This technical note explains how to implement an interface designed to be run in the Custom Menus environment that does not make any use of the mouse. It also allows you to become more familiar with the use of the HIGHLIGHT RECORDS command and the management of keyboard shortcuts.

The HIGHLIGHT RECORDS command was introduced in version 6.5 of 4D. It allows you to programmatically highlight records in an output form. This is the equivalent to what users do when they click on records in an output form while pressing the Shift or Ctrl key (Command key on MacOS).

The sample database that comes with this technical note is designed to be used with version 6.5 of 4D and its code is also provided as a 4D Insider library.

In order to control events using the only the keyboard, we need to manage three main types of events:
-selection of menu bar items,
-navigation in selections and subselections,
-navigation and data entry in a detail form.

This technical note will only cover the two first types since the third event type is managed internally by 4D.


Tech Note