Step 2 Make the Department Section Dropdown Useful

Step 2. Make the Department / Section Dropdown Useful

VFW074 – Create a Compound Reusable Part

From the previous exercise, you know that the Departments dropdown component:

• Signals uDepartmentChanged when the selected department is changed.

• Has a uCurrDepartment property which re-positions the dropdown or returns the currently selected department code.

1.  Consider what functionality the new department / section component will need, to interact with your Employee Details command handler:

• The first thing to recognize is that the new component is now responsible for interacting with the department dropdown component. The department dropdown component is encapsulated within the new reusable part. This means the new reusable part must handle both department and section changes.

• For example, if its current department property is changed it must:

a.  Reposition the department dropdown

b.  Rebuild the sections dropdown from the table SECTAB using the new department code as a key.

2.  In the Design view, select the department dropdown RP and create an event handling routine for uCurrDepartmentChanged. Add logic to do the following:

a.  Set DEPTMENT to the value of the uCurrDepartment property of DEPT_DD.

b.  Signal that department has changed

c.  Clear the list SECT_DD

d.  Select SECTION and SECDESC from file SECTAB using DEPTMENT as key, add all entries to SECT_DD

e.  Get entry 1 from SECT_DD

f.  For SECT_DD, set Focus to current item

Your code should look like the following:

Evtroutine Handling(#DEPT_DD.UDepartmentChanged)
#deptment := #DEPT_DD.uCurrDepartment
Signal Event(uDeptChanged)
Clr_List Named(#SECT_DD)
Select Fields(#SECT_DD) From_File(sectab) With_Key(#deptment)
Add_Entry To_List(#SECT_DD)
Endselect
Get_Entry Number(1) From_List(#SECT_DD)
#SECT_DD.currentItem.focus := true
Endroutine

3.  Define the following properties:

Define_Pty Name(uCurrDept) Get(GetCurrDept) Set(SetCurrDept)
Define_Pty Name(uCurrSection) Get(*auto #section) Set(SetCurrSection)

     Setting or getting uCurrDept will require logic in property routines.

     Getting uCurrSection will return current value of SECTION.

     Setting uCurrSection will require logic in a property routine.

     Ignore errors at this stage.

4.  Define the following events:

Define_Evt Name(uSectChanged)
Define_Evt Name(uDeptChanged)

5.  Create the GetCurrDept property routine. This needs to an output parameter based on DEPTMENT.

     Your code should look like the following:

Ptyroutine Name(GetCurrDept)
Define_Map For(*output) Class(#deptment) Name(#CurrDept)
Endroutine

6.  The GetCurrDept routine needs to retrieve the current department from DEPT_DD. Add code to do this. The new code is shown in red.

Ptyroutine Name(GetCurrDept)
Define_Map For(*output) Class(#deptment) Name(#CurrDept)
#CurrDept := #DEPT_DD.uCurrDepartment 
Endroutine

7.  Create a SetCurrDept property routine. It needs an input parameter based on DEPTMENT.

     Your code should look like the following:

Ptyroutine Name(SetCurrDept)
Define_Map For(*input) Class(#deptment) Name(#CurrDept)
Endroutine

8.  The SetCurrDept needs to set the current department property in DEPT_DD. Add code to do this. The new code is in red.

Ptyroutine Name(SetCurrDept)
Define_Map For(*input) Class(#deptment) Name(#CurrDept)

#DEPT_DD.uCurrDepartment := #CurrDept
Endroutine

9.  Create a SetCurrSection property routine. This needs to have an input parameter based on SECTION.

     Your code should look like the following:

Ptyroutine Name(SetCurrSection)
Define_Map For(*input) Class(#section) Name(#CurrSect)

Endroutine

10. The SetCurrSection routine needs to re-position the section combo box to the input value.

     It does this by reading the combo box using SELECTLIST and leaving when SECTION = the input section code.

     It should then set focus for current item and signal the uSectChanged event.

     Add code to achieve this. New code is shown in red.

Ptyroutine Name(SetCurrSection)
Define_Map For(*input) Class(#section) Name(#CurrSect)
Selectlist Named(#SECT_DD)
Leave If(#section *EQ #CurrSect)
Endselect
#SECT_DD.currentItem.focus := true
Signal Event(uSectChanged)
Endroutine
 

11. Create an ItemGotFocus for the sections combo box. Add logic to signal the uSectChanged event.

     Your code should look like the following:

Evtroutine Handling(#SECT_DD.ItemGotFocus) Options(*NOCLEARMESSAGES *NOCLEARERRORS)

Signal Event(uSectChanged)

Endroutine 

12. Compile your department / section combo box component.