How to invoke true DialogList box without a DL Field in a form

Everyone knows about the field option type defined as “DialogList”. When you click on the drop down, the list pops up. However, how can you invoke this exact “list” directly, without creating a field of this type on a form? It should be doable. Why? Because the standard System Command “Categorize” function does this in exactly this fashion. In that System Command, the same “DialogList” type box is displayed without presenting a separate form with a DialogList type field. I would like to be able to do the same thing in LotusScript for example. The DialogList also presents the option to define a new Category (or “value not in list”).

All other LotusScript and Formula Language PROMPT functions do not present the same exact type of options, because you cannot add the “Allow values not in list” option, as you can in a DialogList field type. I would like to know how to invoke the function somehow without having to present another dialogbox with a field of the DialogList type, in the same way the “Categorize” System Command function works within a Personal Address Book (e.g., Contacts View, Tools - Categorize). But say I want to do the same thing using a different field in the selected documents, etc… In essence, customize the System Command “Categorize” to my liking… Anyone have an idea on how this can be done?

Subject: RE: How to invoke true DialogList box without a form…

There’s obviously a call in the Notes dlls for this, but it’s not published and therefore not really safe to use. Design a form that does what you want – with two fields, one list selection box and one text field to type new values – and use the Dialogbox method to open it.

Subject: RE: How to invoke true DialogList box without a form…

Yeah, I’ve obviously done that already, just interested in bypassing the additional dialogbox… If there is a call to a dll function, it shouldn’t be that “un-safe”, it would just be a matter of knowing how to use the function properly.

Subject: RE: How to invoke true DialogList box without a form…

I believe Andre meant “unsafe” as in “don’t count on it owrking the same way from release to release – we haven’t documented it for use, so we can change the implementation without notice”.

Subject: RE: How to invoke true DialogList box without a form…

o-tay ! das kool… certainly the same could be said of much other dll usage within 'script, but it still would be ok with me to mess with some…