Form API Specification
Changes in Form API documentation
Changes in Form API
Purpose
Forms are dialogs that are used to display and/or edit logically related
data.
Forms are a subset of AVKON dialogs. For detailed information on dialogs
in general, as well as other dialog types, see
Dialogs API
Specification
.
This document describes how to use Form API to create and use forms.
Constraints
This API is valid for all platforms running on Symbian OS v9.1 or later.
Classification and release information
Form API is an SDK API.
API description
Forms are standard AVKON dialogs, based on the class
CAknForm
.
An appropriate resource and the matching
CAknForm
based class
is needed to use forms.
Form modes and formats
Field structure
The form data items (dialog lines in the form) are called fields. A field
contains a label and a control. Labels can contain strings and icons. Controls
can have various types, such as editors, pop-up lists, and sliders. Labels
and controls can be displayed on one row or on different rows.
Form field layouts
A field is composed of a label and a control. The label and the control
can be displayed on one row, which is called single-line display. The label
and the control can also be displayed on different rows, and this is called
double-line display. The label can contain only a string, only an icon, or
both.
The field is in single-line display, and its label contains only a string.
The field is in single-line display, and its label contains only an icon.
The field is in single-line display, and its label contains both a string
and an icon.
The field is in double-line display, and its label contains only a string.
The field is in double-line display, and its label contains only an icon.
The field is in double-line display, and its label contains both a string
and an icon.
Form modes
A form has two display modes: the view mode and the edit mode
(see Figure 2 and Figure 3). In the view mode, the value of each control can
be viewed. The edit mode is used to change a control's values or labels, and
to add and delete fields.
The form can be switched between the two modes. These modes can also be
disabled.
Depending on the field type, the control inside the field may be different
in view and edit mode. For example, a text editing field may contain an editor
control in edit mode and a label in view mode.
Forms have a different default Options menu in the two modes. In the view
mode, the default Options menu contains only Edit as shown in Figure 4, but
in the edit mode, the default menu contains Add field, Save, Edit label, and
Delete field as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 6 shows form modes.
Multi-page forms
Besides forms that contain one page, there is another type of form that
is comprised of multiple pages controlled by tabs as shown in Figure 7. Multi-page
forms can be used to group relevant controls. The Arrow keys (left/right)
can be used to switch between pages.
API class structure
Figure 8 shows Form API classes.
Related APIs
Using Form API
To use forms, the dialog resource (
RESOURCE DIALOG
) must
be defined in the application resource file and a matching
CAknForm
-based
class must be provided.
Example data structure
TMyData
is used to demonstrate
the usage of most typical data fields in forms.
struct TMyData
{
public: // data
TBuf<256> iText;
TBuf<256> iGlobalText;
TBuf<256> iRichText;
TInt iNumber;
TInt iInteger;
TReal iFloat;
TInt iFix;
TTime iDate;
TTime iTime;
TTimeIntervalSeconds iDuration;
TBuf<4> iNumPwd;
TBuf<8> iAlphaPwd;
TInetAddr iIpAddr;
MAknQueryValue* iPopupVal;
TInt iPopupTextIndex;
TInt iSliderVal;
};
The class
CMyForm
is used to display and edit the data.
class CMyForm : public CAknForm
{
public: // construction
CMyForm( TMyData& aData );
virtual ~CMyForm();
public: // from CAknForm
void DynInitMenuPaneL( TInt aResourceId, CEikMenuPane* aMenuPane );
void ProcessCommandL( TInt aCommandId );
TBool SaveFormDataL();
void DoNotSaveFormDataL();
void AddItemL() ;
void PreLayoutDynInitL();
MEikDialogPageObserver::TFormControlTypes
ConvertCustomControlTypeToBaseControlType( TInt aControlType ) const;
private:
void LoadFormDataL() ;
private: // data
TMyData& iData;
TInt iAddedItemId;
};
Defining the form resource
Since a form is a special dialog, its resource definition is within a
DIALOG
resource,
that is, the dialog structure has the
LLINK
form as a member.
STRUCT DIALOG
{
LONG flags = 0;
LTEXT title = "";
LLINK pages = 0;
LLINK buttons = 0;
STRUCT items[];
LLINK form = 0;
}
When considering forms, the important members of the
DIALOG
structure
are:
-
flags
, which specifies the whole form style. The
flag
parameters
are defined in the
eikon.hrh
file.
