Table Field Display Modes
Table fields have four display modes:
read
In this mode, the user can only browse the contents of the table field by scrolling through the values in the data set. This mode is normally used when a table field merely displays data or when all changes to the data are made by means of menu operations.
update
In this mode, the user can scroll through the values in the data set and change the data displayed. However, the user cannot add rows to the end of the data set. This mode is useful in applications that display a series of records for possible corrections by the user.
fill
This mode is similar to the update mode, except that it also allows the user to enter new rows at the end of the table field. Rows so entered are automatically recorded in the data set. Any column into which the user does not enter data is given a default value of zero or blanks or a null, depending on the column's data type and whether the column is nullable.
query
Like fill mode, new rows are appended when the user attempts to scroll beyond the end of the data set. In addition, query mode allows the user to enter query operators (for example, =) as part of the data for a column. This is useful for constructing a dynamic qualification for retrieval from the database.
The mode is defined when the table field is initialized. You can display the table field in any mode; however, if the form containing the table field is displayed in read mode, the table field itself also behaves as if it is in read mode despite its specified display mode.
For information about changing a table field's display mode while the table field is displayed, see
How Table Field Modes Can Be Set Dynamically.