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January 12, 1988 MULTI-LEVEL PULL-DOWN MENUS Version 2.0 (c) 1987,1988 James H. LeMay PURPOSE: This utility creates incredibly quick multi-level pull-down menus as units for Turbo Pascal 4.0 programs for ALL IBM compatibles, including PS/2 and 3270 PC on any video page or any text mode. It features: - Work window(s) and complete interface for menus - Pull-down menus with 5 menu modes and 7 line modes | - Pull-down file directory - Highlighted command letters - Unlimited levels of submenus | - Unlimited data entry windows for 9 types of data - Data entry for the work window(s) - Automatic NumLock for numerical data entry - Right or left justification for data entry - Error messages for invalid data entries - Error messages for data entries out of range - Allowance for null entries on text data entry - Automatic and override configuration for sizes and locations for easier development - Operation by cursor keys or command keys - Pull/Pop between work window and nested submenu(s) - Programmable control of pull and pop sequences - Full system of self-titled help windows - Message lines for prompts and processing - Full working shell for user development - Can be fully configured by the user including add-on features though units. They work on MDA, CGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA, 8514/A adapters in any column mode (40/80/etc.). These procedures use the quick screen writing procedures of QWIK40A.TPU and the multi-level window procedures of WNDW40.TPU. TEST DRIVE: Compile and run the program PULLDEMO.PAS to get a feeling for features and speed. Be sure to use the Help function key "F1" everywhere for context-sensitive explanations. Be sure to copy QWIK40A.TPU, WNDW40.TPU, and PULL20.TPU to QWIK.TPU, WNDW.TPU, and PULL.TPU, respectively, before compiling. WNDW40.ARC and QWIK40.ARC are not included and have more documentation. The demo is very similar to the TP4 environment. The operation should be intuitive. If not, then I didn't do a very good job. FILES: In this version, PULL20.ARC contains: !read .me!: File that insists you get a copy of WNDW40.ARC and QWIK40.ARC for further documentation. Qwik40a .tpu: Unit from QWIK40.ARC - comprehensive quick screen writing utilities. WndwVars.tpu: Unit from WNDW40.ARC - WNDW variables. Wndw40 .tpu: Unit from WNDW40.ARC - multi-level windows. Pull20 .doc: This document. PullVars.tpu: Just interface for PULLVARS.TPU. PullVars.tpu: Variables used in PULL20.TPU. Pull20- .pas: Just interface for PULL20.PAS. Pull20 .tpu: Unit for your programs to use the pull-down menus including data entry procedures. PullDir-.pas: Just interface for PULLDIR.PAS. PullDir .tpu: Unit for a pull-down file directory. PullStat.pas: Data to configure the menus. PullProc.pas: Procedures and Data Entry variables to be executed in the menus including global keys. PullWork.pas: Procedures for the main work window(s). PullDemo.pas: Fully functional working demo. License .arc: ARC file containing license agreements. IMPROVEMENTS: In this version there are several improvements over PULL15: | . Converted to TP4 and incorporated QWIK40 and WNDW40. | . Added pull-down directory with path and mask. | . Added global keys like Alt-F and Alt-X in PULLSTAT.PAS. | . Help windows disappear at any any keystroke and applies | that key to the program. | . Eliminated PULLUSER.INC and instead allow access to user | windows direct through PullProc.Process. | . Menu partitions now use Wndw.BrdrRec. | . Added TypeOfDataTypes Word and LongInt. | . Added "ClearScreen" option in InitPull. SHAREWARE: Due to the lack of participation and expense, I have decided to abandon the Teamware concept and instead make them into ShareWare. The cost may range from $9 to $53 depending on your application. I do enjoy assisting others in their programming, but lack of reimbursement is expensive for me! Please help out. See the STATMENT.LIC in LICENSE.ARC for details. If the response will let me break even, I will continue support. DEFINITIONS: So you can understand the program identifiers and this document, here's the definitions I'll use: Work window - The working window of the application program. Top menu - The menu always shown (usually in row 1 or 2). Main menu - The first menu pulled from the top menu. Submenu - All subsequent menus pulled after the main menu. Line - A row of text. Menu - A list of selectable lines. Window - Not a menu. Data entry window - window for entering data into the application program. Selection - A line selected in a menu with a CR. "HiLited" - A line pointed at in a menu. Message line - The bottom row to display