Controlling the Flow of Frames

OpenROAD frames are not limited to a predefined set of control types. The following are examples of three different types of frame control implementations:

Applications that give the user a choice of tasks use a control frame structure. The control frame application type displays a single frame that provides access to other frames and lets the user quit the application. The control frame may remain open for the entire session.

Sequential frames force the user to follow a set of sequential steps by closing the control frame as the detail frame opens. A separate frame is used for each individual section of the task.

The multiple use frame structure uses a single frame to step the user through related tasks. Wizards are examples of multiple use frames. For example, if you have dozens of fields for user input and they all pertain to the same data, instead of cluttering a single frame with many fields or stepping the user through a series of frames, you can dynamically change a single frame to display many fields.

To display many fields, you can employ the following techniques:

• Make use of the full size of an OpenROAD form, incorporating the entire form into a viewport field.

If a table field is wider than the frame window, a viewport provides access to all of the table field data using a horizontal scroll bar. As end users complete the last field in one part of the form, they can scroll to the next.

• Put all fields in the same segment of the form, but make one group of fields invisible while others are visible.

As the end user completes the last of the visible fields, the mode of the frame changes, switching the field visibility. You can also allow end users to page back and forth among the displays.

For more information about viewports and other fields, see Creating and Using Basic Fields.

Note: You may incorporate all of these structures in more sophisticated applications. For example, one of the frames selected from the control frame may step the user through a series of sequential frames; a sequential frame application might present the user with a frame that provides access to several other frames.