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FFFFFFFFFFF OOOOOOOOO RRRRRRRRRR GGGGGGGGGG EEEEEEEEEEE
FFFFFFFFFFF OOOOOOOOOOO RRRRRRRRRRRR GGGGGGGGGGGG EEEEEEEEEEE
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FFF OOO OOO RRR RRR GGG GGG EEE
FFFFFFFF OOO OOO RRRRRRRRRRRR GGG EEEEEEEE
FFFFFFFF OOO OOO RRRRRRRRRR GGG GGGGG EEEEEEEE
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FFF OOOOOOOOO RRR RRR GGGGGGGGGG EEEEEEEEEEE
USER'S MANUAL
USER'S MANUAL FOR
FORGE
(FORm GEnerator)
rev. 2.0
from
DEADALIAN Software
P.O. BOX 553
Grandville, MI 49418-0553
FORGE software
(c) Copyright 1986 David Remelts
All Rights Reserved
FORGE manual
(c) Copyright 1986 David Remelts
All Rights Reserved
TURBO Pascal is a registered trademark of
Borland International, Inc.
IBM is a registered trademark of
International Business Machines Corporation.
dBASE III is a registered trademark of
Ashton-Tate
THIS SOFTWARE AND MANUAL ARE SOLD "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WAR-
RANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OR MERCHANTABILITY. THE SELLER'S
SALESPERSONS MAY HAVE MADE STATEMENTS ABOUT THIS SOFTWARE.
ANY SUCH STATEMENTS DO NOT CONSTITUTE WARRANTIES AND SHALL
NOT BE RELIED ON BY THE BUYER IN DECIDING WHETHER TO PUR-
CHASE THIS PROGRAM
THIS PROGRAM IS SOLD WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRAN-
TIES WHATSOEVER. BECAUSE OF THE DIVERSITY OF CONDITIONS AND
HARDWARE UNDER WHICH THIS PROGRAM MAY BE USED, NO WARRANTY
OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS OFFERED. THE USER IS
ADVISED TO TEST THE PROGRAM THOROUGHLY BEFORE RELYING ON IT.
THE USER MUST ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THE PROGRAM.
ANY LIABILITY OF SELLER OR MANUFACTURER WILL BE LIMITED EX-
CLUSEVELY TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OR REFUND OF THE PURCHASE
PRICE.
This software product and manual are being
distributed under the USER SUPPORTED SOFT-
WARE concept. The software and manual are
copyrighted material; they are NOT in the
public domain. However, you are encouraged
to help distribute this product by sharing
it with friends and associates, subject to
the following rules:
1) You may not SELL copies of the diskette
containing the software and manual for
more than your cost of reproduction.
2) Copies of the PRINTED manual may not be
distributed.
3) The software and documentation may not
be altered.
4) The entire contents of the distribution
diskette must be included on any copies.
This includes: FORGE.COM, FORGE2.COM,
FORGE2.000, FORGE.DOC, EXTPROC1.PAS thru
EXTPROC4.PAS, DEMO.DTA, DEMO.PAS, DEMO.FMT,
and README.TXT.
If this product is useful to you,
please send $20.00 to:
DAEDALIAN Software
P.O. Box 553
Grandville, MI 49418-0553
FOREWORD
Like so many programs available through the user supported
concept, FORGE was originally conceived and developed to meet
the personal needs of the author. Consequently, the program
has taken on the characteristics that I felt were important
for a form generator to have. As the program began to take
shape, and I began to realize that this might be something
others would need, I spent more time on the user interface and
on error trapping, to make it easier to use.
When first released (Rev. 1.0), the program was somewhat slow
(to put it kindly) because it used the Turbo Pascal WRITELN
command to create all of the menu screens and to redraw the
user's screen after the user selected from the color menu. It
also used the WRITELN command when the user inserted or
deleted characters on the screen.
The next release, Rev. 2.0, was a major improvement in the
screen handling routines. Now, the program has three 4K buf-
fers; one each for the two main menu screens and one for the
screen being designed by the user, and the program uses the
Turbo Pascal MOVE command to instantaneously move the buffers
into and out of the physical screen memory area. Inserting
and deleting characters on the user's screen is also done with
the MOVE command. The difference is dramatic.
I have some ideas for future releases, but the future direct-
ion of this software will really be determined to a large
degree by you, the user. If you have ideas for features you
would like to see included, or if you have comments on the
program, its operation, or this manual, or if you find any
bugs, please send them to me. I will do all that I can to
live up to my responsibility as author of the program.
Let's work together to prove that good software doesn't have to be
expensive or supported by megabuck advertising campaigns to be
successful.
Thank you for your support,
David Remelts
TABLE OF CONTENTS
*****************
INTRODUCTION 1
GENERAL OVERVIEW 2
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 3
DISTRIBUTION DISKETTE CONTENTS 3
GETTING STARTED 4
CREATE A FORM 4
FUNCTION KEY COMMANDS 6
ALT-KEY COMMANDS 9
COLOR MENU COMMAND <alt>C 9
DATA FIELD COMMAND <alt>D 11
GRAPHICS CHARACTERS <alt>G 14
FILL AREA <alt>F 15
REPEAT AREA FILL <alt>R 18
HIGHLIGHT DATA FIELDS <alt>H 19
EDIT A FORM 20
SAVE FORM 21
GENERATE CODE 22
TURBO PASCAL 22
dBASE III 25
COMPILING THE CODE (TURBO) 27
USING YOUR TURBO FORM 28
MOVING AROUND ON THE FORM 28
f1=Quit 29
f2=Prev 29
f3=Next 29
f4=Del 30
f5=Rec# 30
f8=Backup 31
f0=Accept 31
Record # 32
USING YOUR dBASE FORM 32
FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
INTRODUCTION:
FORGE is a TURBO Pascal and dBASE III programmer's aid.