key helps or processing status. Error message - a short message for data out of range. Link - A menu line showing a symbol (three-bar or dot) that pulls another menu or window. The symbol is also on the same side where it is pulled. PullDown - pulls menus down to the previous level. Pop - removes menus and returns to the work window. BASIC OPERATION: I'll just put a few words here just in case you may have missed some of the capabilities in the demo. . Status Line - Row 1 just holds the title of this program. It can be used to for optional status info. . Top Menu Line - To access the top menu line, press F10 at any time. The exceptions are when the Help window or Error messages are displayed. The "/" key does the same thing except it is considered data in text data entry windows. . Main Menu - To access a main menu, press RETURN while the top menu is highlighted. . Submenu - To access a submenu, press RETURN when the HiLite is at a menu line with the three-bar symbol (which looks like a menu). . Data Entry Window - To access a data entry (pronounced "dot- uh" entry?) window, press RETURN when the HiLite is at a menu line with a small dot symbol. Pressing RETURN again will exit the window. You can clear any data entered by pressing ESC which also removes the window. . Numerical Data Entry - Depending on the type of data, (byte, integer, etc.) only the valid characters can be typed in. Backspace can be used as well. The "NumLock" is automatic and is interactive. After return is pressed, the data is checked for validity (bytes less than 256, etc.) and then for a range check. If it passes both checks, the data is then stored and the window is removed. The "NumLock" status is then restored. In "Exec-" type menus like "Files", the window may remain until processing is complete. You can program this either way though. . Text Data Entry - ASCII 32 through 126 are valid characters for string and character data. Only backspace can be used for editing. The entry can be nulled by pressing DEL and then RETURN. . Work Window - This is the 20x78 window for the major part of your output and optional input. You can also have multi- level work windows. . Work Window Data Entry - The same procedures used for the data entry windows can be used for entering data in the work windows. One important exception - after a CR to enter the data, the data always overwrites the previous value. In case of a range error, you can restore the original value with RestoreData. . Help Windows - A help window is assigned to every window and menu. It automatically shows it's title of that menu. They can use the same info or different. . Message Line - The bottom line contains help or error messages. . Function Keys - These are the keys assigned in the demo and what they control: F1 - PullDown/Pop the Help windows F2 - PullDown/Pop the pull-down menus F10 - Pops to top menu for key commands "/" - Same as F10, but not in text data entry windows. ESC - Same as F2 in the Work window, but in the menus it backs out of the current menu/window. LTR - While in the menus, the HiLite will move to and execute the menu line with that upper case letter. | Cursor Keys - all of the cursor keys have assigned | functions, even the control keys. Check their | operation in PULLDEMO.EXE, or registered users can | just examine the source code. | Alt Keys - just like the TP4 environment, the Alt keys | can control the menus. These must be manually | assigned. See the last part of PULLSTAT.PAS for | the keys assigned for the demo. Holding down the | Alt key for 1/2 second will display the Alt key | help message. SCREEN DESIGN: PULL20.TPU is quite flexible and allows you to change the basic | screen design in your application program. EGA/MCGA/VGA users will particularly like it because it will also work in any row mode and column mode. Status line - The demo shows how to place a title or status line in row 1. Some applications may require a status line outside of the work window for file names or whatever. But it is not required. Work Window - The demo also shows a 20x78 work window but you can modify it to a full 80 columns by setting the MakeWindow to NoBrdr and create a 20x80 window. The top and bottom lines could be added with a couple of Qfill statements. You can also have multi-level work windows if you want. Main Menu Placement - This design seems to be the defacto standard that was started by the Macintosh and is currently being used by Microsoft. The top menu row is inverse video while the highlight is normal. The main menu is directly below and offset a few spaces. Submenu Placement - Press RETURN at a menu line with a linked submenu