To Edit Properties of a Main Window

Once you have dropped a main window on the workspace do the following to edit its properties. See Appendix B, Revolving Property Editor for descriptions of each of the elements of the property editor.

1. Double-click the main window to display the Revolving Property Editor.

   Or, Choose Properties from the Editors menu of the App Builder primary window, choose Main Window from the Object Type menu, and select the main window in the Objects list.

   The main window will be selected in the Revolving Property Editor.

2. Change the Object Name, if necessary.

3. Change the Window Title to something appropriate.

   This is the label that appears in the title bar of the main window.

4. Type the names of an Icon File, an Icon Mask File, and an Icon Label, if you want an icon to represent the window when it is minimized.

   The Icon File and Icon Mask File must be xpm or xbm graphics files.

5. Change the User Resize Mode, if appropriate.

   This determines if a user can resize the window in the compiled application.

6. Select Menubar, Toolbar, and Footer, as appropriate, to add these functional areas to the window.

   If you select Menubar, you will want to create menus after you finish editing main window properties. See "Creating and Editing Menus" for instructions.

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   Note -

   Selecting Menubar is the same as dragging a menu bar from the Controls palette and dropping it on a main window.

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   If you select Toolbar or Footer, you will want to edit the properties of the control panes that comprise these objects after you finish editing main window properties. You can drop controls on the control panes, make connections to programmatic actions, and do other things that can be done to any control pane.

7. Change the Size Policy and Size, as appropriate.

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   Note -

   For all main windows and custom dialogs you will probably want to leave the Size Policy as Fixed while you are creating the application, and change it to Fit Contents as you finish the application, for internationalization and other purposes. When Size Policy is Fit Contents, the window will change size to accommodate changes in the size of objects as the text in the objects changes--or if the font size changes, for example.

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8. Set Initial State to Iconic if you want the application to appear as an icon when it is started.

9. If you want the main window to be invisible when the application is started, deselect the visible setting for Initial State.

   If the Visible check box is checked, click it to deselect it.

10. Set Background and Foreground colors, if appropriate.

    Type in a color name if you know it or press mouse button 1 on the Background or Foreground menu button and choose Color Chooser to display the Color Chooser. Select a color and click OK. Background sets the color of the blank pane area of the window. Foreground does nothing that is visible in the completed interface.

11. Click Help Text to add on item help, if appropriate.

    See "To Create Help" for instructions.

12. Click OK to apply the changes and dismiss the Revolving Property Editor.

    Unless you are creating a primary main window, you are finished with this task.

13. If you are creating a primary main window, choose Application Framework Editor from the Editors menu.

14. Type a Vendor Name and Version number in the Application section of the Application Framework Editor, if appropriate.

    See "To Establish Application Framework Behavior" for details about the editor.

15. Click OK in the Application Framework Editor to apply the changes and close the editor.