4 15 22 Action FI or F6 Field Insert

4.15.22 Action FI or F6 (Field Insert)

Action FI is used in both the screen and report design facilities

When action FI is used the following steps occur:

• The user is requested to name the field that is to be inserted into the report image and the identification method (C,L,D or N) to be used when inserting the field.

• When a screen panel is being designed, and it has a browselist area, an action box will appear asking the user whether the field is going to be inserted into the header/flat panel area, or, into the browse list area.

• The user is then requested to position the screen cursor so as to specify the position the field is to be inserted at.

• If the field (using the nominated identification method) will fit into the report image, at position nominated, it is inserted, else an error message is displayed and step 2 can be repeated.

To use function key F6 do the following:

1.  Use function key F6 at any time.

2.  In the resulting action box choose the option to insert a field by positioning the screen cursor and pressing enter.

3.  Specify and position the field as previously described.

Some important points about inserting fields are:

• When asked for the name of the field to be inserted you may use F4=Prompt to choose the field from Data Dictionary or from any field defined within the current function.

• The specification of the identification method for fields being positioned into the browse lists area is unnecessary. The identification method is automatically derived from the fields location in the browse list.

• When attempting to insert a field into a screen panel (with any identification method) you may cause this error message:
  
  "Field description too wide. Insert via editor and redesign screen"
  
  This error may be annoying at first. However, it will help if you understand the reasons for this error, and the implications of what would happen were it not issued:
  
  When fields on a screen panel are identified by their descriptions the longest description of any field is used to "align" all the other fields. All shorter descriptions are padded out with aligned and double spaced "leader dots" as per the CUA guidelines.
  
  If you were permitted to insert a field with a still longer description, then all the alignment and leader dot padding becomes incorrect and needs to be recalculated. If this recalculation was performed then many fields would have to be (re)positioned.
  
  The complexity of this operation requires that you do the insert operation, via the RDML editor, directly into the associated command, then use the full function checker's design capability to (re)design the screen panel.