copyform Command—Copy a Form to Another Database

Copyform is a Visual-Forms-Editor command that copies a form, a QBFName, or a JoinDef from one database to another.

The process has two steps:

1. Copy one or more forms, QBFNames, or JoinDefs from a database to a text file by using the first syntax below.
2. Copy the objects from the text file into a database by using the –I flag shown in the second syntax below.

One type of object only (form, QBFName, JoinDef) can be specified in a single copyform command.

Because the process has two steps, you can use copyform to change the ownership of a form, QBFName, or JoinDef. Copy the desired object into a text file, then copy the form back into the database under a new owner.

For a complete description and examples of this command, see the Character-based Querying and Reporting Tools User Guide. For a discussion on using the copyform command to change ownership of a database, see the Database Administrator Guide.

The copyform command has the following formats:

copyform dbname |vnode::dbname[/server_class] form {form} | -q qbfname {qbfname} | -j joindef {joindef} filename [-s] [-uusername] [-Ggroupid]

copyform –I dbname |vnode::dbname[/server_class] [-r] filename [-s] [-uusername] [-Ggroupid]

• dbname

  Specifies the name of the database containing the forms, or to which the forms are being copied. Also specifies the vnode and server_class, if required, as described in Standard Flags and Parameters.

• form

  Specifies the name of the form. No QBFNames or JoinDefs associated with the form are copied.

  Note: No more than 100 objects can be specified. This limit can be raised by modifying the utexe.def file. For more information, see the Database Administrator Guide.

• -q qbfname

  Copies the specified QBFName. Multiple QBFNames can be specified. Forms and JoinDefs associated with the qbfname are also copied. The space between –q and qbfname is required.

• -j joindef

  Copies the specified JoinDef. Multiple JoinDefs can be specified. The space between –j and joindef is required.

• filename

  Specifies the name of a text file in which to write the forms, or the name of the text file previously created by copyform, that contain the forms to be copied into the database.

• -s

  Suppresses status messages.

• -I

  Indicates this is an input operation. This parameter is required for the input step.

• -r

  Suppresses the verification prompt for overwriting existing objects. If an object exists in the database under the same name and owner, the object from the file overwrites it. If this flag is not specified, the user is prompted for verification.

• -uusername

  Copies forms owned by the specified user, as described in Standard Flags and Parameters.

• -Ggroupid

  Specifies a group identifier, as described in Standard Flags and Parameters.

  On VMS, enclose this parameter in double quotation marks ("-Ggroupid").