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Topic starter
I have taken a form that has the entire visit on it and began to modify it for a doctor. However, I can't get it to open into chart without causing a crash. I think it is because of the size of the file - as I get these warnings in VFE :
WARNING: File P:\CPS Copying\VFE\Malissa\Office Visit Dr. Uy.xlw (watcher expressions and functions) is 69396 bytes. File may be too large to import into EMR.
WARNING: File P:\CPS Copying\VFE\Malissa\Office Visit Dr. Uy.xlt (translation and functions) is 117238 bytes. File may be too large to import into EMR.
How can I possibly decrease the size to get it to open to see how it functions? I really have minimized it as much as I can? Any help is appreciated.
I will upload the form if I can figure out how... I know there are instructions around here somewhere!
Posted : December 20, 2012 5:05 am
It's a good practice to check the file sizes for the various components of the kit in VFE before exporting; it will show you the size of each file.
There are a few things you can do to reduce the size of these files. From Tools>Options, uncheck the box "Include printed form in clinical kit", check the box for "Place button functions in XLW". Try re-writing functions to simplify. Place functions and some translations in a text component and load it with the template, and/or move functions to your usrlib.txt. Your .xlt is especially large, so it may require a combination of these things. In some cases you may just need to break up the form into two or more forms.
Posted : December 20, 2012 5:31 am
Topic starter
I have unchecked the the box "Include printed form in clinical kit" and when I put the button functions in xlw, that file becomes huge then. I don't understand what you mean by placing things in the usrlib.txt. Is that the area to the right of the form? I am a nurse who has never taken a MEL class or any formal training on form building...... Which, on that note, any recommendations for a class?
Posted : December 20, 2012 9:22 pm
Topic starter
Nevermind, I just looked up what the usrlib.txt is! That might work, question for you about those. If there are 2 people who build forms, would each person have their own files and is there a limit to how many usrlib files there can be?
Posted : December 20, 2012 9:25 pm
Try various combinations of unchecking/checking the config items, but your .xlt was quite large so may not be able to fix this way. Try unchecking the "Include pirnted form..." as you did, but leaving the other unchecked, save the form and read the build output at the bottom - the various files and their size is displayed there.
For the userlib.txt, you would have just one such file, but you can both place your functions there, just coordinate your efforts. If there are shared functions, such as a standard concatenation function for example, then just list it once and you can each call it on forms you build.
Usually there is a form building class offered at each CHUG - typically over the first few days of the week of the conference. There are other orgs and individuals that offer training - Logical Innovations is the only one I can recall now, but others on this forum may give you additional references. I will also email some resources to you today.
Posted : December 20, 2012 10:32 pm
Topic starter
Thank you very much for the input and the advice!
Posted : December 20, 2012 10:36 pm
Were you able to upload the form?
Sometimes we've been able to get forms a bit smaller be using different words if you've done lots of additional code in the forms. e.g
instead of using {Document.Our_Long_Variable_1 = Person.SEARCHNAME ...}
we changed Document.Our_Long_Variable_1 to Document.L1.
We had one form we'd used that variable ~30 times? in the code, and renaming made the form smaller! Also, less text code comments might help too.
Posted : December 21, 2012 12:13 am
Topic starter
I never found the instructions on how to upload a form, so I didn't upload it yet!
Posted : December 21, 2012 12:19 am
Just break the office visit up into multiple forms. If you have multiple tabs on one form, then break those tabs up into separate forms. If you're approaching the file size limit, it could be difficult or impossible to add anything to the form in the future. Each file in the clinical kit is limited to 64K (64*1024=65,536) bytes in size. I have built some really complex forms before and not exceeded the size limit, so it is likely that your form (office visit) can and should be broken into subcomponents.
Posted : December 27, 2012 4:24 am
Remember, "just breaking up" forms might be easy for form designers, but it is terrible, and simply adds unnecessary mouse clicks for the providers. So, try and have a clinical person review if possible!
Posted : December 31, 2012 1:03 am
Unless you are just a complete and total MEL geek 🙂 the most likely cause of a massive XLT is (header) translation suppression. Suppression consumes lots of XLT space. Turn off suppression and make the item translation contingent on a single (or a few) doctemp; choose the one(s) that most certainly will be TRUE when the user enters data in that form.
Basically you write the suppression by hand, in the item translation box. eg
{if doctemp.main_one_under_this_block == "" then "" else cfmt(....
VFE and EFE create extra MEL that is put in the *.xlt file when you export the form. Open it in notepad and you'll see what is creating the increased file size.
If you are a MEL geek, then you already know about usrlib and how to use it. 🙂
Posted : December 31, 2012 3:14 am
UConnFamMed said:
Remember, "just breaking up" forms might be easy for form designers, but it is terrible, and simply adds unnecessary mouse clicks for the providers. So, try and have a clinical person review if possible!
One massive form is not necessarily better for a provider than multiple forms. One huge form might require scrolling and might not all be visible on one screen. Also, the provider may have a hard time judging if he or she has missed a portion of an office visit if it is not completed in distinct portions. Navigation through an encounter type with many forms can be made simple with the use of OPEN_FORM_COMP buttons.
Posted : January 2, 2013 3:18 am
Topic starter
The one form visit was not long or wide, there was minimal scrolling. However, due to the size limitations and my lack of MEL coding, it has now been broken into 2 forms.
This provider is pretty streamlined and wanted a simple approach. We have providers who have encounters made up of 15 plus forms who hate clicking through them all. They say it is too time consuming (yet they have time to count how many clicks it takes them to complete the form 
)
Posted : January 2, 2013 3:24 am
Topic starter
I have the form broken down into 2 parts. The part the physician will be using is within the size limit, but is crashing my chart everytime I import it into the system. It is comprised of forms that are working individually, and I am not getting any errors, it just keeps crashing. I found the instructions on how to post the form, so in case anyone is bored and would like to point out my mistakes 
I would appreciate it so I could hold on to the little bit of my sanity I have left!! It's days like these that I really miss the OR!!
M. Bellis, RN-BSN
Posted : January 2, 2013 9:51 pm
Topic starter
Here is the file sizes as I see them when saved, which appears to be different than what others are seeing?
Posted : January 2, 2013 10:46 pm
