@database
@node main Chapter29
"SBase Personal - 29. FUNCTION KEYS"

@{" 29 FUNCTION KEYS " link 0} In SBase Professional 4 Only
 @{" Defining a Function Key " link 1}
 @{" List Function Key Assignments " link 2}
 @{" Function Keys for Commands " link 3}
 @{" Examples " link 4}
 @{" Function Keys for Text and Program Editing " link 5}
 @{" Editing a Function Key String " link 6}
 @{" Function Key Files " link 7}
 @{" Saving Function Key Files " link 8}

@endnode
@node 0
29 FUNCTION KEYS

(In SBase Professional 4 Only)

The action of function keys may be defined by the user. You may attach a
command line of up to 255 characters to any of forty function keys.
Pressing the key to which the command line is attached executes the
command line.

Function key definitions may be saved as SBK files and are re-usable.

The main applications for this facility are:

  -  Creating command lines to perform multiple operations with a single
     keystroke.
  -  Inserting often used words, keywords, phrases, and paragraphs in a
     text document or a program.

There are forty function keys available by combining F1 to F10 with
control keys in four different ways:

        Function Key alone
        SHIFT+Function Key
        CTRL+Function Key
        SHIFT+CTRL+Function Key

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@node 1
Defining a Function Key

Select the Function Keys command from the Set menu. You will then be
presented with the Function Key Definition requester:

 *** @{" See Fig 29-1 " system "ps sb2:Fgi29-1"} ***

First, choose the key to which the command line is to be attached.

1.      Click the radio button for the required combination in the box at
        the right-hand side of the requester.
2.      Click the radio button for the key itself.
3.      Type the command line to be executed in the text box. Do not press
        ENTER at the end of the command line unless you wish to exit from
        the requester immediately.
  -  Multiple commands may be entered, separated by the colon character
     `:'
  -  You may specify text on its own. Pressing the key prints the text in
     a field or in the Text or Program editor.
  -  If you want to be able to execute the command line at any time, for
     example in the middle of data entry or while editing a program, type
     an exclamation point `!' as the first character. In data entry, this
     has the effect of pressing the ESC key and ends the activity.
4.      Click OK to exit from the requester.

The function key is ready to use.

@endnode
@node 2
List Function Key Assignments

Select the Function Keys List command from the Set menu. SBase 4 displays
the current definitions in the work area.

In SBase Professional 4, the DML KEY command may be used to list output.
You can redirect the oput to the printer with a DML Command Line:

PRINT:KEY:DISPLAY

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@node 3
Function Keys for Commands

 If the commands can be executed as a one line program, they can also be
assigned to a function key.

Note
Single word commands at the beginning of a function key string must have a
trailing space if followed by a colon.

@endnode
@node 4
Examples

The following function key string simply displays the current time, but it
also illustrates the use of the `!' character. Placing this character at
the front of the string forces SBase 4 to execute the command in all
circumstances:

!? NOW

The second example could be adapted to any situation where you wish to
select a record but are not sure what to enter as the index key. In this
case, it allows you to enter just the initial letter of a customer name
(or the first part of the name) and then displays a list of the names in
the customer file that begin with the letter (or letters) you have
entered.

a$ = "":REQUEST "Enter customer initial","",4,a%,a$,15:REQUEST "Select
customer","",20,a%,a$,40,Lastname,Firstname:SELECT KEY a$

The last example has a more specialized application. Suppose you are
entering details of check payments in a file called Checks. For each
check, you create a new record which holds details such as the amount and
the date. You also want to keep a running total of the amounts as they are
entered. One way of doing this would be to define the following function
key string:

SELECT LAST:x% = Total.checks: BLANK: ENTER: Total.Checks = Amount.Checks
+ x%: STORE: VIEW

Pressing the function key for this string collects the total from the last
cheque entered and then presents you with a blank record. When you have
typed in the details of the next cheque, it updates the Total.Checks field
and stores the new record.

The example assumes that the file is currently indexed on a date field and
that the cheques are entered in date order.

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@node 5
Function Keys for Text and Program Editing

Function keys are useful for entering text strings which occur many times
in the same document or are regularly used in different documents. They
save you the trouble of having to type in the string yourself every time
it is needed. Provided the text insertion point is shown on screen,
pressing a function key will insert a string at that point.

The same applies to the use of function keys when editing a program. You
can define function keys to insert commonly used keywords in a program.

For example, you might want to define the keys SHIFT+F1 to SHIFT+F5 as:

REM
LOAD "
SAVE "
OPEN FILE "
WHILE

Keys SHIFT+F5 to SHIFT+F10 could then be assigned commands which are
useful during program development:

!MEMORY
!RUN
!PAGING ON:? LIST
!EDIT
!STATUS

Note the use of the `!' character here. It allows these function key
commands to be executed even when the program insertion point is active.

If you wish to define a text string that runs over several lines, you need
to use the carriage return character. However, it is not possible to enter
this character in the Function Keys requester, so you must enter it using
the KEY command in a program or a DML Command Line. So to assign an
address to F1, you would enter a string like this:

KEY 1, "8404 Sterling Street" + CHR$(13) + "Irving" + CHR$(13) + "Texas
75063" + CHR$(13)
Note
SBase 4 cannot save control characters in a function key file, so to store
this string on disk you need to save it as a one line program.

Normally, function key strings which are intended for text entry cannot be
executed as commands. Pressing a function key of this type when the cursor
is not active may cause an error message.

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@node 6
Editing a Function Key String

If a function key has already been defined, selecting the Function Keys
command from the Set menu displays the contents of the key in the string
entry box. Initially, the setting for the F1 key will be shown. When you
choose another key with the requester controls, SBase 4 displays the
setting for that key.  If you wish to change the current setting, you can
do so using the usual editing controls.  Alternatively, click Clear to
remove the current setting and type in a new function key definition.

@endnode
@node 7
Function Key Files

Function Key definitions can be saved on disk for use in other sessions
with SBase 4. Function key files are saved as ASCII files with the SBK
extension. If you wish to examine a function key file, you may display it
on screen or print it out with the Type option on the Utilities menu. Any
keys which have not been assigned a string are shown as blank lines.

@endnode
@node 8
Saving Function Key Files

1.      Select the Function Keys Save As command from the Set menu.
2.      Enter a filename.
3.      Click OK.

SBase 4 saves the current function key definitions on disk, adding the SBK
extension to the file name you type in.

To save a function key file under a program control, use the command SAVE
KEY "file name".

Opening Function Key Files

1.      Select the Function Keys Open command from the Set menu.
2.      Choose a filename from the list.
3.      Click OK.

SBase 4 loads the selected file into memory and sets up the function keys
ready for use.

Use the LOAD KEY "file name" command to load a function key file under
program control . You can include this command, followed by the name of a
function key file, in SBase  4's auto-executing Start.sbp program  SBase
Professional owners (see DML Reference Guide). This way, the function keys
will be set up for you as soon as SBase has loaded.

Another way of using the LOAD KEY command is to assign it to a function
key. You will then be able to load a specified function key file with a
single key press.

@endnode