO:IsShipped = True ?PO:Address{PROP:Req} = TrueELSE ?PO:Address{PROP:Req} = FalseENDColorReq(?PO:Address)


Set cursor for BUTTON: Changes the cursor property of all buttons in the application so themouse shows a little hand like Internet Explorer:

Cursor: The cursor file to use. IEHAND.CUR is included, but you can choose your own.

Set Icon for WINDOW: Set the icon for all windows in the application:

Icon: The icon file to use. SCA32.ICO is included in the example application, but youll want touse your own.




Code to fix Cleartype is generated but not compiled in Clarion 7


Auto Next-TabWhat it does

(To avoid confusion, in this text TAB is the controls container inside a SHEET, and Tab is thekeyboard key)

If you have a form with many fields and you organize them in TABs, if the user uses the Tab keyto navigate the controls, when the Tab key is pressed in the last filed of the first TAB, thecursor goes to the next field after the SHEET, when usually the user wants to go to the firstfield of the next TAB.

Standard behavior:

With the template active:


In your application use menu option Application Global Properties (or use the icon),then Extensions button Insert, scroll down until you find Invisible Calculator (or typeautonex to use the locator in Clarion 6), and the button Select:


Thats all. The global template will check all windows in the application and for windows withTABs will generate the code.

If for some reason you need to disable the template for one procedure, open the procedureExtension, add the extension Cleartype and Entry controls settings (procedure) and click onthe Disable checkbox:



Global Extension:


Using EnterKey?: If you enabled the option Use ENTER key instead of Tab, you have toenable this option. With this, the template will detect the Enter key in addition to the Tab keyto select the next TAB.

Using EscKey?: If you are using code or a template to let the user go to the previous field usingthe Escape key, you have to enable this option.





If a window doesnt have a TAB control, it wont generate any code for that window.

If you are using an Enter=Tab template which uses ALIAS, this template wont work. It worksfine with Clarions Use ENTER key instead of Tab which uses PROP:Alert


Browse Header SortWhat it does

When viewing a browse, the user frequently wants to change the order depending on what islooking for. This template adds this feature by linking columns in the browse to sort ordersdefined in the browses Conditional Behavior.

Clicking again in the de currently selected column, reverses the sort order:

Clicking in another column, changes the sort order and the displayed locator:



1. From your Browse Procedures properties window configure all the sort orders youwant to use using Tables and the Conditional Behavior button. When configuringadditional sort orders, enter 0 (the number zero) in the Condition field:

2. From the same window, select the button Extensions, select your browse, press thebutton Insert and select Browse Header Sort:


3. In the Default Sort Order box, configure the list box column linked to the browsesdefault sort order, and if you have a Locator, enable and select it:

4. In the Conditional Sort Order box, press the Insert button and select one of thekeys defined in Conditional Behavior and link it to the respective list box column. Youcan also configure a locator for this sort order.

5. Repeat for all the sort orders you configured:



Disable: Disables all code generation for this template.

"Ascending" symbol: Character to add to the list box column header when the column is theactive sort order, and the order is the same as the key.

"Descending" symbol: Character to add to the list box column header when the column is theactive sort order, and the order is the reverse of the key.

"No sort" symbol: Character to add to the list box column header when the column is not theactive sort order. It indicates the column can be clicked to sort.

[+ - ] [ ] [^ v ]: Buttons to configure the previous three fields with preset values.


Single Click on header, DoubleClick on header, CtrlClick on column, ShiftClick on column,AltClick on column, Other Keys on column: Hotkey to select the column to sort. The defaultworks fine in most cases.

Default Sort Order: Configuration of the browses default key (Default Behavior).

Column: List box column that matches the key used in the browse.

Symbol at (Left/Right): If the symbol should be added to the left or right of the columnsheader.

Using Locator?: Enable if the window has a locator control for the default key.

