Developing Frames with Ready-Made Objects

Working with Frames

Frames provide the user interface to SAS/AF applications. Frames are stored in a SAS catalog entry of type FRAME. A frame is also an instantiation of the Frame class or one of its subclasses.

The SAS/AF application development environment provides a variety of ways to open an existing FRAME entry or to create a new one:

From the Explorer window

To open an existing frame, select a catalog, then double-click on the FRAME entry you want to open.
To create a new frame, select the catalog in which you want to store the FRAME entry, then select File New and select Frame from the New Entry dialog box.

From the Command prompt

To open an existing frame or to create a new one, enter build libref.catalog.framename.frame , where framename is the name of the FRAME entry.

From the SAS/AF software development environment

To create a new frame from the SAS/AF development environment, select File New.

From the Program Editor using PROC BUILD

To open an existing frame or to create a new one, submit

proc build
   c=libref.catalog.framename.frame;
   run;

where framename is the name of the FRAME entry.

The BUILD command has advantages over the BUILD procedure in that the BUILD command enables you to open more than one BUILD session at a time and allows you to submit other SAS procedures while the BUILD session is active.

For detailed information about working with frames, see the SAS/AF online Help.

Frame Types

You can create two types of frames: standard or dialog. Standard frames define an application's primary window or windows. Primary windows enable you to access secondary windows that are needed to enter, edit, collect, or display information. For example, a primary window of a word processor might include all the pull-down menus or buttons used to access the commands or other windows that are associated with the program.

The following application main menu is an example of a standard frame that was created using SAS/AF software.

[untitled graphic]

A dialog frame is used to create secondary windows such as the dialog boxes, palette windows, and message boxes that are accessed from a primary window. Secondary windows are useful for specifying parameters or options, for displaying error or information messages, and for providing a place to collect user input. Dialog frames cannot be resized by users.

The following frame is an example of a dialog frame:

[untitled graphic]

In your SCL programs, you can use the DIALOG function to open a frame as a modal window. For more information, see Calling Dialog Boxes from an Application.

Note: All new frames are of type standard by default. [cautionend]

To specify whether a frame should be of type standard or dialog, set the frame's type attribute in the Properties window.

Frame Usage Tips

The following table provides general information about working with frames. For more information, see the SAS/AF online Help.

Task	Solution
Setting frame properties	Use the Properties window and select the _FRAME_ object.
Adding components to a frame	Drag and drop components onto a frame from the Components window. Or, select a component in the Components window, then double-click in the frame where you want to place the component.
Positioning frame components	Use the mouse to drag and position components. Use the Properties window to set component attributes that specify the component's position on a frame.
Adding a menu to a frame	Use the Properties window to set the frame's pmenuEntry attribute. You can create a new menu with the PMENU procedure.
Storing a frame	Save the frame to a specific SAS catalog by selecting Save or Save as from the File menu. Frames are stored in FRAME catalog entries.

Specifying the Frame SCL Entry

Frame SCL entries provide the SCL source code to control a frame. The name of the SCL entry that controls a FRAME entry is assigned through the frame's SCLEntry attribute. By default, the SCLEntry attribute identifies the frame's SCL source as *.SCL, where the asterisk (*) represents the name of the FRAME entry.

For more information on frame SCL, see Adding SAS Component Language Programs to Frames.

Compiling Frames

If your frame has an associated frame SCL entry, you must compile the frame in order to associate the frame SCL with your frame.

To compile a frame (and its frame SCL entry), select Build Compile from the Frame entry's Build window.

For more information on compiling frames, see Compiling and Testing Applications.

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