-
pages
, which is a reference to an
ARRAY
of
PAGE
.
Used only in multi-page forms (see
Multi-page form
).
For single-page forms, this should not be specified.
-
buttons
, which specifies softkeys.
-
form
, which is a reference to the
FORM
structure
described later. Used in single-page forms. For multi-page forms, this should
not be specified.
See document
Dialogs API Specification
for more
information on other
DIALOG
structure members.
STRUCT FORM
{
WORD flags = 0;
STRUCT items[];
}
The
FORM
structure member
flags
can be
used to specify the style of the form. The default setting is single-line
display, and the predefined values are as follows:
|
|
EEikFormUseDoubleSpacedFormat
|
Double-line display.
|
EEikFormHideEmptyFields
|
Makes empty data fields invisible.
|
EEikFormShowBitmaps
|
Displays a bitmap on a label.
|
EEikFormEditModeOnly
|
Displays the form in edit mode only.
|
EEikFormShowEmptyFields
|
Displays single-line display (default).
|
Form fields are described with the structure
DLG_LINE
in
the member items of the
FORM
structure.
STRUCT DLG_LINE
{
WORD type;
LTEXT prompt;
WORD id = 0;
LONG itemflags = 0;
STRUCT control;
LTEXT trailer = "";
LTEXT bmpfile = "";
WORD bmpid = 0xffff;
WORD bmpmask;
LTEXT tooltip = "";
}
The important members of this structure are:
-
type, which specifies a control type, such as
EEikCtEdwin
,
EEikCtNumberEditor
,
EEikCtDateEditor
,
EEikCtTimeEditor
,
EEikCtDurationEditor
,
EEikCtSecretEd
,
or
EAknCtSlider
. Types are defined in the
eikon.hrh
or
avkon.hrh
files.
For details on the resource structures defining individual controls, see document
Editors API Specification
.
-
prompt
, which specifies the field label.
-
id
, which specifies the control ID of the application.
Within the application, the ID is used to reference the dialog line. The ID
must be defined in the application's HRH file. Each dialog line must have
a unique ID; otherwise the application panics when the dialog is executed.
-
itemflags
, such as
EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey
or
EEikDlgItemOfferAllHotKeys
.
-
control
, which specifies the field control. Controls
are defined in HRH files.
-
bmpfile
, which specifies the bitmap filename.
-
bmpid
, which specifies the icon image ID.
-
bmpmask
, which specifies the icon mask ID.
Single-page form
The following resource defines a form for viewing and editing
TMyStruct
data
in a single page.
RESOURCE DIALOG r_my_dialog
{
flags = EEikDialogFlagNoBorder | EEikDialogFlagNoDrag |
EEikDialogFlagNoTitleBar | EEikDialogFlagFillAppClientRect |
EEikDialogFlagCbaButtons | EEikDialogFlagWait;
buttons = R_AVKON_SOFTKEYS_OPTIONS_BACK;
form = r_my_form;
}
RESOURCE FORM r_my_form
{
flags = EEikFormUseDoubleSpacedFormat;
items =
{
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtEdwin;
prompt = "Text" ;
id = EMyAppControlIdTextEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = EDWIN
{
flags = KMultiLineExpandingEditorFlags |
EEikEdwinNoLineOrParaBreaks;
maxlength = 256;
width = 6;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtGlobalTextEditor;
prompt = "Global text";
id = EMyAppControlIdGlobalTextEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = GTXTED
{
width = 10;
height = 17;
textlimit = 256;
flags = KMultiLineExpandingEditorFlags;
max_view_height_in_lines = 2;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtRichTextEditor;
prompt = "Rich text";
id = EMyAppControlIdRichTextEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = RTXTED
{
width = 10;
height = 17;
textlimit = 256;
flags = KMultiLineExpandingEditorFlags;
max_view_height_in_lines = 3;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtNumberEditor;
prompt = "Number" ;
id = EMyAppControlIdNumberEd ;
control = NUMBER_EDITOR
{
min = 0;
max = 999;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EAknCtIntegerEdwin;
prompt = "Integer edwin" ;
id = EMyAppControlIdIntegerEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = AVKON_INTEGER_EDWIN
{
maxlength = 10;
min = 0;
max = 999;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtFlPtEd;
