The Generate dialog is presented when the layout mode menu item File | Generate is selected. The painter's form generation facility supports the automatic generation (or layout) of frames or forms using the definitions of EntitySets, Relationships or Structured Documents as the source. The dialog consists of two sections, the Generate Target section and the Generate Source section.
This section contains information relating to the target form (or frame) for the generate operation.
| Form Name | This field contains the name of the form that owns the generated form fields. When the painter is invoked by FORM DEFINE, this field contains the name of the form being painted, and is protected from being changed (as is the field Directory Name). Executing generate in FORM DEFINE results in the generated form fields being owned by a frame object that is created automatically. When the painter is invoked by DISPLAY DEFINE, the result of generation is a new form. This field contains the name to be assigned to that form. In addition, the field Directory Name is also available. Any form name is acceptable as long as the values of Form Name and Directory Name do not match that of an existing form in the display. The field Existing Forms in Display is available to determine which forms currently exist within the display. If an existing form[directory] name is accidentally used, Generate prohibits the operation. |
| Directory Name | This field contains the name of the directory that owns the form specified in Form Name. See the above description for Form Name for more information on when this field is available to the user. |
| Existing Forms in Display | This field contains a list of the forms [and their owning directories] that already exist in the display being painted. The list is empty if the display contains no forms (e.g. a new display) or the painter has been invoked by FORM DEFINE. When executing Generate in DISPLAY DEFINE, this field provides a list of those values that cannot be entered in Form Name and Directory Name. The field is inactive, but can be scrolled. If an existing form[directory] name is accidentally used, Generate prohibits the operation. |
This section contains information relating to the selection of the source object for the generate operation.
| Database Object Type | This field selects the source database object type. There are three values: "EntitySet", "Data Relationship" and "Structured Document", all of which are data-bearing objects. Selecting a member from this list causes the field Directories to be populated with the names of all directories in the Data Dictionary associated with database objects of the selected type. The field "Object List" (see below) is populated with a list of all objects of the selected type owned by the first directory listed in Directories. In DISPLAY DEFINE, the first object listed in "Object List" and the first directory listed in Directories appear in the fields Form Name and Directory Name respectively. |
| Directories | This field contains a list of all directories that own objects of the type selected in Database Object Type and exist in the Data Dictionary. If there are no such objects, no associated directories are displayed. Selecting a member from the directory list causes the "Object List" to be repopulated with a list of all objects of the selected type owned by the newly selected directory. In DISPLAY DEFINE, the first object listed in "Object List" and the selected directory appear in the fields Form Name and Directory Name respectively. |
| Object List - (EntitySets, Data Relationships or Structured Documents) | This field contains a list of all objects of the selected type which exist in the directory selected in Directories. Note that if the list in Directories is empty, then no objects exist and this list is empty. In DISPLAY DEFINE, selecting a member from this list causes the object's name to appear in the field Form Name. It is the selected member from this list that Generate operates on. The members of the Data Dictionary EntitySet Fields owned by the selected object are retrieved, and either a frame (FORM DEFINE) or a form (DISPLAY DEFINE) containing form fields derived from the object's field definitions is generated. |
| OK | This push button performs any required data validation, performs the generate operation, and returns to the Screen Painter's layout mode. The current selection settings in the Generate dialog are preserved. |
| Cancel | This push button returns immediately to the Screen Painter's layout mode. The current selection settings in the Generate dialog are preserved. |
| Help | This push button invokes the Zim Help facility, initially displaying the section entitled Generate dialog (this section). |