How to Use the MsgBox() Function in FOXTOOLS.FLL

Last reviewed: April 29, 1996
Article ID: Q105006

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, version 3.0
Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, versions 2.5x, 2.6x

SUMMARY

The MsgBox() function in FOXTOOLS.FLL displays a message in a dialog box, waits for the user to choose a button, and returns a value indicating which button was chosen.

By using the MsgBox() function, you can take advantage of the Windows default message dialog boxes. Another benefit of using the MsgBox() function is that it does not create a new READ level.

Below is syntax information about MsgBox() and a code example.

NOTE: In FoxPro 2.x, when you are using the MsgBox() function in a project, the FOXTOOLS.FLL file must be listed, or you will receive an "Undefined reference" error message.

In Visual Foxpro, however, FOXTOOLS.FLL isn't required in order to use the MESSAGEBOX() Function. For more information, see the MESSAGEBOX() topic in online Help.

MORE INFORMATION

Function Syntax

   MsgBox(<msg>,<title>,<type>)

The MsgBox() function takes these arguments:

<msg> - Character expression displayed as the message in the dialog box.
<title> - Character expression displayed in the title bar of the dialog box.
<type> - Numeric expression that controls the buttons and icons to display in the dialog box. This number is derived by adding the numbers from each group of values. For example, number and type of buttons+icon style+default button= type.

MsgBox displays a maximum of 1024 characters. Longer messages are truncated after the 1024th character. Message strings longer than 255 characters with no intervening spaces are truncated after the 255th character.

MsgBox breaks lines automatically at the right edge of the dialog box. To set line breaks manually, place a carriage return (ANSI character 13) and a linefeed (ANSI character 10) before the first character of the text that is to begin each new line.

The argument type is the sum of values that specify the number and type of buttons to display, the icon style to use, and the identity of the default button. The following table illustrates the values used and the meaning of each group of values:

   Value    Meaning
   -------------------------------------------------

         Number and type of buttons
         --------------------------

     0      Display OK button only
     1      Display OK and Cancel buttons
     2      Display Abort, Retry, and Ignore buttons
     3      Display Yes, No, and Cancel buttons
     4      Display Yes and No buttons
     5      Display Retry and Cancel buttons

         Icon style
         ----------

     0      Display no icon
    16      Display Critical Message icon
    32      Display Warning Query icon
    48      Display Warning Message icon
    64      Display Information Message icon

         Default button
         --------------

     0      First button is default
   256      Second button is default
   512      Third button is default

The first group of values (1-5) describes the number and type of buttons displayed in the dialog box; the second group (0, 16, 32, 48, 64) describes the icon style; and the third group (0, 256, 512) determines which button is the default. When adding numbers to create a final value for the argument type, use only one number from each group. The value returned by the MsgBox() function indicates which button has been chosen, as shown in the following table:

   Value    Button chosen
   ----------------------

     1      OK
     2      Cancel
     3      Abort
     4      Retry
     5      Ignore
     6      Yes
     7      No

If the dialog box displays a Cancel button, pressing the ESC key has the same effect as choosing Cancel.

Sample Code

   SET LIBRARY TO SYS(2004)+"FOXTOOLS.FLL" ADDITIVE
   msg="Do you want to continue?"
   title="User Input Needed"
   userchoice=MSGBOX(msg,title,276)
   * 276 is created from 4+16+256
   * (Display Yes and No Buttons)+(Display Critical Message Icon)
   * + (Second Button is Default)
   IF userchoice=6
          WAIT WINDOW 'User has chosen "YES"'
   ELSE
          WAIT WINDOW 'User has chosen "NO"'
   ENDIF
   RELEASE LIBRARY SYS(2004)+"FOXTOOLS.FLL"

Additional reference words: FoxWin VFoxWin 2.50 2.50a 2.50b 2.60 2.60a 3.00
alert
KBCategory: kbprg kbcode
KBSubcategory: FxprgFoxtools

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Last reviewed: April 29, 1996
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