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JohnCampbell · Joined: 16 Feb 2006 Posts: 2554 Location: Sydney

Steve,

You have identified the problem of the "lazy" clearwin output window not displaying @, but how about using the active window, say in a %ws or %rs box.
Have you tested these to see what happens ?
I have menu structures which give display windows for updating data. I have not tested them to see if these can accept @, but they may well work differently to the output window, which I use as a background window for debugging information, as a second screen.

Also, a tab character is a special character for input and output which behaves differently, so there are other special characters for data transfer. You try and find how to handle the use of tab in the documentation !!

John

Ps: I just tried changing the names of some items listed in a %ls box and the @ displayed without any problems. The names were read from a text file into a character string, then displayed correctly as listed in the text file.

silicondale · Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 3:17 pm Post subject:

Hi John - Good point. I was using the 'lazy' Clearwin window mainly because it's quite a large legacy application and it would be a mammoth task to re-code all the write statements that output to the display. However, I guess I should look again at the feasibility of this. If I can associate a LUN with a %ws window then perhaps it's possible.

Yes, you're right about the tab character, also the LF and CR of course - but these are positioning characters, not display characters. When you press the @ key on the keyboard you expect an @ to be displayed on the screen. The fact remains that without any documentation of the weird behaviour, it has to be considered a bug.
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(Steve Henley)

LitusSaxonicum · Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 7:29 pm Post subject:

silicondale · Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 8:36 pm Post subject:

Thanks, Eddie! Good idea, pity it didn't help. Think for now I'll just cut my losses and use ~ instead of @ for the prefix, and hope that no users have any @ characters embedded within their data!

cheers

Steve
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(Steve Henley)

JohnCampbell · Joined: 16 Feb 2006 Posts: 2554 Location: Sydney

Steve,

I have used the menu system to create data entry forms.
With a little bit of effort and a review of the data structures you want for the user interface, they can be very effective.
You need to balance interactive (slow) with file inputs (require skill from the user)
Also need to consider how you get an interupt to review the data that has been entered.
I have used %ls as a selection control, then update the table below for data associated with this %ls selection. (you need a call-back on the %ls selection) %rd and %rf boxes work very well for data, with a few labels. You need to control when you take the updated info and review for errors. ( even an ok button can work.)

Above the %ls I also have some fixed %rd, %rf and %rs fields for key controls of the run. (a %rs field can be updated by the user or program to control the run option label)

If as I find, there are only a few key data structures that require this approach, while lots of other data is in files, then you can get a more effective solution with only a few data interface menu options. It realy is worth experimenting. You'll waste a few nights with the layout !

Eddie has much more experience in this area, so he might have more ideas.

John

PaulLaidler · Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 7:10 am Post subject:

Sorry for the delayed response on this item.
I will try to take a look at it later today.

silicondale · Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 7:50 am Post subject:

John - Many thanks for the thoughts. If I can identify the key areas where data listing is done, it could well be possible to use the Clearwin+ functionality for users to view the data, though the problem will still be there in the Clearwin transcript window which the user would want to keep as a record of the session. However, another option for that would be to echo everything to a print stream, assuming this wouldn't have the same problem (next thing for me to try out!).

Paul - thanks. That would be very helpful. I'm sure there must be a fairly simple solution to this!

-Steve
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(Steve Henley)

JohnCampbell · Joined: 16 Feb 2006 Posts: 2554 Location: Sydney

Steve,

You wrote : "Clearwin transcript window which the user would want to keep as a record of the session"
I do not know how to save the output window transcript. For me, once it closes it is lost. I write my trascript to another trace file ( that I open on unit 98, which I have used as a log unit for many years in many programs !)

Make sure that this "Output" window is available to you.

You might also be interested in the way I close this window, as it can hang around. Then again we might be discussing different "lazy" windows ?