prompt = "Floating point" ;
id = EMyAppControlIdFloatEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = FLPTED
{
maxlength = 10;
min = 0;
max = 999;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type=EEikCtFxPtEd;
prompt = "Fixed point" ;
id = EMyAppControlIdFixEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = FIXPTED
{
min = 0;
max = 99999;
decimalplaces = 2;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtDateEditor;
prompt = "Date" ;
id = EMyAppControlIdDateEd ;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = DATE_EDITOR
{
minDate = DATE { year = 1900; };
maxDate= DATE { year = 2100; };
flags = 0;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtTimeEditor;
prompt = "Time";
id = EMyAppControlIdTimeEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = TIME_EDITOR
{
minTime = TIME {};
maxTime = TIME { second = 59; minute = 59; hour = 23; };
flags = 0;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtDurationEditor;
prompt = "Duration";
id = EMyAppControlIdDurationEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = DURATION_EDITOR
{
minDuration = DURATION {};
maxDuration = DURATION { seconds = 3599; };
flags = 0;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EAknCtNumericSecretEditor;
prompt = "Secret number";
id = EMyAppControlIdNumPwdEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = NUMSECRETED { num_code_chars = 4; };
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtSecretEd;
prompt = "Secret text";
id = EMyAppControlIdAlphaPwdEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = SECRETED { num_letters = 8; };
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EAknCtIpFieldEditor;
prompt = "IP address";
id = EMyAppControlIdIpAddrEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = IP_FIELD_EDITOR
{
min_field_values = IP_FIELD
{
first_field = 0;
second_field = 0;
third_field = 0;
fou?th_field = 0;
};
max_field_values = IP_FIELD
{
first_field = 255;
second_field = 255;
third_field = 255;
fourth_field = 255;
};
flags = 0;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EAknCtPopupField;
prompt = "Popup field";
id = EMyAppControlIdPopupField;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = POPUP_FIELD
{
flags = EAknPopupFieldFlagAllowsUserDefinedEntry;
width = 50;
other = "Other";
empty = "No items";
invalid = "Invalid item";
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EAknCtPopupFieldText;
prompt = "Popup field text";
id = EMyAppControlIdPopupFieldText;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = POPUP_FIELD_TEXT
{
textarray = r_my_list_popup_items;
popupfield = POPUP_FIELD {};
active = 0;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EAknCtSlider;
prompt = "Slider";
id = EMyAppControlIdSlider;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = SLIDER
{
layout = EAknFormSliderLayout2;
minvalue = 0;
maxvalue = 20;
step = 2;
valuetype = EAknSliderValueNone;
minlabel = "few";
maxlabel = "many";
valuelabel = "Slider value";
};
}
};
}
RESOURCE ARRAY r_my_list_popup_items
{
items =
{
LBUF { txt = "Monday"; },
LBUF { txt = "Tuesday"; },
LBUF { txt = "Wednesday"; },
LBUF { txt = "Thursday"; },
LBUF { txt = "Friday"; },
LBUF { txt = "Saturday"; },
LBUF { txt = "Sunday"; }
};
}
Related APIs
Multi-page form
Multi-page forms also use the
DIALOG
resource structure,
but
DIALOG
structure member
pages
are needed
as a reference to an
ARRAY
of
PAGE
. The
PAGE
structure
is as follows:
STRUCT PAGE
{
WORD id = 0;
LTEXT text;
LTEXT bmpfile = "";
WORD bmpid = 0xffff;
WORD bmpmask;
LLINK lines = 0;
LLINK form = 0;
WORD flags = 0;
}
The following members are concerned with forms in the
PAGE
structure:
-
id
, which specifies the page ID of an application.
-
text
, which specifies the title string of tabs.
-
form
, which is a reference to the
FORM
structure.
The following resource defines a form for viewing and editing
TMyStruct
data
in a multi-page dialog. The
DLG_LINE
structures are identical
to the single-page example (except that the first page is decorated with icons).