It allows the programmer to design data input forms or help
screens, then generate TURBO Pascal or dBASE III source code
for those forms. This source code can then be compiled and
used as is for data entry, or it can be included as a
procedure within a larger more comprehensive program. Since
this is a utility for TURBO Pascal and dBASE III, a working
knowledge of these programming languages is assumed. This
manual will not explain topics that are already covered in the
TURBO Pascal, dBASE III, or the DOS manuals.
The concept of FORGE is somewhat analogous to word
processing. With a word processor you can write, review,
change, insert, delete and otherwise perfect your text before
committing it to its final form. FORGE allows you to do the
same thing with a data input form or information screen. Some
of the outstanding features of FORGE are that you can: fill
an area on the screen with color, without affecting the char-
acters that are already on the screen, insert or delete lines
from the screen, define areas on the form for entering data,
define data entry areas as "String", "Integer", or "Real" data
types, use IBM graphics characters to "draw" boxes etc., and
use blinking characters.
Although it is possible to create very colorful and
"slick" looking screens with FORGE, dBASE III will not be
able to reproduce a multicolored form.
PAGE 1
FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
GENERAL:
Creating a data entry form for TURBO Pascal is a three-
step process. First use FORGE to design a form, or to edit
an existing form. Then use FORGE to generate the TURBO
Pascal source code. Finally, use TURBO Pascal to compile the
source code into executable code.
When FORGE generates the source code for the form it
creates two files on the disc. Both files have the same name
but different extensions. The name is supplied by you, and
the extensions are supplied by FORGE. One file has a ".PAS"
extension and the other has a ".DTA" extension. The .PAS file
is the source code generated by FORGE, and the .DTA file
contains all the information about the form that you designed.
This file should not be destroyed because FORGE needs this
file if you want to edit the form later.
Creating a data entry form for dBASE III is a two-step
process. First use FORGE to design a form, or to edit an
existing form. Then use FORGE to generate the dBASE III
source code.
When FORGE generates the source code for the form it
creates two files on the disc. Both files have the same name
but different extensions. The name is supplied by you, and
the extensions are supplied by FORGE. One file has a ".FMT"
extension and the other has a ".DTA" extension. The .FMT file
is the source code generated by FORGE, and the .DTA file
contains all the information about the form that you designed.
This file should not be destroyed because FORGE needs this
file if you want to edit the form later.
PAGE 2
FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
The .DTA files for forms created for TURBO Pascal are
identical to those created for forms for dBASE III. You can
use the same .DTA file to generate TURBO Pascal code and dBASE
III code.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
FORGE requires an IBM PC, PC XT, PCjr, or true compat-
ible, with 128k of memory, one disk drive, and TURBO Pascal
2.0 or higher. A color graphics card and color monitor are
highly recommended to get the full benefit of the features
built into FORGE, however color is not required in order to
use FORGE. It is possible to use a color system to design
forms for a monochrome system, and vice versa. Some of the
differences between the two systems will be explained in this
manual as each of the features of FORGE are explained.
CONTENTS OF DISTRIBUTION DISKETTE
The FORGE distribution diskette contains several files
when you receive it. It is recommended that you make a work-
ing copy of the distribution diskette and keep the original in
a safe place; FORGE is not copy protected. The files supplied
on the distribution diskette are: FORGE.COM, the main program,
FORGE2.COM and FORGE2.000, a version of the main program that
uses overlays, and EXTPROC1.PAS thru EXTPROC4.PAS. These four
files are TURBO Pascal Include files, they must be present in
the default drive when you compile the TURBO source code for
your form. There is also a file called DEMO.DTA on the
diskette. This file is a form that you can use to practice
PAGE 3
FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
the concepts discussed in this manual. There are also two
files, DEMO.PAS and DEMO.FMT, that show what the code
generated by FORGE will look like for TURBO Pascal and dBASE
III.
GETTING STARTED
FORGE is a .COM file, and can be started by simply typing
"FORGE" and pressing <enter>. If you are using FORGE on a
PCjr, or if you get an insufficient memory error, try using
the FORGE2 version by typing "FORGE2" and pressing <enter>.
This is essentially the same program but parts of it are
loaded from an overlay file (FORGE2.000) when required. This
makes the main program smaller, but requires that the overlay
file, FORGE2.000, be present on the default drive whenever
option #3 or #4 are selected from the main menu.
When FORGE starts you are presented with the main menu.
There are five items from which to select on this menu:
1. Create a form,
2. Edit a form,
3. Save form,
4. Generate Code, and
5. Exit program.
Select the desired procedure by pressing the number key assoc-
iated with it.
CREATE A FORM
If you select the "Create a Form" option from the main
menu by pressing "1", FORGE presents the color selection
menu. You tell FORGE what color to use for the foreground
(text) and background colors by selecting from the color menu.
PAGE 4
FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
First you select from the background menu. The menu con-
sists of a color bar with 8 colors displayed. Each color has
its name written across it in white, except the bottom one
which is the white background. This one has its name written
in black.
On a monochrome system you do not have the ability to
display all the different background colors. You will notice
that the first seven background colors are all displayed as
black, the last one is displayed as a reverse video background
with black characters on it. Selecting the Lt Gray background
will not automatically give you a reverse video field though,
unless you also select the Black or Dk Gray option from the
foreground color menu.
