opendialogsheet
opendialogsheet
FORM
,
OPTION
,
VALUE

The opendialogsheet statement opens a form from the current database as a sheet dialog (attached to the current window).

Parameters

This statement has three parameters:

form – is the name of the form to open.

option – in addition to the form name, this statement can have one or more additional option/value parameter pairs that modify the operation of the statement. Each pair has two parts, the option name (this parameter) and the option value. See the discussion below for more information.

value – option value.

Description

This statement opens a form in a sheet dialog (attached to the current window). As long as this sheet is open, nothing else can be done in the associated window. The only way to close this dialog window is with the closedialog statement. The dialog window will not have any scroll bars or tool palette.

Note: In most cases you won’t want to use the opendialogsheet statement directly. Instead, you should use the rundialog statement.

The procedure below opens the form Transaction Preferences in a 4 inch by 6 inch dialog sheet attached to the current window. The procedure then pauses so the user can fill in the dialog (see pause and resume).

    opendialogsheet "Transaction Preferences","Rectangle",rectanglesize(1,1,4*72,6*72)
    pause ""

Note: Only one dialog sheet can be associated with a window at a time. You cannot open a second nested sheet (this is an Apple restriction).

#### Options

In addition to the form name, this statement can have one or more additional option/value parameter pairs that modify the operation of the statement. For example, these options can modify the appearance and operation of the dialog window. Each pair has two parts, the option name (this parameter) and the option value, like this:

    opendialogsheet name,option1,value1,option2,value2,option3,value3

The available options are described below. Note that unlike a modal dialog, there are no options for title or close buttons, because dialog sheets don’t have these features.

#### Database

To open a form in a different database, use the `database` option. This example opens the form Report from the Members database as a sheet dialog.

    opendialogsheet "Report","Database","Members"

The specified database must already be open.

#### Stay

Normally when you use the `database` option, the current database changes to the the specified database while the dialog is open. However, if you also specify that `stay` is true, the current database will remain active. If you use this option, make sure that the form you are opening doesn’t display or edit fields that are not in the current database. Usually you will use this option with forms that don’t use any fields, only variables. In this example, the Status form from the Utility database is opened, but Utility does not become the current database – the current database stays the name (hence the name of the option).

    opendialogsheet "Status","Database","Utility","Stay",true(),"Clone",true()

As shown in the example above, the `stay` option is often used with the `clone` option (see below).

#### Rectangle

This option allows you to specify the exact location and size of the new dialog. This example opens a 3" by 5" dialog sheet. Note: The position of the rectangle is ignored, only the size is used.

    opendialogsheet "Preferences","Rectangle",rectanglesize(1, 1, 72*3, 72*5)

Note: The location can also be specified with the setwindowrectangle statement. If both are used, the rectangle specified in the opendialogsheet statement will be used.

#### Clone

This true/false option specifies whether the form should be opened as a “clone” dialog. Theoretically, this could allow you to open multiple clone dialogs with the same form. More importantly, this allows you to make programmatic changes to the dialog that will be discarded as soon as the dialog is closed. We recommend using this option, and in fact the rundialog statement defaults to this.

