forums.silverfrost.com

[Bartl]

Paul,
how can I jump from one input to the next with the ENTER key and back e.g. with the Cursor up key instead of the default TAB key?

[LitusSaxonicum]

Bartl,

For many of us, the Enter key does seem more logical than the Tab key, but that's not how Windows does it. If you write a program so blatantly in contradiction of the way Windows does things, it will annoy your users. If you are programming entirely for yourself, trust me, it will even annoy you eventually that your program works differently to (say) Microsoft Office and every other application you use!

In my experience, if it is truly difficult in Clearwin it is because you are violating a standard.

Regards

Eddie

[DanRRight]

If this would bother me very much i'd try to implement that using cursor and focus monitor utilities of Clearwin. Needed keyboard key handling using Windows messaging we discussed here couple months ago, it can be done just with this line and appropriate callback keyb_func
i=winio@('%mg&', WM_KEYDOWN, keyb_func)

As to Eddies comment, yes, Windows distorting us so we have to substitute our own common sense wishes sometimes. Now i subconsciously and automatically try to push final Y (Yes) when close SDBG while it was programmed to respond on E (Exit). And i understand why -- the key E is closed to Alt+X and can be pressed with minimal movement of left hand. But Windows already made out of me its zombie. And i do mistype that key like the laboratory mice with electrodes in the brain 100 times a day and at the end become very unhappy with myself and "non-standard" debugger.

( Paul, if you read this, can you please make closing the debugger confirmation window also responding on Yes ? TIA )

[LitusSaxonicum]

To pick up on Dan, I get particularly incensed by the way a mouse double-click is preceded by a single click, which means that I have to respond to a single left click with something benign (harmless) rather than something useful (and therefore un-Windows like). In this case I am forced to make my software behave differently to my other favourites ....

Eddie

[IanLambley]

It would be useful to be able to use the Enter key and the cursor up & down keys to move around an input form. Other programs I use seem to manage that. To do that you would have to be able to set which control has focus - is there a subroutine to do that. I've looked through the help and can't find one.

There is another problem with Clearwin+. When you are entering some data in a control, and you select another application for a while and then, switch back, the first control on the input form becomes active and not the one that was previously active.

Is it also possible to determine and set the cursor position within a %rs, %rd & %rf control?

Ian

[PaulLaidler]

I cannot give you a comprehensive response to this thread at the moment.

However, I am aware of the failure to resume the focus when returning to a ClearWin+ application. I have not been able to find a way to fix this.

The TAB behaviour is what you get automatically from the Windows API. ENTER is mostly used to close a dialog. In a Microsoft Windows environment anything else would be counter-intuitive for the seasoned user.

[Bartl]

Hello, thanks for your help.

The reason for my question:
We have to input a lot of numerical data and we will do it only with the right hand on the numerical pad on the keyboard.
So it�s very annoying und slowly, to jump from one input to the next with the TAB key.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year
Bartl

[JohnCampbell]

If it's a lot of data then why not first enter all the data into a spreadsheet.
This will provide you with easy entry, using all the features of excel, and hopefully help define a structured approach to the data.
Then "import" the data into your program.
I write out the data from excel, by saving the file as a .prn or .csv file.
Both these layouts can be easily read with fortran format statements.

For example, if you set the column widths to 5 10 10 9, then a .prn file can be easily read using:
1001 FORMAT (bn, I5,2f10.0,a9)

I've always wanted to read data directly from a .xls or .xlsx file, but don't have access to a library of routines that can do this easily.

John

[qt]

DearJohn,

regarding reading .xls files, maybe qtXLS helps:

http://www.qtsoftware.de/vertrieb/db/qtxls_e.htm

A trial version allows to read/write 50 rows, so you can check if this works for you.

Kind regards,

J�rg Kuthe
QT software

[IanLambley]

I sort of agree and disagree with the usage of tabs and enter. In the data entry of numerical data, it is quite easy to do the majority of entry from the numeric keypad with your right hand, and set up the OK button to be the default button to store/process the data i.e. '%`tt[OK]'. Use the left hand on the tab key.

However, if the enter key could be detected using a keyboard monitor (which it can't) and the id of the data entry field detected (which it can be) then your proposal would work. Unfortunately, I tried a simple program for this and the Enter key does not seem to be detected by the keyboard monitor call back. The Return key acts the same. However, Control+M which is a carriage return character is detected, but requires too many fingers to make it simple.

Using the "Enter" as an accelerator key and detecting if the last control is active does work. Move to the next control under the control of a callback is achieved with set_highlighted@. To select the text in the first control, it is necessary to call window_update and not just allow the update that occurs on return from the callback with ienter_monitor = 1. The keyboard monitor bits are not required but are shown for information.

Ian
PS here is the code I tried, but as the enter key did not respond to the keyboard monitor, I tried the 'Plus' key as a demo. The demo also responds to Enter using the %ac function.

[IanLambley]

And of course if you want it to repond to cursor up and cursor down as well, then the program looks like this:
Please comment
Ian

[Bartl]

Ian,
thank you very very much for this solutions, it seems to be the right way for further developments.
For me as beginner with clearwin it's very difficult and complex to find such solutions.

Thanks
Bartl

[IanLambley]

Using the cursor to move up and down was described in the following post:
http://forums.silverfrost.com/viewtopic.php?t=1509&highlight=
Ian

[LitusSaxonicum]

Ian,

I think you meant to post your comment to the other thread!

SET_HIGHLIGHTED@ is probably different to SetFocus. Your code replaced TAB, but if the fields are laid out in a grid, Up and Down arrows are not just the next field. Left and Right arrows are already committed to use within the field.

Eddie

[IanLambley]

Thanks Eddie,
You are right, I meant to post it elsewhere.
Up and down arrows are OK for those directions and Tab and Shift+Tab for the horizontal movement.
Ian