Standard front end functions

Standard front-end functions

The table below shows the built-in functions implemented by the front end in the "standard" module. Additional modules and functions are available for front ends, but are specific to the front-end type.

The names of front-end functions and pre-defined arguments are case-sensitive.

Function	Description	Lycia Desktop	LyciaWeb	LyciaTouch
cbadd	adds the text passed as an argument to the content of the clipboard of the front-end platform: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "cbadd", [text], [result]) text = text to be added result = variable which holds the results of the function execution (1 = success, 0 = error)
cbclear	clears the content of the clipboard: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "cbсlear", [], [result]) result = variable which holds the results of the function execution (1 = success, 0 = error) Takes no input arguments
cbget	returns the current content of the clipboard: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "cbget", [], [text]) text = text found in the clipboard Takes no input arguments
cbpaste	pastes the content of the clipboard to the current field: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "cbpaste", [], [result]) result = variable which holds the results of the function execution (1 = success, 0 = error) Takes no input arguments
cbset	sets the content of the clipboard: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "cbset", [text], [result]) text = text to be set result = variable which holds the results of the function execution (1 = success, 0 = error) The text is passed as argument
feinfo	returns a front-end property value (according to the property name passed as the argument): ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "feinfo", [name], [result]) name = name of the property result = variable which holds the results of the function execution (1 = success, 0 = error) See the table below for property names and values
getenv	returns the environment variable set in the user session on the front-end platform: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "getenv", [name], [value]) name = name of the environment variable value = value of the environment variable
getwindowid	returns the local identifier that corresponds to the AUI window id passed as an argument, in the window manager where the front end is displaying application forms: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "getwindowid", [aui-win-id], [loc-win-id]) aui-win-id = id of the window node in the AUI tree: OPEN WINDOW aui-win-id AT 5, 2 WITH 20 ROWS, 80 COLUMNS loc-win-id = id of the window in the window manager where the front end is running The node id must refer to a Window node: Otherwise, "0" is returned. In the traditional mode, window widgets are simple frames. Use "0" as aui-win-id argument to get the top level window id in the local windowing system	server responds without requesting the client side
launchurl	opens an URL with the default URL handler available on the front-end platform. This is typically a web browser for "HTTP:" URLs, or the mailer for "mailto:" URLs, but the corresponding application may also be dedicated to the object type specified by the URL: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "launchurl", [url [, mode ]], []) url = URL to invoke mode (optional) = front end specific meaning launchurl is a powerful feature: Front-end applications can register themselves as URL handlers, so you can start applications on the front end through the lauchurl front call
opendir	opens a file dialog window on the local file system where the end user can enter a directory path: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "opendir", [path, caption], [result]) path = default path caption = caption to be displayed result = name of the selected directory (or NULL if canceled) If the user cancels the dialog, the front-call returns NULL for result
openfile	allows opening existing files: A file dialog window on the local file system is opened where the end user can enter the file path: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "openfile", [path, name, filetype, caption], [result]) path = default path name = name to be displayed for the file type filetype = file types (as a blank separated list of extensions) caption = caption to be displayed result = name of the selected file (or NULL if canceled) If the user cancels the dialog, the front-call returns NULL for result
savefile	allows saving new files: A file dialog window on the local file system is opened where the end user can enter the file path: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "savefile", [path, name, filetype, caption], [result]) path = default path name = name to be displayed for the file type filetype = file types (as a blank separated list of extensions) caption = caption to be displayed result = name of the selected file (or NULL if canceled) If the user cancels the dialog, the front-call returns NULL for result
setwebcomponentpath	defines the basic path to find gICAPI web components files: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "setwebcomponentpath", [path], []) path = basic URL or the path to the web-component file: LET res = "c://1//wc01//wc01.html" LET res = "http://querix.com/go/docs_online/" This function will work only for LyciaDesktop as LyciaWeb opens only files which are stored on the application server.
shellexec	opens a file on the front-end platform with the program associated with the file extension: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "shellexec", [document, action], [result]) document = document file to be opened action (optional, ) = action to perform, related to the way the file type is registered in Windows Registry result = variable which holds the results of the function execution (1 = success, 0 = error) To view documents which can be displayed by web browsers, it is better to use launchurl instead.
execute	executes a command on the workstation with or without waiting: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "execute", [cmd, wait], [result]) cmd = command to be executed wait = wait option (TRUE=wait, FALSE=do not wait) result = variable which holds the results of the function execution (1 = success, 0 = error) If the second argument is set to 1 (TRUE), the runtime system will wait until the front end gives the control back after the local command was executed	not implemented
hardcopy	prints a screen shot of the current window: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "hardcopy", [pgsize], [result]) pgsize = pass "1" to adapt the screen shot to the page size result = variable which holds the results of the function execution (1 = success, 0 = error) pgsize is optional: Either leave out, or enter "1" to indicate that the screen shot must be adapted to the page size	not implemented
mdclose	unloads a DLL or shared library front-call module: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "mdclose", [name], [result]) name = name of the module to be closed result = variable which holds the results of the function execution (0 = success, -1 = module not found, -2 = cannot unload, busy) Front call modules are loaded on demand. After calling a function of a specific module, you can use mdclose to unload the shared library and save resources	not implemented
playsound	opens the sound file passed as argument and plays the sound on the front end: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "playsound", [text], []) filename = sound file to play If the file is not located on the front end, it will be automatically transferred to the front end through the file-transfer facility. Supported sound formats depend on the front-end infrastructure (platform, technology, web browser, ...)	not implemented
setreportprinter	allows overriding the printer configuration used for report generation for the current application: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "setreportprinter", [printer], [result]) printer = string describing the printer to be used for report generation result = variable which holds the results of the function execution (1 = success, 0 = error) Printer argument is a string that describes the printer to be used for report generation: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "setreportprinter", [moliere, Portrait, A4, 96 dpi, 1 copy, Ascendent, Color, Auto], [result])	not implemented
setreportfont	allows overriding the font used for report generation for the current application: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "setreportfont", [font], [result]) font = string describing the font to be used for report generation result = variable which holds the results of the function execution (1 = success, 0 = error) Font argument is a string that describe the font to be used for report generation: ui.Interface.frontCall("standard", "setreportfont", [Helvetica, Bold, Italic, 13], [true])	not implemented

feinfo properties

fename	returns the name of the front end
fepath	returns the installation directory of the front-end executable
ostype	returns the type of the operating system installed on the client's host (can be Windows, OSX, HPUX, AIX®, SOLARIS, LINUX)
osversion	returns the current version of the operating system installed on the client's host
numscreens	returns the number of screens available on the front-end platform (typically, 1)
screenresolution	returns the screen resolution of the front-end platform (with a screen number as optional argument). For mobile devices, the value can change depending on the device orientation
ip	returns the IP address of the network interface used for GUI connection
datadirectory	returns the directory name that can be used to transfer temporary files. This directory is common to all front-end instances and is cleaned when the front-end instance starts and ends
target	returns the target code name for the build platform, identifying the operating system at which the front-end binary code was compiled. This front call serves for debugging purpose; it can change if the target OS changes (e.g. after version upgrades)
isActiveX	returns "TRUE" when the front-end runs in Active X mode (LyciaDesktop specific).
outputmap	returns the output map for the current application run by LyciaWeb

FrontCall()