The Properties List
For each component there is a set of properties found in the Properties list. To change the properties for a component, highlight it in the Layout View tree and click the Properties tab. For details about a components properties, see its API information. Some properties are also listed later in this section. Most of these properties can be set dynamically at run time using the appropriate methods in the Interaction Manager.
Properties are changed on the fly by JDesignerPro as you change them. Changing labels, colors and other settings will have immediate effect on the component in the screen layout area. To change the properties for something else, simply highlight it in the Layout View tree and its property list will appear.
In the Properties list you define the basic traits of the component currently selected in Layout View. The Properties list will change to reflect the component you are working with. Set Position, Layout, Color, Label and more.
The Properties list can be expanded to take up the whole work area for easier use. To expand and unexpand it, press the green Properties List Expand button:
When it is down, the list is expanded. Press it again to unexpand the list. Doing this will bring the Main Layout View back onto the screen.
To set a property for an object, first select it from the properties pull down menu:
All objects will start with a one or more default properties in the table.
TIP: Try setting the BColor and FColor properties for objects like the grid, result list, etc. You can create pleasing and useful visual effects. For example, the BColor property for a Grid creates a perfect border around the Grid in any color you choose. These colorations make it easier for your end users to distinguish between objects on a screen and more importantly between different screens with only a glance.
Adding select properties minimizes the time required to work with objects. This is because each new object you use has a different set of properties and you will most likely leave many of the properties at their default setting. To leave a property at its default setting you do not need to add it to the Properties table.
To add a property to the Properties table, select it from the pull-down and press the Add button. Once added, set the property in the field to its right in the Properties table.
To set a property for an object, first select it from the properties pull down menu:
All objects will start with a one or more default properties in the table.
TIP: Try setting the BColor and FColor properties for objects like the grid, result list, etc. You can create pleasing and useful visual effects. For example, the BColor property for a Grid creates a perfect border around the Grid in any color you choose. These colorations make it easier for your end users to distinguish between objects on a screen and more importantly between different screens with only a glance.
Adding select properties minimizes the time required to work with objects. This is because each new object you use has a different set of properties and you will most likely leave many of the properties at their default setting. To leave a property at its default setting you do not need to add it to the Properties table.
To add a property to the Properties table, select it from the pull-down and press the Add button. Once added, set the property in the field to its right in the Properties table.
Below is a summary of some of the properties available for Data Objects. Not all are found on each component.
Name - This is name of the component as it appears in the Layout View tree. You can change this at anytime and the new name will reflect in the Layout View. It does not change the name or text of the component on the form you are building. That is done with the Label property. Use only letters and numbers with no spaces for the Name. Spaces and other characters will cause the compile to fail.
Pos - This stands for Position. This is the position of the component on the panel on which it sits. The position depends on which of the Layout types you are using. Generally the position is a compass setting of north, south, east, west or center. See the section Panel Layout Types earlier in this chapter.
Layout - This is applicable to some Data Objects, such as Columns, which are conglomerations of several sub-components. Generally you will leave the Layout setting at its default for Data Objects unless you are an advanced user.
Popup - You have the choice to place a popup message attached to each component. This is a short message that will appear on the component if the mouse is held over the component for more than 1 second.
Status - This is the message that appears in the Status bar when the mouse is held over the component for more than 1 second. The Status Bar is the long gray field at the bottom of the JDesignerPro screen. It is built into every JDesignerPro application you create.
Tab to - Here you set the component to which the cursor focus will go if the Tab key is pressed.
Back to - Here you set the component to which the cursor focus will go if Shift-Tab is pressed.
Font - There are four font types to choose from, Courier, Helvetica, Sans serif and Roman. This property will change the font of the text in the component.
Style - The Style property affects the font used. The settings are Plain, Italic, Bold, Bold Italic.
Size - The fonts are scalable so you may set any size you desire.
FColor - This is the Font Color. It determines the color of the font in the foreground of the component.
BColor - This is the Background Color of the component.
Enabled - This property can be set at run time using the disable() and enable() methods.
Visible - This controls whether or not the component is visible on the form. This property can be set dynamically using the isShowing() and hide() methods.
Not all of these properties are found on each component. Most properties that are also found on Data Objects are explained under Data Component Properties, above.
Align - This determines the vertical or horizontal alignment of the component. In the case of the Scroll Bar it will set it to scroll in the same direction as the Align property is set.
Layout - Use the Layout property to set the type of Layout for a Panel component. The Layout types are explained in the section Panel Layout Types, earlier in this chapter.
Label - This will set the standard text for the component.
Group - Allows you to specify groupings of Radio Buttons. Only one radio button in a group can be checked at a time.
Value - The initial setting for the Scroll Bar location.
Vis, Min, Max - Determine the initial settings for the scroll bars values.
Dft - The Default value for the component. What you enter here will automatically appear in a Text Area component at run time.
Editable - Use this property to set whether or not this component allows editing. Use this with text areas to which you want the application to pass information but do not want the end user to be able to type over it.
Cols, Rows - These properties determine the size of the component. For a Text Area, Cols will determine the number of characters across that the area will take and Rows will set the height.
Not all of these properties are found on each component. Properties that are also found on Data Objects or Standard Objects are explained above in their respective sections.
Labels (Yes/No) - This sets whether or not the component will have one or more labels at all. With a JDPButtons component, this determines whether the button(s) will have graphics, labels, or labels and graphics. The buttons require something to be on them, a label, icon or both. If you have trouble redrawing the buttons after changing the button properties, use the Refresh feature on Main or change the number of buttons and they will redraw.
#Btns - This sets the number of button elements for the JDPButtons component.
Btn# (0-99) - This is the label for the corresponding button number.
Icon# (0-99) - This is the icon for the corresponding button number.
#Tabs - This determines the number of tabs in the Tab Panel component. You do not need to set this here to add other components to additional tabs. Simply drop another component on the Tab Panel in Layout view and a new tab will be created automatically.
Tab# (0-99) - This is the label for the corresponding tab in a Tab Panel.
FCol# (0-99) - This is the color of the label text for the corresponding tab I a Tab Panel.
BCol# (0-99) - This sets the color of the corresponding tab.
Title - This is the title on the Chisel Panel. The title will appear in the chiseling at the upper left of the screen.
Path - This is the file path for the GIF or JPEG image to use in the image area. You can dynamically pass this property using the Interaction Manager or set it here.
Width, Height - These are the default size settings for the graphic placed into the Image component.
Doc path - This is the path of the initial HTML document on the server that should be opened into the HTML component. Once the first one has been passed, it can have clickable links to get to others. This can also be passed dynamically to the component by using the methods in the Interaction Manager. For example, in this field you would enter "docs/mypage.htm" to load an HTML file called mypage.htm from the JDesignerPro/Docs directory. This assumes JDesignerPro is installed into a webserver.