Prior to Progress Version 7 and user interface triggers, editing blocks were the only method available to monitor individual keystrokes. An editing block is part of an UPDATE, SET, or PROMPT–FOR statement that allows the programmer to read and process each keystroke individually. Editing blocks are used for the following purposes:

  • To enable a few special keys in one or more fields while allowing normal data entry
  • To disallow normal data entry in one or more fields and instead allow the use of only a few special keys to change the value

Each type of editing block can now be replaced with user interface triggers.