Control (Variable type)

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Help / WLanguage / WLanguage functions / Controls, pages and windows / Control functions

Declaring a Control variable
Assigning a Control variable
Using a Control variable in a procedure
Optimizing the processes with indirection
Properties associated with a Control variable
Functions that use a Control variable

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See also

Control (Variable type)

In french: Champ

The Control type is used to define the characteristics of a control. This control can be dynamically created by ControlCreate or it can be a control found in a window or in a report.

ControlCreate is not available.

Note: For more details on the declaration of this type of variable and the use of WLanguage properties, see Declaring a variable.

Example

// Dynamically create a control in a window
c is Control
c <- ControlCreate("BUTTON_1", typButton, 30, 40, 140, 20) // Caution, not '='
c.Caption = "Click here"
c.Process[trtClick] = myProcedure

Remarks

Declaring a Control variable

The following syntax is used to declare a Control variable:

<Variable Name> is Control

Example:

c is Control

When declaring a variable of type Field, it is possible to specify the field type using the following syntax:

<Variable name> is a Field <field type = <Field type>>

where <Type de champ> is the constant corresponding to the type of field to be created (see below)..

Example:

MonChamp is TO Field <type control = typButton>

The following constants can be used to define the field type:


typActiveX	17	ActiveX control Not available.
typOrganizer	76	Organizer control Not available.
typScrollbar	18	Scrollbar control Not available.
typAttribute	41	Attribute of a Looper control Not available.
typSlidingBanner	122	Sliding Banner control Not available.
typNavigationBar	117	Navigation Bar control Not available.
typToolbar	22	Toolbar control Not available.
typToolbox	29	Sidebar control Not available.
typButton	4	Button control
New in version 2025 typButtonSegmented	148	Segmented Button control Not available.
typCalendar	47	Calendar control Not available.
typCaptcha	82	Captcha control Not available.
typMap	92	Map control Not available.
typCarousel	37	Carousel control Not available.
typStatusBarBox	40002	Cells of a status bar Not available.
typCell	50014	Cell control Not available.
typCellCSSGrid	147	Cell control in a CSS Grid field. Not available.
typNavigationBarCell	115	Cell control in a Navigation Bar control. Not available.
typCellLayout	127	Cell in a Layout control Not available.
typCellFlexBox	139	Cell of a FlexBox control. Not available.
typCellPageLayout	84	Cell control used for the Zoning layout. Not available.
typFormattedControl	50001	Formatted display control Not available.
typHTMLControl	50002	HTML control Not available.
typMenuControl	50007	Menu of a WEBDEV page Not available.
typContextMenuControl	141	Context menu in a WEBDEV page Not available.
typBreadcrumb	50011	Breadcrumb control Not available.
typClick	30001	Clickable Image control (Image control with the "This image is a clickable area" option). Not available.
typBarCode	26	Bar Code control Not available.
typColumn	56	Table column Not available.
typComboWE	10001	Editable Combo Box control Not available.
typComboNE	10002	Non-editable Combo Box control Not available.
typWebComponent	121	Web Component control Not available.
typConference	25	Conference control Not available.
typNativeContainer	125	Native Container control Not available.
typCube	38	Cube control Not available.
typDate	20002	Date Edit control Not available.
typLayout	126	Layout control Not available.
typDuration	20006	Duration Edit control Not available.
typDiagramEditor	130	Diagram Editor control Not available.
typCodeEditor	146	Code Editor control Not available.
typHtmlEditor	134	HTML Editor control Not available.
typImageEditor	124	Image Editor control Not available.
typMobileImageEditor	138	Mobile Image Editor control Not available.
typWin	1	Window Not available.
typInternalWindow	31	Internal Window Not available.
typWire	118	Wire control Not available.
typFlash	50008	Flash control Not available.
typFlex	48	Flex control Not available.
typFlexbox	139	Flexbox control Not available.
typShape	20	Shape/Drawing control Not available.
typGantt	110	Gantt Chart column (Table or TreeView Table control). Not available.
typChart	33	Chart control in a window or page Not available.
typGrp	58	Group of controls Not available.
typTime	20003	Time Edit control Not available.
typHTML	23	HTML static Not available.
typIFrame	50013	IFrame control Not available.
typImage	8	Image control
typCheckBox	5	Check Box control Not available.
typSwitch	132	Switch control Not available.
typProgressBar	10	Progress Bar control Not available.
typInfiniteProgressBar	113	Infinite Progress Bar control Not available.
typJava	50004	Java control Not available.
typKanban	140	Kanban control Not available.
typPDFReader		PDF Reader control Not available.
typStatic	3	Static Text control
typHTMLStatic	50006	HTML Static control Not available.
typLink	50005	Link control Not available.
typSocialLink	103	Social Network control Not available.
typHorizontalRule	50003	Line control Not available.
typList	7	List Box control Not available.
typListView	27	ListView control Not available.
typKanbanList	142	Kanban List control Not available.
typMapArea	50010	Clickable Image control Not available.
typControlTemplate	43	Control Template control.
typCurrency	20005	Currency Edit control Not available.
typMultimedia	39	Multimedia control Not available.
typRating	85	Rating control Not available.
typRepositionableNote	119	Repositionable Note control Not available.
typNum	20004	Numeric Edit control Not available.
typOle	15	OLE control Not available.
typTab	16	Tab control Not available.
typSwitchOption	133	Option of a Switch control Not available.
typMenuOption	40001	Menu option Not available.
typOrganizationChart	86	Organization Chart control Not available.
typPage	1	Page Not available.
typPeelingCorner	79	Peeling Corner control Not available.
typInternalPage	31	Internal page Not available.
typPanel	131	Dockable Panel control Not available.
typSlidingBannerPlane	123	Plane associated with a Sliding Banner control Not available.
typSiteMap	45	Site Map control Not available.
typScheduler	80	Scheduler Not available.
typPopup	90	Popup page Not available.
typSlider	12	Slider control Not available.
typRangeSlider	72	Range Slider Not available.
typRotativeSlider	13	Round Slider Not available.
typRangeSlider	72	Range Slider control Not available.
typPager	50009	Pager control Not available.
typRibbonGroup		Ribbon group Not available.
typRibbon	87	Ribbon control Not available.
typBreak		Break in a Looper control Not available.
typSelect	6	Radio Button control
typSplitter	28	Splitter control Not available.
typSilverlight	46	SilverLight control Not available.
typSpin	11	Spin control Not available.
typSuperControl	40	Supercontrol
typTable	9	Table control Not available.
typPivotTable	102	Pivot Table control Not available.
typDashboard	111	Dashboard control Not available.
typTreeviewTable	35	TreeView Table control Not available.
typSpreadsheet	114	Spreadsheet control Not available.
typText	20001	Text Edit control Not available.
typDrawer	34	Drawer control Not available.
typWordProcessing	120	Word Processing control Not available.
typTreeMap	74	TreeMap control Not available.
typTreeView	19	TreeView control Not available.
typUpload	73	Upload control Not available.
typVideo	78	Video control Not available.
typThumbnail	50012	Thumbnail control Not available.
typWebCam	24	Web Camera control Not available.
typXaml	36	Xaml control Not available.
typMultilineZone	97	Multiline Zone control Not available.
typLooper	30	Looper control Not available.
typLinearLooper	77	Linear Looper control Not available.
typRichTextArea	109	Text Area control Not available.

