Working with Uniface can sometimes feel like navigating through a maze of documentation, but today I want to share a simple yet useful statement that can make your character mode development smoother: the refresh statement. 🖥️
🎯 What does refresh\ do?
The refresh statement in Uniface is designed to redraw the current Form component, but here's the catch - it only works in character mode. If you're running under Windows, this command won't have any effect. 📝
⚙️ Technical Details
- Return Values: None
- Usage: Form components only
- Compatibility: Character mode exclusively (no effect in Windows)
- Components: Allowed in form, service, session service, entity service, and report components (non-self-contained)
🚀 When to Use It
The primary use case for refresh is cleaning up the screen after a spawn statement. Think of it as your screen's reset button - it gives you the same effect as manually using the structure editor function ^REFRESH. ✨
💡 Practical Example
Here's a simple scenario where you might use it:
; After spawning a process that might clutter the screen
spawn "some_external_process"
; Clean up the display
refresh
🤔 Why Character Mode Only?
This limitation makes sense when you consider that character mode applications often deal with text-based interfaces where screen redrawing is more critical for maintaining a clean user experience. In modern GUI environments, the operating system typically handles display refresh automatically. 🖼️
📋 Quick Reference
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Statement | refresh |
| Mode | Character mode only |
| Components | Forms (and related non-self-contained components) |
| Primary Use | Screen cleanup after spawn operations |
While this might seem like a small feature, understanding these little utilities can make your Uniface development more efficient. Every tool in your toolkit counts! 🔧
This post is based on the Uniface documentation 10.4, and I had some help from AI in organizing the content. 🤖
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