There is an arrow on the left side of the color bar that
looks like this: NoBlink==>>. The "NoBlink" has no signif-
icance during selection of the background color, but will come
into play when you select the text color. Use the UP and DOWN
cursor keys to move the arrow so that it points to the color
that you want for the background, and select it by pressing
<enter>.
You are then presented with the foreground color selec-
tion menu. There are 16 colors available for the text color.
The menu background is all one color, (the color that you have
just chosen as your background color) with the name of each
text color spelled out in its own color. This gives the user
a good representation of what the screen will look like when
text is placed on the form in that color combination (What you
see is what you get). Again, move the arrow up and down to
PAGE 5
FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
point to the color combination that looks right to you.
On a monochrome system your options are again somewhat
limited. If you selected the Black background then you have
the option of having underlined text by selecting the Blue or
Lt Blue foreground colors. If you selected the Lt Gray back-
ground color then you have the option of having text displayed
in reverse video by selecting the Black or Dk Gray foreground
colors. Other than that, text will be displayed in regular
video (character pixels on, background black) with most other
combinations, except Black or Dk Gray on Black, which will not
display any text.
You also have the option at this point of selecting the
"Blink" feature. If you select this option then all the text
that you place on the form will blink on and off. To select
this option use the RIGHT cursor key. The "NoBlink==>>" arrow
will disappear and the "<<==Blink" arrow will appear on the
other side of the menu pointing to the same color combination
as before. You can switch back and forth between NoBlink/-
Blink by pressing the RIGHT and LEFT cursor keys. Make your
final selection by pressing <enter>, this will also select the
blink option in effect at the time the <enter> key is pressed.
You are now presented with a black screen with a white
status line across the bottom (reverse video on a monochrome
system). Now you can place text on the form in the text/back-
ground color combination that you selected; the black back-
ground will be overwritten with your color combination.
PAGE 6
FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
FUNCTION KEY COMMANDS
The white status line across the bottom of the screen
describes the purpose of the function keys, and also tells
which funtion key is in effect at any given time. On a color
monitor the function key that is in effect will be displayed
in blue on the white background. On a monochrome monitor the
function key that is in effect will switch from a being dis-
played in reverse video to regular video (character pixels
will be on).
f1: REPEAT DOWN. This function key causes the autorepeat
operation to repeat in the DOWN direction. This is useful for
making boxes and borders. When this key is in effect it is
highlighted in blue on the status line (on a monochrome system
this key will be highlighted in regular video). This function
can be turned off by pressing the f1 key again, or by pressing
f2 or f3.
f2: REPEAT LEFT. This function key causes the autorepeat
operation to repeat in the LEFT direction. Turn it off by
pressing f2 again, or by pressing f3 or f1.
f3: REPEAT UP. This function key causes the autorepeat
operation to repeat in the UP direction. Turn it off by
pressing f3 again, or by pressing f1 or f2.
f8: INSERT LINE. This function key causes the line that the
cursor is presently on, and all subsequent lines, to be pushed
PAGE 7
FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
down one line. The last line of your form will be pushed off
the screen and cannot be retrieved. Pressing f8 is a one-time
operation; it does not need to be turned off after being used.
f9: DELETE LINE. This function key causes the line that the
cursor is presently on to be deleted. All subsequent lines
will move up one line, and there will be a blank line at the
bottom of the form. The line that has been deleted cannot be
retrieved. Pressing f9 is a one-time operation; it does not
need to be turned off after being used.
f10: MAIN MENU. This function key will bring you back to the
main menu.
At the extreme right of the status line is the cursor
location indicator. This indicator uses standard TURBO cursor
location notation, that is: the upper left corner of the
screen is location 1,1, the X coordinate is given first, and
the Y coordinate is given second. This differs from dBASE III
cursor notation in which the upper left corner of the dBASE
screen is location 0,0, with the Y coordinate given first,
and the X coordinate given second. If you are using FORGE to
design a screen for dBASE you will have to learn to mentally
convert these coordinates. Perhaps a later version will allow
the coordinates to be displayed in either format at the user's
discretion. At any rate, the dBASE .FMT file produced by
FORGE will have the @... SAY coordinates correctly converted
to dBASE syntax.
PAGE 8
FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
ALT-KEY COMMANDS
Besides the function key commands FORGE has six <alt>
key commands:
<alt>C: Color Menu
<alt>D: Data Field
<alt>G: Graphics Characters
<alt>F: Fill Area
<alt>R: Repeat Fill
<alt>H: Highlight Data Fields.
COLOR MENU COMMAND <alt>C
This command will allow you to change the text/background
color combination. Pressing <Alt>C will invoke the color
menu. The form that you were working on will dissappear to
make way for the color menu screen, but it will be restored
after you make your color menu selection.
First you select from the background menu. The menu con-
sists of a color bar with 8 colors displayed. Each color has
its name written across it in white, except the bottom one
which is the white background. This one has its name written
in black.
On a monochrome system you do not have the ability to
display all the different background colors. You will notice
that the first seven background colors are all displayed as
black, the last one is displayed as a reverse video background
with black characters on it. Selecting the Lt Gray background
will not automatically give you a reverse video field though,
unless you also select the Black or Dk Gray option from the
foreground color menu.
There is an arrow on the left side of the color bar that
PAGE 9
FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
looks like this: NoBlink==>>. The "NoBlink" has no signif-
icance during selection of the background color, but will come
into play when you select the text color. Use the UP and DOWN
cursor keys to move the arrow so that it points to the color
that you want for the background, and select it by pressing
<enter>.
