Activation keys

Activation key is either a first letter of the menu option, or a key sequence specified in the KEY clause of the menu COMMAND.

First letter of a menu option as an activation key

If the user types a letter, 4GL verifies whether this letter is unique among the options names:

• If the letter is unique among the initial letters of the menu options, 4GL executes the menu option associated with the letter.
• If the letter is not unique and more than one option begins with it, the option on the right which is closer to the current position of the cursor will be activated. If the cursor is placed on one of non-unique options, this option will be activated when the activation key is pressed.

Activation key in the KEY clause

The used key in the KEY clause should be unique among other KEY clauses within the same menu. You can use the default key for a menu option as activation KEY in the menu clause, this will not cause an error. If the KEY clause is present, the initial letters of the menu options cease to be their activation keys and produce no effect when pressed.

 

If you specify the same key as the activation key in the KEY clauses of several menu options, the first option on the list will be activated if the user presses this key. The order of the menu options is determined by the order in which their COMMAND clauses are listed within the MENU statement.

If the user presses the "F6" key in the example above, the "Update" option will be activated, but the "Search" option will never be activated with the help of this key.

 

If you specify the activation key for one menu option the same as the initial letter of the other option without the KEY clause, the KEY clause will prevail over the initial letter as the default activation key. In the example below pressing "S" key will result in selecting the "Add" option rather than "Search" option:

Even if the cursor will be at the "Search", pressing the "S" key will nevertheless activate the "Add" option.