WORDWRAP Attribute

The WORDWRAP attribute enables a multiple-line editor in TUI mode.

Syntax

WORDWRAP [ { COMPRESS | NONCOMPRESS } ]

Usage

This attribute is provided for backward compatibility with character-based forms, to support word wrapping in multi-line text input.

In GUI mode, you should use a TEXTEDIT form item instead. When used, the WORDWRAP attribute is ignored, because text input and display is managed by the text editor widget. The text data is not automatically modified by the editor by adding blanks to put words on the next line.

In TUI mode, the WORDWRAP attribute has following effects:

During input and display, the runtime system treats all segments that have that field tag as segments of a single field.
The multi-line editor can wrap long character strings to the next line of a multiple-segment field for data entry, data editing, and data display.
The COMPRESS option prevents blanks produced by the editor from being included in the program variable. COMPRESS is applied by default and can cause truncation to occur if the sum of intentional characters exceeds the field or column size. Because of editing blanks in the WORDWRAP field, the stored value might not correspond exactly to its multiple-line display.
Specifying NONCOMPRESS after the WORDWRAP keyword causes any editor blanks to be saved when the string value is saved in a database column, in a variable, or in a file.

Using WORDWRAP fields with character-based terminals results in quite different behavior than with graphical front ends. With character-based terminals, the text input and display is modified by the multi-line editor. This editor can automatically modify the text data by adding blanks to put words to the next line, in order to make the text fit into the form field. In GUI mode, the text input and display is managed by a multi-line edit control.

The maximum number of bytes a user can enter is the width of the form-field multiplied by the height of the form-field. Blank characters may be intentional blanks or fill blanks. Intentional blanks are initially stored in the target variable where entered by the user. Fill blanks are inserted at the end of a line by the editor when a newline or a word-alignment forces a line-break. It is not possible to set the cursor at a fill blank. Intentional blanks are always displayed (even on the beginning of a line; the word-wrapping method used in reports with PRINT WORDWRAP works differently).

When entering characters with Japanese locales, special characters are prohibited from being the first or the last character on a line. If the last character is prohibited from ending a line, this character is wrapped down to the next line. If the first character is prohibited from beginning a line, the preceding character will also wrap down to the next line. This method is called kinsoku. The test for prohibited characters will be done only once for the first and the last character on each line.

Word-wrapping is disabled on the last row of a WORDWRAP field. The last word on the last row may by truncated. The WORDWRAP COMPRESS attribute instructs the editor to remove fill blanks before assigning the field-buffer to the target variable. The WORDWRAP NONCOMPRESS attribute instructs the editor to store fill blanks to the target variable. The WORDWRAP and WORDWRAP NONCOMPRESS attributes are equivalent.

The WORDWRAP attribute is not used by the CONSTRUCT instruction.