You are then presented with the foreground color selec-
tion menu. There are 16 colors available for the text color.
The menu background is all one color, (the color that you have
just chosen as your background color) with the name of each
text color spelled out in its own color. This gives the user
a good representation of what the screen will look like when
text is placed on the form in that color combination (What you
see is what you get). Again, move the arrow up and down to
point to the color combination that looks right to you.
On a monochrome system your options are again somewhat
limited. If you selected the Black background then you have
the option of having underlined text by selecting the Blue or
Lt Blue foreground colors. If you selected the Lt Gray back-
ground color then you have the option of having text displayed
in reverse video by selecting the Black or Dk Gray foreground
colors. Other than that, text will be displayed in regular
video (character pixels on, background black) with most other
combinations, except Black or Dk Gray on Black, which will not
display any text.
You also have the option at this point of selecting the
"Blink" feature. If you select this option then all the text
that you place on the form will blink on and off. To select
PAGE 10
FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
this option use the RIGHT cursor key. The "NoBlink==>>" arrow
will disappear and the "<<==Blink" arrow will appear on the
other side of the menu pointing to the same color combination
as before. You can switch back and forth between NoBlink/-
Blink by pressing the RIGHT and LEFT cursor keys. Make your
final selection by pressing <enter>, this will also select the
blink option in effect at the time the <enter> key is pressed.
After you have made your selection, the form that you
were designing will reappear on the screen with the cursor
positioned where it was before. You can continue to design
your form and all the text that you enter now will be in the
new color combination that you selected.
DATA FIELD COMMAND <alt>D
This command allows you to define data input fields on
your form.
Data fields are areas on the form that you wish to desig-
nate as user input fields. They act as tab stops when the
user is entering data with your form. What you are really
doing is designating a record variable. The <alt>D command
acts as a toggle; press it at the beginning of your data input
field, then press it again at the end of the data input field.
When the toggle is "on" the word "Data" will be highlighted in
blue in the status line at the bottom of the screen (on a
monochrome system the word "Data" will be highlighted in
regular video on the status line). This is your first indi-
cation that the Data Field Command is in effect, the second
indication is that the text and background colors that were in
PAGE 11
FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
effect will be reversed. This gives you a very clear indicat-
ion of how your data input fields are arranged.
Because most fore/background color combinations display
in regular video on a monochrome system (regardless if they
are reversed or not), we strongly suggest that monochrome sys-
tem users design their forms with the Black background and the
Lt Gray or White foreground colors. Then, when you turn the
Data Field toggle "on", the fore/background colors will be
reversed (Black on Lt Gray) which will yield a reverse video
data input field.
If the data field color combination is not to your liking
you can change it. There are several ways to do this. You
can invoke the color menu (<alt>C) immediately after the
<alt>D command, in which case the data field will be created
with the exact text/background combination that you select,
but then the text and background colors will be the reverse
of the data field colors when you toggle the <alt>D command
"off."
Another method is to use the Fill Area command (<alt>F),
which is discussed in more detail under its own heading. This
command can be used in two ways to change the data field
colors. It can be used by itself to change the background
color of the entire form, including data fields, or it can be
used with the Repeat Area Fill command (<alt>R), also discus-
sed in more detail under its own heading, to fill just the
data input fields with a different coLor.
The best method, though, is to use the <alt>H command.
This command is specifically designed to highlight just the
PAGE 12
FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
data input fields. The command is described in more detail
under its own heading.
Do NOT change the data input field background color by
using the <alt>C command to select a background/text comb-
ination, and using that color combination to "paint over" the
data input fields AFTER you have toggled the <alt>D command
"off". If you do you will destroy its identity as a data
input field because the <alt>D command is "off", and FORGE
will consider the characters you are typing as any other
normal text on the form.
When you initialize a data input field with the <alt>D
command, type the name of the field in the data field. Remem-
ber, what you are really doing with the <alt>D command is def-
ining a record variable for FORGE, and a record variable
needs a variable name. Any name will do for now; you will be
given a chance to rename the field later when FORGE gener-
ates the TURBO Pascal or dBASE III source code for your form.
So, if you are defining a data input field for an item called
CATEGORY, and the field is only three characters, obviously,
the full name of the field will not fit. Just type "CAT" in
the field and later you can rename it if you want to. You
don't have to rename it of course; "CAT" is a perfectly
legitimate variable name, or even just "C" for that matter.
The name only has to be meaningful to you.
It's also important to remember that whatever you type in
the data input field area while you are creating or editing a
form will NOT appear on the form after the source code is gen-
erated. What you type in the data input field while creating
PAGE 13
FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
or editing a form is only a label used to identify that field,
and to distiguish that field from the others. Therefore, each
field must be identified with a unique label.
Data input fields cannot be run together. If you try to
define two data input fields contiguously, without a non-data-
input-field character between them, FORGE will interpret
them as one large data input field when it generates the
source code for your form. Therefore, this also means that
you cannot have one data input field end at the end of a line
(column 80) and have another data input field begin at the
beginning of the next line (column 1); this would also be
interpreted as one large data input field.
If you want large data input fields then you can have
your data input field "wrap around" from one line to the next.
The maximum length that a data input field can be is 255 char-
acters.
When the <alt>D command is toggled "on" typing any char-
acter or space will increment the size of the data field you
are creating, as witnessed by the reverse color combination
appearing on the form. Using the cursor keys you can move to
another location on the form, effectively ending the first
data input field that you were creating, and start another
data input field at that new location.
