VAX FMS Utilities Reference Manual

This manual describes the VAX Forms Management System (FMS) utilities, designed for programmers developing applications that use video forms. It covers tools for creating, managing, and testing forms and form libraries.

Key utilities and their functions include:

• Form Editor (FMS/EDIT): An interactive tool for designing forms, setting up fields, assigning attributes (form, field, line, video), defining field access order, creating scrolled areas, and associating user action routines and named data.
• Form Language Translator (FMS/TRANSLATE): An alternative method to create forms using a programming-language style via text files that are then converted to binary forms.
• Form Librarian (FMS/LIBRARY): Manages form libraries by providing commands to create, insert, replace, extract, and delete forms.
• Form Application Aids (FMS/DESCRIPTION, FMS/DIRECTORY, FMS/OBJECT, FMS/VECTOR): A suite of tools to assist in application development, including generating form descriptions (brief, declarations, full, display image), listing form directories, creating memory-resident forms, and generating user action routine (UAR) vectors.
• Form Tester (FMS/TEST): Enables testing forms by simulating an application program's display, data entry, and help functions.
• TDMS to FMS Form Converter (FMS/CONVERT): Facilitates the migration of existing Terminal Data Management System (TDMS) forms to FMS format.
• Form Upgrade Utility (FMS/UPGRADE): Converts FMS Version 1 form files and libraries to the Version 2 format.

The document also details the FMS development cycle, various form characteristics (attributes, background text, fields, named data), and compatibility considerations for upgrading from FMS V1 to V2. An appendix lists FMS software messages.