Detect field modification before Commit

[Mandu]

Is there a function or some other technique to allow a script to detect whether there have been any modifications made to the data on a layout, before that data is committed?

I don't need to know what field(s) were changed, or how many changes there were. Just a boolean.

I have a basic Invoice/LineItems layout and I would like to alert the user ("Changes made - discard or save?") if he attempts to navigate elsewhere after modifying the invoice. Obviously I don't want to put up the alert when he hasn't made any changes.

Thanks,

Chap

Edited April 25, 2006 by Guest
add 2nd paragraph

[comment]

See if this recent thread helps.

[Mandu]

It's pretty close, the Get(RecordOpenState) function.

One problem: it doesn't distinguish between a New+Unused record (a new record into which nothing has yet been typed, let alone committed), and a New+TypedInto record (a new record into which something has been typed but which has not yet been committed).

In my interface, I require the user to always explicitly save or discard any changes she makes to a record. [This is because it gives her the heebie-jeebies not to perform some action to save/commit/check-back-in her work!] If she forgets to do this before, say, closing the edit window or clicking on the "Next record" button, I want to trigger an alert telling her that she has some "pending" changes, and does she wish to Save or Discard them? Get(RecordOpenState) does not appear to discriminate between a virginal and non-virginal New record.

It would also be very nice to be able to visually activate or deactivate the Save and Discard buttons conditionally upon whether there have been any saveable or discardable changes, but I'm not sure the interface can be made this dynamic without Script Triggers or something...

I hope that clarifies the problem I'm trying to solve.

[comment]

Well, I would require the user to always explicitly save or discard any new record, too. Because the thought of countless empty records gives ME the heebie-jeebies.

[Mandu]

So how would you distinguish an empty new record from a non-empty new record, in order to avoid committing empty records? It didn't appear that Get(RecordOpenState) could help with that.

[Søren Dyhr]

So how would you distinguish an empty new record from a non-empty new record

Here's a method to investigate, does at least some of it.

--sd

validationstages.zip

[Mandu]

Hi,

I looked at your file but I don't understand what I should be paying attention to...

Fields 1-5 are simple text fields. the_first_validation and the_second_validation appear to be important - both are validated by calculation; the first is valid if AT LEAST ONE of f1-f5 are non-null; the second is valid if ALL of f1-f5 are non-null. Additionally, the second allows override.

AH! I see - you're saying that, to detect whether a new record has pending input to commit, use hidden fields with custom validation, and validate with a calculation. The calculation does the work of examining the real fields to see that they're properly filled in. I'll try it. Hopefully, functions such as Count(field [;...]) return useful results even before the record is committed.

[Søren Dyhr]

Yes - It seems like you're getting it!

--sd