Property Editor Procedures

The following procedures explain how to open and manipulate the Property Editor.

To Open a Property Editor

• Double-click an object in the interface or in the Module Browser to open the Revolving Property Editor with the clicked-on object selected.

• Or, select an object in the interface or in the Module Browser and choose Props (Revolving or Fixed) from the pop-up menu (displayed by pressing mouse button 3 in the interface or the Browser) to open the property editor with the object selected.

• Or, choose Properties from the Editors menu in the App Builder primary window.

  The Revolving Property Editor will be displayed, with the object most recently selected in the interface or the Module Browser selected in the Revolving Property Editor.

To Edit Properties of an Object

Once you have displayed the property editor, do the following to edit the properties of an object:

1. Choose the object type that you want to edit from the Object Type menu at the top of the Revolving Property Editor, if necessary.

   If you double-clicked an object to display the Revolving Property Editor or if the object was selected when you chose Props from one of the pop-up menus, the object type and the specific object will already be selected.

   If a tear-off (Fixed) editor is displayed, there is no Object Type menu.

2. Select the object that you want to edit in the Objects scrolling list, if necessary.

   The object may already be selected.

3. Modify any of the properties, as appropriate.

   See Appendix B, Revolving Property Editor for descriptions of each of the elements of the property editors.

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   Note -

   List item editing: once you have the appropriate number of items in the list, the easiest way to perform item editing in those property editors that have an item list* is to select the first item in the list, thus selecting it in the label text field. Type a new name for the item and click Return. The new name will be displayed in the item list and the next item in the list will be selected. Continue down the list with this select, type, Return sequence until all items are completed. *Property editors with item lists include the choice objects (Radio Box, Check Box, Option Menu), Combo Box, List, Menu, Menubar, and Spin Box.

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4. Click the Apply button to apply the changes and leave the property editor displayed.

   Click the OK button to apply the changes and close the property editor.

   Click Reset to reset all changed elements to their values at the last Apply.

   Click Cancel to reset all elements to their values at the last Apply and close the property editor.

See "Example: Editing Main Window Properties" for specific instructions for editing the properties of a main window.

To Display a Fixed Property Editor

The Revolving Property Editor is a single dialog box that displays one of 20 property editors, depending on the item you choose from the Object Type option menu. To display a separate, fixed property editor of a specific object type:

1. Select the object you want to edit in the interface or in the Module Browser. See "Module Browser" for a description of the Browser.

2. Choose Props from the pop-up menu (displayed by pressing mouse button 3 in the interface or in the Module Browser) and select Fixed from the Props submenu.

   A fixed version of the property editor for the selected object type will be displayed.

Or

1. Choose the object type you want to edit in the Object Type menu of the Revolving Property Editor.

2. Click the Tear-off button at the top-right of the Revolving Property Editor.

   A fixed version of the property editor for the selected object type will be displayed.

To Select Colors From the Color Chooser

Most property editors have background and foreground color properties. If you know the name of the color you want to use, type it in the text field next to Color:Background or Color:Foreground. To select a color from the Color Chooser palette:

1. Click the Background or Foreground menu button and choose Color Chooser.

   The Color Chooser, with an array of color choices available, will be displayed.

   

2. Click the desired color in the palette.

   The name of the selected color will be displayed after Color Name.

3. Click OK to select the color and dismiss the Color Chooser.

   The selected color will be displayed in the rectangle next to the Background or Foreground menu and the name of the color will be displayed in the text field next to the colored rectangle.

4. Repeat the process for Background or Foreground, if desired.

5. Click Apply in the property editor to apply the changes.

   The background or foreground of the object in the interface will display the selected color.