RESOURCE DIALOG r_my_multipage_dialog
{
flags = EEikDialogFlagNoBorder | EEikDialogFlagNoDrag |
EEikDialogFlagNoTitleBar | EEikDialogFlagFillAppClientRect |
EEikDialogFlagCbaButtons | EEikDialogFlagWait;
buttons = R_AVKON_SOFTKEYS_OPTIONS_BACK ;
pages = r_my_pages;
}
RESOURCE ARRAY r_my_pages
{
items =
{
PAGE { text = "text"; id = EMyAppPage1 ; form = r_my_form_1 ; },
PAGE { text = "number"; id = EMyAppPage2 ; form = r_my_form_2 ; },
PAGE { text = "misc"; id = EMyAppPage3 ; form = r_my_form_3 ; }
};
}
RESOURCE FORM r_my_form_1
{
flags = EEikFormUseDoubleSpacedFormat | EEikFormShowBitmaps;
items =
{
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtEdwin;
prompt = "Text" ;
id = EMyAppControlIdTextEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = EDWIN
{
flags = KMultiLineExpandingEditorFlags |
EEikEdwinNoLineOrParaBreaks;
maxlength = 256;
width = 6;
};
bmpfile = AVKON_ICON_FILE;
bmpid = EMbmAvkonQgn_prop_folder_small;
bmpmask = EMbmAvkonQgn_prop_folder_small_mask;
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtGlobalTextEditor;
prompt = "Global text";
id = EMyAppControlIdGlobalTextEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = GTXTED
{
width = 10;
height = 17;
textlimit = 256;
flags = KMultiLineExpandingEditorFlags;
max_view_height_in_lines = 2;
};
bmpfile = AVKON_ICON_FILE;
bmpid = EMbmAvkonQgn_prop_folder_small;
bmpmask = EMbmAvkonQgn_prop_folder_small_mask;
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtRichTextEditor;
prompt = "Rich text";
id = EMyAppControlIdRichTextEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = RTXTED
{
width = 10;
height = 17;
textlimit = 256;
flags = KMultiLineExpandingEditorFlags;
max_view_height_in_lines = 3;
};
bmpfile = AVKON_ICON_FILE;
bmpid = EMbmAvkonQgn_prop_folder_small;
bmpmask = EMbmAvkonQgn_prop_folder_small_mask;
}
};
}
RESOURCE FORM r_my_form_2
{
flags = EEikFormUseDoubleSpacedFormat;
items =
{
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtNumberEditor;
prompt = "Number" ;
id = EMyAppControlIdNumberEd ;
control = NUMBER_EDITOR
{
min = 0;
max = 999;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EAknCtIntegerEdwin;
prompt = "Integer edwin" ;
id = EMyAppControlIdIntegerEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = AVKON_INTEGER_EDWIN
{
maxlength = 10;
min = 0;
max = 999;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtFlPtEd;
prompt = "Floating point" ;
id = EMyAppControlIdFloatEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = FLPTED
{
maxlength = 10;
min = 0;
max = 999;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type=EEikCtFxPtEd;
prompt = "Fixed point" ;
id = EMyAppControlIdFixEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = FIXPTED
{
min = 0;
max = 99999;
decimalplaces = 2;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtDateEditor;
prompt = "Date" ;
id = EMyAppControlIdDateEd ;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = DATE_EDITOR
{
minDate = DATE { year = 1900; };
maxDate= DATE { year = 2100; };
flags = 0;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtTimeEditor;
prompt = "Time";
id = EMyAppControlIdTimeEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = TIME_EDITOR
{
minTime = TIME {};
maxTime = TIME { second = 59; minute = 59; hour = 23; };
flags = 0;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtDurationEditor;
prompt = "Duration";
id = EMyAppControlIdDurationEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = DURATION_EDITOR
{
minDuration = DURATION {};
maxDuration = DURATION { seconds = 3599; };
flags = 0;
};
}
};
}
RESOURCE FORM r_my_form_3
{
flags = EEikFormUseDoubleSpacedFormat;
items =
{
DLG_LINE
{
type = EAknCtNumericSecretEditor;
prompt = "Secret number";
id = EMyAppControlIdNumPwdEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = NUMSECRETED { num_code_chars = 4; };
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EEikCtSecretEd;
prompt = "Secret text";
id = EMyAppControlIdAlphaPwdEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = SECRETED { num_letters = 8; };
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EAknCtIpFieldEditor;
prompt = "IP address";
id = EMyAppControlIdIpAddrEd;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = IP_FIELD_EDITOR
{
min_field_values = IP_FIELD
{
first_field = 0;
second_field = 0;
third_field = 0;
fourth_field = 0;
};
max_field_values = IP_FIELD
{
first_field = 255;
second_field = 255;
third_field = 255;
fourth_field = 255;
};
flags = 0;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EAknCtPopupField;
prompt = "Popup field";
id = EMyAppControlIdPopupField;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = POPUP_FIELD
{
flags = EAknPopupFieldFlagAllowsUserDefinedEntry;
width = 50;
other = "Other";
empty = "No items";
invalid = "Invalid item";
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EAknCtPopupFieldText;
prompt = "Popup field text";
id = EMyAppControlIdPopupFieldText;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = POPUP_FIELD_TEXT
{
textarray = r_my_list_popup_items;
popupfield = POPUP_FIELD {};
active = 0;
};
},
DLG_LINE
{
type = EAknCtSlider;
prompt = "Slider";
id = EMyAppControlIdSlider;
itemflags = EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey;
control = SLIDER
{
layout = EAknFormSliderLayout2;
minvalue = 0;
maxvalue = 20;
step = 2;
valuetype = EAknSliderValueNone;
minlabel = "few";
maxlabel = "many";
valuelabel = "Slider value";
};
}
};
}
Related APIs
-
ARRAY
-
DIALOG
-
DLG_LINE
-
FORM
-
PAGE
-
TMyStruct
-
form
-
id
-
pages
-
text
Related APIs
-
ARRAY
-
DIALOG
-
DLG_LINE
-
EAknCtSlider
-
EEikCtDateEditor
-
EEikCtDurationEditor
-
EEikCtEdwin
-
EEikCtNumberEditor
-
EEikCtSecretEd
-
EEikCtTimeEditor
-
EEikDlgItemOfferAllHotKeys
-
EEikDlgItemTakesEnterKey
-
EEikFormEditModeOnly
-
EEikFormHideEmptyFields
-
EEikFormShowBitmaps
-
EEikFormShowEmptyFields
-
EEikFormUseDoubleSpacedFormat
-
FORM
-
LLINK
-
PAGE
-
bmpfile
-
bmpid
-
bmpmask
-
buttons
-
control
-
flag
-
flags
-
form
-
id
-
itemflags
-
pages
-
prompt
Launching the form
The following example code initializes sample data before invoking the
form.
// Create example dynamic list for the popup field.
CDesCArray* array = new (ELeave) CDesCArrayFlat( 8 );
CleanupStack::PushL( array );
array->AppendL( _L("January") );
array->AppendL( _L("February") );
array->AppendL( _L("March") );
array->AppendL( _L("April") );
array->AppendL( _L("May") );
array->AppendL( _L("June") );
CAknQueryValueTextArray* textArray = CAknQueryValueTextArray::NewLC();
textArray->SetArray( *array );
CAknQueryValueText* queryVal = CAknQueryValueText::NewLC();
queryVal->SetArrayL( textArray );
queryVal->SetCurrentValueIndex( 0 );
// Initialize example form data.
TMyData myData;
myData.iText = _L("This is a text.");
myData.iGlobalText = _L("This is global text.");
myData.iRichText = _L("This is rich text.");
myData.iNumber = 5;
myData.iInteger = 5;
myData.iFloat = 1.234;
myData.iFix = 12345;
myData.iDate.HomeTime();
myData.iTime.HomeTime();
myData.iDuration = TTimeIntervalSeconds( 1000 );
myData.iNumPwd = _L("1234");
myData.iAlphaPwd = _L("passwd");
myData.iIpAddr = TInetAddr();
myData.iPopupVal = queryVal;
myData.iPopupTextIndex = 2;
myData.iSliderVal = 10;
// Launch the dialog to view/edit data
CAknForm* dlg = new ( ELeave ) CMyForm( myData );
CleanupStack::PushL( dlg );
dlg->ConstructL( 0 ); // default menu items only
CleanupStack::Pop( dlg );
dlg->ExecuteLD( R_MY_DIALOG );
// myData now contains the edited values.
