Edit Items

An edit item is an area of a dialog box where a user can enter a value. There are three types of edit items: text, integer, and real. The format of an edit item definition is:

Edit type {"item name"} hpos, vpos {, width {, height}} {options} {do

endItem}

The type must be one of Text, Integer, or Real. (The Integer type may be abbreviated Int.)

If the do ... endItem section of the edit item definition is included, the statements are executed whenever the user changes the entered value and then moves to another item using the mouse or Tab key. If you use the Immediate option, the statements are executed after every key press that changes the characters in the string; this can be handy when you want to do immediate verifications of each and every character, or let each character typed have an effect on something else in the dialog box. If there is no push button with the Default option, pressing the Enter key will also execute the statements.

If an Edit Text item has a height other than one, it is a paragraph editor, in which the user can enter multiple lines of text.

Edit Item Options	Description
Key: hotkey	The key sequence the user can press to move the cursor to the edit item instead of using the mouse. The hotkey has the format alt_character, where character must be a letter or number. For example, Key: alt_A indicates that holding the Alt key and pressing A activates the item. The specified key is underlined in the item's text. A hotkey only works if the key in question is part of the item's text and is case insensitive.
Disabled	The edit item is initially disabled.
Hidden	The edit item is initially hidden.
Help: help_specs	Help information displayed in a popup window and the status bar. Help strings can be string expressions.
Prompt: expression	The text that appears to the left of the edit item. If omitted, there is no text next to the edit item.
Variable: variable	A variable to receive the value typed by the user. For an Edit Text item, this value is a string. For an Edit Int item, this value is an integer. For an Edit Real item, this value is a real number.
Format: expression	For an Edit Int or Edit Real item, the format used to display the value after the user has entered it. A format is a string, as described for Format(). If the value of the expression changes while the user is interacting with the dialog box, the edit item updates to reflect the new format.
Immediate	Indicates that the do ... enditem section of the edit item definition is to be run after every key press that changes the characters in the string.
Password	Indicates that the characters typed by the user display on the screen as asterisks (*).
Returnkey	For an Edit Text item, accepts the Enter key to generate new lines. Without this option, you have to use Ctrl-Enter to generate new lines.
Align: keyword	The alignment of the text. The keyword can be left, center, or right. If this item is omitted, the text is aligned left.

For example:

Edit Int "num iter item" 20, 3.5, 10

prompt: "Number of iterations"

variable: parameter[3]