POSTPATH procedure in PH web screen

[Edis, Bob]

Thanks John

I know what you mean by "normally change so much of the HTML".  The default
web page is pretty plain. I can readily see that code maintenance will be
pain.:(

The t_flag is a temp item that is a field on the screen with the accept verb
in an initialize procedure.  But the linkscreen dw_vendor is also the
calling screen.  On the surface it looks like some sort of recursion.  The
t_flag field does not display on the web page so I don't know the value "Y"
could be entered.  In the web page it is referenced:

<!-- Temporary fields -->
<input type="hidden" size="22" name="VENDOR:Date_Added" value="">
<input type="hidden" size="1" name="T_FLAG" value="">
<!-- End of temporary fields -->

I don't like the default layout of the web page.  Would I basically have to
manually code separate <table> sections in the HTML file to get the layout
to match the 'standard' Quick screen?

I noticed a bunch of new default procedures generated when using BUILD LIST
DETAIL.  This is interesting.

Regards,
Blue

-----Original Message-----
From: John MacLerran [mailto:macljohn@isu.edu]
Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2001 3:13 PM
To: Edis, Bob
Subject: Re: POSTPATH procedure in PH web screen


G'day Bob!

Re: skip, align, and title.  Yep, you're right that skip and align have no
effect in the HTML. We've found that you normally change so much of the HTML
by
the time you're ready for production that you've pretty much gutted the
original
template, so we don't bother with aligns and skips in screens destined for
the
web (but it's sometimes a good idea to include them in case you want to run
the
screen as a standard Quick screen for debugging purposes). This raises the
issue
of maintenance, because you can't use what Qdesign generates for you by
default;
you have to maintain the HTML somewhat separately from the Qdesign code. It
can
be a pain, but once you get a feel for the internal structure of the HTML
that
PHWeb expects, it's not too hard to do.

However, TITLE should work.  E.g. you should be able to say

Title '<center>This is centered text</center>' at ,1

and that should appear as an HTML string in the template -- it should, in
fact,
appear pretty close to where you want it, in relation to the surrounding
fields.

As far as question 2 -- the Postpath procedural code, this is my take on
what
it's doing.

If the screen is invoked in Search or LoadData mode (from a previous HTML
link),
then the following procedures get executed: Path, Postpath, Find, and
(potentially) Postfind  (plus Initialize and Exit, of course).  All of this
is
pretty standard. It looks like what the original coder was trying to do was
to
have the screen run another screen based on the value of the T_FLAG
variable.
Is that getting Accepted in the Initialize or Path procedures?  If it is,
then
if it is 'Y', and the Request for the Vendor_Key field was successful, then
the
dw_vendor screen will be invoked.  If the flag is not 'Y', then the defer
linkscreen won't be done. It appears like the original programmer was
attempting
to display two different web pages depending on the value of the flag field.

It's also invoking the subsequent screen in 'loaddata' mode, which means
that
the dw_vendor screen probably accepts the vendor_key field and does a
retrieval
based upon that.

That's just a guess -- I could probably tell you lots more by looking at
more of
the code.

Hope that helps!


"Edis, Bob" wrote:

> G'day all
>
> I have a couple of questions regarding PH web screen syntax.  I have just
> started creating/maintaining some of these screens and there is some
syntax
> issues I don't know about.  I would appreciate it if someone can clarify
> these for me.
>
> 1. I notice none of the screens bother with SKIP, ALIGN or TITLE
statements.
> When I try to use the SKIP and ALIGN statements they do not have the
desired
> effect on the HTML page.  I.e. if I want the first row to have 2 fields
and
> the next to have 3, the HTML screen pushes the 3 field onto a new line as
it
> tries to put the fields into a table that has only 2 columns.
>
> 2. I am using existing screens as a template.  The coder has put a
POSTPATH
> procedure in the code that is not created by default.  E.g.
>
> procedure postpath
> begin
>   if promptok for Vendor_Key of vendor         &
>   and T_Flag <> "Y"
>       then begin
>              let T_Flag = "Y"
>              defer linkscreen dw_vendor        &
>                    action "loaddata"           &
>                    passing Vendor_Key,         &
>                            T_Flag
>       end
> end
>
> Any ideas why and what this does?
>
> TIA for your (polite) suggestions,

----------------------------------------------------------------------
  John MacLerran
  IT Systems Analyst                       email:   macljohn@isu.edu
  Idaho State University                             V(208) 282-2954
  http://www.isu.edu/~macljohn                       F(208) 282-3673
----------------------------------------------------------------------

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