GRAPHICS CHARACTERS <alt>G
This command will allow you to use the extended character
set of your computer to draw boxes, borders and greek symbols
on your form.
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FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
This is another toggle command. Press it once and it is
"on", press it again and it is "off". When it is "on" the
word "Graphics" will be highlighted in blue in the status line
(regular video on a monochrome system) to indicate that the
characters that you put on your form will not be the char-
acters that you see on your keyboard.
To make it easier to use the graphics character set you
should construct a table that will show you what graphic char-
acter will appear on your form for each of the keys on your
keyboard. To do this use the ASCII code table supplied with
your computer. For each of the characters from ASCII 32 to
127 add 127 to the ASCII value and look up the new ASCII value
to see what character will be generated.
For example: the letter "d" is ASCII 100. Add 127 to it
to get 227. Look up ASCII 227 and you will see that it is the
pi symbol. Therefore, if you have "Graphics" toggled "on" and
you type a letter "d" the pi symbol will appear on your form.
FILL AREA <alt>F
The Fill Area command will allow you to fill an area on
your form with the background color of your choice. This is a
one-time command; it does not have to be toggled off after
using it.
Using this command on a monochrome system could have
unpredictable results. It won't harm anything, but generally
the background color selection has no effect on the display;
it will almost always remain a black background. The only
exception to this is if there happens to be text already on
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FORGE from DAEDALIAN Software
TURBO PASCAL AND dBASE III FORm GEnerator
the form that was put there in black-text-on-some-color-
background. If you now select a fill color of Lt Gray that
text will be displayed in reverse video. However, selecting
Lt Gray as a fill color will not result in reverse video if
the text is some color other than black, even though it is
displayed as reverse video on the color selection menu. It is
shown as reverse video on the color selection menu to indicate
that that is the ONLY background color that is able to produce
reverse video on a monochrome system.
Filling an area on the form with color will have no
effect on what has already been put on the form (unless you
select a color for the background that is the same as the
color of the letters in the area you are going to fill, in
which case the letters will become invisible). If you have
defined data input fields on your form, or if you have placed
text on your form (blinking or nonblinking), or if you have
placed graphics characters on your form, they will still be
there after you fill that area with color. However, if you
fill an area that contains data input fields you will no
longer be able to tell exactly where your data fields are
because the foreground and background color of the data field
will no longer be reversed. To rehighlight the data input
fields see the <alt>H command.
When you press the <alt>F key you will be presented with
a color menu. This is the same color menu that you see when
using the <alt>C command, except that this time you only have
to select a background color. The menu consists of a color
bar with 8 colors displayed. Each color has its name written
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across it in white, except the bottom one which is the white
background. This one has its name written in black.
On a monochrome system you will notice that the first
seven colors are all displayed as black, the last one is
displayed as a reverse video background with black characters
on it.
There is an arrow on the left side of the color bar that
looks like this: NoBlink==>>. The "NoBlink" has no signif-
icance during selection of the background color, but does come
into effect when this same menu is used to select background
and text color combinations, as explained in the <alt>C com-
mand description. Use the UP and DOWN cursor keys to move the
arrow so that it points to the color that you want to use for
filling the area on your form, and select it by pressing
<enter>.
Your form is then redisplayed on the screen and a message
appears in the status line at the bottom of the screen telling
you to move the cursor to the upper left corner of the area
that you want to fill. At this point the only keys that are
active are the cursor keys and the <enter> key.
Using the cursor keys, move the cursor to the upper left
corner of the area you want to fill and press <enter>. FORGE
will put a marker on the screen at the spot you selected.
This marker may appear to obliterate a character on your form,
but the effect is only temporary; the character will reappear
after the fill operation is completed. The marker is put
there so that you have a reference point to use if you are
trying to visualize your color filled area.
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Next, the status line at the bottom of your screen will
tell you to move the cursor to the bottom right corner of the
area you want to fill. Use the cursor keys again to position
the cursor where you want the bottom right corner of your
filled area, and press <enter>. The rectangular area that you
have defined by its upper left and lower right corners will be
filled with the color that you have chosen from the color
menu, and the cursor will be positioned where it was before
the <alt>F command was invoked.
REPEAT AREA FILL <alt>R
The <alt>R command is used to repeat the Fill Area
command with the last color selected from the color menu.
For instance, suppose you wanted to change the background
color of all the data entry fields on your form. You could
use the <alt>F command (Fill Area) to select a color from the
menu and then change the first data entry field as described
above. Then instead of using the <alt>F command again, which
would require selecting from the color menu again, you would
use the <alt>R command. The <alt>R command skips the color
menu selection part of the <alt>F command and goes right to
the prompt in the status line telling you to move the cursor
to the upper left corner of the area you want to fill. FORGE
will use the color that you selected from the color menu in
the most recent <alt>F command.
If you use the <alt>R command without first having used
the <alt>F command, FORGE will default to a BLACK background
for the fill color.
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HIGHLIGHT DATA FIELDS <alt>H
The Highlight command will allow you to select a color
from the menu and will fill the data input fields on your form
with the background color that you choose.
When you press the <alt>H key you will be presented with
a color menu. This is the same color menu that you see when
using the <alt>C command, except that this time you only have
to select a background color. The menu consists of a color
bar with 8 colors displayed. Each color has its name written
across it in white, except the bottom one which is the white
background. This one has its name written in black.
