Copy methods option with Duplicate Form

[antonio]

I'd find it very useful to have an option to copy all form methods when duplicating a form, so that the On.... event properties can all be carried over too.

[kazar]

Hi Antonio -- I've also found myself wishing this, but then have ended up finding better ways to approach the UI in terms of using tab panels for "reusable" elements and making use of dynamic runtime properties to make changes to the same form rather than duplicating a form.

Nevertheless I still do contemplate whether form elements and the properties associated with them should have a "separate life", in the Servoy Object Model, from the forms they are placed on, and have not yet arrived at a conclusive opinion on this topic. So I'm posting back to ask "why in Servoy would you need to duplicate a form?" (i.e., why would you need two separate forms that are so similar?) And to ask "why not use tabpanels to contain all reusable form objects?"

Meanwhile, whether this feature request (which I believe I've seen from other folks, too) is ever fulfilled or not ... have you considered creating a tiny mini-form for a field that has the event property, and just pulling that one-field miniform into a hidden tabpanel? You could then duplicate the form that has this tabpanel on it.

Still, to me there is this larger issue of having two forms that are so similar you would want to duplicate Form A to create Form B. Seems you are letting yourself in for extra maintenance if you decide to rearrange things on one form, and then have to do the same on the other form to keep them consistent with each other. Hence my curiosity for the business case or other reason for needing two similar forms in Servoy. (I know many tool-related reasons why I created duplicate forms when I used FMP, but thus far have found no reason for the same kind of device in Servoy.)

TIA for helping me continue my thought process on this topic ...

kazar

[antonio]

Hi Kazar, good points you raise there.

Where ever possible I try to use a single form, controlling tabless tabs and the visble property of form elements with an OnShow method to get it just right.

Sometimes, before embarking on substantial changes to forms, I like to make a duplicate to refer back to. Servoy's rollback feature makes this a rarity, but still handy if changing several forms at once.

It's not a high priority.

[gdurniak]

coming from a web background, Servoy must be a dream, but coming from FileMaker, Servoy can be like developing in molasses

much harder to do simple things "quick & dirty"

making a one-time, unexpected, "I need a list" layout (e.g. duplicate), is definitely harder

greg

PS
of course, Servoy can shine, when things get complicated

[IT2Be]

of course, Servoy can shine, when things get complicated

- Servoy makes you think about the obvious yourself
- Servoy makes you wonder if it really is that simple when you don't know how to get started
- Servoy makes life a breeze when you think it can't be done
- Servoy can even surprise you when you are sure it is impossible

[IT2Be]

And, to make things even better our plug-ins and beans will make the topping on the cake ( couldn't resist adding it )...

[Riccardino]

coming from a web background, Servoy must be a dream, but coming from FileMaker, Servoy can be like developing in molasses

much harder to do simple things "quick & dirty"

making a one-time, unexpected, "I need a list" layout (e.g. duplicate), is definitely harder

Greg: if you're proficient in FM and a beginner in Servoy, is not a fair comparison, don't you think? :-)