Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Development:
Programming Interfaces

Working with Progress key functions

Setting the HonorProKeys property to TRUE allows the user to specify that Progress should handle certain key functions.

TAB, BACK-TAB, GO, HELP, and END-ERROR

Progress enforces the TAB and BACK-TAB key functions in all ActiveX controls. If a control defines a meaning for the TAB or SHIFT+TAB key other than normal tabbing, the control-defined function will not work. (Few, if any, controls redefine the TAB or SHIFT+TAB key in this way.)

Progress also enforces behavior on the three keys that implement the GO, HELP and END-ERROR functions (normally the F2, F1 and ESC keys, respectively). Again, if the control normally uses these keys for another purpose, that functionality is lost in Progress. Note that the standard use of the F1 and ESC keys in Windows applications matches the standard use of HELP and END-ERROR in Progress, and ActiveX controls do not generally use F2.

All three of these key functions work if focus is in a subwindow of an ActiveX control. For example, suppose a calendar control has two subwindows where one holds the month and the other holds the year. If you click into one of these subwindows and press TAB, focus moves to the next control or widget in the frame.

To allow the control to process the GO, HELP, TAB, and ENDKEY keys, set the HonorProKeys extended property to FALSE.

RETURN and Default Buttons

In Windows, the RETURN key function (normally the ENTER key) has special significance in that it can invoke the default button in a dialog box. You can program this functionality in Progress by designating a button as the DEFAULT-BUTTON of a frame. However, because it is common for an ActiveX control to specify its own use for the ENTER key, Progress does not trap this key in ActiveX controls. Therefore, RETURN does not activate the default button in a Progress frame if an ActiveX control has focus.

To override this behavior, set the HonorReturnKeys property to TRUE, so Progress can handle the RETURN key.