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Q128752: How to Use Hot Keys in Visual FoxPro

Article: Q128752
Product(s): Microsoft FoxPro
Version(s): WINDOWS:3.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 12-FEB-2000

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, version 3.0 
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SUMMARY
=======

Like FoxPro 2.x, Visual FoxPro provides support for access keys in objects. In
addition to the standard types of access keys for objects, Visual FoxPro also
now supports access keys on Label controls.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Access keys in Visual FoxPro work the same as they did in earlier releases of
FoxPro. An access key combination is defined by including the control characters
'back slash-left angle bracket' (\<) within the text caption of the selected
object.

You may be familiar with the use of access keys for an object such as a FoxPro
2.x push button. Visual FoxPro has extended this ability to include the Label
control as well. In FoxPro 2.x, this functionality was difficult to achieve and
required additional work on the part of the programmer.

In Visual FoxPro, access keys are added to label controls in the same manner as
you would add one to any other object, such as a push button. It is important to
keep the following key points in mind when using this functionality:

- The Label control has a tab index value located under the 'Other' tab of the
  Label Properties sheet.

- Labels that are assigned an access key value will activate the next object in
  the tab index order. If you have a form that has a label control with a tab
  index value of 2 on it and an access key value of the letter 'a' , when the
  user presses ALT+A, the object which has tab index value 3 will receive
  focus. In most cases, this would ordinarily be an object such as a combo box
  or text box.

Step-by-Step Example
--------------------

In the ORDENTRY screen of the TASTRADE project, located in the SAMPLES\MAINSAMP
subdirectory of Visual FoxPro, the customer field has an access key value of C.
The tab index order for the Label control is 1. Tab index 2 is the
cboCustomer_Id field, so when ALT+C is pressed, focus moves to the
cboCustomer_Id field. The following procedure shows how to examine this screen:

1. Open or switch to Microsoft Visual FoxPro.

2. From the File menu, choose Open. This invokes the Open dialog box. Under the
  'List Files of Type' list box, select Project.

3. Select the MAINSAMP directory as found in \VFP\SAMPLES\MAINSAMP.

4. Choose the TASTRADE project and click OK.

5. In the Project Manager, click the plus sign (+) next to the word Documents.

6. Click the plus (+) sign next to the word Forms.

7. From the list of forms, choose Ordentry.

NOTE: You should also be aware that access keys can be assigned to numbers as
well as to text. The following Label control caption is activated by pressing
ALT+3:

    Label1.Caption = 'Number \<3'

The following Visual FoxPro objects support the use of access keys:

  CheckBox
  CommandButton
  Label
  OptionButton
  Page

For objects like CommandGroups and PageFrame pages, you must select the
appropriate object in the group. For example, in a PageFrame, to add an access
key to a caption on a page, you must select the Page 1 object from the
PageFrame. Note that Header objects in a grid don't support access keys.

If a user presses an access key combination for an object on a currently inactive
form that is part of a FormSet, the inactive form will be activated. Pressing
hot keys that are independent and separate from any FormSet will NOT activate
the independent form.

Access keys on menus have not changed in Visual FoxPro. Although you can define
an access key in a menu using by using the control character (\<) sequence,
access keys must still be assigned to menu pads and bars by using the shortcut
option. For the purposes of this document, shortcut key and access key are used
interchangeably. As before, when a menu pad has an access key defined, you will
not see any indicator that an access key has been assigned unless you
specifically add the access or shortcut key sequence to the pad name.

Bars under a pad do not have to have the access key sequence assigned to the pad
name. When a shortcut has been defined for a bar as it has been for the bar
named 'A menu bar' below, Visual FoxPro will list the access key combination
next to the pad name.

  Mymenu
    A menu bar ALT+A

The order of precedence of menus and access keys has also not changed in Visual
FoxPro. When two or more pads share the same access key combination, such as two
pads both with a shortcut of ALT+Q, focus moves to the first pad by default.

When a bar in a submenu has the same shortcut key as a menu pad, focus still
moves to the menu pad by default.

If you do define a shortcut key for a menu bar, you don't have to have any
shortcut key text. Removing the key text will result in a cleaner menu look. You
can then clue the user to the access key by putting the control key sequence
(\<) in front of the letter which defines the access or shortcut key.

NOTE: You can also define a number hot key in a menu.

Additional query words: VFoxWin Labels Hotkeys hot keys Forms

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Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbVFPsearch kbAudDeveloper kbVFP300
Version           : WINDOWS:3.0

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