How To Create a New Form Based on a Template

• Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, versions 3.0, 3.0b, 5.0

SUMMARY

The following program creates a new form (SCX) from a template without using the Options dialog box setting (accessed from the Tools menu).

MORE INFORMATION

1. Create a program called Newscx.prg as follows:

         LPARAMETERS tcFileName,tcClass,tcClassLibrary
         LOCAL lcFileName,lcLastSetClassLib,oForm
   

         IF EMPTY(tcFileName)
            CREATE FORM "" NOWAIT
            RETURN
         ENDIF
         lcFileName=ALLTRIM(tcFileName)
         IF NOT "."$lcFileName
            lcFileName=lcFileName+".SCX"
         ENDIF
         lcFileName=FULLPATH(lcFileName)
         IF FILE(lcFileName) AND MESSAGEBOX(LOWER(lcFileName)+;
            [ already exists.]+CHR(13)+;
            [Do you want to replace it?],52+256)#6
            RETURN .F.
         ENDIF
         IF EMPTY(tcClass)
            CREATE FORM (lcFileName) NOWAIT
            RETURN
         ENDIF
         IF EMPTY(tcClassLibrary)
            oForm=CREATEOBJECT(tcClass)
            IF TYPE("oForm")#"O"
               RETURN .F.
            ENDIF
            SET SAFETY OFF  && Stop Save As dialog from appearing on next line
            oForm.SaveAs(lcFileName)
            SET SAFETY ON
            IF NOT FILE(lcFileName)
               RETURN .F.
            ENDIF
            MODIFY FORM (lcFileName) NOWAIT
            RETURN
         ENDIF
         lcLastSetClassLib=SET("CLASSLIB")
         SET CLASSLIB TO (tcClassLibrary) ADDITIVE
         oForm=CREATEOBJECT(tcClass)
         IF NOT lcLastSetClassLib==SET("CLASSLIB")
            RELEASE CLASSLIB (tcClassLibrary)
         ENDIF
         IF TYPE("oForm")#"O"
            RETURN .F.
         ENDIF
         SET SAFETY OFF    && Stop Save As dialog from appearing on next line
         oForm.SaveAs(lcFileName)
         SET SAFETY ON
         IF NOT FILE(lcFileName)
            RETURN .F.
         ENDIF
         MODIFY FORM (lcFileName) NOWAIT
         RETURN
   
   

2. Run the program from the command line, passing it parameters for the name of the new form, the name of the form class on which the new form is based, and the name of the class library where the form class is stored. This assumes a class library containing at least one custom form class has already been created in the current directory. For example, to create a new form based on the "myform" class stored in a visual class library (VCX) called "myvcx," issue the following command from the command line:

         =NewSCX("newform","myform","myvcx")
   

3. The preceding step opens the "newform" in the Form Designer. Edit the form in the Form Designer as usual.