Locator: Control used as locator for the default key

Alert keys (No|Numbers|Letters|Both): For Page Loaded browses there is no need to alertkeys for incremental locators because the list box usually has the IMM property. For FileLoaded browses this options should be enabled to numbers, letters or both, depending on thekind of locators being used.

Conditional Sort Order: Configuration of the browses additional sort orders (ConditionalBehavior)

Key: The key defined in the Conditional Behavior entry

Column: The column that matches the key used in the Conditional Behavior entry

Symbol at (Left|Right): If the symbol should be added to the left or right of the columnsheader for this sort order.

Using Locator?: Enable if the window has a locator control for this sort order.

Locator: Control used as locator for this sort order.


Clarion 6 and newer has a similar feature, but it works using the file driver capability to sortthe information. With big tables this can be a slow process. Using this template instead ofClarions, you can choose the most efficient key to use for each column for better result.


Browse Reverse key orderWhat it does

Some information is clearer if presented in a reverse order. For example, for invoices is betterto have the newer invoices at the top of a browse than having to scroll down to the end of thelist. Most file drivers allow defining key with reverse sort order, but its not really needed asClarion has a PREVIOUS command which can process files in the reverse key order. Thistemplate does that for browser:


From your Browse Procedures properties window select the button Extensions, select yourbrowse, press the button Insert and select Reverse key order in Browse:


Multiple record insert with refreshWhat it does

Clarions Form template has the option After successful Insert: Insert Another Record. Itworks fine, but has the problem that the browse is not refreshed after each record is added,and it confuses the users a lot. They have to click Cancel to check which record is alreadyentered.


From your Browse Procedures properties window select the button Extensions, select yourbrowse, press the button Insert and select Multiple Record Insert with refresh:




If you were using the option After successful Insert: Insert Another Record, you need tochange it to Return to caller.


Refresh window buttonWhat it does

In networked data entry applications, a supervisor may want to check how the data entry isprogressing. In normal Clarion browse the window must be closed and reopened to force it torefresh.

This can be solved with a little Refresh button:



Open the window in the Window Formatter, click on the Control Template button ( ),select Refresh Window Button, and then place the button where you want it:


This template doesnt have any prompt.



The template calls ThisWindow.Reset(1), so it refreshes all browses in the window.


Date Range ButtonWhat it does

Reports and processes that ask for a range of dates are very flexible, but entering two datescan be a lot of work even using popup calendars. This can be solved with a popup menu thathas some commonly used date ranges:



Open the window in the Window Formatter, click on the Control Template button ( ),select Fill Date Range Button & Popup and then place the button where you want it:

Then right click in the new button and select Actions..


In the Actions window, select the controls for the date fields:



From control: Control for the initial date in the range.

To control: Control for the final date in the range.

Call ThisWindow.Reset(1): If enabled, the window is refreshed after the user selects one of themenu options.

POST Accepted: If enabled, EVENT:Accepted is posted to both date controls.



Multi-DLL applicationsAdding the templates to solutions using multiple applications as dlls

The short version: Add the global templates to all the APPs and recompile.

A more precise rule is: Add the global templates to the base dll (your data.dll) and to all theapplications with windows.

Browse extensions and Control Templates (with the exception of Browse to Clipboard toExcel Button ) dont need a global extension, so they can be added to any procedure in anyapplication and work fine.

The Control Template Browse to Clipboard to Excel Button needs the global template to bepresent in the application, but it cant be populated if it isnt.

The templates detects if your application is part of a Mult-Dll solution by checking applicationproperty Destination Type and the value of the global ABC option Generate templateglobals and ABCs as EXTERNAL (symbols %ProgramExtension and%GlobalExternal). Using these values they decide how to declare, link and export theneeded classes.

In the examples directory there are three apps showing how it works:

basedll.app A base dll (data dll).onedll.app A simple dll in the solutiontheexe.app The solutions main executable.

Sca Micro Templates Release 2 Manual

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