firstChange

firstChange(control: control-type input);

The firstChange event of the TextBox control is generated when the user performs keyboard or cut and paste actions that result in any of the following conditions.

• The text box goes from an empty to a non-empty state

• The text box goes from a non-empty to an empty state

• The first change made by the user after the text has been set by the form build process or by JADE logic

Use this event to move logic from other key events when that logic is relevant only to the first time the text changes; for example, when the logic is recording that the text content has changed. As a result, removal of the other key events reduces the number of events that must be sent and processed for each key that is pressed.

The firstChange event method of the JadeEditMask class occurs when the user makes the first change on the displayed text or the isEmpty status of the control changes. It does not occur when you change the text property from logic (that is, dynamically).

For the JadeRichText or JadeTextEdit control class, a firstChange event occurs after a user change but before the change event, in the following cases.

• The first time the contents change

• The contents of the control are deleted

• The contents of the control change from being empty to having some content

• The text property or textRTF property changes the contents of the control (the textRTF property applies only to rich text control)

• After the value of the readOnly property changes from true to false

The Form class firstChange event is generated when the first change to the values listed in the following table is made by a user to a control on a form.

Control Class	Change
TextBox	Change to the value of the text property
JadeEditMask	Change to the value of the text property
JadeRichText and JadeTextEdit	After a user change but before the change event (same rules as those that apply to the TextBox class firstChange event)
CheckBox	Change to the value of the value property
OptionButton	Change to the value of the value property
ComboBox	Different entry selected (this does not apply to the text box portion of the combo box unless the text property change causes a different list entry to be selected)
ListBox	Different list entry selected
Table	Cell updated by the Control class automaticCellControl property, including default inputType property entry of CheckBox, TextBox, JadeEditMask, and ComboBox controls (but not when a different row or column is selected)

The control that has been changed is passed as the parameter to the event. By default, the firstChange event is generated once only, when the first of any of the changes listed in the above table has been made on a form. You can then determine that a data change has been made to a form without having to monitor changes to every control on that form.

The Form class resetFirstChange event enables you to reset all firstChange events on the form. In addition, you could use the resetFirstChange method inside the Form class firstChange event when the first change has been made to a control that is not to be counted as the first data change.

The Control class resetFirstChange event resets the firstChange event status of the control and all children of the control. As only the TextBox, JadeRichText, and JadeEditMask controls have a firstChange event, all other controls ignore the method other than to call the method on any children.