Oracle Forms 6i background color

[Tim Howell]

Does anyone know how to change the background color in Oracle Forms 6i, running as Motif client/server? Is this an X windows issue, or Oracle tools? It "defaults" to black fonts on a dark blue background making the forms hard to read in some situations. I can find no reference to it in Oracle Docs...(Forms Builder, etc.)
{HP-UX 11.11, X11R6, Oracle Forms 6i client/server, HP Entria X terminals}
-TIA

[Eric Antunes]

Hi Tim,

It is a canvas or window property of the template you used to created the form(s).

Regards,

Eric

[Tim Howell]

Thanks Eric. I see the property you are referring to. However, the forms (over 60) are saved (and ran) from the file system. I guess this means they each have to be changed indivually(?). Or, do you know a trick, perhaps using f60genm or something?

[Eric Antunes]

Hi Tim,

Try to change just the template canvas/window color property to the one you want, save this template you used for all the forms, ftp it to the server (BIN mode) to upgrade the previous template and regenerate each form on HP-UX:

$cd

$fgen userid=/ module=.fmb output_file=.fmb module_type=form batch=no compile_all=special

PS: in Forms 4.5 you cannot say what template to use when generating but I don't konw if it is possible in Forms 6.0. Try this to see all options available:

$fgen help=YES

Best Regards,

Eric Antunes

[Tim Howell]

Thanks again Eric. I didn't actually create the forms, I inherited them, which are actually upgrades from 4.0. I don't think there is a "template", they all appear to be built as standalone files that get called from a menu. But at least I see what I have to do...Thanks!

[Tim Howell]

Ooops...as a follow-up: this property does not appear in the menu module (.mmb). Is there a way to change the "background" color of the menu?

TIA

[Eric Antunes]

Hi,

You don't do this on the menu:

You do this on the template form that as been used to create all those forms. Find this template form (usually called TEMPLATE.fmb) on you HP-UX server or wherever you have the source forms located...

Hope this will help you.

Eric

[Tim Howell]

There is no TEMPLATE form, but there is a module the the menu is "attached" to. I believe this is the closest thing to what you are referring to. This form gets called first, and all other forms are called from the menu. I can change the background of this form, but the problem is the "background" of the menu bar itself remains the default dark blue, and the text black. I can see in the menu items where to change font size etc., but not color.

Thanks again;

[Eric Antunes]

Hi Tim,

Can you open on Form and see what blocks you have in it? Is there a block called TOOLBAR? If yes, is it Referenced (with a R flag)?? If yes, then you use a template! :)

Best Regards,

Eric Antunes

[Tim Howell]

Eric,
NO, there is no block named TOOLBAR. In fact I see nothing with the R flag.

Thanks;

[Eric Antunes · Accepted solution]

Hi Tim,

If you forms have no referenced objects (R flags), I don't know what else to tell you then...

Just see this attachment: all the properties with the equal sign before (=) are from the referenced Template...

Hope this will help you,

Eric Antunes

[Tim Howell]

Thanks for all the help Eric. I think I'm stuck changing them individually, but your effort and answers certainly deserve 10 points...
Thanks again!

[Eric Antunes]

If you are going to change each form one by one, consider the use of a template form and/or referenced objects. With more than 10 forms it's the only way to have a standarized application at all levels of objects. Otherwize you will 100 times the work to built standard application. For exemple, you can define all the generic properties you want for all Triggers, LOV's, Blocks, every objects...

That's the "Object Oriented Paradigm": each object of the form can inherit all its properties from the Reference Object.

See in attachment more info. about this Reference question I remembered now (I don't do serious form programing since February 2000, so I didn't remember last week until now): you can see and define references at Object Group level in the form.

Eric

[Eric Antunes]

Tim,

Just on more question:

When you try to open the form, is there any message about referenced forms (You'll need to setup a windows registry variable if you have the referenced forms in another directory than the current form directory)? If at any time you saw this kind of message and yet open the form and, later saved it, then you lost all the references for that particular form...

Eric

[Tim Howell]

Eric,
No, in fact I am using the hard-to-come-by HP-UX version of developer (not using Windows at all). All forms are in the same directory. There is a form saved to the database that has a block referenced by other forms (designated by an arrow)(...as opposed to R?). But only header type items are referenced, like username, form title etc. Changing the background on this form has no effect on the menu or canvas backgrounds of other forms that reference it...

Thanks;

[Eric Antunes]

Well,

I don't know what else to tell you. Try to explore that Object Groups part of the Forms Designer Navigator...

Eric