Important Observations

• There are many different ways to create a field.
• Basic field definitions can be quickly created directly from the New field dialog. Fields can be opened in the Editor to specify detailed field characteristics.
• If a field is created but not opened in the Editor, it will not appear in your Last Opened list.
• The Create as copy of field dialog allows a one-time copy operation to create a field.
• Reference fields create a permanent link between two fields. Changes to field types, lengths, etc. are inherited. Not all field characteristics, such as descriptions and labels, are inherited.
• The LANSA Repository performs referential integrity checks whenever you attempt to delete an object. For example, you will be informed if a field is used in a table or function before you proceed with deletion.
• For your test application notice that:
• The form/dialog was designed using the information from the repository.
• Default values are displayed based on the information from the repository.
• Input and output characteristics are based on the information from the repository.
• When changes were made to your field definitions, the application was recompiled to update it with the definitions.

Tips and Techniques

• Use reference fields when you need a permanent relationship between fields instead of a one-time copy.
• For actions within this module, you can use Visual LANSA with or without a mouse by using keyboard ShortCuts:

What I Should Know

• How to define a field by copying an existing repository field.
• How to manually define a field.
• How to change attributes that affect the display on dialogs and forms.
• How default values can be used by your applications.