Sample Application

PopupUtils is a SatForms plugin extension that provides some handy methods for making your SatForms application more "escape-proof". By escape-proof, I mean more resistant to a user exiting the application at times when you don't want them to exit. PopupUtils also provides convenience by enabling you to pop up keyboards, date and time pickers, etc., completely under script control.

PopupUtils provides the following escape-proofed features:

• InputPrompt provides a popup prompt with an edit field, with a customizable title, prompt, and button captions. The edit field font is programmable, giving you the ability to use one of the symbol fonts for obscured password entry.
• ShowStatusMessage is a very simple routine to display a single line of text in a box on top of your form, and then erase it at a later point. It is intended for short status or progress type messages that do not require or allow any user input.
• MaximumShields single function call for complete escape prevention
• standard popup alpha, numeric, and international keyboards
• standard popup date selector with settable title
• popup single time selector with settable title
• standard popup Graffiti Reference Chart
• extra-escape-proofed version of the PromptUser msgbox and prompt replacement dialog from PocketUtils (lets you define the prompt's title, message, and button labels)
• As well, PopupUtils includes a trio of very powerful methods (IgnoreKey, RestoreKey, GetIgnoredKeyList) enabling you to tell SatForms to ignore specified keys or buttons globally throughout your application, without you needing to trap them in the OnKey event for every single form. For example, to tell SF to ignore the Find silkscreen key throughout your application, you would simply call IgnoreKey(264) once at the start of your app. Keys are specified by their PalmOS ASCII code, and can refer to standard alphabet keys or virtual keys like the Launch button or hard buttons. A handy text PalmOS keycode reference table is included in the PopupUtils documentation. IgnoreKey works everywhere that the OnKey event works, but does not work where OnKey does not work either. That is what the other popup methods are designed to address.

DocID: 10052  DocDate: 2005-07-01