Missing Cursor 1

[Scott24x7]

Hi All,
I have noticed from time to time when I'm working in the IDE after running the app to test, when it returns control to VFP the cursor disappears.
I tried things like CLOSE ALL, CLEAR ALL, CLEAR but it doesn't make the cursor come back. Is there some way to get it to reappear without closing VFP and starting it again?

This happens when normal control, and not some kind of crash or anything, I am not sure why it vanishes.

Best Regards,
Scott
MIET, MASHRAE, CDCP, CDCS, CDCE, CTDC, CTIA, ATS

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[Tore Bleken]

Somewhere you have code which closes the cursor, typically a Close All or a simple Use or Use In. Another possibility is that you have the work area of the cursor selected when you create a new table or cursor.

You can set a breakpoint on a changed value for Used('yourcursor').

 

[Scott24x7]

Hi Tore,
I have chosen a very confusing set of words.

Cursor in this case is not a table or query result, but the blinky vertical line that lets you know where you are when in the editor, or at the command window.


Best Regards,
Scott
MIET, MASHRAE, CDCP, CDCS, CDCE, CTDC, CTIA, ATS

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[Mike Lewis]

Juat a guess, but you might try [tt]_SCREEN.MousePointer = 0[/tt]. I've no way of checking that that would work, but it might be worth a try.

If you are unable to type the above command in the command window (because of the missing cursor), you could put it in your clean-up program (if any).

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Visual FoxPro articles, tips and downloads

 

[Tore Bleken]

Since English isn't my first language, I sometimes get confused.
See Sys(2002) in Help.

 

[Scott24x7]

Hi Mike & Tore,
Thanks I'll give that a try.
Tore, don't feel bad, that word "Cursor" was confusing I realized, in the context of VFP. I should have been clearer in the start.
-S

Best Regards,
Scott
MIET, MASHRAE, CDCP, CDCS, CDCE, CTDC, CTIA, ATS

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[Scott24x7]

Hi Mike,
That didn't work... but strangely I did find that if I click on another window (like this browser), and then select the VFP winddow again, it returns.
Very strange.

Best Regards,
Scott
MIET, MASHRAE, CDCP, CDCS, CDCE, CTDC, CTIA, ATS

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[Mike Lewis]

Scott, the only other thing I can suggest is that you try [tt]_SCREEN.MousePointer = _SCREEN.MousePointer[/tt]. That might sound a bit strange, but I've known that sort of thing to work in other circumstances.

There's also the old [tt]SET CURSOR ON | OFF[/tt] command. I don't know if it still works, but it's worth a quick try.

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Visual FoxPro articles, tips and downloads

 

[Olaf Doschke]

Text cursor appearance, as far-fetched as that sounds, could also be graphics driver related. Like the mouse pointer, the text cursor is something OS related. VFP draws its controls itself, mainly, but themes cause the OS to override some renderings VFP does without and fonts and therefore also text cursor and mouse appearance, that can only stay in the hands of the OS.

So do you have a problem seeing the text cursor in say notepad, at the same time?

Bye, Olaf.

Olaf Doschke Software Engineering

https://www.doschke.name

 

[Scott24x7]

Hi Olaf,
Those are great points. And a good question, I have verified now that the cursor is visible in other applications, and as soon as I return to the VFP window, it is "refreshed" there. So it's odd.

Best Regards,
Scott
MIET, MASHRAE, CDCP, CDCS, CDCE, CTDC, CTIA, ATS

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[Dan Freeman]

Cursor in this case is not a table or query result, but the blinky vertical line that lets you know where you are when in the editor, or at the command window.

Terminology will slay us all.

Technically, that blinky vertical line is called the insertion point, not the cursor. Likewise, that arrow thing-o you drag around with the mouse isn't a cursor either. It's a pointer.

Remember what Henry Higgins said of English: In America they haven't spoken it in years.

 

[Scott24x7]

I was a curser while trying to find it!