and notice that the top of a submenu is on the same row. This menu line also serves as a title. Let's say you nest 5 levels of submenus. Will you still be able to see all of the titles? Sure! They won't over lap. However, it's a good idea for operation if you keep the linking lines to submenus high up on the menu which keeps the subsequent submenus high as well. The first pull using F2 in the demo shows how three levels of menus are kept high. Keying Alt-I and "U" will show you how a submenu drops lower. The Submenus that "bottom out" on the display will be automatically pushed up when they are located. Also look for defaults that reduce keystrokes to get around in the menus. Symbols - the three-line symbol (looks like a menu) tags the | line that links a submenu or a user window (ToUserWndw). A small dot tags the line that links a data window. In addition, the symbol location also shows the direction of display - left or right. Right is preferred unless there is no room when it is then placed to the left. Help Window - The help window is centered between the left and right margin. The bottom row of the window has a constant number of rows below it and the bottom of screen. This can be assigned with RowsBelowHelp. It was also given a zoom and shadow effect so that it would look and feel separated from the working program which you can change with HelpWndwModes. Message Line - The message line is placed relative to the bottom of the screen. It can be raised up a number of rows by setting RowsBelowMsg greater than zero. Limits - There are really very few requirements. Two of which are: . All menus and data entry windows cannot use NoBrdr. . Data entry windows are fixed with 2 lines. Keyboard Operation - The operation is designed to be as intuitive as possible. The message lines should guide you through the options. The idea was to make application programs as user friendly as possible. | PULL-DOWN DIRECTORY: | A new pull-down directory unit has been added. A particular | emphasis was made on end-user human factors in its development. | . Single column - A single column, alphabetically sorted list | is the easiest to scan quickly. I takes longer to locate a | file in multi-column lists such as the one provided in the | TP4 environment. | . Cursor key scanning - Cursor keys are the expected way to | scan through the directory. However, Home, ^Home, End, and | ^End keys only move the HiLite while PgUp, ^PgUp, PgDn, and | ^PgDn move only the page. | . Letter key scanning - Any alpha-numeric key will scan for | the first file name starting with the same first letter. | The page is moved and the cursor is centered as much as | possible. | . Lower-case text - Lower case text is more legible than the | standard upper-case text provided by DOS. | . Right justified extension - Visual searches for extensions | are easier to read when aligned. In addition, this also | facilitates proper alphabetic sorting. | . High speed sort - The sorting routine used is a secondary | indexed quick sort which is the fastest kind for this | application. Up to 250 file names are permitted. | . High speed scroll - The display is expected to be fast when | scrolling and is. Neither the HiLite nor the screen ever | flicker. | . Default HiLite - If a value file name is passed to the | directory for the default other than '', the directory | searches for a close match to HiLite. In either case, the | HiLite is centered as much as possible. | . Picked file name - Pressing CR will replace the referenced | file name passed to the directory. PROGRAMMING: Configuration - Virtually everything can be reconfigured by the user without having to modify PULL20.TPU. It may require a little study, but the demo has most of the examples. Demo - PULLDEMO.PAS, PULLSTAT.PAS, PULLPROC.PAS, and PULLWORK.PAS are examples of a shell you can use for your own programs. I used all the capabilities in the demo. Even though the source code is lengthy, there are only a few procedures. Here is a summary of the 10 steps to get you through all of the procedures: | STEP 1: Using Units STEP 2: GetUserPullStats (in PULLSTAT.PAS) STEP 3: GetOverrideStats (in PULLSTAT.PAS) | STEP 4: CheckGlobalKeys (in PULLSTAT.PAS) STEP 5: DataTransfer (in PULLPROC.PAS) STEP 6: Application procedures (in PULLPROC.PAS) STEP 7: Process (in PULLPROC.PAS) STEP 8: WorkWndw (in PULLWORK.PAS) STEP 9: DisplayScreen (in PULLDEMO.PAS) STEP 10: Main program (in PULLDEMO.PAS) | STEP 1: Using Units | | Uses Matrix - Here's a USES matrix so you can tell where the | files are used: | USES UNIT NUMBER: | Unit 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | ----------------- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- | 