Tutorial Chapter 12: Changing the User Interface Dynamically
This chapter focuses on using the classes and methods in the
ui package of built-in classes to modify the user interface at runtime. Among the
techniques illustrated are hiding or disabling form items; changing the text, style or image
associated with a form item; loading a combobox from a database table; and adding toolbars and
topmenus dynamically.
Built-in Classes Working with Forms Form class provides some methods that allow you to change the appearance or behavior of items on a form.Hiding Form Items Form class methods to change the value of the hidden property of form items, hiding parts of the form from the user. Adding toolbars, topmenus, and action defaults Form class provides methods that apply topmenus, toolbars, and action defaults to a form, to assist you in standardizing forms. Specifying a Function to Initialize all Forms Loading a ComboBox List Using the Dialog class in Interactive Statements Dialog class provides methods that can only be called from within an interactive instruction (dialog) such as MENU, INPUT, INPUT ARRAY, DISPLAY ARRAY and CONSTRUCT. Hiding Default Action Views Dialog class method.Enabling and Disabling Fields Dialog class allows you to disable fields on a form during the interactive statement; the field is still visible, but the user cannot edit the value. Using the Interface Class Interface class allow you interact with the user interface, as shown in the examples.