Pause script for input

[jfrick]

I'm using an If statement at the beginning of a script to check if the user has selected a customer:

If [ "IsEmpty(CustomerID)" ]

Show Message ["Please select a customer."]

Go to Field ["CustomerID"]

End If

My problem is the script doesn't pause long enough for input. What's the best method. Thanks.

[danjacoby]

Two ways.

Put a pause/resume script step into the script; that way, the script will pause until the user hits the "continue" button in the status bar.

or...

After the "show message", exit script. That way the script aborts, and the user has to start over. If they have half a brain, they'll enter the required data before doing so.

[jfrick]

Well I don't want to show the Status Area and I'd like the script to continue after they select the customer.

[BobWeaver]

You can still hide the status area. Just create a button on the layout that continues the script.

The other option is to use a timed pause in a loop and check the field to see if the field is still empty:

Loop

  Pause [00:00:01]

  Exit loop if [not IsEmpty(MyInputField)]

End Loop

* Continue on with your script

[jasonwood]

The other option is to use a timed pause in a loop and check the field to see if the field is still empty

At first I thought this would be dangerous because it could cut them off half way, but I guess the test would still fail until the user leaves the field.

Also be aware that the user can use the "Enter" key to continue a paused script.

[jasonwood]

Thinking a bit more about your problem, I can see why the button is undesirable because it's presence would be somewhat of a mystery when you aren't in this special circumstance.

I suggest setting up a special layout just for entering the client number. It only needs one field, and you can place instructions to fill in the data and click "go". This is also nice because you can avoid the error dialog.

[jfrick]

Thank you for the responses. The pause script suggested by Mr. Weaver was what I was looking for but a pop-up window/dialog box would be nice if I could get it to pop-up in the center of the screen. That feature is definitely on my FM wish list. I've hear of people duplicating the layout then creating what appears to be a pop-up dialog box. It's a lot of extra work especially if you end up modifying the layout before it's all finished, but I think that's the route I'm going to take. Just wanted to be sure I wasn't overlooking anything. Thanks again.