1 - DOS - | 2 - CRT - | 3 - Qwik .tpu - | 4 - WndwVars.tpu x x - | 5 - Wndw .tpu x x - | 6 - PullVars.tpu x - | 7 - Pull .tpu x x x x x - F F F | 8 - PullDir .tpu x x x x x x - F | 9 - PullStat.pas x x x x x x - | 10 - PullProc.pas x x x x x - | 11 - PullWork.pas x x x x x x x - | 12 - PullDemo.pas x x x x x x x x - | "F" - indicates that a forward indirect call is used to access | some procedures in the forward unit. Be sure those units are | included in a uses statement as shown in the demo files. They | will compile without them but will lock up your computer if you | try to execute it. This call was suggested by Kim Kokkonen. | Editing Units - The *.PAS files listed above can be freely | edited and compiled without needing the source code for the | TPUs. | Constants - The constants in WNDWVARS.PAS and PULLVARS.PAS | allows the user to trim down data memory to only what is needed. | (Only registered users will have the source code to do this | otherwise the limit is preset.) While developing an application, it's best to balloon these values a bit to keep from having to frequently change them. For MaxWndw, be sure to use the maximum possibility of the deepest nested pull-down menu, plus all work windows, plus the help window. STEP 2: GetUserPullStats Automatic configuration - This is the most significant part. PULL20.TPU runs this procedure only once to get the basic data for the pull-down menus. Much of the drudgery of locating, sizing, directing, coloring, command letters is done automatically. If submenus are not given enough room to fit, an error message will indicate it. If a data entry window won't fit, it will reassign it to be centered on the screen which you can override by assigning values to RowAlt and ColAlt in the "GetOverrideStats" procedure. Menu Modes - Every menu can have just one of five modes: ExecChoice - immediately executes a procedure (the default) ExecSingleChoice - executes a procedure first and then flags one line exclusively on the menu ExecMultipleChoice - executes a procedure first and then toggles the line's boolean flag SingleChoice - flags one line exclusively on the menu MultipleChoice - toggles the line's boolean flag MenuMode tells how the selection will interact with the other and ONLY "Choice" selections on the menu (see below). Line Modes - In addition, each line in the menu can have one of seven line modes: Choice - will interact with the assigned menu mode (the default) ExecOnly - will only execute a procedure in Process Comment - a line that can't be HiLited Partition - draws a horizontal line across window ToDataWndw - links a data entry window when selected ToSubMenu - links a submenu when selected | ToUserWndw - like ExecOnly and adds a Submenu symbol In "Choice" mode, the line is a valid selection. . For ExecSingleChoice..MultipleChoice menus, the boolean data for the choice is stored in the menu record for each line. And for this reason, all menus are unique; they cannot be linked again to another submenu unless you store a copy of the values before reusing it. . For "Exec-" type menus, a selected line executes it's procedure through an interface procedure called "Process". This will let you do just about anything, including any changes to the menus; e.g., take you step-by-step through data entry windows using PopLevels and PullDown. . If a data entry window is linked to an "Exec-" type menu, it | will execute AFTER the data is entered. An example of this | is the "Mask for Directory" line in "Files". Once you select the line, it prompts you for the file name and then executes. In "ExecOnly" mode, the line overrides the menu mode and runs through the Process procedure just like a Choice in an "Exec-" type menu, but will not set any flags. In "Comment" mode, the HiLite will simply skip over the line. This allows the user to place descriptions or whatever in the menu without being a possible selection. There are two lines in the "Files" menu that are comments. "Partition" is a horizontal line to separate menu lines into | groups. The line drawing characters used for the partition are | set by the Brdr constant in WNDWVARS.PAS. "Files" in the demo has a partition in the second line from the bottom. No matter what the menu mode is, if the line mode is a link (ToSubmenu, etc.), it will just pull the linking menu or window. However, a ToDataWndw line on an "Exec-" type menu will execute a procedure in Process after entry. Attributes - The definitions of the attribute identifiers are suffixes of: -Attr - normal attribute -Hattr - attribute for HiLite -Wattr - attribute for Window area -Battr - attribute for Border of window -Lattr - attribute for the command Letter -Cattr - attribute for a Comment line The attributes are handled by groups in PULL20.TPU. For example, the value for SubMenuWattr sets all SubMenus with the same value. For exceptions, use PullStat.GetOverrideStats. Monochrome - Keep in mind that different displays and monitors don't always appear comparable. Monochrome modes and displays | require some special considerations. See "Hatch Borders" in | WNDW40.ARC. Status Line - Keep in mind that there may develop several look- alike programs, so it would be helpful to have a title for your program on row 1 or 2 (unless of course you place it in the work window). You can easily delete the line by setting "TopMenuRow:=1" and "MainMenuRow:=2". Command Sequences - PULL20.TPU keeps track of the key strokes used to access a pull-down menu in the string "CmdSeq". F10 is not included since it is understood. When using "PullDown" and "Pop" (see below), the user can programmably change the sequence with string "MoreCmdSeq". The word "More" means that there are additional keys yet to be executed. (Be sure to leave "CmdSeq" untouched.) MainMenu Record - Here's a list of what's contained in each record: Title - a string required to appear in the Top Menu. CmdLtrs - a string which is done automatically by PULL20.TPU and contains the first letters of each menu line. If you want some other letter, you can edit it in PullStat.GetOverrideStats. Line - string to appear on a menu line. LineMode - one of the 6 line modes for each line. Flagged - boolean for each line used for MultipleChoice and SingleChoice menus. LinkNum - the index number of the linking SubMenu or DataWndw. LinkDir - linking SubMenu or window to appear Left or Right, handled by PULL20.TPU. MenuMode - one of the 3 menu modes. MenuLines - quantity of lines in this menu. NameCol - the column of title in the top menu. Row,Col,Rows,Cols - location and size of the menu which is done by PULL20.TPU DefaultLine - the HiLite line at startup. HiLiteLine - line currently HiLited SingleFlagLine - the only line flagged. Needed only in SingleChoice menus (only for "Choice" lines). Battr,Wattr,Hattr,Lattr,Cattr - attributes set for this menu. Border - one the 10 borders done by PULL20.TPU. BackToDefault - if true, HiLite will return to DefaultLine every time the menu is pulled. Changed - set to true if SingleFlagLine or Flagged have been altered. The user must reset this back to false to be useful. MsgLineNum - the index number of the MsgLine. HelpWndwNum - the index number of the HelpWndw. SubMenu Record - The SubMenu record is identical to the MainMenu record. There are some differences in use though: Title - same string of the linking menu line supplied by PULL20.TPU. NameCol - not used. Practically speaking there is no limit to the number of submenus that can be linked (<256). Data Entry Windows - Data entry windows are different from menus because they are merely a scratch pad. They don't save any data in the record. The data it picks up is stored by user variables in another interface procedure called "DataTransfer". Even their locations on the screen are assigned at the time when the user presses RETURN on the menu. So, the user can use a single window for any number of links. I call them floating windows. However, when the window won't fit, the program centers it on the screen. The user can keep it from floating by assigning non-zero coordinates to RowAlt and ColAlt. Setting them back to zero will allow them to float again. Since data windows can float, there's no limit for the number of places they can be used. DataWndw Record - Here's the content of the record: Line[1] - label for the current value of the data. Line[2] - label for the new data entry. TypeOfData - type of data expected for this window. Row,Col,Rows,Cols - location and size of the window which is done by PULL20.TPU RowAlt,ColAlt - alternate location of window. FirstCol - first column of the data field, handled by PULL20.TPU. Field - number of columns reserved for data entry. Decimals - number of decimal places for Reals only. If positive, uses R:F:D format. If negative, uses R:F. Wattr,Hattr,Battr - attributes set for this window. Border - set equal to DataWndwBrdr by PULL20.TPU. MsgLineNum - the index number of the MsgLine. HelpWndwNum - the index number of the HelpWndw. HelpWndw Record - The HelpWndw displays a number of HelpLines in sequence. It starts with FirstLine and displays each successive HelpLine until the window is full set by LinesToShow. The initialization default assumes LinesToShow is simply the difference between the first and last lines. Here's