CleanupStack::PopAndDestroy( queryVal );
CleanupStack::PopAndDestroy( textArray );
CleanupStack::PopAndDestroy( array );
Initializing form data
PreLayoutDynInitL()
can be overridden to initialize form
controls.
void CMyForm::PreLayoutDynInitL()
{
CAknForm::PreLayoutDynInitL();
LoadFormDataL();
}
void CMyForm::LoadFormDataL()
{
CEikEdwin* textEd =
(CEikEdwin*)Control( EMyAppControlIdTextEd );
textEd->SetTextL( &iData.iText );
CEikGlobalTextEditor* globalTextEd =
(CEikGlobalTextEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdGlobalTextEd );
globalTextEd->SetTextL( &iData.iGlobalText );
CEikRichTextEditor* richTextEd =
(CEikRichTextEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdRichTextEd );
richTextEd->SetTextL( &iData.iRichText );
CEikNumberEditor* numberEd =
(CEikNumberEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdNumberEd );
numberEd->SetNumber( iData.iNumber );
CAknIntegerEdwin* integerEd =
(CAknIntegerEdwin*)Control( EMyAppControlIdIntegerEd );
integerEd->SetValueL( iData.iInteger );
CEikFloatingPointEditor* floatEd =
(CEikFloatingPointEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdFloatEd );
floatEd->SetValueL( &iData.iFloat );
CEikFixedPointEditor* fixEd =
(CEikFixedPointEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdFixEd );
fixEd->SetValueL( &iData.iFix );
CEikDateEditor* dateEd =
(CEikDateEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdDateEd );
dateEd->SetDate( iData.iDate );
CEikTimeEditor* timeEd =
(CEikTimeEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdTimeEd );
timeEd->SetTime( iData.iTime );
CEikDurationEditor* durationEd =
(CEikDurationEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdDurationEd );
durationEd->SetDuration( iData.iDuration );
CAknNumericSecretEditor* numPwdEd =
(CAknNumericSecretEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdNumPwdEd );
numPwdEd->SetText( iData.iNumPwd );
CEikSecretEditor* alphaPwdEd =
(CEikSecretEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdAlphaPwdEd );
alphaPwdEd->SetText( iData.iAlphaPwd );
CAknIpFieldEditor* ipAddrEd =
(CAknIpFieldEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdIpAddrEd );
ipAddrEd->SetAddress( iData.iIpAddr );
iData.iPopupVal->SetCurrentValueIndex( 0 );
CAknPopupField* popupField =
(CAknPopupField*)Control( EMyAppControlIdPopupField );
popupField->SetQueryValueL( iData.iPopupVal );
CAknPopupFieldText* popupFieldText =
(CAknPopupFieldText*)Control( EMyAppControlIdPopupFieldText );
popupFieldText->SetCurrentValueIndex( iData.iPopupTextIndex );
CAknSlider* slider =
(CAknSlider*)Control( EMyAppControlIdSlider );
slider->SetValueL( iData.iSliderVal );
}
Related APIs
Saving form data
Pressing the Back softkey in the edit state causes calls to
QuerySaveChangesL()
then
SaveFormDataL()
or
DoNotSaveFormDataL()
. The following example saves data from form
controls to the data structure.
TBool CMyForm::SaveFormDataL()
{
CEikEdwin* textEd =
(CEikEdwin*)Control( EMyAppControlIdTextEd );
textEd->GetText( iData.iText );
CEikGlobalTextEditor* globalTextEd =
(CEikGlobalTextEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdGlobalTextEd );
globalTextEd->GetText( iData.iGlobalText );
CEikRichTextEditor* richTextEd =
(CEikRichTextEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdRichTextEd );
richTextEd->GetText( iData.iRichText );
CEikNumberEditor* numberEd =
(CEikNumberEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdNumberEd );
iData.iNumber = numberEd->Number();
CAknIntegerEdwin* integerEd =
(CAknIntegerEdwin*)Control( EMyAppControlIdIntegerEd );
(void)integerEd->GetTextAsInteger( iData.iInteger );
CEikFloatingPointEditor* floatEd =
(CEikFloatingPointEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdFloatEd );
(void)floatEd->GetValueAsReal( iData.iFloat );
CEikFixedPointEditor* fixEd =
(CEikFixedPointEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdFixEd );
(void)fixEd->GetValueAsInteger( iData.iFix );
CEikDateEditor* dateEd =
(CEikDateEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdDateEd );
iData.iDate = dateEd->Date();
CEikTimeEditor* timeEd =
(CEikTimeEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdTimeEd );
iData.iTime = timeEd->Time();
CEikDurationEditor* durationEd =
(CEikDurationEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdDurationEd );
iData.iDuration = durationEd->Duration();
CAknNumericSecretEditor* numPwdEd =
(CAknNumericSecretEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdNumPwdEd );
numPwdEd->GetText( iData.iNumPwd );
CEikSecretEditor* alphaPwdEd =
(CEikSecretEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdAlphaPwdEd );
alphaPwdEd->GetText( iData.iAlphaPwd );
CAknIpFieldEditor* ipAddrEd =
(CAknIpFieldEditor*)Control( EMyAppControlIdIpAddrEd );
iData.iIpAddr = ipAddrEd->Address();
iData.iPopupVal->SetCurrentValueIndex( 0 );
CAknPopupField* popupField =
(CAknPopupField*)Control( EMyAppControlIdPopupField );
popupField->SetQueryValueL( iData.iPopupVal );
CAknPopupFieldText* popupFieldText =
(CAknPopupFieldText*)Control( EMyAppControlIdPopupFieldText );
iData.iPopupTextIndex = popupFieldText->CurrentValueIndex();
CAknSlider* slider =
(CAknSlider*)Control( EMyAppControlIdSlider );
iData.iSliderVal = slider->Value();
return ETrue;
}
Forms can validate the entered data.
