HOWTO: Using SET SKIP OF PAD with Custom Menu Pad

• Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, version 3.0
• Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, versions 2.5x, 2.6x
• Microsoft FoxPro for MS-DOS, versions 2.0, 2.5x, 2.6x
• Microsoft FoxPro for Macintosh, version 2.5x, 2.6a

SUMMARY

In order for the SET SKIP OF PAD <pad name> OF <menu name> .T. command to work on a menu created with the FoxPro Menu Builder, the menu pad name must be given a user-assigned name. The Menu Prompt Options dialog box contains a Pad Name check box that can be used to assign a name to a menu pad. That name can then later be used to refer to that pad name in the SET SKIP OF PAD command.

MORE INFORMATION

In a menu created with the Quick Menu command, each standard menu pad is automatically assigned a name according to the "MENU - System Menu Names" section of the FoxPro 2.6 "Language Reference" manual, or in Visual FoxPro online Help, under the topic "Menu Names, Visual FoxPro System (internal)".

However, in a custom menu prompt, if the Pad Name check box is not selected, the pad is automatically assigned a unique name, such as _qp70zgq9j, by the GENMENU menu generator. This unique pad name cannot be referred to since it is assigned dynamically each time the menu is generated. If this unique name is referred to, unexpected behavior will occur during a SET SKIP OF PAD command.

To illustrate how to work around this behavior, the following steps will create a new menu system with three pads, assign a pad name to the second pad, and allow the second pad to be enabled or disabled by selecting the third pad:

1. From the File menu, choose New. Under File Type, select Menu, and then choose New. Or, type "CREATE MENU" (without the quotation marks) in the Command window.

2. In the Prompt box, type "Exit" (without the quotation marks). In the Result box, select Command. In the text box, type "SET SYSMENU TO DEFAULT" (without the quotation marks). Press the TAB key twice, or click the next Prompt box.

3. In the second Prompt box, type "Admin" (without the quotation marks). In the Result box, select Procedure. Choose the Create button. In the window, type the following:

         WAIT WINDOW "You chose the Admin pad from the menu"
   

   Press CTRL+W to close the edit window.

4. Press the TAB key once, or click the Options button. In the Prompt Options dialog box, select the Pad Name check box. In the Pad Name box, type "Admin" (without the quotation marks). Choose OK twice. Press the TAB key once, or click the next Prompt box.

5. In the third Prompt box, type "Toggle Admin" (without the quotation marks). In the Result box, select Procedure. Choose the Create button. In the window, type the following code:

         tadmin = NOT tadmin
         SET SKIP OF PAD admin OF _msysmenu tadmin
   

   Then press CTRL+W to close the window.

6. From the Menu menu in FoxPro 2.x (the View menu in Visual FoxPro), choose General Options, select the Setup check box under Menu Code, choose OK, and then enter the following code in the window:

         PUBLIC tadmin
         tadmin = .F.
   

   Then press CTRL+W to close the window.

7. From the File menu, choose Save As. In the Save Menu As text box, type "testskip" (without the quotation marks). Choose the Save button.

8. From the Program menu, choose Generate, and then choose the Generate button. When FoxPro has finished generating the menu, press ESC or choose Close from the File menu to close the Menu Builder window.

Note that the Admin menu is enabled at first and is dimmed after the Toggle Admin menu is chosen.

(c) Microsoft Corporation 1997, All Rights Reserved. Contributions by Perry Newton, Microsoft Corporation