%IEDITFMT_METHOD

Perform input field “edit format” processing

function IEDITFMT_METHOD,^val
   a_data_stored        ,a
   a_data_edit          ,a
   a_inpinfo            ,a
   a_inprec             ,a
   a_attributes         ,n
   a_color              ,n
   a_methoddata1        ,any
        .
        .
        .
   a_methoddata20       ,any

Return value

%IEDITFMT_METHOD should always return true. (n)

Arguments

a_data_stored

A buffer for the final storage of the data that’s about to be displayed. (a)

a_data_edit

A buffer for the edit display form of the data. (a)

a_inpinfo

The structure of input information. (a)

a_inprec

(optional) The data_area argument (or the data_location argument for I_INPFLD on Windows) passed to the calling input routine. (a)

a_attributes

The attribute to apply to the data displayed. One of the following flags defined in tools.def: (n)

A_NONE = No attributes.

A_U = Underlined.

A_R = Reverse.

A_RU = Reverse, underlined.

A_B | A_I = Blinking (on Unix and OpenVMS) or italic (on Windows). “I” can be substituted whenever “B” appears in the following flags.

A_BU = Blinking, underlined.

A_BR = Blinking, reverse.

A_BRU = Blinking, reverse, underlined.

A_H = Highlighted.

A_HU = Highlighted, underlined.

A_HR = Highlighted, reverse.

A_HRU = Highlighted, reverse, underlined.

A_BH = Blinking, highlighted.

A_BHU = Blinking, highlighted, underlined.

A_BHR = Blinking, highlighted, reverse.

A_BHRU = Blinking, highlighted, reverse, underlined.

A_ALL = All attributes (same as A_BHRU).

a_color

The color to apply to the data displayed, where a_color is a palette number in the range 1 to 16. (n)

a_methoddata1 through a_methoddata20

(optional) Up to 20 additional data arguments. (any)

Discussion

%IEDITFMT_METHOD is a function you write and name when you want your program to format editable data differently from how Toolkit will format it. This method is called after the Toolkit has formatted the data according to its rules, thus overriding or adding to the Toolkit’s functionality.

This function is called by I_INPUT and I_INPFLD when an edit format method is specified for the field being processed. You can specify an edit format method for the field by using the EDITFMT_METHOD qualifier in a .FIELD script command or the D_FLD_ EDITFMT option in I_FLDMOD or IB_FIELD.

%IEDITFMT_METHOD has the “last chance” opportunity to override or add to the Toolkit’s functionality. %IEDITFMT_METHOD is called only after the new field contents have been subjected to all the specified Toolkit display logic. In addition, this method isn’t called until Toolkit is in edit mode. On Windows, Toolkit enters edit mode as soon as a field gains focus. On Unix and OpenVMS, however, Toolkit doesn’t enter edit mode until the user starts typing or selects a reserved menu entry that starts with E_. (See Appendix B: Reserved Menu Entries for a list of these menu entries.)

Toolkit ignores any changes made to the a_data_stored argument. If the current field is a multi-line text field, the a_data_stored argument is the first element in the array containing the storage data for each line of the field.

Changes made to the a_data_edit argument are reflected in the input field. If the current field is a multi-line text field, the a_data_edit argument is the first element in the array containing the edit display data for each line of the field. Note that the text returned in a_data_edit is not limited by the display length or the view length; its size is determined by the input length for the field.

The inpinf.def file defines a_inpinfo. See IARRIVE_METHOD for information.

If the calling routine is I_INPUT or I_INPFLD (on Windows), the a_inprec argument contains the data area that was passed to that routine. (On Unix and OpenVMS, this argument is not passed if I_INPFLD is the calling routine.)

Changes made to the a_attributes and a_color arguments are applied to the input field’s display after %IEDITFMT_METHOD returns. These renditions will override those otherwise specified, specifically the default renditions (bold, 3), renditions set by U_REND and U_RSTREND, and field level renditions.

A_methoddata1 through a_methoddata20 are up to 20 additional optional arguments passed from I_INPUT or I_INPFLD.

Toolkit will invoke the EEDTDSP_METHOD prior to calling the %IEDITFMT_METHOD for any field with a user-defined data type.

Toolkit will format a_data_edit prior to calling %IEDITFMT_METHOD, but the data is not actually displayed until after the method returns.