Generating pseudo code

There might be times when you need to generate "pseudo code" for multiple forms and/or global objects at one time. This can be an aid to comparing and editing custom code for forms and objects. When this is the case, you can use the FormSync Pseudo Code utility. This utility generates pseudo code output for single or multiple forms or objects, placing the pseudo code in a separate file for each form or object.

To generate pseudo code, use this procedure:

  1. If you have not already done so, open the Configurations page and specify the Source and/or Target configurations for which you want to generate pseudo code for custom objects.
  2. Access the FormSync Utilities page:
    • In the form version, click Utilities on the main page.
    • In the stand-alone version, click the Utilities icon on the Toolbar.
  3. Select the Generate Pseudo Code tab.
  4. To select the attributes to include in the pseudo code generation, click Include.
    Note:  If you clear the Components check box in the Form section, no components are included in the comparison, regardless of whether the check boxes in the Components section are selected or not.

    (In the form version only:) When you are done making your selections, click Close to return to the Pseudo Code tab.

  5. Click the ellipsis (•••) button near the Objects field, and select a form/object or a folder that contains objects you want to generate pseudo code for.
    Note: To specify a single form or object for which to generate the pseudo code, select that form or object. To specify multiple forms and/or objects, select the folder that is at the lowest level to include all the forms and/or objects you want.

    For example, if you have forms in both the configName\Form\Group\ folder and the configName\Form\User\ folder (where configName is the name of the configuration, in both the Source and the Target) for which you want to generate pseudo code, you would select the configName\Form\ folder and then qualify it from there. If you select a folder, remember to add a backslash after the last folder name before adding the code generation criteria.

  6. (For the form version only) Specify whether you want to Save the output to a file on the local disk or View the output in a temporary display page.
    If you select the View option, the next step is not doable. Skip to the following step.
  7. Click the ellipsis (•••) button near the Output To field, and select a base folder into which the generated pseudo code will be output.
    Note:  When the pseudo code is generated, FormSync recreates the folder structure from the source (beginning at the designated Output To folder) and then adds alphanumerically labeled subfolders for the resulting generated files.
  8. If you are generating code for components, and you want the generated code to maintain component positions relative to their containers in the code, select Component position relative to container.
  9. Click Generate Pseudo Code.

FormSync generates a different file for each object it finds corresponding to the pseudo code generation criteria and places the files in the appropriate subfolders under the designated base folder.

Once you have generated the pseudo code, you can use the saved output in a number of ways, including reading the pseudo code to evaluate it, or using a file-comparison utility to compare all or part of the generated pseudo code with pseudo code from other sources.