Note: To stop associating a field with a variable of type Field, simply use the VariableReset function..

Assigning a Control variable

A Control variable can be used to handle:

a control found in a window or in a report.
a control created by ControlCreate.

The assignment of a Control variable must be performed by the '<-' operator.

Examples:

// Assignment with an existing control
c is Control
c <- EDT_Edit1

// Assignment by using the indirection
// The variable references the EDT_EDIT2 control
c <- {"EDT_EDIT2"}

// Assignment with a control created by ControlCreate
c is Control
c <- ControlCreate("BUTTON_1", typButton, 30, 40, 140, 20)

Caution: The '=' operator must not be used to assign a variable of type Champ. This operator is used to transfer the value of a control into another control of the same type. For example:

// Assignment with an existing control
c is Control
c <- EDT_Edit1

// Modify the value 
c = SAI_Saisie3 // Equivalent code: SAI_Saisie1.Valeur = SAI_Saisie3.Valeur
c = "Text" // Equivalent code: SAI_Saisie1.Value = "Text"

Note: To find out whether the type variable Champ has been assigned, use the Type property on the variable.. Example:

PROCEDURE VariableChampEstAffecté(varChamp is TO Field) : boolean
// Purpose: to check whether a field has been assigned to a variable of type Field 
sType is int
WHEN EXCEPTION IN
	sType = varChamp..Type
DO
	RETURN False
END
RETURN True

Using a Control variable in a procedure

The Control type can be a parameter of a procedure.

Method 1: Use of the syntax without specifying the field type:

the procedure code is:
PROCEDURE MyProcedure(C is Control)
C = "It is " + TimeSys()
the procedure call is of the type:
MyProcedure(EDT_Edit1)

In this case, if the field type is not the expected one, no check is performed at compile time..

Method 2: Use of the syntax specifying the type of field used:

the procedure code is:

PROCEDURE MyProcedure(This is TO Field <type control = typSaisie>)
C = "It is " + TimeSys()

the procedure call is of the type:
MyProcedure(EDT_Edit1)

Advantage: If the procedure call uses a field of a different type from the expected one, a compilation error is displayed: "Passing the field in parameter is not compatible with the expected field."

Optimizing the processes with indirection

The Control type can be used to optimize the processes that use the indirections. You can write for example:

C is Control <-{s, indControl}
C.Width = 10
C.Height = 20

rather than the following code:

{s, indControl}..Width = 10
{s, indControl}..Height = 20

Properties associated with a Control variable

The Control type is used to manipulate all types of controls found in a window or in a report. The available properties depend on the type of control used.

Thus, if a variable of type Field is used to manipulate an input field, all the WLanguage properties available on the input field can be used on the variable of type Field. By specifying the field type when declaring the Champtype variable, only the properties of the specified field type are proposed in the code editor.

To find out about the properties of a field, consult the field's help page: the "See also" link gives access to all the field's properties.. For more details, see Window controls.

Functions that use a Control variable

All the WLanguage functions that manipulate the controls can be used on a Control variable. However, only the WLanguage functions corresponding to the type of control used will be available. By specifying the field type when declaring the Champtype variable, only those functions that manipulate the specified field type are proposed in the code editor.

Therefore, the TableXXX functions can be used on a Control variable that handles a Table control.