Keeping Forms/Screens from Flashing in Multi-Form/Screen Set

• 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

SUMMARY

When you are running a program with multiple screens that has been built with the Form Designer or Screen Builder, it is not desirable to have the forms or screens flash when the program starts up.

In Visual FoxPro, use the .Visible property to prevent this from happening.

In FoxPro 2.x, by using the MOVE WINDOW command to move the screens after they are defined, you can keep them from flashing on the screen when they start up. After the screen set is started and the first screen is in place, the other screens can then be moved to their positions within the screen set. Below is the code needed to keep the second and third screens from flashing when they are started with the first screen of a three-screen set.

MORE INFORMATION

Visual FoxPro

1. Create a FormSet containing three forms, using their default names of Form1, Form2, and Form3. Change the Visible property to .F. for Form2 and Form3.

2. Add two buttons named btnScr2, btnScr3 to Form1.

3. Add the following code to the btnScr2 Click method:

         IF ThisFormSet.Form2.visible=.F.
           ThisFormSet.Form2.visible=.T.
         ENDIF
   
   

4. Next, add another line at the bottom of the code for the btnScr2 Click method to set the focus to a specific object on that form. For example, if there is a TextBox called Text1 on the form, the last line of code in the Click method should be:

            ThisFormSet.Form2.Text1.SetFocus
   
      5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the btnScr3 Click method, changing the
         references from Form2 to Form3.
   
   

NOTE: As an alternative, a pageframe could be used to accomplish this too.

FoxPro 2.x

1. Create a screen called SCR_ONE.

2. From the Screen menu, choose Layout (choose Screen Layout in FoxPro for MS-DOS). In the Name box, type "firstscr" (without the quotation marks). If you are using FoxPro for Windows, choose the Code button and then choose Screen Setup Code. If you are using FoxPro for MS-DOS, select the Setup check box. In this box, type:

          MOVE WINDOW secondscr TO 0,200   && This will move the
                                           && screens off the
          MOVE WINDOW thirdscr  TO 0,200   && current desktop area.
          moveflag = .T.
   
   

3. Create a push button with the prompts "SCREEN2" and "SCREEN3" (without the quotation marks). Give it the variable name "m.scr1" (without the quotation marks). In the VALID clause of the push button, type this code:

   IF moveflag = .T.

             MOVE WINDOW secondscr to 0,0   && This will move the
             MOVE WINDOW thirdscr  to 0,0   && screens to the upper-
             moveflag = .F.                 && left corner.
          ENDIF
   
          DO CASE
             CASE m.scr1 = 1
                _CUROBJ=OBJNUM(m.scr2)
             CASE m.scr1 = 2
                _CUROBJ=OBJNUM(m.scr3)
          ENDCASE
   
   

4. Create a screen called SCR_TWO.

5. From the Screen menu, choose Layout (choose Screen Layout in FoxPro for MS-DOS). In the Name box, type "secondscr" (without the quotation marks).

6. Create a push button with the prompts "SCREEN1" and "SCREEN3" (without the quotation marks). Give it the variable name "m.scr2" (without the quotation marks). In the VALID clause of the push button, type this code:

   DO CASE

             CASE m.scr2 = 1
                _CUROBJ=OBJNUM(m.scr1)
             CASE m.scr2 = 2
                _CUROBJ=OBJNUM(m.scr3)
          ENDCASE
   
   

7. Create a screen called SCR_THRE.

8. From the Screen menu, choose Layout (choose Screen Layout in FoxPro for MS-DOS). In the Name box, type "thirdscr" (without the quotation marks).

9. Create a push button with the prompts "SCREEN1" and "SCREEN2" (without the quotation marks). Give it the variable name "m.scr3" (without the quotation marks). In the VALID clause of the push button, type this code:

   DO CASE

             CASE m.scr3 = 1
                _CUROBJ=OBJNUM(m.scr1)
             CASE m.scr3 = 2
                _CUROBJ=OBJNUM(m.scr2)
          ENDCASE
   
   

10. Bring up screen SCR_ONE. From the PROGRAM menu, choose Generate. Add screens SCR_TWO and SCR_THRE to the screen set, and then generate the screen set. At the Command window, type "DO scr_one.spr" (without the quotation marks).