Re: Sub-Files

[dhandy@xxxxxxxxxxx (Douglas Handy)]

Booth,

>The one solution I haven't cared for is the building of a subfile by adding a 
>page at a time.  

Why not?  Why load 1500 records when you don't know where the user
wants to start?

My "standard" selection-type subfile loads just the first page and
waits for the user to either roll or (more likely) enter a "position
to" request.  For a "position to" response, I clear the subfile and
reload a single page from that location.  If they roll forward, I add
another page.  If they roll backward prior to what I have as the start
of my subfile (their prior position to response), I clear the subfile
and readp one pages worth, then display the page.

Loading just one page at a time nearly guarantees that response will
be very quick (at least as far as that program is concerned), and has
minimal impact on other interactive jobs.  With a "position to" field,
the user rarely has to roll far anyway.

I still prefer to allow the user to page forward *or* backward, even
if it means they page prior to what I have as the first subfile page.

>How do others signal the user's choice to the program?  

I use a single command key, which is cursor position sensitive.  If
they move the cursor over the column they want it sorted by (even if
an output only column) prior to pressing the CA key, then I directly
switch to that view.  If the cursor is in the "position to" field or a
non-sortable column (such as the subfile option input field), then I
choose the "next" sort sequence which lets them "round-robin" through
the available sort sequences.

Doug
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