Handling Text Box Data Entry

Data entry into a text box control can suffer from keyboard entry ‘lag behind’ which can result from having to process too many key event methods on the form and text box and from the increasing size of the text value.

As the text is changed, that text is transmitted so that it is available for any logic reference.

If there are no form or text box key event methods, the text is transmitted only when some other event occurred (for example, the lostFocus event).

Use the JadeEditMask control to improve thin client performance by removing validation requirements. User-written logic that performs input validation keystroke by keystroke has a dramatic impact on thin client performance over a slow link, making such validation impractical, the JadeEditMask control reduces the need for you to write such logic and therefore speed up thin client performance. (For details, see "JadeEditMask Class", in Chapter 2 of the Encyclopaedia of Classes.)

In addition to the TextBox::firstChange event described in the following subsection, the Form and Window classes provide the methods listed in the following table that enable you to improve the performance of data entry in Jade thin client mode over slow network links.

Class	Method	Description
Window	enableEvent	Enables you to control at run time whether Jade logic associated with an event for a specific form or control is executed. You could use this method in thin client mode, for example, to speed up the data entry process for a text box control by disabling the keyDown event.
Form	getRegisteredFormKeys	Populates an array of the form keys that are in effect for the form. This array contains entries only if the Form::registerFormKeys method has been called.
Window	isEventEnabled	Specifies whether an event is currently enabled for the window.
Form	registerFormKeys	Establishes the entire set of key codes in which key events of the receiver form are interested. After calling the registerFormKeys method with a key code list, the form key events are called on the form only if the key that is pressed is in the supplied list.

For details, see Chapter 2 of the Encyclopaedia of Classes.