SAMPLE attribute

The SAMPLE attribute defines the text to be used to compute the width of a form field widget.

Important:

The SAMPLE attribute is not yet supported.

Syntax

SAMPLE = "text"
  1. text is the sample string that will be used to compute the width of the form field widget.

Usage

By default, form fields are rendered by the client with a size determined by the current font and the number of cells used by the form tag in the layout grid. The field width is computed so that the largest value can fit in the widget.

Sometimes, the default computed width is too wide for the typical values displayed in the field. For example, numeric fields usually need less space than alphanumeric fields. If the values are always smaller, you can use the SAMPLE attribute to provide a hint for the front-end to compute the best width for that form field.

When specifying the SAMPLE attribute, you do not have to fill the sample string up to the width of the corresponding field tag: The front-ends will be able to compute a physical width by applying a ratio to fit the best visual result. For example, for a sample of "XY" used for a field defined with 10 characters, is equivalent to specifying a sample of "XYXYXYXYXY".

By default, when no SAMPLE attribute is used, the first 6 cells are always computed with the pixel width of the "M" character in the current font. Next cells are computed with the pixel width of the "0" (zero) character. In other words, the default sample model is "MMMMMM000000.....", reduced to the size of the field tag in the layout:
   -123456789-123456789-         Default SAMPLE
   [f01 ]                        MMMM
   [f02   ]                      MMMMMM
   [f03             ]            MMMMMM0000000000
A default sample can be specified for all fields used in the form, by using the DEFAULT SAMPLE option in the INSTRUCTIONS section:
INSTRUCTIONS
DEFAULT SAMPLE = "0"
END

See also Input length of form fields.

Example

EDIT cid = customer.custid, SAMPLE="0000";
EDIT ccode = customer.ucode, SAMPLE="MMMMMM";
DATEEDIT be01 = customer.created, SAMPLE="00-00-0000";