Best Regards,
Scott
MIET, MASHRAE, CDCP, CDCS, CDCE, CTDC, CTIA, ATS

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[Olaf Doschke]

May anyone not liking such side discussions skip this.

Technically, that blinky vertical line is called the insertion point, not the cursor.

I'm with you when talking about the mouse pointer, but I never heard anyone naming the text cursor the insertion point, a text cursor indicates the text insertion point. But naming it insertion point is like naming a tacho needle current speed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursor_%28user_interface%29[/URL]]the text cursor...(aka caret)... indicates where text will be placed when entered (the insertion point).

You may have some reference see how you might get there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caret_navigation[/URL]] a caret (also known as a ‘text cursor’, ‘[highlight]text insertion cursor[/highlight]’, or ‘text selection cursor’)

Stretch that term and call it text insertion point cursor and then shorten it to "insertion point" and that may become your jargon.
The term cursor is quite common. Caret might be a better word when you have in mind, that cursor also is a term in MSSQL, but I don't know anyone talking about the caret.

Bye, Olaf.

Olaf Doschke Software Engineering

https://www.doschke.name

 

[Mike Lewis]

If anyone is interested in the etymology, here are my EUR0,02 worth.

I've always assumed that the cursor you see on the screen is called a cursor because it's from the Latin curro (to run). The cursor "runs" along the screen as you type.

Alternatively, it might be because it resembles the cursor on a slide rule. That's not as obscure as you may think, as slide rules were still very widely used when the first computer monitors appeared in the 1960s. Presumably, that use of the word might also derive from the Latin for "to run", but it's not clear why. But in both cases, the cursor is something that shows your place - your point of focus - either on the screen or on the slide rule's scale, so there is a possible connection there.

As far as the cursor as a temporary table is concerned, that is a well-documented abbreviation for Current Set of Records. It's just coincidence that the name is the same: an example of linguistic overload, perhaps.

Mike




__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Visual FoxPro articles, tips and downloads

 

[Scott24x7]

Haha, I'm glad to see my vague use of the English Language has resulted in so much knowledge generation (aka trivia).
Cheers to all.

Best Regards,
Scott
MIET, MASHRAE, CDCP, CDCS, CDCE, CTDC, CTIA, ATS

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[Olaf Doschke]

Current Set of Records

I forgot that, thanks for the reminder.

Bye, Olaf.

Olaf Doschke Software Engineering

https://www.doschke.name

 

[Olaf Doschke]

Trivia, yes. We're just putting a few cents together.

Bye, Olaf.

Olaf Doschke Software Engineering

https://www.doschke.name

 

[Scott24x7]

Makes cents.

Best Regards,
Scott
MIET, MASHRAE, CDCP, CDCS, CDCE, CTDC, CTIA, ATS

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[Scott24x7]

Hi Mike,
I had a chance to try the _SCREEN.MousePointer trick, and it did not restore the "cursor" (minefield with this word).
It does return as long as I click anywhere outside the VFP IDE and click back in and it works, so it's odd, but not overly limiting. I'm still curious why it occurs, because its really intermittent. I'll keep watching trying to find the root, if anyone else encounters it, would be interested in knowing if you find a cause.


Best Regards,
Scott
MIET, MASHRAE, CDCP, CDCS, CDCE, CTDC, CTIA, ATS

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[Olaf Doschke]

I don't know if it's that simple, but if I scroll to the top of my command window the text cursor stays at the last, new, empty line I left it and I don't see it anywhere. Clicking into the command window puts the text cursor where I click and pressing text cursor moving arrow keys automatically scrolls to where the text cursor is, also typing text - though you never know what you might overwrite in overwrite mode, so I'd always rather use arrow keys to get to where the text cursor is.

You first need to click into another application and then go back to VFP to get the text cursor back, right? I've not seen this happening.

Bye, Olaf.

Olaf Doschke Software Engineering

https://www.doschke.name