On a monochrome system you will notice that the first
seven colors are all displayed as black, the last one is
displayed as a reverse video background with black characters
on it. However, selecting Lt Gray as a fill color will not
result in reverse video if the foreground color in the data
input fields is some color other than black, even though it is
displayed as reverse video on the color selection menu. It is
shown as reverse video on the color selection menu to indicate
that that is the ONLY background color that is able to produce
reverse video on a monochrome system.
There is an arrow on the left side of the color bar that
looks like this: NoBlink==>>. The "NoBlink" has no signif-
icance during selection of the background color, but does come
into effect when this same menu is used to select background
and text color combinations, as explained in the <alt>C com-
mand description. Use the UP and DOWN cursor keys to move the
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arrow so that it points to the color that you want to use for
highlighting the data input fields on your form, and select it
by pressing <enter>.
Your form is then redisplayed and the data input fields
are changed to the background color that you chose from the
menu.
EDIT A FORM
The "Edit a Form" option will allow you to make revisions
to a form that you have already created.
If you select the "Edit a Form" option from the main menu
by pressing "2", FORGE will ask you for the name of the form
you wish to edit. Enter the name of a form that you have
previously created with FORGE. Do not add an extension to
the name, FORGE will be looking for the <filename>.DTA file
that was saved on disk when the form was originally created.
The .DTA file must be present on the default drive in order
to edit a form.
Once the .DTA file is loaded into memory FORGE will
display the form on the screen. At this time you should use
the <alt>C command to select a text/background color combin-
ation.
From this point on the procedure for editing, or mod-
ifying, a form is just like creating a form; refer to the
previous discussion about creating a form. All the commands
that are available for creating a form are also available for
editing a form.
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SAVE FORM
If you select the "Save Form" option from the main menu
by pressing "3", FORGE will save the form that you were
working on. This option allows you to save a form that is not
yet complete and ready for TURBO Pascal or dBASE III source
code to be generated from it.
First FORGE will ask you for the name of the form that
you are generating. Enter the name of the form without an
extension. FORGE will open the <filename>.DTA file for the
information about your form: information about where the data
fields are, what colors you used, whether or not any char-
acters blink, and what characters are on the form. This .DTA
file is necessary for you to be able to edit your form later.
If the form name that you supply is the name of an
existing file, FORGE will let you know that the form already
exists and will ask if you want to overwrite it. If you
respond with a "Y" or "y", FORGE will write your new form
over the old one of the same name, and the old one will be
lost. If you respond "N" or "n", FORGE will allow you to
supply a different name for your form.
FORGE will also check to make sure that the name you
supply is a proper DOS file name, and will tell you the
position of the illegal character if it is not a legal DOS
file name. File names may include any of the following char-
acters: A..Z a..z 0..9 _ . $ & # @ ! % ( ) - { } / \.
FORGE will now begin to write the <filename>.DTA file.
You will notice a lot of disk activity for a few moments while
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this file is created.
Later, when you wish to continue working on this form
design, select the "Edit a Form" option from the main menu, by
pressing "2", and supplying this file name (without an exten-
sion).
GENERATE CODE
If you select the "Generate Code" option by pressing "4",
FORGE will generate TURBO Pascal or dBASE III source code
for your form.
In the case of TURBO Pascal this code can be used as is;
it is a complete TURBO Pascal program, just compile it and run
it. You could also make this code into a subroutine by
changing the first word to "Procedure" and by changing the
last period to a semicolon, and then include this subroutine
in another program.
In the case of dBASE III this code becomes a .FMT file.
Somewhere in your main dBASE III program you must put a comm-
and statement: SET FORMAT TO <filename>.
When you select this option from the main menu you will
be presented with a second menu. From this menu you must sel-
ect whether you want to generate TURBO Pascal or dBASE III
source code. You also have the option of returning to the
main menu by pressing "Q" if you decide that you do not want
to generate code at this time.
TURBO PASCAL
First FORGE will ask you for the name of the form that
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you are generating. Enter the name of the form without an
extension. FORGE will open two files, <filename>.PAS for
the source code, and <filename>.DTA for the information about
your form: information about where the data fields are, what
colors you used, whether or not any characters blink, and what
characters are on the form. This .DTA file is necessary for
you to be able to edit your form later.
If the form name that you supply is the name of an
existing file, FORGE will let you know that the form already
exists and will ask if you want to overwrite it. If you
respond with a "Y" or "y" FORGE will write your new form
over the old one of the same name and the old one will be
lost. If you respond "N" or "n" FORGE will allow you to
supply a different name for your form.
FORGE will also check to make sure that the name you
supply is a proper DOS file name, and will tell you the
position of the illegal character if it is not a legal DOS
file name. File names may include any of the following char-
acters: A..Z a..z 0..9 _ . $ & # @ ! % ( ) - { } / \.
FORGE will now begin to write the <filename>.DTA file.
You will notice a lot of disk activity for a few moments while
this file is created.
FORGE then begins to construct the <filename>.PAS file.
One of the first things it does is go through your form to see
if there are any data input fields. If there are none then
your form must be an information or help screen, in which case
the <filename>.PAS file will not contain much more than a
series of WRITELN statements to duplicate your form on the
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screen.
However, if your form does contain data input fields then
the <filename>.PAS file gets considerably more complicated.
For each data input field FORGE will now ask you if you want
to rename the data field. Remember, the data input field name
is really just a file variable, it really doesn't matter what
name you use as long as it's a legal TURBO Pascal variable
name. FORGE will check the variable name that you give the
data input field to see if it is a legal variable name. The
TURBO Pascal restrictions on variable names are a little more
stringent than the DOS requirements for file names. Variable
names must start with a letter (upper or lower case) or under-
score, and can be followed by any combination of letters,
numbers, or underscore. Standard TURBO Pascal variables can
be 127 characters long, however, FORGE limits the length of
variables to 30 characters.
