Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!occrsh!uokmax!apple!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!hacgate!ashtate!keithm
From: keithm@ashtate (Keith Mund)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: dBASE IV question - field specific replication key
Keywords: dBASE
Message-ID: <1197@ashton.UUCP>
Date: 11 Sep 90 20:02:52 GMT
References: <3337@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
Reply-To: keithm@ashton.UUCP (Keith Mund)
Organization: Ashton-Tate, Torrance, CA
Lines: 35

In article <3337@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> castillo@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Brian Anderson) writes:
>I've just upgraded to dBASE IV 1.1 and I was wondering if anyone had any
> [ text deleted on how to do this with programming ]
>The values of the previous record fields are maintained in a series of
>memory variables which are updated each time a new record is displayed.
>What I'd like to do is append a blank record and go directly into edit
>mode, then have a function key fill in an individual field with the
>previous record contents, i.e.
>
>        1) display a record
>        2) press the add key ("add a new record")
>           append a blank record
>           go into edit mode
>             upon pressing "F2" replace the current field with the appropriate
>             memory variable contents

When appending records, data from the last record appended can be copied to
the new record by pressing Shift-F8. This sounds pretty much like what you 
want.

Attaching groups of fields to a function key for replacement could be performed by creating a keystroke macro without any programming. Just start recording,
a macro key of your choice, move to the proper fields and use the Shift-F8
function to copy data for each. The next time you invoke the macro key,
selected data will be copied.

>It's not
>obvious to me just how to go about this, but in dBASE hardly anything
>ever is.

The Shift-F8 keystroke, something I did not know existed until now, was
described by pressing F1 for help while editing data.

Hope this has been some help.

Keith Mund