the list: FirstLine - the index number of HelpLine. LastLine - currently unused. LinesToShow - number of lines to show. Row,Col,Rows,Cols - location and size of the window which is done by PULL20.TPU Wattr,Battr - attributes set for this window. Border - set equal to HelpWndwBrdr by PULL20.TPU. | HelpWndwModes - allow zoom and shadow effects. See WNDW40.DOC. MsgLineNum - the index number of the MsgLine. | Wattr, Battr, Border, HelpWndwModes, and MsgLineNum for all HelpWndw's are handled as a group by PULL20.TPU with | HelpWndwWattr, HelpWndwBattr, HelpWndwBrdr, HelpWndwModes, and HelpMsgLineNum respectively. Help windows are optional. To delete them, assign #00 to HelpKey so they can't be accessed. HelpLine - This is the text for the help windows. It was set up as an array rather than a record to help save memory space. The length need not be the width of the window. MsgLine - These lines are intended to show a message to the user the number of commands or keys available at any step. The length should fill one entire row. ErrMsgLine - These lines are shorter than MsgLines and temporarily overlays a MsgLine. They need not fill one entire row. They are intended of course to indicate errors. STEP 3: GetOverrideStats Purpose - If the user wants to change any data that PULL20.TPU has handled as a group with GetUserPullStats, this is the procedure to do it. See PULLSTAT.PAS for some examples. STEP 4: DataTransfer Purpose - If the data entry is used, PullStat.DataTransfer will be needed to transfer data from the floating windows to the appropriate variables. This is done with the DataPad. DataPad Record - Before I give an explanation, here's the description of the record: StoreMode - if true, data will be stored from the data pad to the user variable. Otherwise, it reads the variable and places it on the pad. Valid - if true, numerical data is within typed limits. DataStored - if true, data was stored successfully without a range error. NewData - if true, data will be overwritten on the pad. TypeOfData - type of data on the pad. TAG FIELD for VARIANT record. Bdata - Bytes identifier in field list. | Wdata - Words identifier in field list. Idata - Integers identifier in field list. | Ldata - LongInts identifier in field list. Rdata - Reals identifier in field list. UNdata - UserNums identifier in field list. Cdata - Chars identifier in field list. Sdata - Strings identifier in field list. USdata - UserStrings identifier in field list. If you are not familiar with variant records, better read the manual again. Simply speaking, all variables in the field list all occupy the same address. The only way you know what type of data you have is by what is assigned to TypeOfData (Bytes..UserStrings). You can check the value on the pad at anytime; just be sure to use the correct identifier. UserNums/UserStrings - These two types are actually strings. UserStrings appears with quotes and UserNums without. These types allow you to customize the characters allowed at data entry with the use of UserCharSet. Menu coordinates - Matching variables with windows is easily done by identifying the menu line that pulled the data window. The variables used are: MPulled - index number of MainMenu pulled. SPulled - index number of SubMenu pulled. If equal to zero, then only a MainMenu was pulled. HiLited - menu line that links the data window. With these, the DataTransfer procedure is just one big case statement that narrows down the correct user variable. Range check - Please note that data is not stored in data windows unless it passes BOTH the validity check and an optional range check. This is different from Pull.WorkWndwEntry. The demo shows you how to use a field identifier on the DataPad to check for range on the variable PriceLimit. Make SURE that the type of data MATCHES! Turbo will not check it. STEP 5: Application Procedures This is a good place to put all your application procedures, both for procedures used by the menus (PullProc.Process). The demo uses only one called DummyProcess which is just a one second delay. STEP 6: Process Purpose - "Process" is the procedure accessed by: | 1. "Exec-" menus with a "Choice" line. | 2. "ExecOnly" lines. | 3. "ToUserWndw" lines. (like the pull-down directory) This is where you can make the menus do just about anything. Menu Coordinates - "Process" uses the same coordinate variables as DataTransfer and uses a case statement the same way to locate the correct procedure with MPulled, SPulled and HiLited. PullDown/Pop - Programmably you can PullDown or Pop menus in your procedures at any time. Try Alt-I and "U" in the demo to see just a few of the possibilities of