Working with FPL Scripts

What are scripts?

Scripts are small programs written in Forms Processing Language (FPL), the Ebase English-like scripting language. The full syntax of the language is shown in FPL Script Command Syntax. This language provides you with the ability to:

dynamically change the behaviour of the form at runtime based on selections made by the end user, e.g. hide or display fields, change page sequencing, change appearance, etc.
implement business rules for validating entered data
integrate with external resources such as databases, messaging systems, email and other external applications

Each script can be associated with one or more events. These events occur at different times during processing of an Ebase form. The event model is described in detail in Understanding Ebase Events.

Working with scripts

Scripts are created and maintained using the script editor as shown below. The script editor is opened by selecting an existing script in the hierarchy tree panel (Business Projects --> Project --> Scripts --> Script name) or by creating a new script from the file menu (File --> New --> Script). To delete and copy a script, right-click on the name of the script in the hierarchy tree panel and choose an option from the menu.

The toolbar contains the following icons:

(Ctrl-Z) Undo

(Ctrl-Y) Redo

(Ctrl-C) Copy

(Ctrl-V) Paste

(Ctrl-F) Find

(Ctrl-Space) Script Assistant

The button bar at the bottom of the panel contains:

The verify button can be used to syntax check the script.

The save button can be used to save the script.

The info button displays information about the script.

The documentation button allows documentation for the script to be maintained.

The help button displays the FPL script syntax page from the Help documentation.

Script Assistant

The script assistant is designed to assist with the task of editing scripts. It provides lists of form fields, tables, pages etc that can be selected and then inserted directly into the main script window at the current cursor position.

The script assistant is activated by holding down the Ctrl key and pressing the space bar, or by clicking the script assistant icon on the toolbar. Once activated, it will remain visible whenever any script is edited and will receive focus whenever Ctrl-Space is pressed from the main script panel.

When the script assistant is initially opened it will try to determine the form that is currently been worked on, and this form is shown at the top of the panel. The form can be changed by clicking on the change link.

Clicking on one of the buttons on the left side of the panel changes the list displayed on the right hand side. This selection can also be made by holding down the Alt key and entering the underlined mnemonic for the button e.g. Alt-P for pages, Alt-F for fields etc, or by using the up and down navigation keys, then pressing the Return key.

When a selection is made from the right-hand list panel, the selected text is inserted into the main script panel at the current cursor location and focus is transferred to the main script panel. A selection is made either by highlighting an entry in the list then pressing the Return key or the Insert button, or by double clicking on a list entry. The up and down keys can be used to browse the list.

The following lists are available:

Commands: list of FPL commands and keywords

Functions: list of available functions

System variables: list of all Ebase system variables

Resources: list of all external resources in the business view associated with the form shown at the top of the panel

Pages: list of all pages in the form shown at the top of the panel

Tables: list of all tables in the form shown at the top of the panel

Fields: list of all fields in the form shown at the top of the panel

Templates: list of FPL command templates showing the syntax for each command

Global Scripts

Scripts which are created in the GLOBAL project are accessible from all forms in all projects. Ebase will always look in the current project first for any named script and, if not found, it will then look in the GLOBAL project. This means that GLOBAL scripts may be overridden by placing a script of the same name in the local project.

Global scripts may refer to any field or page, just like any other script and, for the script to function correctly, those field and page names must exist in the forms from which they are called.

Global scripts are also used by components. (See Working with Components for more information)