How You Can Create Basic Frames
You can create a basic frame, a frame based on a template that does not use an assistant, in OpenROAD Workbench by performing the following basic steps.
1. Create an empty frame in your desired application, basing it on a frame template.
2. Set properties for the new frame in the Frame Editor using the Property Inspector.
Note: Frame properties include various options you can set to determine how the frame should look and behave. For more information, see
Set Frame Properties.
3. Use the Frame Editor to add content to the form.
A form is a two-foot by two-foot “canvas” that lies beneath a frame's window. It is the portion of the frame where the user displays or modifies data, views illustrations, reads instructions, and selects options. If you use one of the predefined frame templates, default content is created, complete with fields and controls. You can also specify one of your own templates from the current application or any included applications instead.
As the application developer, you control the content and the format of the form. You lay out and specify the fields of a form with the Frame Editor. The Frame Editor provides a palette of fields that you can add to your form and the tools for manipulating the fields.
4. Create a menu bar, if needed.
A
menu bar contains a set of pull-down menus available on the frame. Although you control the content of the menu bar (the menu titles and individual menu items), the format of the menu bar itself is determined by your window toolkit. For more information about creating menus, see
Creating and Modifying Menus.
5. Create a toolbar, if needed.
A
toolbar consists of a set of iconized items from which the user makes a selection by clicking the mouse pointer on it. Toolbar items typically consist of buttons that provide shortcuts for frequently used menu commands or for easy access to other features or frames. For more information about creating toolbars, see
Creating Toolbars.
6. Write the frame script.
You use the 4GL programming language to write scripts for your frame. You can write your scripts with the Script Editor—the OpenROAD text editing facility—or with your system editor. For more information about writing scripts, see the chapter Writing Scripts and Procedures in the Programming Guide.
7. Test the frame.
You can test the frame at any point during development to see how your frame looks and acts when the application is running. For more information, see How You Can Test Frames.
After you create the frame (Step 1), you can complete the other tasks in any order. In fact, you can open several Frame Editor windows simultaneously to work on more than one frame at the same time. And you can test the frame as many times as you want while you are developing it.