LitusSaxonicum · Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 10:20 am Post subject:

John,

The embedded %cw window (in an earlier post) - which coincidentally is unit 99 - is straightforward Clearwin, so you can close it with an appropriate setting of the variable KONTROL (provided that is in a MODULE or COMMON). You can also send a message to a particular window to 'go and close itself' using SEND_TEXT_MESSAGE@ and also get a reply. It is also easily scrollable, up to some maximum length.

Once the stuff is sent to a display window, if you want to save it, you have to recapture it. My understanding is that you can cut'n'paste from such a %cw window, although FTN95.CHM is a bit vague on this, mentioning the standard callback COPY but not the others such as SELECT_ALL, and I've never done it. There may well be a lines limit too, although this appears to be user-selectable.

It is much easier to do a dual write: one to a file, and one to a window. The one thing you don't want is a 'PRINT NOW' button, as (of course depending what goes into a log file) they can get very long before you realise it!

Eddie

silicondale · Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 11:18 am Post subject:

Good point, John .... in the old coding, there is in fact an 'ECHO' parameter. When set, this echoes everything that is written to the transcript to a "printer" stream (actually to a file, together with the old carriagecontrol feature for page feed etc). I had hoped to avoid needing this by a simple 'select all' copy and paste from the CW window, but have just tried and found you can't do a select/copy operation on it. So I'll just have to make sure the echo functionality is preserved! By the way, I don't use the window close coding that you quoted - just a program 'stop' seems to close the winodw perfectly OK!

-Steve

LitusSaxonicum · Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 12:19 pm Post subject:

1. Sometimes the text window sticks around if the program stops due to an error when you are developing a program. That inhibits a link step, and you need to kill off the hanging window with the task manager.

2. Having inserted the line:

IA=WINIO@('%ac[F1]&','COPY')

into my demo (previous posting) I discover that selecting the whole of '@Blimey!' by pressing F1 gives nothing to paste, but selecting just 'Blimey!' allows pasting of '@Blimey!', i.e. the '@' seems to come from nowhere. So @ clearly has some major significance! Also, putting an accelerator in with SELECT_ALL as its callback doesn't work.

Eddie

PaulLaidler · Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 2:03 pm Post subject:

It turns out that ClearWin windows have an "escape" character and the default "escape" character is '@'.

If you are using %cw then %`cw provides a handle and the function set_win_escape@ can be used to change the default escape character to something else.

silicondale · Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 2:11 pm Post subject:

Paul - That's brilliant -- can use what you've posted (and can set up the CW window explicitly), or if you could write a little routine to do it that would be even better! Is this one that should usefully be added to the knowledgebase list?

By the way, you've also just generated a new FTN95 sale. Impressive support response! My old v3.0 licence needed updating.

Interesting -- I had a compiler problem with that C_EXTERNAL statememt so thought I'd look in the CHM file and the printed manual. And what did I find but SET_WIN_ESCAPE is listed as an obsolete Clearwin subroutine - but the printed manual gives instructions on how to call it. Compiled and linked OK, now just about to test ....

-Steve

LitusSaxonicum · Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 3:05 pm Post subject:

Paul,

I knew you had the answer.

Perhaps we all should have consulted "Clearwin+ Fortran Edition" dated June 1995 (page107, or page 103 where ADD_TEXT_DESCRIPTOR is described), where the use of <ESC_CHAR>tn to modify text characteristics is described. For the simple minded like me, the ESC_CHAR is not ESC (CHAR(27))! This looks like it is possible to set fonts, font characteristics (italic, bold etc) and colour on the fly in a Clearwin window...

This also requires ignoring the mention of SET_WIN_ESCAPE@ being obsolete (FTN95.CHM).

Paul, Do you want my copy of this manual? I had to brush cobwebs off it.

Eddie

silicondale · Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 3:33 pm Post subject:

Eddie, your copy of Clearwin+ Fortran Edition is even older than mine. My copy is dated 4th July 1997. However, mine has a note under SET_WIN_ESCAPE that it is a Clearwin 3.1 function that is obsolete in ClearWin+

I wonder how many other obsolete functions could usefully be revived? They could even be spun as "new features" !

- Steve
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(Steve Henley)