programmable control. There are 5 flag variables and one function that hook into PULL20.TPU to do this: PopToWorkWndw - if set true, control is returned to the work window. PopToTop - if set true, menus are popped only to the top menu. PopLevels - the number of levels to pop. Popped - a function that will pop all menus before processing. MoreCmdSeq - a string of pending command letters after popping. | PullDown - if set true, menus will be pulled down after pop as specified by MoreCmdSeq. You can combine these in several ways. You can even make data windows enter data sequentially for records or to make it easier for end users automatically step through data entry. An example of this is in the demo under "IRSaccounting" and "Date". You'll notice how easy it is to roll through the data windows with RETURNs. STEP 7: WorkWndw Work Window - When the menus are not pulled, this is where there is most of the programming activity. You can even have multi- level work windows. Note also that you can work with two or more windows on the screen at the same time and can use | Wndw.AccessWindow to randomly access any window. WorkWndwStep - Since each keystroke goes through the key dispatcher, the number of WorkWndwStep tells the program where to return upon re-entering WorkWndw. You can change its value, even while in the menus. WorkWndwEntry - You can now use the same data entry procedures as the data entry windows for the work window with | WorkWndwEntry. Set DataPad.NewData:=true to clear data on the | pad. If WorkWndwStep is changed, the data is automatically | cleared. There is one difference though; the data is stored right after it passes the validity test. If it doesn't meet the range test, then the data must be restored with RestoreData. STEP 8: DisplayScreen This procedure finally sets up your screen design. STEP 9: Main Program Initial Values - Here is where you place the initial values for user variables. GotoKeyDispatcher - Since each keystroke needs to be analyzed, the dispatcher decides whether it goes to the Menus or WorkWndw. Here's a flow chart for the dispatcher: +------------+ | START | +------------+ | /\ / \ +-------------+ No / \ Yes +-------------+ | Work |<--------< PullDown? >-------->| Pull-down | | Window | \ / | Menus | +-------------+ \ / +-------------+ | \/ | | /|\ | | | | | | No | | /\ | | / \ | | / \ | ---------------->< Quit ? ><------------------ \ / \ / \/ | Yes \|/ +------------+ | END | +------------+ SUGGESTIONS: Full Demonstration - If you would like to see a fully working utility created from these procedures, you can get a file called WSX21A.ARC. It is a WordStar Translator program for WordStar 3.31/4.0, but you don't have to have WordStar to examine it. It has pull-down directories, WYSIWYG color modifications, and other ideas. The ARC file does not contain the source code, but it is available upon request. WSX21A.ARC can be found on the CompuServe MicroPro (GO MICROPRO) in the WordStar 4.0 Data Library (DL3). (WSX21A.ARC was created with TP3 not TP4.) On-line source - All updated files can be found on the CompuServe | Borland Forum (GO BPROGA) in the MSDOS Turbo Pascal Data Library | or on the IBM Software Forum (GO IBMSW). Fast Keyboard Repeat - The best utility I've found to double the typematic rate is a utility called HOTKEY.ARC, version 1.1. It's better than PC Magazine's QUICKEYS, because it doesn't "run away" in the buffer. Available on CompuServe's IBM Hardware Forum. LIABILITY: No liabilities are assumed in the use or misuse of these procedures. AUTHOR: These procedures are now Shareware. If there are any problems, please let me know. Copyright (c) 1987,1988 by James H. LeMay All rights reserved Jim LeMay, 6341 Klamath Rd., Ft. Worth, TX 76116 CIS 76011,217, 1-(817) 732-7150 (after 1730 PST) CREDITS: Art Hill started some initial ideas on this with PullDown.arc Art Hill, 936 S. Kensington Ave., La Grange, IL 60525 CIS 72307,3570 REVISIONS: Version 1.1 (02-27-87): Initial release Version 1.2 (04-08-87): limited release Version 1.3 (04-20-87) Version 1.4 (06-30-87): limited release Version 1.5 (08-31-87): Version 2.0 (01-12-88): . Converted to TP4 and incorporated QWIK40 and WNDW40. . Added pull-down directory with path and mask. . Added global keys like Alt-F and Alt-X in PULLSTAT.PAS. . Eliminated PULLUSER.INC and instead allow access to user windows direct through PullProc.Process. . Menu partitions now use Wndw.BrdrRec. . Added TypeOfDataTypes Word and LongInt. . Added "ClearScreen" option in InitPull. . Deleted i and j variables in PULL20.PAS. . Modified Pull.TempMsg; Deleted TempMsgArray. . Top menu record is available from TopMenuRecPtr^.