See Also

- closeclonewindow -- is an alternative method to close the current window, works even if the window has no close box.
- closedialog -- closes a form window that was previously opened with the opendialog statement.
- closewindow -- closes the current window.
- datafocus -- makes sure that Panorama is focused on data, not on a property panel.
- formtodatamode -- switches the current form window to data mode.
- formtographicsmode -- switches the current form window to graphics mode.
- getmaxwindow -- retrieves the position and size of the largest possible window on the main screen.
- getwindow -- retrieves the position and size of the current window.
- goform -- switches the current window to a different form.
- hideaccessorypanel -- closes the current window's accessory panel.
- info("accessorypanelisopen") -- returns the status of the current window's accessory panel, if any.
- info("accessorypanelwidth") -- returns the current width of the current window's accessory panel, if any.
- info("clickedwindownumber") -- returns the window number of that was just clicked.
- info("clonewindow") -- returns true if the current window was opened as a "clone" window.
- info("datasheetwindownumbers") -- returns the unique ID numbers of all open data sheet windows.
- info("datasheetwindows") -- returns a carriage return separated list of all open Data Sheet windows.
- info("dialogsheet") -- returns true if the currently active window is a dialog sheet.
- info("dropwindownumber") -- returns the number of the window that contains the form data was dropped on.
- info("formwindownumbers") -- returns the unique ID numbers of all open form windows.
- info("formwindows") -- returns a carriage return separated list of all open form windows.
- info("horizontalscrollbar") -- returns true if the current window's horizontal scrollbar is enabled, false if it is disabled.
- info("magicwindow") -- returns the name of the currently designated "magic window," if any.
- info("procedurewindownumbers") -- returns the unique ID numbers of all open procedure windows.
- info("procedurewindows") -- returns a carriage return separated list of all open procedure windows.
- info("toolbar") -- returns true if the current window's toolbar is visible, false if it is hidden.
- info("toolbarvisible") -- returns true if the current window has a visible tool bar.
- info("typeofwindow") -- determines what type of view the current window contains.
- info("verticalscrollbar") -- returns true if the current window's vertical scrollbar is enabled, false if it is disabled.
- info("windowdepth") -- returns the color depth of the current window.
- info("windowname") -- returns the name of the current window.
- info("windownumber") -- returns the unique ID number of the current window.
- info("windownumbers") -- returns the unique ID numbers of all open windows.
- info("windowoptions") -- returns the names of any currently enabled window options,
- info("windowrectangle") -- returns a rectangle defining the edges of the current window. The rectangle is in screen relative coordinates.
- info("windows") -- builds a carriage return separated text array containing a list of all the currently open windows.
- info("windowtype") -- returns a numeric value based on what type of view the current window contains.
- info("windowvariables") -- returns a carriage return separated text array listing the windowglobal variables defined for the current window.
- info("windowview") -- determines what type of view the current window contains.
- listwindownumbers( -- builds a text array containing a list of window ID numbers for all the open windows associated with a particular file.
- listwindows( -- builds a text array containing a list of all the open windows associated with a particular file.
- magicformwindow -- designates an open window as the temporary active window for the purposes of info( functions and graphic statements.
- magicwindow -- designates an open window as the temporary active window for the purposes of info( functions and graphic statements.
- makesecret -- makes the current database disappear, while leaving it open in memory.
- openclonewindow -- opens a clone of the current window.
- opendialog -- opens a form from the current database as a modal dialog box.
- openform -- opens a form in the current database in a new window.
- openprocedure -- opens a procedure in the current database in a new window.
- opensavedwindows -- opens windows that were open the last time file was saved.
- opensheet -- opens the data sheet window for the current database in a new window.
- originalwindow -- goes back to the window remembered by the RememberWindow statement.
- rememberwindow -- remembers the currently active window, so that you can get back to it later.
- setactivedatabase -- makes a database active (without changing the configuration of the windows).
- setwindow -- specifies the dimensions (size and location) of the next window that is opened (with openform, opensheet, openprocedure etc.).
- setwindowoptions -- changes the attributes of the current window (tool bar, scroll bars, etc.).
- setwindowrectangle -- specifies the dimensions of the next window that is opened by a procedure.
- showaccessorypanel -- opens the current window's accessory panel.
- showrecordcounter -- forces Panorama to redisplay the record counter in all windows in the current database.
- showrectangle -- refreshes all or part of the current form window.
- size -- changes the data sheet text size.
- toggleaccessorypanel -- opens and closes the current window's accessory panel.
- topdatawindow -- brings the topmost data window in the specified database to the front.
- updatingwindow( -- returns true if in a formula that is being displayed on a form, otherwise false.
- views( -- lists views in open databases.
- window -- brings a Panorama window to the front. It can also open a "secret" invisible window.
- Window ID Numbers -- ID numbers for identifying windows.
- windowbox -- specifies the dimensions (size and location) of the next window that is opened (with openform, opensheet, openprocedure etc.).
- windowcornerinitialize -- shifts a window to an edge or corner of the main screen.
- windowinfo( -- returns information about an open window: its name, type, database, location, etc.
- windowname -- changes the name of the current window.
- windowtoback -- sends a Panorama window to the back, behind all other windows (including non-Panorama windows).
- windowtocorner -- shifts a window to an edge or corner of the main screen.
- zoomalign -- moves the current window to one of 9 positions on the computer's primary screen: *top left, top center, top right*, etc.
- zoomwindow -- moves (*"zooms"*) the current window to a new position and size.
- zoomwindowrectangle -- modifies the size, location, and options of the current window.

History

Version | Status | Notes
10.0 | New | New in this version.