Navigation:  How to Work with Screens > Adding Menu/Selection Controls to a Screen > Adding a File Browse Control to a Screen

 

Control Purpose

 

This control is used to display a file's content and, if required, to specify which data (field/record) is viewed on the screen.

It allows for the selection of any displayed records. Should this control be used, the data is stored in a variable to be further processed or stored. See Variable Definition.

 

Drag a File Browse control from the top section of the "Control" tab OR  the Style Preview section onto the screen.

 

Step-by-step

 

1. Drag the control onto the screen:

 

•If dragged from the "Control" tab, the control will assume the default style. (See Set Default.)

 

•If dragged from the Style Preview section, it will assume that particular style.

 

2. Now, double-click the selected control on the screen OR  the representation in the tree view to open the properties window.

 

 

The "General" tab is open by default.

 

3. In the "File Name" option, select the data file to be displayed from the existing data files in the drop-down. If you need to edit the selected data file, click . See Editing a Data File.

 

4. Fill in the "Fields Selection" table:

Field Name column

Define the field position by selecting fields from the drop-down (this list contains the fields of the previously selected data file).

Length column

Determine the length of each column.

Title column

Define each field name as it will appear on the device's screen. Either maintain the field names from the original file or create new ones.

Store Value column

Define the variable that stores what was selected. To store the information, click the corresponding and create/select a variable. See To Select/Create a Variable.

 

Use the editing icons to the right of the table to move the rows up and down and to delete or add more rows.

 

5. As an option, the number of the selected records can be stored in a variable. Create/select a variable in the "Store Selected Record Number(Optional)" option by clicking .

 

6. Go to the "Query" tab.

 

 

7. If required, define a query using "where conditions" in the "Where Clause" table. The "Query Assistant" will help you define the criteria for the necessary "Where" clause(s) (fields, operand, value type). Use the editing icons to the right of the table to move the rows up and down and to delete or add more rows.

 

 

If the query is not needed, continue to the "Layout" tab (step 8).

 

8. Open the "Layout" tab.

 

 

9. Define the control's style by selecting an option from the drop-down OR  by clicking . See Editing and Creating Styles and Editing and Creating the File Browse Style.

 

10. Maintain the given values or specify the control's position/size, within the screen, by providing the "X" and "Y" coordinates as well as "Width" and "Height".

 

Detail of Position/Size values

 

 

11. In the "Name" option, attribute a name to the control. This name is displayed in the tree view.

 

12. Consider whether or not to check the following options:

"Enable"

Activates the control's input feature.

"Tab Stop"

Must be checked to enable a "Change Tab Order". This provides the possibility to change the order (between Data Input controls) in which the information is keyed in by the operator.

"Visible"

Manages the control's visibility in the device's screen.

 

13. In the "File Browse Layout", define the following options:

"Columns to Lock"

Defines the number of columns to be locked in the table. This locking of columns begins from left to right.

"Header"

This option must be checked to ensure the viewing of the header.

"Footer"

The checking of this option allows for the addition of information at the bottom of the File Browse box. Text can be added, syntax commands can be written (consider the list below the box) or selected from the drop-down.

 

 

Use the right-click in MCL-Designer's input boxes to access some related options as well as the general "Cut"; "Copy"; "Paste"; "Search"actions (active/inactive according to the current context).

Ex: If you right-click the "Text Data" input box (included in a Display Text properties window), you are provided with the general editing/search actions and other specific options such as "Variable Select" (see "Variable Select"), "Variable Insert" (see "Variable Insert"), "Insert Special Character" (see To Insert Special Characters into a Control's Text Input Field) and "Localization Select" (see Localization List).

If you right-click any other input box, it may provide other possibilities.

 

 

 

14. Go to the "Actions" tab.

 

 

Default action: "Change" - Is triggered when the operator selects a record or inputs data in the control.

 

 

Keep in mind there is always a default action (ex: "Change"; "Timer"; "Hotkey"; etc.) attached to the control (in this case, a "Change" action). If you want the action to trigger something, you must add processes to it (ex: "Go To"; "Check File"; "Set Focus"; etc.).

 

15. If required, double-click the empty line below the action OR  click in the editing bar to add a process to the action. See Adding Processes to a Screen or a Control.

 

At this stage, the processes are being added to the default action (in this case, a "Change"). The default action can, however, be ignored/overridden by adding other actions (step 17).

 

This control has predefined Local variables (only available in "action" context). See File Browse's Predefined Local Variables.

 

 

16. If there is no need to add more actions, click in the "Actions" tab to conclude the operation. If the project requires more actions, proceed to step 17.

 

17. Click (at the bottom of the "Actions" tab) to add a new action.

 

 

18. Select one of the available actions (A) for this control ("Timer" or "Hotkey") and edit it (B, C and D) OR, if available, select a custom action from the drop-down (from its "Custom" section). As an alternative, click to access a table listing all the available custom actions so you can create a new action or edit an existing one. See Custom Actions.

 

 

Detail of a window

 

 

It is possible to add as many of the available actions as required by the project. (Repeat steps 17 and 18)

 

 

19. Edit the new action(s). Double-click the action row to be edited and open its properties window. If a custom action is if available, you can select it from the drop-down (from its "Custom" section) OR   click to access a table listing all the available custom actions so you can create a new action or edit an existing one. See To Edit a Custom Action.

 

 

Ex: The editing of an added "Hotkey" action.

Define which keystroke function(in a virtual or hardware keyboard) the control represents.

Define the objective to be executed after the action is triggered. Select one of the available destinations from the drop-down or list OR  select "<Action>", if you want to add other processes.

 

20. These new actions can include processes. See Adding Processes to a Screen or a Control.

 

If you have more than one action, remember to select the action row you want to add processes to.

If you use the Drag-and-Drop method to add processes, make sure to drop the process on the row below the intended action.

 

Remember that the "Enable" option (located in the "Layout" tab) must be checked so that the added actions/processes can run.

 

 

21. If required, use the icons located on the upper right corner of the properties window:

 

Click this icon to create a new data file. Go to Creating a Data File to see how to fill in the several options available.

 

Click this icon to open a "Localization" window where you can edit the text element within that control or add translations to it. See Localization.

 

Click this icon to attach any relevant notes to this control. Enter your text in the resulting window. This information is displayed in the "Developer report". See Report.

 

 

22. Click in the "Actions" tab to apply the choices made.

 

The File Browse has been successfully added to the screen.

 

 

 

If any subsequent edition of the control's properties is required, double-click the File Browse OR  select "Edit" (in its right-click menu) to open the properties window.

 

 

 

If you want to view this control applied within an application, see Sample Applications.

 

 

File Browse's Predefined Local Variables

 

This control has predefined Local variables (only available in an "action" context).

 

 

 

* Defined in the control's properties window ("Layout" tab).