FORGE will then ask what type of field this is.
Respond by pressing "I" if it is an integer input field, "R"
if it is a real input field and "S" if it is a string input
field. You may press either the upper or lower case letter.
If you are defining a real type data input field FORGE will
then ask how many decimal places you have in the field. Resp-
ond with a number from 0 to one less than the length of the
data input field.
When you are defining integer data fields remember that
the maximum integer that TURBO Pascal can handle is 32767. If
you have an integer data input field whose length is 5 or
more, there is a possibility that the user who is using this
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form to put information into a file could enter an integer
that is out of range. For instance, if you were designing a
form to enter names and addresses, and the five number zip code
field was defined as an integer field, it is certain that
someone's zip code would be above 32767. This will cause a
fatal run-time error. The way to get around this is to define
the field as a real type data input field with zero decimal
places.
After you have finished defining all of your data input
fields, FORGE will generate the source code for the form
that you have designed. The source code will be written to a
disk in the the default drive; be sure that there is a format-
ted disk in the default drive that has at least 30k free space
left. FORGE will write two files to the disk, they will
both have the same name but different extensions. One file
will have a .DTA extension. This file contains all the
information about the form that you have created, as mentioned
above.
The other file will be the .PAS file. This is the source
code for your form. This is the file that you will compile
with your TURBO Pascal compiler to produce an executable .COM
file.
dBASE III
First FORGE will ask you for the name of the form that
you are generating. Enter the name of the form without an
extension. FORGE will open two files, <filename>.FMT for
the source code, and <filename>.DTA for the information about
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your form: information about where the data fields are, what
colors you used, whether or not any characters blink (dBASE
III generally does not support these features though), and
what characters are on the form. This .DTA file is necessary
for you to be able to edit your form later.
If the form name that you supply is the name of an
existing file, FORGE will let you know that the form already
exists and will ask if you want to overwrite it. If you
respond with a "Y" or "y" FORGE will write your new form
over the old one of the same name and the old one will be
lost. If you respond "N" or "n" FORGE will allow you to
supply a different name for your form.
FORGE will also check to make sure that the name you
supply is a proper DOS file name, and will tell you the
position of the illegal character if it is not a legal DOS
file name. File names may include any of the following char-
acters: A..Z a..z 0..9 _ . $ & # @ ! % ( ) - { } / \.
FORGE will now begin to write the <filename>.DTA file.
You will notice a lot of disk activity for a few moments while
this file is created.
FORGE then begins to construct the <filename>.FMT file.
One of the first things it does is go through your form to see
if there are any data input fields. If there are none then
your form must be an information or help screen, in which case
the <filename>.FMT file will not contain much more than a
series of @ Y,X SAY... statements to duplicate your form on the
screen.
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However, if your form does contain data input fields then
the <filename>.FMT file will also contain the GET statements
with PICTURE and RANGE options.
For each data input field FORGE will now ask you if you
want to rename the data field. The data input field name must
match exactly the field name as it is defined in your .DBF
file. If there was not enough room to put the whole field
name in the field when you designed the form, now is the time
to change the name so that it matches the .DBF field name.
FORGE will check the variable name that you give the data
input field to see if it is a legal variable name. The dBASE
III restrictions on variable names are a little more stringent
than the DOS requirements for file names. Variable names must
start with a letter (upper or lower case) or underscore, and
can be followed by any combination of letters, numbers, or
underscore.
Next, FORGE will give you the opportunity to specify
function and template symbols for the PICTURE clause, and a
range for the RANGE clause. Refer to the dBASE III manual for
the proper use of these clauses.
COMPILING THE CODE (TURBO)
Make sure that your <filename>.PAS file and EXTPROC1.PAS
through EXTPROC4.PAS are all on the same disk in the default
drive. Also, make sure there is at least 30K free space on
the disk in the default drive.
Start TURBO Pascal. Select your <filename>.PAS file as
the MAIN file. Select the Com-file option from the Compiler
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Options menu. Compile the program as you would any other
TURBO Pascal source code.
After compiling, the <filename>.COM file will be on the
disk in the default drive.
USING YOUR TURBO FORM
Start your form program from the DOS prompt by typing the
name of your compiled source code file (without an extension),
then press <enter>.
The screen will go blank, and your form will ask "Data
File Name". Respond by entering the name of the file that
contains, or will contain, the data that is entered through
this form. Your form will open the data input file with the
name that you supplied. If the file already exists, it will
be opened for append. If it does not exist, then it will be
opened as a new file. Next, your form will appear on the
screen, just as you designed it except that the variable names
will not appear in the data input fields. There is also a
status line across the bottom of the screen showing the
meaning of the function keys.
MOVING AROUND ON THE FORM
While you are using your form to enter data the data
input fields act as tab stops. If you press the <tab> key the
cursor will jump to the beginning of the next data input
field. If you are currently on the last data input field, and
you press the <tab> key, you will jump to the beginning of the
first data input field on your form.
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The <enter> key also acts as a tab stop key. Pressing
<enter> at any time will simply move the cursor to the next
data input field.