SaveFormDataL()
should
return
EFalse
if validation failed, this indicates that the
data has not been saved. In this case, the form remains in edit state.
Related APIs
-
DoNotSaveFormDataL()
-
EFalse
-
QuerySaveChangesL()
-
SaveFormDataL()
Reverting changes
DoNotSaveFormDataL()
is called if the user responds No
in
QuerySaveChangesL()
. The form should restore the original
data.
void CMyForm::DoNotSaveFormDataL()
{
LoadFormDataL();
}
Related APIs
-
DoNotSaveFormDataL()
-
QuerySaveChangesL()
Modifying the menu
CAknForm
always uses menu pane
R_AVKON_FORM_MENUPANE
.
This menu pane contains the following commands:
|
|
EAknFormCmdEdit
|
Switches to edit mode (if allowed).
|
EAknFormCmdAdd
|
Adds field. Method
AddFieldL()
is called. Default
implementation is empty.
|
EAknFormCmdSave
|
Saves and switches to view mode.
SaveFormDataL()
is
called. Default implementation is empty.
|
EAknFormCmdLabel
|
Edits field label. Default implementation is provided.
|
EAknFormCmdDelete
|
Deletes field.
DeleteCurrentItemL()
is called. Default
implementation is empty.
|
EAknFormMaxDefault
|
End marker for the enumeration.
|
CAknForm
handles these commands and their associated menu
items.
DynInitMenuPaneL()
allows modifying the menu. The following
example appends the items of a custom menu pane to the form menu:
RESOURCE MENU_PANE r_my_extra_menu
{
items =
{
MENU_ITEM { command = EMyCommand; txt = "Dynamic menu item"; }
};
}
void CMyForm::DynInitMenuPaneL( TInt aResourceId, CEikMenuPane* aMenuPane )
{
CAknForm::DynInitMenuPaneL( aResourceId, aMenuPane );
if ( aResourceId == R_AVKON_FORM_MENUPANE )
{
aMenuPane->AddMenuItemsL
( R_MY_EXTRA_MENU, EAknFormMaxDefault - 1, ETrue );
}
}
The same effect can achieved by passing the ID of a
MENU_BAR
resource
to
CAknForm::ConstructL()
. Menu items from
R_MY_MENUBAR
will
be appended to
R_AVKON_FORM_MENUPANE
:
RESOURCE MENU_BAR r_my_menubar
{
titles=
{
MENU_TITLE { menu_pane = r_my_extra_menu; txt=""; }
};
}
// Launch the dialog to view/edit data
CAknForm* dlg = new ( ELeave ) CMyForm( myData );
CleanupStack::PushL( dlg );
dlg->ConstructL( R_MY_MENUBAR );
CleanupStack::Pop( dlg );
dlg->ExecuteLD( R_MY_DIALOG );
// myData now contains edited values.
Related APIs
-
AddFieldL()
-
CAknForm
-
CAknForm::ConstructL()
-
DeleteCurrentItemL()
-
DynInitMenuPaneL()
-
EAknFormCmdAdd
-
EAknFormCmdDelete
-
EAknFormCmdEdit
-
EAknFormCmdLabel
-
EAknFormCmdSave
-
EAknFormMaxDefault
-
MENU_BAR
-
R_AVKON_FORM_MENUPANE
-
R_MY_MENUBAR
-
SaveFormDataL()
Processing commands
ProcessCommandL()
can be overridden to handle custom commands.
