'\"macro stdmacro
.if n .pH g1.fmli @(#)fmli	40.14 of 12/15/89
.\" Copyright 1989 AT&T
.nr X
.if \nX=0 .ds x} fmli 1 "Essential Utilities" "\&"
.if \nX=1 .ds x} fmli 1 "Essential Utilities"
.if \nX=2 .ds x} fmli 1 "" "\&"
.if \nX=3 .ds x} fmli 1 "" "\&"
.TH \*(x}
.SH NAME
\f4fmli\f1 \- invoke FMLI
.SH SYNOPSIS
\f4fmli\f1
\f1[\f4\-a\f1
\f2alias_file\f1]
\f1[\f4\-c\f1
\f2command_file ]
\f1[\f4\-i\f1
\f2initialization_file\f1]
\f2file .\|.\|.\f1
.SH DESCRIPTION
The \f4fmli\f1 command invokes the Form and Menu Language Interpreter
and opens the frame(s)
specified by the \f2file\f1 argument.
The \f2file\f1 argument is the pathname
of the initial frame definition file(s), and
must follow the naming convention \f4Menu.\f2xxx\f1, \f4Form.\f2xxx\f1 or
\f4Text.\f2xxx\f1 for a menu, form or text frame respectively, where \f2xxx\f1 is any string
that conforms to UNIX system file naming conventions.
The FMLI descriptor
\f4lifetime\f1 will be ignored for all frames opened by argument to
\f4fmli\f1.
These frames have a lifetime of \f4immortal\f1 by default.
.P
The available options are as follows:
.TP .5i
\f4-a\f1
If \f4\-a\f1 is specified, \f2alias_file\f1
is the name of a file which contains lines of the form
\f2alias\f4=\f2pathname\f1.
Thereafter, \f4$\f2alias\f1 can be used in definition files to simplify
references to objects or devices with lengthy 
pathnames, or to define a search path (similar to \f4$PATH\f1 in the
UNIX system shell).
.TP
\f4-c\f1
If \f4\-c\f1 is specified, \f2command_file\f1 is the name of
a file in which default FMLI commands can be disabled,
and new application-specific commands can be defined.
The contents of \f2command_file\f1 are reflected in
the FMLI Command Menu.
.TP
\f4-i\f1
If \f4\-i\f1 is specified, \f2initialization_file\f1 is
the name of a file in which the following characteristics of
the application as a whole can be specified:
.RS .75i
.TP 3
\-
A transient introductory frame displaying product information
.TP
\-
A banner, its position, and other elements of the banner line
.TP
\-
Color attributes for all elements of the screen
.TP
\-
Screen Labeled Keys (SLKs) and their layout on the screen.
.RE
.SS "Environment Variables"
\f4LOADPFK\fP
.br
Leaving this environment variable unset tells FMLI,
for certain terminals like the AT&T 5620 and 630,
to download its equivalent character sequences for
using function keys into the terminal's programmable
function keys, wiping out any settings the user may
already have set in the function keys.
Setting \f4LOADPFK=NO\fP in the
environment will prevent this downloading.
See Appendix A of the \f2Programmer's Guide:
Character User Interface (FMLI and ETI)\fP.
.PP
\f4COLUMNS\fP
.br
Can be used to override the width of the logical
screen defined for the terminal set in \f4TERM\fP.
For terminals with a 132-column mode, for example,
invoking FMLI with the line
.PP
\0\0\0\0\f4COLUMNS=132 fmli \fP\f2frame-file\fP
.PP
will allow this wider screen width to be used.
.PP
\f4LINES\fP
.br
Can be used to override the length of the logical
screen defined for the terminal set in \f4TERM\fP.
.LE
.SH EXAMPLES
To invoke \f4fmli\f1:
.P
.RS
\f4fmli Menu.start\f1
.RE
.PP
where \f4Menu.start\f1 is an example of \f2file\f1 named according to
the file name conventions for menu definition files explained above.
.PP
To invoke \f4fmli\f1 and name an initialization file:
.P
.RS
\f4fmli -i init.myapp Menu.start\f1
.RE
.PP
where \f4init.myapp\f1 is an example of \f2initialization_file\f1.
.SH DIAGNOSTICS
If \f2file\f1 is not supplied to the \f4fmli\f1
command, \f4fmli\f1 returns
the message:
.P
.RS
\f4Initial object must be specified.\f1
.RE
.P
If \f2file\f1 does not exist or is not readable,
\f4fmli\f1 returns
an error message and exits.
The example command line above returns the following message and exits:
.P
.RS
\f4Can't open object "Menu.start"\f1
.RE
.P
If \f2file\f1 exists, but does not
start with one of the three correct object names
(\f4Menu.\f1, \f4Form.\f1, or \f4Text.\f1)
or if it is named correctly but does not
contain the proper data, \f4fmli\f1 starts to build the screen by putting out
the screen labels for function keys, after which it flashes the
message:
.P
.RS
\f4I do not recognize that kind of object\f1
.RE
.P
and then exits.
.SH FILES
\f4/usr/bin/fmli\f1
.SH "SEE ALSO"
\f4vsig\f1(1F).
