Edit control — worked example

KCML has two single-line edit controls: the basic .edit$ Win32 edit, and .kcmldbedit$, a database-aware edit/combobox hybrid. This example puts one of each on a form and shows how to read, write, and validate their values.

Two edit controls (.edit$ and .kcmldbedit$) seeded with hello/world, with a read-back showing edt1=[hello] kedt1=[world].

Verified by execution on KCML 06.00.88 (KClient direct mode).

What it demonstrates

The program

01000 REM test_edit - .edit$ and .kcmldbedit$ side by side
    : DIM result, msg$120
01010 - DEFFORM EditTest()=\
       {.form,.form$,.Style=0x50c000c4,.Width=380,.Height=200,.Text$="Edit Test",.Id=1024},\
       {.lblE1,.static$,.Style=0x50000000,.Left=10,.Top=14,.Width=80,.Height=10,.Text$=".edit$",.Id=2000,.Font=.SegoeCtl},\
       {.edt1,.edit$,.Style=0x50810080,.Left=100,.Top=12,.Width=180,.Height=13,.Id=2001,.Help$="Basic edit control",.Font=.SegoeCtl},\
       {.lblE2,.static$,.Style=0x50000000,.Left=10,.Top=34,.Width=80,.Height=10,.Text$=".kcmldbedit$",.Id=2002,.Font=.SegoeCtl},\
       {.kedt1,.kcmldbedit$,.Style=0x50810080,.Left=100,.Top=32,.Width=180,.Height=13,.Id=2003,.Help$="DB-aware edit (combobox/edit hybrid)",.Font=.SegoeCtl},\
       {.btnRead,.button$,.Style=0x50010000,.Left=10,.Top=60,.Width=120,.Height=14,.Text$="Read both values",.Id=2010,.Font=.SegoeCtl},\
       {.btnSet,.button$,.Style=0x50010000,.Left=140,.Top=60,.Width=120,.Height=14,.Text$="Set sample text",.Id=2011,.Font=.SegoeCtl},\
       {.lblShow,.static$,.Style=0x50000000,.Left=10,.Top=85,.Width=360,.Height=10,.Text$="(no read yet)",.Id=2020,.Font=.SegoeCtl},\
       {.btnClose,.button$,.Style=0x50010001,.Left=290,.Top=155,.Width=80,.Height=14,.Text$="Close",.Id=1,.Font=.SegoeCtl},\
       {.paneStatus,.status$,.Width=380,.Style=0x50000000,.Text$="Ready"},\
       {.SegoeCtl,.dlgfont$,.Name$="Segoe UI",.Size=10}
    :     + DEFEVENT EditTest.Enter()
    :         .edt1.Text$ = "hello"
    :         .kedt1.Text$ = "world"
    :     END EVENT
    :     + DEFEVENT EditTest.btnRead.Click()
    :         msg$ = $PRINTF("edt1=[%s] kedt1=[%s]", RTRIM(.edt1.Text$), RTRIM(.kedt1.Text$))
    :         .lblShow.Text$ = msg$
    :     END EVENT
    :     + DEFEVENT EditTest.edt1.Validate()
    :         .lblShow.Text$ = $PRINTF("edt1.Validate - new=[%s]", RTRIM(ValidateText$))
    :     END EVENT
    : FORM END EditTest
01020 result = EditTest.Open()
    : $END

How it works

Reading and writing. Both controls expose .Text$. Because KCML strings are fixed-length and space-padded, wrap reads in RTRIM() to drop trailing spaces.

Validation. The Validate() event fires as the user leaves the field. The proposed value arrives in the special variable ValidateText$ — inspect it, and reject the change if needed, before it is committed to .Text$.

.edit$ vs .kcmldbedit$. Use .edit$ for plain text input. Use .kcmldbedit$ when you want the data-aware features: an optional dropdown list (.Add(text$, tag$)), KISAM data binding, and the extra Change() / Return() / DropDown() events. The DEFFORM token is .kcmldbedit$ — .KCMLedit$ is not valid despite appearing in some older docs.

See also