Built-in form commands are handled by
CAknForm
.
void CMyForm::ProcessCommandL( TInt aCommandId )
{
// Form default commands.
CAknForm::ProcessCommandL( aCommandId );
// Custom commands.
switch ( aCommandId )
{
case EMyCommand:
User::InfoPrint( _L("my command") );
break;
default:
break;
}
}
Related APIs
-
CAknForm
-
ProcessCommandL()
Managing fields
In edit mode, fields can be added or deleted dynamically.
CAknForm::AddItemL()
and
CAknForm::DeleteCurrentItemL()
provide default implementation for handling the commands
EAknFormCmdAdd
and
EAknFormCmdDelete
,
respectively.
The following sample adds an editor control.
void CMyForm::AddItemL()
{
_LIT( caption, "Added text" );
TInt pageId = ActivePageId();
TInt id = iAddedItemId++; // All controls must have unique id.
TInt type = EEikCtEdwin;
TAny* unused=0;
CEikEdwin* edwin = (CEikEdwin*)CreateLineByTypeL
( caption, pageId, id, type, unused );
edwin->ConstructL
( EEikEdwinNoHorizScrolling | EEikEdwinResizable, 10, 100, 1 );
Line( id )->ActivateL();
SetChangesPending( ETrue );
UpdatePageL( ETrue );
}
Note that all controls in the dialog must have a unique ID. The sample
code uses its
iAddedItemId
member to ensure that IDs are
unique, but does not store the IDs of the dynamically created controls. Real-life
implementations need the IDs to access field data later.
enum TMyControlIds
{
EMyAppControlIdTextEd = 100,
EMyAppControlIdGlobalTextEd,
EMyAppControlIdRichTextEd,
EMyAppControlIdNumberEd,
EMyAppControlIdIntegerEd,
EMyAppControlIdFloatEd,
EMyAppControlIdFixEd,
EMyAppControlIdDateEd,
EMyAppControlIdTimeEd,
EMyAppControlIdDurationEd,
EMyAppControlIdNumPwdEd,
EMyAppControlIdAlphaPwdEd,
EMyAppControlIdIpAddrEd,
EMyAppControlIdPopupField,
EMyAppControlIdPopupFieldText,
EMyAppControlIdSlider,
EMyAppControlIdFirstAdded // Dynamically added items
};
CMyForm::CMyForm( TMyData& aData ) : iData( aData ),
iAddedItemId( EMyAppControlIdFirstAdded ) // Need unique control ids.
{ }
Adding fields dynamically is also useful if the form is used to manipulate
data which has a variable structure. In this case, the FORM structure can
be left empty in the resource definition, and
PreLayoutDynInitL()
can
be used to add appropriate fields as necessary.
Related APIs
-
CAknForm::AddItemL()
-
CAknForm::DeleteCurrentItemL()
-
EAknFormCmdAdd
-
EAknFormCmdDelete
-
PreLayoutDynInitL()
-
iAddedItemId
Adding custom field
Custom controls can be added to dialogs by overriding
CreateCustomControlL()
,
as described in document
Dialogs API Specification
.
In order to support laying out the custom control in forms, the method
ConvertCustomControlTypeToBaseControlType()
must
be provided. This method determines the layout class of the custom control.
MEikDialogPageObserver::TFormControlTypes
CMyForm::ConvertCustomControlTypeToBaseControlType( TInt aControlType ) const
{
if ( aControlType == EAknCtIpFieldEditor )
{
// Help layout of custom control.
return MEikDialogPageObserver::EMfneDerived;
}
return CAknForm::ConvertCustomControlTypeToBaseControlType( aControlType );
};
Related APIs
-
ConvertCustomControlTypeToBaseControlType()
-
CreateCustomControlL()
Error handling
Form API uses standard Symbian platform error reporting mechanism and standard
error codes.
Memory overhead
Memory consumption of dialogs depends on the contained controls.
Limitations of the API
None.
Related APIs
Glossary
Abbreviations
Form API abbreviations
API
|
Application Programming Interface
|
CBA
|
Command Button Area
|
OS
|
Operating System
|
SDK
|
Software Development Kit
|
Definitions
Form API definitions
Softkey
|
A command button mapped to a hard key on the device.
|
References
Form API references
Dialogs API Specification
|
Editors API Specification
|
|