F. ABF Architecture : Forms in ABF Applications : How Forms and the Image Operation Work
 
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How Forms and the Image Operation Work
If a User frame or Report frame uses a compiled form, then the following actions occur when you select the Image operation:
1. ABF compiles the form into a source file with the file extension .c (.mar on VMS) in the application's object code directory.
2. ABF compiles the source file into an object code file (with the .obj file extension).
3. ABF links the object code file into the executable when the application is imaged.
4. The form becomes part of the executable image and ABF no longer uses the form's definition stored in the system catalog.
If you specify that the frame does not use a compiled form, the form is fetched from the database each time the image is run. This is noticeably slower than using a compiled form. It also means that, if you want to run the image against another database, you must copy the image's forms to that database.