While you are using your form the function keys f1
through f5, f8, and f10 are active, and perform special oper-
ations.
f1=Quit
This function key will allow you to exit your form prog-
ram. It will close the data file that you were entering data
into.
f2=Prev
This function key will allow you to review records that
have already been entered into your data file. You can go all
the way back to the beginning of the data file this way,
reviewing the records that you have entered. When you reach
the first record of the file and press f2, your form will
beep at you, and just redisplay the first record again.
f3=Next
This function key will allow you to review records in a
foreward direction, toward the end of the data file. When you
reach the last record of the file and press f3, your form
will beep at you, and display a blank form ready for data
input.
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f4=Del
This function key will delete a record from the data
file. Actually, it puts a special marker on that record to
indicate that it is not to be displayed; the data is still in
the data file. When you are reviewing records with f2 or f3,
and you come to a record that has been deleted, the form will
be blank, and the status line will inform you that that record
has been deleted. You can press f4 again to undelete the
record.
f5=Rec#
This function key will allow you to go to any record in
the data file. If you know which record you want to review,
it is more convenient to use f5, and jump directly to that
record, than to use f2 or f3, and go through the file sequent-
ially. When you press f5 the cursor will jump down to the
status line to allow you to enter the record number that you
want to review. When the cursor is on the status line the
only keys that are active are the numeric keys 0..9. Enter
the number of the record that you want to review, then press
<enter>. If you enter a zero, or a number that is greater
than the number of records in your data file, your form will
simply position you at the last record of your data file.
This is a convenient way to return from reviewing records; if
you don't remember the number of the last record in your data
file, just enter zero or a very large number to get to the
last record, then press f3 to get a blank form for entering
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new data.
f8=Backup
This function key will create a backup file of the data
you have entered.
When you use this function, your form will first check to
see if there is already a <filename>.BAK file on the disk. If
there is it will be deleted, and the original file will be
renamed <filename>.BAK. Then a new file will be created with
the exact same name as the original file. The records from
the <filename>.BAK file will be copied to the new file, with
the exception of the records that have been deleted. So, your
new file may or may not be slightly smaller than the original
file, depending on whether or not there were any deleted
records in it.
After the backup procedure is completed, you will be
working with the new file, therefore, you will no longer be
able to undelete any records.
If for any reason you want to keep the <filename>.BAK
file, you should rename it with some other name, (at the DOS
level after you have exited your form) or copy it to another
disk. Otherwise, the next time you use the backup function,
the <filename>.BAK file will be deleted and replaced by
another one.
f0=Accept
This function key is used to accept the information on
the form, and write it to the data file.
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While you are entering data on the form, or reviewing
records with f2, f3, or f5, you can change anything on the
form, and pressing f0 will accept those changes and write it
to the data file.
Record #
The last thing on the status line is the record number
indicator. This simply keeps track of which record you are
currently working on.
USING YOUR dBASE FORM
If you look at the <filename>.FMT file that has been
created by FORGE, you will see that it is nothing more than
the standard @ Y,X SAY... and @ Y,X GET... statememts. By
using FORGE to design your form you avoid the pain and
hassle of having to calculate all the X and Y values for your
SAY and GET statements. Another big advantage of using FORGE
is that you can use the IBM graphics characters in your form.
The built in dBASE editor does not support the IBM graphics
characters. Therefore, do NOT use the built in editor to edit
your .FMT file. If you do, the editor will convert your
graphics characters to nongraphics characters in the lower 128
ASCII characters. If it's necessary for you to edit the .FMT
file, you will have to use an external editor that does not
automatically change the graphics characters to nongraphics
characters.
To use this .FMT file in your dBASE application you must
copy it to your application disk, and somewhere in the main
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PRG file you need to have a SET FORMAT TO <filename> state-
ment. Your dBASE III manual can supply more detailed infor-
mation on the proper use of .FMT files.
PAGE 33
INDEX
*****
Alt-Key commands 9
<alt>C: Color Menu 9
<alt>D: Data Field 9, 11
<alt>F: Fill Area 9, 15
<alt>G: Graphics Characters 9, 14
<alt>H: Highlight Data Fields. 9, 19
<alt>R: Repeat Fill 9, 18
BAK file ext. 31
Blinking text 6, 10
Color 3
Color menu 4
Color menu command <alt>C 9
Compiling the Code (TURBO) 27
Creating a new form 4
Cursor location indicator 8
Data Field Command <alt>D 11
Delete Line (f9) 8
Designing a new form 4
DTA file name ext. 2, 21, 23, 25
Edit a Form 20
Extensions for file names 2
EXTPROC files 3
f0=Accept 31
f1 (Repeat Down) 7
f1=Quit 29
f2 (Repeat Left) 7
f2=Prev 29
f3 (Repeat Up) 7
f3=Next 29
f4=Del 30
f5=Rec# 30
f8 (Insert Line) 7
f8=Backup 31
f9 (Delete Line) 8
f10 (Main Menu) 8
Features of FORGE 1
Filenames (DOS) 21
Fill Area <alt>F 15
FMT file name ext. 2, 25
Function key commands 6
General overview 2
Generate Source Code 22
Graphics Characters <alt>G 14
Highlight Data Fields <alt>H 19
Insert Line (f8) 7
Legal DOS filenames 23, 26
Legal variable names 24, 27
Length of variable names 24
Main menu 4
Main Menu (f10) 8
Maximum integer 24
Monochrome 3
Moving around on the form 28
INDEX
PAS file name ext. 2, 23
Record # 32
Repeat Area Fill <alt>R 18
Repeat Down (f1) 7
Repeat Left (f2) 7
Repeat Up (f3) 7
Save Form 21
System requirements 3
Types of data fields 24
Using your dBASE form 32
Using your TURBO form 28
INDEX
