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     MULTI-COLUMN POP-UPS IN A FORM
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     PRODUCT:  R:BASE             VERSION :  4.0
     AREA   :  FORMS              CATEGORY:  MENUS          DOCUMENT# : 654
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     Prior to R:BASE 4.0 you had to use programming (write an entry/exit 
     procedure) or add extra columns to your database in order to do multi-
     column pop-up menus in forms. Now it's easy. You can define them on the 
     Field settings screen just like you define single column pop-ups.
 
     Choosing the Pop-Up Type
     ========================
     When you say "Yes" to the question "Do you want a pop-up menu for this 
     field?" on the Field settings screen you get a menu of table names in 
     the database. Select the table you want to display data from. You then 
     get another menu asking what kind of pop-up: Single column, Double 
     column or Expression.
 
     Single Column Pop-Up
     ====================
     Selecting Single column presents a menu of the columns from the selected 
     table. Choose the column containing the data to be displayed on the 
     pop-up menu and loaded into the field located on the form. This 
     procedure hasn't changed from earlier versions of R:BASE.
 
     Double Column Pop-Up
     ====================
     Selecting Double column will again show you a menu of columns in the 
     selected table. Choose the column to be loaded into the field on the 
     form. This will be the first column displayed on the pop-up menu. After 
     you have selected the first column, the menu of columns from the 
     selected table is displayed again. Choose the other column to appear 
     on the pop-up menu. The data will be displayed on the pop-up menu in 
     the order that you select the two columns; the first column selected 
     will be loaded into the field that is located on the form. 
 
     Expression Based Pop-Up
     =======================
     Selecting Expression allows you to type in an expression referring to 
     columns in the selected table. You can enter in any expression up to 38 
     characters long including parentheses. You don't need to begin and end 
     the expression with parentheses, however. The data loaded into the field 
     on the form depends on the located length of the field. If the field is 
     located 8 characters long, then the first 8 characters of data from the 
     expression result will be loaded into the field. You need to be sure 
     your expressions are formatted correctly and fields located properly so 
     that the data will load as desired.
 
     Because the expression length is limited to 38 characters in length, you 
     may want to use R:BASE shorthand for the column names. Each column name 
     in a table can also be represented by a number. The first column in a 
     table is #1, the second #2, etc. The #n designation can be used in place 
     of the column name when defining expressions for pop-up menus.
 
     For example, instead of
 
        CTXT(empid)&empfname&emplname
 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     you could use
 
        CTXT(#1)   
 
       In both cases the actual menu looks like the following:
 
             +------------------------------+
             |   102 June Wilson            |
             |   129 Ernest Hernandez       |
             |   131 John Smith             |
             |   133 Peter Coffin           |
             |   160 Mary Simpson           |
             |   165 Darnell Williams       |
             |   166 John Chou              |
             |   167 Sandi Watson           |
             +------------------------------+
 
     The other pop-up menu options work just the same. Row and column allow 
     you to specify the location of the upper left corner of the menu. 
     Placing a 9 in front of the row number will make the menu automatic 
     upon entry into the field. The Where clause can be used to qualify the 
     rows to display from the selected table. 
 
     There may still be instances where you will need to write an entry/exit 
     procedure to do your pop-up menu, for example, your desired expression 
     is longer than 38 characters or you want to display data from more than 
     one table. Using this new feature, however, should allow you to simplify 
     your application by removing many entry/exit procedures from your forms.