make <ENTER> work like <TAB>

[Gary Stout]

I have ran into another small snag. I searched the forums and even check the PB forums, but not finding what I need. Basically I am trying to make the <ENTER> key work like the <TAB> key to tab between text boxes.

Any help is appreciated,
Gary

[Paul Squires]

Here is a global way of changing the behaviour of pressing the ENTER key while inside a TextBox (or really any EDIT control class).
http://www.planetsquires.com/protect/forum/index.php?topic=2272.msg17800#msg17800

It catches the incoming message in the message pump and modifies it before it ultimately gets acted upon by the Form/Control.

[Gary Stout]

Thanks Paul,

I will give this a try.

Gary

[Gary Stout]

Paul,

What would be the best approach if I only wanted to do this for certain controls on the form? In other words, there are some text/edit boxes on the form that cannot respond to the <ENTER> key. So would I create similar code in the individual controls KEYDOWN event or?
I have experimented with this a little bit, but doesn't seem to be working as expected.

Thanks,
Gary

[David Kenny]

Gary,

I have experimented with this a little bit, but doesn't seem to be working as expected.

Could you post your experimental code or project? Otherwise we are left wondering how you implemented it and what you mean by not working as expected.

David

[Gary Stout]

Sure David,

Here is some test code I tried adding to the Textbox custom area, which may not be the correct way at all, but I am still learning 
I believe this snippet was adapted from code that Paul suggested for the FF_PumpHook.

Does FF offer a way to SetNextTab or SetPrevTab....once I have the <ENTER> working as expected, in my old app I also allow the user to navigate through fields with the arrow keys, so having the ability to either go to the next control in tab order or the previous tab order is helpful. I can probably get around this by setting focus to a particular control, but that would not allow you to scroll backwards through the tab order.
Sorry to be a pain....In the short time that I have been working with FF this go-around, I am already becoming more familiar with how things operate, but still on the up hill swing of the learning curve. 

Code Select Expand


Function CONTRIBUTIONS_TXTTITHE_CUSTOM ( _
                                       ControlIndex  As Long,  _  ' index in Control Array
                                       hWndForm      As Dword, _  ' handle of Form
                                       hWndControl   As Dword, _  ' handle of Control
                                       wMsg          As Long,  _  ' type of message
                                       wParam        As Dword, _  ' first message parameter
                                       lParam        As Long   _  ' second message parameter
                                       ) As Long

      Select Case wMsg
         Case %WM_KEYDOWN
            If wParam = %VK_RETURN Then
               Static zClass As Asciiz * 50
               GetClassName hWndControl, zClass, SizeOf(zClass)
               If UCase$(zClass) = "EDIT" Then
                  ' change the key to be a "TAB" that should move us to the next control
                 wParam = %VK_TAB
               End If
            End If   
      End Select
     
End Function


Thanks again,
Gary

[Gary Stout]

I think I might be getting a little closer. Some more experimenting and searching these forums and the PB forums has got to this point in the KEYUP event.
Am I headed in the right direction?

Code Select Expand


   Select Case nVirtKey
      Case %VK_RETURN
         FF_Control_SetFocus(GetNextDlgTabItem(Contributions.hWnd,GetFocus,0))
         Function = %TRUE     ' prevent key from making it to the TextBox
      Case %VK_DOWN
         FF_Control_SetFocus(GetNextDlgTabItem(Contributions.hWnd,GetFocus,0))
         Function = %TRUE     ' prevent key from making it to the TextBox
      Case %VK_UP
         FF_Control_SetFocus(GetNextDlgTabItem(Contributions.hWnd,GetFocus,1))
         Function = %TRUE     ' prevent key from making it to the TextBox
   End Select


[David Kenny]

Does FF offer a way to SetNextTab or SetPrevTab

See if the "Tab Order" tab on the FireFly Workspace is what you are looking for.  F9 will bring the FF Workspace dialog up it it isn't already.

I won't be able to look into the code you posted until probably tomorrow.  I'm busy with other things right now.  Thanks for posting it.

David

[Gary Stout]

Thanks David,

I have the tab order set using the Tab Order Editor...no problems there. I just wasn't sure how to navigate via code through the tab order and it looks like GetNextDlgTabItem is what I needed for that. I am making some progress, but always open to suggestions or an easier way to do things.

Gary

[David Kenny]

Sorry Gary,

If I had taken more care when I read your post, or had time to look at the code you posted, I could have figured out that what I suggested wasn't what you needed.  It was all there (looking back at it now), I just didn't see it.

I like the snippet from the KEYUP event.  Seem pretty elegant to me.

So, as is stands right now, is it still not working as intended?

[Paul Squires]

Hi Gary, sorry that I didn't mention the GetNextDlgTabItem api. I was working on an example for you this afternoon using GetNextDlgTabItem but couldn't capture the ENTER key. Then I remembered that the ENTER key gets eaten a lot by Windows during TranslateMessage in the pump. Need to use WM_GETDLGCODE to ensure ENTER key is available. I never got to that point yet in my example. 

[Paul Squires]

Just thinking that an easy way to handle your problem is to continue to use the FF_PUMPHOOK example but only respond to TextBoxes that are flagged as such. An easy way to flag those controls is to set FF_CONTROL_SETTAG with a special text, say, "PROCESSENTER" and then test for that using FF_CONTROL_GETTAG. You can then easily designate those controls in the PropertyList using the "Tag" or "Tag2" property.

Code Select Expand


      Select Case Msg.Message
         Case %WM_KEYDOWN
            If Msg.wParam = %VK_RETURN Then
               If FF_Control_GetTag(Msg.hWnd) = "PROCESSENTER" Then
                  ' change the key to be a "TAB" that should move us to the next control
                  Msg.wParam = %VK_TAB
               End If
            End If   
      End Select


[Gary Stout]

Thanks Paul!

I like this method. I learned something new from your explanation...the use of TAG's. I now see how these could be very useful for just the thing I am trying to do. I am going to try moving all the code over to the FF_PumpHook, which definitely simplifies things versus having to add the code I was using to each textbox.
That brings me to another thought or question....If I have multiple forms, with obviously multiple textboxes, is it possible to use this same routine throughout all of the forms, or would the FF_PumpHook code be form specific?

David,
It is still a work in progress, but as I learn a little here and there, I am getting closer to trying to replicate the old program. It's not quite where I am trying to go with it, but from what I have learned over the last few days, I think I can apply the principles and make it happen.

[Paul Squires]

Hi Gary - happy to hear that the solution works for you! Yes, there is only one FF_PUMPHOOK that will get called for all Forms in the application.

If there are other things in your old program that you would like myself and other FF'ers here to comment on then by all means we're all ears 

[Petrus Vorster]

On this very same topic....
Sorry to budge in the conversation, but it seems to be the same concept.

To make ESCAPE close any form should then it must go in here as well?
Just then how do you know which form it must close?